{"id":97203720,"date":"2019-02-28T20:36:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T20:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/?p=97203720"},"modified":"2021-09-14T14:03:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T14:03:57","slug":"a-guide-to-experience-the-real-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/a-guide-to-experience-the-real-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"My Trip That Uncovered The Real Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I plan my travels,\u00a0<\/span>I typically try to follow\u00a0<\/span>one simple rule: g<\/span>o somewhere new.\u00a0<\/span>Why should I revisit\u00a0<\/span>a destination<\/span>\u00a0when there is still so much out\u00a0<\/span>in the world<\/span> to see? <\/span>Since I had been\u00a0<\/span>to Italy just the year before<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>my cousin called me last fall looking for travel tips for<\/span>\u00a0her trip to Florence<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0I dove right in giving her my thoughts on flights to take, places to stay, and restaurants to eat at. Before I even realized it, I had\u00a0<\/span>broken my number<\/span>\u00a0one<\/span>\u00a0rule …\u00a0<\/span>and had my<\/span> own flight deals<\/a> booked<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During this\u00a0<\/span>trip, it occurred to me that re<\/span>visiting Italy again and again is just inevitable (v<\/span>isiting\u00a0<\/span>once is l<\/span>ike eating just one slice of <\/span>pizza — it’s impossible!). The entire country is full of places\u00a0<\/span>that excite your eyes, you<\/span>r<\/span>\u00a0mind, your soul, and of course, your taste buds.\u00a0<\/span>And, o<\/span>nce you\u2019ve experience<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0a slice of Italy,\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>impossible<\/span>\u00a0not to want to\u00a0<\/span>finish the rest of the pie!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

96 Hours in Rome<\/h2>\n

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If you love art or ancient history, you will surely\u00a0<\/span>adore<\/span>\u00a0all\u00a0<\/span>that this\u00a0<\/span>extraordinary<\/span>\u00a0city<\/span>\u00a0has to offer<\/span>. For me, someone who\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0been credited with the quote \u201cO<\/span>nce you\u2019ve seen one\u00a0<\/span>Madonna and Child<\/span><\/i>, you\u2019ve seen \u2018<\/span>em<\/span>\u00a0all,\u201d Rome was a little underwhelming<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>It was four days of pounding pavement to see paintings, statues, and ruins<\/span>\u00a0on repeat<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Don\u2019t get me wrong, it was beautiful and\u00a0<\/span>I hardly regret the time I spent there<\/span>, but\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s not at the top of my list for a return visit. The\u00a0<\/span>most disappointing part<\/span>\u00a0of Rome<\/span>\u00a0was that even when I tried to speak my newly learned Italian, I would just get English responses in return.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>And to top it off, we<\/span>\u00a0were\u00a0<\/span>constantly harassed by men selling selfie sticks, phone chargers, or guided tours of whichever lan<\/span>dmark we<\/span>\u00a0were near.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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While in Rome we\u00a0<\/span>saw\u00a0<\/span>it all \u2014 the Colosseum, t<\/span>he Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Vatican City, Hadrian\u2019s Villa, the\u00a0<\/span>Trevi<\/span>\u00a0Fountain, the Spanish Steps,\u00a0<\/span>Piazza del\u00a0<\/span>Popolo<\/span>, Piazza\u00a0<\/span>Navona<\/span>, the Pantheon,\u00a0<\/span>Galleria<\/span>\u00a0Borghese, and my personal favorite, the\u00a0<\/span>ornate\u00a0<\/span>Alter to the Fatherland.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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PRO TIP:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Buy sightseeing tickets before you leave —\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Make\u00a0<\/span>reservations for\u00a0<\/span>The Vatican Museums<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(this includes the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Basilica<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span>Galleria Borghese<\/span>\u00a0ahead of time. I booked my time slots a\u00a0<\/span>few<\/span>\u00a0weeks before we left and the times available were<\/span>\u00a0already<\/span>\u00a0pretty limited.\u00a0<\/span>If you choose not to book in advance,<\/span>\u00a0you can expect to wait in\u00a0<\/span>very\u00a0<\/span>long lines, or be turned away altogether. Also, buy your tickets to the\u00a0<\/span>Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum<\/span>\u00a0(all one ticket) before you depart. You don\u2019t need to pre-select a visiting time for these, but having the ticket purchased and printed will allow you to skip\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>line to purchase tickets onsite.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/span>Despite my blatant dissatisfaction with the lack of traditional Italian culture in Rome, I<\/span>\u00a0can\u2019t say anything negative about the food<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>I highly recommend making dinner reservation<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0at\u00a0<\/span>Roscioli\u2019s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and La\u00a0<\/span>Tavernaccia<\/span>\u00a0da Bruno.\u00a0<\/span>Researching places to eat before we left allowed us to not only visit some<\/span>\u00a0highly<\/span> rated restaurants in Rome but also neighborhoods we might not have otherwise known about. Just like with any city, if you can walk right into a restaurant, it\u2019s probably not worth eating at. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PRO TIP: Use the public transit buses —\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Coming from New York, I expected there to be a highly functioning Uber network\u00a0<\/span>or at least\u00a0<\/span>some\u00a0<\/span>taxi cabs.\u00a0<\/span>We were<\/span>\u00a0also<\/span>\u00a0told that Rome was a \u201cwalkable\u201d city but we quickly learned\u00a0<\/span>none of these were\u00a0<\/span>viable\u00a0<\/span>options<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>We\u00a0<\/span>made the decision to try out<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0public<\/span>\u00a0buses early on in our trip and it became our p<\/span>rimary\u00a0<\/span>method<\/span>\u00a0of getting around. It was very efficient<\/span>, cost-effective,<\/span>\u00a0and with the help of Google Maps<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0it was easy to figure out which bus we needed to take.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On to Matera<\/h2>\n

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At the end of our four days, I was excited to hit the road and find where all of the real<\/em> Italians were hiding! When we rented our\u00a0<\/span>car,<\/span>\u00a0the agent<\/span>\u00a0made a comment about how large our car was<\/span>, so I chuckled a bit when I saw our standard-sized station wagon. I soon learned what he meant when I had to strategically squeeze through some\u00a0<\/span>tight<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>roads<\/span>\u00a0while driving.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our first pit stop was at\u00a0Herculaneum<\/a>, a small town in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Despite the town being lost under lava and ash after the great eruption in 79 AD, much of it has been excavated and there is a surprising amount of preserved structures. It was surreal to see the walls still covered with paintings and the decorative mosaics that adorned the floors still intact. There were even full skeletons out for display which was interesting but also a little odd\/creepy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Herculaneum\u00a0<\/span>is the<\/span>\u00a0perfect alternative to Pompeii, which we were told gets very busy and requires a significant time commitment since\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0so large. Herculaneum is a bit smaller so we were able to cover the entire site in just a few hours.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the<\/span>\u00a0town\u2019s close<\/span>\u00a0proximity to Naples<\/span>, we couldn\u2019t leave without stopping in\u00a0<\/span>for lunch at a nearby pizzeria for a\u00a0<\/span>Neapolitan<\/span>-style\u00a0<\/span>pizza and a\u00a0<\/span>Caprese salad.\u00a0<\/span>If you don\u2019t already know, every tomato in Italy is better than any tomato you\u2019ve ever had!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Back on the road<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0we drove through some breathtaking landscapes. I\u2019ve always heard that taking the train is the best way to see Italy, but after renting a car for this trip<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I highly recommend<\/span>\u00a0road trip<\/span>ping<\/span>. It really allows you to create your own itinerary without having to stick to the main<\/span>\u00a0train routes<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>But always remember to keep your eye on the road! I am guilty of hitting some\u00a0<\/span>road cones after getting a little overexcited about a bunch of<\/span>\u00a0sheep on a hillside.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the day, we arri<\/span>ved at Matera,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the most<\/span>\u00a0awe-inspiring<\/span>\u00a0Italian town that no\u00a0<\/span>Westerner<\/span>\u00a0has ever heard of. I took pleasure in the lack of\u00a0<\/span>English-speaking<\/span>\u00a0travelers around<\/span>. I had finally found<\/span>\u00a0a place where I could get\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>immersive Italian experience that I was really looking for.\u00a0<\/span>At meals<\/span>\u00a0and shops,<\/span>\u00a0we<\/span>\u00a0were forced to<\/span>\u00a0use<\/span>\u00a0a combination of my broken Italian, their broken English<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0informal<\/span>\u00a0sign language to communicate.\u00a0<\/span>Luckily, this worked out okay and we weren\u2019t served anything unexpected, but I can\u2019t say this luck<\/span>\u00a0lasted through the whole trip \u2014 more on this later!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Matera is best known for its cave dwellings built into the side of a ravine and is credited with being the longest continuously inhabited place in Italy. The whitewashed stone buildings and maze of interconnected stairs known as the Sassi give the town a very ancient look and feel, which is why it’s been used as the backdrop for many historical movies including Mel Gibson\u2019s <\/span>The Passion of the Christ<\/span><\/i>. The town is small enough that we were able to cover the majority of the landmarks in one day, but we definitely could have spent another few days enjoying the scenery, hiking the other side of the ravine, and of course eating more<\/span>\u00a0AMAZING<\/span>\u00a0food.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here, <\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>moved away from the dense pasta dishes of Rome and tried to eat more of the local Lucanian cuisine. Traditionally, people in the region eat simple foods with intense flavor, particularly meats such as lamb and beef. The two restaurants we ate at, <\/span>L\u2019abbondanza<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Lucana<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Baccanti<\/span>\u00a0Ristorante<\/span><\/a>, served me two of the best meals I\u2019ve ever had<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0from the appetizer all the way through to dessert.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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PRO TIP: <\/span><\/b>Opt to stay on the outskirts of the Sassi —<\/span><\/b> While exploring the Sassi we saw plenty of people lugging their suitcases up and down the stairs trying to make sense of where their apartment or hotel might be located. Without even realizing it, we booked a place on the outskirts of the Sassi, so we were able to walk to everything, but we were<\/span>\u00a0also<\/span>\u00a0able to drive right up to our door and find parking nearby.\u00a0<\/span>The town is quite small, so even though we were on the\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>outskirts<\/span>\u201d<\/span>, a wa<\/span>lk into the center<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>took<\/span>\u00a0less than 10 minutes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You may also enjoy: My Family Trip to Cancun, Mexico<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Last stop,\u00a0Polignano\u00a0a Mare<\/h2>\n

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The next morning we headed <\/span>toward our last destination,\u00a0<\/span>the province of\u00a0<\/span>Puglia. I couldn\u2019t help but\u00a0stop in<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0tourist-trap<\/span>\u00a0town of\u00a0<\/span>Alberobello<\/span>\u00a0to s<\/span>ee the\u00a0<\/span>Trulli<\/span>\u00a0or \u201ctroll houses\u201d\u00a0<\/span>as I like to call them<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0The story of these unique structures is that t<\/span>axes in the area used to be very high so people would use these houses as a way to evade the tax collectors<\/span>. When word got around that the collectors<\/span>\u00a0were near, the\u00a0<\/span>trulli<\/span>\u00a0owners would dismantle the stone roofs and flee. Once the coast was clear, the owners would return and reassemble the roofs.\u00a0<\/span>Today the\u00a0<\/span>Trulli<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>Alberobello<\/span>\u00a0are primarily used as tourist shops and vacation homes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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One more quick stint in the car and we finally arrived at\u00a0<\/span>Polignano<\/span>\u00a0a Mare. Despite being a\u00a0<\/span>busy\u00a0<\/span>coastal town,\u00a0<\/span>it was\u00a0<\/span>mostly Italians so it<\/span>\u00a0still had that authentic feel<\/span>\u00a0for us<\/span>. Now,<\/span>\u00a0here\u00a0<\/span>we did experience a little bit of a language barrier when we ordered<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Fruitti<\/span>\u00a0di Mare,<\/span>\u00a0a raw seafood plate. Instead of the oysters and clams that we were expecting<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0we were served whole raw squid, prawns, and\u00a0<\/span>shrimp along with some other items I\u2019m still unsure of. I made it through the shrimp and prawns, but the whole squid is where things got a little interesting.\u00a0<\/span>Let\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0just say it look<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0a little different than\u00a0<\/span>fried calamari!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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One of the highlights of\u00a0<\/span>Polignano<\/span>\u00a0a Mare was our dinner at\u00a0<\/span>Grotto\u00a0<\/span>Palazesse<\/span><\/a>, a restaurant consistently named one of the most romantic in the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The food was good\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>but wasn\u2019t the best we had in Italy<\/span>)<\/span>, but the atmosphere made up for anything the food lacked.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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On our last day, we took things slow at the\u00a0<\/span>Lido\u00a0<\/span>Sabbiadoro<\/span><\/a>, a b<\/span>each club in\u00a0<\/span>Monopoli<\/span>. After a vacation of being constantly on the move, it was nice to have some time to unwind before our trip home.<\/span>\u00a0When I was researching\u00a0<\/span>Puglia,<\/span>\u00a0I had such a hard time picking where I wanted to go and\u00a0<\/span>deciding<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>which<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>beach would be the most picturesque. The<\/span>\u00a0beach in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Monopoli<\/span>\u00a0was not disappointing at all<\/span>. The sand was nice and t<\/span>he water was as clear as could be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

As with my last trip to Italy, I woke on the last day with the\u00a0sad realization that it was time to go home. Italy is the only foreign country I\u2019ve ever been<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0where I\u2019ve genuinely not wanted to leave.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Luckily, as we packed up the car I was able to enjoy one last\u00a0<\/span>view<\/span>\u00a0as the sun rose over the\u00a0<\/span>Adriatic<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hannah Cametti, Manager of Branding & Communications<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":97203778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2966,1018,2622,2115,1942],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97203720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-international-destinations","category-employee-travel","category-personal-essays","category-travel-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97203720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/451"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97203720"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97203720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97213705,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97203720\/revisions\/97213705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97203778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97203720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97203720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97203720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}