Italian pasta near roman ruins in Durres (at “gropa”)

in Travel & Leisure on May 24, 2014

I love to travel and write about my experiences, it’s obvious right? Well, this time I traveled, again, to the nearby city of Durres. This ancient and historically strategic portal city for Albania. I did not have anything planed, but instead, was in search of a new discovery. This time, the discovery, was a small restaurant making good and inexpensive pastas. Yes, inexpensive and good, which made for a good discovery.

But most importantly, the small restaurant was located near some ancient roman form ruins, which definitively made the whole experience much more enjoyable for me.

How I got there?

Visit to Durres pasta romain ruins at Gropa (1)When entering the city I tried to change the route that I normally take to the seaside walkway “pedonale” and instead followed a local car into the narrow streets of the city center looking to find a place where I could get some clean food before heading over to the beachside area where I could just watch the water and write (as I’m doing right now).

The small restaurant was called “PastAmore” and it was just that “love of pasta”. The place was one small room, next to the kitchen where you could almost see the chef doing his thing. Also very amusingly it had free wifi, which was quite odd in itself.

I ordered some tortellini with three types of meat inside with a new type of sauce for me, made of butter and of something else with a name I had not heard, but was curious enough to try out. My curiosity paid out and the food was good enough for the price. The tortellini were “al dente” which I could have changed when I was asked by the waitress , but I left it up to the chef. Later he came out to ask how I liked it. My answer….well, I’m writing about am I not?

Visit to Durres pasta romain ruins at Gropa (2)Coffee next door

Only two steps away from the entrance of the restaurant / coffee bar called “Bar Rotonda”, which I could guess is well known in Durres. I asked the waiter to tell me more about where I was, and he told me that the area was near the “gjykata” – court house. But, trying to be more specific, I asked about the ruins, to which he replied with just “gropa” – the hole! Well, I’m sure if I ask around I will get some more info about this place, but nevertheless the important thing was that it was a very nice and clean place to seat for your afternoon coffee.

I will post another update soon, with extra pictures and information, which I got right after writing this posts.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

About the author 

the Albanian Blogger

Elvis is an Albanian entrepreneur and freelancer, creator and primary contributor behind AlbanianBlogger.com

He is passionate about what he does on and offline, and wants to be a positive influence on the people he comes in contact with. His desire is to experience life and true friendship, and share the best with everyone.

Since 1998 he has established an ever growing list of ventures, much beloved among which are: Sfida.Pro  and SfidaBiznesi.com and ShtepiaeLibrit.com - libraria ime! He has served as webmaster and digital marketing consultant for names such as: Gazeta-Shqip.com - WVI.org/Albania - Lajmifundit.com - Facilization.com - WebHost.al - CityParkAlbania.com - etc, etc.

This Blog was started in September 2004. You can see his professional profile here or contact him directly through his email: eplaku (at) gmail.com

If you'd like to support this blog then kindly buy me a virtual coffee.

Subscribe to get the latest updates