It was the eve of Epiphany so Cart took me to Piazza Navona last night. There were still lots of stalls where you could play carnival games, stalls selling candies, toys and Christmas decorations.

But what catches my eyes more are of these :

This is the Befana. She’s an old woman with a shawl, and goes down the chimney on the eve of Epiphany to fill the socks and deliver presents to good children and coal to the bad. Kind of like Santa Claus. She also flies around on a broom, but Cart is adamant in telling me that she’s not a witch.

I find her quite cute and I always get amused when I see Befana figurines for sale. Her laughter is infectious!

Well, Befana or not, we got for ourselves some chocolate and I’m gonna eat it now … OM NOM NOM NOM! 

Cart and I were in Bracciano last weekend to see the la Sagra della Castagna, or Chestnut Festival. It was reported to be quite crowded due to lunch time, so we made a little detour.

Our first stop was in Anguillara Sabazia.

This is another little town facing Lake Bracciano. We’ve already been to Martignano, a little town facing the lake, in the middle of this year, as well as Bracciano itself. And here in Port of Molo, like the other towns, is very tranquil and beautiful.

I like seeing families chilling out with their kids, taking in the view and listening to the waves.

Oh, and of course the ducks and the seagulls … waiting patiently for crumbs of bread … Greedy little bastards

Somehow the picture below reminds me of a picture I snapped while on my way to go to Kota Tinggi, Malaysia back in 2008. Just that the colour is different because of the humidity and altitude.

Anyway, as we were both ravenously hungry, we stopped at a restaurant called Nonna Carolina. What an odd name! So very un-Italian right? Nevertheless, it was a charming little restaurant where you could dine and admire the view outside.

I said the view outside, not me

The restaurant specialises in fish caught from the lake. I love seafood! And I had a difficult time in choosing between fish pasta or the secondo piatto, (or maybe even both!) But eventually, knowing how bloated I’d feel if I ate too much, I chose the mixed fried fish platter, so I could try almost everything.

And here is my meal! At the bottom, the roundish shaped one is Anguilla – Eel. The orangey fillets are Luccio – Pike fish and the small ones on the right is Latterino.

Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of the dish. It was wonderful! I love the eel! It was wonderfully succulent and meaty.

This here below, the latterino is basically babyfish. And I really liked eating this. It was slightly crunchy, a little chewy and salty. Not the same, but still not too dissimilar with anchovies I suppose.

Om nom nom nom!

The only fish that I didn’t really like unfortunately was the Luccio though. While it wasn’t bad, I thought that the fish would taste much better if it were baked of grilled.

Oh, by the way, an interesting thing is that all these fishes were Freshwater fishes. And freshwater is called “Aqua dolce” in Italian which literally means sweet water which is a little ironic because my dish was a little salty

Anyway, Cart had bruschetta with eggplant.

And he also had an interesting pasta with Radicchio – the red vegetable that you see below. Cart loves it.  Not one of my favourite vegetables though as it tends to be bitter, so I didn’t try it.

Oh, by the way, I was admiring the tablecloth at the restaurant and casually commented to Cart.

Me : This tablecloth reminds me of a baju kurong design.

Cart : So Malays wear tablecloths?

Another interesting thing that I noticed was this sign in the bathroom. The original word was in red ink … someone corrected BOTTOM to BUTTON. English lesson 101! Hahaha! So whose bottom do you want me to push?

After we had our lunch, we then headed to the Sagra della Castagna, the Chestnut festival which was held in Manziana.

Unfortunately, it was just a small festival, probably because of the strange weather that we’ve been having in Italy affecting the crops.

I was looking online, that there was a bigger one up North, but it was a little too far for us. Nevertheless, there were still a number of interesting things to see. Like foodstalls which uses chestnuts in their dishes.

Jams and preserves made of chestnuts.

As other non chestnut related stands.

So many amazing foods here! Doughnuts … oh and this twisted dough of tomato and basil. Yum!

Wow, pumpkins for only 60 cents euro. How come we didn’t get one for the upcoming halloween?

There were a lot of street performers too.

The air definitely felt festive, as like the feeling that I had during the maratona di Roma, earlier this year.

These was also a group of soldiers performing. Look at their hats all covered with feathers. Cart told me that this was an official outfit.

But I think the most wonderful performer was this one that we came across. He’s amazing! How does he whistle like that? Just take a listen!

I only knew later that his name is Claudio Montuori, more commonly known as Birdman and he’s famous! Just take a look in youtube and you’d see his other amazing performances.

Eventually we reached the end of the piazza and came across this delectable looking stand. One of my very favourite roasted ones is Corn. But we didn’t stop here.

Instead we queued up behind this large group of people to get roasted Chestnuts. After all, how can anyone go to a chestnut festival without eating some chestnuts?

So while Cart was queuing up, I stood in front of the fire. Mainly to keep myself warm but it was also interesting to see how the chestnuts were made. There were at least 4 men around a big tripod with a huge roasting pan attached below it.

First, sticks and kindlings are thrown into the fire

Then the first man will pour the chestnuts in the pan and he’ll let the fire singe the shell. See how the shell looks dark here?

Eventually the chestnuts will expand inside and the shell will mostly pop away to reveal the yellow flesh. And then the pan will be rotated around and around.

And passed to another person, taking turns. The pan must be very heavy.

Eventually, one of the men picks a chestnut to see if it’s ready and when they’ve agreed, the chestnuts are thrown into an already waiting sack.

And these will be quickly served to the impatient queue.

Yum!

One of the nicest feeling is to have a warm chestnut in your hand during the cold season. I felt like a squirrel somewhat after that, sitting in a corner peeling away the shells and nibbling every chestnut till it was all finished!

There was also the boiled chestnut version. Not a lot of queue here, but I think I’ll try that the next time I come across one

If you like this post, you might enjoy :

• Artichoke Festival in Ladispoli

I’ve been quite sick for the past week. But I’m all better now and am raring to blog again!

Anyway, last weekend was cultural week in Italy, which means that entry to many museums and monuments are free! Cart and I took the opportunity to visit Villa Adriana.

Villa Adriana is about 45 minutes drive out of central Rome. When you think that Adriana, you’d think of a girl’s name right? But Cart told me that translated, Villa Adriana means something like “Hadrian’s House.”

In any case, the Emperor Hadrian constructed the area as a respite from the palatine palace in Rome to an area which  reflected to his own taste.

By the way, even though entry was free on the day, the strange thing is, you’d still need to have a ticket to enter. Same thing as our last visit to the museums here and here.

In any case, it’s rather confusing for the first timer going around Villa Adriana though. Even with the map, I was clueless at where to go and see first. It was a really large area. And in the end, I thought that it was best to just go with the flow.

One thing that you’ll notice as you enter the area was that there are loads of olive trees. I’m not sure if it was the right season for them but nevertheless, there were both green as well as olives which was starting to turn purple.

They looked so charming, being all in a row like that. There were interesting holes in the tree, making it seem enchanted and for me, it felt as if I was in a fairy tale come to life. The only thing missing is probably a food basket and a red cape. Cart can be the nice wolf

Camwhore time!

As you can see, I’m wearing my really sexeh jeans! 

Ok, let’s explore the Villa proper!

Gosh, I feel like Lara Croft (she’s an archaeologist by the way ) walking around the area. All that I’m missing is brown shorts and a blue top … (and maybe some guns too)

This is the area called “Teatro Greco”. The emperor was influenced by a lot of Grecian as well as Egyptian architecture. And this was the open theater that he had.

Just imagine how it would have looked like when it was pristine!

Next, we walked towards the heart of the villa where the pool were. See this wall here? It’s amazing isn’t it? That it still stands after so many many many years.

In any case, the walls looked interesting to me. It sticked out like a hedgehog spikes somehow. But this was an example of laying of the bricks as how ancient Romans did it.

Could you just imagine walking around this pool? The orange fences are ruining the picture though, but nevertheless, it’s so peaceful and tranquil here. Man, the emperor really knew how to live it up!

I’m not sure what the rest of the monuments are, so … ehm … I’ll just leave the rest of these pictures uncaptioned 

Oh! And by the way, there are some modern pieces every now and then, decorating the area. Like this grandma statue, chilling out by the trees.

Oh, and this tripping pegasus figure with some beheaded greek statues and a chopped hand … the artist was probably high! (on creativity)

AAA! Medusa! However does she shampoo?

We walked deeper in towards another large pool. This was the area where Emperor used to have his lunch at.

Can you just imagine if your dining area looked like this? I’d be working up a nice appetite just before I get to the table!

And right in the middle here was where he’d lie down on his side while having his lunch. It was the fashionable thing to do for rich to do. Commoners like us would have to eat sitting down.

We continued walking and stumbled upon this area. Cart was telling me that there was a thermal bath around there. This was possibly one of the areas where you changed outfits I suppose. It looked pretty spacious. I wonder if there were doors or they had to suffer as I did

The area was amazingly large. The roof of this building for example, you could stack at least 8 people on their heads before they touch the roof.

So much energy and work dedicated into building these.

Cart was telling me about this particular area which he liked. He was here before with a group of friends and they were able to enter this place below.

Today it is closed because of the danger of falling rocks. But Cart told me that this was a good place to be during the warm days as it was constructed specifically for keeping cool.

Nope, can’t explore in there

And then we walked to yet another area. By this time, I’ve totally given up on looking at the map to know where we were.

This is quite cool. I imagine that the area were houses for the servants to the emperor. See the brick formation? And we were free to walk inside the space! And I tried to visualise how it would have looked like then.

And before you knew it, 2 hours has passed by  and we were approaching closing time. One of the last monuments that we managed to see was Piazza D’Oro. (Gold Piazza)

I think if you are ever in Villa Adriana, you shouldn’t miss this. This place really feels very tranquil and peaceful. It was really relaxing to see the hill and the rolling clouds in the background.

And now visualise white marble pillars in front of you. And people walking around with toga.

But before we knew it, it was time to go. And we had to say goodbye to this amazing place.

To end this post, I’m also going to put up this picture which I spotted on our way to Villa Adriana

Look! It’s an Italian Pentagon!

This post is a continuation of : A beautiful day boating in Capri

—

It was our last day in Capri and as always, we woke up to another beautiful morning. I was already feeling a little sad at the thought of leaving this beautiful place, but there was still quite an adventure in store for us for the day.

After having our breakfast and on our way out, there was a huge basket of freshly plucked tomatoes in the vegetable garden in our villa. Wow, look at how ripe they are! I was very tempted to take some and eat it like that. However the caretaker was looking at me funny and I had to bashfully back away

To get to our destination, the center of Anacapri, we had to walk back towards the Greece looking area. Unlike yesterday, this time round there were many shops which are already opened. Like this shoe shop here. There’s a pair of shoe here for less than 10 euro!

I didn’t get any because I have too many shoes

Cart and I also stumbled upon a little alimentari that looked a lot like a mama shop. It’s been over 20 years, but it reminds me of my grandparent’s shop somewhat when they still lived in Tekong before the government took over it.

And that’s Cart buying a bottle of water. It’s always useful to have a bottle of water with you 

And there were plentiful of other shops opened. Like food shops :

I noticed this sign … CRT now doesn’t mean Cathode Ray Tube anymore. And instead it’s Cappucino, Real English, Tea.

If you are in Capri, you’ll see a lot of these shops around – Here you can make your own customised sandals! Just choose the type of strap you want and tell your shoe size and the cobbler will make your sandal right in front of you!

And this is so old school. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone shaving (or be shaved) with these type of knives. It takes a really steady hand to be able to do that!

And there were also ceramic shops. It was so interesting to see all the colourful and cheeful items all made from ceramics. I suppose the owner thought I was interesting too, seeing how he’s staring straight at me

As Mount Vesuvius (I’d love to visit one day) is quite near, you could also find these decorated volcanic rocks easily. These can also made into beautiful jewellery. They are black because of the rapid cooling of the lava.

Oh, I forgot to mention about this in the previous post, but we also walked past a mini museum which we visited last night. This was done by a talented lady, Tiziana Ferraro. I really liked her artwork – it was colourful and cheerful!

I asked if she had a website or anywhere to show off her portfolio, unfortunately she didn’t have one. Ah well

And this is a toilet. It costs 50 cents to release yourself here

What’s interesting about it, you ask?  This is probably the cleanest toilet that I’ve ever seen in my life. There’s only one lady looking after the stations and once you’re done with your business, she’d immediately clean up.

She’s a little fierce though, not letting anyone get through when she’s not done cleaning, like Gandalf when blocking a Balroc, “Thou shall not pass!”

And here is a random kitten

The first place that we visited was the Villa San Michele. This is an interesting place, originally built by the Swedish physican, Dr Axel Munthe, reconstructed to make it look like as when he was living there.

It costs 6 euro to enter. (Gosh, my nails look so chipped by this point of time)

And here are the opening times depending on the month you are there. Just to be sure, get there around 9am

When you first enter the area, you’ll be first greeted by this skeleton mosaic – The skeleton is holding a food basket and a caraffe on the other hand to represent that we should enjoy life before we die. Something that Dr Munthe was already aware of.

We walked through each of the rooms, looking at the different relics and works of art. From the dining room …

The kitchen … (It was interesting to read that Dr Munthe had two house assistants who were very loyal to him. He didn’t pay them, but he gave them everything they asked for)

The Atrium …

The bedroom …

Here is Claudio and Beatrice laughing at a private joke. I’m adding this picture just because it looks like a cool shot

Oh, and this one too!

This is where Dr Munthe entertains his guests … Looks like my aunt’s room somewhat with the ornate and heavy furniture

He entertained all sorts of people here, even kings and queens. But they all got to eat very simple and rustic food as Dr Munthe doesn’t believe in feeding the body overly rich food. He doesn’t even recommend meat for those over a certain age!

By the way, while living here, Dr Munthe wrote “The story of San Michele” mainly about the experiences that revolved around his life. This book has been a bestseller since published and translated in over 40 languages.

I’d like to read it. Wonder if there are any libraries in Rome that I can go to, to read it in English

After touring the house, it was time to explore the courtyard. Oh my gosh, it was such a dream here. Like I was on the set of the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” but only better!

It wasn’t the statues that did it.

(The sign says “laughing girl” but she looks more creepy than anything)

(This is a statue of Hermes (er-mez). Say, by the way, did anyone watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians?)

It wasn’t so much the architecture …

It was seeing the magnificent and glorious view from there. Oh gosh, it’s so peaceful and so beautiful. My heart (figuratively) just broke at the immense beauty

Le sigh!

And there is a curious Sphinx statue at the end of the courtyard, looking out at the sea.

If like them, I had the chance to look at the blue sea all day, I wouldn’t mind it at all!

Seriously this place is like a dream. With the lush greenery and the beatiful garden here, it made me feel like wearing a toga and go dancing barefooted on the grass.

Oh. You can’t do that here. How about sitting down here, and be fed grapes and drink (hypothetical) honeyed wine?

Drat you can’t do that here either -_-

(Wait wait … You just can’t eat a BURGER anything else, you can consume right?! )

Anyhow, not wasting such a beautiful scenery, I took the chance to do a quick camwhore!

And had to suck it up and pretend to be glamourous, despite that the weather was really warm then. Poor Cartcart!

It was understandable why Dr Munthe would fall in love with this place. I do too!

In fact, when Axel Munthe died, he had a ticket to Capri in his pocket. Isn’t that the saddest thing? Like, unrequited love

Being random, here is an interesting sign I saw at the toilet here.

Yes. I’m proud to say that I am somewhat civilized.

After leaving the Villa San Michele, the second place that we visited was the Monte Solaro. This is the highest peak in Capri, 589m above sea level and I think that this is another must place to visit.

To get up there, you could hike up there or take a seggiovia. Seggiovia means chairlift by the way.

And there are two type of tickets here. Two way which is 10 euro, while the one way is 7 euro. Although to be honest, I’m not sure how often they check your tickets, so you could get away with going  with the cheaper one

When you enter the area, the way you ride the chairlift, is to stand on the green square and as soon as the seat arrives, quickly sit down and let the attendant close the safety clamp on you … and off you go!

It can get a little nerve wrecking. Especially for me who’s taking it for the first time. I mean take a look at the height between the chair and the ground. You’ve only a metal wire to keep you up. It’s a little scary! It’s as scary as taking a cable car in Sentosa.

But what’s that on the pole?!

No rocking. Ehm. I wouldn’t dream of it.

Cart, Beatrice and Giovanni behind me looked extremely comfortable though. Cart especially looked as cool as a cat. He’s done this a lot of times since he used to go skiing.

Nevertheless, despite it all, the ride was completely worth it. Because once you’ve reached the top, the view is so so so spectacular!

From this …

To this …

And this …

And to me, this picture below is like the caramel on the creme brulee. LOOK AT IT! Isn’t it so beautiful that it makes you feel emotional?

I feel so blessed to be able to see such beauty. I really felt like crying.

That’s the arch and the stack by the way, seen up close the day we went boating.

I could just stay here forever. But we were on a time schedule, before the ferry leaves and reluctantly, we had to go. Although my heart was screaming no.

ANYWAY! I saw this interesting bottle as we took the chair lift down.

On our trip down, I saw something rather interesting. Not only does the chair lift carry people, it also carries bottle of water! I wonder if each had to pay 7 euro each

Of course, I had to do a bit of camwhoring too since I doubt there will be such a chance for me so soon. HAHA! Gosh, me and my paperbag and my handbag … I’m so auntie!

And we walked back towards our villa for the last time. Just for being random again … Woah, check this out while on our way there … A half bear, half baby!

After packing up, we said goodbye to our beautiful villa and reluctantly left and headed towards Marina Grande, the main port.

And I enviously looked upon the other people who were frolicking around.

We stopped for a bit of a bite, while waiting for the ferry.

And soon after, we boarded our ferry to go back to the main port Napoli.

And then took the tram to head back to the Napoli Centrale train station

(By the way, I spotted out a very interesting young lady on the tram who looked just like a Malay Minah with her shaved eyebrows and dyed hair but I dare not take a picture of her … would be rude I think. Also, I can’t understand anything she said. The dialect was just too thick)

And back on the train again for our 2 and a half hour train ride  …

And then finally back home in Rome!

Le sigh. After 4 days having such a wonderful time, in the most gorgeous place, it’s so unkind to be back! I really felt like this lady in this commercial and needed a few days to get my feet back on the ground.

Anyway, that’s it! That’s the last of the instalments. I hope you enjoyed my blog posts. If you like, come and read the entire series here

• Our trip to Napoli! (Day 1)
• A wedding in Capri (Day 2)
• A beautiful day boating in Capri (Day 3)

This post is a continuation of :

• A wedding in Capri

—

The day after the wedding, Alessandra and Fabrizio arranged for all of us to go boating around the island. I was very excited at the thought. Even though Cart and I already have done this, but the day was extra special as we’d be surrounded by friends.

We woke up to a beautiful morning in Capri and after a quick breakfast, we were chauffeured by the villa’s driver and we were off!

In my opinion, I think probably the best drivers in Italy is probably in this region because the drivers here are really impressive! Their two way road is the size of one lane but the drivers are not fazed and carries on at their normal speed. Check it out! There is less than 10 cm space in between this bus and our taxi.

I looked around at the lush greenery around me and in no time, we reached the main harbour – Marina Grande. It was a bustling of activity, full of beautiful people walking around. It felt so festive just to be there.

Like I was a celebrity or part of the royal family, just going for my daily boating session

After waiting for the rest of the gang to reach and be ready, I was already feeling extremely enthusiastic. I love being on a boat (by the way, I got a ‘I’m on a boat badge’ on fourquare hehe!) and of course admiring the beautiful scenery around.

And when everyone’s ready on the boat, off we go!

To me, going around the island of Capri is like looking at a geography book coming to life – There are so many interesting rock formation and landscapes around formed by terrestrial, atmospheric, and marine processes for thousands of years.

For example, most of the coasts in Capri are made up of granite rocks which is more impervious to weathering, and thus creates jagged cliffs such as this one.

And here is a classic example of an arch and a stack – formed by the abrasion, pounding and hydraulic action of the waves.

Another amazing thing about Capri is how very clear the water is, and how blue … You can almost see the floor! And in certain areas that we went to, where the sun hits the floor at the right spot, it looked as it was glowing!

Regardless if you love geography or not, Capri is undeniably beautiful. Really a heaven on earth. In my opinion, every shot that you take here is postcard picture perfect.

Yeah, even if you’re just lying down doing nothing

Of course, not wasting a beautiful scene like this, I took the chance to camwhore!

So cute!

After a while, the boatman stopped to let us go swimming for a bit. Oh my! Be still my heart … I’ve been waiting for four years (since I’ve last been here) to jump out of the boat and into the sea! And I finally get the chance! At last!

The water is so inviting!

Wahh … shiok ah!

But one thing to remember is that, regardless of how clear the water looks like, it’s still the sea and so it’s salty! No matter how excited you are, always close your mouth when you jump out (personal experience) Hm, I wonder how it’ll be like to jump into the dead sea, which has more salt content.

Check out how happy Flavia and Beatrice looks!

It was a little difficult for me to swim though because of the very strong waves going on, despite that I’ve been going to aquagym for a while. I felt so weak and jealous of the rest of the group being able to swim to the shore.

And also this little seagull here, just chilling out, no stress at all.

A few got a little rambunctious and decided get a little silly by making their swimming costumes as a hat … and then things progressed interestingly from there … but ehm … I’m not going to show you what happened next because Marina’s Bloggariffic is a family friendly blog … LOL!

After our relaxing dip, we continued on our round-about the island. And with the sun shining, I air dried pretty quickly. But check out the amount of salt that formed on my skin. That’s how salty the water here is.

As we went on further, the boatman started to explain that this very cliff in the picture below was where the Emperor Tiberius (that’s why there is the Tyrrhenian sea … geddit?) had his condemmed prisoners to be thrown down. Believe me, the cliff is very high and with the shallow sea and the rocks below, I doubt anyone will survive the fall

I also spotted this cute statue … What is it doing there anyway? And when I asked around, they answered me, “Remember the little mermaid? Well, this is the little merboy” (With a seagull next to it)

And at length, our boat ride ended, and after a beautiful scenic route, reluctantly, we got back to Marina Grande.

And we headed up for a walk to Piazzetta where the funicular reaches to, to see the breathtakingly beautiful sights in front of us.

Le sigh! Beautiful isn’t it?

Anyway, if it was crowded in June, the last that I was here, in July it was even more crowded and Flavia told me that it’ll get even more so in August when the temperature is hotter and most Italians go for their annual vacation. Yikes!

As the day was warm, Cart got a glass of one of this lemon+orange slushie and that was enough to rouse an appetite in me!

And so we went for lunch at Fabrizio’s hotel where I had a nice plate of calamari.

While Cart had Gnocchi alla Sorrentina and mixed vegetables

And Fabrizio had a plate of swordfish. I gave it a taste, and this was interesting to me because while it tasted fresh, it didn’t taste baked, or boiled but when asked if it was a sort of carpaccio, Fabrizio said no. It’s possibly a marinated fish.

But how is it cooked?! I need to know! Ah … I’ll know the secret next time!

After our sumptuous lunch, we walked back to our villa. At first I was a little nervous as I thought that it could be far, but luckily it was within walking distance or at least, there were plentiful of things to see to distract us!

Walking around, reminds me so much of Greece. Just look at the buildings, they look totally Mediterranean! (Even though I’ve never been to Greece and my knowledge is probably limited to what I’ve seen through Mamma Mia! )

An interesting thing that I observed is how 99.99% of the residents here has a ceramic tile of various designs at their door with their family name or house number. I think it’s a very classy thing to do, moreover it’s a wonderful artisan craft.

I’m also adding in this picture below as a reminded to myself of how much it’ll change the next time I go to Capri again (probably in another 4 years) Looks reasonable for now, but I hope it doesn’t go crazy high in a couple of years

And just for fun, I’m adding in a picture of this tricoloured cat too, which seems a little perturbed by me taking a picture of it

It was such a restful walk that before we knew it, we finally reached the hotel!  Cart and I rested for a bit, I changed out of my dirty clothes and showered. As much as I loved the trip, I felt really grimy after that!

Ahh … much better! And with everyone all ready and refreshed, we went out to have dinner in a restaurant called Il Saracevo 

And Cart and I spotted something interesting … That’s Cart’s real name! Hehehe!

Too bad we couldn’t eat this because it contained lard inside … :

Anyway, let me show you a couple of the food that we had that night :

1. Caprese

2. Fried battered calamari and prawns. This was such a dream!

3. Spaghetti con le vongole

4. Penne alla parmiggiana (?!) This is like a hybrid of Melanzana Parmigiana and penne alla sorrentina together. An interesting mix.

5. Baked swordfish. I like fish, but this was sadly a little too salty for me.

6. An assortment of pizza

7. Babà cake (Furryphoto‘s favourite)

8. Torta al limone which I loved the creaminess and the tartness.

9. Torta Caprese which Cart had and I didn’t order because I thought it would be cloying but it wasn’t at all!

And there were other foods, but I didn’t feel like walking all the way to the other end of the table and bothering people too much

It was a really lovely evening, seeing close friends together, chatting and having a good time. If only I can teleport all my beloved friends together with me, that would be so nice … But it’s just a matter of time when I will find good friends to bond with in Italy too 

(Freaking heck, each time I think like that, one particular scene with the final season of Sex and the city where Carrie goes to France and sees 4 French girls laughing in a cafè always comes to mind!)

Anyway! Before I end this post, check this out! While we were walking back to our hotel after the dinner, I noticed this charming looking restaurant.

And a board full of pictures next to it and upon looking closer …

It’s the pope! I mean no disrespect, but doesn’t he look so similar to a character in Star Wars?

Next : Our last day in Capri

Cart and I were invited to a friend’s wedding in Capri in mid-July. We’ve previously been there via a long road trip through Sorrento. But this time round, Cart wanted to take the train all the way to Napoli, spend the night there, and then take the ferry the next day.

The day when we departed, was such a busy day – deciding what to bring along, to pack and I hated leaving the house messy so I had to do a quick tidying up, breakfast, and then we had to send our friend Jerrick spent his one week vacation with us, to the airport.

That’s Jerrick by the way, posing with Cart’s car which was in the extremely rare clean state, that I HAD to take a picture of it. Haha!

And then! Cart decided to go and find some new shoes for the wedding (I of course, took the opportunity to ask him to get new ones for myself too, since I was on the lookout for a pair of walking shoes. And I found this!

Cool isn’t it? It’s a sketchers biker sightsee model and it was on sale and I think it’s one of the best walking shoe that I’ve ever worn because I can walk in these for hours and not feel pain. Woohoo! And yes. I have too many shoes. Nevertheless, I think a good walking shoe is very important especially when you have a friend who enjoys going for long distance walking.

Anyway, Cart decides to go and search for a jacket to wear for the wedding and we went to a couple of shops but I was balking at the thought of spending over 200 euro (even after sale) for an item that would only be used only once and I was secretly happy when all of the shops didn’t stock in Cart’s size. It’s such a waste right?

So we went over to crash at Cart’s parent’s place to gather our thoughts for a bit (they lived relatively near the train station) before we said our goodbyes to each other.

As always, the termini train station was bustling with activity each time I was there. People coming, people going. Most of them lugging around their trolleys.

Cart went into one of newspaper stands to get a ticket and he bought for us a regional train ticket.

I was surprised at how cheap it was (it was cheaper than taking a train from the now defunct Keppel station in Singapore to Kuala Lumpur even) as from looking at the trenitalia website, (regional trains were not listed at the time) and so I’ve always assumed that the cheapest ticket would cost at least 20 euro.

However the catch was, between the three trains – Frecciarossa, Intercity and Regionali, the regionali was the slowest version of all. And it took us about 2 and a half hours to reach Napoli because it stops at each station along the way, as compared to Frecciarossa, which goes there directly and takes less than half the time.

Nevertheless, this wasn’t such a big issue for me because this way, I was able to appreciate the scenery at a slower pace. And I looked out of the window as the sceneries changed, going past the metropolitan Rome, then slowly to the suburbs and then the vast farm areas and then the mountains.

Cart, being a seasoned train-traveller, rather than looking outside the window, amused himself by playing angry birds which happened to decide to update itself on that very day. Look at how pleased Cart looks, showing off his latest download. Bleargh. I still hate angry birds.

At length, I saw the scenery change again, from mountains, to farms to suburbs and finally urban and finally we’ve reached the Napoli Centrale train station! So exciting!

Even though the train station looked exactly the same as the one in termini, the vibe and feel was different though. I think living in Rome after 2 and a half years has discerned me to different dialects. Napoli accent is completely different to Roman ones! I had to sharpen my ears to try to understand the conversations going around me.

Cart and I looked for our hotel which was just a few minutes walking distance from the train station and during our walk, it was sad to see that Napoli still had their garbage issues still going on.

Nevertheless, I fell in love with how charming Napoli was. Like, when we reached the traffic light, there were so many people on scooters (I think there were at least 20 with the cars behind them) all honking. Neapolitans drivers honk all the time. Even when the light is green. Cart tells me that they were not honking to be rude, but letting other people know, “Hey, I’m coming! Becareful!”

OH! Speaking of Napoli, Jerrick, before he left, was asking me if “Va fa Napoli” was a bad word as he watched this scene from Friends where Joey said it like it was a bad word.

Possibly it started an Italian curse, vaffanculo (no, I’m not going to translate this for you) but then changed their mind in the end.  But it doesn’t make sense though because literally translated it means “Go make Napoli”. It isn’t even a “Vai a Napoli” which means, “Go to Napoli”

Anyway! Another thing which was interesting to see that a lot of people on scooters did not wear helmets at all! I thought that this was an anomaly, but practically one in two riders that I spotted out did not wear helmets. Possibly to show off their nice hair styles.

One lady in particular with long hair behind her, untied. Being an experienced rider myself, I did not envy her having to comb her tangly hair at the end of her ride.

Another aspect of Napoli which I thought was extremely charming was how very kind the people there were. Yeah, Central Napoli was known to be a seedy place with plenty of snatch-thieves, nevertheless whenever Cart and I paused for a while to look for directions, there will always be someone who will come over to help. Without us even asking mind you!

I find that extremely refreshing!

Soon after, we reached our hotel, and checked into the Mercure Napoli Garibaldi and rested a while after our long train journey.

When we went into our room, it looked pretty spartan but still sufficient. I didn’t like how the bed was creaky at the slightest touch and that carpet were in dire need of a good shampooing. I didn’t dare to walk barefooted here.

The important thing was that everything was functioning just fine. The tv was functioning, the shower and sink were functioning, the electricity was functioning and we had a safe place to spend the night.

It was decent enough. I mean, what would you expect for 49 euro? A five star hotel? Moreover, it was pretty close to the train station, so the pros outweighs the cons.

Plus they have really nice toiletries.

But I don’t really recommend this hotel for visitors staying for 3 or more days.

Anyways, it was nearly 10pm when we stepped out of the hotel to get some dinner. We were adviced by the helpful receptionist downstairs to go to the Pizzeria da Michele, which according to her is a very famous pizzeria.

Pizza! Of course! Us being in Napoli, the birthplace of pizza!

According to my friend Elaine who has been to Napoli some years back, Da Michele used to have only one kind – the Margherita. There are two kinds now with the addition of the Marinara. Nevertheless it was amazing to have a pizzeria serve only two kinds.

So we headed there … but never did we expect to see SO MANY PEOPLE WAITING!

It was past 10pm mind you, way past regular dinner time! But we went inside anyway, and I looked around the nondescript small area with plain tables and furnishings but completely full of people eating with gusto. And when we asked the server inside to ask how long would he estimate for an empty table. He replied … “45 minutes”

We weren’t willing to wait that long, so we went across the road to Pizzeria Trianon, which according to the hotel receptionist, was just as good. It was a simple and rustic looking place, nevertheless it was very cozy.

And then I looked at the menu and was really amused. Pizza alla Romana?!

In Rome, a pizza with tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and basil leaves is called the Pizza Napoletana. However in Napoli, it’s called a Pizza Romana instead! Hahaha! Obviously I had to order this!

And so, while waiting for our pizza to be done, I went to bother the pizzaioli as usual to watch as they made the pizza. Hey, at least they are sporting, throwing the pizza in the air and posing for me … heh heh heh!

And after some minutes, our pizza was done! Here is Cart’s Pizza Margherita DOP pizza which uses only regional ingredients.

And here is my pizza! And it was really, really really good. Like “ahhhhhhhh …. mmmm …… oooohhhh” good. As much I love my Roman style pizza, this one was really wonderful with the soft chewy pizza, moist but not soaking sauce and fresh toppings.

It was so good. In fact, I missed Napoli style pizza for at least a good one week after we left. And to show you how fantastic it is, here is how I looked like after eating it :

I can be my own emoticon! Heheheh! And look at how happy Cart looked like. We were both very happy people at the end of our dinner.

And after our wonderful pizza, we went back to the hotel to sleep before heading to the port in the morning! To end this post, I’ll put up this picture of a confused shop.

You wanna sell jewellery or you wanna sell shoes?

Next : A wedding in Capri

Jerrick is in Rome for a short break at the moment before his graduation to hang out with Cart and me. But since he’s already been in Rome before and has seen almost everything, we had to scan for a little bit for the places which we’ve never been to before. And that’s when I remembered the Cimitero Dei Cappuccini (Quick trivia : Cappucino the coffee drink is actually named because of the brown colour of a Cappucin monk’s robe)

And so we took the metro to Piazza Barberini and immediately found ourselves in front of the Santa Maria della Concezione church. And like other churches here, it was tranquil and peaceful in here.

Cute baby angels

But what sets this particular church different from the other’s that I’ve been to is that there is a crypt below it with bones from about 4000 friars as well as poor, religious folks who cannot afford proper burial. As there were so many bodies, there were not enough space and thus, were used as decorations depicting religious scenes instead.

As the cemetery was part of the church, it is compulsory for visitors to be attired modestly (like how to dress in San Paolo) and then hand a small donation of  one euro at the front table before you are allowed inside.

The first feeling that I had while entering was how rather creepy the place is – the entire cemetery is ornately decorated. And in the hot summer heat, the air felt rather stuffy. You are surrounded with bone dividers, bone lamps, bone murals as well as several complete skeletons with robes … It felt so much like Diablo as you go down one level.

Since almost everything was covered with bones, it was relatively easy to reach and touch them. Not that I wanted to! Some would find it scary to be in here, but I found it tolerably creepy-cool. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be walking here by myself at night time!

The cemetery is divided into 6 rooms – crypt of resurrection, mass chapel, crypt of skulls, crypt of pelves, crypt of leg and thigh bones, and crypt of the three skeletons. I can’t take pictures here, and I noticed one person who tried, got reprimanded and had his photo deleted on the spot. Nevertheless, you could find quite a number of pictures online.

Cart tells me that the intention of the cemetery was not to scare but instead be a form of devotion as well as a reminder to all friars that life is not eternal and one day too, our lives will end. Which is probably the most apparent in the last room, which had the message :

“What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be…”

Not quite a touristy place, but it’s definitely something to be seen

Last weekend, Cart and I spent the afternoon together with some friends over at Martignano. There is an agriturismo here which is in the area of Bracciano which where Cart and I visited some while back.

To get here, we had to pass a rather out of place, steep, hilly area which reminds me so much of a dustier version of Cameron Highlands.

Anyway, agriturismo is a farmstay where it is basically a type of operation that brings visitors to a farm where you could do activities such as picking fruit, feeding animals and buying handmade produce.

We stopped by a bottega which sells food stuff like handmade cheese and fresh produce.

Here Cart bought for himself some freshly made ricotta cheese (good for making lasagna) as well as a type of square sheep milk cheese. Both directly made from the farm’s milk.

I  took this picture of basil which was sitting on the produce shelf because it looked really fresh.

We also saw a couple of fruit trees along the way, like this pear tree.

Luckily it wasn’t ripe enough or it’ll be already plucked and eaten before I could snap a picture! We also saw this amarena tree.

Amarena is a type of cherry and the tree happened to be full of fruits. Cart’s friend Fabrizio started to pull the branch to grab at the fruits and then not too long after, two little boys started to climb up the tree to get to the fruits.

Suddenly I remembered the days when my family would go Alexandra Hospital. There used to be a cherry tree along the entrance road and loads of people (including us) would pick at the fruits. It was so funny to see. But sadly, the tree has been chopped down since the last time I’ve been there.

Anyway, back to the amarena, the fruits were so ripe that my hands look bloodied when I accidentally bursted one.

And the colour really stained my hands. Strong natural dye, this amarena. Hm, and the colour reminds me a lot of something little vulgar at the same time.

ANYWAY, for me, I’ve always had this dream of milking a goat or a cow. I think that it will be quite an experience. But unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do it. So, hopefully, the next time round

But in any case, the main reason why we were here was to spend time at the lake.

The water here is quite clear as precipitation is accumulated in a crater. And unlike the sea, there is no such thing as a high or low tide. (which made me question why there was a jetty at least two meters higher than the water being made in the vicinity)

Nevertheless, the water was very cooling and it was a perfect weather to get away from the crazy hot summer that we’ve been having.

Fabrizio tells me that for people who wants to cool down during the summer comes here in Castel di Martignano if they did not want to deal with the crowds at the beach. One needs to pay 7 euro per head though, which might be a little on the pricey side, but the place was really tranquil and comfortable with the green grass and relatively gentle winds.

Check out Cart (before he got sunburnt) and Fabrizio playing with a remote control boat. Alessandra and her friend in the background (covered by these men) are lying in the grass, suntanning.

The way people were lying down looked comfortable. It was so comfortable that I even saw a woman suntanning topless, hehehe …

What was interesting for me was that people with dogs had their own special area to be at, so even dogs could dip and cool down during the summer.

But apart from swimming, you could also go kayaking, paddle boats and catamaran here – basically any boats without an engine to protect the water from being polluted here.

So I did kayaking! It’s been a while since I did it and naturally I was very excited to give it a try again.

I almost didn’t get a chance to as I didn’t pack my swimming gear. Luckily for me, Alessandra lent me her t-shirt and I was off!

Kayaking is a skill that one doesn’t forget. Like bicycling! And I paddled and paddled to close to the other side of the lake, curious to see what the strange creatures are, by the edge. Was it horses? Was it sheep?

Nope, it was moo moo cows! At least 30 of them! There is hope for me to milk a cow yet! And I went back inland before the afternoon winds got too strong for me to paddle back.

After spending time at Martignano, we then drove to Trevignano which was located on the side of the big lake. It was such a charming small town. And in a way, had quite a different feel from the area that we visited the other time.

Cart tells me that this was the regular uniform that Italian soldiers used to wear.

It’s a little like Lake Como but a little more rustic. Everything about this town was so charming and pretty and well taken cared of, with all the pots of flowers and plants around it.

I have to say that anyone who are living in this area are very lucky to be able to wake up to such a beautiful sight every morning.

And while walking in one of the lanes in the town, we stumbled upon a lot of interesting and lovely things.

One of them were this art gallery/shop. And here is the hensem owner posing with his hammer.

Check out some of his pieces! I’d love to own one of his artwork. But I’m afraid to ask because something tells me that I cannot afford it yet

And we then took a stroll by the jetty. But even as beautiful and tranquil as it looked, I had a small phobia of looking at large open water like this. It always makes me realise how small I am and how easily it can cover and envelope me.

Anyway, while we were walking, it happened that there was a boat which stopped by. I think it would be nice to take a boat ride the next time and just chill out. And speaking of which, I’m really looking forward to our trip to Capri for Alessandra and Fabrizio’s wedding next weekend!

Do check out the logo on the boat …

NLB = National Library Board! HEHEHE! I didn’t know the Singapore Library had a boat?! *nerd giggle*

We then stopped by a bar to get some drinks and I had this :

This is a caffe granita with panna. It’s kind of like a coffee slushie with cream. And it’s wonderful and perks you right up on a hot day. Speaking of which, I could do with a caffe freddo at this point of writing. It’s so very hot in Rome right now.

And we went out of the bar to see some swans which were conglomerating outside.

When you think of swans, you’d think elegance and gentleness. And then you go closer to feed these elegant creatures with some bread.

But these geese are ferocious! A lot of them will bite each other and pull the other’s feathers so that they wont get to the food!

Scary animals!

And that was how we spent our day, in lovely Bracciano. It was definitely worth to spend some time here. It was such a lovely day

And to end this post, I’ll put up a picture of me!

This is a perilous shot since it was windy and I was hoping that I don’t get an upskirt action going on. But I’m quite proud of my legs and how they look like now, after a couple of months of jogging

Hopefully I’ll go down to my pre-wedding weight in a few.