Shabbat Sha-rome (Fregene edition)

Hey all!
Been a long time since we've had some solid internet, so there's a lot to catch up on.
But first, just wanted to thank all of our loyal readers who pointed out that it's actually called the Sistine Chapel! Who knew?! Guess we must've missed the 4,200 signs, dozens of mentions from the tour guide and all other references to the actual name. (I can only hope this was sarcastic enough for you.)

We started off Thursday by going to a farmers market in Campo Del Fiori. The market was filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh colorful pasta, and fresh liqueurs.

After buying some fruit, we headed over the bridge to Trastevere, to try and find the Villa Doria Pamphilli, the largest public park in Rome. It was super hot, and getting lost for an hour wasn't super-fun but we stumbled onto a really cool panoramic view of the city, so in theory it was all worth it.

All the getting lost and walking made us hungry, so we went out for one last meal in Rome, in Yotvata.
Have I mentioned before that the food is excellent? Best Fettucini Alfredo I've ever had in my life.

One thing we noticed whilst eating out in Rome, they bring bread to your table, and then charge you for it later. So be warned, that’s how they get ya…

 Pizza as an appetizer?! I would do this every meal.

Having filled up and tired ourselves out, we went back home, took a Siesta (when in Rome, am I right?) and re-charged for some crazy night-life experiences. Rome is quite beautiful at night, and we took advantage of the cool weather and slightly less crowded streets, and walked for a few hours along the Tiber River, to Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon (all lit up), and of course back to the Jewish Ghetto for one last helping of gelato.

 

On Friday we packed up and headed to Fregene, a suburb of Rome, about 40 minutes outside of the city, on the beach. Many Jewish families from Rome own houses in Fregene, and live there during the summer, or at least come for Shabbatot. It’s kind of like the Italian version of Chapman’s Lake.

We were set up by a friend of a friend for Shabbat, at a wonderful family known for hosting tourists. When we got there, we found out that not only were they hosting 4 other tourists besides ourselves, but they were also hosting minyan for Shabbat.
When we got there, I was personally kind of skeptical that we’d actually have a minyan, but over 50 men came to Daven in the house. Davening was beautiful, and the D’var Torah was in Italian, so it was even easier than usual to dose off.
After davening, we went outside to eat on the porch, overlooking the beach, and met our fellow guests. There were three Charedi women from Har Nof, a couple from France  and Stevie, a young lad from Boston. Stevie proved to be the best thing to come out of Boston since Matt Damon, and we hung out a lot over Shabbat. 

We were all a little bit intimidated by the host. He seemed nice, but his mustache and the way everyone in the community laughed a little too loudly at his jokes put us on edge. Also, his name was Vito. Just saying.

Besides the tourists, the couple hosting us (Henceforth known as “the Don” and “the Don’s Wife”) were also hosting their son and his wife, from Israel, and her parents. There was also Tino, a jovial portly man, who was definitely the Paulie Gatto of the group.

Everyone at the table was infinitely more interesting than us, and we at first felt slightly boring in comparison to the rest of the group. Then, everyone started comparing all of the languages they spoke. Most of the guests spoke between 3-7 languages fluently, and at any one time there were about 5 or 6 languages being spoken at the table. (English, Italian, Hebrew, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese)

We felt wholly inadequate, and didn't do much speaking to the rest of the group.
Heck, even this guy would've felt completely out-interesting'd.

I don't always spend Shabbat in Fregene...but when I do, I seem relatively boring

On the plus side, the food. On friday night and Shabbat lunch they served Lubia, which is basically a chulent (different each time) and was delicious. There were other "authentic?" Roman dishes such as jellied calf hoof, and meatloaf stuffed with hard boiled egg.

After davening on Shabbat the entire minyan (around 75 people total) sat down for a nice kiddush, and did the same for seudat shlishit. 

In the afternoon we walked around Fregene, which is filled with beautiful houses and enormous pine trees.

The weekend was capped off with some nice fireworks on the beach and an excellent dinner (Pasta with tuna, pickled zuchinni, olive oil, cooked tomatoes and spices. Trust me, it was way better than it sounds.) 

All in all, a pretty sweet time. If you're ever in Rome for a summer Shabbat, definitely give Fregene a try.
From Fregene we headed down to the Province of Naples, but it's 2:15 a.m and there's no way I'm writing about that now.
Stay tuned!

Chaya and Zvi