Arrivederci Italia!

Roma. This ancient and great city almost deserves a blog of its own because it is...um well, so ancient and so great! Yes it is super touristy, yes there are tacky souvenir stores strewn everywhere and yes there are people dressed up as Gladiators constantly harassing tourists to be photographed with them. Aside from all of that, it is difficult not to be awed by the sheer amount of significant historic monutments. It's hard to believe that they all fit into the confines of one city.

Our first morning in Roma didn't start off smoothly for us though. Whilst Italians are exceptional makers of coffee, the take-away variety is still pretty much non-existent. Especially where we were staying, in the suburbs of Rome, a lazy one hour journey to the city centre (mistake #1). Conscience of the one hour commute ahead of us and wanting to fit in as much sight-seeing as possible, Jay and I made our way to the local cafe, and ordered a takeaway coffee and tea (mistake #2). After some confusion, a few hand gestures and the assistance of a couple of locals, the barrister finally understood that we were after takeaway beverages. Unbeknownst to us, she was making them in pre-used plastic juice bottles, which we soon found out still retained the flavours of their original contents. It was hard not to hide the disappointment we felt on our faces as we half-heartedly thanked the barrister for her efforts and made on with the rest of our day, albeit with a coffe tasting like grapefruit and tea tasting off pineapple.

The fateful vessel of our early morning beverages

The significance of Roma as the capital of Catholicism shouldn't go unmentioned either. Despite ongoing controversies surrounding the Pope and the frustratingly conservative nature of the Catholic church, it goes without saying that the Vatican complex, including St Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, were incredibly breathtaking to visit. And to think that these immense and intricately decorated places of worship were built during the 16th and 17th centuries is another feat in itself.

Inside Saint Peter's Basilica

A view over the Vatican from the dome of St Peter's Basilica

Funny uniformed Vatican guards

The impressive walkway leading to the Sistine Chapel

Having well and truly walked ourselves out in Rome, we decided to give our feet a bit of a rest and hopped on a 12 hour train down to Sicily in southern Italy. Even though the train ride itself was uneventful, it's worth mentioning that to cross the channel from mainland Italy to Sicily, our train drove directly onto an awaiting ferry. With the train on board (and us too), the ferry then crossed the channel.  Once arriving in Sicily the train disembarked the ferry and continued in its tracks! Wowzas!

Our first stop was Palermo. Being in Palermo was like arriving in another country. Aside from people speaking Italian, we never would have guessed we were still in Italy. It was utterly chaotic, with horns blaring, piles of rubbish dumped everywhere, run-down grey buildings lining the streets and the smell of pollution encompassing the city. A stark contrast to the vivid green hills and fresh country air of central Italy. Also in stark contrast was our first night's accommodation with a genuine drug addict. But the story of our hasty exit has no place in this G-rated blog.   

Sicilians evidently also love foosball...there were tables placed around all over the city!

But what Sicily did have was granita (a Sicilian speciality made from ice and typically almond syrup). And cannolli. And lots of almonds (they even come in a crushed form to sprinkle over meals instead of parmesan). And, most excitedly, the brioche con gelati – or less eloquently put, an ice-cream sandwich. Literally. We were acquainted with this devilish dessert on our first night in Palermo, and after seeing hoards and hoards of Sicilians lining up to purchase this treat, we joined in to see what all the fuss was about!

Get in my belly! Ironically the chocolate flavours we chose happened to make our brioche look like a meat-filled one!

Mmmmm yum cannolli!

 

After Palermo, we made our way to the east coast of Sicily, to a lovely little town called Siracuse. Siracuse was a lot less chaotic and dirty than Palermo. It was a lot less touristy too. There was a gorgeous old-town area by the port with an outrageously good market we had lots of fun visiting. We left the market with fresh, handmade pasta and pistachio pesto to make for dinner that night, molto delizioso!! 

The very awesome market of Siracuse

Crazy Sicilian zucchini!

Siracuse also happened to be the home of the best gelati we had in Italy - the ricotta and pistachio flavours were a treat!

Jump if you love Italian food!

Our next stop was Taormina, a clifftop coastal town further north of Siracuse. Unfortunately Taormina has been overrun by tourists and the town itself has lost a lot of its quaint charm. That said, it had an absolutely stunning beachfront for us to enjoy – we didn't take our camera there so this postcard image will have to make do.

Our last destination in Italy was Napoli (Naples), the city which happens to be the birthplace of Italy's most famous and ingenious foods – the humble pizza. Admittedly it was rather intimidating being in THE HOME TOWN OF PIZZA, a food so very world-renowned. Nevertheless, we did not shy away from the challenge of finding THE BEST PIZZA IN NAPOLI (which, given that Napoli is the home of pizza, would mean we were seeking the best pizza in the world). And, I am proud to admit, we came very close, if not actually succeeding, in accomplishing this challenge! Having consumed many a pizzas in our lifetime, in many a different cities, I can confidently say that we undoubtedly ate the best pizzas possible in Napoli. 

A speedy Napolian pizza connoisseur

What was it that set these pizzas miles apart from the common-place varieties of our pasts? Put simply, it was due to their sheer simplicity. A well-rested dough, coupled with an outrageous, bursting-with-flavour passata (tomato) paste, layered with deliciously creamy buffalo cheese, cooked in a searing wood-fired oven for no longer than 3 minutes, was all that was needed to create the best pizzas of our entire lives. That was it. No unnecessary vegetables or silly stuffed crusts. Just a simple, well-prepared and executed combination of tomatoes, cheese and dough. Coupled with a beer (as is customary to have with pizza and subsequently the only time we tried beer in Italy), the meal was most definitely a bon appetit!

Oh-my-goodness-yum in a box!!!!

 

Aside from out-of-this-world pizzas, Napoli was another incredibly chaotic Italian city. It too was loud, dirty and grungy, but it definitely had a lot more charm and appeal in comparison to Palermo. And a lot more washing hanging up in the streets too.

It was laundry day everyday in Napoli!

We went on a day-trip to Pompeii too. To be able to walk around such a well-preserved ancient city (Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city in 79AD) was a truly unique experience, especially as it wasn't difficult to imagine day-to-day life in what would have been a very bustling town. It was a great way to finish off our Italian adventure and we left with our eyes, ears and stomachs incredibly satisfied! Grazie mille Italia!

The notorious Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background of Pompeii

A plaster cast of an ill-fated Pompeiian

The main street of Pompeii

So Much Fun on the Boat!

Before there was IKEA, or for that matter Sweden, there was the story of how we got to Sweden. And what better way to visit the land of the Vikings than by boat? Or in our case, a cargo ship that transports trucks and drivers (plus any extras like Jay and myself) between Poland and Sweden. With passengers that looked nothing like the valiant blonde warriors who sailed the Baltic seas of the past, but rather bulging male truck drivers (and us), we set sail from the northern Polish city of Gdansk. Feeling inspired by the adventurous nature of the Vikings, we too braved the rough winds and seas of the Baltic, so as to bring to you, our trusted family and friends, these photos for your perusal, straight from the deck of our (cargo) ship:

Awkward, they spelt Stockholm wrong...

Our trusty cargo ship

Us on the crazy deck of our ship - it really was wild!

Such a lifesaver!

The decision of 'where should we eat tonight' proved to be an arduous one on our first night in Stockholm. We really weren't asking for all that much; only something typically Swedish, delicious, relatively nearby and within our budget. Sadly for us, this was turning out to be rather difficult to achieve. After a strenuous hour of walking around, we finally settled on a pizza restaurant which fitted the bill, pun intended. Although you may have scoffed at the word pizza, this was not just any old pizza restaurant. This establishment served crusty wood-fired pizzas topped with the Swedish delicacies of reindeer and venison. For the record, neither Rudolph nor Bambi were particularly tasty, but nevertheless it was a very adequate introduction to the lesser known world of Swedish cuisine. Not to mention the 'Falcon' beer which accompanied the meal – the best we've had on this trip by far!

Needless to say, reindeer on pizza tastes just as good as it sounds.

A much more delicious and quintessential Swedish dinner was had the following night. In a Swedish style beer-halle, filled with the ambience of glowing candles and the merry voices of its eager patrons, our mouths were watering from the smell of all things delicious wafting from the kitchen. And the food did not disappoint. After devouring a surprisingly tasty dish of assorted flavoured herring, we dug into the classic meal of Swedish meatballs, accompanied by mashed potatoes and lingoberries – mmm yum!

Swedish meatballs!

However, not all restaurant experiences have been so successful and pleasant. On one such occasion we decided to go to Lonely Planet's 'top pick' in Cesky Krumlov; described as a vegetarian's haven. This was particularly appealing given the lack of vegetables we had recently consumed. We were seated in the cosy cave-like restaurant by a waitress who spoke English very well. To begin with we ordered two glasses of water - a seemingly uncomplicated request. Or so we thought. The waitress came back with one glass of water, asking us what else we had ordered? Another glass of water please! We proceeded to order our meals. In the meantime we noticed a group of six sitting across from us, bringing the total number of patrons in the restaurant to a hefty eight. This proved to be quite an issue for our waitress, who was visibly flustered and obviously stressed; in a restaurant that again had been recommended as the 'top pick' for that city.

Having finished our meal, which for the sake of this blog was bland and unexciting in flavour, we decided to give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt and order some dessert. After finally gaining the attention of our waitress, whose stress levels in the meantime had disproportionately risen in size, we asked if we could order dessert. Again what we thought was a seemingly routine request. The expression of our waitress quickly changed from stressed to visibly pained and she hurriedly said that they didn't really have any desserts to offer us – only sweet pancakes and fruit-filled dumplings. Curious to see where this saga would take us, we ordered two servings of dumplings. Jay had also wanted a coffee, but read the desperate plea from the waitress and decided not to follow through with the order; the first time we had ever felt guilty for ordering at a restaurant. Akin to feeling bad for going to the doctor for a sore throat. Having finished our dessert (also average and unexpectedly sour), we again struggled to get the attention of our flustered waitress. Finally we asked for the bill. Now, without meaning to brag, we have been to quite a number of restaurants around the world and can conclude that there is a universal etiquette concerning the bill (India included). It is usually prepared before bringing it to the customers. Not here! Instead, the waitress brought the menu along with a blank piece of paper to our table, asked us to repeat what we had ordered, searched the menu for the price of each dish and then tallied up our total. If that wasn’t bizarre enough, she began laughing hysterically because the total came to 444Kr, an apparently amusing number. The genuine hilarity of the entire evening caught up to us and we also began to laugh both with and at her. We paid for our fare and left the restaurant baffled and bewildered by, without doubt, the most bizarre and comical restaurant experience we've ever had! Thank you Lonely Planet.

Cesky Krumlov - even though dining out was rather hilarious you were one beautiful town.

Lonely Planet also recommeded this park, described as a 'must see' in Stockholm. Needless to say we were rather underwhelmed.

Whilst in Prague, there were quite a few hilarious fads which we noticed amongst fellow tourists, in particularly those in Italian school groups. Before I go on, it's worth mentioning that in Prague, 'Duff Beer' – the fictional beverage featured in 'The Simpson’s' – is very much a reality here, and is sold in most liquor stores across the city. If that's not comical enough, there are also 'Duff Beer' tracksuits available for sale, to which the aforementioned Italian students have taken a liking too, parading these not-so-suave outfits across the exquisite streets of Prague. Hilarious. And if that hasn't caused a giggle from you yet, then picture said 'Duff Beer' clad tourists navigating the cobbled lane ways of Prague on segways, in groups, often looking very much out of control – need I say more!? 

There's actually never a dull moment when segways are around!

Historical monuments are SO EXCITING!