Friendship and Focaccia in Rome

Digging deep into food and feelings.

To me, it’s more of a focaccia, really. But when the Italians around me call it pizza, I wouldn’t dream of objecting. Instead I dig in, my fingers greasy and my heart curious. I’m standing on top of a hill overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake outside of Rome, holding a paper bag containing the focaccia-slash-pizza, feeling the taste of real tomatoes on my tongue. My tastebuds, which are used to the Morrisons tomato variety, are doing a little dance of joy.

I have just arrived in Italy to visit a friend. We’ve been lucky enough to be shown around Nemi, Castel Gandolfo, and Albano by locals who not only know the way to the best views, but can also tell you where the best focac…sorry, pizza, can be bought. The most simple iterations of this kind of pizza don’t come with cheese, so it’s accidentally vegan. And let me tell you, enjoyed with a view, it is a pure luxury of a dinner.

Want a piece? Spoiler: you should.

The following day, I’m on a train with my friend. Just sitting next to her is pure joy. We have not seen each other in months, as she’s been away on a sabbatical, and are all too busy catching up. This is the kind of friendship that makes even a run-of-the-mill train journey a fun experience - we have so much to talk about that the entire trip passes in a flash. We can literally not stop chatting. And to think that for a while, we weren’t speaking at all.

I stood here and dreamed of the pastas and pizzas to come

Rome is bathing in sunshine when we get off at Termini station. My heart makes a little somersault as we gaze up at the imposing Colosseum. I remember all the times I came here with my family as a teenager. One of my first trips abroad involved a day trip to Rome. I recall desperately wanting to live in Italy and finding it deeply unfair that I had to go home to Sweden at the end of the trip. I looked at girls my age around me, giggling with each other, speaking Italian. They get to live here, I thought. One day, I promised myself, one day I will too.

Spoiler: I did move to Italy. I ended up living in Florence and Milan - but never Rome. I don’t have many regrets in life, but never calling this city home will always be one of my “what ifs”.

Possibly the best carbonara of my life

Getting a table at Rifugio Romano is practically impossible - this small, rustic restaurant steeped in tradition is more popular than a photo-op at the Colosseum, but my friend has done the impossible and as a result I get to have what might be the best carbonara of my life. This restaurant, which celebrates traditional Roman cuisine, has switched its menu to 100% plant-based dishes and let me tell you, it’s an absolute experience. The only sad thing about this restaurant is that it is physically impossible to eat everything on the menu in one sitting. But I guess that’s how they keep that booking list so full. I for one will definitely be returning - those chickpea gnocchi were calling my name.

I look at the view of the Piazza del Popolo from Villa Borghese and wonder if I’ll ever be hungry again - but after a long, breezy walk to Grezzo Raw Chocolate, that question is quickly answered. While most ice-cream places with vegan flavours offer a variety of fruit sorbets and sometimes chocolate when we’re lucky, Grezzo’s high-quality all-vegan selection allows me to enjoy nougat and pistachio - with soya whipped cream on top. Sweet dreams are literally made of these.

Staring at the Fontana di Trevi and remembering that nougat pistachio ice cream

The next day, we go to the Piazza del Popolo and walk by the Spanish steps, towards the Fontana di Trevi. That’s right boys and girls, I am not a niche Genuine Traveller - I am a bona fide tourist, queueing up alongside Americans with big cameras. The Fontana di Trevi is indeed one of my favourite places on the planet. I’ve been to Rome eight or nine times, and I visit it every time I go. Once again I recall myself as a teenager, tossing coins into the fountain, dreaming of one day returning, not as a tourist but as a local. My biggest dream was to be able to speak Italian fluently. Which I now do. Visiting the Fontana di Trevi brings me back to my teenage dreams and aspirations - and reminds me of how far I’ve come.

My friend and I sit down at Buddy, a vegan restaurant in central Rome. I am desperate for some veggies after yesterday’s carbonara and ice cream bonanza, so I go for smoky seitan on a bed of rucola. There is a mountain of vegan cheese on top, but hey, rucola. I look at my friend sitting in front of me and I feel a rush of gratitude for her. For the people in my life. For finding lost friendships again. For laughter and closeness and walking on cobblestones in the sunshine. I don’t remember the last time I felt this at ease.

Yes, this is a cheese and charcuterie board. Yes, it’s all vegan. Any questions?

We decide to go and see the much-hyped Caravaggio exhibit (not a single bus passes by that does not have a huge ad for the thing) but of course the museum is closed on a Monday. After having a coffee and wandering around a huge secondhand market, we head to dinner at Veghometro - perhaps my favourite dining experience of the trip. This restaurant’s unique décor is telling of what’s to come: a truly exceptional gastronomic experience. The creator of the menu, vegan chef Davide Leo, has ideated a series of culinary masterpieces that will convince even the most hardcore carnivore to give vegan dining a try. We start with a cheese and charcuterie board beyond your wildest bresaola fantasies, continue with splitting a soya-based pollo alla romana which I will without a doubt attempt to pathetically recreate with Vivera vegan chicken pieces, and finish the whole thing off with sharing a tiramisú that is certain to have been brought down from heaven by freaking angels. This is not food, this is art. If you’re a vegan visiting Rome and you don’t go to Veghometro, I will never forgive you.

Quintessential Rome.

The following morning, we set off for Caravaggio again. It’s Tuesday, so this time, there can be no excuses, right? Well, wrong: one thing I learn on this beautiful March morning is that museums can be SOLD OUT. Who knew? “Happens all the time, Sascha”, says my sister, who works in the arts, when I call her later. Damn those old ladies waking up at the crack of freaking dawn and buying out the entire place. To cheer ourselves up, we take an hour-long (I kid you not) bus trip to Garbatella for a pilgrimage to Vegustibus, a must-visit spot for all vegans coming to Rome. Once again, the focaccia-slash-pizza surfaces (a classic by now), this time with mortadella and cheese - yes, still all vegan. We round off this meal with a maritozzo, a classic Roman pastry filled with cream.

I am in a food coma when I roll away from Vegustibus, determined to find something cultural to do with the rest of my day. In the absence of Caravaggio, I hit the Museo Storico della Fanteria with a double whammy of Salvador Dalì and Frida Kahlo. Did you know that in 1950, for an anniversary of the Divina Commedia, Salvador Dalì was commissioned to paint Purgatory, Hell, and Paradise? I had no idea - this exhibition of these paintings allow me to get to know a new side of one of my favourite artists. The Frida exhibit, very engaging and colourful as usual, is a collection of photos of Frida as seen by photographer Nickolas Murray. I wander around the museum for half an afternoon before checking out some harps and lutes at the National Musical Instrument museum. I use up my phone battery sending David photos of 17th-century musical instruments before heading out into the Roman afternoon, which by now is languidly turning into evening.

For a little while in mid-morning, you could actually walk around dressed like this. In March.

And, before you know it, it’s time for food again. This time, we go to Al Pachino, a fully vegan eatery that has placemats with the text “everything tastes good fried”…and against my better judgement, I succumb to the allure of some deep-fried squash blossoms (if you’ve never had squash blossoms, you don’t know food at all), which I will dearly pay for with some serious stomach aches in a few hours. Note to self: deep-fried anything is a no-no. I also have…tripe. Yes, you read that right. Vegan tripe is a thing! I’ve never had the real deal and I’m happy that I never will, but Al Pachino’s version is absolutely amazing, especially as it’s accompanied by some lovely focaccia (yep, they actually call it focaccia this time). Once again, vegetables are nearly absent from my day, unless you count the squash blossom. As amazing as this foodie trip has been, a part of me is ready to get back to the giant salad bowls I call lunch and dinner back home in Brighton.

And it is indeed nearly time to return - but not without one last hurrah for plant-based Roman delicacies. The following morning, rain pours down as my friend and I enjoy chocolate croissants at a vegan-friendly café in her hometown outside of Rome. But what I’m truly enjoying is our time together. After drifting apart over lockdown, we found each other again in 2023 and for me, it was like a piece of me returned. Like I’d gotten used to living without a crucial part of myself, only to find it again. Since then, I can’t stop thinking about how lucky I’ve been to have this friendship back in my life again. How fortunate we are to find people we click with on this level, and how tightly we should hold on to them once we do. How important connection and forgiveness are, and how magical it can be to find a friendship again. Don’t listen to the memes telling you to cut people out of your life. Cherish your friends. Reconnect with those you lost, if you can and want to. Leave the past behind and find the courage to leap again, together.

“Look a bit more to the side! No, a bit more towards the left…that’s it.”

I leave Rome feeling full. My stomach is full. My phone is full - Rome is bursting with photo ops. My suitcase is full (fancy chocolate, vegan meats, truffle cream and lemons from my friend’s parents’ tree). But above all, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and awe. This little gem of a trip brought back old memories while cementing current connections - all while enjoying beautiful sights, accompanied by a slice of the best foc…sorry, pizza. Pizza it is.