Our best of Italy experiences

Best cakes and pastries

1. Best cannoli at Savoca Sicily because it contained lots of nuts

2. Pocket coffee – best everyday chocolate with liquid coffee centre made by Ferraro Roche – we were introduced to it by our GoAhead tour guide Tamara – hard to find in Sicily but lots in Conad supermarkets in Rome

3. Delicious baba and sfogliatella (filled filo pastry) in Naples

Also worth a mention almond biscuits at Erice Sicily

Best pasta

All pasta had been good but Anthony had the best homemade pasta with mushrooms when we went out with the American couple to Mama Rosa’s in Taormina.

Best pizza

Pizza has been great everywhere but we really enjoyed our pizza in Taormina with olives, eggplant and ham.

Best meat

Anthony’s veal cutlet in Taormina was the biggest and best he has ever had. It was so elegantly presented.

The prosciutto that we had in Florence which was cut from the bone was also fabulous.

Best beer – a 750ml bottle of timili red beer in Palermo. Really too much for one person.

Best wine – all wine has been good but beware house wine at lunch time!

We really enjoyed our bottle of Sicilian wine over a relaxing lunch in Taormina.

Best coffee – espresso lungo (a longer version of an expresso) which we leant about from our GoAhead tour guide. We particularly enjoyed the ones you could have with a pastry in Florence either standing up or sitting down. It is shorter than an americano which is like our long black.

Best home cooked meal was in Florence when Anthony made a salad with left over bread and fresh tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, served with fresh asparagus wrapped in prosciutto,

Best seafood – I enjoyed the squid we had at a little place in Naples – simply grilled and served with fresh lemon. The pizza was also good and much needed after a day at Pompeii.

Also worth a mention was the lunch we had at a Agriturismo, or “agricultural tourism / agritourism” restaurant where we stopped on the way to Siracusa. We had a wonderful tapas plates of Sicilian produce and wine for only 15 euro per person.