Saturday, July 10, 2010
SPOTTED....
Dry your eyes upper East-siders. Chuck Bass lives on... he's serenading foreigners in Sorrento as we speak.
POSITANO & discovering Sorrento!
Day 2 off on our own adventures, Kim and I wandered our new hometown of Sorrento. We went out in search of beach towels (since the hotel wouldn’t let their towels leave the hotel), laundry mat, and Internet. Apparently the Internet at the Internet point was not working, so instead we HAD to have a mimosa to use my computer at Banana Split Café. (Alcohol is served wherever bars/cafés are open at any time of the day.)
We took a bus to Positano to check out the beach and enjoy shopping and sunshine. We did just that. Besides a nauseating bus ride, everything was beautiful. There were shops and restaurant on the beachfront as well as all the walking-only streets uphill through the town.
Upon arrival, Kim sprinted off the bus to find a bathroom and just so happen to find this sweet 4-star hotel (Hotel Marincanto).
We chitchatted with a pessimistic Chicagoan who was hating on the Blue Grotto, and would not stop talking to us so we could get to the beach! We walked down 224 stairs to the beach from this hotel, across a board walk (literally a walk made of boards),
and parked our 2.50 euro beach mats right next to the pier (where yachts momentarily docked to allow passengers onto shore). We agreed this would be the prime location to get ourselves on a yacht.
Though we failed, the day was beautiful, and we still had plenty else to do, like SHOP! Kim and I thought we were close enough to the beach to wear our suits throughout all these streets, and nobody complained. There was a little limoncello shop up one of the streets where we tasted different flavors and sampled amazing chocolates. (White chocolate with chili was the best! Spicy & yummy!)
On our way back to the bus, we again hiked UP the 224 stairs (I confirmed this by counting), to the top of the hotel and to the bus stop. We couldn’t help ourselves but enjoy the amazing pool. The pool was an infinity pool.(?) (where there is no edge, and it peers out over a cliff onto a body of water.)
We crammed ourselves onto the bus for the hour trip home (STANDING—which actually turned out better with the nausea)
It wasn’t until we got off the bus at Piazzo Tasso that we uncovered the great little town of Sorrento. We stopped by an information tent where the girl working was more enthusiastic about this town than I was in the candy shop with barrels of candy (pictured earlier.) This lead us to roam through the small streets where we finally found all the limoncello shops that gave away free samples. (A few free samples would get you very tipsy, though we surprisingly opted not to drink them.)
We had dinner in the main Piazza at Ristorante Don Vinceneo. Kim and I split a mixed seafood plate (my favorite was Grilled Swordfish!) and veggies, salad, and our favorite wine, Filinghina. (We then discovered that depending on the bottle, it can taste very different, though it was still tasty.) We couldn’t decide if the waiter was very rude, or he just didn’t translate/understand English very well. During dinner, Espana beat the Netherlands (which they call something totally different than the Netherlands..something with an “O”). No one in Italy was overly interested in the game, but everyone was most definitely watching it. Its amazing how much Europeans really love their futbol. After dinner, we stopped into a cute wine bar to people watch along the street (one of Europeans favorite pastimes), and then followed our hearts to the American music. Bar Insolota. They did not have cranberry juice or limes… so I was stuck drinking water & lemons. Oddly, they had three computers and couches placed right in front of the dance floor where people were Facebooking, so Kim and I joined in the action. Then we left facebook to dance with all the college kids and Italians in jorts. Made some new friends who were pouring us glasses of champagne and then was a approached by a really short aussie in jorts. He proceeded to tell me that Americans were crazy because he once had an American girlfriend. Really weird. It was time to go.
In our stupor home, we rationalized that we needed gelato. (It is the drunk food of choice in Europe instead of pizza.) One place said there was a 10 minute wait for ice cream, and then Kim spotted another place. This place clearly took advantage of us because they gave us 5 euro worth of gelato. GROSS! (Note: That was after Kim had 5 samples of Gelato already.)
Random Observations:
We took a bus to Positano to check out the beach and enjoy shopping and sunshine. We did just that. Besides a nauseating bus ride, everything was beautiful. There were shops and restaurant on the beachfront as well as all the walking-only streets uphill through the town.
Upon arrival, Kim sprinted off the bus to find a bathroom and just so happen to find this sweet 4-star hotel (Hotel Marincanto).
We chitchatted with a pessimistic Chicagoan who was hating on the Blue Grotto, and would not stop talking to us so we could get to the beach! We walked down 224 stairs to the beach from this hotel, across a board walk (literally a walk made of boards),
and parked our 2.50 euro beach mats right next to the pier (where yachts momentarily docked to allow passengers onto shore). We agreed this would be the prime location to get ourselves on a yacht. 
Though we failed, the day was beautiful, and we still had plenty else to do, like SHOP! Kim and I thought we were close enough to the beach to wear our suits throughout all these streets, and nobody complained. There was a little limoncello shop up one of the streets where we tasted different flavors and sampled amazing chocolates. (White chocolate with chili was the best! Spicy & yummy!) 
On our way back to the bus, we again hiked UP the 224 stairs (I confirmed this by counting), to the top of the hotel and to the bus stop. We couldn’t help ourselves but enjoy the amazing pool. The pool was an infinity pool.(?) (where there is no edge, and it peers out over a cliff onto a body of water.)
We crammed ourselves onto the bus for the hour trip home (STANDING—which actually turned out better with the nausea)
It wasn’t until we got off the bus at Piazzo Tasso that we uncovered the great little town of Sorrento. We stopped by an information tent where the girl working was more enthusiastic about this town than I was in the candy shop with barrels of candy (pictured earlier.) This lead us to roam through the small streets where we finally found all the limoncello shops that gave away free samples. (A few free samples would get you very tipsy, though we surprisingly opted not to drink them.)
We had dinner in the main Piazza at Ristorante Don Vinceneo. Kim and I split a mixed seafood plate (my favorite was Grilled Swordfish!) and veggies, salad, and our favorite wine, Filinghina. (We then discovered that depending on the bottle, it can taste very different, though it was still tasty.) We couldn’t decide if the waiter was very rude, or he just didn’t translate/understand English very well. During dinner, Espana beat the Netherlands (which they call something totally different than the Netherlands..something with an “O”). No one in Italy was overly interested in the game, but everyone was most definitely watching it. Its amazing how much Europeans really love their futbol. After dinner, we stopped into a cute wine bar to people watch along the street (one of Europeans favorite pastimes), and then followed our hearts to the American music. Bar Insolota. They did not have cranberry juice or limes… so I was stuck drinking water & lemons. Oddly, they had three computers and couches placed right in front of the dance floor where people were Facebooking, so Kim and I joined in the action. Then we left facebook to dance with all the college kids and Italians in jorts. Made some new friends who were pouring us glasses of champagne and then was a approached by a really short aussie in jorts. He proceeded to tell me that Americans were crazy because he once had an American girlfriend. Really weird. It was time to go.
In our stupor home, we rationalized that we needed gelato. (It is the drunk food of choice in Europe instead of pizza.) One place said there was a 10 minute wait for ice cream, and then Kim spotted another place. This place clearly took advantage of us because they gave us 5 euro worth of gelato. GROSS! (Note: That was after Kim had 5 samples of Gelato already.)
Random Observations:
- There are a lot of jorts (jorts = jean shorts) happening here.
- You can tell that Kim and I are American—not because of my blonde hair, but because we are always carrying around a bottle of water.
- The Italians are really adament about their recycling—they never have one garbage can alone… always 3 to separate everything.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Adventures of Kim & Kelly begin
Kim and I did not schedule a 7am flight to Naples, but Vueling Airlines decided to change our flight. The buses don’t run that early so we took a 35euro cab to the airport. As I mentioned, both of us were running on about 2 hours of sleep, so we were pretty delirious for our travels. We made it through the airport with no problems and found our bus in Naples to take us to the train station. The train station was a little more difficult than the airport. We were looking for the luggage check, which we found after going up/ down/ in/ out for a bit. Then trying to find our train to get to a main street in Naples. Note: If you are stuck in the train station do not ask the information lady behind the desk. She is behind a glass, and does not talk to you through the microphone…so that was useless. After more and more and more roaming (I think we spent an hour trying to find the right train), we jumped on the subway for one stop (FREE RIDE!) to the main street where the adventures of two delirious people continued.
Thanks to Rick Steves we had a nice self-guided tour down Via Pessina where we did a bit of shopping, found the cutest little coffee shop, Caffe Mexico. This place is so cute and local.
These towns (Naples, Sorrento, Positano) are filled with more natives than tourists! There were old men sitting outside playing cards around a table, Italian fights (aka LOUD TALKING) happening on the streets, food stands (Arrincini!! Which I haven’t had yet, but will!! And super disgusting-looking split hot dog sandwiches?), and market stands up and down the streets. So fun and different. We even found a bottle of delicious table wine for 1 euro.
We tried to take the brief, brisk walking hour tour (According to Rick Steves), but ended up at the Castle in Naples/ Port anyway (again the no street signs make walking very confusing). We eventually made our way back towards the train station, and stopped in the cutest little restaurant that served vegetables like a little salad bar (except the veggies were coated in olive oil and salt and deliciousness).
Everybody is very friendly and all the Italianos love Kim and I regardless of how gross we look. But being hollered at on the street when they say “Bella” is just so much nicer than back in the states.
Thanks to Rick Steves we had a nice self-guided tour down Via Pessina where we did a bit of shopping, found the cutest little coffee shop, Caffe Mexico. This place is so cute and local.
These towns (Naples, Sorrento, Positano) are filled with more natives than tourists! There were old men sitting outside playing cards around a table, Italian fights (aka LOUD TALKING) happening on the streets, food stands (Arrincini!! Which I haven’t had yet, but will!! And super disgusting-looking split hot dog sandwiches?), and market stands up and down the streets. So fun and different. We even found a bottle of delicious table wine for 1 euro. We tried to take the brief, brisk walking hour tour (According to Rick Steves), but ended up at the Castle in Naples/ Port anyway (again the no street signs make walking very confusing). We eventually made our way back towards the train station, and stopped in the cutest little restaurant that served vegetables like a little salad bar (except the veggies were coated in olive oil and salt and deliciousness).
Everybody is very friendly and all the Italianos love Kim and I regardless of how gross we look. But being hollered at on the street when they say “Bella” is just so much nicer than back in the states.
We finished exploring Naples, and were ready for round two of the train station. After making it through the gates for our train, we found out that the train ride was an hour long and there were no bathrooms on board. One train worker told me I could re-enter with my train ticket so I could exit the boarding zone to pee. Trains ETA: 5 minutes. Location of the bathroom: Opposite side of the station. I sprinted to the other side of the train station. Right in front of the bathroom were about 7 policias and a crowd of people. A man thrown to the ground in handcuffs and a girl crying… I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but I assume it was a pickpocket attempt of some variation. It seemed like the situation was under control so I zipped through, paid my 1 Euro to pee (ridiculous!!!) And sprinted back in time to catch the next train out.
A one hour train ride, you are thinking Chicago Metra….. no. I mean we have been on some really nice trains in France and Spain. Nicer than Chicago trains and Els. But this was just … ugh. Very hot and very gross. There were windows for a breeze, but no A/C,
and
When we made it to Sorrento we hiked down a lot of stairs and more stairs and down rocky/ stone roads. (Therefore, we struggled immensely with our luggage =) ) Found Hotel Meridiana and SHOWERED!! Then we checked out our surroundings and found the local super market to stock up on water, snacks, and of course CANDY! We discovered these green seeds that we loved because they were extra salty.
(our own in room mini bar)
After a long journey we searched the nameless streets for David’s Gelateria because everyone eat gelato everyday (or just us).
Still on Barcelona schedule, we ventured out to find food at 10pm. Of course we were side tracked by all the shops and searching for limoncello shops on Corsco Italia (the main street). Then Kim and I strolled along to where was supposedly Marina Grande. The directions were not very clear from anyone (very typical Italian directions) and we ended up wandering down a random windy road with some people from New York (who were.. interesting to say the least. The guy was drunk and super chatty, and his girlfriend didn’t speak. We think their story was that they broke up somewhere along the trip or realized they don’t really like each other but they are stuck on this trip together so he get super drunk, and she hated him.)
Anyway, we finally arrived at Marina Grande which was beautiful (obviously) and a handful of cute restaurants lined the shore. We looked at a few menus and choose one of our hotel concierge favorites’, Tazzera Arruzza. Our waiter loved us and brought us some free bread and brushetta. We had tasty bottle of white wine that we LOVED!!! Filighina! And great food. (Grilled Vegetables, Grilled Squid, and an Omlette). It was a very romantic date. 
We then took a bus back up to the main street (thank god!) The bus driver was so nice, he waited just for us since it was the last bus and didn’t charge us for the ride. Our waiter, Genoa, recommended a piano bar near Piazzo Tasso, near our hotel. We stopped in to the cute club, with it’s super cute Italian waiter (with a nose ring) and had some over sized glasses of limoncello. 
We called it a night, headed home to our room (where are room light was flashing blue and our hotel concierge, “Francesco”—real name, still can’t remember but its not even close to Francesco).
Observations:
- Clubs are not clubs like Chicago, they are very nice and calm, Bars are more like Cafes, and Discotecas are actuallyclubs.
- You can look really gross and Italians still love you.
- Kim and I are double lucky people on this trip. Knock on wood. Things just continue to work out very perfectly.
- Shirts translated from Italian to English are very funny. (They have typos and say ridiculous things i.e “Let’s make out.”.)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
4th of July Festivities from Barca
(Pictures will be added later... the internet connection here is way to slow! Better luck in Rome on the 10th!)
Okay, where to begin with our whirlwind of a trip in Barcelona. Kim and I are currently sitting on a skuzzy train w.no A/C for an hour trip from Naples to Sorrento. (More on that later).
Kim & I were ready to shop, and of course (luck of the blonde) we happened to be in Barcelona for the Rebajas Weekend. For one weekend only, every store has a sale. Prior to the stores we traveled to La Starbucks, which was quite another experience (for Kim at least since I never drink coffee.) 
After having very little success, and being very tired from our short night of sleep, we lounged by the pool, I siesta –ed in the room. And we were ready for our bus tour.
First stop: the Segrada Familia. HOLY HUGE, MASSIVE, BEAUTIFUL, DETAILED, unfinished, Church. So amazing.
Next stop: Park Guell. (insert same comments noted above here). We drank Sangria in Park Guell before Kim & I were cut off for the lack of sleep/ Sangria combination.
Now it was game time.. Espana vs Paraguay. Unforanately, we were in no real rush to catch the start of the game. So after wandering for a bit I decided we just need to eat anywhere, and end up at CJ’s sports bar. I can’t even explain this diner/sports bar, but whatever, the game was on… & Espana won! Suprisingly, the city was not going crazy celebrating or anything. I was mildly disappointed, but apparently they were expecting to win.
After dinner, we headed to Port Olympica (by the beach) via train for our big night out of drinks & dancing on a Saturday night.. The L trains & stations are SOOOO hot! Thank God for the count down for each train or we wouldn’t have survived down there. As we walked down towards the waterfront, we were showered with club promoters tryingto get us to pick their bar. We were debating between Catwalk and Shoko, but since we didn’t get out til 1am -ish we chose Shoko to skip the $15 cover. The interesting thing at the bar is, you really mix your own cocktails. They don’t have fountain drinks or tap water at the bars so when I order my vodka, agua, three limas (which was very confusing for the Spainards), I literally got vodka, limes, and ice in a glass, and a bottle of water.
Interesting enough, the cab ride back to our hotel was only 8 euro. This was especially exciting for Kim & I because our wake up call was pushed back to 8:15 when we realized we could cab it to the port for our early boat ride for the 4th of July!!!!
Our 4th of July couldn’t have been more perfect considering it was overseas.
815, Kim & I start the Sangria making process by wandering around looking for knife (cuchera) and performing fruit surgery in the bathroom, the sangria was prepared. We hoped on board our private sailboat with our personal skipper, Frances (or Francesca as Kim liked to call him). Our “overcasty, only chance of rain day” turned out to be beautiful and hot after all (its like clouds and gloomy days don’t exist here… or night time for that matter either.You seriously never know what time it is because the sun shines from 8am to 10pm. 
We went for a dip in the Mediterranean and Frances took us to the most clean water. You could see your entire body in the water (I only jumped in for a minute so I could see everyone else’s entire bodies underwater.) Very cool.
We picnicked in the cabin of the sailboat with a very Italian lunch, Salami, prosciutto, olives, cheese, more cheese, crackers, etc. 
The boat ride was a perfect start to our 4th of July. We then headed home for a traditional Spanish siesta. Did some more shopping for a bit, had a double date on our balcondies, and then headed to our “fireworks” at the Magic Fountain. Pictures cannot do this jusitice, or this video, but it was incredible. Why is this not happening with Buckingham Fountain, Chicago?! 
We wandered through “Gothic” town. Our choice of restaurant was closing in 30 minutes, so they recommended a restaurant open and serving food until 3am. That should have been our first tip that this was not a super classy food joint. Instead.. we got you would get at 3am in Chicago… Denny’s. =) Okay the food wasn’t terrible, I was just sick so I am over exaggerating and Jim and Giorgio ordered so much fried grossness it just added to the Denny’s feeling. Kim’s super large order of Spinach made our table overflow and the waiter actually had to add a table to ours so we had enough room. Let’s just say none of us were thinking right, and we hadn’t had anything to drink even. We were just that tired/exhausted. Note: Do not accept bread when someone offers, because it is not free like when you order it in the States, and they charge you per person eating the bread. Which is really dumb, considering I cant even eat it.
Then it was back to the hotel room where Kim and I got MAYBE 2 ½ hours of sleep before our 4:30a wake up call for our flight to Naples.
Adventures of Kim and Kelly in Naples & the Almafi Coast will be coming to you soon!
Ciao loves,
Xo Kel
Random Observations:
- It continues to get hot every place that we go to… 95 degrees here in Sorrento.
- Street signs do not exist in Europe, and everything is “just around the corner/ this way/ straight ahead/ 10 minutos” according to locals.
- There is no INTERNET in Sorrento, Italy!!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th
Hey Guys,
Much to write about because it has been crazy crazy jam packed and busy. There's lots of sunlight here but still not enough time in a day. I'm going out to enjoy my last evening and night out in Barcelona and I'm sure you are all busy prepping for BBQ's! Have a great 4th, Be SAFE!! Enjoy fireworks where you can see them...
and Hahn family,, please do better work on the Roselle 5-0. Last year was a let down. =)
XO Kel
Much to write about because it has been crazy crazy jam packed and busy. There's lots of sunlight here but still not enough time in a day. I'm going out to enjoy my last evening and night out in Barcelona and I'm sure you are all busy prepping for BBQ's! Have a great 4th, Be SAFE!! Enjoy fireworks where you can see them...
and Hahn family,, please do better work on the Roselle 5-0. Last year was a let down. =)
XO Kel
Friday, July 2, 2010
Barcelona: The beginning
Kim and Jim finally made it to Barcelona around one and what else do you do when its 90 some odd degrees? Go to the beach. On our way to Port Olympiad we found the Market which is just insane!! The beginning of the market has more fruit than I could consume in.. well, a month. And then as you head deeper into the market there is lots and lots of fish (which smelled terrible), CANDY.. And last, but not least, there is of course bars at the market. A very cool place to be. We are definitely going to make a stop here before the boat Sunday!
At Port Olympiad we met some of the people Jimmy went to school with, shared some pitchers or Margaritas. The beach sort of felt a bit like home (a fun beach with a big city behind it, minus the skyline.) The water is freezing just like Lake Michigan too! The difference, there is no $150 ticket for drinking on the beach. In fact, people are walking around trying to sell you cerveza and their soul (i.e. Henna tatoos, massages, water... anything you want 5 euro) These people are relentless and even after you say no gracias, they find you again as if they didn't just ask you 5 minutes ago.
(the masseuses trying to sell there stuff on Jim's friend...)
We took a later than normal siesta (and by we I mean everyone except me). And headed to dinner near La Rambla at 10:30pm and finished our tapas at 12:30a. Just in-time for the nightlife to start. We didn't have a plan so just really went to bars where they loured us into with free shots. We decided to call it quits by 3am so we were semi-rested for a big Saturday!! (The last bar gave us to go cups for our drinks... why doesn't Chicago adopt that idea??)
Observations:
-EVERYBODY warns you about pick-pocketers
-The sun is always up here
-Shopping this morning with Kim is going to be awesome!!
-We can't figure out which cities to tip in and which ones you don't. Jim says
you tip in Barcelona!
- There is NOT pizza & gelato on every corner here, damn!
-It is very hot here! (Thank God for air conditioning making its way to Europe)
VIEW FROM OUR HOTEL:
XO Kel
& Happy 4th if I am too tired to post anything tomorrow morning =)
At Port Olympiad we met some of the people Jimmy went to school with, shared some pitchers or Margaritas. The beach sort of felt a bit like home (a fun beach with a big city behind it, minus the skyline.) The water is freezing just like Lake Michigan too! The difference, there is no $150 ticket for drinking on the beach. In fact, people are walking around trying to sell you cerveza and their soul (i.e. Henna tatoos, massages, water... anything you want 5 euro) These people are relentless and even after you say no gracias, they find you again as if they didn't just ask you 5 minutes ago.
(the masseuses trying to sell there stuff on Jim's friend...)
We took a later than normal siesta (and by we I mean everyone except me). And headed to dinner near La Rambla at 10:30pm and finished our tapas at 12:30a. Just in-time for the nightlife to start. We didn't have a plan so just really went to bars where they loured us into with free shots. We decided to call it quits by 3am so we were semi-rested for a big Saturday!! (The last bar gave us to go cups for our drinks... why doesn't Chicago adopt that idea??)
Observations:
-EVERYBODY warns you about pick-pocketers
-The sun is always up here
-Shopping this morning with Kim is going to be awesome!!
-We can't figure out which cities to tip in and which ones you don't. Jim says
you tip in Barcelona!
- There is NOT pizza & gelato on every corner here, damn!
-It is very hot here! (Thank God for air conditioning making its way to Europe)
VIEW FROM OUR HOTEL:
XO Kel
& Happy 4th if I am too tired to post anything tomorrow morning =)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Bienvenidos a Barcelona
So the worst flight route ever.... Nice-- north to Dusseldorf, Germany, back south passing over Nice to Palma, then finally over to Barcelona. There is no reason that flight/trip needed to take 7+ hours. Anyway, we are here safely. Barcelona is awesome because you know how I <3 my city life. And its very very city plus a lot of history.
We walked in circles to find Nico's bar, SiFo & finally found it after some tapas , sangria & amstel (Giorgio of course) at La Fraudas or something in la Ravals. And now we anxiously await Jim & Kim's arrival.
Btw... our hotel is super sweet!! Love you all XOXO
Kel
We walked in circles to find Nico's bar, SiFo & finally found it after some tapas , sangria & amstel (Giorgio of course) at La Fraudas or something in la Ravals. And now we anxiously await Jim & Kim's arrival.
Btw... our hotel is super sweet!! Love you all XOXO
Kel
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