CIAO Ristorant

To celebrate my sister Ginny's birthday we drove to Naples last night and had a fabulous dinner at Ciao Ristorante, located near the famous 5th Avenue South Shopping District.

Italian born restaurant owner, Chef Gianfranco Loreti prepared a scrumptious meal. Ginny had a fresh shrimp and lobster pasta dish and I tried the pasta filled with ricotta cheese and black truffles, served with Alfredo sauce.

I'd highly recommend this restaurant not only for the food, but the ambiance and friendly waiters.

http://www.ristoranteciao.com/about_us.phtml

After dinner, we met Chef Loreti and talked about our love of Italy as our paternal grandparents were born in Sicily which we visited in September 1995.

That was definitely my favorite trip as we met many Sicilian relatives, but best of all we actually found the home my Grandma Rosa was born in.

Europe-Italy

Continuing on with our European Adventure , we flew from Stuttgart to Italy to visit my friend Nancy who lives in Vicenza. With Sicilian blood flowing through my veins, I just love being in Italy - the food, the ambiance, hearing the language -- it all reminds me of my heritage as we lived for many years with my Italian grandmother, who immigrated from Sicily. Sue & I stayed with Nancy in the Piazza dei Signori area where the Basilica Palladiana is located. The church is an impressive example of Italian architecture and was under renovation. I loved staying right in the heart of town as everything was within walking distance. Every night a group of us would stroll through town until the enticing aroma of one of the many fine restaurants pulled us in. Using the clocktower as our landmark, we never had to worry about finding our way back. We also visited the Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre"), built in the late 1500s, which is considered the first example of a covered theatre in the Modern Age. That's Sue and Nancy in the Teatro Gardens.

Have you heard of Vicenza? It's world famout for its fine, intricate golf jewelry which is widely advertised on HSN. Some travel tips for Italy --- most stores are closed on Monday until 1 pm; the Italians love to dress well so leave your jeans at home and their hotels aren't up to our standards. Since you can't count on a 3-star hotel being what you'd expect, don't hesitate to ask to see the room before booking it.

Above all, relax and have fun as the Italians truly know how to enjoy life. Be prepared to spend at least 2 hours having dinner as Italians consider conversation just as important as the food!