Posts Tagged With: food

Day 22: The Colosseum, The Vatican and Naples

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Mel

More Rome exploring today. After a late night because a school group checked in to Hotel Stella (I will admit, I took great pleasure in slamming our hotel room door at least 17 times at 7am this morning…) we were off to the Colosseum! We explored both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum in the morning, beating the majority of the crowds. 
   
  

roman forum

   

ripped my 3/4 leggings so having to pair loose pants with joggers….ever the fashion icon! Haha

 

Then we caught the metro (with a line change, gah) to the Vatican Museum. That took about 40 mins for anyone planning this as a future option. B had pre bought his ticket and I had opted to skip it altogether since I have been before and walk down the street to Castel Sant’Angelo. B thought “the Vatican Museum was kinda cool with all its art and stuff but the Sistine Chapel was significantly underwhelming”. He didn’t go to the St Peter’s Basilica as the line was ginormous. 
 

cool statue

  

pretty ceiling (not the sistine chapel, he ignored my request for a sneaky pic!)

 
My experience at the castle was a bit of a fail, beautiful to look at but apparently closed on Mondays…although their website doesn’t say that! On the plus side, I had time to go to the post office and send postcards to the Donaldson clan and B’s mum. 

 

panorama of the castle

  

bridge near the castle (i walked over this last time i was here! there is a photo of Percy hanging out with the castle in yhe background waaaaay back on my blog)

   

Instead of castle exploring, I sat in the shade and read a travel swap book while eating gelato. Two of my favourite things combined 🙂

  
We met up again and spent an hour people watching near the Spanish Steps, the guys trying to rip people off with “free” flowers are absolutely fascinating. At 5pm it was off to Naples! The train ride this time had been pre booked months ago and we must have scored a higher class as there was free chips and wine. I was a happy camper.

  
Our hotel here (Hotel Toledo) is three stops on the metro out of the central area and seems to have a lot of local character. Dinner was delicious at Pizza e Baba. 

 

entree: mozarella and prosciutto (my go to entree now) with local wine, napoli pizza and risotto

 
Laying in bed now with the window wide open I can hear restaurant owners shouting, children playing and lots of scooters honking as they zoom up and down the cobblestones. Lovely.

Steps today: 28000! Crazy

Tomorrow: POMPEII!!!

Mel

P.S. Apparently self service laundromats are not a thing in Naples. Seriously. Google supports this, lots of other equally confused bloggers out there too. Just hand washed all my travel knickers in the sink (they are made for that but I have been lazy and had a backlog) and we are sniff testing our shirts….

6 more sleeps to my birthday! 

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Day 20: Venice 

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Mel

Today we went to Venice! It was a bit of a last minute decision as we hadn’t planned on it in our itinerary but B has never been so we opted to sacrifice 1.5 days of our 3.5 days in Rome to experience the romance capital together. We booked the train tickets earlier this week with the help of our intrepid leader and I found some accommodation actually ON the island. Yippie!

After a long express train ride (3hrs 50mins) where we experienced the joy of an Italian family eating a full on picnic in the seats next to us…with literally a suitcase full of food…we arrived in Venetia Saint Lucia which is the Venice port train station. It was then a 30 minute vaporetto (water bus) ride through the canals to the hotel. 

   
 

After some check in hassles (note: ALWAYS have your passports with you in Europe!!) we were able to get into our room and explore the city. We started with Saint Marks square and going up in the tower. Amazing view! 

   
 

We then went on a gondala ride! Great experience that you have to at least try when in Venice. Our gondala guide was awesome as not only did we get the history but he also let us bring a bottle of wine with no hassles…and no charge. B has actually let me post a super special photo this time around….he is in it! Sort of.
 

  

gorgeous canal photo

  

Rialto Bridge!

  
 

After the gondala ride (and sharing a full bottle of Chianti!) we went to 6342 A Le Tol Pizzeria which was a fair walk away from the hotel but AMAZING food. We were first in line when it opened and got the only unreserved table! Excellent value with all this + table charges and water only 40€. I am so full I can’t move now. 

deep fried mozarella and mushrooms

calzoni for B

 

pizza for me…delish!

  

Very happy with our decision to come to Venice at short notice – high 5 to us!

Mel  

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Day 19: Rome!

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Mel

Off to Rome today! We caught the bullet train (300km an hour) direct to Roma Termini which took about an hour and a half. Our hotel is very close to the train station. New pet hate: street sellers who put things into your lap and then tell you to pay for it…or push it into your hands while touching you. Mel’s solution: it alternates between dropping the item on the floor, shoving back, or shouting NO BUGGER OFF loudly and in a very off putting way. Success varies for all methods. 
We have done a bit of a sneaky and are room sharing with someone tomorrow night. We will be in Venice but still have the room for the luggage and to save checking out and back in the next day…so to save her spending her last night in a crappy hostel, we are loaning her the room key on the sly. Sneeeeaky. Very Australian! Haha.

We started our first afternoon in Rome with a walking tour courtesy of our intrepid leader, it was a very long tour! We started at the Spanish Steps which unfortunately were closed for works, but from the side you can hardly tell (lol) and the best part of this photo was no tourists on them!

  
We then visited a bakery that makes the best Tiramasu in Italy (apparently) and B gave it a big thumbs up.

  

That was the point where Andrea (our leader) told us he would take us to the three best gelato places in Rome so we could compare. Pretty sure it was meant to be a joke but I took him literally….

 

gelato place 1: il gelato disan crispo.

  

gelato place 2: Grom

  

gelato number 3: Fatamorgana

 

The verdict? I thought number one was best but number three was a close contender.

Aside from gelato, we also explored some well  known sites in Rome including the Trevi fountain, Piazza Novona, a number of cathedrals, the Pantheon, the Parliament, the colloseum and others. We saw a political protest which was pretty cool. It was a beautiful warm afternoon wandering in the sun and a nice cool evening. 

 

parliament

  

Piaza Novona

  

this is a pretty picture taken at last light near the palace

  

  

trevi fountain (under renovation so only the top part)

 
  

After our walk, we had a short rest and then it was off to our final dinner with our intrepid group. We did the whole envelope/card tip collection thing on the sly and Andrea (Andy!) was happy. The food at Hostaria da Vincenzo was delicious and very well priced, I highly recommend it.

 

prosciutto and mozzarella

  

veal for both mains omnomnom

  

lemon meringue pie and a dessert that started with M and had two double L’s in it!

  

limoncello to finish

 
We finished this feast with a leisurely walk back to the hotel and lots of goodbyes. There were hugs. I’m a terrible hugger dammit. 

Steps today: 22571

Kilometres: 15.6kms

Tomorrow: VENICE! Looking forward to a romantic gondala ride with my special someone 🙂 

  

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Day 18: Siena 

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Mel

Off to explore Siena today! Our tour leader bought our bus tickets and helped us catch the bus there (about an hour from Florence, very easy to do) and then gave us a little tour, including the main square. 

 
  

We were then left to our own devices with a return bus timetable and prepaid tickets. First ofF, we paid 12€ to explore all the parts of the cathedral and climb the facade. The views were beautiful from the top, overlooking both Siena and Tuscany. Damn all those stairs though! We were very lucky the rain cleared for about an hour and not only did we get the stunning view, we also got to go all the way to the top for the first time that day. 

   
    

 Lunch was another delicious Italian food experience at San Desiderio Ristorante near the back of the cathedral. B had penne with pork ragout and I had amazing braised beef. With drinks and a service charge it was only 30€ so not bad for such a touristy area.   
 
We then explored inside the cathedral and museum, which had a beautiful stained glass window from around 1200 AD that had been preserved during the war and never moved back to the church. The building itself is huge and is one of the largest cathedrals in Italy. 

   
   
On the way out, we stopped and bought me some lovey Italian boots (yay!) as the weather is starting to get consistently wetter now and it was always my plan to buy a decent pair of ankle boots at this point in the trip rather than lug them around up to now. 

We caught the bus back to Florence easily enough and had dinner at the Centrale Mercato with two other members of our tour….again. Can not recommend it enough….the pasta….omnomnom. 

Tomorrow: Rome! The farewell dinner for our intrepid group is tomorrow 😦 it will be back to travelling with just us until we come back in two weeks. We still have Rome, Venice, Naples and Paris to go. 

Mel

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Mercato Centrale: a must do eating experience in Florence 

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Mel

A must do! Amazing fresh food, so many choices. Kinda like a fancy food court….with alcohol! Location and opening details below.

  
B and I split our meal, so entree was delicious tortellini cooked fresh right in front of you (12€)

  
Then there was the wood fired pizza (10€):

  
Followed by banana and chocolate chip gelato (3€ each)!

  

Others in our group tried a huge variety of food including:

Ginger and orange juice, cucumber and kiwi fruit juice and kiwi fruit and apple juice

Fresh cooked scallops with salad

Raw meat pate with salad (ewwww not for me)

Two types of fresh cooked soup 

Cannelloni 

Other gelato flavours and a mixed desserts plate

Not to mention the wine! 🙂 

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Day 17: exploring Florence 

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Mel

Definitely a big fan of Hotel Ester in Florence, the free breakfast at a local cafe was great value. I topped it off with some banana gelato!  

selfies with banana gelato

 
Our day started with drizzly rain as we explored the cathedral and the square again in daylight. We then headed off with our reserved tickets to see Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria Academia. The line for reservations was about 30 people, compared to the general entry line which was about 300! Well done us on paying the extra 4€ and having a reserved time. The statue was amazing, really astounding to see that sort of craftsmanship up close.
 

what nice eyes you have…

  

token tourist mel

 
After seeing David we walked up the road to the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum and B got his geek on admiring all the cool, life sized replicas of Da Vinci’s inventions. He also added to his ever growing collection of laser cut blocks (I collect postcards from every location, just in case anyone was wondering). 

my beloved doing his thing

Then it was lunch time. The place we chose was shit and touristy, but the afternoon wine tasting more than made up for it (more on that later). I went off to do some shopping and B climbed the bell tower and the Duoma (dome), which I had done on my last visit to Florence. He got some amazing photos:

view of the duomo and city from the belltower

 
Then it was wine tasting time! We went to the wine bar Entoca Alessi on the recommendation of our tour leader with another member of our group and holy crap it was amazing. Five wines, all indigenous to different areas of Italy plus this amazing food platter. 
 

omnomonom

  

sniff them they said…it makes you an expert they said…smells like wine to me!

 

Tonight will be dinner at the local market place and then off to Siena for a day trip tomorrow.

Mel 

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An extra post because the food was just THAT GOOD. 

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Mel

So, we went out for dinner at this tiny little restaurant in Arle tonight called Cador. At first, we were all a little worried as there was some misunderstanding with the menu and prices seemed to be a little high…hmmmm…

However, the food was well and truly worth any confusion. Simply divine.
 

mushroom and chicken in a creamy sauce

  

a banana split with gelato

  

some limoncello to finish off

  
  

he sang us original songs!

 

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Day 7: Final farewell to Barcelona and an intro to Ribes de Freser in the Pyrenees 

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Mel

As a group, we checked out of our Barcelona hotel at 10am and headed into the city centre for a little guided tour. We started with some Gaudi architecture and went past Caso Battlo – Gaudis house and then another Gaudi building with less colour but where the stone and flowing lines clearly show the distinct architectural style.
 

Gaudi’s house in Barcelona

  
 We then moved on to walk through La Catedral, a church built for the poorer members of the community in the middle of the gothic quarter. When we went in it had a service on so could only see a small part. The best part was the geese! They just hang out and live in the cloisters. 

   
  

SERIOUSLY! GEESE IN A CHURCH!

  

GEESE!!!

 From here we wandered back up Las Ramblas and then back to the hotel where luggage was collected and it was onwards to the regional train station. Then a 2hr train trip to Ribes de Freser in the Pyrenees. Percy was feeling motion sick so needed a cuddle on the train. Okay maybe that was me…

 

i love you percy

 
I tried a three prong approach to battle the motion sickness this time since I’m determined not to take travacalm and turn into a drooling zombie.

1. Sit near a window and watch the horizon the whole time 

2. Eat candy (something to suck on) as it was what I used to do when I was little and it really helped 

3. No reading ANYTHING on the train, including signs or maps

Overall success? It all worked well until I ran out of candy. Candy seems to be the key! Definitely not feeling as bad this time around though. 

On arrival in Ribes de Freser we walked 10 mins down the road to the Hotel Catalanya, which is a very small hotel run by two ladies (mother and daughter, I think). The room is small but lovely and finally – we have a double bed! Haha no more jumping from one bed to the other like small children…damn. There was some mild worry when in the conversation about our room we picked up “matrimono?” with an affirmative from our tour leader but it turns out that word is part of the phrase for double bed. 

  
We had an hour of relaxation time (I really needed a shower…stiiiiinky) and then it was off for our first group dinner in this tiny little town. 

 

yep, its a mountain village….and thats not even the mountain!

 
 

the local river…also where they wash their clothes

 
Dinner was at a local bar and was AMAZING. I had chicken broqette and B had the traditional local Catalan sausage. 

   

catalana sausage (pork)

 
For dessert we both had the Creme Catalana which the area is also known for. Delicious! The total for two mains, tapas (not pictured) of potatos, 2 desserts and 4 drinks was 32€. Not bad after coping with Barcelona prices for the last week. 

 

creme catalana…so much deliciousness

 
That plus 2 beers for B and 2 wines for me has been enough to ensure a good nights rest with a full belly tonight 🙂

Steps today: 20914
Kilometres today: 14.6kms 

Tomorrow: MOUNTAIN GOAT MEL! We shall see if I actually give in to peer pressure and climb up the damn mountain peak….

Mel 

P.S. Every single person in our tour group has an osprey brand backpack or wheeled bag. I was very reassured by the older couple who told me that although they had what we had (a wheeled bag with straps to convert to a backpack) they hadn’t used the backpack straps once in 5 years. Excellent. B has also been very excited to talk to the same couple about their multiple South America trips as that is next on his list. 

P.P.S. We have wifi here (which surprised me) but it is very slow. Argh 25 mins to upload this post! First world problems 🙂

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…and home!

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Mel

Well I am finally home and happy in my own bed!

We checked out of the hotel yesterday morning and headed straight out to heathrow. I had some drama with my carry on bag breaking (stupid zip) but after sitting on my suitcase I managed to get all my crap into it.

The flight left heathrow for Doha an hour late (no surprise) but it meant when we got to Doha we literally had to run from the plane to the bus then to the terminal and then to our gate! As we were boarding in Doha I started to feel really gross – not just sleep deprived but dizzy and hot. On the plane the flight attendant gave me lots of water but it got worse and worse. By the time we took off (an hour late again) I was in tears.

Hello food poisoning!

Worst 13ish hours on a plane EVER. Stuck in a middle seat throwing up and suffering severe stomach pain. I
wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.

I was so glad to get off the damn plane tonight and SUPER glad that Sarah came to pick me up complete with fizzy drink and a bucket to spew in. Now I am home in bed relaxing (before exam
marking begins) and the holiday is all over 😦

I give Qatar airlines 3.5 out of 5 for really good onboard service but their planes all ran late and their airport is CRAP!

Contiki gets 3 out of 5…I enjoyed the experience but the fact we couldn’t plan anything as we didn’t know what was happening until the night before was infuriating. Not to mention the number of “buy stuff here” things we had to do. It was very good value for money though.

Tune hotel in Westminster gets 4 out of 5. Tiny, tiny little rooms but the location and the price were absolutely worth it.

Europe as a whole gets 5 out of 5 because I loved it! I particularly want to go back and explore Prague, Paris and Rome. Not to mention Greece and Eastern Europe and, and, and…

Thanks to all my lovely blog readers and followers! You guys are the best xo

Now to decide where the next trip is going to be….

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