tcinct

It was years ago we rented a car in Puglia. All bets were off that we’d still be married by the time we got to our first villa rental. I am not quiet about screaming

“Watch out!

Brake, brake! brake! BRAKE!

Where did that person get his/ her driving license?!

Can that driver follow us any closer?

That car just cut you off!

Don’t forget that stop signs and red lights in Italy are optional and in Naples they are Christmas decorations!

That street sign we just passed means we are going the wrong way on a one way street!”

Anyways, the above is the more polite abridged version.

So for a couple of years my husband asked to travel to Italy without renting a car. This year we had 6 weeks to travel by train, bus, or transfer. Here’s what we did.

bilboburgler

on for the ride

Sassafrass

We have not rented a car anywhere in Europe for years. Will be interested and enjoy your car-less adventure.

tcinct

We boarded a train in RI to Penn Station, then to LIRR to Jamaica Plains. From there we walked to the Airtrain station to go to JFK. We flew Delta on time to Milan. After clearing the airport we walked to the Malpensa Express train station to go to Milano Centrale. We took a train again and were in Salerno by early evening. Salerno is a great location for ferry transfers to the Amalfi Coast. We stayed here in an apartment in the historic center for 4 nights to recover from jet lag and to be close to our next destination.

One of the restaurants we tried in Salerno was recommended by our host. It is the Al Dente-Spaghetteria on Via Santi Martiri Salernitani, 58. Spaghetti you say? Well so did we! I can make spaghetti! But the choices of spaghetti that were freshly made right in the open kitchen tasted great! Another benefit of this spaghetteria is that it was open from 11am till 1am every day of the week. It is a great alternative to have an early dinner if you are tired and hungry rather than waiting till 7:30 pm for restaurants to open.

TDudette

LOL, tcinct, my DH and I often traffic watched as well as people watched in Italy. I'm looking forward to your trip!

progol

Following! We did a mostly public transport 5-week trip around Italy a number of years ago (though, admittedly, we did rent a car for 3 days in Umbria), and I see more public transportation trips in the future. It’s very satisfying to travel that way and not having to deal with driving in and out of cities and parking - especially in the ZTL zones, those designated no-parking areas that you only discover you’ve parked 6 in months after the fact when you get a bill in the mail!

tcinct

When we first arrived in Salerno we had talked of taking a day trip to walk the Path of the Lemons from Maiori to Minori. There are many steps along the path leaving one town and entering the other and we decided we weren’t energetic enough yet to try it. Our apartment had steep steps to enter and then more steep steps to get upstairs. I decided to put some lemons on the steps of the apartment and call it a deal!

tcinct

While in Salerno we bought train tickets to visit the village of ceramics, Vietri Sul Mare. You can get to Vietri by ferry but the train is under a 10 minute ride for under 2 euros and has more frequent connections than the ferry. It is a short down hill walk from the train station that took us to an elevator (asensori publico) that had ceramic fish on the walls. We walked around the streets and checked out the shops for a couple of hours. We wandered down a small side street to Justin’s Bar by the laundromat for some Aperol and Lemon Spritzs that came with enough snacks to call it lunch!

tcinct

Ceramics decorate the streets, even pipes on the walls.

tcinct

Our next stop was Minori, a less crowded Amalfi Coast town we hadn’t visited before. We took an hour long scenic ferry ride (travelmar.it) from Salerno Concordia to Minori staying at an apartment recco’d by another Fodorite. Two nights is all that was available and we were happy to get that. It had an elevator to a flight and a half of steps to reach the entry door. Up another flight of steps led to an incredible 360 degree view terrace. We would have probably never come down from the terrace except Sal de Riso’s bakery was across the street where we had to try the lemon delight ( delizie al limone) of Stanley Tucci fame. After that I wanted to live in the bakery!

Adelaidean

I like your Path of the Lemons compromise “I decided to put some lemons on the steps of the apartment and call it a deal!”

KarenWoo

How much luggage did you have and what size? So far we usually do rent cars but I expect at some point my husband won't want to drive. I know it's stressful. We did use trains in Andalucia 6 years ago, and we were able to manage our luggage. But as we age, I think we will have to downsize if we plan on using public transportation. I know I pack too much!

tcinct

Hi Karen,
I enjoy your posts about what you’ve been reading!
I have cut way back on what I pack. We travel with a carry on each and my husband has a small backpack. The only way our luggage would get lost is if we forgot it! We never have to wait for our luggage to show up at the carousels at the airports. We mostly stay in apartments and use washing machines. Dryers aren’t as common in Italy so our clothes are bought for traveling with fast drying fabric in mind.

bilboburgler

We do the same, we even take some worn out clothing to put into local recycling systems along the way to reduce weight and to allow us to buy the odd thing along the way. Washing machines were first invented back in the 1920s and are seen as the most significant economic change to the western world of the centuary freeing up half the population from drudgery. It is only reasonable we should also use them on holiday. Still, others like to take their dirty clothing home.

tcinct

I may not lose my luggage but I sure can lose the photos I try to post!

tcinct

The pastry shop! Worth a stop!

tcinct

Lemon delight-Delize al Limone.

TDudette

Yums just Yums, tcinct!

geetika

We loved Minori, and gorged on delice at Sal de Riso, we bought some to take back to our apartment in Atrani to savor over the next couple of days. Did a limoncello tasting too, also had a delicious limoncello tiramisu at a small restaurant in Atrani, to die for 😋

tcinct

Hi Geetika,
Right down the street was another fabulous bakery, Gambardella, which also had delizie Al limone! We had to try theirs to compare.
There was no clear winner, they were equally delicious! I agree with you, the limoncello was a highlight! The lemon spritz’s there
were some of the best I’ve ever had!