Travel Diaries: Bye, Bye, Italy!

Being in Italy was definitely one of the best life experiences I've ever had. I met one of my best friends yesterday and when she asked about my trip, I was speechless... And not exactly because I had a bad time!

After trying to come up with some words to describe my trip, I could only say that it was a truly magical one and that I hope the people I was there with will be my friends for life. We usually express all the love that we have for each other and I will do it even in public: I love them with all my heart and this time they gave me the most amazing two weeks I could ever have!

Sadly, I'm back home, sitting in my desk and trying to concentrate on homework... But seeing the pictures of our last supper are definitely much more interesting than whatever theories about syndicalism or environmental economics have to say!

I spent half of my last day in Italy in Naples, where we had the final sessions of the conferences. We then had lunch at Ciro a Medina––again, yes! My choice was a pizza margherita con bufala, a little more elaborated than the day before, and lemon sherbet for dessert.

We arrived in Rome in the afternoon, where we had our last supper. We went to a beautiful place called Ristorante Alla Rampa, in Trastevere. I was very full from all the pasta and pizza from the past few days, so I just ordered some Carpaccio di manzo con rughola e parmigiano. However, I did manage to steal some calamari from one of my friends––and they were absolutely delicious! I ended with a panna cotta with caramel, one of my favourite Italian desserts.

After dinner, we had our traditional midnight walk around Rome––the last one, sadly!––before going to bed. All of us departed early in the morning, when a beautiful, sunny Rome greeted us, inviting us to come back soon!

I probably won't have pizza or pasta at least for a couple of weeks. But I must confess I still feel like dying when seeing all the pictures of food I took during the trip and not being able to taste all of the wonderful dishes I ate.

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Nights in Rome

There's no doubt Rome is a magical city. Especially at night! Thankfully, I had the chance to explore it all over again during the night in-between Terni and Naples –our following destination.

We had dinner at my new favourite restaurant, called L'Archetto. Truth be told, going through the menu was a little exhausting, since it's got at least 50 dishes, all spaghetti. But I managed to choose the best they have––or maybe they're all as good and I would have loved any other as much as I loved the one I chose? It was called Chanel, and it was spaghetti––naturally––with lobster, cheese, tomato and brandy. Absolutely delicious!

After that, we went out for a walk around the city, and ended up it Trevi Fountain, where we had some fun and took some pictures! I won't exhaust you with words... These images will probably say more than what I could ever write!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Rome, Day 4

Being in the conference that I'm making part of has left me very little time to explore Rome and rest. On some days, it has also left me little time to eat, especially at lunch time. This is exactly what happened on my fourth day, when lunch was a wrap followed by an espresso and some porchetta––which actually made up for lunch, as it was very good!

However, after spending the whole day in the conference, my hard work was rewarded when I was taken for dinner in Trastevere. I personally love this neighbourhood of Rome because, although buildings are probably not as mesmerising at the Coliseo or the Vatican City, you can still see the beautiful architecture this's city has. I also love walking past restaurants and trattorie every 50 m and seeing all the activity of the city at nighttime.

Of course, you can't come to Rome without going to have dinner in Trastevere at least once. Which is why I always try to go as many times as possible. We went to a pizzeria called Dar Poeta, where I ate the biggest meal I've had in this trip so far. I'd say I probably ate more than the second day, when we had our huge Italian traditional dinner.

As a starter, I chose some mozzarella di bufala, followed by bruschette con pesto e ricotta. Then I had a pizza bufala, which was made with––you guessed it––mozzarella di bufala and tomatoes. For dessert, we shared a calzone filled with Nutella and ricotta, which became my new favourite!

I'm really sad my time in Rome is reaching and end... Can't I continue traveling forever?!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio