The most random "best bites"....

So after crowds, trains, buses, subways and getting lost....on our actual anniversary (3 yearsJ), we finally put the breaks on and said "enough was enough."  Now mind you, Scott & I are NEVER ones to actually "RELAX" on vacations and LOVE to GO, GO, GO!  But Italy kicked our butts so bad (even while only planning ONE THING A DAY!) that finally we were FORCED to relaxJ 

And as soon as we stopped trying to "take on Italy" and let Italy "take on us," we finally found the Italy we desiredJ  Peaceful days, friendly locals and plenty of charming moments.

After spending the morning blissfully lounging on the balcony listening to all of the sounds of the surrounding hills (including a neighboring farm....with a random cow, goat & roosterJ), we walked across the road from our hotel and into the charming little town of Sant' Agata....

Now, I doubt Sant' Agata is even easily located on a map...but for us, it was BLISS.  Do you notice what's LACKING in that picture??? J

Little Sant' Agata is actually home to one of the MOST renowned restaurants IN. THE. WORLD. (Don Alfonso).  But I didn't come all the way to Italy to have haute cuisine!  I wanted food my Grandmother would cook, ya know??J hehehehehehhee....so as we checked the few streets of the town for restaurants, we stumbled on this place solely because they had spaghetti SCREAMING out from their menu, which just so happened to be what I was DYING for at that momentJ

After we sat down, I had my doubts a bit...as it contained not much more than a few plastic picnic tables and a rainbow of flags from every nations.  I highly doubted I was going to get a good ITALIAN lunch.  I was wrong.

I started off with a lemon soda...cause when you're in "lemon country," it's the right thing to do!

And next, we got our daily dose of caprese salad....yes, with some more luscious olive oil.  Lovely as alwaysJ

And finally, my main course....spaghetti with tuna fish.  Ironically, my Grandmother OFTEN made gravy with tuna fish (SOOOOOO GOOD!) so when I saw this on the menu, I knew it was EXACTLY what I wanted....

One bite and I nearly cried.  For a restaurant with plastic picnic tables, this SIMPLE dish blew ANY dish I've had this side of the Atlantic out of the water.  Even the spaghetti (which I KNOW was NOT homemade) just somehow tasted 'different.'  I'm actually sorta welling up as I type thisJ  Something about it was SOOOOOOOOOO good and soooooooooooo very remnant of what my Grandmom would have made!

It was either the fabulous meal, the memories OR the fact that we got to enjoy our lunch in TOTAL and COMPLETE PEACE that we LOVED this lunch!!!  I actually asked Scott if he was ready to leave at one point and he said "No, it's just too nice."  hahahahahhahaahaha....in the little ole restaurant called (ready??) "Buenos Aires" in tiny Sant' Agata:  Scott finally found his Italian "happy place"J hahahahahhaa

Not to mention, we happened to make a few friends while lounging out and enjoying our afternoon...

That dog even jumped up on our tableJ  He was so friendly and sweet.  (Much like our Penny!)

So after wandering back to our hotel and napping lounging for a bit longer, we took the (free) hotel shuttle down to Sorrento (which was about a 10-15 minute ride from the hill where our hotel was perched)...

Sorrento was a LOVELY little town to stroll around.  It had the unique hidden alley ways of Rome, but with 1/4 of the people (except when the cruise ships were docked overnightJ)  So lovelyJ

We stopped in a few of the shops (do you want to by ANY lemon paraphernalia???  Go to Sorrento!  They have a street of stores DEVOTED to lemon products!) and took in the local scene, including the fresh fruit & veggie stands....

Wish I could have taken ALL of this home in my suitcase!

And here are a few of the infamous Sorrento lemons...

It was so very appealing to want to purchase produce in town, as you could EASILY see orange, lemon, fig, pomegranate & even WALNUT trees growing wildly EVERYWHERE!!!  Can't say that about NJ (or mostly ANYWHERE in the US!)  It was pretty coolJ

So in continuing with our theme of 'everything down a random alleyway,' after searching for a restaurant we had read about for A WHILE....we finally found it here...

Yes...in the middle of nowhereJ

Inn Bufalito was a straight up MOZZARELLA BAR with a specialty in buffalo mozzarella.  I figured that was about as uniquely Italian of a dining experience as you can getJ

I LOVEEED the atmosphere of this place!  Open air, dark wood, bamboo structured ceiling...

...and where else in the world would you find fresh BASIL as your table decoration?? J

So are you ready for our appetizer??????

Sauteed broccoli rabe, slim string beans, smoked buffalo meats and one BIG ASS hunk of fresh buffalo mozzarella!

Everything on that plate was TO DIE FOR, especially paired with that creamy, smooth and slightly salty fresh mozzarella.  But what COMPLETELY blew our minds?????  The mozzarella paired with the SUNDRIED TOMATOES!

Talk about the most simple, RANDOM thing on earth....but those tomatoes KNOCKED OUR SOCKS OFF.  I don't know WHAT the hell they did to them, but oh my God, I would be lying if I didn't say these were some of the BEST (and most surprising!) bites we had in all of Italy.  It was just OUTSTANDING!

And we got to partner up all of that goodness with a fresh baked wheel of rosemary foccacia...mmmmmm....

And our dinner selections were just as lovely as the appetizers.  I went with a special of the evening of fusilli with white beans and Parmesan...

So good!  I love creamy beans mixed with chewy pastaJ

But Scott's dish was a work of art!  How often do you order eggplant Parmesan and it comes to your table looking like THIS:

I can't even tell you what this tasted like, as I was too busy stuffing my face with my pasta to even TASTE this dish...but it was a beauty, all with the signature buffalo mozzarella in all of the layers and as a 'cherry on top'...

If you are EVER in Sorrento, you must find your way down that random alleyway and try Inn Bufalita...and MAKE SURE YOU GET THOSE SUNDRIED TOMATOES!!!!! J  Awesome meal!

And after wandering some more around town...

....we finished up our night in one of Sorrento's best gelato parlors....

And it was a good thing it was delicious, as this turned out to be our LAST gelato in Italy (tear

L)

It was TOUGH to narrow down our pick, as Davide served up about FIFTY homemade flavors to choose from.... 

In the end, I picked probably my most RANDOM trio of all:  Lemon meringue (sooo good!), butterscotch and my only 'repeat' flavor: strawberry.  Sigh.....it was all just heavenly....

While Scott also indulged in some lemon meringue, Baci (hazelnut/chocolate candy) and one of his favorite of the whole trip:  SUPER dark chocolate.  I'll miss you, gelato!  Until we meet again some day!!!!!

So every day I type about our food and I hedge to say that the dinner we had was "the best one of the trip"...and then each day just seems to get better!  Tomorrow is no exception, as it contains one of the top 5 dishes I've ever tasted in my ENTIRE life...and it's a unique one!  Till then...have a good Tuesday!