My first meal in Rome (because I couldn't eat the breakfast on the plane) was a tomato omelet at lunch in Ristorante de Olimpio, a little trattoria on Via Degli Avignonesi. Of course, there was also crusty bread.

Water and wine cost the same, 2 euros, so it seemed to me the choice was obvious.

For dinner we found a charming rooftop garden at a hotel too expensive for us to stay in, the Albergo Ottocento. Dinner cost more than we should have spent, too (the bottle of water was 5 euros), but the setting was worth it.

I am learning that you can't just wander around and expect every meal to be wonderful, in spite of what everyone says. My husband's pasta at this very beautiful ristorante was oversalted.

(Photo by me)