Che Bello, Amalfi & Capri!

There are moments in life when a place could struck you with awe and astonishment, it seemed like fantasy. The Amalfi coast and the island of Capri give you exactly that. The beauty of the coast of Amalfi (including Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi) is almost transcendental, an unbelievable place; and the island of Capri (and the connecting Anacapri) is historically known as the Roman Emperor’s private summer island, meant for royals with an exquisite charm that warrants it… after a year in memory, I am still dumbfounded .

But there comes the question from a lot of travelers -if they have to choose from the two, which one is better and/or more worthy to stay-in longer? The answer depends on your priorities and the context of your preference.

Let me put my two pennies worth at the following criteria with my respective choices based on my experiences (category – choice – reason):

• Accessibility – Amalfi Coast – easily reachable by train/road; you have to take a boat (normally from Sorrento) for Capri.
• Money – Amalfi Coast – because the coast is part of the mainland, commodities are normally priced; since Capri is an island with limited resources especially for tourists, you’d expect the goods to be priced slightly higher.
• Things to do – Amalfi Coast – Amalfi coast is a long coastline accessible by the Amalfi road which can get you around beautiful towns from Sorrento to Positano, Furore, Amalfi, Ravello, etc. Which means, you have yourself set-up for a lot of beach-bumming and exquisite old town-hopping adventures!
• Beauty & Exquisiteness – Amalfi Coast – hands down. I have the below photos to prove it 😉 Although the island of Capri has its own charm, beauty and exquisiteness -I was more dumbfounded by the towns of the Amalfi Coast, because it offered more!

Who wouldn’t take awe of this view… ahhh, Positano

The scariest road trip, Amalfi road, makes you forget of the cliff edges with its beautiful sceneries

View of Amalfi from its port

Take a breezy boat ride across the coast of Amalfi!

The devil’s cave, the white hotel, and badgley-mischka’s mansion down there!

Lovely view of Amalfi town

Walking around the towns of Amalfi, will never get you tired.

A toddler taking a break from all these travels, at Duomo di Amalfi around the piazza

South view of Amalfi coast from the high town of Ravello

But please, visiting the Island of Capri is a MUST! Although I do not suggest staying there longer than you can stay in Amalfi, mainly for the cost and the variety/extent of things to do.

Overlooking the Faraglioni rock from Augustus garden

Finding a friend at the piazetta, after a funicular ride -lucky we came in autumn or we’d take an hour to queue and ride

Eating well and fair in Italy

Eating well and fair in Italy. The land of pizza, pasta, gelato and more that is globally delightful for the palate and the stomach -Italy. Although eternally packed with tourists, what’s gastronomically fab about being in Italy is the assurance of quality tasting food.

While we were in Rome and the Amalfi coast, we tried cheap and expensive places and one thing was consistent -the quality of food. Hence whether you pay more or less, in Italy, it doesn’t matter.

Sharing below some photos of the places we’ve tried (and remembered to take photos of), our son’s love story with pasta, and a few advice to note.

Fiorentina – A local’s cafe at Borgo neighborhood (around Vatican). Cheap coffee and pastries, for 4 euros you’ve got one capuccino, one espresso, and 2 pastries!

Gelato can be expensive (i.e. 3 euros) if taken around touristy places, but worth it (duh)! 😉

This small hostel restaurant in Vico Equense gives you a bottle of good house wine for 4 euros and a lovely view of the ocean. After aperitivo, our primis come in ravioli and pizza.

Lobster for a starter, for less than 15euros. With the dessert and our mains, the total bill was just less than 60 euros.

An elevated cafe at the tip of porto di sorrento – sometimes you pay extra for the views. Here’s a limoncello dessert for thy espresso and capuccino. But then, if you compare the same order in Dubai, this is cheaper and better in quality.

Argh! This is heaven – mushroom and nuts in homemade thick pasta at the unpretentious, Zio Sam restaurant.

A generous serving of fresh seafood spaghetti at Zio Sam.

Prosecco is ❤ when it’s just 4euros a glass!

Fresh catch seafood for aperitivo at Uncle Sam’s.

Some French sausage to balance the palate *wink

Tiramisu for dessert, anyone? A glorious balance of sweet, creamy and coffee bitterness. Heaven.

Ristorante Pizzeria Tasso is known for their pizza but we ordered pasta O,o

With our lovely preggy couple friends in Rome. Eating out around the Vatican. Bellissimo!

Ah, buon appetito at porto di sorrento.

Managed to keep his shirt clean from all that pasta-gorging! O,o

Seafood pasta (again!) in red ala Ristorante Pizzeria Tasso.

Octopus for a starter. Not bad at all!

Italian rabbit for my better half. I still won’t try a rabbit tho.

Ahhhh… Baba (an Italian dessert soaked in rum!): my second serving for the day (I had 1 set in the morning), already too much for a breastfeeding mom. 😀

Nougat (almond and honey) in some chocolate base goodness. I don’t need to say more, just yum!

To set everything down, have a limoncello shot. Believe me, one shot is enough to shake it off!

From here, let me leave you some Italian wisdom: mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare (eat to live, don’t live to eat). Grazie, ciao!

A Historical Tour of Rome

So we were in Rome for 3 days (before heading to the beautiful Amalfi), and decided to take a guided tour of this eternal city via Viator for an easy-breezy walk around its deep history. Sure, we know that there is boredom and unadventurous in opting to join a group tour, but with a frisky toddler and dog-tired parents, a group tour is like charity for us!

As it says in the tour summary, it will be a half-day walking tour from 10:30 to 13:30 -visiting the Colosseum, Capitoline Hill, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and ending at Piazza Navona. The travel agency which facilitated it is Happy Travels and by fate, the tour guide who was assigned said it was her first day on the job. Hearing that, I had two things in mind: it’s either going to end up very well (happy and energetic, full of information lad) or otherwise (nervous, confused, and unorganized). Sadly for us, it was the latter.

Beautiful, up close and personal.

The tour lets you explore on the second and third levels. Spartacus-series-mode on!

Completed in 80AD, this magnifence is the largest amphitheatre ever built. Astonishing inside and out with great historical essence.

The Arch of Constantine

Around Palatine Hill, an ancient church with a green door. Palatine is one of the seven hills in Rome.

Palace of Venice seen from the Palatine hill.

Rome is indeed like an open air museum, especially around the Roman Forum.

The Trevi fountain and its relentless all-day crowd. Be brave enough to elbow your way close into the fountain to toss a coin for good luck -to be back again in Rome.

Entering one of Rome’s best preserved ancient buildings and continuously in use, The Pantheon.

Pantheon fountain at the Rotonda square. Now let’s get some gelato!

Well there you are! ❤️

Gelato for the boss ❤️ #toddlerswag

With all fairness to our tour guide, she was very informative and the passion about the city’s history is felt from her. However, sometimes, there are things she can’t be in control of. Like the skip-the-line advantage for the Colosseum was not followed because of some trouble/mishap with security, the rowdy/know-it-all people in our group, and the time. Nevertheless, I have learned a lot about Rome and it is much more beautiful seeing the important places with its ancient history known.

Review: Hotel Quirinale

When in Rome, expect outrageously priced hotels for a good looking and spacious one. We stayed in a holiday apartment on our first three days in Rome and had a lovely time there (Vaticano Apartments St. Joseph 8), but for the last day of our holiday (coming back from Amalfi), I wanted for us to try a fancy hotel in Rome for a day (because that’s just what I can afford, harhar!). Hence, we chose Hotel Quirinale. Tucked at the city center within the busy Via Nacionale and close to the Republique, this elegant hotel is really worth the price (got a good deal via hotels.com hehe) vis a vis its room interior and furnishings.

Have a look of these…

Chandelier and some fancy curtains, please!

The bathroom is all white. Old-fashioned, but elegant. Btw, this is the only hotel I have been in that provides feminine wash within its toiletries! Huwaaat!

What about a garden for your breakfast view? Buon journo!

The view from our room. Better this than the traffic/road down in front of the hotel.

A member arch from Place de la Republique.

The verdict: for the price we paid, it is good enough for the experience. Should we stay again? Would gladly find another one.

Review: Vaticano Apartments St. Joseph 8

Finding a place to stay in Rome for your vacation is tricky and tedious, especially if you are working on a budget! My husband takes care of our flights and I take care of the nitty-gritty (hotels and tours, as we fancy -okaaay, more of an “I”). Hence, when it comes to our accommodation for holidays, I spend a lot of time researching to find the right one. Shabby-chic at fair value is always the goal.

We opted to stay around the Vatican (Prati/Borgo neighborhoods), at Vaticano Apartments St. Joseph 8, since we are attending a wedding at St. Peter’s and we could just walk (but ended up late on the day, blooper!). Versus hotels, holiday apartments are a great deal -you are guaranteed with more space with living room and kitchen -at a lesser price. Such is a good choice for a family or those travelling as a group.

The apartment gives you a very homey-holiday feel. The bedroom has good lighting and the bed is big enough for the three of us! Our son is taking 2/3 of the bed space by the way.

With an apartment, you have a kitchen space and proper kitchen tools. Here, we are provided with our 3-day grocery for breakfast plus condiments for your pasta cooking -yey!

The long bathroom with its cheerful yellow tiles. The shower is lovely too, my husband liked the glass wall beside it. 😉

The peaceful view from the apartment.

Staying at this apartment made us feel like a local. It is within a proper neighborhood, not crowded and almost no tourists. It also gives you an advantage of a nearby market for cheeses and cheaply priced wines (as in 3.5Euros for 2); and the cafe (La Fiorentina) which gets you an espresso, cappuccino and 2 pastries for a cheap 4Euros.

Down the apartment building gate, someone was thrilled to find a new friend…

The best thing about being away from a touristy spot -you get access to cheap and reasonably priced food and drinks! And sometimes get a freebie, when you tag along a cutie.

The apartment’s owner, Simona, is cordial and very accommodating with our early check-in and taxi requests. I could say that the only negative part is the fee of 21Euros for the cleaning of the apartment upon check-in. But for the price we paid (a total of 280Euros for 3nights) vis a vis the overall experience, I will not complain. I highly recommend this apartment, like all the others who have stayed here.