Laurie Eats Sometimes-Italy Edition

There is so much great food in Italy! I don’t even know where to begin…

The food is delicious, fresh, mouthwatering and even the take out pizza boxes are sexy! Wow!

I guess since I mentioned pizza, I’ll just start there. The pizza is so delicious in Rome and along the Amalfi Coast-I could have eaten it every day! I’ve been craving pizza since the last time we were in Italy years ago and it didn’t disappoint me.

I don’t know how I will survive with the crappy pizza joints in our neighborhood! Cooking it ourselves is the only option and it won’t be the same.

One especially delicious pizza place was Pizzaria Criscemunno in Salerno-so good that we ate there twice! And you get an amazing view of the duomo.

Then, of course, there is the pasta! Fresh and made daily, if you are lucky. Fresh ingredients and minimal toppings.

We loved our delicious meal at the third generation restaurant, Colline Emiliane, in Rome.

Tip-Don’t forget to use quality olive oil in your cooking! (Cheap olive oil just doesn’t taste good in anything).

Speaking of pasta, we had a fabulous ravioli at Trattoria da Armandino in Praiano. In fact, we also had amazing anchovies and prosciutto with melon there too. The food, setting and staff were incredible and made us feel like family!

Yes, that’s an Aperol Spritz in the picture. I love that refreshing Prosecco drink and I don’t care if it’s not really “trendy” anymore. It’s delicious and tastes even more delicious in Italy! Saluti!

As I mentioned in my Salerno post, the food in Salerno was outstanding…and…the prices were really reasonable.

We had a delicious dinner at Pazza Marea. They described the entire menu to us and then you could fill your own wine pitcher downstairs, just choose red or white, which we loved!

And an equally delicious lunch at Botteghelle65. Here, you will be greeted enthusiastically then shown a case of mouthwatering entrees to choose from-and served up family style.

Both places are highly recommended and worth a visit! You won’t be disappointed!

Along the Amalfi Coast, you will find lots of fresh fish and seafood. So many delicious dishes to choose from.

And you will see lemons everywhere on the Amalfi Coast. These aren’t just ordinary lemons, they are specific to the Amalfi Coast. We loved how the pastas and risottos were flavored with lemon. We enjoyed lemon sorbet and limoncello-delicious! You can read more about the lemons here.

Limoncello Photo credit: appetite magazine

And I suppose you can’t talk about the food without mentioning how great Italian wines are! Brunello, Barolo and Chianti Classico are some of my favorite reds…a glass of proscecco is always a delicious way to start a meal and you can check out this link for some delicious whites.

If you aren’t a wine fan, how about an Italian beer?

No Italian food post would be complete without talking about gelato. We sampled lots of gelato in Italy and most were great-it’s pretty hard to mess up gelato.

La Romano, in Rome was particularly good! It’s been around since 1947. Here is a great guide to gelato in Rome.

La dolce vita indeed!

Next up…Sevilla, Spain

Rome! (If you want to)

Ah Rome! It was so great to be back and just as fantastic as we remembered!

The last time we were in Rome was 2012. It was fall, the Trevi Fountain was undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation and Rome was having a heat wave.

We loved visiting Rome-the people, the magnificent sights around every corner, the history and, of course, the food! This time did not disappoint! It was just as good as our first time!

So, we only had 2 nights in Rome this trip and we had a few things on our list.

Trevi Fountain, of course, Pantheon (as we missed going inside last time), and a refresher of the Spanish Steps, Trajan’s Column, Forum, Arch of Titus and the Colosseum.

For something new, we toured the Basilica di Saint Clemente. This was cool because it had churches underneath from 1AD, 2AD and 4 AD as well as a house from Roman times.

We stayed at the small and charming Hotel Golden, where we had stayed years ago. We were well taken care of and it was centrally located to everything that we wanted to see. Giuseppe took great care of us, along with the entire family and his mama made the most delicious pastries every morning for breakfast!

We loved Rome so much and wished we had more time here. Helena said she wants to live in Rome and I can’t blame her…in fact, maybe we will join her!

Piazza Navona was really pretty but then again, there is no shortage of awesome squares to hang out in while in Rome!

The food was so delicious-I’ll write a post with some highlights but I can’t even begin to describe how great the food is in Italy! You just have to go and try it for yourself!

One thing we did last time and wanted to do again, was get a drink at the famous Harry’s Bar. It was fun! And, when your husband’s name is Harry…

There is so much to see in Rome! I recommend 4-5 days, at least. I can’t wait to return!

Next up… Laurie Eats Sometimes-Italy Edition.

Salerno, Italy-3 nights in an underrated city

We originally decided to stay in Salerno so we could tour Paestum and then take the train back to Rome after our week up the Amalfi Coast.

We really didn’t know what to expect from Salerno. I was sad we were leaving Praiano and I was wondering if maybe I didn’t plan this part of the trip very well. But, I was wrong! We loved Salerno!

We hired a driver to take us on the hour and a half drive from Praiano to Salerno. It was a very scenic drive!

We arrived in Salerno and were warmly welcomed into our small B & B, Il Reticolo by Carmine and Giuseppe.

They gave us excellent recommendations for lunches and dinners as well as the top sights to visit while staying in Salerno.

We knew we wanted to take a day trip to Paestum as well and they helped us with that. (see my Paestum post). I highly recommend their perfectly located B & B!

We had so much fun walking around the scenic and charming historic district and the strolling along the seafront promenade.

We really enjoyed the view from the Castello di Arechi .

From the castle, we hiked down, about 15-20 mins to the Minerva Gardens.

We had great food in Salerno too! Super quality and much lower prices than Rome and Praiano! Oh-the delicious pizza! You can read about that in my upcoming Italy Food post.

It was easy to spend three nights in Salerno and I would return in a heartbeat!

Next up… Rome (if you want to) and Laurie Eats Sometimes -Italy Edition

Day trip to Paestum from Salerno, Italy

Do you love an ancient civilizations? Are you a history buff? Do you like to imagine what is was like living thousands of years ago? Are you fascinated by architecture? Do you have a desire to be an archeologist?

No?… well, me either but you will certainly enjoy a scenic, wonderful and educational day trip to Paestum!

Getting to Paestum was very easy from Salerno! We just bought tickets at the train station (about 3 euros each) hopped on a train, arrived 30 minutes later at the Paestum Station. From there, it’s a charming and easy 10-15 minute walk down a dirt road to the temples. For 9 euros, you get entrance to the archeological Park and the Museum. What a deal!

Tip-Don’t forget to validate your ticket before you get on the train! Also-get your return ticket at the Salerno station for the trip back. The Paestum station is not manned and has just one ticket machine.

Paestum holds three of the world’s most well preserved Greek Temples. They are magnificent! And the museum is very good too with frescoes and artifacts.

I can’t believe how amazing these temples are and how few people were touring them!

After visiting other sights in Rome, Greece, and Temples of Cambodia, this was such a wonderful treat! We could really take our time, sit in the shade and explore without being jostled around by huge tour groups.

I even got to practice my photography skills a bit with a few artsy shots!

There were several places to eat and to stay within Paestum. It looks like a worthwhile place to consider staying for relaxing poolside while touring the sights!…who knew? Well, there’s always next time!

You can read more about Paestum here if you are interested but I highly recommend incorporating this into your visit to southern Italy.

Next up…three nights in Salerno, Italy

Amalfi Coast-a Recovery week in Praiano

By the time we arrived at our villa in Praiano, we were exhausted. We were headed towards our seventh country in about 2 months.

We had left Dubai on a 2am flight, changed planes in Zurich, arrived in Rome, took 2 trains to get to Naples and then a 1 1/2 hour drive to Praiano. We were all jet lagged and at least 2 of us were coming down with colds.

Luckily, when we originally planned this trip, we knew we would be tired by this point in our big adventure, so we planned to spend an entire week sunning ourselves and resting at our villa.

It’s essential to build in time to regroup and recover during long periods of travel!

However, I was really hoping to take a day trip to the famous Blue Grotto and explore Capri but the idea of committing to an entire day excursion didn’t appeal to the whole family and, since I had a cold, it didn’t seem so great to me either.

So, we spent our days lounging in the sun, watching the boats come and go, walking up the steep steps to the grocery store, picking lemons, playing cards and chess and having either a lunch or dinner out. It was really relaxing and amazing and our view couldn’t be better!

We thought Praiano was a good choice and we were happy with the location of our villa which was above Marina di Praia.

We ate at 3 places close to our villa but our favorite was Trattoria da Armandino. Delicious food-lemon risotto, anchovies and ravioli were some favorites! And-we felt like part of the family!

We also really enjoyed Il Pirata. Great food, killer view, great service!

One day, we walked to a pizza place. It took us about 30 minutes there and mostly uphill but we were rewarded with awesome views and delicious pizza!

Our big activity of the week was taking a water taxi to Positano. It was super easy and fun!

The water was a bit rough the day we went out so it was even more exciting!

There was definitely more action in Positano than Praiano so if you want more shopping, nightlife and people, you should stay there or perhaps Amalfi. We liked being in Praiano though!

Of course, we sampled the local wine, which is very good and enjoyed an Aperol Spritz or two. Somehow they just taste better in Italy!

Saluti!

Next up…heading down the Amalfi Coast to Salerno. And a day trip to Paestum.