Day 7: Capri!

Then, from Napoli we were finally able to take a ferry to Capri on our second to last day in the South!

Here are a couple of pictures of the scenery!

After lying about on the beach reading "Heat," we headed over to "Barbarossa" to grab a quick lunch.


Of course, I had to order Caprese salad on Capri island!

For my primo, I ordered a combo--I chose the fresh pasta with seafood on the right of the plate and also a lemon creamed based risotto with shrimp in them. The risotto was a bit too creamy for my taste, but it was still quite good.

Then after a full day in Capri, we went back to Napoli for one last night. The morning of the day we were leaving, we went back to Da Michele and had pizza once again! I also got a margherita to go and ate a part of it on the train ride back to Bologna.

What a great trip!

Day 6: Sorrento/Amalfi

We tried to go to Capri again but the waves were too strong once again.. Since we were awake super early to try to take the ferry, we decided to just take a bus to Sorrento. We decides that we didn't like Sorrento quite as much as the other places that we visited on our trip.. It might have to do with the fact that a. we were exhausted b. there were sooo many people c. we just wanted to lie on the beach all day but there wasn't really a beach.. We walked all the way to one in the neighboring town but then the beach was closed... 

Anyhoodles, we dined at "La Basilica," which was recommended on the website of Fodors.

The food was quite delicious! 

I had a seafood salad platter with those delicious intense lemon dressing like drops. Pictured below.

And since I was in Sorrento, I only thought it would be appropriate for me to order Gnocchi!

We also had to go to Gelateria Primavera, which is apparently a very famous gelato place. It was CRAZY packed in there. To be honest, I don't remember the flavors too well, which probably means that I didn't think it was unbelievable? But I could be completely wrong...

Just a view of Sorrento!

Then for our last meal in Amalfi, we went back to Il Tari'! We didn't take any chances this time. We made a reservation the night before to assure us a table.


Because this was our first weekday, I was able to order their dinner menu for an incredible price. It was unbelievable.


Mussel with linguini pictured below as my primo.

Fried seafood platter pictured below. MMMMM!

A side dish of a simple salad.

The waiter recognized us by the second night, so we were able to grab a picture with him on our last night!

Day 5: Positano/Praiano/Amalfi!

... And then the tour of the Amalfi coast truly began!

We were planning on going to Capri this day but then the waves were too rough, so we just took the bus to head over to Positano instead.

Even though it started as a cloudy day, the weather got much better throughout, which made the water look even more beautiful! 

For lunch, we just walked into a restaurant that looked quite good from the outside and also had a reasonable price. I went for a seafood risotto that was not only huge in serving size, but there was absolutely no fishy taste. I was also quite impressed with the wide selection of seafood represented in this risotto.

As we were walking around in search for a bathroom, we came upon "La Zagara," a very famous bakery in Positano. At first, we had no idea that this place was so good. The first time we went in, we got a little savory snack. Then, we went back in for dessert after lunch. The Delizia al Limone pictured below was absolutely divine. It was creamy, subtly sweet, true to its lemon nature. Also, the small wild strawberry on top just pushed it over the edge. We may or may not have ventured in one more time before we headed out from Positano..

Since the weather cleared up, we got out our towel and sat on the beach for a bit while the sun lasted.

Then, we headed over to Praiano, a nearby town to meet up with Samantha's relatives. They haven't kept in touch throughout but it was quite touching how they were able to just reminisce together. The family was also extremely nice to me and Allie. We got to taste homemade pastiera!

...Then, we went back to Il Tari'! I ordered the same appetizer because I was so in love with it the first time I got there. The fried seaweed ball was not my favorite so I asked them if they could switch it with something and the waiter was kind enough to substitute those with calamari!! I definitely appreciated that!

For the main dish, I went for a pasta dish once again and it was their house specialty seafood pasta with, of course, their fresh pasta. The pasta doesn't look like anything special, but the sauce was so delicious that despite the fact that I was stuffed, I wiped all the sauce off the plate with bread.

Day 4 Part 2: Il Tari' in Amalfi

(Before we even begin, I gulped as soon as I saw the pictures..)

Then, we found our favorite restaurant on this trip. Thanks to Fodor's guide online, I found Il Tari', which has the great "cent mark" next to it in terms of affordability and after our tasting, has a flavor that is THE BEST. (I probably could have worded that more eloquently but I really am getting too hungry just looking at the photos so I am not even going to bother).

This was the first time where I had fried whole anchovies. They would have been great on their own but to make it even better, it was stuffed with provolone cheese... The other fried things were absolutely fantastic as well, but I could not get over how delicious and juicy the anchovies were!

I also read that the freshly made pasta here is unbelievable so I got the vongole with it. This vongole in particular was served with zucchini and bits of pecorino. I thought it was quite interesting that it was served with pecorino because usually seafood dishes aren't served with cheese.. Hrmmm... (Actually, I have received a couple of horrified looks from Italians when I asked if I can add it to my seafood risotto...)

You will soon realize.. that we made it back to Il Tari' as much as possible during our stay in Atrani.. Thank god our base camp was so close to Amalfi!

Day 4: Ravello!

On the forth day, we took a little hike from Atrani to Ravello, which sits on top of Atrani and Amalfi. I do think that this is my favorite Italian town that I have been to (other than Bologna of course, since Bologna is my home!). It was just absolutely stunning and cute!!

Here are a few pictures of the beautiful view!

Day 2 of Napoli!

Day 2 in Napoli is the day I truly fell in love. I fell in love so much that sometimes I dream about this love. (No joke) I fell in love with "Da Michele" the famous pizzeria in Napoli that was also featured in "Eat, Pray, Love." It was featured in the Eat section of the book/film although, in my personal opinion, it could have been featured in the Pray or Love section too. But that might be just me.

This place means business. It has a long history and there are only two options--marinara or margherita. Being a cheese-lover, I went for the margherita. I also ordered Nastro Azzuro, a type of Italian beer, to go along with it.

It was just truly divine. You could taste the intensity of the tomato taste, there is just enough seasoning such as garlic and oregano but it really is a subtle addition and the tomato is the major player. And of course, the mozzarella is just to die for! It is not as cheesy as other types of pizza, but it is just the right amount of balance! The light beer also went so perfectly with the pizza!

Now the picture below is the look of true ecstasy.. Really..

And of course after a few hours, I was hungry again, so I grabbed an arancine.. 

For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the nice Chiaia district called "Umberto." I have been craving seafood for quite some time after being porked-out in Bologna. (Although I still love it so so much!) 


"Umberto" was great in that it's a very affordable restaurant but the atmosphere is kind of upscale! 


For an appetizer I had eggplant parm.. Wow, that name makes it sound like Italian-American food but it really was quite good!

For my primo piatto, I had linguini with bits of fish and lemon. So refreshing and perfect for me since it has a. a lot of lemon and b. fish!

For dessert, I had torta caprese, which consisted of almonds (?) or some kind of nut.. I can't recall off the top of my head because it's been some time.. And also a lot of lemon! (do you see a theme here?)

Day 1 in Southern Italy

Before I got to Italy, everyone told me that Bologna is the food-capital of Italy. And even after I have arrived in Italy, people have continued to tell me that that's true. At the same time, countless number of people have told me that I should really go to Southern Italy for the cuisine. So that's exactly what I did. Allie and Sam, my two friends on the Brown in Bologna program, were planning a trip to Southern Italy during our Easter break, it ended up working out fantastically for me!

Our first stop was Napoli. We dived right into the cuisine. We went to Gino Sorbillo on Via dei Trubunali for some world-famous pizza! It was quite good but it wasn't as good as the pizza we were gonna have the day after (blog post to follow!)

After dinner, we took a little walk, we went and got gelato!

Personally, it was a little too heavy for my taste, but the flavors were quite great! 

Day 3: Procida!

We decided to go to Procida because there was a Good Friday procession that is quite famous in Procida. The procession itself was unbelievable, but I also just fell in love with the island. All the colors of the buildings, the ocean and walks through the island.. It was just like a dream!

Here are a couple of photos from Procida!!

Cliffs of Moher

On our second day in Ireland, we decided to take a day trip with an Irish Paddywagon tour company and we chose to go to Cliffs of Moher.

Here are just a few shots of the beautiful landscape!

Jameson!

... And later that day, my friends and I headed over to the Jameson distillery.. After having gone through the Scotch Whiskey Experience, it was a bit repetitive especially when it explained the process of how Whiskey comes about, but I didn't complain too much because I was chosen as a special Whiskey taster so I got to try a. Johnny Walker B. Jameson C. Jack Daniels! 

Guinness!

You might start to see a trend here where we go on a lot of boozy experiences (exhibit a. Scotch Whiskey experience and now the Guiness Storehouse). But the thing is, they are just so much fun! Also, we have heard so much about the Guiness Storehouse even getting to Dublin that we just had to go!

My favorite part was obviously the part where I got to pour myself a perfect pint and also drink it too!

I even received a certificate of having poured the perfect pint!

Other than the Guiness-experience itself, the history of all the advertisements and posters were quite interesting. And the architecture itself of the factory building was quite modern and beautiful!


Welllll worth your visit even if you are not the biggest Guiness fan! But in my case, since I am a HUGE Guiness fan, it was definitely a must-see in Dublin!

Scotch Whiskey Experience

Jannie, Sami and I decided that we have to do the Scotch Whiskey Experience in Edinburgh. Is it touristy? Definitely. Is it really fun? Absolutely.

I was never a Scotch fan beforehand. All I knew about it was that my grandpa absolutely loved scotch and Johnny Walker was his go-to drink and whenever he would get a drink at a restaurant or a hotel it would usually be Scotch on the rocks.

I just got to try one of the Whiskeys offered at the place but it was actually quite good! Sami and Jannie were champions and got the 4 selection one!

I have never learned so much about Whiskey before! It was a really fun and great experience :) 

Sunrise from Arthur's Seat

No, it's not related to food but it's just so beautiful that I had to share it with you!