London: December 17th-20th

Three days in London was just not enough time to enjoy this wonderful and vibrant city to the fullest!

We arrived in London late evening on Monday, so for the rest of the evening, we relaxed and browsed the area near our hostel in South Kensington. The South Kensington neighborhood (near the tube station: Gloucester) was very nice and posh. The town homes in the area were very classy. Right from the start, we loved the architecture and building facades of London. Right across the street from our hostel were two of London's largest museums, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science & Natural History Museums, with the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Gardens just a couple blocks away.

We woke up early Tuesday morning, enjoyed the all-you-can-eat breakfast at our hostel, and prepared for our first full day in the City...

-We started at Leicester Square near the Convent Garden to find us a couple of tickets to the musical, Wicked.
-After purchasing our tickets to the show, we walked a couple streets north up to Soho where Chinatown was located. We had lunch at a soup noodle house where rows of roasted duck and BBQ pork were hanging in the windows. Ben had soup noodles with BBQ pork and Liya had soup noodles with roasted duck - delicious and cheap, HURRAY!
-After lunch, we took the tube (underground) to Temple where the Somerset House was located. In the courtyard of Somerset, there was a large Christmas tree and an ice rink. It was a warming sight to see - there were high spirits and it certainly felt like Christmas! We returned later in the evening to see the courtyard at night which was lit up beautifully.
-We walked across Waterloo Bridge to the Waterloo Train Station (massive!). From the bridge, we had great views of the London Eye (huge Ferris wheel) and Big Ben. We then took the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral (2nd largest basilica in the world behind St. Peter's in the Vatican). We didn't go inside but Liya managed to take a picture of Ben jumping in front of it :)
-We walked across Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Museum. The works inside the museum was very similar to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. We loved the fact that most of the museums in London were free to the public - that's how it should be everywhere!
-From the Tate, we walked alongside the Thames River on the Southbank. We passed by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, and the London Bridge. It was dark by the time we got to the London Bridge so we had a nice clear night view of the Tower Bridge.
-We took the tube back to Trafalgar Square to have see Big Ben and the London Eye at night.
-We went to Lyceum Theater and saw The Lion King, a last-minute decision. The set and costumes were amazing. The acting and some of the singers were under-par in our opinion. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to see a West End musical during the holiday season.

Wednesday, our last full day in London...

We went on a walking tour of London at 11am.
-We started at Wellington Arch where we saw the #1 House in London in the Mayfair District, owned by the Duke of Wellington. We walked through the Arch and through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace where we saw the Changing of the Guards. Since the Royal flag was up and there were 4 Royal Guards instead of two in front of the palace, that meant the Queen was home. Following the ceremony, we walked to St. Jame's Palace, the official residence of the Prince of Wales (Charles) and his sons, Prince William and Harry, and took pictures with one of the Guards.
-Following St. James, we walked up to Piccadilly Street (really expensive street) and walked towards Piccadilly Circus. Along the way, we saw where the Queen shops (hat and leather shoe shops) and where she occasionally has her afternoon tea. Piccadilly Circus is London's version of Time's Square. From the Circus, we walked through Leicester Square and a couple of alleys which were filmed in the Harry Potter movies (Diagon Alley) to Convent Garden, a huge market.
-We visited Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery was located.
-Our last stop of the walking tour was the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

Following the walking tour, we had traditional British meals at the Lyceum Tavern for a late lunch. Ben had steak & ale pie as well as a pint of home-made ale and Liya had the traditional fish & chips - both were very good. Happy and full, we made our way back to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. It was dusk by the time we arrived - the view of Big Ben in the distance from the steps of the Gallery was nice. We walked through the Gallery and enjoyed works from Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Raphael. It was great to walk through the many galleries and for FREE! Another reason why we love London!

To end our perfect day, we saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater. The show was AMAZING! Everything was spectacular - the set, the costumes, the band, the actors, the music. It lived up to our expectations and we were 100% satisfied! We will have to visit Nick in NYC and see how Wicked compares there!

We were all smiles for the rest of the evening! Although we wish we could spend a few more days in London because there are still so many places to see (i.e. Greenwich; Notting Hill; Kensington Palace, Harrods, Portobello Road, Camden, and Borough Markets; Brick Lane and its curry houses; and the many more FREE museums!), we are excited to fly back home today and spend the holidays with our loved ones and friends.

London makes our list as one of our favorite cities in Europe - We will return for sure! Cheers!

Please use the link below to see our pictures from London and Corfu, Greece:
http://washington.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2218928&l=d4a12&id=10708181

Corfu, Greece: December 9th-15th

We were looking forward to the warm weather & relaxing at the Pink Palace Hostel (pretty much a resort hostel) for the last leg of our trip in Corfu, Greece; however, when we arrived via ferry Sunday morning, we were welcomed with rain, cold and grey skies(The weather cleared up for us later in the week). Fortunately, there were 12 other fabulous guests to make it a fun stay for us. Shout out to Dave, Kyle, Bryan, Tracy, Tess, Catherine, Kristen, Brad, Chris, Andy, Rebecca, and Colin! Thanks for the good times and many laughs!

While at the Pink Palace...

-We had a hot breakfast consisting of fried eggs, toast, tea and coffee, and bacon every morning. We had a different 3-course meal each night (delicious soup, Greek salad and main course)every night. Great deal.
-We had great drinks made by the fabulous bartender, Andy (from London), every night (happy hour was from 6-11pm!). We were introduced to the Greek liquor, Ouzo - definitely not our favorite but sure had a kick! YAMAS!
-We had a pink toga party the first night....many ouzo shots, singing and dancing!
-We went 4-wheeling' on two different days. First day was rainy and cold, the roads were slick, and Liya fell into a ditch...HARD. Fortunately, there were no broken bones, just some scratches and bruises and some really nice goose eggs on her left leg. Liya 'got back on the horse' the second day we went out. It was the nicest day of the week so we spent all day on the quads.
-We played tons of charades which were hilarious, especially after happy hour :)
-We had a Secret Santa Exchange - some interesting gifts :)
-We enjoyed the beautiful sunsets every night.
-We went swimming in the freezing cold sea - easy to float in though!
-Ben played tons of frisbee which made him a very happy boy :)
-We saw the first snow fall in 5 years in Corfu on our last day! Snow on palm trees - crazy!

***Most importantly, we made many memories and friends from Canada, New Zealand, the States and England during our stay.

Brindisi, Bari, & Lecce, Italy: December 6th-7th

We spent a couple of nights in Brindisi. Since it was low season, not much was going on in the city so we took day trips to Bari and Lecce.

Bari is a large port city with many high-end shops such as Louis Vutton, Max Mara, Gucci, etc. Saint Nicholas (yes, Santa Claus) was buried in one of the old churces in Bari. We took an overnight ferry from Bari to Greece on the 8th.

Napoli: December 5th

Our original plan for the 5th was to ride the train down to Sicily from Naples. We were really looking forward to visiting Taorimina, Palermo and Catania; however, the slow ten hour train ride, limited availability, and a scheduled ferry leaving Bari on the 8th forced the decision to skip Sicily.

For the day, we ended up booking another night at the hostel we stayed in previously in Naples, Hostel of the Sun. Being back in this welcoming environment allowed us to unwind and relax with the other travelers for the evening. We were even treated to a free pasta dinner on behalf of the hostel – penne with ricotta cheese and smoked mozzarella. We had the benefit of meeting a fellow American from Texas, Sloan. Just the previous day he completed his final exams in Barcelona where he had been studying architecture for the semester (Senior from Texas A&M). Since the pasta didn’t satisfy our hunger completely, the three of us set out for some late-night pizzas at Pizzeria di Michele where we each enjoyed a delicious margherita pizza, Naples style!

Forio and Ischia: December 3rd – 4th

We left Sorrento early Monday morning. Since ferries no longer go directly from Sorrento to the island of Ischia, we had to take a ferry all the way back to Napoli then take another ferry to Ischia. When we arrived in Ischia, we took the CS bus to the town we were staying in about 10 km away, Forio, the largest town on the island. The town was pretty and colorful but not much going on since it’s currently the low season. I imagine this island is a happening spot in the summer with all the tourists visiting and sunbathing on the many beaches. Ischians take their siesta period seriously too - the whole town shuts down for 3.5 hours!

The next day, we took the bus to the town of Panzana where we walked down to the hot springs in Sorgeto Bay. The tide was higher than expected which prevented us from sitting peacefully in the rock pools where the hot springs came up through. Liya tried her best but got blasted by the waves a few times. Nevertheless, the time spent at the bay was pleasant. The bay was only occupied by a couple of other sunbathers, the sun was out, the skies were blue, the wind was subtle and the sound of the sea was soothing. After soaking up some Vitamin D at Sorgeto, we took the CS bus all around the island of Ischia (1.5 hours) which was a beautiful ride.

The term ‘low season’ really hit home when we were staying in Ischia. First, we were on the only two backpackers staying at our hostel. Second, it was a pain in the butt and expensive to reach and to leave the island. Third, there wasn’t much activity – open stores were hard to find, locals were on holiday, and everything was running at a much slower pace. We arrived in Ischia with high expectations and, instead, we left somewhat disappointed.

S’Agnello di Sorrento and the Almafi Coast: December 1st – 2nd

We enjoyed a half-day in Napoli before taking the Circumvesuviana train to S’Agnello, a small town of Sorrento, our home base for the Almafi Coast. We spent the morning walking around the harbor and the port of Napoli before having lunch at the city’s famous pizzeria, Gino Sorbillo. Gino’s Pizzeria claims that they were the inventors of the classic pizza calzone. Fortunately for us, we were able to grab a table right when the doors opened at noon, because 10 minutes after opening all two stories of the restaurant were full. Ben ordered the Ripieno classic calzone – salami, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, and basil. Liya had the Paguele pizza – toppings included prosciutto, special mushrooms, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Tasty, tasty!

After lunch, we set off for Sorrento. We stayed at Mami Camilla B&B/Hostel, a lovely place out by the sea. Surrounding the villa were clementine, orange, and lemon trees. On the roof terrace, we enjoyed the views of the surrounding hills till it was time for dinner. For dinner, we ate at a family restaurant in our town and boy was it AMAZING (and cheap might we add)! Ben had the house special, Gnocchi di Sorrentina (fresh gnocchi, sauce: tomatoes, garlic, awesome parma. cheese) and Liya had the Spaghetti con Vongole (fresh clams with white wine sauce). Both were delicious and fresh-tasting. Outside the restaurant was a large rotisserie of chickens so we had to try a half of a chicken, a great decision! The chicken was seasoned perfectly and the meat was extremely moist – the best rotisserie chicken we’ve had!

FYI – The B&B’s breakfast was amazing! Both mornings, we enjoyed a breakfast of warm croissants and rolls with homemade marmalade and kiwi jam, prosciutto and cheese, assorted sweet pastries, clementines, granola and yogurt, and a nice hot cup of cappuccino made by the mother. After breakfast on Sunday, we set off for the Almafi Coast.

We bought a couple of SITA bus tickets and enjoyed the 1.5-hour ride from the town of S’Agnello to the last town along the Almafi Coast, Almafi. It was raining for half of the ride and the weather was overcast, but we still loved the coastal views from our warm seat. We enjoyed seeing all the villas and homes perched on cliff sides and up in the mountains, the grape vines, the orange and lemon trees, and the different blues of the Sea. The drive along the coast was also like a rollercoaster ride –our heart rate was higher than usual, most of the turns were extremely sharp, the space between our bus and the cars/buses passing us on the other side of the lane was just inches, and when we looked outside our windows, the roaring sea and the jagged rocks were right below us. We had to shut our eyes for a few seconds here and there!

We walked around the town of Almafi for a couple of hours window-shopping and partaking in some free limoncello tastings. At one shop, we tried all sorts of liquors such as basil, chocolate-chili, straight-up chili pepper, crema di limoncello, crema di melon, and of course, the original limoncello made with Almafi’s young lemons. Next, we hopped on the bus and headed to Postiano, the 2nd largest town along the coast. The sunset there was beautiful and the city had beautiful ceramics and mosaics everywhere. After the sun set, we headed back into S’Agnello and held our breath for parts of our ride back (as it was dark out and there were no lights on the road!).

Back in S’Agnello, we decided to have dinner at the family restaurant we ate the night before because A) it was damn good and B) it was the only restaurant open on Sunday, lucky us! Ben ordered a margherita pizza with chips (French fries on top, a local thing to do apparently) and Liya had farfalle with salmon. We shared a half of a rotisserie chicken again – delicious once again! The pizza was alright but the salmon dish was beautiful. The sauce was amazing and the salmon had a great smoky flavor to it.

Overall, it was a pleasant trip to the Almafi Coast. Next stop, Ischia Island.

Napoli: November 29th – 30th

We were welcomed to Napoli with a torrential downpour yesterday afternoon. It rained all day in Napoli which was a bummer. We had a difficult time finding our hostel but when we finally arrived at Hostel at the Sun, we were content. We received a very warm welcome from Carla, the host of the hostel, and instantly felt like we were at home. The hostel was a flat with a few dorm rooms and colorful common areas. We enjoyed the rest of the day staying warm inside the hostel and getting to know the other travelers.

This morning, we woke up early and got ready for our day trip to Pompeii. Italy’s main train lines were on strike so we had to take the Circumvesuviana line (30-minute trip). When we arrived in Pompeii, it was rainy but that didn’t stop us from enjoying a day in this historic site. We saw a variety of villas, famous houses, theaters, bakeries, and temples. Walking on the rough cobble stone was the best reminder of how ancient this town really is (dating back over 2000 years ago).

When we got back to Naples this afternoon, we had the BEST pizza at Pizzeria Michel. It's been around for over 100 years and they only make two kinds, margherita and marinera. We got both and enjoyed every bite of each! We walked down one of their main streets and ordered a smaller pizza, served fresh and hot straight from the oven, from Pizzeria Matteo, the 2nd best pizzeria in Napoli! We walked around some more around town and were happy to see all the Christmas decorations and goods being sold in many stores and on the streets.

We head to Sorrento tomorrow where we will spend a couple of nights at. We plan to explore the city and the rest of the Almafi Coast. And of course, enjoy limoncello!

Updated Pictures

Please copy and paste the links to see the updated pictures of our trip! Thanks!

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More pictures from Rome!

Walking all over Rome: November 28th

We had a long day of walking in store for us so we slept in a bit and got energized with a yummy Italian meal of fresh pasta and a caprese salad we made ourselves in the hostel kitchen.

After lunch, we set off to see our first site of the day, the Pantheon, a very impressive structure that has withstood the test of time. Architects can’t seem to figure out how the dome is still standing after all these years (there are no support columns, arches or braces) – the Pantheon is simply a cement dome. Following the Pantheon, we walked a few streets over to Piazza Navona. It was a piazza filled with colorful buildings, bars, cafes, craft and food vendors, and three large fountains. Unfortunately, the middle fountain was under renovation.
We then walked towards the Vatican City to see Castel Saint Angelo. From there, we had a great view of St. Peter’s Basilica. We walked a couple more kilometers down to the Trastevere area where we had a nice view of the Basilica at dusk from one of the bridges over the Tiber River. Above us were swarms of small black birds flying all around, forming different shapes like a school of fish would. We witnessed this event the night before and were intrigued with the collective behavior of these birds. In one of the Trastevere piazzas we had the best pizza in Rome! It was the San Calisto Pizza: olives, eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella, and mushrooms. YUM! Following our dinner we visited the Santa Maria Church that was located in the same piazza that we ate our pizza in. Santa Maria was another massive church with gold mosaic work on the back wall and above the altar.

We left Trastevere and headed towards the Vittorio Emmanuel II Monument and the Coliseum for some nice night pictures. When we got there, lo and behold, there was a taxi strike. All of Rome’s taxis were stationed around the Monument and all along Rome’s busiest and oldest road (parallel to the Roman Forum), preventing traffic from entering and allowing pedestrians to walk in the middle of the street towards the Coliseum.

After seven hours of walking we finally returned to our hostel. Who knows how many miles we logged today?!? As large of a city that Rome is, it is definitely walkable. Just remember to stretch your legs and hip flexors in the morning!

We head to Napoli next!

More Pictures from the Vatican City

Vatican City: November 27th

We got up bright and early to prepare for our full day in the Vatican City.

Our first visit was the Vatican Museum. We were fascinated with the old sculptures, marble head busts, as well with the vast and colorful wall and ceiling paintings located in many of the rooms and halls. The best part of the Vatican Museum was the Sistine Chapel. It is here where the Conclave takes place, a very important church ceremony. This traditional meeting of the Cardinals is aimed at electing the new Pope. The painters involved in this sublime work of pictorial decoration included the most respected names in the world of Italian painting, first and foremost Michelangelo. There were two frescoes starting from the altar and running along the walls on the left and right. The fresco of the ceiling was done by Michelangelo and was completed in just three years. The central part of the ceiling, divided into panels, represented scenes from Genesis including The Creation of Adam and The Creation of Eve. Around the lower part of the ceiling, 12 huge figures of Prophets were depicted. The best part of the Chapel was the amazing wall behind the altar painted by Michelangelo, The Last Judgment.

After spending a few hours at the museum, we made our way to St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. At the center of the square stood an Egyptian obelisk and it was flanked by two fountains. So you know how we mentioned that Santa Maria Major from Monday was enormous? Well…the size of St. Peter Basilica was incomprehensible. Simply put, there’s nothing like it! St. Peter must have been one HECK of a guy!

We immediately realized that we entered the largest and most grandiose sacred building in existence: a building vast in scale, décor, and inspirational effect. The Basilica displayed wonderful works of art in a splendid fusion of the Renaissance and Baroque Era. In the central nave, the venerated bronze statue of St. Peter stood (13th Century). A series of chapels opened up along the aisles. They included the Chapel of Pieta, with its famous Michelangelo statue of the dead body of Christ lying in the lap of his Mother, the Pieta (Michelangelo sculpted this at the age of 24). Up high above, we admired Michelangelo’s massive dome (120m high).
After exploring inside the Basilica, we decided to walk up the 521 steps up to the top of dome in hopes to find breathtaking views of the city. And boy were they breathtaking! The view from the top was amazing! The long and narrow trek to the top was well worth it. We had a remarkable view of St. Peter‘s Square and the Vatican Museum. In the distance we could see Villa Borghese, the Vittorio Emanuel II Monument, the Palatine, the Coliseum and the Roman Forum.

We had a late lunch at a local bar which was recommended in our guide book. We both shared a caprese salad, lasagna and pork. We thought the tomatoes in the salad and with the pork were interesting - they were green and we debated if they were ripe or not. After our late lunch, we crossed the Tiber River and had the best espresso and cappuccino (with a free splash of Bailey’s liquor) at Café Peru. We also had a nice glass of freshly-squeezed O.J. there. We walked back to the Trevi Fountain which was fortunately less crowded than our first experience. After Trevi, we returned to our favorite gelateria in Rome, Il Gelatone, and had two scoops each on a cone! Ben had pistachio and hazelnut topped with cream. Liya had tiramisu and amaretto. All were delicious!

Overall, it was a wonderful day spent in the Vatican City. Rome has definitely made our list of top cities in Europe, even with much remaining to be seen!