Italy is my favourite country in the whole world. They are my football world cup team (I know, I know, they didn’t make it this year), the food all around the country is amazing, the scenery is beautiful and their language is super sexy! So when planning my annual “summer” vacation at the beginning of this year (yes, it’s winter in Kenya so isn’t that the perfect time to get away?) where else could I choose than gorgeous Italy, the place that holds my heart… and my stomach.
I’ve been to Italy a couple of times before when I was much younger. Once to Rome and Venice and the other time to Florence, Pisa, Milan and Lake Como (where George and Amal live!). My fondest memories of those trips are more often than not related to food. From the first time I tried buffalo mozzarella when staying with our family friends, The Bordonis, in Roma, to staying above a pizza restaurant in a little apartment in Bellagio on Lake Como. I can still remember walking the streets of Rome as a young’un holding onto my mum with one hand and slurping on a chocolate gelato in the other hand.
I remember the beautiful canals of Venice, and the fireworks we saw over the Palace of the Doges. The magnificent Uffizi gallery in Florence and the stylish designer shops in Milan. The historic Villa Borghese and the Borghese Gallery in Rome also hold a special place in my mind, having always had a keen interest in Ancient Roman and Greek history. I remember being this know it all little 8 year old, explaining the myths behind the Ancient Roman gods and goddesses to my mum while traipsing around the museum, telling her about Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite), Mars (Ares), Romulus and Remus, Caesar and all the rest!
This time however, we decided to head down a little more south of Rome, instead of exploring up North like we had done in the past. This time I wanted to see the Amalfi Coast and witness in person the gorgeousness of Positano, Ravello, and the island of Capri, which I had seen in multiple photos all over Instagram and social media! And so, that’s what we did, and I’m going to tell you all about it and what exactly you should do if you decide to do the same! So here’s Part 1…
Firstly, let’s talk about the flight. I flew Qatar Airways from Nairobi to Rome, with a stopover in Doha of about an hour. My parents so very kindly splurged for a business class ticket for me and so I got to sleep in comfort and take a shower in the amazing Business lounge in Doha airport as well. Qatar is actually my favourite airline at the moment, and if you ever get the luxury of flying business – fly this one! The seats are fully flat and comfy AF. The entertainment is on point, with a huge selection to watch from new movies to old classics, Hollywood to Bollywood. I watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Snatched, Pitch Perfect 3, and a couple of others… (the flights are quite long, 6 hours to Doha and 7 hours to Rome). The food is actually insane, it’s almost gourmet standard and delicious, and what I love most is that you get to decide when you feel like eating – it doesn’t necessarily have to be right after take-off, it can be at any point in the flight! You also get this cute amenity kit from Brics filled with essentials like a face mist, hand moisturizer, lip balm and eye mask from Castello Monte Vibiano. Not only that, you also get pajamas on your night flights from The White Company!
So I landed in Rome at about 6 am, fully rested, and waited for my parents to land at 10. I spent my time at the airport buying a power adapter (essential), drinking Cappucinos and having my first taste of delicious Italian pastries while reading up on the Amalfi coast on my Kindle. Once they arrived, we took the Leonardo Express train from the airport to Rome Termini train station (about half an hour), and then a fast train from Rome Termini to Napoli Centrale station (about 1 hour). Be careful at both stations as there are a lot of pick pockets around! The trains are a great way of getting around and extremely fast and easy to use, just make sure you don’t have too much heavy luggage because it’s not easy to get on and off the train.
From Napoli Centrale we took a taxi to our AirBnB apartment located in the Lungomare area of Naples. The Lungomare is definitely the best area to stay in, it’s the safest to walk around in even at night, and it’s got some great little restaurants by the seafront. The views at the seafront are also stunning. You can rent the same apartment we did here, it’s perfect for families and can sleep up to 4 people. The best way to see the sights of Naples is to take the hop on hop off bus which costs about 26 euros per person per day. The red line goes around all the main sights in the city, where you should definitely get off and view the Naples Duomo and the Sotteranea (underground Naples), as well as the archeological museum which houses finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The blue line takes you around the Bay of Naples and offers some great views.
Naples is home to the Teatro San Carlo, the oldest operatic theatre in Italy which still puts on some performances. The interiors are beautiful and ceiling painting is definitely worth seeing. While I was there we went to watch the Opera “La Traviata”, a story about the tragic love between Violetta and Alfredo. The performance was excellent, and this was my first time watching the Opera – I absolutely loved it. Apparently you either love it or hate it, so I’m glad I was on that end of the spectrum!
Naples is the birthplace of Pizza (as most of you should know!) and for the best pizza you’ve ever had, head to Gino Sorbillo. The Naples pizza is made up of a really thin base, and huge airy crusts over which is spooned oodles of delicious tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella. The toppings are heavy so the base becomes almost soggy, and in true Naples style you need to fold up the pizza and gulp each quarter down in like three bites. Don’t bother eating anything else in Naples if you’re going to be in the coastal areas for the rest of your trip… Pizza is truly their speciality and you’ll regret not eating more of it if you don’t eat it for lunch and dinner every day while you’re there!
You also need to try Naples street food like the Sfogliatelle (a sweet pastry shaped like a lobster tail filled with ricotta) and Cuoppo (a paper cone stuffed to the brim with deep fried seafood) while you walk around the streets.
Stay tuned for part 2…
Cupcakes to Curry 