April 4, 2016

A Magical Sunday at the Seaside

Yesterday a very important soccer match was played in Rome… historical rivals ROMA and LAZIO played against each other in the final of the Derby. (A derby is when two teams from the same city play against each other). I have little interest in ‘calcio’, nor do I really understand much of the game, so when my friend Carla invited me out for a day of sun followed by seeing the musical ‘The Sound of Music’, I happily accepted. Carla’s plan was that we grab a ‘panino’ for lunch… but we actually ended up having a very indulgent lunch at a gorgeous restaurant on the beach. We were at Santa Severa, which is right next door to Santa Marinella. There were three of us as Carla’s friend Ute joined us at the beach and the restaurant was her suggestion. We arrived early, and the restaurant wouldn’t budge from the time we had booked, so we went for a beautiful walk along the beach. Shoes off, feet crunching on the sand and splashing in the water where the waves broke on the shore. There is something special about the first hot sun after winter. Not that we really had a cold winter, but the promise of Summer that Spring brings lifts moods, and is medicinal for the soul. There were some people in bathing costumes, and even a couple braved the water for a swim.

It didn’t take us long to work up an appetite, or a thirst which was why we immediately ordered a bottle of white wine! 😉 We had the best table, and although we were inside we were at the front. The windows were open, allowing us to enjoy the sea breeze with a spectacular view of the Castle of Santa Severa. We shared three appetisers, fried calamaretti, or moscardini, as they are sometimes called, a salad of polpo (octopus) and potato, and a sautè of vongole (clams).

Ute followed this with grilled scampi, Carla had fettucine with artichokes and prawns, and I had the tagliolini with mussels and pecorino. (completely going against anyone who says you don’t put cheese on seafood)! The portion sizes were very generous, in fact my pasta plate resembled more a ‘platter’ and seriously had enough pasta for three generous servings. (I couldn’t finish it sadly).

I was too full for dessert but the girls shared a millefoglie with crema pasticcera and strawberries. I would strongly recommend L’Isola del Pescatore, especially as a lovely day trip from central Rome (about an hour to get there by car). I strongly suggest that you book as this restaurant is extremely busy and you will definitely miss out (especially on weekends). Staff were lovely, and never seemed flustered despite the fact they were run off their feet.

Carla and I said goodbye to Ute and then set off to Civitavecchia to enjoy The Sound Of Music, or ‘Tutti Insieme Appassionatamente’ as it is called in Italian! (which I loved by the way).

Oh… and for those who are interested, Roma thrashed Lazio winning 4-1.