Northeastern does Italy - Napoli, Roma and Perugia

After doing a worldwide adventure of Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii it was time to head back to Perugia. Since we were stopping in Napoli we deemed it necessary to get some pizza. (They are renowned as having the best pizza in Italy).  After consulting Rick Steve's, we found out what the best place in Napoli was.  After walking for (what seemed like) forever, and then waiting in line for 30 minutes, we finally made it inside!  They only had two kinds of pizza, formaggio e' doppio formaggio (cheese and double cheese).  We each got our own, making all of them doppio formaggio!  While this place may have been small and had a very "bare essentials" atmosphere with the plastic furniture, you would have thought it was a 5 star dining experience based on the way people were eating!  Everyone had their own eating "style."  Some people cut up their pizzas into tiny pieces, leaving the crust behind.  Others went with a more rolling individual slices style.  It was definitely an experience to be a part of though!  I will say this about the food ... pizza will NEVER taste the same.  I have actually never eaten anything that good in my life!  It would not be an exaggeration to say that I fell a little in love with that pizza.  Aside from that we didn't stay long in Naples.  It was kind of dirty and very much a city.  It pretty much just reminded me of New York.  So after lunch we got back on the train and headed to Perugia.

In Perugia we took Mischa and Nora on a tour of our typical days.  We showed them the duomo, the fontana, the piazza, the views, etc etc.  Even better though, we put all of our mattresses on the floor of our living room so we could have a giant sleepover!  It was pretty successful.  Maybe it was a bit more challenging to get around it during the day, but at night it was A LOT of fun!

We also made a trip the the fabbrica de cioccolate "Perugina."  (The Perugina chocolate factory)  We didn't make it in time for an English tour so we settled for an Italian one.  This might sound like a bad thing, but it actually ended up being so much fun!  We got lumped in with an Italian high school class on a field trip.  Multiple times one of the class "Mom's" shushed us and rushed us along, assuming we were part of her group.  I didn't realize that I looked like a 15 year old Italian student!  When the tour was over they gave us an obscene amount of candy.  I'm not sure if they always give that much, but I have a feeling that they gave us so much because they felt bad that there were no English tours.  It was fine by us!  We ate until we physically couldn't eat any more.  (FYI Kit Kats in Italy are way better than they are in America.   I don't know why, but it's true.)

It was decided that while they were in Italy, it was necessary to go to Rome for at least a day!  So we got up bright and early, caught a train, and were on our way.  First stop was the Vatican.  Megan and I have already seen the Sistine chapel so we waited at a nearby coffee shop, having cappuccino's, until they finished their visit.  From there we literally saw as much of Rome as possible in one day!  We went to the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and the Borguise.  Unfortunately the Colosseum was closed by the time we got there, so Mischa and Nora didn't get to go inside.  It was a crazy day, but I'm so glad they got to see so much of Rome in one day!  Unfortunately the death of my camera took place, we were down to two at this point.  Estelle (Mischa's camera) had to power through for all of us because Megan's died.  Sad week for camera's apparently!

Back in Perugia we spent their last couple of days relaxing, eating and enjoying each others presence.  Writing this now makes me a little sad because I realize how long it's been since I've seen them (and even longer with all my other friends at home).  But I am leaving Italy in 4 days, which is so exciting!!  It's actually very bitter sweet.  I'm so thrilled to be going home, I miss my life in Boston so much.  But at the same time it saddens me that this experience is over.  I looked forward to going abroad for so long, and now instead of it being in my future it is my present.  Soon it will be in my past.  Enough about that for now.  I need to enjoy my last few days while I'm here, and I don't want to waste them feeling sad and on a computer!