ADD Adventures to: {{ Rome, Italy }}

Kind of like Vienna, Rome is proving difficult for me to write about. I've been neglecting this post, or better, unable to even start it, because inside me I feel resistance and reluctance upon thinking about the eternal city. To be quite honest with you, I think I feel kinda mad at Rome. (O_o)

Rome is just about everything you'd imagine it to be. It's overflowing with monuments, pulsing with history, brimming with good food and life, and an idyllic place to let your imagination run wild and express your creativity. I'll never forget the feeling of possibility and wonder I had whilst standing there, looking at the ruins of The Ancient Rome at Il Foro. It was incredible to release myself to my creativity. I let it take over all my senses, while I came up with feelings to match the pictures and scenes I was making up in my mind of what she must have been like back then. It's the perfect place to play make believe, the perfect place to Imagine.

Il Foro

As my friend so aptly put it, "Just imagine all of this without the [new] buildings around it. It would be even more impressive." 

{{ Tip: all museums are free in Rome the first Sunday of the month, and lines for things like The Colosseum can be anywhere from no time to three or more hours. We somehow accidentally (truly it was an accident) cut the entire line, and ended up not only going in for free, but going in in under 10 minutes. Things my local friend said I should be quite proud of. haha. Also, with your ticket to The Colosseum, you can also enter the place pictured above. It says on your ticket until what time you can enter Il Foro. }}

The Colosseum still stands tall, a place whose history and technology remain exceptionally impressive, and though I didn't enter Vatican City, knowing it's there in its somewhat-impenetrable and untouchable ways made me feel a bit stronger, too. Which was good, because due to my first, only, and last experience eating Roman carbonara pasta and a couple cones of some mind-bogglingly-good gelato, all of which have fairly high doses of raw egg (or depend on it entirely), I destroyed the healthy bacteria lining my stomach and intestines, and left myself in an intestinal state I'm still recovering from more than a week later. But Giolitti gelato, you were so worth it! (I highly recommend the dark chocolate and blackberry, with cream. Always get the whipped cream.)

Giolitti, said to be the oldest gelateria in all of Rome, is definitely the place to go to try some! And my friend said it's the best in Rome, so why would you not? ;)

{{ Tip: you can only sit at the tables if you sit to order/pay, but it's cheaper to just pay at the register, then order at the ice cream bar. Plus, with all the amazing places to walk/sit/see in Rome, why not take the cone to go!? }} 

However, in spite of all the good food and good sights, time with friends and seeing new things, I was somehow very disappointed in Rome. And while I feel like it's a sin simply to say so, I must write with honesty.

I am upset with her for being so crowded with tourists, and allowing them to take over the city as they have. (Because naturally she has a choice in the matter.) I'm upset with them/her for letting them infiltrate her "I'm crazy, but only because I'm Rome, and in the end, we're just here to enjoy ourselves and relish in our cultural magnificence" types-of-ways with their, "I must go-see-do everything and all I can as quickly as possible, while gaining minimal enjoyment from any of it. AKA snap endless photos of monuments. Oh and by the way, I'll probably need a holiday after this one, because we're trying to do way too much" types-of-ways. I could feel it, and while I was in the city center, I got totally swept up in it. I had to consciously tell myself to stop anticipating what was next, and just be amazed and grateful for whatever and wherever I was at that moment. Because, it's Rome, and there are amazing things everywhere. Often all you have to do is look up.

People are flying around all over the place, the sidewalks are a traffic jam of their own, and anytime there's something from a guidebook nearby, you'll know, because of the swarm of fellow human beings gathered around and/or lined up.

In my mind, Rome was going to be a place teeming with Romans. A crazy-but-calm place. A place full of people eating gelato at all hours, sitting outside to enjoy tiny little Italian coffees, and spending even longer than the Spanish to enjoy a delicious lunch or break. A place chalk-full of women wearing tight clothes and lots of make-up, preferably with a little dog in tow, and heels that make your head spin, wondering how they still have surviving, thriving ankles in spite of all the cobblestone obstacles that surround them. A place with men whose clothes are tighter than the women's, their manicured ways almost too much to handle, and people making out everywhere you look. I expected to see more yelling and more hand gestures, more tanned skin and hair gel. I mean, honestly, I expected to hear more Italian on the streets. After all, that's how Elizabeth Gilbert described it in Eat, Pray, Love. (Hehehe. Sorry, but I can't go to Italy without thinking of the book and somehow trying to recreate scenes from it. It's had a major impact on my life and adventures, because I read it for the first time as I was beginning my big one.) But I suppose ten years time makes a huge difference in a place, and while I did see some of what I'd hoped for, I felt I was just another little ant lost in a sea of tourists trying to snap pictures with their newly purchased selfie sticks so we can all go home and say, "I've been to THE Rome!"

Piazza di Spagna, The Spanish Steps -- They were gorgeous, but truly, too hectic for me.

Although, looking at this picture again I do see we've captivated a couple lovers in an intense lip lock! Woo! That's the Rome I was hoping for! ;)

But now I'm starting to feel a little bad, and like I might be highlighting all the wrong sides of Rome. I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like it, and I certainly don't want to offend any Romans whose eyes might read this. Rome really is a great city, and the city I loved very much. I just didn't love being amid so many dang tourists and people shoving selfie sticks in my face every five minutes. (Even if I really do want one, I just couldn't bring myself to buy one under those circumstances. It's the hipster-anarchist-rebel side of me that does these things.) Which I realize is ironic, because I was one of these folks contributing to all this. But I am a traveler, so even whilst doing touristy-type things, we are still somehow unable to be called tourists. I'm not placing myself in a hierarchical travel system of any sort, I'm just stating a fact: travelers are not the same as tourists. And this is probably largely why I didn't enjoy being in Rome as much as I expected I would.

I spent a lot of time outside of Rome, since I was staying at my friend's parents' place in the countryside 30 minutes from the city (blessedly), and two of my four days there were spent in other places. So the time I did spend in Rome, was of course mostly spent in the touristic/historic center so I could see the main sights. City centers in touristic places are notorious for this: being filled with tourists. It makes sense. The center is walk-able, full of things to see, and usually the historic part of town. I mean, these places and parts don't become the fullest because they're anything less than interesting. But for me, someone who prefers to live in a place while visiting (pretend to be a local), getting caught up in the tourist buzz of it all doesn't make me leave a place with the best possible impression. And as far as Rome is concerned, my resulting sentiments are entirely my fault. I can't expect to get the greatest sense of a major city like Rome when I only spend two days in it and zero nights. I did go into the trip not expecting to see and do too much, because it's such a loaded place, and I wasn't going with much time. So I told Camilla from the start I wasn't concerned with doing/seeing so much, because I know it's really just the first of many trips to Rome. And to have the experiences I was blessed with outside the city, it was totally worth it to walk away a little mad at her (taking full blame)!

I flew into Fiumicino Airport and Camilla, whom I met through Couch Surfing when I hosted her in Sevilla last year, picked me up and we went straight to the beach! May 1st is a bank holiday in many places, including Italy, which meant everyone was headed to the beach for a day of partying, relaxing, and enjoying a long weekend. We spent the whole day there, I learned how to slackline, we ate good food, I met a bunch of her amazing friends, and we finished the evening off with some of her friends and a couple massive pitchers of cocktails with the longest straws I've ever seen, at a literally on-the-beach bar, complete with a massive gong they usually ring just as the sun is setting over the sea. And though we didn't get to witness that part because of the clouds, we took it upon ourselves to beat the gong with a wooden bowl nearby. It was the perfect re-initiation to the Italian culture I love so much, and the ideal way to start a mini vacation -- good times, good food, good friends, and lots of laughter and sand! 

The next two days were fairly full of hot sun and time spent around the center. On our first day in Rome, Camilla asked her father for a restaurant recommendation, and he sent us to an unassuming-looking place in the Jewish quarter of Rome. Often you find the best food comes from places that don't look the greatest from the outside. As is the case with Ristorante Al Pompiere, where he sent us. And my goodness gracious, after these photos you too will understand why I'm so glad he did...

 A Roman tradition: zucchini flower filled with mozzarella and a tiny piece of anchovie, breaded, then fried. You must, must, must try this. And I recommend you try it there. ;)

 My lovely date for the long weekend, featured with La Pasta Carbonara, the dish that destroyed me. 

But my goodness was it good!

The Roman dish of Guanciale -- pepper, guanciale (pig's cheek bacon), and pecorino cheese. This was good, but the time a Roman guy made it for me in Copenhagen, Denmark, with all Italian ingredients his mother had just brought him from Rome was actually quite superior to this. But it was still good. I'm not one to dislike a dish that's loaded with grated cheese and guanciale.  

Some people go to Italy for pizza, I go for pasta. Punto. 

On our second day in the city, a good friend I made in Sevilla came from his hometown to meet us and spend the day in Rome. We had our "Accidentally Cut Two Hours of Line" experience at The Colosseum, and then wandered around a bit. Ate breakfast in this darling piazza, whilst watching a man use tweezers to pick up every cigarette butt and bit of trash that was stuck between the cobblestones. Honestly, it was incredible to watch. None of us could believe the task he had, but could all easily appreciate the maintenance and care of the square. Then we walked through this amazing neighborhood that's full of vintage shops and alternative vibes, and went to an indoor artisan market to swoon over beautiful things. A bit of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the shade at a massive park that offers a fantastic view of the city, and then we relaxed a bit more amid some of the ruins.

All-in-all, the time I spent in the city was good, and I do love and appreciate Rome very much. But after a couple of long days spent walking around in the heat (I'd recommend going to Rome before you're facing 30 degrees every day), we were pretty beat, and I gratefully accepted Camilla's suggestion to spend the next day going to a couple different towns. And that is how Frascati and [Lake] Nemi were given the chance to steal my heart.

I know I'll be going back to Rome many times in my life, because well, it's Rome, and I have got to go to Vatican City at some point. In which case, I'd love some recommendations from any of you who've been!

Have a blessed and beautiful Sunday! Look up, give thanks, smile with every organ, and relax into the wonder of Being alive on Earth! I love you fam_{{ily}}!

With all I've got,

Allie-Sun <3 

Italia After All, Part Two: Sorrento

After saying our final good-byes to Ana, we were out the door and onto the next part of the adventure! Getting to Sorrento from Napoli was incredibly easy, thankfully, because we hadn't done any planning ahead. We arrived six minutes before it was scheduled to leave, which was a great way to start off!

The train took perhaps an hour, I believe they leave every half-hour, and had we not already wasted a large sum on the ArteCard (a card that is well worth it if you plan on using public transport a lot while you're in Napoli, want to travel around the region, and/or enter a variety of archaeological sites, museums, and etc), we'd have only have had to pay between 2-5€ for the trip, I believe. The train wasn't the kind of train you're probably going to expect, but more like metro trains, that happen to run for longer distances. For example, between cities. I'm sure the view was lovely, but as I mentioned here, our timing with arrivals and departures was quite late, and we spent the trip in the dark, trying to guess what was outside.

When we arrived in Sorrento we were overcome by its relatively calm feeling. It's set into the  mountains on the coast, and is a pretty nice place, so it had a posh-beachy feel to it. And after having spent the last couple days in Napoli, where life is buzzing all around, it's loud, it's in your face, and it's big, to switch to a small, coastal haven was quite the switch. But, it didn't take us long to adapt to it, and within moments we were looking at each other with that, "Oh yeah, I like it here," look in our eyes. Then we found our hotel.

Now, I've gotta address this aspect of the trip/my travels here, because, well, I want to, and it fits in nicely at this point. That said, let's talk financials. 

I live to travel. It is my passion, makes up a major part of my purpose, and is pretty much the only reason I moved away in the first place. It's the only thing I can imagine doing forever, and I know I will. I'm planning my entire life and career around having the ability to spend prolonged periods of time in other places, and few things get me as excited as experiencing a new culture. I am a CouchSurfer, a backpacker, a long-term traveler -- truly a lifer. This means I do not/try not to pay for places to stay, except for on rare occasions or trips where I want to be relatively cut-off from others (sometimes I like to take trips and go with the intention of spending the time in solitude, only communicating when necessary, i.e. to order food or greet people), I try to hitchhike when I can/it's safe, walk as much as I can to save money, and use public transport instead of cabs when I can't, and I'm always trying to think of how I can get my euros to extend a little further. (Which is why I sometimes find myself in situations like this.) I want longer trips for less money, and am incredibly good at making that happen. Sometimes I splurge on a good meal, because food is a passion of mine and one of my favorite parts about traveling, but I usually try not to pay more than 8-10€/meal, if that, and cook them as often as I can. (I've been known to go on weekend trips with a set amount of cash, leaving all cards at home, and eat fruit as my meal to stay within budget. Sometimes it doesn't turn out so well, but I've scored some good stories this way. hehe) That said, this trip is nothing like anything I've ever funded before, and I probably bring it up because I'm a little self-conscious about how much we spent. 

Both of us work two jobs, and this trip was going to be so special for so many reasons. We went to celebrate our birthdays, it was my first time in Italy, and we also happened to go to a couple places that are a bit more costly than others (Sorrento and Capri), though not terribly expensive when held against my homeland standards (USA) or P's (The Netherlands). So, we didn't hold back. Kind of like the over-the-top New Year's celebration I've never spent money to have. We stayed in nice hotels/B&B's, ate incredibly well, took some taxis, and, well, went to four different cities/places within five days. We were on holiday, and we lived it up! (I'm now 12 days late on my rent and not sure where I'll come up with the 800€ I need to buy a flight home, but do I regret it? No way! That was the trip of a lifetime, and I'll never forget that celebration of life!)

This is all just to say that this isn't usually how I treat myself on trips, but it was a blast to experience it, and I'm really glad we did. I don't want anyone out there reading/seeing this to fall prey to the commonly held misconception that traveling is expensive -- it's not! I'm going to write about this all on it's own, because it's incredibly important to me, but I don't want you to think that a trip like this is unattainable if you aren't making big bucks. I mean, I'm a teaching assistant for crying out loud, but felt like I must have a much higher paying job than that while on this trip. It doesn't take a lot to make a lot, especially not if you remain grateful for EVERYTHING. But now I'm going off in a totally different direction, so I'll save that for later, and get back on task... (Insert giant, dope-ish me smiling here.)

The hotel we stayed in was the kind of hotel that I'd see and think, "Wow! What an amazing hotel! The people who stay there have got a great view, they are so blessed to be staying there. I can't imagine what it'd be like to stay there." Well, that was us for this one night.

In order to get there, first we had to walk down the hill(?)... mountain(?)... well, the entire path down to the water, and then we were confused, because we didn't see the hotel number we were looking for. The people from booking.com, the site we used to book the room had started to call on behalf of the hotel, because by this time, it was oddly late for people to be arriving for their stay. So my phone keeps ringing, I keep asking questions, the guy on the other end keeps having to put me on hold so he can call the hotel, get the answers to my questions then relay them back to me, all the while, we're wandering around this little port, and feeling pretty sure there's not another hotel around. Until we asked some people and they directed us, at which point we came around a little corner, into a semi-private beach, and realized that we were literally staying on the water. We actually had to walk through sand to reach the front door. It was magic.

Ladies and Gentleman, the Excelsior Vittoria Hotel in Sorrento, Italy...

See the third little balcony on the left? That was ours O_o

The view from the room wasn't half-bad...

Nor was the breakfast buffet the next morning...

Not my spot, not my coffee, don't worry, I didn't let Italy break all my lent!

I felt like a freakin' princess! And you know what? I was -- the Birthday Princess! ;) The whole time, we kept saying, "I feel like I'm my parents traveling," and I couldn't stop imagining that, "This is what it must feel like to be my uncles." We are wildly blessed, and immensely grateful. (Thank You, God, thank You, God, thank You, God!!!)

As we were checking into our hotel, after being greeted by a, "You're just arriving!?" the woman gave us some suggestions on what to do in town, and more importantly, offered up our favorite information: where to eat. She asked us if we'd ever heard of Top Chef, we said yes, and she proceeded to tell us that there's a Pizza Masters, Italy edition. We instantly knew where she was going with this one, and scooted closer to the edges of our seats to fully absorb all the pizza-y goodness this goddess was about to drop on us.

Well, it turns out that the winner of Top Chef Pizza Masters Italy has his restaurant in Sorrento, and it just so happened to be about a stone's throw from the hotel! Ohhh yeahhh, that's what we're doing tonight! So we ditched our stuff, embraced the beauty of the room and view for a while, freshened up, cheers'd some limoncello (recurring theme), and headed off to our long-awaited destiny: The Best Pizza in the World.

Now, I know I'm mentioning Liz Gilbert "a lot" (author of a variety of books, but best known for Eat, Pray, Love), but it's because I'm obsessed with that book/movie/story, and in a way, I imagine she and I would make great friends and travel mates. But I must call her out on something...

In her book, she talks about getting a recommendation for a pizza place in Napoli from her language exchange partner who is from Napoli. She-says-he-says it's the best pizza in Napoli, to which, she reasons it must be the best pizza in the world, because the best pizza comes from Napoli, and if this is the best pizza in Napoli, then, well, it's gotta be the best in the world. But I daresay that actually, I have eaten the best pizza in the world, and while hers might be one of the best, this one is acknowledged as the best. Because, while the two men who sweat and slave over the pizza oven she ate from might not have entered the competition, this guy, Antonino Esposito did, and he won that stuff, opened a restaurant, and in the end, I lost my mind at it! (Not that it's a competition. I just have a thing for seeking out the best food in the world wherever I am, and commencing to consume every bit possible. So when I realized I wasn't going to have a chance to hunt down the place she talks about and try it, I was a little bummed. Till I learned about Antonino Esposito and Acqu' e Sale. And hey, Liz, if you ever somehow come upon this, wanna meet up and eat??:)

Simply put, the whole experience was mind-blowing.

We decided to sit on the deck outside first and have some cocktails. He noticed on the list there was one called Pimm's No. 1, which seemed too perfectly named to not order, and he then suggested that I order the Americano, since, well, io sono Americana (I'm American). (And we were both quite curious to see what alcoholic beverage would behold the name we had only associated with coffee before then.) His drink was delicious, and we both ordered one for our second round, mine was... kind of terrible. Well, ok, not terrible-terrible, but I did not like the taste of the bitter campari, which I think made up 90% of it. But probably, no, undoubtedly, the best part of the whole experience (before the pizza) was the appetizers they brought out with the drinks (which aren't free, and cost 2€ each, but are worth, worth, worth it!!!). We couldn't believe what we were seeing, and instead of try to explain it to you, I'm just going to show you...

Yes, that is a perfectly sliced and fried piece of zucchini, a miniature piece of salmon, that somehow was just the right amount and added a delicious burst of its fresh flavor to the entire bite, tiny olives, sweet, succulent pineapple, and a piece of carrot, on a tiny little bed of cream cheese, all in a not-as-hard-as-it-looks ravioli half. I mean, could I fall more in love with anything involved in this equation!? And it only got better as we went inside, only to be greeted by tons of smiling Italian waiter's faces, and the Big Daddy that was going to deliver to us the best pizza we'll probably ever eat in our lives...

There were actually TWO side-by-side, sitting there in their blazing, red, hot, sexy glory. 

My good gosh, I love you so much!

The entire situation only got better as they took our order. We ordered the local beer, which turned out to be a delicious Pale Ale, and I lost my mind, again, when I realized that it tastes almost exactly like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, which I would have never expected from a "basic beer." Then, when our waiter came to take our orders and saw how indecisive we were (the menu is quite extensive), he decided to take control of the reigns. Simply he said, "For you (pointing at me), I suggest the ______ (whhyyyy didn't I write down the name!?!), and for you (pointing at P), the _______ (again, whyyyy didn't I take better notes!?)." We looked at each other, and threw down some, "Well then, sounds good!"'s, leaving our fate to the pizza god. And my good God, he read us right! The moment we've all been waiting for, and that I want to relive every week I possibly can -- I now present to you The Best Pizza in the World...

P's crust was filled with ricotta cheese, he thinks he must have eaten an entire roll of it, and mine was as well, but only in that beautifully folded part on the bottom there. There wasn't too much sauce on the pizza, nor were there that many cherry tomatoes on top, but their juices somehow saturated the entire thing, delivering an amazing flavor. For once, I did not object to eating pizza with a knife and fork, but embraced the moment and all it wanted to offer me. And the prosciutto on it? MY GOSH. We actually could not contain ourselves, I still can't! It was one bite after another of YYYYUUUUMMMM. I think we got pizza drunk, because after, we were in such bliss, nothing else mattered, and we couldn't stop talking about it. 

So in short, go to Italy (#1), go to Sorrento, and go to Acqu' e Sale. The pizzas cost between 7 and 9€/each, which is a ridiculously good price to have the best pizza in the world. But to put it into perspective, the pizzas we ate in Napoli cost about 4.50€, so in comparison, it is "quite expensive," but still incredibly reasonable, especially considering what you get. We had already decided to have lunch there the next day, when we heard the heartbreaking news that they are closed on Mondays (something to take note of). "It's a good thing we ate it tonight then! Guess we'll just have to come back someday!" was the unanimous response...from all two of us. 

The next day we planned to take a day trip to Pompeii to see the ruins, but cut our visit quite short, because we wanted to make the 17h ferry from Sorrento to Capri where we'd be spending our next night. (Read about Part Three, Capri here, and/or Pompeii at this one!) It was a little rainy, but we were on holiday, so we didn't care, and actually, in contrast to the greenness of our setting, we both commented that the grey sky and drizzle was kind of nice. It added a beautiful affect, and only elevated the contrast in colors around us. So we skipped going back down the mountain to get an extra layer, and embraced the rain, walking hand-in-hand, allowing the skies to wash our souls clean and soak our hair. And Sorrento continued to reveal her beauty to us as we walked around. 

It's an incredibly small place, and I'm happy we didn't plan out more time to spend there, not because I don't love it, but because more time wasn't necessary. It's a place full of small streets, kind people, shops full of yellow (hello limoncello!), and a comfortable, easy feel. We wandered around for a while, mostly in search of the other restaurant the lady at the hotel recommended, and finally found it. Which only produced another insane eating experience, not so much with the meal this time, but with dessert.

I'd given up sweets for lent, but blew it almost immediately on the airplane when they gave us a snack, and a small piece of cake/muffin was inside. I think I'd known going into the trip that Italy would break me in an instant. I mean, birthdays...pastries...cakes...who knows what's...tiramisu...Italy...Italy...Italy.... And then I kinda broke my lent again, when I bought a little "birthday cake" for P, which we shared the next morning. And then again with the chocolate rice crispy treat that was at the breakfast buffet in the hotel, and I think a couple other things as well. But who's counting? And in all honestly, nothing was worth breaking lent for (ok, maybe the chocolate rice crispy treat was) before we ate this...

Again, I should have written down the name so I could tell you, but I can say this, if you like lemon/limoncello, spongecake, and creamy-ness, then try this if you see it! A spongecake that's soaked in limoncello, with a middle layer of good-God-I-love-you, and then engulfed in another cream of some sort, hailing from the I'm-going-to-wrap-you-up-and-make-your-head-spin variety. I wish you could see how much my mouth is watering right now just looking at this picture and recalling it's taste. Again, we couldn't control ourselves. It melted in our mouths, almost disappearing, but leaving behind a blend of flavors so delicious, our eyes closed and rolled back with each bite. Heaven can be found on Earth, and we found it in Italy.

But then again, it was time to go. And even though we'd planned our entire day around making this certain ferry, and had spent the last 2 1/2 hours sitting at a restaurant just five minutes from our hotel/the marina, we somehow managed to be getting to the hotel with only five minutes till the ferry was meant to leave, which wasn't enough time considering we needed to get our bags, buy the tickets and make it on the boat in time. Thankfully there was another one leaving within two hours, so we enjoyed a coffee/tea, the view from the hotel, and some time to read and reminisce. Then truly, we were on our way. All aboard for Capri!