Rome in August

How wonderful it is to be able to drive places without traffic. This is one of the perks of being in Rome this month. The bliss is about to come to an end in a few days, but I am really hoping that the crowds stay on holiday at least until the end of next week. Shops are open, some restaurants are open, yet there is a nice "calm" in the air. Maybe it's because we don't have to drive around in circles for an hour looking for a parking space close to home, or wait in long lines, or sit in traffic, or zig zag around people when walking on the pavement. The only thing that would complete this moment of peace is slightly cooler weather. The high today is supposed to be 39 C.  Considering the humidity factor, it will feel like 45 C, and that is just too much heat for this Rome girl to handle!

What is wrong with this picture?

It's the fact that Ivanka Trump gave birth just one month ago and here she is flaunting her post baby bod, which doesn't seem at all like she had a baby! I am so sick of seeing pictures of  celebrity moms 2 weeks after giving birth looking like it never happened. Why isn't anyone making a fuss about this? A lot was made of waif like models in magazines and on runways looking miserably thin and how they were terrible role models for young girls, and women in general . Everyday I am bombarded with images of actresses that seem like they starve themselves so that they can shed the baby weight in record time. Why am I taking this so personally? Well obviously because I am a mom who didn't find losing the baby weight to be so easy. My pre -baby weight was 54 kgs (119 lbs) and I gained 14 kgs (31 lbs) during my pregnancy, which is within the normal range. I ate whatever I wanted before, during, and after baby, so you could say that I didn't try to control my weight in any way until baby was 6 months old and I stopped breastfeeding. I was more "careful" but did not try to be extreme about my diet. The thing is, I thought it would be so easy to take the weight off, like it was before, just limit dessert, and carbs and voilà! Not so. It must be hormones or who knows what, but it was REALLY tough. The scale would not budge for months. It was stuck at this scary number, leaving me with about 8 kgs (18 lbs) to lose post baby. I then started running here and there, but really didn't have the time between a full time job and baby to be diligent about it. I followed a calorie controlled diet for about 2 months and that is finally when some of the weight started to shift. To make a long story short, 15 months after baby, I have 3 kgs (7 lbs) to go, to be back at my normal weight. It has been a struggle, but then again I didn't starve myself and exercise to death to fit into my jeans. I did however have to come to terms with the fact that whatever worked before, does not work now.  This brings me back to my initial point of the insanity of seeing pictures of stick thin actresses right after having a baby, and no one is up in arms about it. When will someone, anyone say something about this?

Gone fishing....

Buone vacanze a tutti!

Osteria Flaminio

It's really too bad that this place has terribly slow service, because otherwise it is quite a good restaurant. We sat inside even though there is outside seating. The menu is written on chalk boards throughout the restaurant. Interesting menu. We had calamari panzanella salad, a mixed seafood antipasto, mixed regular antipasto, cannoli with mozzarella and anchovy, and pata negra ham to start.  Spaghetti alle vongole, tender pork shoulder with potatoes, pork thigh, marinated grilled chicken followed. Dessert was millefoglie with chocolate, pistacchio cream in a crispy shell, and a type of ice cream sandwich. Excellent white wine.
The waiter warned us about the wait and even suggested that we order certain things over others in order to avoid an excessive wait, but honestly it seemed like the kitchen just couldn't get it together. I can understand waiting when a restaurant is full and it is peak dinner hour, however, we sat down at 10pm and the place was not even half full. The meal ended at 12.45 am, which is ridiculous. This is not a one off since our friends had been before and experienced the same wait. You be the judge, I however, will not be returning.

Giuda Ballerino

I had never heard of this restaurant, but found out that it had a Michelin star and so I was quite curious to try it out. I liked the fact that this restaurant is out of the way, it is on largo appio claudio. The outside seating during the Summer months is in a large piazza surrounded by apartment buildings, which really makes this place unique. We were with a large group of friends and had a tasting menu from the osteria, since the restaurant was not open that night. Our starters consisted of spiedini di Gamberi in pasta fillo con spuma di Mortadella ( shrimp wrapped in filo dough with Mortadella foam) Bocconcini di baccala in pastella ( fried cod ) and an assortment of  arancini (fried rice balls). Next came the pasta course which was Mezzi Paccheri alla Gricia con crema di zucchine romanesce e calamari croccanti (short pasta Gricia style with zucchini purée and crunchy calamari). To follow we had rabbit with olives, that I really didn't care for, maybe because I don't usually eat rabbit. To finish we had fried doughnuts with an orange sauce and nutella, and a deconstructed tiramisù. All in all it was a memorable meal for the occasion (we were celebrating a birthday) and for the new neighborhood. The food was good, but wasn't good enough to make a lasting impression. Definitely worth a try, especially since their prices are quite honest. 

Fregene Restaurants

A roundup of some of the restraurants I've been to, and what I think of them. I haven't gone into too much detail because I find most restaurants in Fregene to have more or less the same things. I only mention things that I find different, and focus on atmosphere since if you are going to make the trek to the beach, might as well be for a good cause!

San Giorgio - away from the beach, in the piazza of Maccarese you can find this restaurant. Nice atmosphere, good food, quite pricey. They have a large outdoor area.

St. Tropez  - I was really happy to find this 3 years ago since the food was good and a little different from the usual seafood you find everywhere. For example their polpette di cernia are amazing, and so is their sauté di cozze. Only problem is that their outdoor beachfront section is in serious need of a makeover. We are talking neon lights, so unromantic. Another con are their prices, quite high. The last time I remember we paid about 63 euros for a fish for two, which seemed a little exaggerated.  Beachfront.

Ondanomola - they opened the restaurant about 2 years ago, and it was excellent considering the quality and price. The atmosphere was beautiful, especially at night. The guy running it two years ago is not there anymore and I haven't been back since. The restaurant is still open for dinner. Beachfront.

La Scialuppa - very popular restaurant, interestingly decorated. This restaurants has its ups and downs over the years. Sometimes its good, sometimes its not. I don't find it to be more expensive than the rest, even though most people think it is. Beachfront.

Taverna del Pioniere - Oddly enough, this place has good meat, along with the usual seafood. Antipasto is the usual, nothing special, pasta is good. Secondi standard. Prices normal for Fregene. This restaurant is not near the beach.

L'Archetto - good place for pizza and seafood. Located internally, not by beach. Well known for their pizza dough balls drizzled with nutella. Heard their prices have increased recently.

Controvento - this is one of my favorites since it feels like you are eating right on the beach. It is on a raised, koisk type platform, and is open on all sides. Huge bar. Feels like you are in California. Good food. Prices like everywhere else, when I say this I mean on average 40 euro a person (this depends on how much wine is ordered).

Elen - small but cozy restaurant right behind the beach front. Elen has particular food since it is not the place for classic seafood dishes. Nice homemade seafood salad, calamari with beans, seafood soup. Their pastas are interesting - baccala (cod) with pinenuts, pesto, raisins and a take on gricia but with shrimp. Good crostatas and chocolate fondant for dessert. family run.

Calypso - this place is frequented by the locals since it is a no frills type of place. Good pizza, pasta, seafood in a family run atmosphere. The place is not by the beach, and has just 2 outside tables. The inside area is quite large with windows all round that are kept open during the Summer.

Fregene (Rome's wannabe St. Tropez)

Fregene holds a special place in my heart. For those of you not familiar with Rome, Fregene is a beach village about 40 minutes from Rome, not far from the airport. Its proximity to Rome, makes it an ideal place for people to commute during the Summer months, if one has property there or rents for the Summer. Prices are ridiculously high, which is why I make reference to St. Tropez, even though renting is not so expensive overthere! My love affair with Fregene began about 8 years ago when a friend took me to dinner. I then started going to the beach there, and continue to do so today. Fregene is also the place I fell in love with my husband, and the place where we spent several Summers. It was our place for summertime aperitivos and dinners by the shore and endless Summer fun. Today I look at it in a different way, since now we go there with baby. Our needs changed, and we no longer frequent the old kiosks and free beaches, but seek out beaches which offer a baby pool and a child friendly atmosphere. Having broken up with the "stabilamento" where we went last year, this year we are trying to find a new beach which we all like, and it has not been easy. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like the last place, named after a Brazilian city, was that great. It has a nice atmosphere, a salt-water pool, and friendly (ok, fake friendly) owners. Their gimmick was calling you by your first name, so it seemed like we were all old friends. The truth is, they made these dear friends pay big time for some of the silliest things. Other than rent the standard two sun chairs and umbrella, we often had lunch at the restaurant, many times with friends who would come visit us, we would spend money left, right, and center and not really worry about it. Often the bill would seem a little too high, and I would give the owner a piece of my mind about that, and in turn they would watch it a little more. Recently, after going back during the winter and paying heavily, and going back this Summer only to be charged for a baby's meal when all they did was boil the pasta I gave, seemed a little too much. This is considering we had spent the day at the beach, had lunch at the restaurant, and had 3 bottles of wine and 3 pizzas as an aperitivo when a few of our friends dropped by. This was the last straw, hence the break up.

We have visited two other places since:
Delfino - nice has a pool, umbrellas are spaced properly so you are not stuck to your neighbors. Restaurant is good and not bad value for money.
Capri - a lot bigger than Delfino, has two pools, a children's pool and an adult pool. Big play area for kids, good restaurant. Umbrellas very well spaced out.

A round up of Fregene restaurants and beaches to follow.