Porto 03/28/12-03/29/12

I fell in love with Porto almost instantly. It was such a beautiful city with so many excellent aspects. Porto reminded me a lot of San Francisco, but with more history, cooler buildings, nicer people and a much better beach. My love for the city may also have been related to it being the first destination of my solo adventure, but it really is a gem of a place. I stayed at the Andarilho Hostel. It was so funky and fun, and the staff was so laid back and welcoming. I would certainly live there for a long time if I could. The hostel had maps available, so I grabbed one that was put together by locals and pointed out the secret spots that make Porto so great. I saw many of the destinations. I was so impressed by the beautiful tile work all over the city, but the mosaic in the Sao Bento train station was by far the most magnificent. I was also amazed with one of the bookstores in the city. It was the most gorgeous bookshop I have ever seen. The map also pointed out a sushi restaurant, so I headed to it for lunch, but it was outdated, because the restaurant had closed down. So I went to another restaurant on the map. Luckily this one was still open. There I tried the Francesinha, a heart attack of a sandwich. It is two pieces of bread stacked with linguica, ham, sausage and steak, smothered with cheese and a beer and tomato sauce, topped with an egg and served on a bed of fries. It was so disgustingly delicious. An experience that just has to be had when in Porto.
I also very much enjoyed Porto's beach. It was quite a way outside of the center of town, so I hoped on a bus out there. The beach was very pebbly, but I loved the texture of the "sand." It felt so good to walk around on. There was a nearby park that I spent a lot of time in just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day. I walked all the way back in to town at a nice stroll (it was at least two miles). I ended my time in Porto relaxing at the hostel with the staff and other guests. One of the staff had family visiting, so they made a big meal for everyone. We had a tasty soup and a really great fish/potato/egg/carrot/greens dish that was somewhat like a casserole. I don't remember the name, but it was very good. And the company was excellent. I really enjoyed just relaxing at the hostel with everyone. I was so sad to leave Porto.

Barcelona 03/25/12-03/27/12

Barcelona was so clean and such a huge city. It was really nice and rich with history. We stayed at the Rambla Catalunya Hostel, also known as Hostel Windsor. It was incredibly confusing to find the reception desk, but luckily a group of patrons were walking in and directed us where we needed to go. The hostel was pretty nice, and the staff was super chill. Some of my favorite places in Barcelona were the magnificent Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Both were striking and so unique. The Boqueria Market was also a wonderful part of Barcelona. It was so full of life and excitement, and I got so much fresh, cut up fruit for so cheap. It was delicious! And of course I really loved lounging at the beach (especially because that's where I reunited with my girls, Melissa and Kristen)... until I got a really bad sunburn. My poor white legs were cooped up for so long they didn't know how to absorb the glorious rays. My favorite meal of the trip was definitely the set menu we did at the restaurant La Fonda. We got an appetizer, main course, dessert, 1/4 liter of wine and bread plus a pitcher of sangria all for only 20 euro each. And the portions were all huge! I was pretty much full after the appetizers, but that didn't stop me from continuing on. The three of us girls shared different plates so we were able to try a lot of the menu. It was an excellent find and a highlight to a wonderful trip.

Rome 03/22/12-03/24/12

 

Rome was a great time! I really loved the city and all of the beautiful sites. We stayed at the Mama Mia Bed and Breakfast. It was in a nice apartment complex in a really cute neighborhood near Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, but breakfast wasn't included. Go figure. There was, however, an excellent little pizza joint up the street, Pizzeria Yok, that served up some very tasty slices. The B&B was also only about a 10 minute walk away from the Colosseum. It was definitely our first stop! It was so epic to see the Colosseum in person. I can't even imagine what it would have been like in its heyday, though I'm sure it would have smelled awful. The nearby Palatine Hill was so gorgeous and green and lush. I also really loved the Trevi Fountain and threw in two coins.  The first to return to Rome, and the second for a wish. It may have been my favorite spot in the whole city. The Spanish Steps were also a great spot. And there was a gelato place right outside of the Metro stop for the steps, which had such good ice cream. Their pistachio gelato was the best pistachio ice cream I have ever had. Of course we also went to Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Basilica. It was HUGE. I mean gigantic. And so ridiculously adorned with paintings and statues and gold. I could spend every hour of the rest of my life there and never see every detail. It is something that has to be experienced to understand how vast it really is.

Also, the nightlife in Rome was a good time. I went on Rome's Ultimate Bar Hop and met some really great people. Basically half of the people there were from California, which was weird, but excellent. The crawl started at the Highlander Pub and headed to another bar and a club. It was a fun experience overall, and I really didn't want to leave Rome.

Capri 03/21/12

 

Wednesday Dad and I took the ferry to Capri for the day. The island is absolutely stunning! It is such a beautiful place, and the water is so clear and gorgeous shades of blue. Right after arriving around 10:30 a.m. we took a boat tour around the island. Our timing was perfect, because the sun was at a good angle to light up the island. We saw many of the famous sights, including the natural arch on the island and the arch rock near the island. We also saw the grotto verde, which was so stunning. The water was just such a beautiful color! Toward the end of the boat tour, we arrived at the blue grotto. The grotto is very small and can only be reached by row boat. We had to pay quite a bit more to go in, but it was worth every cent! The blue grotto is something that has to been seen first hand and experienced to fully understand and appreciate it. Pictures just don't do it justice. I give it my best shot to describe the awe-inspiring beauty. The grotto hangs off the island in to the ocean, so there is a large area below it that is just the ocean floor. The sunlight reflects off of the sand up into and on the white rocks of the grotto. It is about 65 feet deep, so the water is a gorgeous blue color. It was one of the coolest things I have seen.
After the tour we headed to the one beach on the island for a bit. Then we went to Cafe Augusto for lunch. The restaurant staff was very nice, and the food was outstanding! We got caprese salad, and it was just so tasty. I have been wanting fresh basil on something the whole time I've been in Italy, and I finally got it! It was definitely worth the wait, because the caprese salad was so good and fresh. I also had seafood risotto, which had clams, mussels and shrimp. It was so delicious and hit the spot. The house white wine I had paired nicely with my meal. We finished our meal with the dessert of the day, a flaky pastry filled with custard and raspberry sauce.
The rest of the day we hiked up to the city center. It was about 15-minutes uphill, alternating between stairs and an incline. It was quite a work out, but totally worth it, because we got some good views of the city below. We caught the ferry back to Naples and had a late dinner at Sobrillo Pizzeria. Again, Naples pizza is huge! Capri was such a wonderful island and a great place to visit!

Naples 03/20/12

 

Since our bus dropped us off so early, I was worried that we would have to lug our bags around for a few hours until we could check in. But we decided to head straight to the hostel, Hostel Pizza Naples. It turned out really well, because the guy working the desk was really nice and let us check in early. We arrived at the hostel at 7 a.m. and had to buzz to get in, so we woke the poor guy up. But he was really nice about everything and helpful once he got out of his delirious state. He also let us partake in the free breakfast for that morning! The hostel was really cute and tucked away on a small side street in a little neighborhood. I really loved the feeling of being in the city, rather than in a super touristy area.
Naples was a huge city and very dirty. It had a general dankness to it and wasn't very attractive. But it had a real sense of daily life, which I loved. I felt like I was getting a glimpse into real Italy as opposed to a polished tourist attraction. Drying laundry hung from windows, people scurried about, and little shops and restaurants filled the streets. We saw all the major spots within the day, but sadly the castle was closed because it was a Tuesday. That night we got pizza margherita and pizza marinara from De Michele, the only two kinds of pizza the place makes. It's a pretty well known spot, so it was fun to get some of the famous pizza. The food was pretty good, but not the best thing I've ever eaten. But man oh man, Naples pizzas are huge!

Pisa 03/19/12

 

The train ride from Florence to Pisa was very beautiful. I wish I could have seen more of the Tuscan countryside. Dad and I arrived in Pisa around 1 pm and headed straight for the Leaning Tower. It was a bit of a walk from the train station, but would have been a nice stroll if we weren't bogged down by all of our luggage. On our way, we picked up some sandwiches to go. When we arrived at the tower, we plucked down on a grassy patch near the tower, and enjoyed a nice picnic. We also shared my bottle of Moscato that the lovely ladies I worked with during the internship bought me as parting gift. It was a great way to enjoy the beautiful view. After we walked around the tower and got shots from all angles. I took every cheesy picture I could think of... holding the tower up, punching it down, jumping, cartwheels. We finished that around 4 pm or so and headed to figure out where our Eurolines bus was picking us up. We found the stop fairly quickly, and had a small bite at the cafe near the bus stop. Our bus didn't arrive until 9 pm (actually it was about 20 minutes early, so we were able to get on around 8:40 pm), so we killed time by walking to another little cafe and drinking a cappuccino. I was so nervous that the bus wasn't going to show up or that we were in the wrong place, but everything worked out well and we were able to get on without any problems. Our seats were right at the front, which was really nice, because we didn't have anyone reclining their seats into our laps. The bus ride was long, but fairly comfortable. We arrived in Naples the next morning around 6:15.

Florence 03/17-03/19

 

Dad joined me in Italy, and we headed off to Florence (after waiting a couple of hours for his lost luggage to arrive on another flight!) We got in town and to our hostel, Hostel Santi 7, around 9 pm, so we just showered and tucked in for the night. The hostel was huge! It used to be a convent and was attached to a church, which still has services. It was a pretty sweet place to stay, and kinda fun to say I've slept in a convent. The next day we woke up early and headed in to Florence to check it out. Our first stop was the Duomo. It was so big and gorgeous! I really liked the church a lot. It reminded me a little of the Taj Mahal, because of the colors and materials. Then we headed down to a few other sites and to the Galleria dell'Accademia. I saw Michelangelo's David! It was so cool to see another famous piece of art. I loved getting a 360 degree view, because you don't usually see all of David's angles. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I sneaked two in before I was told to put my camera away.

My stomach was acting really weird, so we headed back to the hostel where I proceeded to enjoy a two-hour nap. It was so Italian getting our riposo in. Later we headed to other areas in Florence, eating some tasty gelato on the way. We had dinner at a restaurant called Osteria de' Peccatonri. Dad got some spaghetti, and I had a delicious gnocchi with speck, pine nuts and a decadent cream sauce. Every bite I took was so good.
Our last morning in Florence, we headed up to Piazzale Michelangelo for some great panoramic views of the city. It was really a good vantage point and an excellent spot for pictures. When we got back to the hostel we rested for about an hour, and then caught a train to Pisa.

Cinque Terre 03/10/12-03/11/12

 

Breathtaking. Magnificent. Unbelievable. Cinque Terre was absolutely fabulous. I did not want to leave, and while I was there I could hardly believe that it was real. Each of the cities was so beautiful. The colorful buildings, dramatic drop offs, coastline and expanse of ocean all combined to create a gorgeous scene. We visited each of the five cities. All of them had unique quarks that made it worthwhile to visit all five. Sadly the pathways between the cities were closed, but we were able to walk along the Via dell'Amore. It was a beautiful walk along the coastline. We walked the path from Riomaggiore to Manarola. I was in awe the entire time. The view just doesn't get old. In Riomaggiore we headed to the marina for a great view of the colorful buildings crowding the hills next to the dramatic drop off at the harbor. We also got gelato from a little store. I got strawberry, and it was one of the best ice creams I have ever had in my life. It was so good and fresh. In Manarola we mostly just walked around a bit and enjoyed the city. We were only in Corniglia for a quick moment, but we still got to see the city. Monterosso was also very beautiful and had a nice beach. I could have stayed there all day and just soaked up the sun on the beach. Vernazza was a little harder to visit, because the town was nearly destroyed by a devastating mudslide. Only one pharmacy and one bar were open in the main part of the city, because the rest of the buildings were gutted by the disaster. The pathway was being rebuilt and a huge pile of debris lay at the end of the town near the waterfront. It was so sobering to see how quickly possessions can be swept away. But there was a sense of coming together and repairing that lingered in the town. Many of the doors of the destroyed buildings were painted with colorful, inspiring portraits. I really enjoyed my time in Vernazza and was impressed with the reaction of the town.

We stayed in Levanto, a town just outside of Monterosso, at the Ostello Ospitalia del Mare. I also really loved Levanto. It was more relaxed and had a larger beach than the five cities. I would absolutely love to move to Levanto the moment the opportunity presented itself. I'm very glad that we stayed in Levanto, because it was really close to Cinque Terre, and it had a lot to offer. The hostel was really nice and had a good breakfast. And the woman who owned it was very nice and helpful. One of my favorite parts of the trip was the two and a half hour hike we made from Levanto to Monterosso. It was a gorgeous hike and quite a good workout. The terrain changed nearly every 15 minutes from rocky to muddy to stone steps to steep inclines. It was a challenging hike, but very doable. And parts of the walk were enclosed in trees, while other parts had wide open views of the ocean. It was unlike any other hike I have done before, and was so exhilarating. Levanto and Cinque Terre are some of the best places I have visited so far, and I really hope to return one day. The area is worth at least a week, so hopefully I will have a chance to go again and devote a little more time.

Exploring My Italian Home 03/03/12

This weekend I spent Saturday biking around Vicenza. It was so nice to really explore the city I've been living in for nearly the past two months. I started the day off by heading to Zushi, a Japanese restaurant, to get some sushi. I didn't really know where I was going, but headed in the general direction I knew it was in. I turned down a street and came to a round about. When I was trying to decide which direction to go, I glanced to my left and saw the restaurant. I was so excited I actually found it. I had some very good, fresh sushi. I can never get enough of the stuff! Outside of the restaurant was the Arco delle Scalette, which had a 190-step staircase up to a great view of the city. I carried my bike up the first 65 stairs, but thankfully found a suitable place to lock it up, so I didn't have to haul it the whole way. I biked around and headed up a huge, steep hill to visit the Bailica di Monte Berico. I only made it about a third of the way up on the bike when I had to give up and just walk it up. The Basilica was really beautiful. I was happy to finally see it up close, because I always noticed it up on the hill on the walk home from work. Later I just biked around downtown and soaked it up. I just kept thinking, "Wow, I'm seriously in Italy." It still hasn't fully sunken in.
Saturday night I went to a Latin club and was able to bachata, salsa and merengue! It was so excellent. I love all kinds of dancing, but bachata, salsa and merengue are just top notch. And my dance partner for the evening was really good. He was an excellent lead, and I thoroughly enjoyed dancing with him. It was so much fun.