An Italian Road Trip
Here’s some of our favorite pictures from the trip as well as my ten favorite memories written below —
ROME
SPERLONGA
NAPLES
POSITANO
Italy has been our DREAM trip for so many years now. We went mostly for the food (duh) but Anthony also was dying to see where his family came from. The country did not disappoint. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about everything we ate and saw but instead decided it’d be better to share ten things I want to remember about this trip. So here we go:
We drove everywhere and it was amazing to see all the in-between spots. I never really thought about Italy having mountains (which is ridiculous because I was well aware we were going to Positano which is literally a cliff) but it was stunning. We listened The Lumineers and John Mayer and it all felt like a movie— UNTIL we got down to Positano where the roads are so small and windy and cliff-y. We were both very stressed about falling off the cliff.
Sperlonga is a magical city. The days we spent there were by far the most relaxing of the trip. There were no tourists and we were the only people in every restaurant we went to. People were surprised when we would show up to eat because there was just no one there. We just sat by the sea and read books all day and it felt like a real vacation.
Naples had the beeeeeest food. The city itself wasn’t great but we ate the best pizza of my life. The last night we were there we went to our favorite pizzeria Atillio and I was seriously sad at the thought of never having that pizza again. We also had the best gelato there. Every day was just pizza and gelato and more pizza and more gelato.
We had the best time doing a pizza making class in Naples. We’re always trying to outdo our own homemade pizzas and they gave us a new recipe that’s supposed to mimic the Neapolitan style pizza in a home oven. We will be trying out the recipe very soon and will definitely share if it works well!
Everywhere we went we were unsure about how much food we should be ordering. Italy does a “primi” pasta course and a “contorini” main course but we were always too full and could never make it to the “contorini” course. One night in Sperlonga, we decided to go for it and ordered a “twelve fillets” entree along with our pasta course and appetizer. Those were the only words that were translated into English so we didn’t know what fillets we were ordering exactly but it sounded fresh so we went for it. As the meal went on, we got fuller and fuller and started to dread these twelve fillets of something that were coming. We were dying of laughter every time the waiter left because we just couldn’t imagine eating one more bite of food, let alone twelve fillets. The dreaded fillets never came and the waiter brought the check. We were so happy he forgot but then realized that the twelve little anchovies he brought out in the beginning were actually our twelve fillets and not a complementary appetizer. Don’t ask me how many Euros we spent on that twelve fillet can of anchovies (yikes).
There was fresh jasmine growing everywhere in all of the cities we went. We would be walking down the road and just catch a huge whiff and it made me fall in love with the scent.
The architecture in Rome was so gorgeous and so distinct— the moment we got there we immediately felt like we were in Italy. We loved walking around the Trastevere section of the city in all the non—touristy little streets and alleys. We did that the first afternoon we got there and we were just so happy walking around aimlessly. It definitely beat all the touristy parts of Rome.
We didn’t love Positano because despite the amazing view, it was so crowded and touristy. BUT there was this bakery (Collina Bakery) there that had lemon gelato served in hollowed out lemons and I was in loooooove. We were only there for two full days but I think I had four of those lemon things haha. Every time we passed we just had to stop and get one.
As soon as we got to Naples I found out that I had passed my final CPA exam! I was anxious the day leading up to it because I knew the scores were going to drop and it was the biggest relief to find out I was finally done with studying. It felt like I was coming back from Italy to a new life — one where I didn’t spend all my time working and studying.
Anthony and I always talk about how nice it would be to quit our jobs and open up a pizza place and get to spend 24/7 together. I think partly it’s because we still have PTSD from being long distance for so many years but it always feels like we can’t get enough of each other. It was so nice to be able to spend so much uninterrupted time together.
I’m writing this as we’re packing and getting ready to leave on ANOTHER trip. Anthony’s brother is getting married this weekend so we’re going to Seattle and a family cruise to Alaska. I’ve never been on a cruise but I’ve heard there’s endless soft serve so I think I’ll like it just fine :)
Hope everyone has a great weekend!