naples, capri, positano & rome
May 2018
Italy was incredible. There's a reason why Italy is on most people's bucket lists! We had a whirlwind 8-day trip and were running from place to place and we still felt like we didn't have enough time to see even a sliver of what Italy's got to offer. So many places left to explore!
NAPLES:
Our first night we stayed in the Renaissance Naples Hotel Mediterraneo Marriott. The room we stayed in was pretty good, not exceptional BUT the rooftop has an amazing hot tub with a view of Mount Vesuvius. They also had a cool room with a free breakfast with really great views as well. Close to downtown. There may be better rooms available and we just chose a cheap one, I'm not sure.
We ate the best pizza of our lives at "Pizzeria Napoli in Bocca". They have a cute little deck facing the streets of Naples and you can people watch really well sitting at the table on the deck. We enjoyed the real "Italian feel" there. It kind of feels like your in someone's Italian home. The place itself doesn't look like much from the pictures but dannnnng the pizza was worth it. Order a margarita pizza.
CAPRI:
From Naples, we took the ferry to Capri. (If you get seasick, beware-bring zofran or something! We were good, but they were passing our barf bags like candy. Maybe it was just a rough day)
We stayed at a place called B&B Punta Vivara in the "Marina Grande" area of Capri. This was the absolute HIGHLIGHT of our trip. Great hosts, clean room, easy access to everywhere.
In Capri we did a lot of cool things. **If you take away ANYTHING from all of these notes, please please please take a private boat ride around Capri** Most amazing thing we ever have done! Seeing the Faraglioni was so impressive in person! We used Capri Boat Service - Danilo Capri.
We ate at Ristorante Panorama in Capri. Highly recommend. The view is so incredible and the food is really good too. They literally pick the lemons off of the trees outside the restaurant and use them on your food right in front of you.
We went to a couple of other restaurants in Capri, too, but nothing else I would highly recommend.
Lastly, we went to Anacapri and took the chairlift to the top. Spectacular views and really awesome to see on the way up, but other than that, nothing too much at the top. I would recommend going, but it's not like a MUST do. It was like "cool, I saw it, lets go", type of deal. (maybe that's just me!)
We were able to take public transport (buses) in Capri that were really easy to use and super cheap. They also have something called a "cable car" called "funicular" that gets you to the top of the Capri. Taxis are way more expensive.
POSITANO:
From Capri, we took a day trip to Positano. The ferry took us right into the classic "Amalfi Coast" picturesque spot that you see on Instagram or Pinterest with all the houses on the hillside-so crazy beautiful. We ate lunch at La Tagliata which overlooked the incredible Amalfi views. La Tagliata is so special because everything is grown right there, from the veggies to the meat to the wine, it was all farm to table and delicious! We were served a four-course all you can eat meal. The coolest foodie experience we've probably ever had. Make a reservation for sure and don't eat breakfast ahead of time!
Also, on our way back from lunch, we stopped at Caffe Positano for Italian hot chocolate. You must have this (if you like hot cocoa). No hot chocolate will ever compare again! Its so thick and creamy you eat it with a spoon. And again, incredible views from the deck there.
ROME:
We stayed in an Airbnb that wasn’t that great so I won’t link it here. Rome is so gorgeous-definitely different. More city like, but so charming. Everything is so ornate and beautiful. Every day churches look as fancy as if they were the Vatican and the cobblestone streets are so cute. For all/most of the following "must see" places, Andrew and I brought headphones and a headphone splitter, plugged it into our phone, and listened to Rick Steve's Italy Travel Guide as we walked. I am not a lover of group tours, so it was so nice to go at our own pace, pause when we wanted to pause, or skip ahead if it was something that was not interesting to us. Highly recommend touring that way! Plus saves you on money you'd pay for a tour.
Must sees:
--Trevi Fountain (Loved this. Made my fiance wake up at sunrise to get a picture there when there weren't 10 billion people around which was super successful. I thought it was worth it, he didn't. *ALSO important* I was really really disappointed in gelato UNTIL we found "Don Nino". It is literally right next to the Trevi on the right side. We went back three times. Also amazing crepes and waffles with gelato on top)
--Spanish Steps-kind of cool, kind of just like regular stairs?
--Pantheon-pretty to see, nice street music when we were there
--Colosseum-we paid the people who were offering to get us in right away because the line was outrageous even though we had prepaid tickets and an assigned time. It was like 20$ for them to get us in “right now” and we did it. Worth it
--Roman Forum-was boring to me but its right by the Colosseum so you might as well
--Piazza Navona-we loved it here. It’s not really anything to “see” per se, but we enjoyed it so much. It is basically a big oval area with restaurants lining the outside and fountains and street performers and people gathering in the middle. Super cool atmosphere. It was so charming with the cobblestone streets and, again, here we really felt like we were getting the REAL Italian experience-less touristy and great food. (We ate at a place called Bernini. My fiance says that was one of his favorite meals of the trip- he got spaghetti and meatballs)
--The Jewish ghetto and Trastevere were cool to walk around. You will also get to see the Tiber River if you visit this area.
--Vatican/Sistine chapel- I can never unhear the security guards ruining the peace in the Sistine Chapel yelling "no photos"
But did I take a picture anyways? Maybe
--Campo de Fiori- its an Italian marketplace with tons of stuff like food, flowers, fresh fruit and veggies and is fun to walk around. We ate breakfast there one day and got fresh fruit cups for our walk to the Colosseum
Last but not least, we spent our anniversary dinner at "Piccolo Arrancio" in Rome-very close to the Trevi Fountain. This place was recommended to us. There is a restaurant we love in Connecticut who's owners are cousins with the owners of Piccolo Arrancio in Rome. We loved it there.
Hopefully some day we'll get to explore some more cool parts of Italy! Until then, Ciao!
