Tag: Capri
Naples- Last Day!
I am thrilled to be here in Naples but am disappointed that we only allotted 2 nights for this fabulous city. For me the highlights have been Bologna and Naples. Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Capri were very nice but I think I like the cities- so much more to explore and so much more to eat! Well, there was plenty to eat in Sorrento as well- we did have some yummy meals but nothing compared to the big cities.
Morning started the usual way, exercise and breakfast… we ventured out soon after that and headed to the National Archeological Museum which is very close to our hotel. It was filled with all the artifacts from Pompeii… it was fascinating! After a few hours, we headed to a very highly rated dessert place called, Pasticceria Poppella…it was delicious stuff, but to go. We ate some pastries and realized a very high rated pizza place was just a 100 feel away, called Pizzeria Oliva. We walked over and saw a crowd waiting outside, we put our names down and found out there would be about a half an hour wait. As we waited with the rest of the crowd, one of the owners came out and started giving out small fried pizzas to everyone- topped with mozzarella cheese and a bit of sauce- they were delicious… small pillows of fried dough, not greasy at all. He then brought a bottle of beer and poured it for some of the people. After about 45 minutes our turn came and we ordered the fabulous pizzas- one with mushrooms and the other one with spicy salami. The pizzas were delicious- better than yesterdays! Yummy sauce, cheese and toppings!
After a very satisfying meal, we walked around the city for another few hours and finally got back to our hotel to rest our tired feet and have a drink and sit in the courtyard… Time to research dinner places!!!
So, we didn’t do any research and decided to jus walk out and explore. We walked and walked and finally came up with a place to go- La locanda dei borboni… it was empty when we got there- which was at 8:30 but as we sat down, the place started to get crowded. We started off with a fabulous bottle of red wine- it so good… ordered an octopus salad to start. We also got fried calamari and shrimp, a gnocchi with seafood and spaghetti with anchovies, pine nuts, raisins and crushed crackers- that one was mine and it was delicious- more Sicilian flavors with the sweet and savory- I love that flavor profile and so I was delighted with all the food- it was all delicious… what a nice way to end the trip! I ended the evening with a panna cotta with a berry sauce on top- exquisite!
So, my final thoughts…well, this trip has been fabulous and feel lucky to be able to experience different cultures myself and also expose my daughter to all the world has to offer outside of the US. I will fondly remember Bologna and Naples. I enjoyed Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Capri but Naples has definitely captured my heart… and I can’t wait to come back!
Very Crowded Capri, For The Day!
Okay, so I am not sure if people are going to be too happy reading this post about our day in Capri… Don’t get me wrong, we had a lovely day… it started early as we took a ferry from Sorrento around 9:45 to Capri. The line was long and the ferry was packed… half an hour later we were in the hyped up island. As we got off, it kind of looked like Santorini.. wait, I thought.. have I been here before?? Santorini was completely barren.. no vegetation at all.. Capri was quite green but other than that it looked similar with shops and restaurants all around. There were about a hundred groups being managed by different companies, including about 200 kids visiting from Rome. We all walked towards the funicular to get to the center of the island which was perched up on one of the hills. With the huge crowd we made our way up and got to the center. By this time, I was quite unhappy with the amount of people everywhere.. I guess I should have known, Capri is a super touristy and obviously there will be loads of people. The center was filled with designer stores and high priced restaurants.. we walked around finally got to the beautiful gardens that have the stunning views that everyone is familiar with (the two rocks coming out of the ocean)… it was definitely beautiful but I am not sure if it was worth it.. am I glad I visited Capri… well, yes, I think so… would I recommend it to anyone… hmm, I am not sure. It is just a tourist trap…I am afraid I sound a bit jaded- I don’t mean to… but I can’t help myself.
We took a bus from the area to go to the other side of the island called Anacapri… it was less crowded and we found a yummy trattoria off the beaten path, called, Le Arcate. We ordered a bottle of house rose, a mushroom pizza and a pasta with seafood… I was hesitant to eat pizza as I am saving my pizza appetite for Naples… Well, the food was delicious! We sat, relaxed and finished the bottle and walked around some more and then back we went to the crowded part on the bus and then got on the line for the ferry to get back to Sorrento.
I was thrilled to be back in Sorrento, even though I thought it was touristy but… nothing in comparison to Capri… If you are planning on going to Capri in the summer, good luck to you… I can’t imagine how crowded it gets…
Back in Sorrento, we walked the narrow streets and tried to decide where to go for dinner in a few hours. We started looking on TripAdvisor.com, which is a source we use all the time while traveling. The app is great as one can look for restaurants close to where you are. While taking a rest in our hotel room, we found a hole in the wall place outside of the main, touristy area- bingo! That was the one we wanted to try- it was called La Cantinaccia Del Popolo. In the reviews, it said that it was a deli with house cured meats… it had a few tables and was family run and very little Italian was spoken. We decided to take a chance and headed that way. We got there and no one was sitting down for dinner except one woman. A friendly guy came over and asked if we spoke Italian, we told him we spoke very little… he sat us down and her daughter set the table for us and served us some house wine. With some broken Italian and hand gestures, we ordered a plate of antipasti which included some hams and the most delicious cheeses. As we ate, the woman sitting there started eating a huge steak served on a wooden board- I knew I wanted that for dinner! As we enjoyed the homely atmosphere, another couple came and sat down who didn’t speak Italian and had read about this place on trip advisor. We started chatting and suggested they get the antipasti…
Our steak came and it was delicious… delicately flavored with rosemary… as we were finishing the young girl asked us if we would like to try a melon and apple liquor her grandma made- of course, we did, and they were yum!!! We then asked about the tortes we saw in the glass case- we decided on the apple one as well as a ricotta and pear one- wow, they were delicious!!
It was an amazing experience sitting in the friendly place with very generous people- these are the experiences I wait for when we travel- it really gives an amazing glimpse to a foreign culture…