Our suite was every bit as quirky as we hoped it would be with antique furniture and unique touches.Â
The signage outside seemed to indicate that it was part B&B, part dance -karate studio.Â
The reception area was deserted with people but heavily populated with marble busts and paintings and a small theatre. It was dark, but lights flicked on as you walked past adding to the Scooby-do, ‘Don’t blink’ The Weeping Angels Dr Who vibe.
The door of our bedroom had more of a The Shinning ambiance as if it had been attacked by a nail gun. The bath with jacuzzi was fabulous, though with not a hint of Psycho.
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 In the morning we danced our way through the ballet studio, and dashed off to try and find the Medieval Borgo five minutes away for breakfast. Everyone we asked for directions nodded sagely about how lovely the Medieval Borgo was, but for us it was Brigadoon and after  a few times of being honked at crossroads with absolutely no idea which way to go we doubled back and settled for a great road side bar. As usual the Romans were incredibly friendly, I have had to remember my manners. Everything is proceeded by ‘Good morning, how are you?’ and when we leave a round of ‘Good byes, and have a nice day’  Rome, it’s a big, ancient place,  but its people are so welcoming and big hearted.Â
Even the fireflies are friendly. Â At least we think it was a firefly.
We were meeting old friends for lunch. I had made a big fuss about wanting to show GS  the canal with the fishing boats and fresh fish trattorias in Ostia that I remember from the old days. My friends, at the time dining in Fiumincino, cancelled the reservation they had made (by the quaint canal) and hurtled off to Ostia to try and book a  restaurant for lunch for the next day (in the middle of the bank holiday weekend)
We had a lunch in Ostia and then walked and walked and walked to the Borgo. Â The Borgo was sweet, like an old movie set with rusty boats dissolving into the sea but definitely not where I remembered. Â By then we were faint with dehydration with 12000 steps under our belt.Â
 I described to my friend what I was looking for. That was in fact, as it turns out,  the canal at Fiumincino.  Eek
Back to Rome where Sandro’s was shut but instead we found Trattoria de Gabriele founded by Gabriel’s mum in 1958 and it was just perfect. Gabriel was a delight- this lovely old chap who seemed genuinely pleased to welcome everyone through the door. Various generations of mini Gabriel’s were at various tables when they weren’t being picked up for a cuddle and another kiss. On the walls were photos of Gabriel getting married back in the day, followed by the next generation and the next. Customers had written poems, letter, really love letters saying how they adored it. They weren’t wrong, it had the warmest ambiance of any restaurant I’ve ever been at – it felt like we had been going there for years, we were part of the family and if we looked carefully there would be our faces on the photos on the walls.
Service- warm and genuine, smiles to melt every heart. Food- the best of rustic Roma. BB ordered the frittata, one bite of the suppli and the taste was of 20 years ago, stuffed zucchini flowers with anchovies and mozzarella, then they had pizza’s and me Carbonara. Just, wonderful.
And the wrench, living beloved Roma and our beloved daughter in the care of this the best city in the world.
1 Comment
Love you guys! Was the best xxx