Italy - the land of la dolce vita, crazy people and good food

(The original post is on my other blog (with lots of pics for those who are interested), but here I wanted to sum it all up a little bit.)

Meta didn't prepare me for the south of Italy. Not at all. I can't say I am out of shape, but walking 2000 steps down to the beach is simply NOT easy!

But to start from the very beginning... A week ago we (me and my sweetheart) travelled from Prague to the south of Italy. As it is quite a ride, we had to do it in two days. First day we made it to Verona, and second day we reached our final destination for a couple of days – Positano and the little village we were actually staying in – Nocelle.

Arriving to Nocelle meant sea, sun, beach, wine and lots and lots and lots (I mean LOTS) of great Italian food. (Beware danger: lots of pictures of food are to follow!!!)

Ah. I LOVE Italian food. I love food in general, but the freshness and simplicity of the Italian cuisine simply makes me a mad woman – what IS a diet when there is Italian food??!! I do like sea food, I am not a fan of it though, but it is famous in that area, so I ate that as well: all different prawns, mussels, octopus, cray-fish… Some of the best I have ever had!

Mussels and tomato pasta... Yes, I know pasta. But hey - you can't be in Italy
and NOT have pasta... It is just home-made and so good!

Octopus salad - with some tomatoes, black olives and... potatoes... I know,
potatoes - not so healthy, but hey - it was absolutely delicious!!!! 

Seafood salad - lots of different seafood creatures mixed in one salad with
several leaves of  salad, some carrots and tomatoes.

Spaghetti Mediterreano - absolute delight, I could not resist. Spaghetti
with some cherry tomatoes, basil and  anchovies - fresh and yummy!

And the tomatoes and mozzarella!!!! Oh. My. God! Mozzarella is really nice in the area around Napoli (all those who think mozzarella is tasteless, would change their opinions when you try THIS mozzarella!!!), and boy I took advantage of that! I ate tomatoes every day.

Caprese in two variations. But Italians LOVE their big tomatoes. And mozzarella! Yum!

I ate pasta (yes, I know – grains, but hey – being in Italy and NOT having pasta is definitely a sin!) and pizza (not trying the real Italian pizza is also a sin), and all the grilled veggies, and fruit – oh yum!

Caprese ravioli: with mozzarella and tomatoes.

Grilled eggplant with some basil and parmeggiano.

Honestly don't remember the type of fish, but it was backed with mozzarella
and tomatoes - exquisite! 

Steak with arugula (which we simply call rucola) and parmeggiano. 

Pineapples are everywhere pineapples... But this was SO sweet :)

The real Italian lasagna! Doesn't look particularly impressive,
but it was SOOO good!

Coming from the European north makes me realise how much I am missing out on: the wonderful taste! We have good driving, rules, organisation and general respect of all people, but the southerners have boundless hospitality and friendliness, great food and wine, lots of chaos and general ability to relax and let go: the Italian “dolce vita”! I can’t say I would love to live the dolce vita, but being in it for a couple days is definitely enriching and useful. And I know it was not the healthiest experience, but it was all sooo good.

Now. As we lived on the top of the hill, we had to get all the way down from Nocelle to the seaside. And the first day we decided to go all the way down by walking the old steps: around 2000 steps all in total to the beach… And that is where I say that TAM did not prepare me for this! After an hour walking down the stairs till we finally reached Arienzo beach, the next morning I woke up with such a strong pain in my calves that I was not sure I would be able to walk at all. But I managed. :) It’s a great new exercise right?! Add on top of that swimming – a LOT – because it was really hot, and I am not a type of person to stay still in water. I like to swim, to explore. So when we went for a little boat trip, yes I did spend a great time frying my belly in the sun (I have extremely white skin, it is not bad for me to get some tan – on condition that I have 20-30 sun block minimum!), but I also spent a great deal of time jumping off the boat and swimming around – simply enjoying the luke-warm water or exploring the little caves along the coast. Wonderful day as well.

This is still some 1900 steps away from our destination (yes, down there)
and we are still cheerful and full of energy... :)

This is where we had to finally get... A long way...

Reached the beach, and I needed some rest.

Along the beautiful Amalfi coast

Positano and me

While being in the area we also went to visit Pompeii - the ancient town discovered under the lava. It was impressive but hot. The place is breathtaking, but honestly, advice to everyone: do NOT visit it in the summer. Spring or autumn would be the best! Really!

The beautiful Pompeii... 

If you like to learn about history and experience it. Absolutely great!

And this is how dead you can be if you go there in the summer... So, don't. :) I felt like being for 4 hours in a desert. Shade is rare, water is scarce, 40 degrees heat, stone and burning sun - all this is NOT a good mix!

All in all, stay in Italy was wonderful – full of sun, food and healthy activities.

I did manage to fit in only two workouts – but hey with all the stairs, walking and swimming in the heat, I think it was almost OK exercise. Mind that with all the food indulgence (I really had a feast of Italian food!!!), I didn’t really gain weight. So it should have been OK. And after all it was a rest, a holiday, so I took it easy. And what a great way to get some energy: eat, have an active life, sleep. :)

Now the workouts are back, I am working in Switzerland. All is good and a little stressful. :) It’s serious PhD time after all now!

Stay tuned!

PS. Bikini photo session is coming up - I was particularly looking forward to showing off in my new bikini... :)))