The experiences
I arrived in Italy
much quicker than expected . It's the quickest travel I've had by far and from
this point in the trip things only get easier (by this I mean traveling in
straight lines and mostly shorter distances). From the airport I quickly got my
Eurrail pass validated and talked with the Trenitalia woman about what train to
take to Naples where I'd pick up a private rail toward St Agnello. The cheapest
and most highly rated hostels are sometimes outside the big cities but also
have access to quick transport to the city and sights. So I stayed in St.
Agnello to get to Sorrento and all the sights of the area.
I explored Sorrento
on Tuesday and caught the ferry to Capri. When I arrived I discovered that the
island was pretty much a tourist haven with shops and restaurants everywhere so
I opted to do the boat cruise around the island instead of buying more than I
needed to (as it was by the time I made this decision I bought souvenir pill
boxes --since I needed real pill boxes--a Capri bell that looks vaguely like a
lemon, deodorant, smaller bottles for shampoo and conditioner, and a coin
purse). Overall I had to downsize some things in the pack or I would be
crippled quite quickly. Why did I go to Capri if it was just a tourist trap?
Well, they have this thing called the "Blue Grotto" which for 13 Euro
you can board a row boat and float inside for 5 minutes. The whole day was worth it just
for this photo opportunity and gorgeous cool waters of the grotto.
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| I am so very very happy |
Wednesday I planned
to visit the Amalfi coast (Bus to Amalfi, boat to Positano and bus to Sorrento)
but the first bus I tried to catch at 10:30 was full and it was a nice day so I
didn't see that improving with the next bus. I changed up the plans to visit
Pompeii in the later afternoon and spend midday planning the next month of
hostel stays. All in all a great day but I wish I had gotten up earlier to get
to Amalfi and I also wish that Pompeii didn't have so much closed for
restoration.
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| Pompeii |
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| Closets of Ruins |
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| Poppy fields at Pompeii |
Thursday I did make
it to Amalfi via bus but it was a very rainy and cloudy day. Come to find out
that even though the cities are beautiful, they aren't as much fun in the rain.
Nevertheless I hiked up to the old paper mill and got a tour of the last several
centuries of equipment and learned the history of paper making in Italy,
including the family that has made cotton paper for the Vatican for the last
500 years. I even employed my skills (courtesy Ellie's grandpa Gurmmer) at
making a sheet. They too make paper in a basement just like Ellie and I did as
kids. I passed a couple tops that I loved and one of them I just couldn't stop
thinking about and I picked it up--not because I loved it, which I did, but
because it was made in Italy. Double bonus.
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| Also a very happy clam. |
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| The paper press from many many many hundreds of moons ago. |
I stopped for lunch
on the coast and had the best Caprese salad of my life. I don't know what they
do, maybe they just know how much to salt it, but I could have stopped there.
After lunch I wandered around some more to walk off the pasta and pick my gelato.
Italia, who I met in Auckland is from Sorrento and she's graciously given me
the "scoop" on many things in the area including that I had to have gelato in Amalfi. I stumbled on a place that was happy to let me sample some
flavors (rare) and I settled on "Dark Orange" a deliciously dark
chocolate gelato with candied orange. I picked up a softball size lemon
(relatively small compared to what you can buy here where lemons are
everywhere) and bought a ferry ticket back to Sorrento. Because of the weather
I didn't really want to do any more touristing around the coast. I was happy to
ferry back and see all the sights from the water.
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| Amazing doesn't even cover it |
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| Real Italian food is seafood |
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| Dark Orange Gelato---a new favorite |
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| We all agree--Italian cats are awesome, they come right up to you and are very friendly. |
I picked up my bag
at the snack bar at the train station in Sorrento and settled in for an hour ride to
Naples. I only had a day to explore Naples so the next morning I did a walking
tour in the morning where we stopped for wine and then Pizza Fritta which is
apparently the first Pizza ever. We all loved the woman who made all 14 of our Pizza Fritta while she joked and gave
our guide a hard time--even if no one understood it. And of course I spilled
some of the ricotta on myself.
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| Pizza Fritta in action |
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| I have never seen a square this big and this empty. UNESCO said they'd make it a heritage sight if they stopped using it as a car park. Now quirky Americans can do cartwheels here (when nice Polish girls are willing to snap a photo). |
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| You're not supposed to go to the Spanish quarter...that's what THEY say. It's a nice place. |
After our tour and
intro to the history of Naples I visited the gorgeous marble works at the
MuseoCappella Sansevero and grabbed a pizza to go at Sorbillo's which wasn't the
famed Gino Sorbillo's but it was still darn good and on the same block so I figure
it counts. They had lots of Michelin stickers on the window--I figured I could always go back another time for the "real thing."
I boarded my first
high speed train in Naples to go to Florence. Regional trains are slow moving
and free with my Eurrail pass but to keep things moving I tried booking the fast train (just a 10 Euro reservation fee). Turns out though that by the time I arrived they were running about
30 minutes behind. So I missed my regional connection and had to catch another
train in an hour. In all the craziness I got confused and didn't see the train
I wanted on the board so I went from the main Florence rail station to another
where I discovered that I was just reading the Eurrail app wrong and the train
would have come to the main station to begin with…oh well, the other train
station had benches to sit on that weren't occupied. And so began my time in
Tuscany.
I had decided to get
a taxi when I arrived in Certaldo (small medieval village) but there weren't any there at 9pm so I
walked about a half hour along the highway to get to the guest house I
booked--yes I broke out my head lamp to make sure no cars hit me. I arrived
just in time to sign up for the medieval city tours and wine tasting the next
day. I cut open my lemon and flavored my water before heading in to sleep while a gaggle of people carried on around the big wooden table (most nights were like this in Tuscany--Melissa always slips away around 11 when I've had enough to drink and my body is tired).
Saturday was packed
with stuff to do and I spent my free time taking naps :). We started by driving
through Tuscan countryside to Voltarre (Rick Steve's favorite hill town,
unbeknownst to me till I opened my OneNote). We were there during a comic and
magic festival so there were many
LARPers and costumed people wandering the
medieval square. A small contingent of us stopped for breakfast (cappuccino and
pastry) before the rain hit and we lost each other. I bought a alabaster box
and was so excited since I'd forgotten also that this is where alabaster is plentiful. Then we all managed to
find the van again so we could move on to San Gimignano. Here we were also on a
food mission…and we literally followed our noses (sense of smell) to a Pizzeria
where we were all blown away by how delicious this slice was. Usually pizza
here is a full pie but these were more what we're used to in the US, a giant
pizza and you buy by the slice. Sadly I did not photograph everything I ate.
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| Our group touring the hill towns. |
Then on to gelato
and I remembered belatedly that Panforte is famous here so I found a deli where I
grabbed a wedge and made everyone at the guest house try it. I didn't think I'd
like it. I thought it would be a terrible fruit cake like experience but was
pleasantly surprised and really could have eaten the whole thing on my own. On
to the wine tasting…the best ever since it was a family place and Valentina
really knew every aspect of the business. No question we asked was avoided or
answered questionably. She was wonderful and most of us walked away with a
couple bottles. I'm saving my Chianti for my last night here in Certaldo though
we drank pretty much everything the night before. Overall I'd say this
guesthouse has been a great environment. Lots of drinking into the night but no
judgement when Melissa goes to bed at 11. I will say I'm glad I can sleep like
a rock otherwise I might be frustrated with the noise. I returned to my need to
organize and clean after a few glasses and then Sunday morning did a deep clean
on the farmhouse wood table we all gathered around every night.
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| So glad I told the guy to give me the best Panforte. |
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| Valentina--best wine tour and tasting ever. She shares my feelings on the topic "Wine is like modern art, the critics have their say, but in the end it's what you like" |
The lessons
- Don't try Vegemite no matter
how much Australians love it, there's no reason for that to exist. I felt
like Lucy in the Vitameatavegimen skit.
- I passed a restaurant in
Sorrento where the host was greeting everyone as they passed. It was a bit
early in the day so not many people were around and looking for food yet.
He stopped a gentleman going the other direction from me and asked, "American?" The guy smiled and asked "how did you know" and the
host pointed to the American's shoes. New white leather New Balance Shoes.
Yes America we are known for ugly foot-ware. Europeans don't usually wear
plain tennis shoes, Keens, flip flops, etc. Bring some leather shoes if you
want to blend in (or colorful Nikes).
- If you decide to come to
Europe in the summer (this is my first time here in the summer), do book
ahead. You get better deals and the places with great locations are still
available.
- Monasteries and Convents seem
like a great option in Italy however they are pretty expensive compared to
a hostel.
Interesting
- Is anyone left in America? Seriously? Everyone in Italy is from America right now. I hear Americans more than Italians.
- Public Display of Affection
(PDA) is much more popular here. It's annoying as can be. Is it not
possible to avoid kissing on the train? If you need to do it do you have
to make it so loud and sloppy sounding? Really people I have no issue with
hand holding, hugging, etc, but I draw the line at sloppy make-out
sessions.
- Food is all about quality.
Pizza comes with no more than a few ingredients on it and it's so much
more amazing for the quality of the sauce and mozzarella that you don't
miss anything.
- Don't forget that Europe does
charge you to do everything. A trip to the toilette will cost you $.50 and
in Naples a trip up the elevator will cost you $.05
- Wonder how life continues to
go on after 2pm when everyone closes down shops? Responsibility is transferred. Instead of getting a train ticket at the
station, you get it at the nearest snack bar or Tabbachi shop. Automated
kiosks are also great for this. Plus overall, the attitude is more lax, so
ask yourself…do you really need to do that now?
