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21 May, 2011 by shahlamotadel
FIVE DAYS in Italy. I know. It’s ridiculous to think you can do justice to the delights and diversity of Italy in five days. My friends thought I was mad. You need at least a month, they said. Well, I didn’t have a month. I had five days. My objective was to spend the time indulging my passion for food. A cooking course was not a realistic option so I turned to my network of foodies for idea. What could I do, given my tight schedule and lack of Italian language? Initially, the suggestion of a guided women-only tour didn’t appeal. I wanted something more personal. Then I got put in touch with Shahla Motadel, from Women Tour Italy, and several email exchanges later it was sorted. She offered a five-day guided tour, just for me. So I set out to see, taste and smell Italy, one-on-one.
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15 December, 2009 by shahlamotadel
WHAT I PACK 1) Do you travel light or heavy? I try to pack light. After paying 500 Euros (NZ$1000) for excess luggage on a trip back home from Italy I’ve definitely learned my lesson. 2) Cattle or first class? Cattle. I prefer to spend my money on the ground. 3) I can’t travel without. . . My Visa card—awoman’s best friend. 4) What type of suitcase do you carry? My suitcase is a sturdy four-wheeler, but lightweight, that I have dragged all around, on train journeys, cobbled streets, bus rides, you name it.
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15 December, 2009 by shahlamotadel
For me Italy is the number 1 holiday destination! I said that when I was 21 after visiting seventeen European countries and I say it now many years later and after seeing a lot more of the world. Why? Here it's in brief.
Italy is really a 'bel paese' (beautiful country), with its breathtaking coastline, like the Amalfi coast and the Cinque Terre, and a picture-perfect panoramic inner landscape, covered with olive trees, vineyards, figs, orange and lemon trees. Its lakes and mountains, jeweled with seaside and cliff-hanging towns, make Italy a real paradiso!
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 Arriving by train from Sorrento, we make our way through the mercato of fish, vegetables, patissericherias, cheeses and meat. The scene is basic, rustic, raunchy, and earthy. The life force flows amongst the people as they go about their daily lives. The change of scene from the serene and spiritual Anacapri is profound. A game plan is needed to visit Napoli as there are so many options: the central sites, the waterfront, the markets, shopping, major buildings or go underground and seeing the catacombs. You can take the bus tour in an open topped bus to get oriented. We decide to find Antiqua Pizzeria Da Michele for an early pizza lunch, then walk to the Theatre, palazzo and church in the largest piazza in Napoli. Napoli is not for the faint hearted. You are forced to encounter Napoli. There is an immediate impression on all of my senses as we leave the train station; cars, scooters, rickety cobble stones, water, road works, markets, bag sellers, shops, cars and buses everywhere.
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Capri is a day trip from Sorrento. While Sorrento is divine, Capri is magical: the island the sirens lured captivated sailors to. It is easy to be captivated. Olives and orange groves cling to hill sides. Every centimetre of flat land is planted. The water is torquoise, the sky blue, the houses white. Tiny cobbled lanes to wander down. The boat trip from Sorrento takes us to the island and we then take the funicular up further for completely stunning views. We have our morning coffee in the piazza knowing this will cost us 18E. It is worth every cent. Thats me and Shahla left here with our very expensive breakfast. We linger over our morning cornetto, caffee latte and a glass of water and watch people. The tone is casual and steeped in knowing the priviledge of being in such a place.
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We take the bus to Positano, Ravello and Amalfi. the trip is breaktaking and beautiful as we pass through towns first looking back to Sorrento and Capri, and then the Amalfi coast. Again olive trees, and orange and lemon groves are everywhere. Houses clinging to hillsides, with roof gardens exqusitely planted and refreshed with spring flowers. There is of course a premium on flat space so hills are terraced and carefully planted. The morning colours of far away hills are soft mauves and purples. The beauty of this coast is breathtaking and the bus trip astonishing with the navigation skills of bus drivers. Everyone takes care on this road and we arrive safely. Within minutes of arriving in Positano, I spot an antique shop and am now travelling with 6 beautiful champagne glasses, made in Venice in 1940's handpainted in gold.
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Eating places in Rome Last night we walked into a simple restaurant around 8pm, Bella Napoli, Via Simone de Saint Bon. www.ristorantebellanapoli.it It was empty. There were tables of lush platters of baby artichokes cooked four different ways, mushrooms, courgettes, eggplants, and fat olives. More platters of baked salmon, marinated tiny squid, fried octopus, asparagus in bunches tied with string, green beans, spinachi, roasted eggplant, peppers, courgettes and tomatoes. Heaven. We helped our selves. Suddenly the restaurant was full, people talking and laughing and eating. I chose ravioli con noci (walnuts) and Shahla and Maria both had spaghetti con vongole (baby clams) which were sweet and delicious. My ravioli were large rectangles filled with ricotta and spinachi and with a sauce of cream and walnut paste, delicious. And yes we shared deserts too: struddle with apples and pears and pinenuts, tiramisu as it should be, and an apple custard pie. Mmmmmm. With wine, all this came to 29 euros each. Maria said the same three brothers have been running this restaurant for thirty years. This is the authentic food in Roma I have been looking for and not previously found. Handy hints. I have identified at least 10 types of eateries in Italy:
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 Deciding to explore one of the older parts of Rome today, we took a tram to Piazza Argentina for our caffe and cornetto. In this particular bar, the milk is served in the glass with a small jug of delicious coffee alongside for you to mix together. Julius Cesare was killed in the centre of Piazza Argentina which is now home to hundreds of cats who live amongst the ruins.
We then continued on tram to Travestere and our next stop is the church of Sante Maria in Travestere, said to be the oldest church in Rome. Facing a large piazza, this Church is beautiful. Prepared for easter, there are olive trees alongside the alter creating a simple evocative scene. The ceiling is covered with frescoes, statues, cherubs and angels. The floors are mosaics. Everywhere there is gold leaf, delicate paintings and places for reflection.
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We are up early and take the metro to the Stazione Centrale. This is 5 minutes from our stop in Lepanto, to the central station. There is a choice of breakfast places and we choose Acafe which has fabulous looking pastries and for 3E.80 we have caffe latte, freshly squeezed orange juice and a fantastic crispy apple pastry. This is the best so far. Our train is easy to find and on time. Two hours later we are laughing with Maria in Grosseto. We pile into the car and she takes us to Castello della Pescaia, an old village on top of a hill, overlooking the sea. The lanes wind down to the town below, the houses are beautifully restored with exquisite gardens. Vignettes everywhere, an archway here, a tiny lane there. This town is mostly holiday homes for the wealthy from Milano and Roma. The sea reputedly has the cleanest water in all of Italy. We shop in a Salumeri and then have coffee in a tiny café with benches and tables outside.
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 Our apartment is gorgeous, compact and central. Arriving yesterday, I saw Shahla immediately as I came out of customs. I am delighted, relieved and amazed we have found each other in the sea of people. We took the packed train into Stazione Termini, (11 euros and 30 minutes) sharing a cabin with a group of animated young men who ran a plastics factory in Tunisia. They were from Napoli. The one sitting beside me was friendly and curious and wanted to practice his English. He asked where we were from, what season was it in New Zealand, and where were we going in Italy. I asked they were from, what work did they do, what were they doing in Rome and how long would they be there. Arriving in central Rome was easy.
People from all over the world arriving and leaving made for a vibrant scene. The Bancomat easily gave me euros from my new travel card! I headed over the road to the local tobacchi to buy some cheese and apples as the plane food had been distinctly unappetising. We took a bus to our apartment. Shahla pointed out; Piazza Venezia, via Nazionale, Largo Argentina, Palazzo di Giustizia. Crossing the Tiber River, we went through Piazza Cavour, to our Palazzo (mansion) just off via Giulio Cesare.
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 I have my tickets! Christine from Harbour City Travel has been great with all the flight arrangements. There are three weeks to go before Shahla and I meet in Rome on 9th April. We will be joining thousands of visitors, many of them pilgrims there for ancient spiritual and religious rituals of Easter.
Shahla has found us an apartment in central Rome. Our tour includes Rome for a week then down to the Amalfi coast and Sorrento, Portofino Capri and Napoli, then up to Sienna then over to Padua, Verona and Lake Guarda. My nephew Lance is joining us for 3 – 4 days there. Then we go back to Rome and I will fly home, and Shahla will stay on. In preparation I am learning some Italian from a set of CD’s by Michel Thomas. He teaches by emphasising thinking rather than memorising or writing anything down.
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