Every day the convent provides fresh picked oranges from the little grove it has toward the back. I am not a huge orange fan, but everyday I race the other students to claim at least one of these fruits. What is it about these colorful spheres that make my taste buds tingle? Mainly its that they are blood oranges and are sweeter than the variety I get back home. Oranges are growing all over Rome right now, on both private and public trees. (There are actually streets that are lined with trees that you can pick the fruit off of.) My favorite way to enjoy this fruit is fresh squeezed. Bars (read: coffee shops) often have juicers that give you fresh blood orange juice that is incredible.
As much as I love this juice, today I found something even better. During my daily wandering through the city I once again found myself in the Campo de' Fiori. At the back of the market was a man who sold fresh squeezed pomegranates! It was so good I had to commemorate the moment:
Pomegranates are one of my favorite parts of winter, and I will drink POM's juice anytime of the year. This nectar blew that bottled stuff out of the water. I watched as the man picked out two pomegranates, and cut and squeeze them into my cup. No added water or sugar, just pure sweet pomegranate juice.
I knew that pomegranates were common around here: the convent has a few miniature pomegranate trees and the neighboring building has a larger tree overhanging their wall, but the fruit on these trees have mostly dried up. Its a shame to think that if I was here just a few months earlier, I could have enjoyed a fresh picked pomegranate alongside my orange. I guess I'll just have to come back next year.
Ciao
J
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