For our honeymoon part 1, we spent May 4 – May 7 in Sorrento and May 8 – May 12 in Rome

What we did

Sorrento

• Watched the local soccer team, Napoli, win Serie A for the first time in 33 years. One of the first things we noticed in Sorrento were the multitude of blue and white decorations lining every street and shop. After a bit of asking around, we found out that the local soccer team, Napoli, was set to win Serie A if they tied or won the match that night. We happened to be eating at Il Buco, one of two Michelin star restaurants in Sorrento, that night. We had hoped to catch the game afterwards, but it was clear that the seafood tasting menu was going to take a long time. So we pulled out our phones and leaned it up against the bread box to watch throughout dinner. Our server was also itching to watch and checked in on us often to see how the game was going. Unfortunately our stream was delayed by a minute or so, so we could hear when a goal was about to be scored. At the end of the match (they tied), the town literally went crazy. There were fireworks going off, people running through the streets, colored sparklers and smoke, etc. The waiters were so excited they all ran out of the restaurant for a bit and then returned and gave us free limoncello. We could see people pouring into town square as we walked home. All in all, a truly unforgettable memory 
• Hiked the Path of the Gods – this was a super recommended hike based on the internet from Praiano to Positano. Praiano looked easy to get to on Google Maps but it ended up involving a hot, 90 minute bus ride where Tony had to stand. We later learned that getting from city to city on the Amalfi coast is pretty much always a hassle unless you have a car, and even driving around can be precarious. The hike itself was only okay – it started with a really steep climb and ended with 3000 stairs back to sea level. The views were good but Hawaiian hikes are better. We did see our first mountain helicopter rescue during it, where the helicopter circled around 3 times to get a lady with a sprained ankle. Positano looks like the photos, with all the colorful buildings next to the ocean. Getting back to Sorrento was dicey as well – we luckily caught the last ferry back at 5pm without knowing how close we were cutting it.
• SUP tour in Sorrento – A group tour to the “hidden grotto” with our fun guide named Antonino. We’ve only ever SUP’d in calm waters, so going out into the ocean with waves and boats was much tricker. But with shaky legs, core strength, and some paddling while seated, we were the only two who managed not to fall into the ocean. The tour went out to an old roman bath in a grotto. We learned that one of the hotels we were staying at was a tuna factory before, which explained the strange layout of the place (a few extremely narrow corridors). 

Rome

• Vatican guided tour – the guided tour meant we could skip the lines but it was shoulder-to-shoulder packed while we were there. Our group had an enthusiastic but anxious-in-crowds tour guide, which made the tour feel a bit rushed. There was a dad in our who was clearly a history buff and kept feeding facts to his disinterested children. The tour ends at the Sistine chapel, which had  been hyped up for an hour at that point. Tony was not impressed, and “this is better than the Sistine chapel” became a recurring statement throughout the rest of our trip.
• Colosseum – We were properly impressed with the Colosseum. We used the free Rick Steves audio guide, which by the end of the trip had really drilled into our brains the rise, peak, and fall of Rome. Tony spent a lot of time at the museum portion on the upper level and liked the “underground” part (where prisoners / warriors / animals would be kept) the most 
• Roman Forum – Rick Steves walked us through the ruins. This is a place that really benefits from an audio guide, because it isn’t too impressive without it. For a powerful ancient city, it feels a lot smaller than it should be. A legitimately cool application of AR would be to overlay a historian’s rendition of the city at its peak on top of the ruins.
• Pantheon – We actually went here twice because we were turned away initially since Margaret was wearing shorts (but we saw someone else get in with shorts later!). We didn’t have an audio guide this time, so we didn’t do much except marvel at the perfectly round hole in the ceiling and then leave.
• Rented a motorized cart in Villa Borghese – this is Margaret’s favorite park ever. It’s quiet, elevated above the city, and has all these Dr. Seuss looking umbrella trees. We rented a pedal and (kinda) motor powered cart which went incredibly fast on the downhills and handled like shit. AKA a thrilling ride that only Tony was brave enough to drive. We carted through the park as it started to rain and before getting a latte and pringles. 
• Hanging out with friends – Met up with two lovely friends that took us to a wine bar and taught us that 2016 was a good year for Italian reds.
• Played a Pokemon Rogue-like in our downtime – this game has made its rounds on Twitch, so we had to try it (only took 2 attempts!)

Where we stayed

• Sorrento Dream – we splurged on this boutique resort, and it was worth it. The room was spacious and they had fantastic breakfast. There was a little gym in a glass enclosure where you could work out to stunning ocean views. There were a lot of hot tubs but we unfortunately didn’t get a chance to use them
• La Tonnarella – our second boutique resort in Sorrento. The room had a “grotto” in the basement (aka a big bath), which was cool except the water didn’t really get warm. We decided to go here after realizing that we did not want to spend half a day traveling to Capri (this was after we struggled to get to Positano). This was the first real change in our travel plans and I’m glad that we realized that we would have a much better time even if we lost out on one night’s hotel stay.
• Airbnb in Rome – we found a place right next to the Spanish steps, situated above a Hermes. It had a full kitchen but somehow was missing kitchen knives. When we asked, they just sent us some more bread knives. So this is where we learned that with patience and steady hands, you can cut meat and vegetables with bread knives. The AC ran constantly to keep the room (on the top floor) a manageable temperature. Tony got irrationally annoyed that the washer was in the airbnb the next unit over.

What we ate

Food in Sorrento was much better than Rome. Nearly all of the meals that we had in Sorrento were great, but we definitely had a few misses in Rome. 

• Seafood pasta and risotto – There really is seafood everywhere in Sorrento. Semola noodle bar was recommended on reddit. We liked it enough to go again for takeaway. The second time it took 40 minutes to get our food, but the waiter was nice enough to acknowledge this and threw in 2 cokes. Soul and fish was our favorite – Tony got a mixed seafood pasta with orange in it, and Margaret got a seafood risotto that was excellent. 
• Gelato – We had the best gelato at this place called Raki in Sorrento. All of the flavors were great – we went here 2 or 3 times. Our luck wasn’t as good in Rome, where the gelato places were more touristy.
• Limoncello – this and meloncello are produced on the Amalfi coast, and most restaurants gave it to us after dinner. We bought a bottle, which we ended up dumping into a prosecco and drinking on the street with friends. Our favorite way to consume it was to mix it with club soda and champagne. 
• Breakfasts at resorts – The Sorrento resorts really know how to do breakfast. Dream Resort Sorrento in particular had a great one, which we always seemed to be first to arrive at. There were all types of eggs, cut fruit, various pastries, all the juices,  cured meats, and a huge ball of mozzarella. 
• McDonalds – we visited McD after drinking with friends, and Tony ran into a glass wall. They had chicken wings, which were surprisingly decent.
• Sandwich at All’Antico Vinaio – We passed by a really long line for this place and ended up trying it when some rain had shortened the line. The sandwich we got – with focaccia, mortadella, pistachio truffle spread, and other things – was alarmingly good. 
• Various mediocre restaurants in Rome – we had pretty bad luck with the restaurants in Rome. The only notable dish was prosciutto draped on cantaloupe (two ingredients that are better enjoyed separately).
• We’ve bought peanut butter as a part of breakfast in every location so far, and Italian peanut butter is literally the worst we’ve ever had. Not sweet and had the texture of a liquid. 

Thoughts

Our normal tourist mode involves seeing the sites and generally doing a lot of things. This didn’t really work as well in Italy. Sorrento and the whole Amalfi coast felt like a place that would be better enjoyed if you just ate and did nothing. Rome felt like a place that just shouldn’t be visited during the busiest tourist months. We also normally do a bit of planning when we travel, but we pushed ourselves to be more spontaneous which felt good in moderation. We were proud of ourselves for recognizing that trying to cram in another location (Capri) would’ve made us more unhappy and so changed our plans to stay an additional night in Sorrento. Italy is still a beautiful place with delicious food, and we had a memorable honeymoon part 1 (part 2 to come in the fall)