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Naples, Rome and area between - Dona

Am leaving 10/14 for Naples, Rome and driving the area in between. I've been to Naples and Rome before - but am certainly interested in good restaurants. Has anyone been to the area in between these two wonderful cities? Any suggestions for places of interest or restaurants? Anyone been to Ponza? Thanks for any information... Dona

Dona, I was wondering what your take-off date was. I hope you have a blast on this trip! I will be visualizing you as you wend your way up the coast,eating yummy food. I look forward to you posting upon your return, **especially** for your opinions on Punta Rossa(we are thinking more of the apartments/Fisherman's Village) and the Villa Irlanda(would you mind looking to see if there are rooms with balconies/terraces?) Buon divertimento,e ha viaggio meraviglioso!!!! nancy

It has been many years since I travelled the roads between Naples and Rome, but I HOPE that on the back road, you can still find farms where they use water buffalo to till the soil and make real mozzarella from their milk. There were roadside stands where we would stop to buy a fresh mozzarella di bufala, which tasted better than any other. I visited Ponza, and it was beautiful. I remember the harbor and walking to a beach through a tunnel cut in the rock and coming upon a nude male sunbathing on the rocks--my first encounter with the relaxed European attitude towards beach clothing. Near San Felice, there is a tower on the beach (I think it's part of a nature preserve now). We swam there, snorkeling above the ruins of some building, and in the evening there were fluorescent algae in the water, so that we created glowing green ripples when we moved our arms. We had a little sailboat at Nettuno, which has an old medieval town center and might be worth a visit. Have a wonderful trip, and be sure to tell us all about it when you return. I'm curious about Punta Rossa, too.

My experience in the whole area is just about zero, Donna. I drove once the route along the coast just stopping once for lunch in Formia. Anyway, if you're kind enough to serve us all as a guinea pig here are some possibilities (if things work out very well, praises are welcome ... if they don't, no complaints:-): Price estimates include full course dinner/dessert + 1/2 bottle house wine (lunch would be about 50-70%). The only restaurant below that seems playing in a higher league is the Il Focarile, on the road, outside Aprília. All the other should be more or less standard ... On the Sea shore: ÁNZIO - All' Antica Darsena (piazza Sant'Antonio 1, tel. 06/9845146; closed Monday, Lit 55,000) NETTUNO -Cacciatori (via G. Matteotti 27; tel. 06/9880330, closed Wednesday, Lit 65,000) LATINA (Lido di Foce Verde) -Il Tarantino (Tel. 0773/273253; closed Wedsneday, Lit 55,000) -La Risacca (via Lungomare 93; tel. 0773/273223; closed Thursday, Lit 50,000) SAN FELICE CIRCEO -La Stiva di Ulisse (Lungomare Circe 32; tel. 0773/548814; never closed, fish, Lit 65,000) TERRACINA -Bottega Sarra 1932 (via Villafranca 34; tel. 0773/702045; closed Monday, Lit 40,000) SPERLONGA -Gli Archi (via Ottavian, 17; tel. 0771/54300, fish, closed Wednesday, Lit 65,000) GAETA -Masaniello (piazza Commestibili 6, tel. 0771/462296, closed Monaday, Lit 55,000) -Zurich (piazza 19 Maggio 15, closed Wednesday, Lit 75,000) FÓRMIA -Castello Miramare (loc. Pagnano outside city, tel. 0771/700138, classic, always open, Lit 70,000) -Sirio (viale Unità d'Italia, tel. 0771/790047, regional, closed Tuesday, Lit 50,000) -Italo (viale Unità d'Italia, tel. 0771/771264, fish, closed Monday, Lit 65,000) CASTEL VOLTURNO -Scalzone (via Domiziana Km 34,2; tel. 081/851217, closed Monday, Lit 50,000) PONZA -Gennarino a Mare (Ponza Porto, tel. 0771/80071; closed Thursday, Lit 50,000) Innland: APRÍLIA -Il Focarile (via Pontina Km 46,#119; tel. 06/9280392, creative, closed Monday and Sunday evening, Lit 80,000) LATINA -Assunta (via Pontina km 74,5; tel. 0773/241940, closed Sunday evening, Lit 40,000) FONDI -Vicolo di 'Mblò (corso Italia 126, tel. 0771/502385, regional, cloesd Tuesday, Lit 55,000) Paulo

You guys are great! Thanks for all the good wishes and, Paulo, as always, you are amazing! I'll take good notes and let you know how it works out! Dona

Come on, Dona ... I'm very interested in your dining experiences to "fill my cards" relative to the area (they're completely blank at this moment ...). I must admit I did a small homework and the list above involved more guesswork than else (say, to single out one restaurant from a list of, say, three). Printed info I have and what I was available to find on line is very scarce. Anyway, there's ONE restaurant I didn't include because I figured that there are very little chances you'll be in the neighborhoods: VAIRANO PATENORA: Il Vairo de Volturno (Via IV Novembre; tel. 0823/985281, closed Tuesday, Lit 40,000) Vairano Patenora is a few kms off the A1 Autostrada to the east, before one reaches Teano when driving from Rome (Caianello exit). This could be a lunch option for travelers looking for a good restaurant just off the Autostrada. It's listed by Gambero Rosso among the 20 or so top quality/price restaurants in Italy. Paulo PS. Have fun ... and DO report back on your return :-)

Dona, Five more for your dining pleasure. These are from the EYEWITNESS,ITALY book and an older (1994)CADOGAN,ITALY GUIDE. Where there is pricing, the figures are based on what Paolo used to price. GAETA; La Cianciola, Vico 2 Buonomo 16 ( closed Monday) Tele;0771.46.61.90 "Charming trattoria hidden up an alley"They recommend eggplant and shellfish. 35.000L La Scarpetta, Piazza Conca 1, Tele 0771.462142 "Good local food, plus more experimental dishes" SPERLONGA; Al Fortino, Via Flacca Tele 0771.54337 moderate priced menu La Bisaccia, Via Romita 25 (Tuesday) Tele 0771 545 76 They recommend linguine with wild asparagus(out of season?) and shrimp. Plus also other good fish dishes. 55.000-75.000L TERRACINA; L'Incontro Da Baffone, Via Appia, km 104,500 (?listed this way as address) Tele 0773.72.60.07 (Closed Wednesday) "Popular restuarant along beautiful beach of Terracina , a peaceful place to sample good, local fish dishes" 35.000-55.000L I'll be thinking of you Saturday, Envying you on Sunday!!! nancy

Topping for Dona. nancy

Bringing to top for Meredith. nancy