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Marcy's Italy trip report: Rome, Naples, and DRIVING the Amalfi Coast

Marcy's Italy trip report: Rome, Naples, and DRIVING the Amalfi Coast

Old Sep 14th, 2004, 07:11 AM
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Marcy's Italy trip report: Rome, Naples, and DRIVING the Amalfi Coast

Once again, thanks to everybody here whose information was so helpful in planning our trip!
dln, Ira, SeaUrchin, Surfergirl, and many others.

We just got back from 12 days in Italy, and this truly was a "Fodors forum trip"-- we got almost all of our hotel and restaurant information from this forum.

This trip also was a bit of an experiment for us, in that we have often stayed at relatively high-end hotels (usually 4*), and this time decided to do a "Let's not break the bank" trip, staying mostly in less expensive places, some 2*.

We had been to Rome before, but never to Naples or the Amalfi coast.
Our itinerary was as follows:
Fly into Rome- spend one night there to rest up.
1 night Naples
4 nights Praiano (Amalfi coast)
4 nights Rome

Our flight into Rome was uneventful; American Airlines from Chicago, with so-so food, and "City Slickers" as the movie-- how old is that!!

I took an Ambien and slept some, but not as much as I wanted-- the seats really don't recline much at all any more.

At Rome's Fiumicino airport, we breezed through customs (there wasn't even any card to fill out!), got some Euros from an ATM ( the first one didn't work, but there are LOTS of them), and caught the Leonardo express train to the Termini -the downtown train station- for 9,50€ apiece.

We had decided to spend the first night in Rome resting up from the flight, because I was a little hesitant to tackle Naples tired and jet-lagged. Our hotel was a fairly easy walk from the train station, except that weren't totally sure where it was, so it took us a little longer to find the first time.

It was the Hotel Lilium, 58 Via Settembre. This is a very cute and charming little hotel, for 120€ a night, including breakfast. It has been recently redone, with lots of decorative painting, gleaming hardwood floors, and beautiful parakeets in the lounge. Our room was very tiny, but had a darling balcony with a vine-covered trellis, table and chairs. The neighborhood was fine, but not as convenient to some of the sights and restautants as some others. For anyone looking for a nice, reasonable hotel not too far from the train station, though, I would highly recommend it.

We decided to spend the afternoon exploring Trastevere, since we hadn't been to that part of town on our previous trip. We were starving, so we took a taxi, and our very nice driver recommended Checco Er Carriettiere (sp?). It didn't look like much from the street, but we were too hungry to look any farther, so we went in. We were so glad we did!

There was a beautiful, peaceful inner garden courtyard with tables, and we had a delicious lunch. I had Bombollotti all'Amatriciana, then a plate of clams in an herb and wine sauce. John had canneloni with veal and mushrooms, then Saltimbocca. With wine, water, and coffee, it was 65€ . Delicious!

Fortified by our lunch, we walked all over the Trastevere neighborhood, with its charming narrow streets, little shops, and beautiful churches.

We went to the church of San Francesco, which is worth a trip for the absolutely stunning Bernini sculpture of Beata Ludovica (a little like the one of Saint Theresa in ecstasy).

While we were waiting for the church to open, we were entertained by watching a group of young men in hanging out in the square having a very animated conversation, complete with much gesturing with their hands-- so Italian!

We also visited the church of Santa Cecilia, where there is a beautiful sculpture of her, and also visited the amazing archaeological crypts under the church.

We walked along the river for a little while, stopping for a grattachecca (Ices-- sort of like a snow cone cone only much better)
John had lemon kiwi, and I had liquiriziella ( licorice- complete with licorice stick) Very refreshing on a hot day!

We crossed over the river, and stopped to get a SIM card for our cellphone. (We have an unlocked GSM phone that we use in Europe)
We bought the card from the TIM store at Piazza Collonna, for 40€- providing a cellphone number in Italy, including 20€ talk time. We used the phone a lot during the trip, making reservations, calling home to check messages, and a few rather lengthy conversations to the States, and never used up all the talk time during our trip, so I felt like it was a good deal.

We ended up near the Piazza di Spagna area for a glass of prosecco-- great shopping and people watching around there!

We had dinner at Enoteca Antica on Via della Croce- a very nice little wine bar with a few outside tables. We started with an Antipasto Misto- marinated vegetables, mozzarella, salami, and prosciutto, the I had the ravioli with mushroom sauce, and John had the Involtini with eggplant, roasted potatoes, and salad. We tried the Brunello and Barbaresco wines by the glass, and I think I have a new favorite red wine-- Brunello is fantastic! Unfortunately it's also one of the most expensive wines on every wine list we saw, but oooh, it's worth it.
If you don't go too crazy on the wine this is a very reasonable place to eat.

Next.... Naples
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 07:18 AM
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Welcome home Marcy_!
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 07:26 AM
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Welcome back marcy, can't wait to hear about sour time in Praiano!
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 07:32 AM
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Welcome home and back to the forum.
Reads like the beginning of a romantic
trip! More!
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 08:08 AM
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I can't wait to hear the Amalfi Coast portion of the trip!

I am looking forward to 2 1/2 weeks in Rome on a home exchange during the Christmas holidays!
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 08:09 AM
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Good going, marcy! I'm glad you took the time to visit St. Cecilia's church. We felt like we had stepped into the middles ages when we saw it. Isn't that chapel beneath the church so beautiful?
 
Old Sep 14th, 2004, 08:16 AM
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Hi Marcy,

Nice report. Let's have more.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 09:30 AM
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You are welcome, Marcy. Let's hear about the rest of the trip!
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 10:20 AM
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go Marcy, that's great! I'm heading to Rome with a friend in a few months so I'm glad to hear all about it! glad you had fun.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 10:30 AM
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More Marcy, More!!

Although this is making me hungry~
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 11:52 AM
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The next morning we walked to the train station from our hotel, and bought our tickets to Naples on the Eurostar out of one of the machines in the lobby- very easy. We were impressed that they even let you pick out your seat configuration, until we got on the train and our seats weren't what we had picked out at all! (They were fine, though)

The Eurostar runs frequently from Rome to Naples (maybe every half hour?), so we didn't have long to wait. It wasn't hard at all to find our car or our seats. The train was very comfortable, and the trip went quickly, as we enjoyed watching the countryside go by. There was plenty of room overhead for small luggage.

On arrival in Naples, we decided to find the car rental place (Hertz), since we were going to be picking up a rental car the next day. It wasn't easy to find someone who knew where to find the Hertz office, but finally we did, but then it still wasn't easy to find. The piazza in front of the train station is very busy and hectic, with lots of traffic, lots of vendors from different countries selling knockoff handbags and bootleg CDs.

It was around noon, and very hot out, so we weren't enjoying the search. As we walked down the street just a short block from the main piazza, we were startled to see a man sitting in the gutter, with his his pants around his ankles, with a syringe and needle in his leg-- shooting up! Welcome to Naples!!

We did find the car rental office shortly after that-- tucked on a small side street, with very little signage, and double-checked their opening hours for the next day.

Back at the train station we took the metro and got off a few blocks from our hotel, Albergo Sansevero (thanks, Ira!) which we found without much trouble. It's kind of a strange place, off a courtyard entered through a big arched doorway, and then up the elevator to the lobby.

At first they acted almost surprised to see us, and I was afraid they had lost our reservation, but then they showed us to our room. Our room was quite large, with high ceilings, and a small bathroom. It was very simply furnished, but clean. There was a nice tall window looking out onto the interior courtyard, which was unfortunately covered by scaffolding, as they seemed to be doing some sort of construction.

The air conditioning took a little figuring out, but once we got it going it was nice and cool. (I had decided I wasn't going to stay if the air conditioning didn't work-- It was HOT out!)

The hotel is on a nice, relatively quiet street, very close to the Archeological Museum, which was the main thing we wanted to see in Naples, other than the city itself. It was 88€ a night, including breakfast, and we found it perfectly adequate for a one night stay.

There are several nice-looking restaurants a short walk away at the Piazza Bellini, and we picked a pizzeria for lunch (I think the name was Pizzeria di Port Alba). Great Pizza! One was Quattro Stagione (4 seasons)--one quadrant with calamari & clams (in the shell! on pizza!), one with capers and olives, one with mushrooms, and the last with just cheese and tomato sauce.
Our other pizza was Four Cheese, also with each kind of cheese in its own quadrant. With a nice house white wine and water, it really hit the spot!

Then we were off to the Archeological Museum. This museum is housed in a wonderful old building, and contains some amazing sculptures and mosaics, from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the surrounding areas. But it was frustrating to visit, because it's so poorly organized and poorly labeled. We did rent the audioguides, and they helped a little. Of course we had to go into the "Secret Room," with ancient erotic art. The ancient Romans definitely had an obsession with phallic images!

We spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around Naples and exploring. We stopped for a gelato and I had the best, most amazing melon gelato I've ever had! Soooo good!

It's hard to adequately describe Naples: the chaos, the decay, the crowds, the dirt, the poverty, but yet the exuberance, the intensity of life there. The city that Naples brings to mind for me more than any other is Havana.

There seemed to be widespread disregard for rules: a group of kids kicking soccer balls inside a beautiful galleria with store windows all around, people riding vespas in pedestrian-only zones or the wrong way on one way streets, more people yelling at each other than I can ever remember hearing in any other city.

On the other hand there was a wonderful feeling of warmth and friendliness from so many people we met there, and the food is wonderful!

We never felt unsafe walking around the city, but of course we were careful. Well, mostly careful-- Actually, John accidentally left his daypack at the pizzeria where we had lunch ( with only guidebooks and water bottle, etc. inside) When we went back a half hour later, it was still there, right where he had left it. We did walk on some streets where I wouldn't have wanted to go at night, but that's true in almost any big city.

We really didn't allow enough time to fully explore Naples, so I'd like to go back, but I think I can only take it in small doses. It's not a place to relax, but it is quite an experience.

That night we had dinner at Ristorante Bellini, at the Piazza Bellini right by our hotel, and had one of the best dinners of our entire trip. We saw some people at another table with some wonderful-looking seafood plates, and asked the waiter what it was. He said it wasn't on the menu, so we just told him "We'll have what they're having," and he took care of us.

First a hot appetizer of mussels mixed with tomatoes, and croutons, with a garlic sauce to die for-- TONS of garlic!! The best! Then linguine frutti di mare which was cooked (steamed) wrapped in paper, then opened at the table and arranged beautifully on the plates-- this had clams, mussels, calamari, octopus. Fabulous!

For dessert the waiter had me follow him inside to see the desserts-- also not on the menu, and I chose a torta di cafe for us to share-- kind of like tiramisu, with a layer of rum-soaked cake at the base and then a coffee cream layer. Heaven!

We finished with coffee and limoncello served super-chilled. All this and wine and water with dinner for 70€. I can't recommend this place enough.

Next.... Driving the Amalfi coast.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 02:05 PM
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Day 3: Naples to Praiano via Pompeii
After breakfast of pastries and coffee at the little bar next to the hotel (included in the rate), we took the metro to the train station, and walked the couple of blocks to the Hertz office. After waiting about an hour, we finally got our car. (This place was not the most efficient) It was humorous, though to watch the stream of people coming in complaining about how hard it was to find the place!

It was also funny to watch as cars were brought around for people on the narrow street, and then almost immediately be blocked in by people double-parking. So after waiting an hour for a rental car, people then had to wait for someone to come move their car so that they could get out. Renting a car in Naples is only for the very determined!

Once we finally got our car (a Mazda 6, manual transmission), we braved the crazy traffic through the piazza to the Autostrada-- not very far away-- it really wasn't too bad.

Once we were on the highway, the going was easy. We drove to Pompeii and found a nice, shaded parking lot very close to the entrance. We signed up for a guided tour (10€ each plus 10€ admission fee.)

We did think it was worth it to have a guide, although ours was a little difficult to understand with his accented English. ( If John wants to send me into paroxysms of laughter, all he has to do is imitate this guys accent!)

A warning to parents: there were a couple of litle British boys in our tour group who may have gotten a bit more of an education than their parents intended, in looking for all the "willies" (penises) and especially with the fresco "menus" of sex scenes in the brothel.

Pompeii was truly unbelievable! I really wasn't prepared for how well preserved it was-- it was way better than I thought it would be. You really can imagine what life there might have been like.

The place is huge! We were there for about four hours, and definitely didn't see enough. I would love to go back and explore it in greater depth.

My absolutely favorite part was the Villa of the Mysteries-- Do not miss it! Incredible frescoes-- so well preserved!

Then onward to Praiano-- we took the route that we got on Mappy.com, which definitely wasn't the most direct, but was very scenic-- going along the coast from Vietri, through Amalfi. We were arriving on a Saturday, so it was very crowded with people coming to the coast for the weekend.

So many people have advised NOT to drive on the Amalfi coast, but I have to put in my 2 cents worth: If you have driven on narrow, winding, coastal roads before, and feel comfortable with it, GO FOR IT!
It's a gorgeous drive, and we really enjoyed it. Yes, the roads are narrow, you have to be alert, and occasionally you have to stop or back up to let a bus through. Probably the scariest thing was all the pedestrians who would be walking along both sides of the narrow roads.

There are plenty of places where you can pull over to take pictures and let the driver enjoy the view.

We found the sign for our hotel -- Le Sirene (thanks again to Ira!) --easily (Praiano is very small), and John dropped me and the luggage off, and went to park the car. There is no parking provided for the hotel, but there is a widened area up the main road where you can park at no charge along the road.

It's quite a few steps down to the hotel from the road-- through the piazza of the pretty church. I was definitely glad that we had packed light!

Le Sirene is a very nice, simple little hotel with incredible views over the water!
Our room was not large, and simply furnished, but had a small balcony with a breathtaking view. There's also a terrace/bar overlooking the water, with bouganvillea-covered trellises, where we had breakfast each morning, and drinks each evening to watch the sunset.

The location is great (if you can handle a lot of steps), because it's removed from the road and all the traffic noise, and very peaceful.

That first evening, we sat on the terrace and had a Prosecco and a beer, served with a little plate of olives, giant capers, and peanuts, and took a million pictures of the sunset. Paradise!

We couldn't enjoy it too long, though, because we had tickets to a chamber music concert at the town of Conca dei Marini, not too far away, through the Ravello concert society.

The drive to Conca dei Marini was the most hair-raising of our trip! The town is located up the mountain from the coast, and the road is almost impossibly steep, with NARROW hairpin turns (so narrow that we'd have to stop and back up in order to make the turn).

We hadn't eaten dinner, and there seems to be only one restaurant in this little town, sort of a sports bar/pizzeria, with a big outdoor terrace where they were showing a soccer game on a big-screen TV, and NO tourists whatsoever.
Actually, that made it kind of fun. We didn't have too much time before the concert, so we just got pizzas: one with anchovies and capers, and one frutti di mare (once again with whole clams in the shell on top!) and calamari.
The bill for 2 pizzas, a bottle of wine, and a bottle of water-- only 18€ !!!

The concert was in the tiny, beautiful church of the Convent of Santa Rosa, which is perched on a rock overlooking the sea, although we couldn't really appreciate that at night. They had brought a grand piano into the little church somehow, and the concert was by a brilliant pianist, who played Bach and Chopin to the audience of only about 30 people.


(When I said to John that I couldn't believe it was such a small audience, he said, "Well, everybody else DIED trying to get here!")

We drove back to the hotel along the winding roads, even more beautiful at night with all the twinkling lights of the towns below.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 03:11 PM
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Thank you for your report. Keep it coming.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 03:30 PM
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Enjoying the report, when we were staying in Amalfi we were taken up above that church to look at a house which was for sale. We parked near that church and then walked up over 400 steps to see the house! We stopped at the sports bar too, what an experience.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 03:33 PM
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LOVE the report!! Thanks for posting and keep it coming
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 04:13 PM
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Marcy

Enjoying your report. Stayed in Naples last year and your description is spot on. Very brave to even attempt driving in Naples...Glad to see the Kamakazi ideal lives on!
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 04:32 PM
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Thanks for posting, Marcy. Keep it going! We are spending two weeks in Capri, Positano and Naples next summer, so I'm taking lots of notes.
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Old Sep 14th, 2004, 04:35 PM
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Thanks for posting. I love Italy.
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Old Sep 15th, 2004, 05:46 AM
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Marcy, your report makes me want to go back to Italy all over again! And it makes my mouth water, too, with all your food descriptions...
 
Old Sep 15th, 2004, 06:43 AM
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Hi Marcy,

Great report. Brings back lovely memories.
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