Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Day Trip: Amazing Spaghetti con Vongole in Santa Marinella

A few weeks ago I took a much needed break and went to Santa Marinella. I work up at 5:00 a.m. to make sure I wrote 2000 words before getting on the train.

The beach is north of Rome. The water is not as nice as Sperlonga's (which is a Blue Flag Beach), but it's much nicer than Ostia's.

It's closer than Sperlonga, just 40 minutes or so on the train. A round trip ticket from Trastevere station is only 7 euros.

My friend Erica had recommended eating lunch at La Piazzette, Piazza Trieste, 13a, (39) 392-891-5356.

Mamma Mia! Their Spaghetti con Vongole was some of the best I've had in my life. The pasta was perfectly al dente.

The town itself is pretty small. There is a cute boardwalk with shops and a few cafes. I went during a weekday. It was very quiet. I'm sure during a summer weekend, the place is packed.

It was good to get out and the smell fresh sea air. I hope someday I will be able to have a house not too far from the sea/ocean. In the meantime, I will try to go to the beach at least once a month. It's so close.


I was sitting under a red umbrella. That's why the pasta looks pinkish. The restaurant has outdoor seating on small piazza. They gave me too much wine.


Fried calamari. Mi piacciono!


Perhaps the owner of this boat is a STAR WARS fan.


There was a friendly older local gentleman standing next to me as I took pictures of this fruit stand. He was probably wonder why the heck I was taking photos of something so ordinary. I thought the fruit was beautiful.


The sea.


Maybe later next month I will return and rent a chair and an umbrella for the day.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Yum! I don't know that restaurant. We usually go to L'Aquamarina, which is also great. But will try this one next time we head up. The fritti look fab.

Paola said...

Santa Marinella is supposed to be really pretty, I was never there ...
That frittura looks yummy indeed.

Cathi said...

We are coming to Rome in 3 weeks and I was thinking a short train ride to Santa Marinella would be nice for the day - this post just sealed the deal for me! Have a beautiful week! :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome pics. The fruit looks so good. I had some mussels in La Spezia last summer. There were so good that I think they actually ruined me for life. I take weird pictures too. I was amazed that you had to pay to pee. I took a picture of the bathroom in the Roma Termini station. I got the strangest looks. It's my dream to be able to afford a villa there..one day. Could you do a post on how you found your apartment? I'm thinking about living in Italy for 6 to 8 months before I start graduate school next fall. All I can find are vacation rentals that cost so much that it's almost obscene.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Elizabeth - Doesn't L'Aguamarina have a view of the sea? I have to try it. I've heard great things about it.

Paolo - It is. Though Sperlonga is still my favorite somewhat close to Rome beach.

Cathi - thanks. Buon viaggio. FYI In August (especially post Ferragosto) the beach will be more crowded. I went in June on a weekday.

anon - I have written about my apartment search before. A friend in L.A. is from Rome. My landlord is his mom's friend. I have EU citizenship and needed to rent an apartment with a lease/contract so I could get my residency. Residency is require for all EU citizens and you have to apply for it within 90 days of arrival.

I know some people who have found apartments on Craigslist. Also check out Wantedinrome.com. Vacation rentals are only for a week or so. For a longer term rental, the other two sites will some listing. Good luck!

Cherrye at My Bella Vita said...

What a nice day, Arlene! Do you happen to know how much the umbrellas/chairs cost for a day? I bet they are quite a bit more than what we pay here in Calabria. We had a B&B guest here from Rome the other day and she said there weren't any public beaches-was she referring to Ostia maybe?

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Cherrye - I don't know how much they cost at this beach. In Sperlonga they were 20-25 euros for both. Similar to what you pay in St. Martin.

There are a ton of public beaches in Ostia. You can go with your own towels, chairs, umbrella etc., Even in Sperlonga there are parts of the beach that are public.

I don't have my own chair and umbrella like I did in L.A. so I rent the chairs/umbrella.

Anonymous said...

That calamari made me wolf-whistle. DAMN, that's some good lookin' fried seafood. Italian beach culture is so interesting, so different than the US. Thanks for sharing.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

prego Anon!