Tag: Sorrento
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!
Sorrento to Naples, Yay!
Half of our last day in Sorrento was spent in Pompeii- what an amazing site it is… we took a break in between and ate some snacks before exploring some more of the ancient city… by the time we got back to our hotel, it was after 5 pm. We were very tired… our feet were killing us as the streets in Pompeii were very uneven.. after resting in our hotel for a couple of hours and drinking a glass of Prosecco, we ventured out to enjoy the last evening in Sorrento. We had scouted a restaurant that was a bit off the beaten path, Il Ritrovo… it had decent ratings on trip advisor, so we decided to go ahead and try it. We started with the calamari- which was really yummy… nicely fried and great seasoning. We also got the pasta vongole, bolognese and a filet of fish. The bolognese was the best of all the dishes. Overall, it was good- not spectacular but quite good.
We walked around a bit more and soaked in the lovely town and came home to pack and get ready to leave for Naples the next morning. I have been looking forward to Naples as it is supposed a gritty, old city filled with delicious food.
We woke up, ate breakfast and took the train to Naples and got out into the bustling city- very different from Sorrento. Sorrento was beautiful, filled with loads of tourists. Naples is crowded, old and filled with street foods- which is what I look for when traveling to new destinations.
We took a cab and arrived at our hotel, Hotel Piazza Bellini ten minutes later. Our room wasn’t ready, so we dropped our luggage off and set out to explore and look for a pizza place for lunch. We found, Antica pizzeria e friggitoria Di Matteo– yummy, yummy! We ordered the margherita with buffalo cheese and also one with funghi or mushrooms. We washed the yummy pizza down with white wine and beer. It was a bustling pizza place with a long line outside…
After sitting there for a bit, we ventured out again, exploring the windy, cobblestoned streets. Of course if was time for a gelato break- Scimmia Factory! We soaked in a bit more of the city and then walked back to the hotel to get our room and unpack. After a bit of rest, we ventured out again. Naples reminds me of a dirtier version of Rome- without all the excavations and monuments all over the city… it is the kind of place one needs at least a week at a time to explore. We only have 2 nights and I am already thinking when I can return to this vibrant place!
We sat down for a glass of Prosecco to give a rest to our tired feet. We sat in a small piazza watching all the locals walking by… soon there was an amazing street band that started performing- it was a great evening. As we sat, I researched some restaurants for dinner and found Tandem, a small restaurant not so far away from where we were. We got there as they were opening at 7 and were the first ones there- as usual! The restaurant was all about ragu… we ordered some pasta with ragu and a bowl of ragu with bread. We also got some salad and a bottle of Gragnano, a red bubbly… The meal was delicious but unfortunately I was too full for dessert. 
After a bit more strolling we returned to our hotel… city was buzzing but we were tired and wanted to take it easy and prepare for a full day of exploration- as it is our last day in Naples and Italy!
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…
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!
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!!!
Bologna to Sorrento…
The day started early for me, yet again.. I was up by 7 AM, which is 1 AM back home! Not sure how, but I don’t seem to have a problem waking up while on vacation- I am too excited to get the day started…I exercised and woke everyone up…We went down for breakfast and got ready to leave Bologna as we had a train at 11:50 leaving for Naples. We would then take a local train from Naples to Sorrento where we will stay for 4 nights.
It was a high speed train that took only about 4 hours to get to Naples. We were served delicious Prosecco on the way with rosemary crackers. We essentially skipped lunch as we had a late breakfast. Once we got into Naples, we took a local train to Sorrento that took a good hour … while stopping at many, many stations. By the time we got to Sorrento, I was ready to get off the train and walk around. The quaint little hillside town reminded me of Monaco and Santorini… very beautiful indeed. I could immediately smell the oranges and lemons- btw, on the way to Sorrento, all I could see were loads of lemon groves everywhere! This trip so far has been filled with delicious sparkling wines…
We walked over to our beautiful hotel, The Grand Hotel Royal… overlooking the water and absolutely gorgeous! We quickly unpacked and ran outside to get a snack as we were starving! We stopped at Davide Il Gelato to get a gelato fix… yum! We walked around for another hour soaking in the new town and atmosphere and found a tiny restaurant off the beaten path called, Taverna Allegra Ristorante. We walked in as a friendly host was beckoning us in- the place was completely empty.. we sat down and were give a glass of local rose prosecco and a plate of bruschetta… the owner came over and chatted with us and was extremely friendly. We decided on spaghetti with clams, a whole sea bass and pasta with bolognese sauce. Everything was delicious and most of all, the people were super friendly which made the experience even better. We ordered the same bottle of rose and enjoyed the evening immensely while we planned our next few days in the area. The owner was singing somewhere in the restaurant as he chatted with other customers… what a great place this is… Of course, I finished with a caramel panna cotta- absolutely yum!!!
It was a lovely day and I can’t wait to see what is on the agenda tomorrow.. stay tuned…
Bologna- 2 Days!
I’ve been waiting for this trip for a very long time.. well, I was in Italy in 2013 so I guess it hasn’t been that long but I feel I need to visit this fascinating country at least once a year! This year, I am lucky enough to be here twice.. as I will be back in October! Since we come here often, I was specifically interested in areas we have yet to get to know. I have been wanting to visit the Amalfi Coast and so we decided to do Sorrento. Since we were in the area- I had to do Naples… I wanted to experience the city and the food. I always had Bologna in the back of my mind- I checked some flights and decided to fly into Bologna, take a train down to Naples and Sorrento- so that is our plan.
We took the flight from Newark and flew direct to Munich. We were in Munich last year and I was looking forward to the delicious pretzels- of course there is a lot more food Munich has to offer but since we were only there for an hour, I wanted a quick, delicious pretzel.. very different than the ones we get in NYC. We got off our plane, I had already brushed my teeth in preparation.. we went through immigration and I quickly made our way to the gate. On the way, we found a yummy looking bakery where I purchased a pretzel sliced in half and with butter and chives in the middle! Yum! I sipped my cappuccino as we made our way to the next flight. Within the hour we landed in a small airport… we were in Bologna. A short cab ride later, we were walking to our small hotel (Metropolitan).. on the weekends the main square is sectioned off to cars, etc- even better! We were right in the middle of the action! Our room was not ready as yet so we dropped our luggage off and walked around to find a lunch place. We found a place called Prima Della Pioggia, a lovely little place with outdoor seating. We enjoyed duck Bolognese, spaghetti with octopus and a lovely spring pea and pancetta. We ordered a half carafe of local red wine and sat there for a couple of hours, enjoying the passers by and soaking in the Italian experience.
After walking a bit more, we returned to our room, showered and rested a bit. Unfortunately, it started raining a bit.. we waited a while and ventured out to get a yummy gelato at Gelateria Gianni, a very highly rated on in the area- and of course it was delicious, especially the salty pistachio one!
After more strolling we stopped for dinner at Cinque 50, a bar/restaurant. A very friendly gentleman and a young lady greeted us and asked if we had reservations- we didn’t but they welcomed us in.. we ordered a bottle of local sparkling wine as well as a fried bread- which was yummy. We also enjoyed a fish ravioli.. filled with sea bass.. it was delicious and some local roasted pork. The plate looked very simple with slices of pork and a fresh salad on the side. The pork was tender and filled with flavor.. absolutely delicious!! We were very happy indeed. We walked out and chatted with the owners, the lady gave my daughter a big hug and a kiss… one of the reasons I love this country. 
I like to wake up early on vacation and not waste any time- my family on the other hand, does not like to do that. So, I woke up, exercised, showered and then woke them up to go down for breakfast that consisted of, eggs, cheese, cured meats, fruits, yogurt, etc. Of course there was excellent coffee and cappuccino. We headed out soon after to walk around and try yummy foods. We saw a few cathedrals and walked to the main square- Piazza Maggiore. Bologna is a beautiful, historic city with amazing architecture. We stopped at Eataly and drank delicious glasses of Lambrusco and ate some yummy crostini and delicious lasagna! 
We walked around some more and stopped for gelato at La Sorbetteria Castiglione– delicious hazelnut, pistachio and cream gelato!!!
So far so good…. we walked around some more and returned to our hotel for a much needed break… After a few hours of resting and walking around, we made found a restaurant called Ristorante Vicolo Colombina, it was recommended by our hotel concierge. We walked over and it was still closed… I knocked on the door to find out if they had any space for us. He said all table were taken but they had a table with a couple of couches right in the front- it looked really comfortable and we took it. We came back half an hour later and sat down – we were the only ones in the restaurant. We started with a Rose lambrusco and continued with some red lambrusco- so yummy… We had the mortadella and potato shuffle, a plate of cured meats, pasta with bolognese sauce and a couple of lasagnas- all was very very delicious… we ended with a plate of caramel panna cotta- more like a flan. It was a great evening.. we weren’t done yet… stopped at a gelato place and indulged in some yummy frozen treats.
It has been a great couple of days in Bologna- we take a train down to Sorrento and Naples tomorrow- stay tuned!
Bologna, Sorrento, Naples, Here I Come!
As most of you may know, I love to travel… it’s my favorite way to explore other cultures and enjoy their foods. It’s really the best way to get to know new a new place.. and I get to have delicious food and wine!
So, we are off to Italy… my all time favorite destination. I love, love visiting Italia and have been lucky enough to go numerous times in the past. The goal now is to explore different regions of the fabulous country. So, this visit will be going to Bologna which is in the Emilia Romagna region which is in the northeast area of the country. This area is not frequented by tourists as much but it is very well known for of course the famous bolognese sauce which my daughter is super excited about… it is also known for it’s cured meats, like mortadella as well as wine grape varieties like Lambrusco and Sangiovese!
Next stop will be to Sorrento, home to the famous Amalfi Coast. The area is abundant in citrus fruits, olives and loads of seafood. I am looking forward to the beautiful vistas, the limoncello (a lemon digestive) and the yummy food! We will of course visit Pompeii and other sights but my focus as usual will be food!
Our last stop will be Naples! I am very excited about this bustling city.. although not as modern as the other larger cities in Italy, I am looking forward to the grit and charm. Of course the focus will be to eat as much pizza, gelato and delicious Neapolitan pastries!!!
All in all, I am looking forward to relaxing, people watching (as the Italian are very well dressed and are super friendly), eating delicious food and drinking inexpensive good wine!!! I will of course be blogging from there so stay tuned for my Italian adventure!!