Italy begins!

I wrote this post now three days ago but had camera issues and couldn't post it! Sorry for the delay! And look for a Rome post (having the most FABULOUS time here) in the next few days!

The Italian journey has begun. And what a fun journey it has been so far. I write this on the train from Naples to Rome, ready to begin am exciting Roman adventure. With Vesuvius as my backdrop, let me introduce you to my culinary escapades thus far.

I arrived in Rome on Thursday, anxious to start a new trip and very excited to see one of my best friends, who was arriving just a few hours after I. After checking into the hostel, I set out just to explore the city, but only after a full stomach was achieved. I finally settled on a little wine bar on a busy street. It had people (Italian people) eating outside, so I figured it must be good or at least better then tourist food on the piazzas. A quick glance at the menu and it was decided-Pizza Romana. It arrived quickly and exceeded my expectations. I may have been so hungry that anything would have tasted good. Nothing like an Italian pizza in Rome.

View from my seat

Pizza Romana-Olives, capers, anchovies, oregano, mozzarella, and sauce

After lunch, I went for a walk around the city. Well, more like trek. I somehow accidentally stumbled upon many of the major monuments-what’s that large arched building over there? Oh the Colosseum. The sound of running water? The Trevi Fountain. And what are those people sitting on? Spanish Steps, duh. 

What an awesome way to explore the city.  Lex was arriving soon, so I headed back to the hostel to meet her. So impressed with my navigation skills, that when she arrived I boldly stated I could get us back to the Spanish Steps where we could find some dinner. We didn’t find the steps, or really many places for dinner. Finally settled on a café, ordered some okay pasta and went home to start our journey to Naples the next morning.

Our destination in Naples was a suburb called Portici. We are couchsurfing much of this journey and our host lived there-just to the right of the main cathedral in town. Down a long hill with luggage in tow, we arrived at his house, ready for some food. We dropped off our things and he invited us for dinner, but in three hours. So we hit the pavement and found a little snack of foccacia bread and some sort of vegetable in between. Freshly baked, it was greasy good and held us until our host and his brother cooked us a fantastic pasta meal.

In the pan is the sausage browned. The mug holds the soaked mushrooms

wine glass for dinner

The pasta was a cream sausage and mushroom sauce. He separated the sausage cooked it a little and added dried porcini mushrooms that had been soaked. For the rest of the sauce he added what was like a porcini cream (cream of mushroom) and a normal cream out of little boxes. Simple but very effective.  Served with a Sicilian wine Lex and I had bought at the local wine store across the street, we all ate in silence, except for the occasional “Mmmmm.”

The next morning we went out to Pompeii, and as Vesuvius was looming on right and the Mediterranean Sea on our left, I felt so lucky to be where I was. Unless of course, Vesuvius decided to shower the area with ashes as it did nearly 2000 ago. Pompeii is a fascinating site and one could spend hours wandering around this ancient city. Some of my favorite spots were the House of the Baker, one of 35 bakeries but one of the largest in Pompeii, and the Thermopolium a ancient ‘snack bar’ that served hot food and drinks, specifically around lunchtime. 

Grinding Stones in the Bakery

The Thermopolium

Pompeii was too big for us to see it all, well, impossible to see it all before our stomachs got the best of us, so we decided to leave and head to nearby tourist destination Sorrento.  Also, being by the sea, should mean the seafood would be superb. We walked till we found what we were looking for-a small restaurant, with people eating delicious smelling food.  We ordered a shrimp salad and a Risotto a la Pescatore and eagerly waited for our food. Seeing it served in front of us was like Christmas come early, especially with the Christmas ornament store across the street.

Shrimp, mussels, clams, octopus, squid YUM

Rocket with granna cheese, cherry tomatoes, and shrimp.

We only spent two nights in the area, but needed to find some Napoli pizza before we could leave. Pizza was created in Naples so they know how to do it just right. While waiting for our train to take us back to Rome, we hit the town in search for the perfect slice. Unfortunately, one of the oldest restaurants was closed on Sundays, but we stumbled upon a fabulous street market (with LOADS of fresh fish) and discovered a little stand with pizza for 1 Euro. Normally customers eat on the street but to give our aching feet and backs a break, we stumbled into the small seating area with our pizza and Caprese sandwich in hand.  The pizza was unbelievably good-so simple but made with care in their wood oven in the back.

Pizza Oven

The back of the booth to buy

We left fully satisfied and slightly rested to make the trip back to the station. But not after we stopped to pick up some foodstuffs to make the three hour journey back to Rome more enjoyable. Some bread, tomatoes and cheese with a handful of apples and a couple desserts and we were ready to go

Cheese lady who cut our bread for us even though we had bought it at another store

Pastries

I finish this post in the middle of a tunnel on a train heading to Rome. Excited for the culinary treasures I am about to discover and the ancient treasures that have been discovered long before me.