Mange, Mange, Mange!

Photo by Kamy Motesharei

When my boyfriend Kamy and I were exploring Italy last summer we discovered a few phenomenal places to eat. Unlike the last time I visited with my bff Alice, not every place we went to was famously spectacular. But I remembered that Alice and I did get a local recommendation for a pizzeria in Florence that none other can top. When Kamy and I were looking for the place I had no idea what it was called or where it was...only that it was near Piazza de Santa Croce. Finally, it hit my eye like the big pizza pie! Il Pizzaiuolo, I confirmed it after I had another taste of the Bismark (pictured above). It's the most heavenly pie and one of the most memorable dishes I ever tasted. I would probably not be ordering a pizza with ham and egg had I not previously discovered how incredible it is. We were also so pleased with the meatballs we went back again and again.

Photo by Sofia Shershunovich

We also visited a little village called Vernazza, which is a popular spot in Cinque Terre where outside our rented room you could always see and hear an elderly local yelling "Mange, mange, mange!" at the tourists who are gobbling up gelato, pizza and calzone all day. Mange we did. Our accommodation provider Egi, who reasonably rented us a very cute room with a giant rock authentically sticking out of the wall by the shower, said that the best place to eat was a local bakery called Il Pirata delle Cinque Terre. Another place you will not be sorry to eat at again and again. The twin brothers who own the restaurant are hilarious, one cooks and one serves...the one that cooks get's testy with the server for taking all the spotlight for his cooking and frequently emerges from the kitchen to stir up some entertainment for the customers by comically arguing with his brother. Incredibly inexpensive, it seems like everything at the restaurant is pure perfection. Including the unmissable ricotta cannolis, delicious carpaccio and the house wine isn't bad either. The brothers act strict about their reservations, so you better get there before 9am if you want hot from the oven pastries, and be sure to make dinner reservations the day before. Don't miss either.

The �40 Wonder

When in Rome...DO as the Romans' do. Hang out in Trastevere. As any tourist who hates to be a tourist knows - you do not go into any touristy places in Italy. We were tired after what seemed like a 3 hour hike to the Sistine Chapel and stepped into a gelateria by the Vatican. Asked for a couple of scoops of ice cream, to which a smart-ass waiter said, "Don'te worri, I wille make-e niiice for youe!" After these words we immediately began to worry. What came next was a scary, everything-under-the-sun topped fiasco, but not as scary as what came next - the bill for �40. Anyway...the best gelateria is on the main square in Trastevere area, where the locals go to eat. It has lovely restaurants, an amazing atmosphere, especially in the evening, and a rightfully popular Blue Ice Gelateria. You should definitely be popping by there on the way back to your hotel, which if you're not the tourist's tourist you also booked in...you guessed it, Trastevere.