Coppacabana Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Hanging at one of My Favorite Bars

COPPACABANA BEACH

RIO de JANEIRO

BRASIL

Rio de Janeiro

On Coppacabana Beach

Looking to Sugarloaf

Cinque Terre Vernazza Chianti Tower Pisa

Vernazza

Torre di Pisa

It took me 6 Trips to Italy to finally make it to see one of the most famous Italian attractions of all, "The Leaning Tower of Pizza at the Piazza Miracoli. It was a research trip with my business partner Tom (Bar Cichetti). I was landing in Milan, we were going to meet in Florence and Tom and his associate at TJT were first going to Lago di Como, so I figured I'd take the train to the Italian Riviera and Cinque Terre, and would stay in the town of Vernaazza for two days before heading to Fierenze. 

I had a nice time on the Cinque Terre, hiking to 4 of the 5 towns, eating, drinking local wine and having a great time as usual in Bella Italia. After my two days in Vernaazza was up, I'd be heading down to Florence to meet up with Tom and Maran. The train would be passing through Pisa, so I figured I just had to see the "Leaning Tower of Pisa," if only this one time. So I figured, I'd catch an early train from Vernazza to Pisa, jump off the train for 2 1/2 hours, run over to the Piazza Miracoli and see the Torre di Pisa. And so I did, and I must say, though it is a bit touristy, it's gorgeous and something you just have to see. And it's not just the Tower of Pisa but the whole Piazza di Miracoli is beeautiful, including the Cathedral, The Baptistery next door to it, and of course la Torre.

And so I saw the leaning Tower of Pisa, I took pictures, I had a great time, I loved, and was so glad I did. I got on a local bus and headed toward the train station. I hopped on the next train to Florence, passing trhough Empoli and Prato along the way.

The DUOMO

Florence , Italy

Approaching Villa Calcinaia

GREVE

CHIANTI CONTI CAPONI

Me having Lunch with the Conti Caponi

Sebastiano and Nicholas

VILLA CALCINAIA

GREVE ,  1997

VILLA CALCINAIA

GREVE

Vigna dell Piave

FONTODI

PANZANO

"FLACCIANELLO"

READ ABOUT FLACIANELLO

And FONTODI

OFF to VENICE

Piazza San MARCO

And MY VENICE

On The GRAND CANAL

Hanging with "El LUPO"

Arturo, one of Venice's most Famou GONDOLIERE.

At BACARO VIVALDI

1995

An assortment of CICHETTI at ARCO

CICHETTI "The Namesake of My VENETIAN WINE BAR"

BAR CICHETTI

NEW YORK , NY

BAR CICHETTI

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Great Pizza Seafood Salerno Amalfi Coast Italy

 

Fritto Misti

Al La SPAGNOLA

 

I stayed at Villa Maria (Lemon Farm, Minori) for a couple days once again, and was next going to meet my cousin Tony in Salerno. Tony arrived in Salerno two days before and was hanging out with our cousins Marta and Mimmo who live in Salerno. I told Tony that the ferry boat I was catching was due to arrive in Salerno at 12:30 pm, after quick stops in Maiori and the fishing village of Cetara. It was a nice day, so I quite enjoyed the lovely boat ride along the beautiful Amalfi Coast from Minori to Salerno. The boat arrived and I hopped off and walked down the long path towards the exit of Salerno's Marine Terminal. I was surprised when, as I was walking, I spotted Tony's good friend Alan about 100 feet ahead. Then I saw Tony. Alan had a some time off, and flew over to hang out with Tony and I for a few days. It was warm greetings, as its always great to see my cousin Tony, and Alan was a long as well. We threw my bags in the car, and it was off to lunch. When I spoke to Tony on the phone the night before, he told me not to eat before I got there, that he was taking me to some place for lunch. He had told me that Mimmo and Marta brought him there, and that it was a really nice restaurant.

We pulled up to La Spagnola, parked the car, and hopped out. The lady that turned out to be our waitress, greeted us at the door, then brought us to our table. The table had our name on it (Bellino name tag) and we all sat down. The place looked great, and I was excited for a lunch to come.

 

Antipasto Misti di Mare

Tony handed me the wine-list and said, "pick out a nice Champagne Dan." OK. I looked the wine list over, browsed the Champagne, as well as other sparkling wines, but it wasn't Champagne that I chose. I saw the Giulio Ferrari Brut 2004 and thought that would be good, so I said to Tony, "they have some nice Italian Sparkler. What do you think?" Tony said yes, so when the waitress came over I ordered a bottle. A few minutes later, the waitress came back with the wine, I tasted it and so we began our lunch a t La Spagnola. Tony loved the wine, and so did I as well as Alan, and I didn't know that a created a monster, so-to-speak, as after this, Tony fell in love with the Ferrari, and we'd drink about 6 more bottles before our trip was over.

 

Giulio Ferrari 2004

"Some Tasty Wine"

 

The waitress started chatting with us about what they had that day, and dishes that she suggested. She asked us if we liked Razor Clams, and also if we wanted a little antipasto plate each of Polpo and the Polpette di Alici (Anchovy Meatballs) that Tony was raving about. We all agreed on that, so the waitress went to get that started for us. So we were chit-chatting, sipping our tasty Ferrari (not Champagne) , and just enjoying our time when the waitress brought us each a lovely plate of Polpo e Pelpette di Alici. Wow, just the sight of the dish got us all going, it so very good, and when I bit into the Sardine Meatball (Polpette d' Alici) I realized what Tony had been talking about, and why raved so about the dish he had a couple nights before. Well, needless to say, we all loved the dish, the Octopus and Alici were as tasty as can be.

After the antipasti misti, our waitress brought us a 2nd antipasto course, and gave us each a gorgeous looking plate of sauteed Razor Clams each. Dam, they were tasty! And so we enjoyed once again.

And now it was time to ordered our main-course. Alan and I each ordered Spaghetti Vongole and Tony ordered some Orata. When those dishes came, of course they were all superb, and we totally enjoyed them.

 

Our Antipasto al la Spagnola

Polpette di Alici e Polpo

"Absolutely Awesome!"

 

Yes, our lunch was a big hit. We had a wonderful waitress, whose service was par excel-lance. The food was as it would turn out, the best I had on our 12 day trip to the Amalfi Coast, in the Summer of 2018 ... Yes, we ate in a lot of wonderful restaurants all over the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Italy. We ate at Buco di Bacco and Da Vincenzo in Positano, we had a few nice meals in Sorrento as well as an awesome lunch at Lo lo Smeraldino in Amalfi which maybe was as good as La Spagnola. Yes, we had the most wonderful lunch out on the deck at Lo Smeraldino. We had an incredible view of Amalfi, we drank Ferrari again, we had a couple awesome waiters taking care of us, and we ate Langostines, Calamari, Cozze, and Grancio (local Crab).

 

Our Razor Clams at la Spagnola

Yes, I'd have to say that our meal at :a Spagnola in Salerno, Italy was a most memorable one. I will never forget that wonderful lunch I had that day with cousin Tony and our friend Alan. La Spagnola is a gem of a restaurant, and along with Da Marino in Naples, L'Archetto, also in Salerno, Buco di Bacco in Positano, these are my top 4 favorite restaurants in the entire area in Campania that comprises: Napoli, Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Minori, and all of the AMalfi Coast of Italy, yes La Spagnola is a very special gem of a restaurant, and so I'd urge anyone staying in Salerno, you must eat here, and the restaurant is certainly worth a pecial trip from anywhere at all on the Amalfi Coast. Wherever you may be on the coast, you can take a nice boat ride to get to Salerno, And you can make a whole day of it, hit a Gelateria, and get a Pizza or Calzone from my buddy Gerardo at his wonderful little Pizzeria / Trattoria L'Archetto, also in Salerno. Just do it !

 

Outside La SPAGNOLA

SALERNO , ITALY 2018

Alan, Myself, and Cousin Tony

 

READ MORE

My Trip Amalfi Coast 2019

 

Our View of AMALFI

From Our Table at Lo SMERALDINO

AMALFI, ITALY 2018

READ ABOUT IT !

 

My Buddy GERARDO

Making My PIZZA

L'ARCHETTO PIZZERIA / RISTORANTE

BEST PIZZA in SALERNO

READ about GERARDO and his PIZZA

 

Pizza by GERARDO

L'ARCHETTO PIZZERIA

SALERNO , ITALY

 

A Fisherman on his Fishing Boat

CETARA

2018

Maybe this fisherman caught some of the Fish that we ate at La Spagnola or our awesome lunch at Lo Smeraldino in Amalfi.

Cetara is the only true fishing village left on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. It's a cute little town, and one of the best places to get an awesome Seafood Meal on the Amalfi Coast. There are several wonderful little trattoria's in town that we highly recommend taking a trip to Cetara. You'll have a lovely car or boat ride, and one of the best seafood lunches or dinners of your life. Garaunteed! 

Note : The fishermen catch all different kinds of fish, but the town is most famous for the Alici (anchovies) caught by the fishing fleet of this town. Besides the wonderful seafood trattoria's, there are several shops where you can buy the famous Anchovies in bottles as well as the Secret Anchovy Sauce (Colatura) of Cetara.

 

Polpo al Guasetto at La Spagnola

Salerno

 

An Awesome Mixed Seafood Plate at La Spagnola

SALERNO

Just look at that plate. Doesn't it make your mouth water? This is the type of wonderful food they prepare at La Spagnola, easily one of The Best Restaurants in all of Campania.

"Yes, it's that Good!"

 

POSITANO is COMING SOON

A New Book From Best Selling Italian Cookbook Author

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

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Venice Verona Vinitaly Italian Wine

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The GRAND CANAL

 

VENICE

 

 

ITALY

 

2001

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Waiting For The TRAGHETTO

 

 

The GRAND CANAL

 

 

VENICE

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Me and Cousin Joe

 

An OSTERIA

 

 

VERONA , ITALY

 

 

2003

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At The BOTTEGA Del VINI

 

 

VERONA , ITALY

 

 

During Vinitaly April 2003

 

 

Cousin Joe half in Photo

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The ARNO RIVER

 

FLORENCE

 

 

ITALY

 

 

 

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CUGINI

 

 

COUSINS JOE and TONY

 

 

VERONA

 

 

ITALY

 

 

2003

.

 

At The BOTTEGA Del VINIVERONA

 

with Cousin Anthony Bellino

 

Joe Macari , Frank, and Me

 

During VINITALY  2003

 

 

ITALY

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BAR at The BOTTEGA Del VINI

 

 

VERONA

 

 

ITALY

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With GIAMPAULO MOTTA

 

 

at The BOTTEGA Del VINI

 

 

VERONA , ITALY

 

 

2003

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SEVARINO BARZAN

 

 

Owner of The BOTTEGO Del VINI

 

 

VERONA   2003

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The DUOMO

 

 

FLORENCE

 

 

ITALY

 

 

 

 

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PIAZZA SAN MARCO

 

 

 

VENICE

.

 

Having a CAMPARI

 

 

with Frank and Cousin Tony

 

 

At FLORIAN'S CAFFE

 

PIAZZA SAN MARCO

 

 

VENICE

.

Joe Macari , Giovanni Folnari

 

Me and Cousin Anthony

 

 

at VINITALY 2013

 

 

VERONA

 

ITALY

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SUNDAY SAUCE

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Hanging Out on Capri

CAPRI

CAPRI Sign at DUE GULFI

The Two GULFS of CAPRI

BAR DUE GULFI

DUE GULFI

CAPRI

There's a path just to the left of Bar Dude Gulfi, that you take to walk down to Marina Picolo to go swimming or whatever? I first discovered this path when the owner of the Hotel Carmencita in Anacapri told me the best way to get to Marina Picolo. He told me to take the little local bus to Due Gulfi, get off and take the path down to Marina Picolo. And so I did. That was in June of 2015. 

I had a great day swimming at Marina Picolo that day. I was even bitten by a Jellyfish, the first time ever as I swam back underneath the natural stone archway on my way back to the beach. The 1st time I swam over here was in the Summer of 1988, the first time I stayed in Capri, at the Pensione Villa Tosca ($40) which is still owned by the same family, though it has been upgraded to a much more expensive (but nice) little boutique hotel called La TOSCA .

After swimming at the beach at Marina Picolo that day, I took the little bus by the Chapel back up to Capritown. The bus stop is just a couple hundred feet down from the Piazza Umberto and the piazzetta by the Funicular that takes people from Marina Grande, up to Capritown. Right after you leave the bus-stop and are walking to the Piazza, you will spot the Salumeria Capri on your left, which I first discovered not in 1988, but on my stay in 2015 when I was walking from the bus that day to go to the Piazza Umberto to hang out and have an aperitivo (Aperol Spritz or Negroni) at Bar Tiberius.

Free Beach where I Swim

MARINA PICCOLA , CAPRI

I spotted the salumeria and bopped in to get a bottle of water. The shop looked quite good, and I spotted the Arancini (rice balls) among other prepared foods (frittata & Eggplant Parmigiano) at the counter. So i got myself a large bottle of Mineral Water and a Rice-Ball). I took my stuff over to the piazzetta and sat on a bench overlooking a beautiful spot in Capri. I bit into the Arancino, and "Wow," dam this little baby was tasty. Extremely tasty I'd say. And wow I was a happy camper eating my tasty Rice Ball and wacthing the Sunset over the beautiful Isle of Capri. Again, "Wow," it doesn't get any better that this. I just had a wonderful day swimming off Capri, in the lovely waters of The Tyrrhenian Sea, and now I was eating the tastiest rice ball ever, taking in one of the World's most gorgeous views on Capri, Italy, and about to go have a Negroni at Bar Tiberius, one of my old hangouts way back in the 1980s when I was a much younger man, so full of life. Yes, I may be quite a bit older (and Wiser), but still very much full of life, though maybe with a bit of a different viewpoint of things now, I was reliving those wonderful old memories of a young man still in his 20s.

As I was eating that tasty rice ball, I decided right then and there, that a couple Arancini would be part of my beach lunch the next day, when I'd be swimming Capri again, but tomorrow it would be off the famed Faraglioni Rocks of Capri at the Da Luigi Beach Club by the majestic rocks of Capri.

The beach I swim at at

My BEACH at MARINA PICCOLA

CAPRI

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