Ciao Bella!

Italians are renowned for their passion. Passion for family, food and life. In 3 weeks we got close to the heart of this unique boot shaped land. We rolled gnocchi with 90 year old women, speared swordfish with the mafia, shoulder bashed thousands of tourists in the Sistine Chapel and tried to understand if any road rules apply. It was a whirlwind Radventure from the north of Lake Como down to the south of Sicily.

Lake Como is all about soaking up every breath, whether you are a tourist, George Clooney or a life citizen. The clean fresh air from the Swiss Alps helps slow the pace of life down and we had no problem fitting right in. After settling into Como we jumped on a slow boat and cruised up and down the millionaire's lake, stopping in at Bellagio (tourist Mecca) and the quaint Varenna (sleepy town). The trip was laid back with many people sitting on plastic chairs on the deck with their pasty white legs out as they tan/burn. That afternoon, as David chilled with a friend at a local bar, we climbed a mountain (still inspired by our Swiss friends) to get a panoramic view of Como town and lake. It became increasingly apparent that the residence of the town rarely take this overgrown path, either opting to drive or take the funicular (out of order). It was worth every bead of sweat, as the view of the sunset was incredible (we swear you can see Florence from up there). That evening we got back in the local swing and dug into a classic dish of spaghetti allo scoglio (an extravaganza of seafood pasta). It blew our taste buds away and it goes down as the best seafood dish to date on the trip - it still makes our mouth water a month later.

Beautiful sunset over Lake Como

Our next destination was Siena, where we were joined by Sara and David's cousin Joel (soon to be called Jack, John, Joe and every other name starting with J apart from his own by all the Italian family). Siena is in the heart of the Tuscan region surrounded by vineyards with all your usual Italian city fit outs, but its Piazza was definitely one of the most impressive. A lazy afternoon was spent relaxing, catching up and playing Italian card games (Scopa and Briscola) in true Italian fashion. We woke up bright and early the next day with wine on the mind. Dave's mate had organised a personal tour of a local vineyard, so we thought what could be more perfect than a leisurely bike ride around the countryside. What resulted was a 20km bike ride in the blistering heat around the hilly (some would say mountainous) Tuscan country side with maniac Italian drivers only to discover that this vineyard was impossible to find. Hot and sweaty and 3 hours later we hitched a ride on a local bus back to town without drinking a drop of wine, but somehow still smiling and laughing at the adventure. Our smiles spread even further that night as we were being served a huge 2kg "Bistecca alla Florentina" that would have made a vegetarian weep; along with some delicious home-made pasta, delectable local wine and great company. It was definitely a highlight meal of the trip.

The best steak!

Carpineto Romano. It is a simple name, but a town that has shaped the lives of Sara and David so much. This tiny mountain village is the birthplace of Nonno & Nonna (aka Albis & Anna) who only have a handful of siblings still living in the town. Upon arrival we were greeted at the door by Nonna's sister the beautiful, smiling and gorgeous Zia Memma (just imagine a smaller version of Nonna) and her beaming son Mario. At 88 years old she is an amazing woman in every sense – mother, chef, host and much more. Daily and without hesitation Zia Memma would freshly roll mountains of pasta for immediate consumption, and willingly, over and over we ate plate after plate of delicious food. Sara vainly attempted to learn the secret behind Zia’s recipes, alas its all about touch. Maybe by the time she is a Nonna she will grasp the hand measuring method. Nonna also has another sister living in Carpineto, Ludwıga, and we also spent a lot of quality time with her daughter and grandchildren, who significantly bring down the average age of the town. It was fantastic to be able to roam around the old cobbled streets and finally see the places and houses which have been part of so many stories. We also had the pleasure of meeting many old friends and family whilst politely sipping on our 10^th espresso for the day. It was great to get to the roots of the Sangiorgi/Cacciotti history.

Masters at work

Mario and Scotty

Sara and Zia Memma

An hour from Carpineto, we were in the heart of Italy - Roma! You find yourself wondering down picturesque cobblestoned streets, and as you turn a corner out pops an epic Roman structure - the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forum, St Peter's Basillica and many many more. Being our first visit we jumped straight into the tourist circuit and soaked up all the sights. Surprisingly most lived up to expectations and we really enjoyed learning more about the rich Roman history. David also indulged us in a true Roman experıence – an Italian pop concert! The artist was Jovanotti and despite hardly knowing any words we left the concert with sore throats. Other highlights were The Sistine Chapel, the daily gelato/granita, trying to find Rome's best pizza and water fountain and best of all people watching on the Spanish Steps. We loved everything about Rome; so no doubt we will be back to discover everything else it has to offer.

Pumped at the Jova(notti) concerto

The Pantheon by the moonlight

People watching on the Spanish Steps

The Roman Forum

Gladiator are you ready? 3,2,1

Colosseum by night

Needing to relax (because this radventure is getting way to strenuous - wink wink), we made the windy cliff top road to the Amalfi coast. We settled into Amalfi town, and soaked up a few rays with the local Italian tourists. However, unlike the locals, we refused to rent an umbrella and beach chair, so we lazed on the pebble stoned beach and enjoyed the massage. Looking back at the staggering cliff face from the ocean, the landscape is spotted with lemon trees with million dollar views. Of course, it was compulsory to sample the local limoncello or two (just to compare). It was a great digestivo for the fresh seafood platters.

Spectacular Amalfi

We entered Sicily looking for the Godfather and an all out mafia war in the street, instead we got a lovely, if very Sicilian, fishing village and "La Familgia" (aka Sara Dad's side of the family). We stayed with Dad's cousins, Angela and Nicola in Messina, who were very giving hosts. We were chauffeured around the entire island with day trips to Palermo, Mt Etna and Taormina. Both Angela and Nıcola are incredibly knowledgeable and were able to give us a lot of information on each sight we visited. The highlight of the Sicily was when the boys went on a unique fishing trip (spearing 40kg+ swordfish with a 3m trident - typical Sicilian style). Sara breathed a sigh of relief (as did Scott) when he arrived back to the house without a scratch. (He was told never to go on a fishing trip with Sicilians). Being a fishing village, every night there was some form of freshly prepared fish on the table - grilled swordfish (caught by the boys), swordfish ravioli, anchovies in lemon and vinegar, stuff mussels (prepared by Sara - she got that recipe down!), raw mussels and more. The food was once again fantastic as we enjoyed the best granitas in Italy and arancini to die for. By this stage of Italy Scott had perfected the nod and smile to all Italian questions from the relo's - who nicknamed him Bisteccone (big steak). Spending a week in Sicily gave us all an insight into this friendly, warm and loving family fishing village.

The smallest fish we caught

 Cookıing stuffed mussels with the pro (Cousin Salvo)

Famıly Fun (that ıs the other Nıno Donato)

Mafia Style 

Chillıng at one of the many cool beaches ın Sicily

Sightseeing with Angela and Nicola

Italy went way to quickly, but what an incredible 3 weeks -  we felt like we had the full Italian experience -  from mountainside to lakeside villages, tourist packed Rome, stunning seaside beaches and of course a ridiculous amount of great rich food served by our fabulous family.

Thanks to all the family in Italy for an amazing time and we can't wait to come and visit this intoxicating country again.

Ciao Bella,

Scott and Sara