Rome, last goodbye

Here it is, my last days in Italy. I came to Rome to spend there my last italian days. I staied with new host: very nice guy Alfredo, at whose place was another CSer - girl from South Korea Injung (i love this accidential meetngs). That girl stayed there only one more night and i was there for two nights).

gelateria!

It was my forth coming to Rome but i stillhad something new to know about it =) That time my host took me to the oldest gelaria in Roma that is also the cheapest one - G Fassi at Via Principe Eugenio, 65. They have a lot of frozen stuff there and very good one, and it is close to the central station XD

Best gelato fromSan Crispino!

Next day was my good bye day. I just went to my favouriteplaces in Rome, took my favourite gelato in Sn Crispino, visited Collisseo, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain... Wah... At evening we made big food shopping, i spent 42 euro on food (i knew that i wouldnt survive without it in Moscow)

Oh guys, i am really sad and i dont want to leave this place. Italia, ti amo!

Napoli,or the best pizza in the world

So from Rome i went to Napoli, place that i knew as the most dangerous city in Italy) Did i care about it? Sure no. There were three reasons why i wanted to go there: Pompei, Vesuvio aaaaand Pizza Napolitana =)

So the day i came was a holiday and Napoli was empty for the all weekend.It was a goast city, really, but i even liked it! The first day my host took me to someoar from where we watched sunset an, what is more important, Vesuvio (actually you can see it from everywhere but from there it was especially nice XD). Also i couldn't wait anymore and asked my host to bring to the best pizza place. As i'm extremelly lucky that place was closed (if i remember right it's name was Pizzaiolo del Presidente (because Bush was there once)), but we went to another place which's owner was daughter of the owner of the first place XD OMG, do you remember what i worte about pizza in Orvieto? That one was nothing comparing to Pizza Napolitana. Guys it is really the best pizza in Italy and in the world, i enjoied every bit of it!!!

Next day i went to Pompei, city that was destroyed by Vesuvio. There was hot, a lot of ruins and tourists. I didnt know anything about it, so i just joined some touritic group and listned some information, but the only one thing i remember about it was the story tha Pompei was famous for its prostituts, because it was a port city, so sailors were coming there to piece out lack f women XD

very empty citycenter

After Pompei i went back to Napoli and walked around goast city. Napoli is very beautiful place, very colorfull, and a bit dirty. Actually during all my trip people were telling me about problems with garbage that were going on in Napoli, but just before i came they solved it) So i walked here and there around city center just wondering how beautiful and empty was that place. I think it is even good that all people are aware of it, you have some space there))

Sorrento

Next day we went to some wild beach near Sorrento. Beach was really cool, but i cant say it about Sorrento. Sorrento is very touristic, VERY. You have tourist everywhere around you, and you know, i dont like it. But there was one place i loved - local very famous gelateria with quite good gelato (the best one is in Rome). Also i tried some napolitanian sweets that were as good as sicilian ones. My favourite one is Baba: it is a sponge-cake sodden with rum, not that sweet, but so yammy =)

Procida

Near Napoli there are several islands. The most famous and expensive one is Capri. You can guess that i skipped it and wewent to the beach at Procida island. Nice island,nice but very hot black beach, but nothing extraordinar. After cool boat trip we came back and finished that day with pasta with salmon and my favourite white wine Orvieto

Russian Rome, part 2

As you can guess next afernon we woke up with awful hangover, so from our place we ran to the nearest McDonald'sto renew ourselfes with some frenchfries and coke XD

we love Orvieto)

Alina wanted to get out of Rome, so we went to that cute small place Orvieto) Of course we enjoied it, but there are two best memories from that place: amazing Margherita with truffles just for 7 euro (so far was the best pizza ive tried) and wine Orvieto for 5 euro at train station) Actually there was a funny story with that wine) As we woke up late, we came to Orvieto only at 4, so we wanted to come back around 8. As you remember Orvieto is situated on the hill, so have to buy ticket to go up or down,and as you remember i was robbed, so we had only Alina's money. So at 8 pm we went down to take a train and discovered that the next train was only in 1,5 hour. And we had only 6 euro left. Well, we decided to find some store to buy wine to make time go faster, but there were no stores! Actually we found only open marcet where we bought peaches and totally empty church (like in horrow movies). So disappointed we came back to the train station, and there in a cafe we found wine, amazing Orvieto wine for 5 euro! Ooooh, it was so good, we were just sitting alone at the empty train station and drinking it, do i have to say that we slept all way back to Rome?)

And, my friend Yura came, so we met him next day. Actually we had to get out of appartment we stayed that day,so we brought Alina's luggage to the train station, left it there and went to Sicilian cafe, that was situated right infront of the train station (Via Solferino, 2) where Alina tried real Cannolli and Latte di Mandorla. Also we went to see that keyhole, that Alina was obsessed with, and just walked around. At evening we met Yura and his brother and went to some tratoria that i found the day before. I have to write about that place,. It was real family tratoria, with very good and very cheap food right in the city cente - dont miss it! It is on the Via della Rotonda, youcan find it easily) After we told my friend that we had no place to sleep that night andhe offered to stay at their room in hotel (yeah!). So we took some wine, nutella and went there, where we tried to oped wine without bottleopener and finished nutella (or i finished it XD).

Next day all of us were leaving^ Alna- hone, my friends - to Milano, and i went to Napoli!

P.S. you could be interested what hapened to my money) Well, Alina gave me her credit card andmy mom charged it, but russian bank's are veeeery slow,so money came when i was in Napoli already for several days)

Russian Rome, part 1

We found Collisseo!

So, i was back in Rome... again But this time was totally different: my best friend Alina was coming to spend one week with me (crazy girl). Actually she was the only one person who was brave enough to join me. Why brave? Well, my friends arent used to CS and to my way of traveling (without planing, as i like). And for my frend it was her first independent trip abroad, so it was a big responsability for me to make her enjoy it))

Ass you can guess i found couchsurfer for us, who was ready to host us 6 days out of 7. What was really good.

But let's come back to Rome. I came there one day before my friend, but very late at night. Next morning i went to the central station to meet Alina. Actually im a bit ashamed, but i was so into my trip that i didnt miss anyone. I thought i didnt miss, but when i met her i was so happy, like i ate huge italian gelato XD Right from the station i took her to the Collisseo, but i couldn't find it. Just imagine! Shame on me)) But finally i managed to reach it) After we walked around, but Alina was so tired after her flight that we wwent home, where i made some raviolli for her.

our new friend Gleb

Next day we went to the Vatican, yes, we WENT there, trough all Rome, what almost killed Alina because she wasn't used to 30˚ C and she wasn't used to WALK that much) But finally we riched place, it was afternonn, the best time to go to St Peter's church becase there are no people and no line to enter) After it Alina wanted to go to the roof of the church, and there was a HUGE line, but in this line we met guy from Moscow, Gleb, who went with us upstairs, and spent all the rest of the day with us. After Vatican i wanted to show Alina Castelo di Sant'Angelo, on the way there we stoped at the tourist office to ask about one place that Alina wanted to visit: the keyhole through which you can see three countries. I was looking for the map in our bag to let guy in the office show us where to go, when i discovered that my purse disappeared. Yes, i was robbed in Vatican =) So three of us went to the police station, just in case, you know) We had fun there making jokes and stupid videos, so instead of being sad  we decided to celebrate it and went to the best Rome's area for diner - Trasteve =)

Yey, i have no more money
 and im in Police XD

Next day another friend fromMoscow (Yura) contacted me to say that he was also coming to Rome =) Also some guys from CS contacted me and offered to meet at evening, i suggetsed it to my friend, and after lond touristic day we met them. I must say that Alina was really ashamed of speaking english, but after some drinks her shame flew away)) So, we where drinking with that italian guys from CS when they offered us to go to some beach party. "Why not" i said like always and in 30minutes we were on the seaside surrounded by club music and drunk italians. It was really great place, we loved it, but around 4-5 am we decided to go home, and asked that guys to drive us back, and here story begins) That guys somehow decided that we were staying somewhere outside Rome, when we staied two metrostations away from the central station. So they were argueing a lot in the car, one guy even wanted to leave us somewhere on the street, we drived around Rome to get to our place. Forme it was normal, but for my friend.... Ooooh, you should see her face that night, i thought she wanted to kill me, but than we got home and fell asleep...

Sicilian food,or how to forget about any diet

pizza alla norma

As i promissed i wirte here about the best italian food ever - Sicilian food! You can ask, what is so speial about it. Oh, guys, it is so good that you cant believe it is real)

First of all all pasta and pizza: the most traditional pasta/pizza is alla norma. It is past/pizza with fried eggplants and something else =) Also pasta with seafood is really good here, because seafood is all around you)

Cannollo

Second, Arancini. Arancini is the best invention for the quick snack/lunch/brunch. It is fried riceball filled with anything you can imagine (literary!) My favourites are arancini with ragou and arancini with pistachio - try it, you want regret)

What i loved is sweets. Sicilian people know everything about it. They make amazing thing from pistchio, almonds, lemons, ricotta, fruits and chocolate. The best thing here and very wellknowen is Cannollo.It is fried dough filled with delicious ricotta or chocolate cream. It is heaven for your mouth! Also sweets made from pasta di mandorla (like marzipan) are really good and you have a lot of different fillings in it. What else? Cassata! It is cake filled with some cream chees and dried fruits, very good, VERY sweet)

Also in Sicily people believe that gelato was invented there, so they have really good one! And they have very strange way of eating it: they put THREE scoops of gelato into brioch and decorate it with weaped cream. To be honest i didnt finish mine XD

Sicily is also a native place for granita. It is semi-frosen swwet made from sugar, water and some fruites or nuts. It is something between gelato and juice) My favorite aste is mandorla and pistachio together, try it)

As they have almond there they make amazing drink out of it - latte di mandorla. I cant describe it, it is just very very good)

Aaaaand alcohol) The most famous wine (and the best one for me) from Sicily is calle Nero d"Avola. Also they make famous Limoncello (that i dont really like) and many other liquors, like chocolate, pistachio,almond and many, many other.

OMG after writing all of this i'm starving!

How to love Palermo

I came back to Palermo very sad, because i liked Catania so much, but i hoped that with my new host ill see Palermo from the different side and i was right)

I got to the very international flat full of crazy, funny and outgoing people (my place). At day time we went to the seaside, than we came back home to take a nap, but my host Sebastian and me got stuck playing Cut the Rope on my IPad)) Then we went out and what a night it was! We started drining bear at some square where one guy wasplayig music. On our way there we met australian girl and some strange guys i dont remeber from where) After we went to the place in the city center that is surrounded by totally empty houses, so people can go crazy there XD (if i remember right that houses were empty and a bit ruinedbecause juges who fighted against mafia lived there and were killed there, but dont believe me))

We danced all night lond, drank tequilla, lost australian girl andother gys, almost got lost but at the end got home, where i slept couple of hours and went to the airport, where wnderful aircompany WindJet took me to Rome just in 35 minutes) 

Catania, or how i felt in love with volcano

I got so tired of Palermo that i crossed all Sicily just to visit biggest city there - Catania. I took a bus - and it is the only right way, because trains are so bad and slowly that you need a day to get from one place to another)

What can i say about Catania? It is so different from Palermo, i love this place. Even sea here is less solty and prices are lower) The first day my host took me to the beach at Aci-Castello, where you can see black medieval castle) And after at night time we went around city - that was very beautiful, friendly and calm. Here i understood that i got really tired of italian men, i think italy could be perfect for me without them XD

Second day in Catania became my best day there - we went to Etna. ETNA! I felt like in Iceland again! And Etna was erupting....Oohh, i felt so free there, i just was running around up and down like a kid - i loved that place! And colors, they are crazy there - brown, green, black, red, all together, all around.... And because we were high it wasnt that hot there. After we went to canyon with very beautiful waterfall and very cold water) There my host tought me how to play sicilian card game Scopa and lost me breakfast))

Next day we were walking around city. If you dont know the name of some place in there it is probably named after Bellini - the famous compose from Catania, really, try it) Also city is full of baroque architecture and churches, almost one building out of ten) In the very center they have elephant monument, because somehow elephant is the symbol of the city) But all of this isnt as interesting as nightlife inthere - at night we went to the beach party! Dont forget im from cold Moscow, beach party always sounded a bit unreal for me.  It was crazy night with alcohol, sea, Etna's eruption and strange man who came out of the water fully dressed

But next morning i was on my way to Palermo

You are not gonna believe where i am now

You are not gonna believe where i am now. Sicily... Yeah it's... it's amazing!

OMG after totally green Italy i came to another world - world os send, sea and sun. World of amazing food, especially sweets, and very good wine. This place is amaaaaaazing!

I landed in Palermo, my host met me in the airport and, what a surprise, he didnt speak any english XD He tok me to the seaside where we spent all evening, trying some local food, drinking, walking around. Oh, Palermo has its own smell: mix of solty water and backery, pretty good actually XD Here is haven for the foodlovers (like me) because you can find everything. Seafood, amazing pasta, sweeets. Oh, i'll write about sicilian sweets another post)

At night we went to some mountain, that was near Palermo. When you get on the top of it you can see bright stars all around you. Yes, yes, not only in the sky, because this mountain is right next to the sea so you can see lights of boats, but you cant see the sea or boats, so you have an impression that you are in the space)

But after such a grate first impression i discovered real Palermo that i didn't like that much. And it is not about the city - it is about people there: they are too rude, too intrusive,you are just getting tired of them. Sicily is like a penis world: you see only men on the streets, so any woman is a magnet for their attenntion XD

In general you have a lot of things to see here, like the biggest theater in the world, or the main cathedral, but what you can't miss is best gelato place in the city - it is right next to the train and bus station and there are always a lot of people)

Almost all days in Palermo i spent on the beaches, my favourite one was Capo Vale and one wild beach that was really beautiful, but more or less all of them are the same, just be aware of the sun, it can burn you))