Let's get straight to the important part. We ate 26 pizzas in 11 days. Yes, TWENTY-SIX WHOLE PIZZAS. We did not eat nearly enough pasta. And while we drank some wine, we learned beer is the more popular choice. So we drank lots of it. We returned to Morocco knowing what some of the best pizza in the world tastes like, and with clothes that no longer fit.
We had always wanted to travel to Italy. An unfortunate carb-lover, K wished she was Italian for years. She loves everything about Italy - the food, the culture, the language, the landscape. We are self-proclaimed Pizza Snobs and own several Giada DeLaurentiis cookbooks (and spent many hours watching her cooking show). K studied Italian in college, and J's brother and sister-in-law were engaged during a trip to Venice in 2010. We knew that part of our Olmsted Experience would include a trip to Italy. And it would include three very important things: pizza, pasta, and wine.
After LOTS of consulting and internet research, we decided to focus our trip on three areas - Rome, Sicily, and Naples. This would allow us to experience the highest concentration of pizza in, arguably, the best (and the first) places to discover such a wondrous creation could come out of a fiery hole in a wall. To add to the spirit of the visit, we set up our travels to take place just after Christmas and into the New Year. We had grand plans of watching fireworks atop the Piazza del Popolo in Rome to ring in the New Year...but we hate the cold, it was really f*$%ing freezing, and we were in a constant food coma, so we went to bed at 10:00pm. Next year.
We spent four days walking around as much of Rome as possible. We took a few guided tours of the city and saw all of the major historical attractions. We shopped a lot and ran very little. Mostly, we bounced from restaurant to restaurant trying to strategically select our food and pace ourselves (which we did not succeed at) throughout the day. The highlight of our time in Rome was definitely the pasta-making class we took through Walks of Italy. A really fun experience where we learned so much! Our hosts/chefs were super friendly and knowledgeable and the atmosphere was like being at the dinner table with family. We made ravioli and fettuccine while snacking on charcuterie and prosecco (lots of prosecco), then enjoyed our meals alongside some delicious red wine and pleasant conversation with the other guests.
Summary of Rome: sightseeing, pasta, pizza, beer, coffee, sightseeting, gelato, sightseeing, pizza, pasta, wine, running, pizza, beer, beer, gelato, walking, pizza, wine...we might have missed a few things, but that pretty much covers it.
Next stop - Sicily! With three days in Sicily, we decided to focus our stay in the city of Catania and we were happy we did! We stayed at a cool, living art gallery/boutique hotel within walking distance of town. Much smaller than Rome, we enjoyed Catania because it was quiet, but came alive in the evenings. We had a free day in Catania, so we booked a tour of Mount Etna (an active volcano, also known for it's fantastic winery scene) which included a winery tour. There were only three of us on the tour and the other traveler was a solo American, living in Portugal, on holiday in Italy. After spending the day together, we became fast friends AND discovered that we would all be in Dubai at the same time in a few weeks. We exchanged information (spoiler: and we did meet up in Dubai!) and continue to stay in touch with our friend.
Summary of Sicily: walking, pizza, beer, sightseeing, wine, wine, gelato, pizza, beer, beer, pasta, wine, beer, just a tiny bit of running...
The final leg of our trip was four days in the birthplace of pizza, Naples. Naples is not known for being a beautiful city, nor much of a spot for tourism...except for pizza. In fact, it was pretty gray and underwhelming, but we came for the pizza. And boy did we get it. Naples is also where we took a pizza making class with Eat in Italy Food Tours, which we would highly recommend. I doubt we will ever be able to recreate the masterpieces we made that evening; however, we do know how to make an authentic Neapolitan pizza (and it was delicious)!
Because Naples is famous for its pizza, we did spend quite a bit of time waiting in line to access some of the most well-know establishments. But, these places are well-oiled machines, and they know how to move people in/out and spit out pizzas faster than you can sing your ABCs. Pretty incredible. But, makes sense - a REAL pizza only needs 3 minutes to cook, and voila! Naples is also where we would try the infamous Fried Pizza. It was amazing and probably pretty unhealthy...but totally worth it. But the traditional pizza still wins in our book.
Summary of Naples: basically just pizza and beer...all day, every day. Oh, and we went to Pompeii. That was cool. But it was f*&%ing freezing and painfully windy and we basically cried the entire time we walked around the site. Suffice it to say we don't have many pictures of Pompeii. Only memories :)
At the end of the day, this trip was unforgettable. In fact, the extra pounds we put on are still reminding us of the consequences of our actions. If the coronavirus quarantine has been good for anything, it's that we spend an awful lot of time working out now. Fully expecting to be "beach ready" by the end of it...Inchallah.
Final thoughts on Italy
Best Roman-style Pizza (thin and crispy): Emma (the Margherita Red Cow was our favorite)
Best Neapolitan-style Pizza (fresh and chewy): L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele (Margherita is the only pizza offered - they know what works!)
One last fun fact about pizza: The pizzas in Italy are typically circular and in Naples they are quite large. However, Italians usually eat an entire pizza by themselves (along with beer). You see, the pizzas are relatively thin and the crust is made from a very high quality flour, and all the ingredients are extremely fresh. And if done correctly, it is actually EASY to eat the entire pizza AND feel good about it afterwards. The sign of a good pizza is "if you eat the crust and you are NOT thirsty, then it's a good pizza." So there ya go folks...if you NEED the beer to wash the pizza down, it's NOT good pizza! You should only want the beer to complement the flavors and the lightness of the meal. You're welcome!