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The areas below the bridge flooded completely, making it difficult for the bikers or joggers to get through the trail.
Categories: Travel | Tags: Canon Powershot S95, Flood bridge, Flooding, Italia, Italy, Roma, Rome, Rome Flood, TravelComments Off
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It came to my realization that Roma was once beautiful during the early mornings. All photos are taken by this fabulous Canon Powershot S95 (impressive point-and-shoot camera as well as Canon G12), except for the Colosseum that was taken by Canon 7D.
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There are two nearby groceries near the flat on Via Dei Greci that I stayed at, you can find some fresh pizza bianca/rozza in the bakeries, vegan caramel puddings on the sweets section, ice cream cones/gelato in the freezers, and some good hearty soups, then some bags of yummy potato chips. The vegan ice cream sundaes (topped with chocolate and peanut bits) tasted very good.
- Punto supermercato (on the same street as the nearby Sephora, about few mins walk) Via Della Frezza
- Diperdi http://www.diperdi.it/ (on the same street as Fleur restaurant)
On the corner of Via bocca di leone and Via Vittoria
There is one common grocery store known as “Despar Supermercato“, you can go to the website, http://www.despar.it to find the locations near you when you are visiting Rome. This grocery store offers a variety of vegan products.
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View Official Website of Il Margutta Vegetariano Ristor Arte
At the corner of Via del Babuino and Via Margutta, Il Margutta Ristor Arte di Claudio e Tina Vannini, also known as Il Margutta Vegetariano was mere 10 minutes walk from our flat situated on Via Dei Greci in the central Roma. After scrutinizing the articles based on vegan-friendly eateries in Roma, Il Margutta appeared to be one of the top vegetarian restaurants that use ingredients from biological cultivation and/or production and extra virgin cold-pressed oils in their dishes as well as preparing organic flours for pasta and desserts.
So Doni and I went there on a Saturday brunch buffet (I believe it was 15 euros per person or $25 at that time). The interiors of the restaurant was very artsy, busy yet colourful. As soon as early afternoon came, this restaurant was overwhelmingly packed. We were pleased that we arrived as early as noon. Also, you will be charged if you refill the same plate or grab a new plate, so be wary.
Vegan dishes comprise of different varieties of rice/grain salads such as forbidden rice, barley rice, cous cous or risotto as well as freshly made fusilli pasta in roasted tomato sauce with a touch of extra virgin olive oil that tasted just perfect (authentic vegan Italiano pasta, yum). The dishes may vary depending on the season, so they may not be the dishes you see in the enclosed photos.
Other little side dishes include delicate baked potatoes (the skin of these potatoes was different compared to American rustic potatoes), whole wheat bread slice and wild salad. Along with these vegan dishes, the vegan soups were both tasty–the creamy brown-coloured bean soup (known as fagioli in Italian) was our favourite and the vegetable medley soup was hearty.
There were dishes that are vegetarian (contain cheese) such as lasagna, pizza, seitan meatballs and pasta (the photos are not included since this post is focused primarily on vegan cuisine). My boyfriend concluded that the vegetarian lasagna was one of his favourite dishes, however the other types of cheesy pasta dishes he tried were too heavy for his taste. In the end, we did not attempt to eat these desserts since we were pretty stuffed. However, we had some freshly squeezed grapefruit and orange juices, which tasted very refreshing.
One con regarding this restaurant: I wish the restaurant would offer more presentations for the dishes that are vegan such as labeling the dishes (the ingredients in Italiano and English), otherwise you will have to rely on an Italian-speaking chef being temporarily excused from the kitchen, to show you which dishes are vegan. There are certain dishes that people can be allergic to or may refuse to eat with. I strongly advise that the restaurant would be even more successful if the dishes are labeled (the name of the dish, the ingredients of the dish, and whether or not it’s vegan or vegetarian), since they are very useful nowadays in organic and vegan-friendly cafes/bars and I’m sure plenty of customers who are vegans, vegetarians, lacto-vegetarians or even on gluten-free diets would appreciate it more 
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It was our final day in Roma, Italia. That morning, we crossed the bridge and took some morning shots and stopped by at our favourite bakery for our pizza rosa and bianca. After the morning stroll, we walked around the area of Trastevere to check out the Basilica di Santa Maria and the interiors. The interior of basilica was very impressive despite the Italian beggar that brought the foul odor.
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I persisted with Roma’s cold morning air and the numbness in my hands have already reminded me how extremely cold Frankfurt, Germany was. It’s surprising how the temperature would drop abruptly to the mid 30s from the early 60s on that first day in Rome, yet we were already prepared for the cold weather without doubting how cold it would be. Doni and I were quite some early birds due to our odd sleeping patterns–we would sleep in the late afternoons and wake up in the middle of the nights as early as 1 or even 2, no matter how fully awake we truly were.
We dropped by the Ara Pacis Museum – Richard Meier, a white modern museum just off the Via Di Ripetta road. Then we crossed the windy bridge to reach the St. Peter’s Basilica (Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano in Italian) in Vatican City (it was a mere an hour walk from our flat). We managed to take plenty of DSLR photos over there before the busy tourists came, however the windy and cold weather was unbearable. After the Vatican City visit, we went back to the local area near our flat and had some interesting pizza (potato with rosemary and polini mushrooms with tomatoes), which I will present them in the later entries.
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I couldn’t quite recall if it’s our fourth day of hell here since I’m writing this entry that took place about a month and half ago. It was another freezing day in Roma. Once the sun rose that morning, the warmth from the sun relieved us from the unbearable cold. I remembered our hands froze completely from the chilly winds and it was difficult to grasp our cameras while shooting. I had to wear double socks to avoid numbness in feet.
We dropped by the supermercati or grocery outlets, “Despar” that were hidden in the corners of Roma; you can find these type of groceries in big cities such as Paris, Barcelona, etc. Speaking of grocery outlets, we enjoyed being there, not because of being indoor from the cold, but the varieties of vegan and vegetarian brands we could find and consume with pleasure. There are numerous brands I really would love to share here, but maybe in the later entries focusing on vegan Italian foods and products.
After the groceries, we passed the Trevi Fountain, which was already packed with annoying tourists, mainly the Asians and Americans, including the Europeans. Happy with the fact that we shot the fountain that other morning, when it was not packed with tourists. We went back to the Pantheon’s interiors when it wasn’t open that other day we stopped by and then to our favourite bakery, Forno Campo de’ Fiori to pick up pizza rosa and bianca. These lovely pizzas will always remain on our tongue buds…
In the early evening, we took a long stroll and crossed the bridge. There was flooding below the bridge, where this biker had difficulty riding on the pathway, and had to climb the steps to the top. It was a very beautiful view in the end.
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It was the first coldest mornings in Roma when the temperature dropped dramatically at high 30s rather than high 50s. Doni and I had to dress warmer for the weather, even our hands would freeze within minutes without proper gloves. We took some amusing night shots at Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps in Italian) with a view of the beautiful San Carlo al Corso view. We took a modest stroll to the beautifully lit up Baroque fountain, the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) of Roma. It was lit up prior to the sunrise, with focus on these statues. After the sunrise, we wanted to see a rougher, grittier area fairly known as the Ghetto di Roma, located in the rione Sant’Angelo (also known as Roman-Jewish district in Italian). After being fond of local Italian bakeries and their pizza, I managed to try out their Jewish-Italin-style focaccia bread topped with fresh rosemary herbs. The texture was delicate and moist compared to the dry and rough texture in the main Roma area. Ghetto di Roma is not very crowded yet quiet compared to the area we stayed in, but comprise a large population of Jewish-Romans including students. Later in the afternoon, we visited the Santa Maria Maggiore, or Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore (Italian) which remains as the largest church in Roma, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We climbed the steps up toward Villa Borghese gardens, which wasn’t that impressive as we have seen in Paris. The roads were rocky and once you reach the end of the park, you would see a noisy traffic, which was disappointing.
Surprisingly vegan, it is considered as one of my favourite pizza on this planet without meat or cheese on it. Liking the fact that pizza allows freshly sliced potatoes as the primary topping and how the crust provides the crispiness and the softness in the potatoes which nearly substitutes as cheese.
It is known as “pizza di patate” in Italian, or Potato Pizza in English. Italian pizzas generally do not require cheese because it is unnecessary. You’ve got to taste the pizza flour, the tomato base and the herbs surrounding the pizza.
As per request for someone who wanted to see potato pizza in Rome, here they are (taken with Canon S95, was lazy to shoot it with my Canon 7D…you know how I am with foods once I devour them quickly without my camera around)
