We are back!
On June 2nd, Rob and I flew to Rome for a little European vacation for two in celebration of his 40th birthday (which is actually on the 15th). We arrived home last night – and I was awake at 3 am this morning thanks to the jet lag.
Needless to say – we had an amazing vacation.
We landed in Rome and then drove directly to Sorrento. It was a bit of a hair-raising drive from my perspective – but fine for Rob – although he was really tired. We arrived at our beautiful little hotel overlooking Sorrento. It was called “La Vue D’Or” and let me tell you the view was golden!
We walked around our hotel a bit, enjoying the little pathways and trails and then had a simple dinner at our hotel restuarant before heading into town for some gelato!
The next day we headed to Capri and took a boat over, toured around in the boat, then went and explored the island.
We visited the towns of Capri itself and Anacapri (where we walked around the gorgeous Villa St Michele and then took a chairlift up Mount Solaro).
We had a great little lunch at a pizzeria called Da Gemma and it was sooo good.
We headed back to our hotel and went to Sorrento for dinner. Our most expensive dinner – and my least favorite (although still good!) – although we did get serenaded “That’s Amore” so that adds to the Italian experience!
The next day we headed off to explore the Amalfi Coast. We were blown away by the stunning views and narrow roads.
We headed to a little town above in the hills called Ravello and walked around and enjoyed our favorite lunch at a little place called Cucina Cosimo, and explored the Villa Cimbrone there (stunning views again!).
We went to Amalfi and walked around this beach town, stopping for snacks (seafood and gelato – what a mix!).
We headed to our hotel “Tramonto D’Oro” which was in a little fishing town called Praiano and had gorgeous views of Positano outside our balcony. We enjoyed the views from the hotel pool and had a short siesta. We had a great dinner at the hotel restaurant and sat and enjoyed the kids playing soccer in the church courtyard nearby.
The next morning was our adventure: The Walk of the Gods.
A path that you can catch (after hiking up about 1000 steps) in Praiano and head over to Positano. It is a breathtaking hike along the cliffs with unbelievable views and scenary. It takes 4 hours.
We got a little lost near the end and took a path that led us down 1700 steps to get to Positano. Let me tell you my legs were shaking. Rob was afraid I was going to be a quivering heap at the bottom of stair 1700.
We strolled through Positano then caught a little boat to a beach where we ate lunch at a little beach restaurant called Da Adolfo. It was so good! We spent the afternoon enjoying the sun, swimming and reading.
We headed back (stopped to shop a bit in Positano and got a great little dress for me and shirt for Rob) and that night drove up in the hills to a restuarant called “La Tagliata” – no menus – they just bring you lots of food. We feasted! This was my favorite day out of the whole trip!
On Tuesday, we spent the morning in Positano people watching and then took a boat tour along the Amalfi coast, stopping to swim (in some caves)and cool off in the sea.
They took us to another beach restaurant where we feasted again (food was only ok though). The sea got very rough so we had quite an adventure getting back to Positano – but it makes for a memorable experience!
We arrived – feeling a little blah from all the tossing and turning and had another little siesta at our hotel before having some pizza at the local pizzeria.
Wednesday morning we bid arrevederci to the Amalfi coast and headed to Rome, stopping in Pompeii along the way. We toured around (first with a guide and then on our own). It was so vast and quite unbelievable actually.
We continued to Rome, dropped our car off at the airport and boarded a train into the city. We made our way to the hotel from the train station (scammed by a cabby – darn it) and found our quaint “Hotel Centrale” a few streets away from the Spanish steps.
(Note how Rob is looking at the guy taking the picture…he told us to kiss and Rob thought he was going to take off with our camera!) Lol! We ditched the roses shortly after:
We walked around a bit – stopping at the Steps and joining the hoards at Fontana Trevi (threw a coin), then had dinner at a little place called Est Est Est. It was ok ok ok.
The next day was our self guided “Tour of Ancient Rome”.
We made our way to the Pantheon – which was so impressive, Campo di Fiori (where we bought the kids some jackets and spices for me), a sunglass shop (ok not really part of our tour but we stopped nonetheless and each got a pair!) before arriving at the Forum and Colleseum.
New glasses!!
We took a tour – and it was fascinating.
We grabbed a quick sandwich at a local little caffe and throughly enjoyed it. Our legs and backs were aching however! We had a siesta, then explored a little bit more, stopping in many shops along the way on Via Corso and Via Condotti. We got suckered into a bad dinner (tourist trap) and had a relaxing rest of the evening.
On Friday we woke up early to walk to Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica. Luckily we went early! The crowds were unbelievable. We flew through – stopping at the “must sees” before slowly heading back to our hotel.
After a siesta (again, I know!), we had an amazing lunch at a pizzeria Al Leonicino and then spent a leisurely afternoon walking though Piazza Navona (having an amazing tartufo – where it originated), finding the famous San Crispino Gelateria and having gelato there near the Trevi Fountain, then strolling up to the park and gardens above the Spanish Steps. We walked through the park and then stopped to lie under a tree. So relaxing and peaceful. We had dinner at a little Tratorria called Otello di Concordia – and it was good.
Our last morning we both woke up exceptionally early and decided to hit the streets at 6:30am! It was amazing! We were able to stroll through the streets and see all the sights without any tourists and got some great photos.
We went back to the hotel to go back to bed mid morning though… before waking again to go shopping, then headed to the airport. We arrived home last night!
All in all, it was an amazing trip. We both loved everything. So much to see, hear, taste and smell. Best part of the trip though was being together. Having uninterrupted time like that with my guy is just so special. I love him more and more each day. So glad to be sharing this journey with him. I also loved getting home to see the kids and getting great big hugs, giving them their gifts (which they all loved their Italia jackets, official soccer jerseys and hats) and telling them about our trip and catching up on their news. Good to be home. Start planning the next trip:)
