The prettiest staircase in Venice

Recently, I was explaining the new inspiration behind my blog – the travel recommendation from my experiences – to someone and the question I was asked in response was: What do you recommend for Venice?

Now, Venice is a tricky one. Because unlike most people, I did not enjoy Venice that much. When I visited (around late April), it was very crowded, very touristy. And very rushed. I had just a single day there, and therefore not a lot of chance to relax and take in the place. Of course, it is also known for its romantic appeal and I was on a group tour – so that didn’t help either.

So, my basic recommendation for Venice will be: get lost (in Venice). And it’s very very simple too. And in case you are finding it difficult to do so, start walking and at every intersection, take a random/intuition-based decision on which way you want to turn. You may find a hidden treasure, maybe a little charming shop selling antiques or maybe just a guy selling the tastiest pizzas in the world. You may also end up at a dead end, or worse, falling into a canal. So, just be careful 🙂

One of the hidden treasures I found was this beautiful spiral staircase, part of a palace called Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo. Apparently, the staircase leads to an ‘arcade which provides charming view over some of the roof-tops of the city’ (thank you, wiki) but the palace was under renovation when I visited – and therefore didn’t get to see the view. The place itself is very nice though, slightly away from the hustle-bustle of the city.

The spiral staircase of Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo

Disclaimer: I can’t claim to have visited ALL the staircases in Venice, and therefore the my claim for this staircase to be prettiest is, well, quite baseless. However, I did find it prettier than most staircases I have seen (in Venice, and in general) and therefore would recommend you visit it whenever you are in Venice. 🙂

An intriguing restaurant in Rome: La Parolaccia

What could be so special or interesting about a restaurant?

La Parolaccia Restaurant, Rome

I’ll give you a hint. In Italian, La Parolaccia means ‘The Swearword’.

So, the basic idea is: You go into the restaurant, and you get cursed at and verbally abused by the waiters. And this is done in no small measure. You get a verbal thrashing. And language’s no bar: Even if you know no Italian at all, I’ve heard the waiters will make sure you get the point. And probably some juicy new words added to your vocabulary.

I haven’t been to the restaurant, but just crossed it, while strolling around the charming locality of Trastevere in Rome. Food-wise, I’ve not heard great reviews. It is mostly popular with tourist who go there for the novelty of being hurled abuses at. Well, to each his own! 🙂

I’d recommend exploring more of this quaint neighbourhood of Trastevere. It’s really pretty and feels ‘very Italian’! 🙂

Just another pretty street in Trastevere, Rome

I love old Europe!

Monday morning spice: Food in Naples

Reviving an old section today – Monday morning spice – some photos to cheer you up on a dreary Monday morning. And thought, what better way to bring back a section which has ‘spice’ in it’s name than to talk about food! And that too food in Italy!

With absolutely no doubt about it, the top rank goes to… Pizza!!

You thought Italy was famous for it’s pizza? You’re right, but within Italy, Napoli is especially famous for it. And it’s not the typical pizza you’d fine which is baked in electric oven and has a hundred different type of toppings. The ‘real’ Italian pizza is cooked in smouldering embers of a clay oven. There are two main types – Margherita and Marinara (or, to be precise, pizza napoletana margherita and pizza napoletana marinara). These are very basic, very tasty and quite inexpensive (just 3-5 Euros for a full-size pizza). You can get ones with different type of toppings added to them, but they don’t really need any toppings. If you really want to mix it up a bit, get the margherita with double mozzarella – it’s yummy! 🙂

Travel tip: Only go for a pizzerie which has a sign outside which says ‘Vera‘ pizza – this indicates it will present to you authentic clay-oven baked pizzas.

And that’s how a REAL pizza is made! At Da Michele restaurant.

p.s. The pizzas in Napoli were so tasty, I don’t have a single photograph of them – I gobbled them up so fast! 😀

Continuing with the pizza theme, Neapolitans love cheese. Here’s a dish called ‘Braciola al ra gu’ which is essentially meat with cheese stuffed inside it. Luxury.

Okay. even meat has cheese stuffed inside it. Yum.

And to cap it all off, I also tried Risotto. This was at the unfortunately pricey restaurant called Locanda del Grifo (although pizzas were quiet cheap at just €4). This is Risotto fiori di Zucca, which was nice and tasty. Not mindblowing though.

Risotto fiori di Zucca

Italian food. I miss it. I am feeling very hungry now. I better go get a full English breakfast! 😉