Rome, Naples and Pompeii

How do I say, “I am fat” in Italian?? Mio Dio!!! I have eaten myself silly while in Rome.

I have been to Rome before, so I am not interested in sightseeing. I am only intereseted in eating good food, drinking good coffee and wine, finding lbs of capers in salt for my Mom and grabbing some gelato along the way. 

I did all of these things and I feel as if I am capable of rolling out of this city, lb by lb. There is a spot near where I was staying at my friend's place in Piazza Bologna that I have grown to love. She turned me onto it while here last year. It's called Pizzeria Novecento. It is a family run, authentic Sardinian restaurant. What we would call in the States a “hole in the wall”, old school, Italian restaurant. None of them speak English. I was able to get by with them the first night, but the second night, the miscommunication turned into about 1000 calories more than I wanted to eat, but the food was there and I couldn't waste it, so I ate it all.

Culurgiones with crayfish and fiori di zucca (translate: Large pasta shells stuffed with the flower of zucchini, topped with crawfish)

I ventured out of Rome to Naples my third day there to get the best pizza in the world at Pizzeria Da Micheles as suggested by the author of the book Eat, Pray, Love (it's the place she goes to in the movie). This would be my 4th time eating there. It is now a tradition that every time I am near Naples I have to stop in for a pizza. 


On the train ride to Naples, I sat next to a very tired couple just arriving from Macon, Georgia. A sweet couple coming to Italy for the first time. They were headed to the Amalfi coast for a few days before heading to Rome. We struck up a conversation. It’s always so nice to talk to Americans along the way. 


I remember my first time in the Naples train station. That city is like a war zone. Scary to visit if you are not familiar with its heartbeat. I told them I would make sure they made it to their driver before I went on my way. I think they were grateful I did, since the driver was not there to greet them and their phone had conveniently run out of battery as we stepped off the train. I sprung into action with my Italian phone, called their hotel and coordinated a pick up point for a driver to get them. I escorted them across the awaiting war zone to a nearby hotel where a driver would pick them up. 


I invited them to join me for the pizza, but I could see they were punchy from the overnight flight and I’m sure they wanted to get to their hotel and rest up. I’ve been there, done that. Sleep and comfort can outweigh any invite on a long travel day.

I walked to the pizzeria, downed a pizza and a coke and hopped on the subway headed for Pompeii. The subway in Naples has a lot to be desired. Very old, very rickety and very, as we would say, “ghetto”. Graffiti covered most of the stop names along with the windows making it hard to even see where I was headed. A rough crowd was aboard. It was a brave venture, but I am committed to doing it the way the locals do. I am learning each and every time a little more about each city. Stop by stop on each train, subway and metro. 

An afternoon in Pompeii was all I spent and it was time to head back to Rome. I had two days left in Rome and I wanted to rest, catch up on my sleep and catch up on the blog. I was feeling rundown, sleep deprived and really needed a day off. I planned to have that day off the next day until I received a phone call while on the subway in Naples with an invitation from a Facebook friend. I was invited to travel out of Rome to a small town in Umbria. I thought about it, took a look at the train schedule and decided since it was not very far, I figured I could manage it, head up for the afternoon and be back in Rome in time for a good nights rest. That afternoon trip turned in to a 2 day long venture filled with laughs, wine and more socializing. No rest for the weary. My day off would have to wait.