First Monday: 2013-10-20

Last week we decided to take a train ride down to the Amalfi Coast, which is located on the coast of Naples, Italy.

We had previously purchased a Eurail pass for 8 days of travel in Italy.

So we decided to put it to good use and take a 2 day trip to Naples.

Naples has been labeled as a dirty, seedy, dangerous, shady city, full of pickpockets, drug dealers and fake merchandise. In our short time here, we couldn't agree more.

Upon announcing our plan to venture south to Michka's father (against his advice), he woefully replied in a thick Persian accent: "Michka, just... you know, be careful. These people in the Naples, they will rob you!"

We heeded his warning and moved our Euros into our underpants, kept the camera in the duffel and wore our backpack backwards. (a move I'm certain helped us blend in as locals).

We avoided an overnight stay in Naples and opted instead to head to L'antica Pizzeria da Michele; by way of the open-air market. In Florence (and most of Italy), open air markets are filled with artisan-crafted cheeses, salumi, wooden toys and non-GMO vegetables. In Naples, the tables are filled instead with Louis Vuitton bags, Ray-Ban sunglasses and Converse sneakers. All "artisan-crafted" I'm sure.

We passed through the Open Air (black) Market quickly, avoiding eye contact with the smooth-talking salespeople and headed to lunch.

L'antica Pizzeria da Michele is heralded by many as the best pizzeria in the known world. Not that Hollywood would have any idea, but it was the pizzeria featured in the book/movie Eat, Pray, Love. The photo of Julia Roberts wrapping her mouth around a slice hangs proudly in their "foyer". We arrived at the pizza place, took a number and waited our turn to be seated. Every table was filled, everyone indulging in super-thin, gooey, warm pizza. Our mouths were watering within a minute.

Lucky for us the wait was not long (it can normally take over an hour to get seated)

Our sever arrived within 30 seconds and basically told US what we wanted to eat (they only offer two pizzas: margherita & marinara).

It took less than 5 minutes to get our food, and it was just as advertised, blackened crust, simple & fresh marinara sauce and melted fresh mozzarella. Pizza perfection!

2 Margherita pizzas, two beers and one bottle of water later our stomachs were happy. And at less than 12 Euros for the whole meal, we didn't have to reach into our underwear for extra funds.

We made a b-line to the ferry dock and hopped on the boat heading to Capri. Looking back at Naples, we were surprised to see how nice it looks from the water. Not a pickpocket in sight.

45 minutes later we were in Capri! Warm sun, lots of tourists and plenty of street vendors.

We arrived at our hotel, dropped off our things and walked down to the beach to admire the clear blue water.

The island is small, but very rich in tourism, and well kept. Lots of expensive stores like Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Capri is like Santa Catalina Island on steroids. Everything is bigger; except the roads...

Seasoned drivers whiz past each other in full-sized busses on roads that Americans might consider dicey in a golf cart.

We covered the island over our two days and saw some ruins, crystal clear waters and plenty of close calls between scooters and taxis.

Our last day on the Amalfi started with a ferry ride to Sorrento, where we browsed the tiny streets free from cars and filled with dried peppers, limoncello and souvenir magnets. We caught a train to Herculano, a town that was covered by the same Mt. Vesuvius eruption that crushed Pompeii.

The town of Herculeum was preserved far better than Pompeii, owing to the hot volcanic gasses that engulfed the city shortly after the eruption. Wooden beams literally "carbonized" in place (you can Wikipedia that... I had to). Essentially, this cities frescos, baths, streets and columns were frozen in time. It was really cool to be able to go back in time and see the way these people lived before they had Blogger.

And so ended our vacation from our vacation.

Back in Florence now and thankful to be on familiar turf.

Ciao for now!

Naples!

L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele!

Ferry to Capri

Capri

Chairlift to the top of Annacapri

On the way to the Blue Grotto! "La Grotta Azzura"

Our hotel and the view

Market on the streets of Sorrento

Cannoli, yum!

Sorrento

Town of Herculano, buried in 79AD by the same eruption that covered Pompeii

Original mosaic floor preserved by Vesuvius ash

We learned so much on this trip. And one thing is for sure; 180 sqft of living space is enough to give anyone cabin fever.

Luckily for us, Florence is surrounded by cool towns, great wine and other worthwhile distractions.

This past week we got the chance to attend a Chianti festival right in the center of Florence.

Dozens of wineries set up shop in the middle of the piazza and proudly showed off their best vintages.

After purchasing your glass for 10 euros, all the wines are yours to try!

Most stands also offered olive oil and bread and few left disappointed.

It was a good chance for Drew to practice his italian and to talk to some of the many tourists who were also indulging in delicious Chianti Riservas.

The day after, we got to visit Fiesole, in the Tuscan hills outside of Florence.

A quaint little town surrounded by cypress trees and dated little homes. After a windy half-hour bus ride we were dropped off in the middle of the main square, and consequently a farmers market. Many types of jams, cheeses, breads, salumi, pizza and crafts were sold here.

We picked up a couple sandwiches and sat to admire the town and the watch the locals haggle with the vendors over the prices of 250 grams of homemade porchetta.
The views in Fiesole are great, and the air was really fresh. And the silence.... we almost forgot what silence was like. It was a nice little break from the touristy streets of Florence.
The respite didn't last long; we hurried back to Florence for the monthly vintage flea market. Where everything from 40 year old US license plates to vintage Louis Vuitton handbags to someone's used rolling pin is up for sale to the highest (or only) bidder.

Bologna was our next adventure. Michka and Raika were both born here, and this trip was to be a glorious homecoming, literally. After spending the morning walking around the city and snapping photos of Bologna's covered walkways and bronze fountains, we took the 94 bus towards the Girl's childhood stomping grounds. 27 stops and 1 hour later, we were in rural Bologna. Waiting for us was Cinzia, a family friend who now lives with her family in the Girl's childhood house. After hugs we saddled up for the final 20 minute drive and arrived at Michka & Raika's childhood neighborhood. It was fun for us to see the park where the girls played with snot-nosed Italian boys and the garden that appears in family photos hanging in their Rancho Bernardo house today. A planned 1-hour visit turned in to 3 hour dinner with fresh baked bread, wine, cheese, wine and tons of chatter and reminiscing. Cinzia, Joseph, Filippo and company treated us like old friends and we talked right up to the minute when we had to make a b-line for the train station home. It was a successful homecoming, although we didn't see much of the city.

Our last foray into the countryside of Florence's suburbs was a lunch date with friends at "La Casa Di Caccia". Literally translated: "House of the Hunt".
I know.
"What the hell would two pseudo-vegetarians be doing at a place like this?"
Let me explain....
La Casa Di Caccia is a relic that exists only in fairytales, out-of-print travel books and recreational hunters wet-dreams. It works like this:
- You pay 30 euros to enter into the restaurant
- They entice you with all the bread, wine, digestivo (more on this later) and bottled water you can consume.
- Contract hunters roam the surrounding land (a wildlife preserve) and kill enough animals to supply the restaurant; they are paid a bounty on their catch.
- The kitchen cooks these animals and their parts in any way they see fit. (liver, sausage, etc.")
- You eat whatever they put in front of you.

Now, of course, they offer things other than freshly departed cousins of Bugs Bunny... and I'm not only talking about the wild boar, pheasant, duck, goose and venison. They have some vegetarian options as well. Take for example their artisanal cheese plate... or spaghetti al pomodoro. All delicious, although not garnering the same attention or finesse as the protein portion of the meal. And beverage-wise they had options as well. Obviously, a place like this serves red wine. Almost every business with a license to operate in Italy does. And La Casa Di Caccia labels and distributes their own CODG chianti. Of course, they offer a white as well. (I guess it pairs well with rabbit... the 'other, other, other' white meat?). Anywho, the "star" of the beverage show (digestivo) bore a strange resemblance to dirty pond water. The taste you ask? Think of a home-brew version of Jagermeister. A 3/4 full bottle materializes at your table at the most opportune times, and our friends swore by the "digestive" properties of this back-woods elixir... how else can you stuff over a kilo of animal flesh down your gut and have it come out within a week? As it arrived in a different bottle every time, it was clear that the distillation of this beverage was anything but highly-regulated (if at all). In fact, previously used wine bottles were the transport vessel of choice. It must have been the taboo of something without RDA guidelines printed on the side that kept me coming back for cup after cup.
For reference, it's digestive properties were as-advertised.

Possibly the best part of the journey had nothing to do with the food though.
For those who follow "Serie A" football (soccer), few rivalries run deeper than Fiorentina (aka 'Viola'; Italian for purple) and Juventus ('Juve' or 'biancanera', 'black & white').
And watching on the television screen at La Casa Di Caccia, I could immediately see why. Juve ran onto the field with heavy footsteps; their menacing black and white uniforms jerking with every conceded step. It was clear immediately that they had a superiority complex. Was it their dress, their faux-hawks, or the flop by Carlos Tevez that yielded the first penalty shot and goal of the game that got me riled up? Maybe it was the "machine-gun" taunt they gave the crowd after scoring their first two goals that got under my skin...
Whatever it was, everyone in the restaurant (farmhouse) was pissed. Down 2-0 at the half, it seemed as if the Demons from the north would prevail with ease. After all, they'd done it 8 times in a row, since 2008. Viola has tasted bitter at-home defeat at the hands of Biancanera for about a half a decade.
Hopefully that puts in to perspective what happened between the minutes 65-80.
Four balls found their way to the back of the Juve net. Each one more fantastic than the one before. The collective mood in the former farmhouse turned from sullen into rowdy. Women, children, and even the seniors celebrated the slaying of the giants of the north.
It was a magical thing to be a part of. For a few minutes, even those of us from thousands of miles away basked in the glory of football, if only for a while. It's a fine line between glory and despair for a small town like Florence, and today they came out on top. At the end of the day, the Viola is still in 5th place in their league. Their hopes for a serious shot at a post-season run are pipe dreams. But don't tell that to the 40,000 plus purple-clad clan that streamed out of the stadio last night... when a victory of such unlikely proportions happens, it's time to just enjoy it.
So that's how our week ended. Lots of great memories, some good food and an education about exactly who are "real footballers". Just they way it should be.