ROME:
After our busy morning in
Florence we were ready to collapse on the train to Rome. We were also dreading
our hostel because we got used to the "good life" in our hotel and we
were supposed to be in a 6 bed mixed room. We arrived at the Yellow Hostel and
they told us we had a free upgrade to a 2-bed private room with a bathroom. Our
jaws dropped and we were so thrilled. We got settled into our room and went to
dinner right across the street.
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| Becca & the limoncello |
We ate outside (still delusional/confused as to
which city we were in) and had some wine, bruschetta, delicious shrimp pasta, and
tiramisu. We were very happy and asked for the check. Then the waiter asked if
we wanted limoncello on the house. How could we reject this offer? We also had
not had any limoncello yet, so we were excited. We had our drinks, thanked our waiter,
and asked for our check again. Then the waiter offered us more free
limoncello...so why not? This time he brought out champagne flutes filled with
limoncello (much more than the first round). After this drink we were ready to
go. That is, until he brought the entire bottle over and filled the glasses again. One
bottle of wine and 3 large limoncello glasses later, Becca and I definitely had
the "gigs". We were having fun but NEEDED to leave because we stayed
out way past our bed time and had to wake up early the next morning.
We woke up, had breakfast at The Yellow Bar, and checked out of our
hostel. Funny story: these girls asked for mimosas at breakfast and the waiter told them that no alcohol was being served that day. They had signs all over the bar
that said no alcohol was to be served in Italy. All day I believed this (and told people about it)…until
Becca happily told me it was an April Fools joke (she told me at about 10pm
after we had wine with dinner…).
ANYWAYS, we took a cab to
our hotel, dropped off our bags, and hopped in another cab to the Vatican. This
was a lot of movement for early in the morning. We miracously found Anna at the
Vatican museum and went through it together. I was really wowed by all of the
museums, but also pretty overwhelmed. They were just so much art EVERYWHERE.
Every ceiling and wall was so decetant; it was beautiful, but my eyes were numb
by the end. My favorite parts were the Sistine chapel (incredible) and finding
some Dali pieces in the modern art exhibit.
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| Hop on/off bus |
We had lunch with Anna
where we got to chat while eating yummy calzones and pasta. We also had some
gelato (of course). After, Becca and I started the 48 hour use of our hop
on/off bus. We bought these tickets in advance and planned to use the bus as
transportation. We got to sit on the top of the bus and enjoy the sun while
also listeing to fun facts about Rome and classical music in the background
(the classical tunes will forever be stuck in my head). We quickly learned that
the bus route was very long, but also very relaxing. So overall we loved the
bus and used it as an excuse to sit when we were tired.
We went to our hotel and
got situated in our room and it was great! (Shout out to the Ginsberg family!!) We had a pretty balcony, robes/slippers, and
complimentary apples (I really liked the apples). After re-grouping a little we went down the
Spanish Steps (they were right next to the hotel) and then visited the Trevi
Fountain. Sadly, the Trevi Fountain is under major construction and looked
pretty sad. They put a picture in front of it with a little pool for people to
throw their coins…pretty pathetic/funny.
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| Harry Potter shots |
Next, we got a yummy crepe
(totally necessary) and got back on our hop on/off bus. We took the bus around
for over an hour and got off to walk to Tastevere and met Courtney for dinner. Trastevere was a cute area and very different from the city-center. We
had dinner with a group of people at Dar Poeta, where we had some amazing pizza
(can’t get enough buffalo mozzarella). After dinner Courtney made sure we had
the "real" Rome experience. She took us to three different bars.
Also, in this area bars are literally just BARS. There is a bar for ordering
and very limited standing room because drinking outside is acceptable, which is
awesome. So at the first bar we had Harry Potter shots (aka shots that were on
fire and disgusting). Next, we went walked to this AMAZING place with chocolate
shots. This silly old man fills a chocolate cup with baileys and deliciousness
and then you have to drop the whole thing in your mouth. The shot was genuinely
tasty (unlike chocolate liquors). Lastly we went to another popular bar and hung
out until grandma-Lexi and grandma-Becca needed sleep. But we were glad we
got to see Courtney in Rome and happy she took us out for some fun drinks J
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| Roman Forum |
The next morning Becca and
I had coffee in our fluffy beds
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| Trevi Fountain |
After a big morning of
ruins, we crashed. Finally, all of our moving around had caught up with us and we
needed a mid-day nap. We woke up and met up with Becca’s brother Jesse who had
landed in Rome that day. We had an early dinner together (it was pizza...who
is surprised??). Then we went to the rooftop bar on our hotel, which had
incredible views of the city. It was especially pretty at sunset with our wine and
treats.We ended the night by
walking to Piazza Navona and saw it all lit up. We also got gelato at
Frigidarium where they dip the gelato in dark chocolate (YUM). On
our way back we went to the Trevi Fountain again and threw coins into the
pathetic fake pool to ensure we would return to Rome!
I love love loved Rome. I
just need to make sure I go back to have more time in this wonderful city and
also to see the Trevi Fountain (not under construction).
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| Colosseum |
NERANO/SORRENTO:
The following morning we
woke up to meet Becca's parents who drove us all to Nerano. Nerano is a small town right outside of Sorrento. Her family is wonderful and they have so many
entertaining stories, so the drive went by quickly. Becca might have thought
otherwise since she was sitting in the middle during all of tiny winding roads.
We eventually made it to the breathtaking villa they rented. The owner, Tony, met us there and kept saying, "you haven't
seen anything yet" as we kept climbing higher and having better views of
the ocean and mountains. It was a beautiful day outside and we couldn't get
over the view. Tony served us fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and cannelloni, along
with prosecco and white wine. ~heaven~
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| View from the villa |
We spent the afternoon laying outside, reading,
and relaxing (which was much needed). For dinner we went to a restaurant right on the beach at the
end of the hill. We all shared a bunch of dishes (our version of Italian
tapas). Nerano is famous for its zucchini pasta, and it was my favorite dish of
the night. We also got a cake sampler for dessert, which was very yummy. The
Ginsberg family members are seriously the nicest/funniest people (minus Becca…hehe).
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| Lemon tree farm |
It was expected to rain the next day, so I was happy when I woke up to nice weather. I ate my breakfast outside and enjoyed more of the view. We then all went into Sorrento for our food tour (the Ginsberg's know how to eat). This food tour included a lot of food. We had a pastry, arancini (fried risotto ball), a panini, a variety of limoncello, different lemon desserts, buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes, gnocchi, and gelato. I especially loved all of the lemon trees and walking through the lemon tree farm. Everything from the tour was delicious, and we were very full afterwards. The tour was also great because we got to walk around Sorrento and see the town. Afterwards a nap was necessary.
We spent the late afternoon watching Modern
Family and TV on the couch. Relaxing felt so nice after over a week of constant
moving. I also got to participate in their family Passover Seder, which I
thought was pretty cool and I got to learn about Passover! My last meal was at
another restaurant on the beach and I had the zucchini pasta again (it was so
good).
The next morning the
Ginsberg's took me to the Naples airport (which was beyond nice of them) and I
was sad to leave them. If my mom was not visiting me this week I probably would
have blown off school and stayed with them the rest of the week mwhahah. But I
am so excited for my mom to come on Tuesday and show her around
Barcelona!!
Unfortunately, it is time to say
goodbye to my pizza-pasta-gelato diet (I'm magically still not sick of it). I
ate the best meals for the past 10 days and had the most incredible time
traveling Italy. Becca was the ultimate tour guide and we had so much fun. MISS
YOU ALREADY BECCA!!
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| Sorrento |
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