A friend from work had shared his new family holiday model of renting a big Airbnb in a city and chilling. So when it came to deciding what to do on this years family trip, which included all the grandparents, it seemed that this would be good solution. We started working on Rome: good weather, good food, some good cultural activities for the boys. But as we had all been to Rome, we decided to go a bit further and added a few days in Naples on the trip, to visit Pompeii and of course to eat the best pizza in the world.
The planning team sprung into action, and we quickly had sorted out our flights and major accommodations. We included a few days in Berlin to get everyone settled in and get over jetlag. After a few relaxing days (with plenty of good German bakeries and an exciting Georgian restaurant extravaganza) we were finally off on our travels.
Everything was smooth — all our bags managed to pass regulation and we made it through to Naples without much incident. There was the arrival at our rented apartment in a dark back alley of Naples late in the evening without being able to get in touch with the owner, but finally at the last second they appeared and we were off to our flat — at the top of 3 flights of narrow stairs. But the place was nice a fresh, with a great little terrace with view out to the harbour. The boys were tired from the travel, so I went with the parents on a walk to find some pizza and beer to consummate our arrival. The next morning, Chika, Yukie and I went on a breakfast run. Surprisingly, the culture is more to eat in and enjoy a pastry at a counter than to bring home, but eventually after an hour we found a place a few blocks from our flat with a nice selection of goodies. We also came to the realization that the dingy alley we arrived in was in fact blocks away from the central arteries in our area of Naples.
We decided to take the bus to Pompeii (planes, trains, automobiles, and buses!) as it was directly around the corner from our flat. It turned out to be an easy journey even with the Napoli drivers, and without much hassle arrived at Pompeii. We did attempt to hire a guide, but they kept us waiting until a big enough group appeared to eventually we gave up and went on our own with a few audio guides. It was a beautiful day exploring the ruins, and a great experience for the boys to see the real ruins.
We had booked a seafood restaurant for dinner, but on the way there we realized that traffic in Naples was not going to cooperate — not only could we not get a cab, but the journey to the restaurant was going to be longer than expected. Fortunately, we had scouted some places the night before and was able to get a table for a very nice meal and the first of many pasta carbonaras for Kai (he is now our official connoisseur for pasta carbonara and has acquired a taste for pepper in the dish).
The next day we made the trip to Rome after a morning excursion to Santa Lucia. While the train ride was an express trip of a little over an our, we decided to add some extra adventures of travelling to and from the trains by metro. Who needs a gym when you have stairs and luggage right? We found that our flat in Rome was right in the middle of everything, just a few hundred meters from the Spanish Steps. For the dinner the 1st evening we traveled all of 10 meters across the street to one of apartment hosts recommendations. An excellent meal, but the pasta carbonara was a bit too spicy for Teo but we were able to switch for a pasta pomodoro at the table. On a separate food note: there is an amazing supply of ice cream in Rome. You really cannot go more than 2 blocks without some sort of cold cream on offer. While the boys like the store next door with the blue smurf ice cream with marshmallows, I liked Giolitti’s classic fares (the oldest shop in Rome) the best even if it was quite overcrowded.
We spend the next days exploring Rome — historical sites like the Colosseum, parks, and of course lots of food. At least for one night, Chika and I managed to sneak out and enjoyed some drinks at the Jerry Thomas Speakeasy which is on the top 50 bars in the world list (and from our experience definitely worthy).
All in all, was a great way to spend time as a family together. Our lucky boys had full on attention, and it was great to have some extra support in keeping us all together in the big cities. Thanks to mom and dad to helping make it all happen.
