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Tag: Positano

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!

Pizzafunghi1 PizzaSALAMI
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!

Panna Cotta Fried Calamari Anchovie Gnocchi Octopus Salad
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!

 

Towns of Positano and Amalfi!

So, the second day in Sorrento started a bit on the later side for me.. I slept until the alarm went off at 8AM… what?? I quickly woke up, exercised and started to get ready. We went down to the lovely dining room with a gorgeous view of the water to have a yummy breakfast of some fried eggs, rolls, cheese, fruit, etc.. did I mention the coffee?? The coffee is yummy.. and best of all, they serve it super hot with super hot milk- I love it! In fact I had so much coffee and water, I suffered later on the bus to Positano.. as we started our journey, I needed to use the facilities and it was more than an hour before we got to our destination and I found a bathroom- not a good idea at all. Lesson learnt- don’t drink a lot of water and coffee in the morning.

Anyway, our destination for now was the lovely town of Positano.. did I mention how beautiful the drive was?? Well, it was gorgeous, very windy…in fact we all took dramamine…to off set any kind of motion sickness. We got off and looked around this beautiful town and walked up to the center… we decided to sit at a cafe, La Brezza Net Art Cafe,  and enjoy a sandwich and a glass of rose processco! After a bit of a break we walked around some more and found some yummy gelato- the area is known for it’s citrus- so lots of Limoncello and lemon flavored products.

We later got onto the same bus to made our way up to the town of Amalfi.. which was also a very picturesque and beautiful town with a plaza in the center and a beautiful cathedral. We walked around the town and sat down for another gelato- somehow we were not in the mood for a proper meal- so we decided it was going to be a snack day. After about an hour or so, we decided head back to Sorrento.

Once we got back, we weren’t super hungry and it was already 7PM. We find a lot of our restaurants from the Trip Advisor app.. and as we were looking through the app to check for the top rated place, a kebab place kept popping up- it was rated #4! We had to try it- we decided today was the day and headed to Kebab Ciampa, a small joint run by two brothers. We ordered a sandwich and had some delicious local wine with it. The kebabs were delicious! The bread and sauces and meats are made fresh right there and we could taste the quality… we were quite happy but not quite full. While walking back to the hotel where a bottle of Lambrusco was waiting for us, we decided to stop at a bakery to pick up some dessert!

Kebab 20150421_195025

All in all it was a very tiring day but filled with beautiful sights.. I better rest up as tomorrow we are off to Pompeii…

My take so far is that places like Bologna, one can visit a number of times and not get enough- like exploring Rome or Paris…but places like Sorrento, etc are good for seeing at least once. They are gorgeous but I am not sure if I need to come back….I am looking forward to the rest of the trip, especially the part where we stay in Naples!!!