ROMA, ROME-MA-MA…

Up and at ‘em early, we headed over to the Vatican. After a short trip to breakfast in the hotel, which included an assortment of meats, cheeses, cereal, fruit etc, we walked over to the Metro and then to the Vatican. Matt pulled a ‘Kathy’ and scheduled our entry for 9AM so we avoided the lines. Awesome. We explored the Vatican Museum which became more and more crowded with tours as the hours passed by.

We spent the bulk of our time with the statues before we realized we were running out of time for our 12:15 Catacomb tour, so we booked it over to the Sistene Chapel. We saw some very interesting stuff and could have easily spent a few more hours browsing. Sistene Chapel was an amazing site – and what was also amazing was the number of people in the chapel looking up. Fire hazard much? Moving onto our next adventure - an undergroud tour of St. Peter’s Basillica. Ok….this was interesting. We were in a tour of about 15 people. We were told that it was hot and humid underground. That was an understatement – we saw ancient Rome unearthed, and I almost passed out due to a combination of lack of oxygen and no goldfish. (I have been carrying snack packs around). I had to move a nun so I could sit on a million year old step. I feel bad now, but it was better than throwing up on a 1000 year old casket thing. I’ll let someone else tell you about what we learned, I checked out trying not to pass out. As Joanna just said, “I checked out trying to stay alive.” I will say that the tombs were cool.

St. Peter's Basillica

Next stop…lunch. We ate at a nondescript sidewalk café and it was delicious. Right outside of Vatican city. Every single one of us finished our plates and we headed out to get expresso and gelato.

Matt's lunch - delicious!

We had to hurry home so we could meet Tim’s family for dinner in the evening in Pomezia. We left at 5:45 for dinner…this trek included a 20 min walk to the subway, 2 subway runs, and then a bus. We JUST missed the bus so we were a little late in meeting his family. When we arrived, they could not have been more friendly. We met Tim’s grandmother’s sister (Lena) and her family (her son Vittorio, daughter Bianca, Carlo, Giuseppi). We met at her lovely home and then made our way over to dinner. Vittorio drove the four of us to Torvainicca (beach town) to eat pizza at Vessovio. (side note, this pizza place is on a street called Boston. We had pizza in Boston hehe). Ok, now I love pizza. Any of you that know me know that. We had the BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD. Vittorio ordered for us - we thought we were sharing. Oh no, we each got our OWN PIZZA. Joanna and myself each had tomato and mozzarella pizza, Matt and Tim and Tomato, Mozzarella and Anchovies. I can’t stress how good these pizzas were. Just truly heaven. Very big too. Oh – missed our appetizer – we’re in Italy here, NEVER just one course. We had spuffi - I’m calling it Rome’s take on Arancini. It is truly delicous. We had some sort of fried potato that was awesome. Bruschetta. And who knows what else. It was delicious!

BEST PIZZA in the WORLD - this is just HALF!

We thought that was all she wrote until we heard that a great gelato place was just around the corner and we had to try. How can you pass up gelato? You can’t – especially when an Italian family is telling you to take some. You don’t say no. For any of you out there that think you can say no, you can’t. Trust me. Why would you want to - the food is so damn good. Just eat and hope you don’t get sick. So back to the gelato – we ate at La Dolce Vita. JoJo had Nutella (ok so random side note, JoJo loves Nutella and nearly died when she saw it was a gelato flavor), I had Taco which is basically nuts, chocolate, vanilla, carmel and whatever else the kitchen sink can hold, Tim had mint (Tim likes mint as much as Joanna likes Nutella), and Matt had Zuppa Inglese. Vittorio then drove us back to Rome. Thanks Vittorio!! All in all a truly fantastic experience. Tim’s family treated us like kings and fed us the best food they could find. They welcomed us like their own and we are all truly thankful! Thank you!!!!

Lena, Bianca, Tim, Giuseppi, Vittorio outside of the Geletaria

--Katie

When in Rome…

So after our flight to Rome, (last flight until we leave, woohoo) we headed for the hotel. 4 of us, with luggage, in a tiny taxi. When the fourth piece of luggage didn’t fit in a bad excuse for a trunk, the taxi driver decided to give it to the patrons of the backseat (Joanna, Katie, Matt). What a way to start Rome!

 Our hotel is Alberto Santa Chiara and it is steps from the Pantheon. We are staying in a 4 person suite (one room with a king bed and another with two twins). It looks like a lodge, complete with wood cielings.
Check it out:

Once we unpacked at the hotel, we made reservations for dinner (under Muratore, of course hehe) and headed out to explore ancient Rome. First stop: Santa Maria Maggiore. This church is one of the four Papal Basilicas in Rome. Bernini is buried here, and the church is HUGE. I would stop if you’re in the area – very beautiful. If you couldn’t guess, Matt loved it the most. We explored some more, stopping along the way at the Capuchin Crypt. VERY COOL.   Joanna’s FAVORITE stop.  
Check it out:

We hit the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps (PACKED), & the Vitorio Emanuel Monument. Oh I forgot to mention all of the hills. We explored along the way – lotsa walking to burn off all of that pasta!

We came back for showers and then headed out to our dinner spot – Quirino. Recommended by a friend of Tim’s AND Frommer’s, we decided to give it a whirl. Location wise, the restaurant is pefect. Steps from the Trevi Fountain, this ambiance couldn’t be beat. Food was so-so, our shared starter – eggplant involtini, was the best thing of the night. Matt and Tim both had Veal Saltimbocca, Joanna had Orange Duck, and I had Gnocchi. The boy’s meals were good, Joanna and myself, eh, ok. As expected, we’ve been hitting home runs in Italy with food – so maybe our standards are high? Who knows, the night was great – we enjoyed the location and the company. We made new friends – a couple that had spent a week in Tuscany and were finishing a short trip to Rome. One was from Ireland and the other from Florida. We spent an hour discussing everything from Top Chef to Cinque Terra. Good times! After a quick stop at the Trevi at night (gorgeous all lit up), we trekked our way back to our hotel to rest up! Next stop- the Vatican!

--Kate

Dr. Strange Streets or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sea

So… we realized that among all of this blogging madness, we have neglected to tell you just how fantastically beautiful Castellamare del Gulfo and our hotel are. This is the part of blogging I love – not writing. Photos do a much better job of expressing visual stimuli anyway, so here you go. Wallow in your envy.

Outside our hotel...

Not THE stairs I refer to later, but still steep!

Katie, Matt and Tim enjoy an evening stroll.

After the last two posts, I'm sure you think that we've done and seen everything that the tiny little island of Sicily can provide for its tourists. WRONG. That little rock that's being kicked by the big boot also happens to offer the most beautiful beach I've ever encountered. And by encountered, I mean what Samantha Brown has shown me. San Vito Lo Capo, which was recommended to us by Franco and our hotel's Concierge, Giusy (pronounced Juicy, and yes, that's a girl, and no, she isn't "juicy" at all) provides its patrons with warm, clear waters, immaculate sand, and even some crazy rafts with built-in slides that you can take into the depths of the sea. But sadly, no nudity.

I actually went into the water. And stayed there. I was constantly jerking around looking as if I had a twitch, through, because I was convinced that the array of seaweed was actually fish. Luckily, my eyes have been boycotting a normal level of functioning and I haven’t been able to wear my contacts here, so I didn't see any of the fish that swam around us. But never the type to quell my fears, Matt, Katie and Tim assure me that fish were up close and personal during our swim.


After baking in the sun and surf, we had a delicious lunch at a seaside restaurant and our first gelato at a nearby cafe. By the way... did we mention that Italians reverse the traditional American lunch and dinner? That means we've been having massive, three course lunches on a daily basis. On the plus side, I don't go to bed uncomfortably full. On the downside, every afternoon makes me look 6 months pregnant.


Getting back to the hotel, we realized, was getting progressively more difficult each time. Practically all streets are one way, about 3 feet wide, and have various obstacles like STEPS and zooming Smart Cars passing you on both sides. This time, we didn't even know how to get down to the water we were on, so we just ended up parking on a random side street a few levels up from the ocean. What this meant was... the following morning when we had to leave our hotel, we would each need to hike our bags up the most treacherous stairs EVER BUILT. About 75 steps, uneven pavement, nothing to hold on to, and carrying an extra 50 pounds. I anticipated my impeding death and said goodbye to my fellow travelers over our final pizza dinner in Sicily. Katie assured me that if I did die by falling down the Sicilian Stairs of Death that she would have a good laugh. True sisterly love.


The following morning at 6am, we achieved the impossible and made it to the top of the stairs with no death de Joanna. It appeared that I would live to see the rest of Italy after all with sore muscles and a feeling of personal victory.

- Joanna

We made it!

Whirlwind of a day, part duo

So if you're following our day, it is about 4pm.  We're about to head out to meet the other Muratore family in Palermo.  Bring on the roads - Matt can handle it!

We met up with Gloria, Clara, Gloria's boyfriend Francesco, and Francesco's brother, Alessi in Palermo.  We then followed their car to see all of the hot sites in Palermo.  This crew were excellent hosts - the best.  They printed out info on all of the sites (complete with underlining :) hehe) and allowed us to follow them.  Gloria was great to follow - Palermo is CRAZY with traffic, competing with NY (NY with scooters, seriously?!?) and she always took us to a location where we could park.  Awesome.  We saw a Sicilian wedding party on the coast, we saw the four corners, Teatro Massimo, Cathedral of Palermo, and many more!

L-R: Gloria, Francesco, Clara

Our last stop was at a little cafe where we all grabbed a snack.  ARANCINI  for Matt and myself- yummy!  Tim had pizza with hot dog topping and artichokes, Joanna had what she described as 'the best pizza she has had in Italy', and Becks for all.  We were exhausted, so we decided head back to our quiet hotel on the bay....hahaha

L-R: Katie, Tim, Matt, Joanna, Gloria, Clara, Alessio

Sex, Sex, SEX ON THE BEACH! (aka the most popular song at Booga Wooga)

What we didn't realize is Castellammare Del Golfo turns into New Years Eve on Miami beach circa 1978.  GAYLE'S greatest hits Volumes 1 through 12.  Every citizen in a 20 mile radius between the ages of 15-40 come out.  And they bring their babies, too.  You have baby, in a bar, at 2am?!  The local eateries and bars pump on the tunes and you PARTY ON THE BAY!!!!!  So, since our hotel was RIGHT THERE (couldn't sleep anyway), we decided to have a few beers and hang out.  GOOD TIMES.  Fireworks, dancing, and we could roll into bed!

Drunk in Italy > Drunk anywhere else

Tomorrow - the BEACH!

Whirlwind of a day, part uno

Well we are a few days late in posting this (time is at a premium), but we have lots to share from our first full day in Italy.  We started the day taking a 45 minute drive to Segesta (with Matt braving the hills, NARROW drives, and crazy scooters..with a stick and the largest van in Sicily.  We actually had a trunk!).  Segesta is besta says Joanna.  It is a 5th Century BC doric temple that you can see here:

It was quite a hike to get there (we WILL have awesome legs after this trip).  Check out a shot of the way up - this photo doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it was a hike!!!

After we made our way back down, we set off to visit Franco in Carini.  Franco lives on a side road with the smallest driveway known to man.  It might have been fine if we had a typical car in Europe, but no, we had this van that was big even for American standards.  Long story short, we left a memory on our Fiat minivan...
Oops.

Honestly, this driveway was TINY....cute though, right???

Franco, Matt and Joanna's relative, was a fabulous host.  He took us to a cute little restaurant called Pirata.  This restaraunt could have been the set for Pirates of the Caribbean.   It was AWESOME.  Now onto the food...well the food was fabulous.  We had about 6 courses.  We started with a fish Antipasti (fried squid, sardines, oysters, mussels, fried broccoli, pannella, eggplant, veal meatballs - yummy sauce), then we had our  pasta course (eggplant and fish in a red sauce, linguine and clams), followed by our fish course (it was a white fish that we think was called Orate - yummy.  The fish was served whole and we had to grab the yumminess.  We also had some head  to tail shrimp that may have been the best I've ever tasted.  I think there was some calamari in this course as well).  I forgot to say we were full after the appetizer!   We had the whole thing with some white wine.  We ended with lemon sorbet.  Nice refreshing end.

Shot of Tim and Joanna with the fish course:

Day isn't over yet...we still have to head to Palermo!   I'll leave this post with a shot of Franco and Matt:

Thanks for being such a fab host, Franco!

Stay tuned....

Mountains and Monsoons and Cherubs... Oh, My!

Holy jet lag, Batman. So this is what all of my cultured and well-traveled friends and acquaintances have complained about all these years. I've slept appoximately 1.5/ the last um... 24 hours? I think? Since I left, anyway. I still don't have this damn time change figured out. We're six hours ahead of Philly, so you can use your mathematical skills and figure it out for me. I went to art school for a reason - homie don't do math.

As you can see from my blogging, I did not die on the way here. Unless I'm blogging in the afterlife, which would be really pathetic. To answer my own question from my previous post, my plane entertainment included "Babies" (which is completely overrated or probably just not appreciated by people like me who have taken care of so many different kids from different cultures who curse themselves for not thinking of such an obvious idea for a documentary oh and by the way there is absolutely no narration which fucking sucks in a documentary where your main subjects don't fucking talk) about 5 minutes of "Why Did I Get Married Too?" (because I couldn't take any more than that), and a bunch of "House." I had never seen "House" before, and when I found myself actually welling up in tears at the season finale, I realized... long flights are not for me.

Anyway... we're here in Palermo, Sicily in an adorable little hotel right on the water. It's GORGEOUS here (minus the massive amounts of rain we're getting). Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures soon. There are huge-ass mountains with quaint little houses everywhere. I should write travel books - that was just so eloquent. I am exhausted - did I mention that? Katie wanted me to post a blog entry so I had to go against my creative flow and post when I wasn't inspired, man. You arsty folk out there feel me.

OH! There are fucking paintings of cherubs in EVERY ROOM. In case you don't know, I have a massive cherub phobia. Bring on the nightmares. I want some damn pizza. And sleep. And to not have dead naked babies with wings stare at me as I sleep.

- Joanna

Note - Spell-check isn't working. Quit your judging, asshole. Sorry. I'm tired. You're not an asshole. I love you.

We've Arrived. And so has the rain...

Well it feels like an enternity from when we set off on our journey out of Newark.  We flew to Rome, had a 2 hour layover, and then took AlItalia to Palermo. 

So where do I start?  Tim found a friend that he chatted with the entire way.  She is studying in Milan and offered to show us the sites when we get there.  Reminded me of the last time I flew to Europe...she who shall not be named had a very similar story :)

Anyway, chicken teriaki and a few snacks later (yummy plane food - NOT)...we are about to go experience what I've heard so much about ITALIAN FOOD :)  And some sleep.

Before I depart..Matt drove us to this little hotel where we are now staying, and let me just say, funiest part of the trip so far.  Palermo doesn't handle rain well and our hotel is right on the water.  All of the rain from the mountains is coming our way, and we had to drive through a huge flood to get here.  And the car is a stick.  And all of the roads are skinny and windy.  Thanks Matt! 

Over and out.
Kate