We are sitting opposite a church, in the heart of London, enjoying the sunshine and chatting, just before we head to the theatre.
The bells have been ringing for about half an hour now (the Royal wedding you see) and it’s starting to get a bit annoying. I wonder when my brain will get used to it and it will all become another meaningless background noise.
But I don’t have to find out because it’s time to head to Novello Theatre.
When I was home in Cyprus a few weeks earlier, Artemis and I had the pleasant, but almost impossible task to choose what musical to watch when she’d visit. Where do you start from? And how do you decide?
We somehow managed to narrow them down to two or three and then Artemis suggested Mamma Mia since we both watched and enjoyed the film and knew most of the songs so we can hum along and who doesn’t love some Abba?
I love Mamma Mia for another reason my mind somehow buried under a pile of useless, unrelated memories, but as soon as we sat there it all came back to me. That’s the very first song Dan taught us at our then called Lunchtime Glee sessions and the song will always remind me of that.
What a brilliant choice. Beautiful singing, funny, feel-good and unexpected dancing and sing along in the end! I’d recommend it without any hesitation.
After the show it was time for dinner. I remembered the gorgeous dinner Shebz and I had at Palm Court Brasserie in Covent Garden about a year ago when we went to see Woman in Black (I now realise I never posted about it, it was on those dark days, my Dark Age, when I was slowly sinking into depression and I gave up writing for a while) and so it happens we passed by on our search for a restaurant.
Once again it did not disappoint. Delicious food, great wine, excellent, friendly service and reasonable prices (for their theatre menu at least).
The plan was to head back to hotel to rest and head out for another drink but by the time we went back it was already late and we had a busy day planned ahead (next post coming soon), so we chatted and laughed until we fell asleep…
I just left work and I’m on my way to Gatwick. This time I’m not flying anywhere. I’m picking Artemis, one of my best friends, from the airport. I haven’t picked up anyone from the airport for years. The last time was probably my sisters back in 2015…
I love airports. People coming, going, family and friends re-uniting. It always reminds me the Love Actually opening scene. Maybe one day I’ll get to work here, I thought. I tweet about it and the lovely girl running the Gatwick airport Twitter feed recommends checking the airport’s vacancies page. I smile, maybe…, why not?
I love flying to Cyprus, my sisters waiting for me on the other side. I’m always emotional when I come back home, but I sometimes get a bit more teary when I walk out knowing there’s no one on the other side. It’s silly, but I sometimes just want to stand outside arrivals and hug people coming back on their own with no one waiting for them. Three guys actually did at San Francisco airport a while ago.
Now here I am, waiting for my best friend to arrive. We haven’t had a holiday together for years and we are spending the next three days in London, just the two of us.
After checking in at our hotel we had a quick Nandos dinner and went to bed early-ish to rest before our first full day out.
Sunny, glorious Saturday morning
After breakfast we get ready to go out. I love being away with her. There is no rush or urgency, we get ready at the same time, laughing, chatting.
Our first stop: Covent Garden.
I fell in love with Covent Garden from the very first time I visited years ago and I pop by any opportunity I get. Music, performers, great shops, stalls with unique art and crafts, delicious food. And it looks even more gorgeous in the sunshine.
After enjoying listening to this incredible tenor singing at the main hall we wandered in the shops. We tried the tea and the hot chocolate samples at Whittard’s (their new Rose tea is divine) and we’ve seen two Nigerian acrobats entertain the crowds.
We then popped to the Jubilee market to have a browse. Homemade candles, incredible paintings, funky sunglasses and whatever else you can imagine.
We then sat outside in the sun listening to a busker, enjoying the sunshine, oh thesunshine, and people-watching.
I opened my eyes… I could hear the rain, it must have rained all night and all of a sudden pain, the moment my senses woke up. I forgot about the pain.
Why? It’s not time yet, it’s not until next week… But it seems that the walking and the excitement of it all had an effect on my body.
It rained, I was in pain and feeling rough, I may be also getting a cold…I was tempted to pop out just to grab some food and then stay in bed for the rest of the day. But I wouldn’t do that. Not on my last full day in Bordeaux.
I popped downstairs for breakfast. Malvina got me a pastel de nata, a Portuguese sweet tart and goat’s milk yogurt, in addition to fresh bread and her delicious organic spreads.
I love chatting with her. Today we talked about life, how she decided to never get married, living alone but with an amazing support network of friends and family, her career as a city planner, working for the government, it reminded me of Parks and Rec, oh I miss it… What a wonderful life she had, full of adventures and now, lucky enough to retire early she spends her time doing whatever she likes. She gave me advice, she made me laugh and made me feel awesome (she thought I was younger than my age but she still thought I was young and I should follow my dreams and not compromise, thanks Malvina!).
After about two hours getting ready, everything still hurting, I was out and about. I had a vague plan for today.
First on the list: A unique, quirky bookstore I discovered online, Machine a Lire. It was more impressive to see up close. And it was so quiet, very appropriate for such an imposing setting.
Next, another bookstore, this one of historic importance, Librairie Mollat, located where political philosopher Montesquieu last lived. It was huge! On my way there a group of school children following their teacher, like ducklings follow their mum, were on their way to the bookstore too, stopping every now and then for the teacher to show them another landmark. I remember when our teachers took us on day trips when we were 6-7 years old. Everything seemed so big, everything impressed us.
After a wander in the enormous bookshop, it was time to visit Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, the Museum of Fine Arts. I didn’t know what to expect, but in the end it definitely worth more than the five euros entry.
It was split into two buildings, the classic art in one side and modern art on the other (with an impressive palace in the middle).
It’s impossible to list all the artwork that impressed me but the ones that I still remember:
David holding Goliath’s head (Aubin Vouet)
God Hermes, devastated for Sappho’s, the Greek poet, death (Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse)
The Window a La Goulette (Tunisia) (by Albert Marquet), so simple but striking.
The Souliot women (Narcisse Diaz de La Pena) who heroically decided to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Turks back in 1803, and they did so by singing and dancing, the Zalongo dance, I guess not many would know the story behind it, unless you were born and raised in Greece or Cyprus).
And finally an original Picasso, Olga Reading
After a short break for late lunch at the first cafe I bumped into (not the best food I had but it was OK)
and a moment to admire the cathedral
my final stop was Musée d’Aquitaine, a museum on the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine. It spanned over thousands of years of history, from the palaeolithic age, the first paintings on the wall, the Roman era to modern history. Definitely worth a visit if you are ever in Bordeaux!
And that was the last place to visit in Bordeaux. I made my way home to pack and prepare for my flight tomorrow.
I can’t believe I haven’t travelled on my own before. I loved everything about it. The freedom, the liberation, wandering around, getting lost in streets I’ve never walked down before, ending up in the most random places, discovering new things.
I wish everyone could experience travelling on their own at least once. It’s such a unique, meaningful, emotional, amazing experience, it’s hard to understand until you do it yourself.
I’d definitely do it again, although it’s great to share these moments with loved ones. Here’s to more adventures, small or big, solo or with friends and family, that’s what’s life it’s all about.
I didn’t sleep much. My tummy hurt, I didn’t eat enough the day before and my subconscious went wild leaving me with messed up dreams again. And I left the heater on and I got really hot as well.
I woke up for the final time around 7am but stayed in bed until 9am, listening to the rain and the wind. I couldn’t believe it was raining. It’s the end of March, I’m still wearing a coat and the rain and the wind doesn’t seem to stop. I miss the sun, I miss the warmth, I miss the sea. But I was in a gorgeous city and I couldn’t let the rain ruin my day.
Around 9am it was time for breakfast. Malvina had everything ready for me. Fresh juice, hot, delicious coffee, fresh bread, a cannoli, an apricot yogurt, organic apricot and strawberry jams and some of the best honey I’ve ever tasted, although it looked more like an almond paste rather than honey.
I stayed for an hour, talking with Malvina. She told me all about her travels in Vietnam, Costa Rica, Greece. She nostalgically narrated me holiday stories from her childhood, visiting Surrey in the summer when she was a teen to her most recent annual trips to the nearest beach in Bordeaux, Archachon, where famous people own luxurious holiday homes but after they are off in September it’s quiet, perfect for the locals to visit, including Malvina who often takes her bike there to cycle along the beach line.
What a truly wonderful lady she is and what an incredible life she let. I love listening to her stories and I could have stayed there talking for hours but it was time to brave the rain and get out and explore more.
The plan for today was to visit the Darwin Eco-systeme Malvina recommended, renovated deserted warehouses in the old Niel Military Barracks, a sustainable, eco-friendly, work-space development. It took me about half an hour to get there and I already got wet after 10 minutes. But I was determined to make it. And I’m glad I did.
I had lunch (Oeufs mimosa and a cup of cappuccino) in this open plan cafe/ restaurant/shop, very industrial looking but at the same time cosy, with homely decorations and an impressive piece of artwork just outside in the courtyard.
I couldn’t see much of the development in the rain, so I decided to go down the Chaban-Delmas Bridge, a modern bridge which lifts up for ships to pass by. By this point it was chucking it down and I felt like the wind could blow me away into the river any minute now. And I was worried the Bridge might start moving with no warning, so I tried to cross as fast as I could, scariest 15 minutes of my life.
I had my music on all day today, since the rain wouldn’t allow me to pay much attention to my surroundings and I needed a distraction. I found myself singing along when the wind would blow my umbrella away once again.
After about 40 minutes of walking, I ended up in Rue Notre Dame, a street Malvina told me about, with many antique shops. A couple were open but I didn’t go in, I didn’t want to risk getting any precious items wet, ruined.
I was wet and cold, my hair ruined and by this point my legs hurt from all the walking. I suddenly felt very emotional. Not because I was sad, or upset. I’m still not sure what caused it. But it felt very cathartic letting all the tears out. Out of a sudden a large church appeared out of nowhere, just by Rue Notre Dame. A divine intervention.
I decided to walk in, rest my legs and admire the building, since I love old buildings, especially churches.
What I forgot was that it’s Holy Week for the Catholics this week (for Greek Orthodox this year it’s a week later). And there was a service on. There was a crowd at the front, so I decided to sit at the back on my own.
The church was just beautiful. Stained glass, large windows, the smell of incense, a very familiar smell. I started crying again, almost instantly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a large statue of Jesus on the cross. It reminded me of Easter back home. I cried even more.
I’ve never been to a Catholic Service before. The beautiful singing of this older lady, the gorgeous church, the memories, all together, it filled me with joy, gratefulness and nostalgia. I sat there for about 20 minutes, crying, smiling, taking it all in. I thought for a moment to take a snap, but I didn’t. This memory was for my eyes only, it was a very personal one.
I left feeling lighter, as a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I left it there, on that chair I sat crying.
I decided at this point to get something to eat from a shop and go home. It was already 4ish, I’ve been walking for 5 hours, I was wet and tired and in pain.
And all of a sudden, my phone battery went. But I didn’t panic. I somehow, miraculously remembered how to get back to my temporary Bordeaux home and luckily I found a shop on my way back to get some food.
I’m weirdly happy how today pan out. The weather is not always ideal, plans can change but travelling it’s still fun, an unpredictable adventure.
I’d never thought I’d walk into a church in Bordeaux, on Easter Week and have such a spiritual moment. The magic world of travelling.
Who knows what will happen tomorrow (although I might be getting a cold…)!
I was too excited, and a little bit nervous, but proud of myself for remembering to pack little but important things like a plug adapter and a couple of Euros for the bus which was to take me to my AirBnb when I was in Bordeaux.
I arrived at the airport on time (one of the very few places I usually make it on time, when I’m about to fly away), I even had all my liquids put in a bag beforehand.
It was a short flight and the pilot brought us to Bordeaux earlier than expected. On the plane I read the book Shebs gave me on Ikigai, the’reason for being’, what gets you up in the morning, the Japanese way of life and its five pillars, starting small, releasing yourself, letting your ego go (probably the toughest but the most liberating), harmony and sustainability, the joy of little things, my favourite and my personal eternal struggle, being in the here and now. Every time my mind wandered to anything else than my French adventure, I remembered the fifth pillar. Right now you are on the plane, on your first solo trip. Forget everything else. Who cares what you’ll be doing in a week?
When I arrived, I smiled. I was finally away. And it was sunny!
On the bus my mind wandered, but this time was happy thoughts. I remembered the last time I was away, in Italy with my sisters… and then I got car sick… At that moment I decided I’d rather walk for the next three days and only get the bus again to the airport.
After I checked into my beautiful, colourful Airbnb room, my lovely host Malvina gave me a little tour of her house and a couple of ideas on what to do the following days. Oh and I only found out a few days before that breakfast was included. I asked Malvina for breakfast at 9am tomorrow.
After a quick freshening up, out I went to start exploring. I was a little scared to begin with, but after 10 minutes of wandering, looking around, taking it all in, I remembered why I love travelling so much.
I started to feel hungry so I found this little cafe on TripAdvisor, Books and Coffee, just under the Great Bell Malvina told me about. I loved it. Cosy and quirky, buzzing with people.
After my short break, I walked by the river, God I love the water, it will always remind me of home. It was breezy, but still sunny.
I then bumped into the Place de la Bourse, the iconic Bordeaux square, which at summertime you can see reflecting on Miroir d’eau, the world’s largest reflecting pool.
I wandered into the Musée national des douanes, a national museum of the history of French Customs and then off to St Michel church and Porte d’Aquitaine.
On my way to… nowhere specific, I walked into a handmade chocolate shop and had a laugh with the shopping assistants (and bought a delicious chocolate on a stick) and then came across what I’d describe as a ‘room’ dedicated to Peru, still not sure what it was…
Three hours later, I was exhausted and starving. Deciding where to have dinner was tough. I didn’t realise that most restaurants are closed on Monday in Bordeaux. Again TripAdvisor did not disappoint. I found this cute, elegant bar/restaurant, Loulou and I had a well deserved glass of wine, A Chateau Peyreau the waitress recommended with my dinner, who I asked her to choose for me as the menu was in French and I was too tired to think and translate and decide. She chose the Filet de Canette (duck fillet), Pommes au safran, legumes craquants (apples in Saffron and ‘crunchy’ vegetables) and it was delicious! The glass of wine she recommended was perfect with my dinner! A girl was there on her own, translating the menu. Another fellow solo traveller.
I smiled. A couple of years ago just the idea of eating at a restaurant on my own wouldn’t even appeal to me, but here I am, in another country on my own, absolutely loving sitting on my own, enjoying dinner and a glass of wine, people watching.
I just came back home from a morning excursion at the Cypriot picturesque village of Lefkara (followed by a trip to the cinema to finally see Paddington 2, it was a-we-some).
Lefkara is one of the most iconic villages of Cyprus, infamous for its traditional stone houses and its embroidery art, Lefkaritika or Lefkara lace.
I haven’t been since I was a child, on a primary school day trip and I really wanted to the last couple of years. Now I’m older and wiser and I can appreciate the history, the importance and the beauty of it all, I like to go back to places I’ve been when I was younger.
And today was the day!
After a short beautiful drive through the Larnaka mountains we walked towards the city centre.
The first shop we came across with traditional embroidery we went in to get some memorabilia and I got to chat to the friendly owner who was born and raised in Liverpool. My instant joy to hear English again after only three days of being back home, (it felt much longer), caught me by surprise. I guess I missed my other home more than I thought I did.
But I soon got distracted by my surroundings.
Harry and Maria’s shop was incredible, it was like walking into a museum.
We then popped to the organic store next door with products I’ve never knew existed such as honey infused soap, carob coffee and chocolate made of donkey milk!
We got lost in the graphic stone-paved alleys…
and made our way into a warm, cosy restaurant. Their food was amazing but unfortunately I forgot to take any photos. The lovely owner after complimenting them on their fresh traditional bread and halloumi explained their main suppliers are local producers, supporting each other whilst making fresh, delicious food.
I can’t wait to visit again in the summer, when most of the shops will be open and buzzing with local and foreign tourists.
This post is purely dedicated to our Italian cuisine experience, good and bad. I can’t believe it took me three days to prepare this post!
It’s worth mentioning that our food budget was around 10 to 15 euros per meal but to be fair most places we checked out were within that range. I tried to take a picture of all of our meals but unfortunately sometimes we were too hungry we just dug in.
Before we start a couple of useful tips.
Most places have different prices for sitting down compared to takeaway. If you are not desperate to sit down and just fancy a snack, then don’t.
Also, most restaurants in Rome and Florence, I think all of the ones we’ve been, include service charge in the bill (for some of them it was unbelievably high e.g. 22%), so no need to tip.
Thank you to my lovely sisters for some of the photos on this post and helping me remember the names of the places we ate at. Love you.
Just to warn you, I got really hungry reading this and looking at the photos we took, so get a snack and a drink and enjoy.
Let’s start shall we?
Florence
We had our first meal in Florence at this cute little restaurant, L’Imperatore on one of the picturesque streets near San Lorenzo market. Stella (sister two) and I were not too hungry so we opted for a starter, grilled vegetables with melted mozzarella on top, and a ‘primo’ (first course) which is hot food heavier than a starter but lighter than a ‘secondo’ (second course) (check out Wiki for more on Italian meal structure). I had the beef cannelloni and Stella the ricotta cheese and spinach one, and our little duckling Anna was very hungry so she had pasta al pomodoro (spaghetti with tomato sauce, which was ‘very tasty, it doesn’t even need cheese’ in her own words) for a first course and grilled chicken with roast potatoes for second. All in all we enjoyed our meal so if you want decent and some of the cheapest food in Florence, give it a go!
Grilled veggies with mozzarella
Beef Cannelloni
Pasta al Pomodoro and grilled chicken with roast potatoes
L’Imperatore
L’Imperatore
After lunch we bumped into Mercato Centrale, this amazing indoors food court, which included a fancy cooking school we had a peak through the glass doors. We wished we hadn’t just had lunch so we could try some of the delicious food on display. I won’t say more about it, just look at the photos.
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
In the afternoon we sat at this pretty patisserie, Scudieri, just opposite the Florence Cathedral, which looked awesome but the counter lady was rude. And the tiramisu brought to me the first time was too runny so the lovely waiter didn’t want to give it to me and took it back. The second one he brought me was really nice and the chocolate cupcake the little one had was great but Stella found hers too sweet. We paid around 25 euros for three puddings and a bottle of still water (it cost 5 euros!!), which I think was too much considering the relatively poor service. We found water overpriced in most places in Florence and Rome so get water from a shop for a euro or two instead.
Scudieri
Scudieri
Scudieri
On our second day in Florence we had breakfast at Smalzi cafe. We had freshly prepared paninis and OK coffee. Friendly service, reasonable prices and AMAZING location. I could sit there admiring the views for hours.
Panini
Views from Smalzi Cafe
We had lunch at Fiorino D’Oro on Piazza Della Repubblica. Decent food, brilliant location overlooking the square and good prices but the service was slow. It was busy but still.
Carbonara, Fiorino D’Oro
Bruschetta, Fiorino D’Oro
In the evening we got to try the infamous Bistecca alla Fiorentina, delicious, juicy T-bone steak. It’s expensive in most restaurants, but is a very large dish and perfect for sharing. It took three of us to finish it. We had ours plus a delicious margherita at Le Cappelle Medicee. This was one of my favourite meals. Friendly staff who also offered us limoncello shots on the house, good prices and another great location near the Cathedral.
Pizza and steak
Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Rome
On Day one at Roma we had the worst meal ever. We were exhausted and starving so we sat at the first cafe we saw, Bar Cottini. It wasn’t very clean, service was slow and we had the most horrible, greasy pizzas. We didn’t even finish them despite our hunger and we didn’t take any pictures! If you ever come across it, avoid it!
On the contrary, our next meal, dinner at Ristorazione Alimentare Romana, I think, (I remember the street, I actually found it on Google maps but there are a couple of restaurants there, is the first one you find on this cute, quiet side street, but it might not be because the food was good but the TripAdvisor reviews are horrible) was really nice. They used fresh pasta for their carbonara, which makes a huge difference to the palete and their capricciosa pizza was decent, although I still can’t understand why the ingredients were clearly divided in two halves.
Capricciosa
Carbonara
From day two to our very last day, breakfast was delivered to our room by our lovely hotel owner, Helena. Fresh croissants, coffee and orange juice.
Hotel breakfast, Cialdini, Rome
We then had a quick lunch at this small, cute, quirky cafe near the Colosseum, Cafe Cafe. Loved the decoration and our freshly prepared sandwiches. Good prices and service and the music in the toilet activated as soon as you sit on the toilet seat made me laugh.
Cafe Cafe sandwiches
Cafe Cafe sandwiches
We grabbed some ice-cream at Gelateria ai Cerchi on our way back from Tiber island. Their lemon flavour was not the best but their pistacchio was super scrummy.
Gelateria ai Cerchi
For dinner we visited a bakery close to our hotel, Bakery Roscioli Pietro, which I found out about online as it had great reviews. We had pizza by the meter, a white one/’bianca’ (no tomato sauce) with thinly cut potatoes and a prosciutto with cheese one. They were very tasty but I think we were overcharged! We paid 35 euros just for the pizza and for that amount of money we could have had a nice pizza at a proper restaurant. We bought desserts from there as well, which were alright but not to our like. They did have a great selection though!
Roscioli Pietro bakery
Roscioli Pietro bakery
Roscioli Pietro bakery
Roscioli Pietro bakery
Roscioli Pietro bakery
Day three kicked off with a very average snack at a cafe in the train station. I can’t remember the name but it was the last one on the top floor. I wouldn’t recommend it.
We had great dinner though at Osteria La Mucca Biricchina, which was one of our favourite meals of the whole trip. Reasonable prices and delicious food! Little sister had a Carbonara Calzone (it was massive!), I had Bucatini all’amatriciana (pasta with smokey tomato sauce, bacon and parmesan) and Stella had Spaghetti Bolognese. I loved the traditional, cosy decoration as well. I highly recommend this restaurant!
Osteria La Mucca Biricchina
Osteria La Mucca Biricchina
On our way back we got delicious pudding from Mercato Centrale, the food court next to Roma Termini train and metro station. If you are ever at the train station or near it and you fancy a snack or a meal avoid the cafes/restaurants at the station and go here instead. You won’t regret it!
Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
On our penultimate day, we had lunch at the Vatican museums canteen. Avoid like the plague if you are not that hungry. Very slow service due to the crazy amount of people, horrible food, at least what we had, an army of pigeons was ready to attack our plates at any point, they fly VERY close to your head and grab bread as soon as it drops to the floor or left unattended on the table, and we were served by a very rude waiter.
We had a drink at a little cafe/restaurant near Ottaviano metro station, Tavola Calda Pizzeria Caffetteria. That’s where I had the worst cup of tea (the tea bag must have been really old, at least that’s how it tasted)! And the decoration was horrendous! Definitely avoid if you can.
We had nice dinner back at Mercato Centrale. At that point we wanted a break from all the pizza and pasta so I had a juicy beef burger in a tasty bun, Stella had the Italian version of Greek souvlaki/skewers with a variety of different meats (chicken, pork and italian sausage) and delicious roast potatoes and our duckling had roastbeef which was nice but not what she expected as it was thin layers of cold beef with salad.
Italian skewers
On our final day we had the best pizza to all the ones we tried in Rome, at Ai Tre Tartufi on Piazza Navona. Delicious pizzas (margherita and bacon bianca) with the best crust compared to the rest of the pizzas we had, but crazily expensive bottle of water, the most expensive in Rome and Florence, at least at the restaurants we’ve been, 6.50 euros!!!!
Ai Tre Tartufi
On our way back we bumped into one of our now favourite places in Rome, Venchi Ice Cream and Chocolate shop. When you visit Fontana di Trevi and Pantheon, you must pop into Venchi for the tastier, most delicious ice cream! You can smell the chocolate from the outside luring you in, their feature chocolate wall made us crave chocolate even more and they have a chocolate tap (YES, they do!!) they use to pour chocolate on top of ice cream or cornet. My photos don’t do it justice.
Venchi
Venchi
Venchi
Venchi
Venchi is a large Italian gourmet chocolate manufacturer and I found out they have a branch in London as well. I don’t usually support big chains but I’d definitely recommend Venchi purely based on the quality of their chocolate and ice cream.
Here’s a Youtube video of the chocolate wall!
We had our last drink at Angelo Cafe near Piazza della Repubblica. Nice cafe, fast service and not lovely views.
Angelo Cafe
We had some food at a couple of places at the airport, which was ridiculously overpriced and mediocre so I’d recommend to take some food from town or eat before you go. You will still unfortunately have to get ridiculously overpriced water after you go through security.
All three of us love Italian Cuisine, pizzas, pasta, sandwiches and desserts and despite some bad food, we thoroughly enjoyed our Italian culinary experience.
I hope you enjoyed our food journey in Florence and Rome. I’m off to have some dinner!
Next post will be on Friendfest, a gorgeous day in London with lovely friends checking out memorabilia and the sets from our favourite TV show Friends 🙂
On our third day in Rome (part 1 and part 2 here) the plan was to go on a day trip to either Naples or Tivoli but the skies opened up from the night before and it rained all night through to the next morning. It rained A LOT the whole morning and there was a hailstorm followed by more heavy rain. We went to the train station but some trains were cancelled so we decided it would be wiser to stay in Rome. We were already exhausted by that time and a more relaxed day would be great since we were heading to the Vatican the following day (the museums are closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month when is free to get in!).
None of us had any umbrellas and the illegal sellers outside the station were selling them for a tenner each!! But luckily we found some in a store nearby.
After a quick snack at the station we went to the National Museum of Oriental Art, which had a lot of exhibits considering its size and then to Palazzo delle Espozioni to check out their Hollywood Icons exhibition with photographs from the John Kobal foundation. The building is impressive, to say the least, and the exhibition was great, although sister number two decided to touch one of the photos and alarms went off! Needless to say she was told off (hover on photos for captions).
Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale
Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale
Palazzo delle Esposizioni
Hollywood Icons
Hollywood icons
By that time we were starving so we went for dinner at a nearby restaurant, another delicious meal, and then we stopped by Mercato Centrale, a large food court next to the station, for pudding on our way to the hotel.
On day four, after our breakfast, we went to the Vatican Museums. It’s super easy to get there from Roma Termini, it’s only a 15-20 min tube ride. If you decide to go, use the self-service dispensers, not the counters, you need to get a ticket to join the queue and wait for a long time! You don’t need to know Italian to use the dispensers, you just get a ticket which is valid for 90 minutes or a day.
It was raining again but we didn’t mind much as we were to spend most of the day in the museums. I tried to book tickets online the night before from their official website but they were sold out for that day, so we decided to check how long the queues were and hoped they ‘d be tourist guides around, like at the Colosseum and pay a bit more to skip the queues.
And that’s what happened. We got our vouchers from a tourist guide and after collecting our tickets from the cashier at the museum entrance, about half an hour later, we were in. I was in awe the whole time! The architecture, the exhibits (including a mummy!!), everything! We spent around 3 hours, with a break for a snack at their canteen there (where we met the rudest waiter ever!) and the last thing to see was what I looked forward to since we got there, Capela Sistina, the Sistine Chapel.
I still remember the first time I learned about it at school, many many years ago, staring and admiring at the pictures and I always wanted to see it with my own eyes. And it finally happened. And it did not disappoint. You are not allowed to take any photos once you are in the chapel but I noticed I stood just below the infamous Creation of Adam, so I sneakily took a snap.
The creation of Adam
After we left the museums we headed to St Peter’s basilica. But there were long queues and we didn’t pay extra to get in (it is free to go into the basilica, but if you pay extra when you get your Vatican museums’ tickets you can skip the queues for the basilica too).
It was still amazing to be standing at St Peter’s square and admire the views.
Vatican museums
the courtyard
Vatican museums
Drinking water at the Vatican
Vatican museums
Mummy
Rome views from the Vatican
St Peter’s square
Mummy
Greek statue- inscription translation: most humans are mean
the courtyard
Vatican museums
St Peter’s basilica
Vatican museums
Vatican museums
Vatican museums
Vatican museums
After a short stop for a drink (worst cup of tea I ever had!) we went back to Mercato Centrale for dinner and then headed back to the hotel to rest and pack as we were leaving the following day.
Our last day was one of my favourite of the whole trip! We had no idea what to do. So after we checked out of the hotel we passed by Quattro Fontane, Piazza della Repubblica, went by to see the Fontana di Trevi and the Pantheon one last time and we ended up at Piazza Navona where we had our last delicious pizza in Rome.
Quattro Fontane
Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona
We popped in the Angelica Library, which I wanted to from day one but we didn’t get the chance earlier
Angelica library
Angelica library
we had the best ice cream we ever tasted in our whole life (details on the food blog coming next!), we loved the Pinocchio dedicated store, Bartolucci
Bartolucci, Rome
Bartolucci, Rome
Bartolucci, Rome
Bartolucci, Rome
Bartolucci, Rome
Bartolucci, Rome
Bartolucci, Rome
we bumped into Cremonini Area Archeologica, an underground archaeological site near the Trevi hidden on a quiet side street where we met the friendliest sales assistant
Cremonini Area Archeologica
and after picking our bags from the hotel (you can leave them at the station too but it costs a tenner for the whole day, if you google it you can find others for cheaper) we headed to the airport.
My flight had three and a half hour delay due to the French air strike so after I waved my sisters goodbye, sad and exhausted I caught the plane back to the UK.
And that was the end of our amazing week in Florence and Rome.
Sisters
Sisters
goodbye to the sisters 😦
It’s been five days since I’ve been back in the UK and it already feels like a dream. I’m sad is over but so happy for the amazing memories, places and experiences shared with my best friends, my sisters. I already started planning my next adventure!
On Friday around noon we left beautiful Florence (part 1) and we took the long three and a half hour train to Rome. It was warm and sunny and got a little bit hot on the train. And there was this guy sitting opposite us. He was on the phone for most of the journey and when he was not, he sang or he put music on his phone out loud.
We were exhausted and especially towards the end we wanted to tell him to shut up but we were all too polite!
We arrived in Rome around 3:30pm, knackered, hot, hungry and in desperate need of the loo. The hotel we were to stay was five minutes away from the Roma Termini train station but we just couldn’t find it as there was no sign. After about 20 minutes of wandering and asking around to no avail, we finally bumped into the owner who let us in.
We stayed at Cialdini Rome, which was much better than the one we stayed in Florence, cleaner and newer and it included breakfast (fresh coffee, croissants and orange juice delivered to our room every day) and other than the toilet flush that got stuck a couple of times (but I figured out how to fix it after a day or two!) it was lovely. Friendly owners, daily cleaning and breakfast.
The area around the station is not the best, is quite poor and we were told they were a lot of pickpockets so we had to be very careful with our bags. The streets around that square smelled of wee, I have no idea why. We joked we knew we were getting close to the hotel when we could smell the wee. But after a 10 minute walk you are transported into a completely different Rome. Bright, luxurious, beautiful.
Would I’ve known Rome better I’d probably stay more central, closer to the center and some of the landmarks, which is a much nicer area but I’m happy with our accommodation considering how much we paid.
After we checked in and got our map from the landowner’s husband, who was the chattiest and funniest Italian we met, it was time for lunch. We sat at the first place we saw, and it was the worst food we had in Rome (details on the food blog coming after the Rome blogs). We then headed towards some of the main attractions.
Our worn out map
We passed by the Santa Maria Maggiore church and the Quirinale palace, heading towards the infamous Fontana di Trevi. Hover over photos for captions.
Santa Maria Maggiore church
Quirinale
After wandering in the charming cobble streets, you turn a corner, and there it was! Fontana di Trevi. What a beautiful gem in the middle of the city.
Fontana di Trevi
Fontana di Trevi
After throwing our coins into the fountain, and sister number two being told off by the guard there who whistles every time someone sits on the edge of the fountain, we made our way to the Pantheon.
What an incredible building, what an amazing piece of history, standing there in front of our eyes.
Pantheon
Pantheon Interior
Pantheon sister selfie
After a delicious dinner at a small restaurant in a picturesque cobble street near Pantheon, we headed back to the hotel, admiring the views. On our way back we went into a beautiful church and passed by the Italian Madame Tussauds (museo delle cere), which other than Einstein, the rest of the statues on the entrance didn’t look anything like the famous people they were supposed to resemble (and I was told off for touching Einstein’s face!). And that was the end of our first (half) day in Rome.
Rome streets
Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II
Einstein statue
Messi?
Brad Pitt??
The following morning we headed to the Colosseum, which was actually very close to the hotel. Again, I’ve done no research and nobody told me that I had to pre-book tickets or get them from near the Colosseum if we didn’t want to wait for hours in the queue. So we opted for one of the guided tours offered by tens, hundreds even of guides outside who pick up what language you speak just by overhearing you talking.
That happened in Florence as well, but it happened much more in Rome. I was impressed they could do that, considering the Cypriot dialect, although Greek, is quite different to the official Greek language. But I guess they get used to it, with the millions of tourists they visit their city every year.
The Colosseum was breathtaking! We absolutely loved it. Our guide, Aldo was great and we learned a lot about the history of it, but he talked. A LOT. We were supposed to have a break after the Colosseum and re-join the group to enter the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. But we were tired and starving by that time. We went for lunch in a cute nearby cafe instead and we then decided to head towards the river to enjoy the views from there.
Colosseum
Colosseum
On our way we passed by the Arco di Constantino, Arco di Tito and Circo Massimo. After about half an hour we reached the river and we wandered around Tiberina.
Arco di Constantino
Roman Forum
Arco di Tito
RIver Tevere
River Tevere
After a quick break for ice-cream and a short rest stop at the hotel we got to try pizza by the meter (the food blog will be amazing, I promise!), we passed by the Opera and sat at the steps of Piazza della Repubblica to watch the sunset. And that was the end of our second day in Rome.
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica
I hope you enjoyed our journey this far. Days three to five coming tomorrow or Monday and they are pretty awesome, if I say so myself!
I’m back from warm and sunny Italy to cold and rainy Southampton. I’ve been back for two days but I’m still adjusting. I’m wrapped up in my blanket, watching the rain from my window as we speak.
It’s impossible to write just one blog about it due to the sheer volume of pictures, places we’ve seen and things we did, so the first part will be about Florence, part two and maybe three will be on Rome and the last one is dedicated to food.
So, let’s start from 9 days ago, Tuesday, 5th of September. I was packed and ready to get to London after work. I looked forward to it for so long and the work day felt super long, even longer than usual. I finished all the things I could before I was ready to go, although I was sad I didn’t get to say goodbye to my bestie, because a colleague had a query a minute before I had to go.
I had no umbrella or waterproof with me and, yes, it started raining as soon as I walked out the door, on my way to the train station and got soaking wet by the time I reached it. I spent a quiet, relaxing night at a hotel near Gatwick airport, although my taxi driver tried hard to persuade me to go out in Brighton.
I was worried whether my sisters will make it to Rome, so I didn’t sleep much. I got up around 4am and by 10:15am I made it to Rome and finally met my sisters, who flew there a bit earlier, although they nearly missed their flight because they went to the wrong gate, typical!
After a quick bite we went to get our train tickets to Florence. I should have done my research but I didn’t. The cashier at the Trenitalia desk was very rude. He didn’t explain to us that apparently in Italy there are only two main train services: high-speed, which are faster but more expensive and regionale, which have more stops but are cheaper (I only found out about it from a lovely Italian we met on the train later on).
He didn’t even give us the option to choose which train service we wanted to catch. And we had to choose a specific time. So we bought the more expensive but fast one, only because we didn’t know. Although retrospectively, it was the right decision. None of us slept much and we were already very tired. But we were still shocked by the sheer rudeness of the cashier.
On our way to Florence we met Fabio, the lovely Italian I mentioned earlier (we think his name was Fabio, none of us were sure we heard right, if you happen to read it please comment!), an Italian musician, living in London. One of my sisters, Stella fell asleep almost immediately but Fabio, Anna and I chatted the whole way to Florence. We talked about life in the UK, the cultural differences of Italy and Cyprus compared to the UK, music of course, loving what you do for a living vs just having a job and Yoga (he goes to a yoga retreat in India every year for a month, I know right!). He also told us we would love Florence, ‘it is like a walking museum’ he said.
After 2 and a half hours, around 2:30pm we said goodbye to Fabio and reached Firenze Santa Maria Novella, the main train station in Florence. Our hotel, Ottaviani, was pretty close, and fortunately not as bad as some reviews I read the night before made it to be (it was old, the lift was tiny so we decided not to use it at all, we had a proper laugh about the glass sliding bathroom door and the beds were not the comfiest but it was clean and OK for two nights) after checking in and resting for a bit off we went to explore this gorgeous city!
The lovely hotel owner provided us with a map and circled the main attractions for us. I haven’t used a paper map for ages! But I’m amazed how well we managed to use it (minus a couple of arguments!) and saved me a lot of phone data.
No, that’s where the map says to go!
We passed by Piazza Santa Maria Novella and Santa Maria Novella basilica, which was the first great basilica in Florence, and headed towards the San Lorenzo market for dinner.
Piazza di Santa Maria Novella
After a delicious meal (more details on the food blog) we wandered around the market. I’ve never seen so many leather bags in my life!
San Lorenzo market
The San Lorenzo indoors market was amazing! The ground floor where the food market is set was closed but the 1st floor gourmet food court was open and oh my we wished we hadn’t just had dinner! Lots of photos to share on my food blog from this market.
After admiring the San Lorenzo church we sat down to Piazza san Marco for a rest.
San Lorenzo churchPiazza San Marco
We then headed to Piazza Del Duomo, the centre of Florence, home of the Florence Cathedral, Il Duomo di Firenze. We were in awe, to say the least!
Duomo di Firenze
After a short stop for dessert we walked down towards river Arno, just in time for the sunset. I remembered what Fabio said, Florence is a walking museum! And that’s when I realised I was in love with Florence.
Sisters in Florencesunset at River Arno
And that was the end of day one.
On our second and last day in Florence, we had breakfast in the sunshine at Piazza del Duomo and then headed to get bus 12 as our BnB owner advised us, to get to Piazzale Michelangelo and admire the panoramic views.
Piazza del Duomo
The views from Piazzale Michelangelo were breathtaking!
Before we left we visited the San Salvatore al Monte church, so peaceful and simple but elegant.
Chiesa di San Salvatore al Monte
We would have explored the area more but we were exhausted so we headed back to the city centre. We missed our stop so the bus took us around the whole city!
We were starving at this point so sat at a restaurant in Piazza della Repubblica, another amazing area in central Florence.
Piazza della Repubblica
After lunch we headed to Ponte Vecchio, one of the most famous bridges in Florence.
Ponte Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio
By this time we were knackered. So we rested for a bit at the hotel before going out for dinner, to try the infamous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. After our scrummy dinner we went back to the hotel.
And that’s how our day and Florence adventure ended. The following day we caught the train to Rome.
The city was full of tourists that made it hard to move at times or take better pictures and there were a lot of illegal ‘painting’ and other street sellers, appearing out of nowhere which I didn’t expect. And there were a couple of rude cashiers and waiters, something I’m not used to. But Florence still impressed me more than any other city I visited.
I loved Rome but I fell in love with Florence. And my sisters did too. What a breathtakingly beautiful, amazing place. I feel blessed and grateful I’m lucky enough I got to see and explore it. It’s probably the only place I’ve been I would like to visit again.
Lessons I learned after I turned 30 