Friday, May 21, 2010

traveling

May is the month that I've been looking forward to.

I took an exam on the 12th, so it was study study study up until then. Work was also really busy.

The day after my exam I flew with Christina to Naples. We rented a car and drove to Sorrento and stayed there for 3 days. We were orignially staying at a hotel outside the city on the ocean where we got a good deal online. Shortly before we were supposed to leave we found out that the hotel staff went on strike, so we had to find a new hotel.
Honestly, that was the best thing that could have happened. In the end we found another hotel much closer to the city and the pier. The Hotel Bell Air. (http://www.belair.it/)
I STRONGLY recommend that hotel. It's right on the water and every room has a balcony with a sea view. (Pictures coming soon!)
The staff were so friendly. They told us the best way to get into town with the bus, where to take the ferries, recommended some restaurants, etc. The hotel even had a shuttle that went to some of the restaurants in town. Granted they were touristy places, but still really good. We took that option one night and went to a seafood restaurant near the marina. Great seafood, but a little pricey.
The first night we passed a place called the Corner Shop in Sorrento (http://www.surrentum.it/cornershop/). They had a bit of everything, but mainly a huge selection of Lemoncello in really cute bottles. We stopped in and the old man that worked there was SO nice. He gave us samples and we promised we'd be back. We came back the next night and bought lots of gifts and a bottle of wine to share that night. Before we left we asked if he could recommend a restaurant. He walked us across the street to a little place where he said they ate lunch all the time. He walked us into the restaurant and seemed to be best friends with everyone in the restaurant. (I love that about Italy, the people are so freaking friendly!!).
He told the owner that we were his friends and that he should treat us well. They brought us a free glass of wine as soon as we sat down. It was great!
It was all locals eating there, which was so great. They brought us the menu which was just a copy of something handwritten on a piece of paper. The prices were great too. I had veal and I think it was 12 Euros...and it was amazing! We ordered dessert and they brought us 2 lemoncellos and our whole dinner for 2 people was 40 Euros. Love it!

Tonight I'm flying with Christina to Amsterdam for the long weekend. We're meeting Marie, our friend who now lives in London.
It annoys me a bit that everytime I tell people I'm going to Amsterdam they ask me if I'm going to do lots of drugs. Honestly, I'm more excited about going to the Van Gogh and Anne Frank museums and I'm a little bummed that the Concertgebouw doesn't have any concerts this weekend. Yeah, I'm an arts nerd. :-)