Today was the final full day of our trip! We woke up one final time at our gorgeous place in St. Agata on the Amalfi Coast to our eight lovely stray cat friends. After coffee, breakfast, and cleaning up a bit, we were on our way back to Rome where we depart for the States tomorrow!

The drive went smoothly and we made it to our hosts by mid-afternoon. Because we are staying at the same AirBnB that we stayed our first night of the trip two weeks ago, we were reunited with one of the sweetest cats in the world, Carbonella.

Amanda and I chose to head to Ecru for dinner, and it did not disappoint.

We took a train to a bus to another bus and arrived around 6:00. We shared zucchini chips, tofu balls, and two of the best sandwiches of our LIVES. Mine was on rye, hers was on a homemade raw bread. It was actually our favorite meal of the whole trip!

We then took another bus to a main station and got stranded there for about 45 minutes before the next bus finally showed. Got back, went grocery shopping for snacks on the plane ride (it’s a 10-hour flight), and are just about to go to sleep on our final night in Italy. Ciao!

Today was awesome! John and I woke up around 10am, opened our door to our favorite cat friends, made some Italian coffee, and had a chat with our lovely neighbors from Ireland. They mentioned that they had gone to Mount Vesuvius yesterday and we decided we had to go.

So, around noon, we set off for the day. We attempted to get gas first but couldn’t figure this gas station out and left after a few solid minutes of frustration. The drive was about an hour and fifteen minutes long. We got to the parking for Vesuvius, paid 6 euro, found a spot, and then headed up.

They offered a bus ride to the ticket office for 2 euro each, but we declined the offer. The bus ride would have saved us a measly 20 minute walk. At the ticket office we paid 10 euro each for our entrance into Vesuvius and then headed up. It took about 30 minutes -of not sliding backwards on the slippery and steep terrain- to reach the top and then we wondered around to get the 360 view of both the crater and the surrounding areas.

After we got our fill of Vesuvius, we headed back home, without the assistance of Google Maps, and surprisingly, we made it home quite effortlessly.

We dropped the car off at home and then walked into town, stopping to say hello to our little neighbor dog friend, to get some dinner at a place called Rosticceria da Mimi. We sat on a cute terrace and had some grilled vegetables, a simple salad, some bread, and two marinara pizzas with veggies. The meal was delicious! There’s something so amazing about a wood fire grill.

After dinner, we walked home and decided to have some wine with our Ireland friends. Traveling is so much more fun when you meet amazing people in the process.

Now that we’re (and by we I mean just me and Carl) a few wine glasses deep, we’re getting ready to say goodbye to the beautiful town of Sant’Agata and head back to Rome tomorrow.

We got a nice slow start to the day with nowhere we needed to be early. We enjoyed coffee along with the stray cats and stunning view from our AirBnB.

We decided to make our way to Amalfi today. There was a bus heading from St. Agata (where we’re staying) out to Amalfi, first heading to Positano. We made our way to the bus stop and met a lovely English couple who had been waiting for the same bus (who we got a bus selfie with).

The bus finally came and, guess what… Amanda and I got the last two *standing room* spots. Seriously! We literally stood at the front next to the bus driver. Unfortunately for us, it was the scariest, windiest ride of our lives, overlooking a cliff’s edge much of the time. It was like a 45-minute roller coaster ride. We both felt so sick, especially Amanda, that we actually got off in Positano instead of going through to Amalfi.

After Amanda started feeling a tiny bit better, we explored Positano for a bit. It was pretty and fancy, but we really wanted to make our way to Amalfi. So we took a boat! The 25-minute ferry was smooth, and we got seats on the uncovered top. Stunning coastline views.

Unfortunately, Amanda continued to feel pretty ill from the bus ride, so after a short while in Amalfi, we decided to head back home. So we got a ferry back to Sorrento, then a bus from Sorrento to St. Agata.

We grabbed some homemade veggies from the mom and pop store, then some groceries, then a couple of pizzas and headed to our AirBnB for a nice night in with the kitties.

Today, John and I woke up pretty early to go to Capri. To get there, we had to make it down to Sorrento and then take a ferry. Since the walk was easily an hour and a half and public transportation would have taken an hour, we decided to drive the short and exhilaratingly terrifying 20 minute ride down. We parked and, since we were running a bit late, sprinted down to the port where we somehow managed to find our way to the ferry and talk our way aboard even though we neglected to print our tickets as we were supposed to.

The ferry ride was about 30 minutes long and just quite gorgeous, even though I was pretty motion sick. We knew we were getting close to the Capri port when the boat slowed and the massive cliffs appeared in our side view. It was stunning!

We got off the boat and immediately tried to find a beach. We walked for 20 minutes until we found a small secluded beach that we decided to post up at. The alternative was a slightly larger beach that would cost 22 Euro for 2 beds, an umbrella, and a water taxi service. We decided we didn’t feel like being that bougie though.

The beach was pretty rocky and it filled up pretty quickly, but we spent a few hours there before deciding to walk around.

The walk to the center of Capri was, of course, entirely uphill the whole way. John and I have never had better cardiovascular health to be honest.

When we made it to the center we were honestly quite disappointed. It was extremely touristy and all of the shops were obviously geared towards wealthy individuals who enjoyed spending quite a lot of money on clothes and accessories. There weren’t any excited places to eat, and we didn’t really want to spend a fortune for any of the tourist attractions. We just weren’t really feeling like Capri was our scene. Except for the fresh orange and lemon juice that we had made from these massive lemons…

So, we left a bit earlier than we were planning to. We got back to Sorrento, did a little shopping, and had a few too many free limoncello shots in the process (because I had to have John’s). For dinner, we decided to go back to the restaurant we ate at last night because we loved it so much.

John and I each got a Vegan pizza, one with veggies and one without, and a Greek salad with vegan feta cheese. Our memories did not disappoint-these were still the BEST pizzas we’ve ever had. The owner and our favorite waiter were each excited that we were back and we of course had to get a selfie after we took yet ANOTHER free limoncello shot with them.

After dinner, we grabbed some chocolate and pistachio gelato, and then headed back to the car. Our ride back up was just as crazy as the ride down, but with a slight twist…we saw a dog on a Vespa…yeah. So, now we’re at home, resting up for tomorrow in Amalfi!

Yesterday was one of the best days of the trip so far! We spent it in a city which, up until this week, I only associated with pizza: Sorrento. Who knew it was also an incredibly beautiful travel destination?!

Amanda and I are staying in what is essentially the middle of a peninsula along the Amalfi Coast (that has Sorrento, Positano, and several other popular and gorgeous seaside towns). This means, however, a lot of hiking to and from our house. Which is cool with us (to an extent).

We woke up in our cozy AirBnB to a greeting from the four stray cats who live nearby. We love them. In case you’re wondering, yes, we’ve given them names and invited them inside.

After getting ready, we headed out on a 1-hour hike to Sorrento. The hike had some really incredible views looking high above the city and the Mediterranean. Along the way we picked some prickly pear cactus fruit, that was not a good idea.

We spent most of the day wandering the streets of Sorrento and were pleasantly surprised by its quaintness, charm, and overall vibe. We grabbed a vegan panini, sparkling water, some peaches (Amanda is addicted), and spent an hour or so on the beach. And just when we were falling asleep, some little girls started screaming near us. Fun!

We found the most badass little place called Frankie’s Pizza Bar that had VEGAN CHEESE!!! They had several awesome vegan options, the service was so good, aaaand they put the Italy-Armenia soccer game on TV (for me). We ordered a couple limoncello’s for Amanda, a lemon pop for me, vegan eggplant Parmesan, a margarita pizza (with vegan Ricotta and ham), and a salad. Then we ordered ANOTHER pizza because the first one was so good. Then we got vegan cheesecake! Frankie’s is AWESOME and… spoiler alert: We went back today.

Then we took a very long, windy bus ride home because there is no way in hell we were walking back.

This morning John and I decided that since our Airbnb host said we can checkout whenever, it was time to go to the gym. Luckily, we found a place less than two miles from our Airbnb where they let us in for free!

After a nice two hour gym session, we showered, packed up, and headed out on our four hour drive to our Airbnb on the Amalfi coast where we will be staying for the next few nights.

The drive was something. The first two hours were in the mountains which was not fun and the last hour was simply indescribable. There is a very real and serious fright that comes from driving a rental car on roads that are right along a cliff, hardly big enough for two-way traffic, with blind curves and reckless motorcycles ever 5 seconds. And, the last five minutes of the drive were just hilarious. I can’t even begin to describe the roads directly to our place and to be honest, I’m incredibly surprised we (me, John, and the rental car) made it there safely and in one piece.

But, the drive was totally worth it. Our Airbnb is perfect! It has a beautiful view of the Gulf of Salerno and we are surrounded by lemon trees (that our host makes limoncello with and gave us a free bottle), fig trees, and tomato plants. We’re just far enough outside of Sorento that it isn’t touristy and loud but close enough that we could walk or bus there relatively easily.

We’ve already made friends with our B&B neighbors from Ireland, a few stray cats, some goats, and a horse.

For dinner, we walked into our small town, Sant’Agata, and got a marinara pizza to-go along with a bunch of grilled and marinated vegetables from a cute family-owned shop where they gave me some free limoncello they made from their lemon trees and showed me the liquor they’re making from fennel.

We took our food haul home and sat on our porch with our cat friends enjoying the incredible pizza and the best vegetables we’ve ever had while listening to the town bell. Food photos weren’t posted to spare your eyeballs from the horrors of trying to take food photos outside, at night, with the light of only an IPhone, and where the food is plated on aluminum foil – use your imagination 🙂 Tomorrow, we explore more of Amalfi. Ciao!

Today we stayed at a randomly-chosen beach town, Montesilvano, along the eastern coast of Italy to break up the long drive to the Amalfi Coast (where we’re headed tomorrow). The beach was nice, but the city was rather forgettable.

We woke up in San Marino, checked out, and did the drive. Smooth and nothing out of the ordinary.

Got to our host’s at 1:30, then went to the beach for a couple hours. I got a bit burnt, oops.

We headed to what Happy Cow said was a vegan grocery store, but turns out all they had was peanut butter, tahini, and a bunch of soaps and creams. Weird!

We decided to do dinner in tonight, so we got groceries, walked home, and Amanda cooked a great meal. Simple day, and looking forward to getting to the opposite coast tomorrow!

Today we woke up to construction work at our AirBnb in Venice. We made our coffee in the Moka, had a quick breakfast and then headed out for a brand newcountry -San Marino!

The drive from Venice to San Marino only took three hours and it was quite picturesque with rolling hills and countryside for miles in our view. The entrance into San Marino was quite lackluster though since there was only a small road sign to announce the fact that you had entered into a different country. We didn’t even get our passports stamped.

We were greeted by the father of our Airbnb host who showed us around the flat and gave us some suggestions along with some cake, a lemon, and some discount cards for San Marino. When he left, we made a quick lunch of a packaged mix of chickpeas and grains (or ‘cereals’) as they call them here. And when we were ready to head out, it started pouring rain.

So, I decided to get a little workout in while John decided to take a nap in the rain (weird right?). When the rain cleared, we finally headed out for the day. Our Airbnb was at the bottom of the mountain in San Marino but was a convenient 15 minute (very steep uphill) walk to the cable cars that would take us up the mountain to old town San Marino.

The cable car ride took less than one minute and we got a great view of the country along the way. When we arrived we were overwhelmed with the beautiful views, even though it was overcast. We walked around the very small town and checked out two of the three towers. The third isn’t available to view.

The first tower, Guaita, was stunning! We were able to get even better views of the country and we explored every inch of the tower. The second castle, was a bit dull though. It was basically just a museum of the old weapons they used to use there. But, the views were still magnificent.

After exploring, we went to dinner at the Ristorante L’Arengo. They had a vegan menu so of course we got everything that was on it. We got a bread basket, salads, creamy mushroom pasta, seitan and potatoes with grilled vegetables, and three flavors of sorbet. The potatoes were the best part of the meal but, the seitan we could have lived without to be honest. But, it was awesome to have a whole vegan menu.

After dinner, we headed back to the cable car to ride down to our Airbnb and now we’re back and getting ready for tomorrow when we head to Montesilvano for a restful beach day.

Feels like a broken record saying this now, but today was one of the best days of the trip! We woke up at our awesome AirBnB in Florence with the sweetest host, cleaned up, and headed out to make our way to… Venice!

First, we had to fill up our water bottles at what we agree is one of the coolest thing we’ve ever seen a city offer: Free water! The park near where we stayed had a free water-filling station where you can get unlimited water, both still and bubbly. Every city needs this!!!

Our drive was swift and smooth and we got to Venice by early afternoon. After dropping off our stuff, we took the tram from the mainland to the island (archipelago?) of Venice. To be honest, we were both kind of expecting it to be a bit on the sour side after hearing people talk about it. But we loved it!!!

The place is BEAUTIFUL, with so many canals, old buildings, and cute businesses. We didn’t feel overwhelmed with the tourist vibe nearly as much as we expected, and felt like the city was pretty clean despite hearing an NPR story recently about how dirty the city is.

We enjoyed vegan pizza (4 slices for Amanda, 12 for John…) from Bella & Brava, gelato (dark chocolate and cherry with a vegan cone…!) from Gelato di Natura, and Amanda found a place she’s in love with: a fresh juice bar with alcohol! She got a cocktail called Frida with strawberry, pomegranate, lime, and tequila. She loved it.

We even stumbled upon a grocery store in an old Venice theatre. Have never quite experienced ceiling art like this at a grocery store in the US.

After weaving our way through the windy streets and neat bridges, we headed out and are currently on the tram on the way back to our AirBnB. We’re so glad that Venice exceeded expectations!

Tomorrow, Amanda appeases the obscurity-lover in me by agreeing to go to one of the smallest countries in the world, San Marino. 

Today was great. We slept in a bit because well we’re on vacation and we’re staying in like the nicest AirBnb ever. The pillows were SO comfortable. But, instead of having the Moka (the Italian coffee pot) that we have now mastered for coffee in the morning, we had to make coffee with a Nespresso, and that didn’t go over super well. Once we finally figured out the coffee situation and had some fruit (for Amanda) and protein powder and a rotten banana (for John), we decided we needed a short little home workout and stretch to start the day.

After our workout, we headed out for the day. We first stopped to grab a bite to eat at Shake Cafe. We found it had high review on Happy Cow and we were not disappointed. John had a protein smoothie with his salad and I had a very green juice with my salad. We were both surprised at how large the salads were and how topping like avocado didn’t cost extra. In the U.S. avocado would have definitely been considered a “premium.”

Once we were nice and full, we headed to a fancy grocery store, Naturasi. We were overwhelmed with the amount of vegan milks, proteins, and cheeses. We selected a few to have for dinner and the headed off to explore more of Florence.

We saw loads of statues, cute squares, beautiful buildings, and Ponte Vecchio-beautiful on the outside but surprisingly just full of jewelry stores on the inside.

After a few hours of exploring, we headed back to the AirBnb, stopping at an organic coffee shop along the way, Simbiosi Organic, for the BEST iced oatmilk latte we’ve ever had. Oh, and we saw this cutie there too.

When we got back to the AirBnb we decided to pour some drinks (Italian wine for Amanda and tamarind juice for John) and put together a plate of our delicious vegan finds from the day. The plate included vegan prosciutto, vegan deli meat with peppers, basil tofu, vegan feta cheese, crackers, green grapes, and strawberries.

Now, we’re watching Bridesmaides (because John hasn’t seen it yet) and going to have an early-ish night so we’re ready for Venice tomorrow!