Rome Eats I

Still on a high from my Rome trip, although I’m back in Uni and second year is INTENSE, I had THE BEST TIME EVER.

It was filled with ALL THE CARBS and so much rich history. I’ve always been a history nerd. I’ve been obsessed with classics since I started my GCSE’s, if I could do a minor in Uni, it probably would have been in ancient history.

So, Rome seemed like the obvious place for me to choose to start my solo travelling journey. The history but also THE PASTA!

Everyone knows how much I love pasta. Probably my favourite thing to eat. You know how my dad always asks “what did you eat? I hope not pasta AGAIN”, right?. Yup, everyone knows. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I was going to write one long post but I’ve decided to spilt it into two.

Read on and relive my pasta filled days with me!

Day 1 – Dinner at Ristorante Panoramico at Hotel Forum

My first meal in Rome. I was STARVING by the time I got to my hotel, so it was quite convenient that they had a roof top restaurant that had STUNNING views of Rome in the night.

Obvs I had to have pasta, DUH.

I had shrimp pasta with courgette ribbons. YUMM, a bit of pasta and some greens for health!🤤

Ended the meal with some ice cream – this most definitely was NOT gelato. But I enjoyed the fruit and ice cream combo.

Day 2 – Let the real FUN begin!

My first full day in Rome. Tour of the colosseum, palatine hill and Roman forums.

Lunch at Urbana47 – Stuffed zucchini flowers and Cacio e Pepe

I had to try local roman dishes for my first lunch.

The zucchini flowers were not something I loved, I didn’t mind that they were stuffed with cheese though!

I didn’t know Cacio e Pepe was a traditional roman dish! Took advantage of that and had it many times on this trip. I love the simplicity of the dish – perfectly al dente pasta, loadsa pecorino and black pepper = Perfection!😍

My trip was off to a GREAT start and I could see many a pasta bowl on the horizon!

Midday treat at Fatamorgana

Who doesn’t end lunch off with a sweet treat?

My first gelato flavour choices were quite basic. I got fior di latte and stratciatella. YUMMMM!

After getting some more energy, I went off exploring the neighbourhood of Monti.

Basilica di Santa Maria maggiore

An absolutely STUNNING basilica. I especially loved the ceilings. 😍

Some more exploring…. and a bit of shopping at Mercato Monti!

beautiful streets and buildings….

…..vintage Japanese dolls….

…..beaut jewellery, and then it was time to eat! AGAIN!

I went in to book a table for dinner at this Pizzeria and they thought I was so strange for wanting to have dinner at 6 – I eat early, don’t judge me 😕. Must be all the early dinners In boarding school.

BEST PIZZA EVER at Trattoria Il Tettarello

This pizza was everything I wanted in a pizza. I am team thin crust all the wayyyy! Paper thin crust, simple sauce and amazing cheese! I think the more simple a dish is, the more I love it.

The perfect way to end the day for me is always with something sweet. As I was on holiday, I indulged!

I had a cannolo half filled with plain ricotta and the other half filled with chocolate ricotta. YUM!! I enjoyed trying this sweet treat but it was quite sweet and probably too much after the gelato I had- oh, did I forget to mention that I had gelato after dinner? LOL

Pomegranate and mango sorbet from Flor – nice and refreshing.

My GIANT cannolo from ciuri ciuri!

Day 3 – the fun continues

I was so excited to try not only ALL the pasta dishes but also the pastries. One I read that I had to try was a maritozzo!

Maritozzo at Pasticeria Regoli

This amazing thing you are looking at it is a bun stuffed with sweet whipped cream! The Italians sure know how to have breakfast. Imagine me not getting an XL. SO SO GOOD. My day was off to a GREAT start!

Time for some more touristy activities.

Trevi fountain and Pantheon

SO GORGE! I always thought the Trevi fountain was built using marble, turns out it’s not marble. It’s travertine, a stone used all over Italy. It’s a very porous rock, so it absorbs pollution and often becomes dirty. Did you know Fendi sponsored the restoration of the Trevi Fountain in 2015?

Did you know that Queen Margherita who Margherita pizza was made for and named after is buried in the pantheon? A queen I stan – DUH!

On it with the facts today, aren’t I? 🤓

Came across a shop that had all kinds of Pinocchio merch – should’ve gotten something. #RAGRETS.

After pushing my way through all the other tourists, I was HUNGRYYY, and I needed to top up my pasta tank.

Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella at Osteria del Sostegno

Okay, let me just say this was NOT what I was expecting when I ordered. I thought I was going to get spaghetti in tomato sauce, not chunks of fresh tomatoes 😂. But I tried to eat as many tomatoes as I could ( not many). The pasta was ON POINT and so was the mozzarella. I would totally eat this again.

After lunch, take a wild guess as to what I had….

Oreo gelato! This was so so so good! On my way to get ice cream, I came across an obelisk and more pretty buildings!

As I was walking back to my hotel, I came across Piazza Venezia and I was just shook by how beautiful it was. There was just something so grand and so breathtaking about it, I kinda stood there just staring. 😮

The eternal city is really just so beautiful. Everything was just so so beaut, and I couldn’t get enough. Rome also gave me MAJOR King’s Landing vibes, am I right? or AM I RIGHT?

My next planned activity was a Roman street food tour. I was so so excited for this. An opportunity to really see what the locals eat and to see other parts of Rome that are not so touristy. The tour that I booked was with Get your guide. 10/10 would recommend.

Street Food Tour

Stop 1- Roman Pizza

Really THIN pizza = you can eat so much!

Stop 2 – Suppli

Similar to arancini but native to Rome, Suppli is a deep fried rice ball, stuffed with cheese.

Stop 3 – Jewish style deep fried artichoke/ Carciofo Alla Giudia

I wasn’t so sure how this would taste, but I liked it. It also makes water taste sweet after you eat it!

Stop 4 – Spinach and ricotta ravioli

This ravioli was so so good!

Stop 5 – Gelato

This gelato shop had some interesting flavours including pine nut – which I tried and didn’t get because it was a bit too herby for me. I got white chocolate raspberry and it was super YUM!

Not only was this tour filled with food, our guide Elisabetta also threw in some history. She told me about Queen Margherita and showed us where Julius Caesar was actually killed!