Have some truffle pasta while you are visiting Eataly FICO

Visiting Eataly World

One of my favorite things to do in Chicago once I moved downtown was do all my grocery shopping at Eataly. Although I have major issues with the typeface and graphic design of the place, and the whole Mario Battali thing drives me crazy, there’s just something about the focus of Eataly that I love. So when I saw that Eataly was opening an Italian “food themepark” outside Bologna, I knew I had to go. Plus, I’ve always wanted to visit Bologna so visiting Eataly FICO seemed like a good reason to do so. (The Battali news came out after my visit.)

But visiting Eatly FICO was a weird experience for me. I dropped in just a week after the opening so perhaps things will be different when you go. Make sure you time the bus from town right because if you miss it by just a minute like I did, you will have to wait 30 minutes for the next one. (WHAT ITALIAN BUS LEAVES ON TIME??? The Eataly FICO bus of course.)

No exit for you!

Like the Chicago Eataly, the graphic design of Eataly FICO is terrible and worse still, the layout of Eataly FICO is ridiculous. Basically, you enter one end of the building and you have to walk what feels like a mile to get out of the building. If you try to get out the entrance, they will tell you to turnaround. And it’s not like you can just like walk 30 seconds and get to the exit. You seriously have to hoof it a ridiculously long way to get to the exit. WHILE YOU ARE PASSING EXIT DOORS THAT ARE LOCKED. (It feels like hundreds of them. All with the signs in the photo.) And guess what? Once you get to the exit, you have to WALK all the way back to the entrance to get the bus back into town. Totally stupid.

Stupidest sign ever.

If you have to put up signs trying to sell the long-ass walk back to the entrance to get the bus, you know you are doing something wrong. “Today you walk…it’s healthy”…arrrggghhh. (It was cold and drizzly when I visited. Not a nice walk.)

The other thing I didn’t dig about Eataly FICO was that the fittings of the restaurants I visited all felt a bit cheap. There’s something about Eataly Chicago that makes the dining options feel just the tiniest bit upscale. But at Eataly FICO, it’s like eating in an airport food court. (And to be fair to airport food courts, I think a lot of airports are upping their game in this regard.) In short, I feel like FICO needs both an interior designer and a user experience designer to bring everything together.

OK, now on to the “theme park” and eating/drinking side of things. While I was visiting Eataly FICO, I took part in two experiences which were fun but confusing. Firstly, just finding the locations for the activities took a degree in cartography and excellent 20/20 eyesight just to read the map. Also, do not rely on Eataly employees to tell you where anything is! They will send you in the wrong direction.

I made this in food photograph class!

One of the activities I reserved was a food photography “class” which took place next to a juice stand. Me and four executives from somewhere that may have been Eataly itself cut up fruit and made pretty plates. It was strangely relaxing but not what I expected. (I thought we’d cover things like lighting and f-stops. I did not think we’d be cutting up fruit.) Weirdly, I had definitely purchased this online and had the receipt to show for it, but I didn’t have an actual ticket to show for my purchase, which confused the staff. And me. They let me join the class anyhow.

I also did an Italian wine experience, where two very enthusiastic Eataly employees walked me through Italy’s wine regions and then let me try a couple of glasses. This was enjoyable and I’d recommend it. It was maybe a little tough because I was the only person on the tour and my mind tends to wander a lot so I had to keep reminding myself to focus on my two tour guides but overall, this was great.

I tried two things for lunch while I was visiting Eataly FICO. First was a tortellini soup which was like eating tortellini in lukewarm dishwater. It was one of the most disappointing meals of my entire life, and that is saying a lot. (This is a very traditional dish in Bologna. But there was just something missing in that broth.) To make up for this, I headed over to Eataly’s truffle restaurant, Urbani, where the chairs were much too tall for the tables (or the tables were too low for the chairs) and had a very nice pasta dish with truffles. Was it the best truffle pasta dish I’ve ever had in my entire lief? No. But it was nice. As were the staff, who admitted that the tables had been swapped out at the last moment so they knew they didn’t fit the chairs.

The Eataly FICO map with the entrance and exit circled. Get ready to walk.

Visiting Eataly FICO: The Verdict

So…visiting Eataly FICO is weird. Be ready to walk (or grab one of those bikes) and plan out where you are going to eat in advance because if you see a nice place and want to eat there, but also want to check out the rest of Eataly, you will have to walk back a long ways to get back to the original restaurant. Also, book your activities the day before so you know where you need to be when, and don’t rely on anyone at Eataly to give you directions. My biggest piece of advice: comfortable walking shoes!

The post Visiting Eataly World outside Bologna first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Vongole at Antichi Sapori Partenopei, my favorite non-pizza meal in Naples

Where to Eat in Naples, Italy

I always hesitate to call posts “Where to Eat in (City)” because let’s be honest…I give you the good and the bad. I don’t just tell you where to eat. Sometimes, I am your own personal guinea pig and I tell you where *not* to eat.

If you’ve been following my blog over the past few months, you’ll know that I’ve written about my amazing pizza tour in Naples with Daniel Young. But because I had never been to Naples before, I headed into town a few days early to check out the action, which gave me time for a few non-pizza meals on my own. So here are my non-pizza meals first, followed by my pizza meals…luckily, I did not gain any weight on this trip!!!

Antichi Sapori Partenopei: All the guidebooks had this on the list of where to eat in Naples, Italy and dinner did *not* disappoint. This was the most delicious bowl of vongole I’ve had in a long time, and I consider myself quite the connoisseur. The table next to me were so enraptured with the beauty of my dish that they ordered it for themselves too and then actually finished it before I did. Hah. I would happily eat here again but I would concentrate on going at an off hour because they were really not happy that I was just one person. (It’s a very popular restaurant and while it was empty when I arrived, it was packed and there was a queue when I left.) The Verdict: Go! But not alone.

Where to Eat in Naples, Italy: Osteria della Mattonella

Osteria della Mattonella: After asking our hotel concierge where to eat in Naples, Daniel and I popped in here for a late lunch before our flights back to London. (Oddly, we were on different airlines departing at roughly the same time.) Firstly, this place is just so cute and lovingly decorated — the name of the restaurant is apparently in reference to the tiles. Also, the woman who runs the place is very, very sweet. We spoke to her in English and a very small smattering of Italian, she spoke all Italian and yet still we all managed to understand each other. Thus proving, yet again, that food is a universal language! It was like being taken care of by our very own personal grandmother. Food here was very good, particularly the pasta dishes and the pasta genovese. Definitely make a booking because this place is very very small. The Verdict: Very sweet and small and friendly. Give it a try.

Antica Lattaria: Sometimes I forget that in Italy, things don’t kick off til late. I showed up at this restaurant around the corner from my first hotel an entire hour before they opened. They were very friendly and told me not to worry and that I should come back in an hour. Then they gave me a somewhat weird table in the middle of the restaurant, facing the, uh, only other solo diner. So that was a bit weird but thank God for smart phones. This was my 2nd attempt at scialatielli — keep reading — and it was much better than my first attempt but still a bit too heavy for my liking. Me and scialatielli are over. The Verdict: OK

Umberto: Funnily, this restaurant was highly recommended by a number of people later in my trip and I didn’t even realize I had already eaten there! The restaurant was very loosely attached to my first hotel so I went there for dinner my first night in town and had an unmemorable meal of scialatielli, my first attempt at this dense spaghetti-like pasta that’s popular in Naples. It was like eating a lot of raw pasta dough all at one time with a lot of flavorless pesto and a dash of deeply indifferent service. Note that scialatielli is a deeply unphotogenic dish, hence the lack of photos here and above. The Verdict: Skip it.

So definitely some highs and lows in Naples but now let’s move on to where to eat in Naples when it comes to PIZZA.

Where to Eat PIZZA in Naples, Italy

La Notizia: This was my favorite pizza places in Naples based on atmosphere. It felt very neighborhood-y and normal. Comfortable. Put this at the top of your list of where to eat in Naples.

50 Kalo: Probably my favorite tasting pizza of my visit. Also, Ciro Salvo can make me pizza anytime. This is a buzzing, modern pizza place…very different in design from the other places. It felt much more local and without the crowds of tourists at Da Michele.

Sorbillo: Very crowded, very popular, lines down the block. Go early!! I think the central location puts it more on the tourist trail so you’ll find a mix of tourists and locals. Really big space which is good. Also, I appreciate a stainless steel loo!

Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba: There was zero crowd here when we dropped by during food tour, getting a pizza to go! This is widely believed to be the oldest pizzeria in Naples. I can’t speak to the atmosphere because we didn’t stay long, but the food definitely did the trick!!

Da Michele: This is the place made famous by Eat, Pray, Love. To be fair, it was probably famous before then, but Julia Roberts certainly helped. Go early to avoid the crowds. This was just a little too much for me. Too many people, too loud, too everything. Cheap though!!

I hope this post has helped you decide where to eat in Naples!! You can read more about my experience with pizza in this fantastic city in these more detailed posts…

• Pizza Tour Part I
• Pizza Tour Part II

Book a Naples Tour

The post Where to Eat in Naples, Italy first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

To persist, one needs sustenance. A change of scenery can help too. That’s why, my dear readers, I suggest you head to Naples at the earliest opportunity. As I wrote in my last post, I did not find Naples to be any of the things that people suggested it might be. It was convivial and pretty and bustling and overall, DELICIOUS.

Caseficio Colonne outside Naples

After Day 1 of our pizza adventures, we headed about an hour outside of town to visit Caseficio Colonne, a local producer of buffala mozzarella. We stood right there on the factory floor as they made the mozzarella and prepared it for packaging. I particularly enjoyed the smoked mozzarella although it was not for the faint of tastebuds. We even got to take some home with us!

Pizza at da Michele in Naples

By the time we  go to La Antica Pizzeria da Michele later that afternoon, we were suitably starving. So was the rest of Naples, apparently, but everyone was in good spirits as we all waited for our tables outside in the sunshine. “da Michele” is cheap and delicious and reminded me of the pizza I grew up with on Long Island, which was prepared by first and second generation Italians, dressed in all white and selling slices for a buck to neighborhood kids like me who left their bikes unlocked out front. (Cherrywood Pizza in Wantagh was my local. Sadly, it closed a few years back.) Pies (sorry, the New Yorker in me can’t not call them pies) at da Michele are big and meant for sharing. The restaurant was packing them in and turning the tables quickly while we were there, in contrast to 50 Kalo, which felt more like a place to linger and get dessert and coffee and solve all the world’s problems. You may have heard that Da Michele has just opened up in London’s Stoke Newington. I hope to make a visit soon.

Daniel Young and Gino Sorbillo

Last stop on our agenda? The famed Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo’s. I had walked by here on my first day in Naples and the queue was down the block. Thanks to Daniel, we had an in here and we were quickly joined by Gino himself and given a tour of the property. But then Gino tricked us!! He set up a big table out in front of the restaurant and served us right there on the street, surrounded by pizza paparazzi. It was pretty insane! I knew Daniel was pretty famous for his book (bible?) about pizza, Where to Eat Pizza, but I don’t think I realized exactly how famous he was until this very moment. Afterwards, Gino brought us over to his very cool laboratory next door where we talked pizza with Daniel before rolling back to the hotel, our pizza tour of Naples complete.

My trip with Daniel to visit Naples and eat all the pizza was truly eye opening. I mean, I know pizza is a big deal but in Naples, it’s REALLY a big deal. It was truly amazing to get up close and personal with these famous pizzaiolos and visit all of these famed pizzerias. Did I have a favorite? It’s hard to say. I honestly can say all the pizzas were totally awesome. I probably liked the vibe of 50 Kalo the best, but there was something about the pizza at da Michele that reminded me of my childhood — a more emotional connection.

Daniel runs occasional pizza tours to Naples. You can read more on his website.  I highly recommend booking a spot. If you can’t make it to Naples, definitely buy a copy of Where to Eat Pizza!

You Might Enjoy My Other Posts

• My Naples Pizza Tour Part I
• Where (Else) to Eat in Naples

Book a Naples Tour

The post Eating Pizza in Naples with Daniel Young, Part Two first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

View of Vesuvius from the Grand Hotel Parker

I don’t know what I was expecting in Naples, but Naples wasn’t it. The city is vibrant and teeming with people. Everyone has a small dog, and day and night, you see families strolling the streets together, window shopping (or just plain ole shopping), eating, drinking, and having that all important coffee. There are hills in Naples — steep ones! And it’s a city on the sea! And looming in the distance, there’s a VOLCANO! But most importantly, there is pizza and lots and lots of it. Excellent, excellent pizza, created carefully and with love by pizzaiolos who are often not the first person in their generation to knead the dough and make the sauce. I sort of fell in love — with the pizza AND Naples. And uh, the handsome pizzaiolos.

How did I find myself in Naples? I knew that Daniel Young, the former food critic of the New York Daily News, runs an occasional pizza tour to Naples. I also vaguely knew that he had written a book about pizza called, simply, Where to Eat Pizza. (I know now that this book is the BIBLE of pizza and both Daniel and his book are revered in pizza circles everywhere.) During a brief respite from work, I saw that Daniel had a few spaces free on an upcoming tour and before you know it, I had booked a place and my flight and I was GOING. Done!

I met up with the Daniel and the rest of the group at the Grand Hotel Parker’s, a grande dame of a hotel, towering on a hill above Naples and with a lovely terrace overlooking the sea. The hotel is set to be renovated soon, but I hope they don’t change the marble floors in the public spaces or the crystal chandeliers in the hotel rooms because hotels like this don’t exist anymore.

Enzo Coccia, outside La Notizia, pretending to deliver pizza old school style

We taxied over to our first stop, La Notizia, run by the intensely intense Enzo Coccia, who talked us through the history of pizza and Naples, fed us what felt like 20 pizzas, and then put us to work kneading dough. Kneading dough is not easy, trust me. It requires a tremendous amount of upper body strength and forearm power. Let’s just say I quickly decided that I enjoy eating pizza more than making it myself, but it gave me a new appreciation for pizzaiolos everywhere.

Pizza at La Notizia, Naples

I liked the vibe at La Notizia. It felt like a neighborhood restaurant that would be happy to see you, whenever you walked through the door. This was confirmed by one of our taxi drivers, who explained that he often makes a special trip to La Notizia, just to eat the pizza.

Pizza at 50 Kalo in Naples

Later that evening, once we had digested a bit, we headed over to 50 Kalo, a pizza joint with a more modern interior design scheme — it was almost as if they were trying to say “This is not a pizza joint.” Even though it is. Here we tried the standard Naples pizza configurations and then a few more creative options. (50 Kalo probably served us the most creative options of our tour, but this may have been more about how they treated our group than the menus at any of the places.)

Ciro Salvo at 50 Kalo

The restaurant was empty when we entered at 7 pm but there was a queue out the door by the time we left — a queue of all generations, a testament to the popularity of pizza AND 50 Kalo. 50 Kalo’s owner and pizzaiolo, the movie star handsome Ciro Salvo is, well, movie star handsome and a third generation pizzaiolo. Let’s just say that he can make me pizza anytime.

I probably ate more pizza this day than I have in the past three year combined — always watching the carbs, my friends — but I didn’t feel that heavy fullness that I get from a New York pizza or (certainly) a Chicago pizza. Pizza in Naples is lighter and airier. The goal seems to be “How can we make this crust as thin as possible, but still hold all this cheese and sauce?” This is the type of goal that we all should have! I have since been applying this mentality to my personal and professional life…a la…”How can I make as much money as possible, but work as little as possible?” I’ll keep you posted on how that’s going.

I slipped into bed that evening completely sated and completely copacetic with Naples and pizza and life in general. There really is no better way to spend a day than by eating pizza ALL DAY. You should try it some time. It’s good for you.

Stay tuned for even more pizza on Day 2, along with some other tips on Naples restaurants and things to do and see.

Buy: Where to Eat Pizza by Daniel Young

Go: Daniel’s Pizza Tours of Naples

You Might Enjoy My Other Posts

• Where to Eat in Naples
• My Pizza Tour of Naples Part II

Book a Naples Tour

The post Eating Pizza in Naples with Daniel Young, Part One first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Location, location, location. Especially when I am travelling by myself, I like to be central. I also have been trying to be better and better about money these days and not spending an arm and a leg on hotels, even if they do offer slippers, fluffy pillows, and nice sheets. I’ve been trying to stick with a sub-$250 USD per night budget. #FirstWorldProblems, I know. But $250 a night doesn’t go very far in a lot of cities these days. In Venice, it got me Hotel dell’Opera, a centrally located sweet but slightly worn hotel, with no restaurant, no bar, and no communal areas. Although there was a tiny rooftop terrace with a honesty bar — 4 euros for prosecco — so that was nice.

The bed was firm, the pillows were thin, and I couldn’t figure out how to take a shower in the low-ceiling bathroom without sitting down or hitting my head while standing up. The wifi was the type that forces you to login each time you want to use it, which is my least favorite kind of wifi.

But the view from the front door of the hotel was pretty enchanting…right on a canal…and all day long, singing gondoliers and accordion-playing gondoliers would go floating by. I don’t care how touristy you may think that is…it’s pretty amazing. Also, there was a serviceable breakfast with friendly service (when you could find the gal) all included in the price. And,well, the hotel was about a 4 minute walk from Piazza San Marco, so there was that…

I think I mentioned in a previous post that next time I’m in Venice — because there will be a next time — I think I will stay on the mainland, where I’m sure my dollar will go further and where there will be fewer tourists and better, more local food. So until next time, Venice…

Book a Venice Tour

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Where to eat in Venice, Italy: The spaghetti vongole at San Giorgio by Arsenale

Where to Eat in Venice, Italy

I knew eating in Venice was going to be tough. There are only 55,000 residents left in Venice — experts predict there will be none left in another twenty years — and the island (grouping of islands?) gets 30 million visitors a year. So…everyone is catering to the tourism trade, many of which are cruise ship day trippers. And if what I observed is any indication, tourists just want to eat pizza and hamburgers and gelato. GAH. What is wrong with people?

I was fairly booked with tours and other plans while I was in Venice, so it wasn’t always possible to go out of my way to find good food. In many situations, I just selected the closest/best option to whatever it was that I needed to do next. Here’s where to eat in Venice, roughly in order of preference. I have not provided addresses because these are all Googleable and then you can read other people’s opinions too…

Ai Mercanti: After I checked into my hotel, I was in need of sustenance, and the little local place the hotel concierge sent me to was packed with mid-afternoon revelers. So I wandered around for a while google’ing “Where to eat in Venice” until I found Ai Mercanti. The place was empty — except for a German family eating hamburgers! — so I was a little nervous. But my server was so helpful and sweet and I loved that the menu wasn’t packed with five thousand different options. I had the typical Venetian starter — sarde in saor — which was a hysterically large portion. Four very plump — and very delicious — sardines. After this, I made room for tripe and octopus pasta, which was very, very good. (If only the plate had been hotter.) All in all, I liked my food here and I really liked the service. The dining room was a bit dark for an afternoon meal, but I can see it being very cozy in the evening. Also, I loved the location in a quiet courtyard. I considered going back here for a 2nd meal but never really had the time.

San Giorgio: On the day I was heading to Murano and Burano, I knew I had to be down at the waterfront for my water taxi. San Giorgio is right in front of the Aresnale vaporetto stop, so it worked out perfectly for a quick lunch. Despite the touristy location and menu, my garlicky spaghetti vongole hit the spot. Service was a little awkward — Q: “Where is the white wine from?” A: “It is white.” —  and the outdoor seat covers needed a good power washing, but the view was nice.

Quadri: Quadri is a one Michelin star restaurant on San Marco’s Square. As I told them when I left — sorry, it’s the New Yorker in me — they better do something about their service and staff if they expect to keep that Michelin star. I was ignored, ignored, and ignored further once my main — a luscious bowl of spaghetti with smoked razor clams — was delivered. Yes, yes I know this is Italy and I need to relax but it was still weird. Luckily, the decadent amberjack tartare with white truffle starter helped assuage my annoyance. (Which was further compounded when I passed the host stand on my departure, only to spy a plate of half-eaten food stashed there by a member of staff. Kids, this is not The Ponderosa!) The dining room at Quadri is over-the-top beautiful with red velvet wallpaper and glittering chandeliers, and the glassware is astoundingly gorgeous. I want to buy it all! And I would have (the sell their glassware)…had they not ignored me.

Bistro de Venise: I popped into Bistro de Venise in between tours and I didn’t have a booking. Don’t do this. Make a booking because this place is on all the “Where to eat in Venice” lists. I knew immediately that I would like Bistro de Venise. It has that clubby, wood-paneled old school thing going on that I am kinda a sucker for. An off-duty staff member in plain clothes — perhaps one of the co-owners because he looks just like Sergio in the first photo here — immediately saw me hovering at the entrance and ushered me into the bar to wait for my table, where I was promptly brought a bellini. After about 15 minutes, I had a table in the dining room, surrounded by mostly Americans. While I wished my seafood risotto was  hotter, my extremely capable server — the omniscient Walter — deserves his own Michelin star. This was a very good experience, except for the loo which is located right off the dining room and regales you with hand dryer noise every time someone exits.

La Caravella: Charming Italian waiters, kitschy old-school sailing decor…I kinda loved it here. (It reminds me of that seafood restaurant in the Drake Hotel in Chicago.) La Caravella specializes in spider crab, particularly, so after a small plate of sarde in saor (nowhere near as good as the ones at Ai Mercanti), I had some thin spaghetti with spider crab. It was nice. I wanted it to be nicer. But it was nice and my servers were nice and well, I just liked it here even though the food wasn’t all that. There is something to be said for a charming Italian waiter of a certain age in an old school waiter outfit, flirting with you incessantly.

Vino Vino: Don’t go here. It’s a tourist trap. I only went here out of desperation. It was late on a Friday night and I was tired and the recommended restaurants I had tried to get into were all full. I knew just by looking at the menu at Vino Vino — a mishmash of what every tourist imagines Italian food to be — that it was going to be terrible and it was. Service though was super nice to me and gave me a free glass of wine! They totally ignored the two tables next to me though. Have you ever realized that the tables next to you hate you? That’s how I felt at Vino Vino! Very odd. This is definitely not where to eat in Venice.

So while I had some nice food in Venice, I’m just not sure…next time I go, I might stay in Castello or in Maestre on the mainland, where the locals live. I bet prices will be cheaper and food will be better as well.

You Might Enjoy These Other Posts

• Walking Tours in Venice
• My Hotel Stay at Hotel dell’Opera in Venice

Venice Tours

The post Where to Eat in Venice first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Venice Walking Tours

Venice Walking Tours

You might know I’m a little obsessed with Viator. It’s like Uber for tours when traveling! Lots and lots of tours for most cities you can imagine, all in  one place. So when I booked my trip to Venice, the first place I turned for help with Venice walking tours was Viator. And really, all three tours I booked really delivered.

Venice Walking Tour & Grand Canal Cruise

This was a great little combo pack of tours and while I was a little nervous about the gap in between sections — three hours — it worked out just perfectly. See, first we did a two hour Venice walking tour, which started at 11 am and ended at 1 pm. As part of the tour, we skipped the queue at St. Mark’s, which was handy. We also got to visit during the short part of the afternoon when St. Mark’s is actually lit up, which was nice. Then, I was free until 4 pm to wander the city and uh, eat. At 4 pm, I met a subgroup of the original group for a one hour private water taxi tour of the Grand Canal, which was honestly my favorite part of the trip. This was a very well-executed tour which I very much recommend. Book this tour.

Cicchetti & Wine Tour

One of my all-time favorite Venice walking tours hands down! Our wonderful tour guide, Simona, took us to FIVE cicchetti bars in central Venice which I totally probably wouldn’t have gone to on my own. We had a little snack at each — some whipped bacalao at one, some ham and tomatoes at another, some fried sandwiches and olives at yet another — AND a glass of wine at each stop! I totally thought there were only four stops on this tour, so I was super sad when I thought the tour was over. BUT IT WASN’T OVER! Which was amazing. We made a fifth stop for more wine, more snacks, even more wine and then dessert. I highly, highly, highly recommend this Venice walking tour. Book this tour.

Beautiful Burano, Italy during one of my Venice walking tours

Murano & Burano Tour

This tour was an extremely good value, given the mode of transport and the length of the tour — five hours. We traveled by spacious private water taxi to both Murano and Burano and had time to explore each. In Murano, I admired many a set of Murano drinking glasses, but ultimately decided I didn’t have the space for anything in my suitcase. In Burano, I downed some gelato before snapping pics of all the colorful houses. I wish I actually had more time on Burano — even if just an hour more — because the place is so darn cute. The only bad part of this tour is that the ride back from Burano is about an hour. If only they had provided snacks and drinks! Book this tour.

This is the view across the canal from inside the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Peggy Guggenheim Museum

Not a Venice walking tour per se and not booked on Viator either, but on the last morning of my visit, I braved the traghetto — the larger gondolas that only go from one side of the canal to the other — all by myself and roamed the compact museum and gardens, imagining what it would be like to have a gazillion dollars and be a Guggenheim. I then hoofed it over to the Ponte Accademia and crossed back over to the main part of town. If you are into modern art like I am, this is the museum for you. (Also, check out Abstract Expressionism at the Royal Academy in London which is running through January 2nd, 2017.)

Check out my other post on where I ate and drank in Venice and my review of Hotel dell’Opera in Venice.

More Venice Walking Tours

The post The Best Venice Walking Tours first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Stock photo courtesy of Pixabay.

I’m heading to Venice, Italy this week!! I haven’t been since I was 19 years old. That’s a long long time. I’ve been wanting to go for ages, but I’ve also been wanting to avoid high tourist season. Traveling between September and November is my favorite thing to do anyhow, so it all works out. The crowds will be smaller and the light will be softer. I honestly can’t wait. I haven’t been this excited about a trip in ages.

I got a great deal on my BA flight and have booked myself into a decently priced hotel. (Hotel prices in Venice are truly outrageous.) I’ve started a Flipboard with lots of places to eat and shop. (I seriously love Flipboard.) And I’ve already booked some tours via Viator.  It’s a quick trip — just three nights to keep costs reasonable — but I honestly can’t wait. Please send me any of your tips and advice!

Venice Update!

I’ve been to Venice and back! Here are my tips!

• Eating in Venice
• Tours in Venice
• Hotel del’Opera in Venice

Venice Tours

The post I Need Tips for Venice first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

It was all so very Stealing Beauty. I kept waiting for them to play Nina Simone.

Do you see what I mean? This was the wedding dinner, where chandeliers hung from the trees and flowers were in abundance.

Borgo Casabianca was so severely beautiful, it was eye-watering. (The more I travel, the less I need. Although I still like free wifi, which Casabianca has!) That bed was pretty damn comfortable, and what you can’t see is all the EXTRA PILLOWS they provided. And the chocolates.

We went to Pienza one afternoon. It was like a postcard. (A UNESCO World Heritage Site too.)

I had this for lunch in Pienza. I have no idea where. It was a small place, with a triangular courtyard. This was amazing. So simple.

Later that afternoon, we went to Montepulciano and enjoyed a wine tasting at Contucci Cantine. I am an equal opportunity wine drinker, but I don’t think Montepulciano is my favorite. Also, there was too much talking and too little wine on this tour. (Sorry, American in me.) A very historical place though, if that’s your thing.

And then our friends Jen & Leigh got married, and it was beautiful. So amazingly beautiful. And then we packed our bags to leave, but not before heading to the Casabianca kitchens for this beautiful mess…

Pici, which is a thick hand-rolled spaghetti, with a meat sauce. So simple, so perfect, so good.

And one for the road. Ciao ciao.

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So who wouldn’t want to raise children in Italy? Italians, apparently. Here…read this about the hows and whys. Then, have fun playing with this graph here. Italians have roughly 9 births per 1000 inhabitants. In the US, we’re at 14. The UK is at 12.

My friend Matt and I drank a lot of Italian beer in our hotel room in Florence while we watched the England match. It was hot and Matt and I were happy just to chill out while Matt’s wife (and my friend) Lee traipsed around Florence with their six-month old twins. Lee’s energy is astounding. (The more I travel, the tireder I get and the less I want to see things. I can’t imagine how I would do this with children.) While in Florence, we stayed a the Il Guelfo Bianco, a neat and tidy tourist class hotel that I liked for its location and for its tilework. It wasn’t fancy by any stretch, but we liked that they had a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment with a large living area.

We did see one thing though. The Gucci Museum. I’m a fan in general, but let me tell you, this small and compact museum is ridiculously well done. The presentation, the staff, the lighting, the artwork, the TOILETS. I would definitely recommend a stop here.

The EXTREMELY helpful Eat Florence app ($2.99 in the Apple app store) steered us towards Cipolla Rossa one afternoon, and we were not disappointed. I ate a piece of tender veal as big as my head, covered in garlic cloves. (Not surprisingly, I wasn’t invited to hop onto the back of anyone’s Vespa afterwards.) The real stars at the table though were the pastas. If I could order all over again, I would go with the gnocchi which was in a spicy cheese sauce, or the pasta that was like a carbonara but wasn’t. Recommended. Close to The Duomo. Via de’ Conti, 53

Some of the best gelato we had (and we had a lot) was at Cantina del Gelato, which is across the Ponte de Vecchio down the street on the left. Don’t expect gimmicks and tricks here and if you’re a person who values the number of options over the quality of the product, Cantina del Gelato isn’t for you. This is artisanal and small. And pretty delicious. Via de Bardi, 31

Another guidebook favorite was Trattoria Zaza, and while I initially cringed at the look of the place (tourist hell), the service was super friendly and I could not lodge any complaints against my ravioli with truffles. Zaza works out if you’re in the area and can’t be bothered. But if you’re looking for something special, this is probably not the place for you. (They are so in tune with the tourist trade now that they have American students wandering around trying to sell you their cookbooks and ingredients.) Piazza Mercato Centrale. You really can’t miss it.

So, a whirlwind tour of Florence. After our lunch at Trattoria Zaza (and a stop for gelato of course), it was time to depart for Tuscany…

The post Quick Trip to Florence first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Hence every so often, I get to go to Milan for work. Where my awesome colleagues make sure I am very well fed and watered. How much do I love the fact that when we moved into our new office in Milan, my Italian colleagues made it a specific mission to eat in every restaurant nearby and REPORT BACK to management on the results of their search so they could collectively decide on their favorite places? Also, our Italian CEO won’t let anyone eat at their desks in the office. The team has to eat in the lunchroom OR go out to lunch together. Savoring the moment.

I don’t like to play favorites, but I will anyhow: my Italian colleagues are my favorite colleagues worldwide.

Unfortunately, our new office in Milan is in a bit of a wasteland. The Central Station wasteland. I wouldn’t really recommend this part of town. And truth be told, I wouldn’t really recommend that you make it a specific point to seek out any of these restaurants. They’re good. But I think there is far better to be had across Milan.

Frijenno Maganno, Via Benedetto Marcello, 93. Specializing in the food of Napoli. Busy little restaurant and cafe with a huge pizza oven. I had the fresh and light spaghetti vongole, and afterwards, my colleagues ordered up multiple orders of Fritto Misto. Heaven.

Pizzeria Gaffurio, Via Gaffurio. Very congenial family run place. At the front of the restaurant, next to do the counter, they have all the daily specials arranged. Pick what you’d like, and a few minutes later, they’ll bring it to you. I had the seafood spaghetti. (Predictable, aren’t I?) I liked it here because it was just so neighborhood-y and friendly. Some Google-ing after the fact turned up rave reviews for the pizza, necessitating a second visit.

Art Factory, Via Andrea Doria: One of my favorite things to do in Milan is head out for apertivos in the evening. Who doesn’t love free food with their drinks? Art Factory had a pretty extensive buffet (photos on their Web site here), although sadly not all of it was good. They also played very loud music. This annoyed me. But again, with free food, it was all okay. If I lived in Milan, I would do nothing but blog about apertivos.

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