Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I cannot believe the holiday is already here - time is flying and it feels like we haven’t done nearly enough on our holiday to do list, but alas here we are. I’m excited for some time off of work and to spend it with family, and I’m grateful that while our celebrations are ever evolving, we still get to spend time together which is really all that matters. 

Wishing you health, happiness, and time spent with those you love this holiday season. Oh, and another Hawks win :)

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Honeymoon {Naples & Rome}

We took another private car from Praiano to Naples because it was so much easier {and not that much more expensive} than trying to navigate the buses back to the main train station {and we wanted to maximize our time}.

Since we were going to be in Naples, home of the best pizza in the world, I decided that we needed to actually try the best pizza in the world at none other than L'antica Pizzeria da Michele.

This spot is a few blocks from the Napoli train station so we decided to go wait in line along with about a hundred other people right as they opened for lunch.  This pizza place was founded in 1870 and only has 4 pizzas on the menu {one of which is half and half} making it easy to decide what to get.

After a lot of watching, we realized you wait in line for takeout, or get a number from this guy for dine-in {which actually looked to be a lot faster for some reason, but we didn't realize that until we had been in the line far too long}.  This guy manning the door was a bit frightening and took his job very seriously.

A sneak peek inside the restaurant.

It took about an hour and a half from the time we arrived to the time we were eating pizza and since we had waited for so long, we of course decided to get 2.

I'm pretty sure Christian thought I was nuts to wait in line, then subsequently bring our pizzas down the alley to eat on top of our suitcases in the heat.....

.....but after that first bite, he was convinced this was one of the best pizzas we've ever eaten.

We left nothing in the boxes, inhaling this delicious, fresh, and iconic Napoli pizza.

We got one Marinara & one Margherita....

.....and for just 5 euro each, it was one of the best meals I've ever had.  If you're in Naples, definitely check this place out!

After lunch we made our way back over to the train station and hopped on the fast train....

.....back to Rome!  We only had one night in Rome so I booked us an Airbnb in Trastevere, the more hip neighborhood on the other side of the River where I knew we could find lots of options for dinner and drinks.

About a block from our Airbnb we stumbled upon Mimi e Coco, a popular restaurant I had heard about online, and when we saw there was an outdoor table open, we immediately asked to sit there.

They had apertivo, which included these yummy free snacks with our drink order {kind of like tapas in Spain}....

....and paired with some refreshing Aperol spritzes, we were in Rome heaven.

Since we already had a table and were enjoying our evening, we decided to just grab dinner there as well.  We landed on our original Roman faves {alla amatriciana for me and carbonara for C}.  A perfect last meal in Italy!

After dinner we popped into a record store across the street....

.....and listened to some fun tunes while perusing the bins.

We went for a walk through the neighborhood.....

....and of course grabbed some gelato for the walk.

We marveled at all of the graffiti on the walls.....

....and the happening nightlife for people of all ages, which was so fun to see in Italy.

The piazzas were hoppin'.....

.....and we were so happy to have picked this neighborhood for our last night in Rome.

We headed back to our Airbnb on this cute street.....

.....and packed up everything for the long day of travel ahead.

Bright and early the next morning our Airbnb host called us a driver to come take us to the airport, and it was fun driving through the quiet and empty streets as the sun was rising.

I sure miss these old streets.

We were so early, we were literally the first people in line at our ticket counter!  But it gave us a chance to grab some pastries and coffee at the airport before we headed out.

And just like that, we were on our way back home!  We really had the most wonderful Italian honeymoon - we stayed in the most beautiful places, saw the most incredible sights, and made the best memories that we'll have for a lifetime.  Now we're back to real life, and I'm so happy to be spending my days with this cutie pie.

xoxo,

stephanie marie

Honeymoon {Last Day in Praiano}

After our hike, we knew we needed another dip in the water and some much deserved lunch, so we grabbed our suits from the hotel and headed back to Il Pirata for lunch with a view.

The seafood pasta was perfect after a long morning of hiking, and I inhaled it all while staring out at the breathtaking views.

After lunch we headed down to the beach for one last dip in the water, where I was applauded by an older Italian man after I slowly made it all the way in the water.  I love it at this beach and wish we could've spent another week just lounging there.

Afterwards we walked out past the restaurant to a little hidden sun bathing spot for a few more minutes  to soak it all up.

I loved this abandoned night club....

.....and was not ready to leave at all.

After the beach, we hiked back up to the main road.....

....and bought a few ceramic souvenirs to take back with us from this cute shop between our hotel and the beach {that we had stopped into so many times the old woman who owns it finally asked us if we wanted an espresso while we shopped}.

We were running out of daylight, but we decided to walk to the main area of town to pick up a few more souvenirs.....

....and were greeted again with my most favorite views.

After shopping we made our way back to the hotel.....

.....admiring all the little signs along the way.....

.....and my favorite tree announcing we were back at our place.

Since we were obsessed with our hotel and the people working there, we wanted to spend our last night in Praiano just like our first, having dinner at the hotel restaurant with our fave people.

I had the delicious seafood pasta....

.....and Christian had pasta with shrimp and fresh tomatoes.  They were both perfection. 

And of course, we had to get dessert just like the first night, ending the night on a high note.

At our fave spot, never wanting to leave!

The next morning we woke up early to savor the sunrise.....

.....and take in the views from our terrace one last time.

I miss this little room so much {but not the mosquitoes!}.

My sweet husband carrying our bags down to the lobby.

One last look at the best Hotel Open Gate before we were off for one final Italian adventure!

xoxo,

stephanie marie