aprillilacs

For our fourth trip to Italy, in May/June 2009, my husband and I wanted to focus on places that were on our “must do” list but we hadn't yet visited. We figured that 6 weeks would allow us to travel from the bottom of Italy to the top at a fairly leisurely pace. Advice from people we've met during our travels and from contributors to this forum helped us narrow our choices. We ended up focusing on 8 different places, so this trip report is in 8 parts:

--The Aeolian Islands
--Vietri sul Mare and the Amalfi Coast
--Rome
--An interlude in rural Tuscany
--Santa Margherita de Ligure and surroundings
--The Piedmont
--The Dolomites
--Lake Como

My pictures are posted at http://aprillilacsphotos.shutterfly.com.

PART 1 -- LIPARI AND THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS

May 8-9
It was the end of the week, and the end of my full-time job of 22 years (by choice, to enable us to travel more, in longer chunks). We both finished work at 4:00, grabbed our carry-on bags, and were driven by a friend to Philadelphia Airport for our night flight to Heathrow on British Airways. From Heathrow we bused to Gatwick, had lunch and a couple of good brews at the airport, then headed out on another BA flight to Catania, Sicily, arriving about 8:00 pm on May 9.

Glad to be back in lively Sicily, we took a taxi (25 euros) to our hotel, Villa Romeo, which was clean and conveniently located right near the train station, where we would need to be the following morning. We took a short walk around the area, wandering around the mobile instant cafes that had sprung up in the big parking lot across from the station, where locals were eating and drinking and enjoying the evening. Since we were still kind of mentally in-transit to our real destination, the Aeolian Islands, we didn't join in but collapsed into bed for a well-deserved sleep.

May 10
In the morning we checked out of the hotel (and inexplicably received a nice little gift on checkout, marzipan and a wallet!) and made our way to the train station down the street. To get to Lipari we were advised to take the train to Milazzo and catch the boat there. (The other choice was going to Messina, an easier train ride but longer boat ride, with more limited boat departures.) My husband, J, was a little anxious that we might not be able to find the Messina boat dock in time to make the 1:30 boat, so we took the train guy’s advice and bought tickets to Milazzo, changing trains in Messina. Milazzo station was pretty much deserted, but there was a taxi waiting out front so we took it the 4 km to the boat dock. I suspect we were overcharged, and I know that a bus would have been much cheaper, but it was still early in the trip and we hadn't got ourselves mentally in gear for taking the cheapest way--taking a taxi was so much easier!

The taxi driver dropped us at the ticket office across the road from the boat. There was a little group of people waiting for the office to open after the lunch break, and the group expanded to 15-20 people by the time the office opened. No worries--plenty of seats for everyone. Standing in line, we had a quick lunch of tasty Sicilian arancini, then bought our tickets and headed across the street to board the hydrofoil.

Once on, we really enjoyed the 1-hour trip to Lipari across the calm waters. Finally, the Aeolis! We disembarked at Lipari harbor and looked around for the owner of our B&B (Diana Brown B&B), but she wasn’t obvious so we headed off in search of the place ourselves. We found it easily, on a side street just back of the main street (it’s all relative), but no one answered the door. There was a note to call Diana's cell phone if she wasn't in, but we hadn't bought a SIM card for our cell phone yet and didn't know where to find phone. We were hungry and knew that someone would show up eventually, so we went back to the main street and looked for someplace to get a bite to eat.

Right around the corner from Diana’s place was a cute little “rusticcheria” where we figured we could get some wine and cheese, if nothing else. Since it was well past lunchtime nobody was eating there, but that didn’t stop us--we went in with our bags and were about to sit down at the first wooden booth when the waitress beckoned us to go back to the patio (who knew?) and sit in the open air. The patio was cute and informal--the back of someone’s house, with a few tables to sit around. An older woman was pulling weeds but stopped her work when we put in our order for bruschetta and wine--she was the cook, it seems. Meanwhile, we tried to explain to the waitress that we had reservations at Diana’s place but nobody was there...could someone call Diana on her cell phone to tell her we had arrived? Our basic Italian had escaped us --I had even forgotten how to say good morning! But the point got across with lots of hand signals, and sooner rather than later Diana’s husband arrived and directed J to bring our bags to the B&B and pick up the key to our room. I stayed at the trattoria and took in the friendly, low-key surroundings (the first of many laundry lines we would see, hanging over warm-weather garden plantings) and waited for the bruschetta. By the time it arrived J was back and we devoured it. Perfection! In fact, that was the best bruschetta we had on the entire trip--at the quiet corner rusticcheria.

Our room at the B&B was simple and nicely equipped. It had a decent bathroom and a small balcony that overlooked the back alley and gave us a great view of the neighboring business’s workroom. (Fortunately they were almost never there when we were in our room, so we didn’t feel constrained to keep our shutters closed.) The highlight of Diana’s place, besides the great price (45 euros per night if you pay in cash) is the beautiful rooftop terrace, one short flight of steps up from our floor and next to the lovely breakfast room. We enjoyed several afternoons/evenings on the flowered terrace, getting to know other guests and partaking of our self-provided drinks and snacks. We were very happy at Diana Brown’s and would definitely stay there again.

May 11
Boats and water are what the Aeolian Islands are all about, and there are plenty of storefronts offering trips to the neighboring islands. We found a place we liked and booked a boat trip to Panarea and Stromboli. These two islands are very different--Panarea has lovely white stucco buildings with blue shutters, shaded by lush green plantings, with the blue sea in the background--my ideal decor. Stromboli is a little more informal, dominated by an active volcano. Panarea was very quiet this early in the season and simply gorgeous. Though we had only about an hour there before the boat took off again, we enjoyed walking along the alleys and roads and peeking at the views each place offered. We will definitely return to Panarea for a longer stay very soon. (Next May?)

As the boat approached Stromboli we watched the volcano that constitutes the island throw up its intermittent puffs of smoke--every 10 minutes or so another one would rise out of the top of the mountain. Lots of people hike up the volcano but though J was game I wasn't so inclined (too much incline!), so we did some more exploring and then found a nice outdoor restaurant, La Lampana, where we had an early dinner of excellent pizza and grilled vegetables. (All meals on this trip were of course accompanied by wine by the liter or half-liter--we love wine and found the house wines to be generally good and very inexpensive.) The ambiance was oh-so-perfect as the sun began to set and relaxation set in. Eventually we made it back to the boat for the advertised “Stromboli by night” portion of the trip--viewing the periodic eruptions in the dark of night. We never quite got to the darkest dark (it was like waiting and waiting for darkness to fall so the fireworks can go off on the 4th of July, but then the fireworks people get impatient and set them off 20 minutes early), but it was impressive nonetheless. After the boatmen finally struck up the motor headed for Lipari, the eruptions got even better--we all wanted to stay and watch! I expended a lot of my camera battery trying to catch the eruptions--but the results weren't so great. On the hourlong ride back to Lipari we fell into conversation with a friendly Czech couple who invited us to sail with them in the Adriatic in August. (I think they were a little drunk.) We pulled in to Lipari harbor about 10:30 p.m.--a nice long day!

May 12
Today was Salina day--another boat trip, to another great island. The trip took us all the way around the island so we could see the small villages and blue-green coves, and we even were joined by dolphins as we headed into the harbor. We ate an excellent lunch at A Cannata (squid, shrimp, macaroni), scouted out the area, then it was back on the boat to the west and south coast of Lipari. The scenery--steep, rocky cliffs, water-carved arches and caves, and up-close views of the island of Vulcano--was awesome. We spent the evening on Diana Brown’s terrace eating things we had picked up from the nearby market, drinking wine and limoncello, and having good conversations with a young couple from Spain, an Australian woman, and a well-traveled English couple. Diana's guests are quite an international group--there was only one other American staying while we were there, and very few Americans in Lipari, for that matter.

May 13
The legendary Gran Cratere called to us, so off we went on yet another boat trip, to climb the eponymous Vulcano. (I knew J, a geologist, would get me up a volcano sometime or another on this trip.) The climb of the Gran Cratere was well worth the effort because the views--both into the smoking crater and out to the town and the sea below--were stunning. After all that exertion we needed something cold to drink, and we found just what we needed at an open-air restaurant back in the town. After we perked up we headed for the black sand beach (just beyond the incredibly stinky mudbaths where quite a few people wallowed) and spent some time at the beachside bar, where I painted a watercolor and J read (the first of 7 books he would read on this trip). More cold drinks, of course. Very relaxing! Eventually we walked back to the harbor to catch our boat for the short trip back to Lipari. The harbor was crowded with daytrippers waiting to board their boats to leave the island. Vulcano wasn't my favorite island--it was too crowded and the town was kind of tacky--and I wouldn't really want to base there, but it was fun to visit for the day.

I really loved returning to Lipari after all these boat trips--it’s such a sweet place, with plenty of options for dinner, shopping, and strolling, and a lively local scene that is fun to watch. This night we actually went to a restaurant! We ate at La Cambusa (squid, spaghetti), which was quite nice. As usual we were at the early end of the dinner hours (hadn’t yet got used to dining after 8) so there weren’t many other diners. But that was OK--eating early meant we never needed a reservation.

May 14
The day before, when we bought boat tickets to Vulcano, we also reserved a place for today on a boat that was scheduled to go to Filicudi and Alicudi (why not do them all?), more distant islands that don’t get as much tourism. Sadly, when we got down to the harbor to meet up with the boat the guy who had sold us the tickets said it wasn’t running today after all--I think they got a better offer from a larger group to go somewhere else. We were briefly disappointed, but it gives us another excuse to return to the Aeolis! Since we hadn't spent much time on Lipari itself , we decided to forgo boat rides for the day and explore the island we were actually staying on. First stop--after cappucini at the harbor--was the well-regarded museum of antiquities on the hill above the harbor. We had climbed the hill one evening a few days earlier for the view, so we figured we should see what the museum itself had to offer. But this was not our lucky day. The entrance fee was 12 euros for the two of us, but the ticket seller had no change for our 20-euro bill and thus wouldn't let us in to the museum. ("Sorry, no change" seems to be a common occurrence in southern Italy.) She didn’t provide any other options and we didn’t feel like trekking down the hill to find change and then trekking back up again, so we nixed the museum. (Next time!)

So now what to do? We decided to hop on a local bus to the nearby town of Canneto, where we hoped we could find a nice restaurant for lunch. Not much was open in Canneto, though, so we bought some provisions at the local market and plopped down among the boats resting on the stony beach and had a picnic. It was hot but we managed to find shade on the side of a colorful boat. After lunch I painted a watercolor of the boats and we had refreshing drinks at an outdoor cafe before busing back to Lipari town. It wasn’t the most exciting way to spend our last afternoon in the Aeolis, but it was definitely local!

Back in Lipari we soaked in more of the atmosphere at the second harbor, Marina Corta. There were lots of families getting together in the early evening, and we especially enjoyed seeing the grandparents and children together. Refreshed, we decided to go to the Kasbah restaurant, which had been highly recommended as one of the best places to eat in Lipari. Since, per usual, we were the first people to arrive for dinner, we were seated in a prime position on the large patio at the back of the restaurant, under fruit-laden orange trees. As darkness fell the restaurant filled with people, and twinkling lights among the trees created a beautiful scene. Our meals were excellent--ravioli, risotto, and what we like to call “priceless fish.” That’s the fresh fish that is given pride of place in the restaurant and priced by the kilo--well, you buy the whole fish and guess what it might weigh, and what you might have to pay for it. We expected it would be about 40 euros a kilo, and the fish weighed over a kilo. Expensive but a delicious splurge. The Kasbah was a nice ending to our stay in Lipari.

May 15
We wanted to stay longer in the Aeolian Islands but had tickets on the Messina-Salerno train that left around 11 a.m. on the 15th, so we had to tear ourselves away, pay for our amazingly inexpensive room, and get on the morning boat to Messina. When we landed we walked the half-mile or so from the boat dock to the train station, happy again that we had just a small rollerbag each to carry along with us. The route to the station wasn’t well marked but we eventually found it.

The train ride to Salerno was comfortable, if long--much time was spent loading the train onto the boat to cross the Straits, then unloading it on the mainland and getting the cars on the right track to go north. Wouldn’t it be more sensible to have the train end in Messina, have the passengers take the boat across, and then have a new train start on the mainland? Just a thought.

We had rented a villa in Vietri sul Mare starting on the 16th but had built in an extra day between leaving Lipari and arriving in Vietri as insurance in case bad weather made it necessary to stay in Lipari an extra day. Since the weather was perfect and we weren’t delayed, we had arranged for an inexpensive accommodation in Salerno for the night of the 15th. “My Salerno Apartment,” which I found on the Internet, is a tiny B&B with one guest bedroom, a shared bathroom, and access to the kitchen, located in a lively neighborhood a few miles south of the Salerno train station. Diane and her friend Giuseppe were delightful hosts and very helpful, all for just 40 euros a night (plus an additional 8 euros since we were only staying one night). Giuseppe helped us navigate the purchase and registration of a SIM card for our phone, which we wanted to make sure worked for the next part of the trip. We loved the bustling southern Salerno neighborhood, which was filled with bars, restaurants, and shops, and even had a live puppet show going on in the little piazza to entertain the neighborhood kids. A fun slice of local Salerno life, off the beaten track.

For dinner Diane recommended Trattoria Aurileo, a few blocks from the apartment. Great recommendation--I had the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life, a margherita di buffa. It’s become the Mystic Pizza--maybe the Mythic Pizza--because every time I’ve ordered pizza since, I’ve been disappointed. Diane had told us that we should never pay more than 4 euros for a margherita pizza in southern Italy, but Aurileo’s buffalo margherita was 6 euros, and it wasmore than worth it. Thin, crisp crust, the freshest tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella straight from the buffalos just down the highway toward Paestum, a few sprigs of basil...to die for. I want some now.

Next stop: Vietri sul Mare and the Amalfi Coast

zeppole

Great info. Paradise on the cheap -- with volcanic explosions too! I'm planning a trip to Vietri sul Mare so I look forward to more. But I guess the villa wasn't cheap -- or was it?

Sorry you'll never find another pizza like that. But it's just as well.

I can't believe people pushed for fireworks when they had a volcano right there. Funny!

aprillilacs

Thanks, zeppole. No--there weren't any fireworks on the boat--the volcano was definitely enough!

The Vietri villa was 1,600 U.S. dollars for 7 nights (2 bedrooms, 2 baths, gigantic terrace overlooking the town and the sea beyond). Expensive but definitely worth it. I'll try to post part 2 of the trip soon.

By the way, I see that I mistitled my report--it should say "south to north" rather than "north to south." Oops! I'm really not that geographically challenged.

bobthenavigator

I am enjoying it all---give us more.

zeppole

Aprillilacs,

Your other budget accommodations definitely made up for the splurge -- although just about any hotel room on that stretch of the Med gets to two hundred a night, without that kind of privacy, so it's not extravagantly priced.

So more please. Needless to say, as a resident of Liguria, I look forward to that leg of the trip as well.

aprillilacs

PART 2: VIETRI SUL MARE, THE AMALFI COAST, AND THOSE FAMOUS RUINS

May 16
We enjoyed a really nice breakfast and conversation with Diane at My Salerno Apartment, then set off for downtown Salerno where we were scheduled to pick up a rental car at Hertz, meet our son (O) and his partner (R) at the train station at some as yet unknown time that afternoon, and make our way a few miles north to the town of Vietri sul Mare, the ceramics town at the bottom end of the Amalfi coast. First off: walking into town.

With just a little bag each and some time to spare in the morning, we decided to forgo a taxi or bus ride into downtown Salerno and instead walk the couple of miles along the lungomare into town. It was an easy route along a wide seaside walkway, with one stop for a cappuccino and a latte macchiato (my first Italian venture into something other than espresso and cappuccino), and another one to check our email at an Internet cafe along the way. Salerno’s beachfront isn’t anything to write home about, but it has its share of umbrella/loungechair clubs with cute little changing rooms that I’m sure are well used in high season. May was definitely not high season, so the beach was mostly deserted.

The Hertz office is across from the train station so we hoped to be able to take possession of the car about 1:30 (the office closes at 2:00 on Saturdays) and leave it parked in the Hertz parking area until O&R arrived on the train. No such luck! The cars are stored off-site and brought to the office when the rental starts, with only temporary parking in front of the office. OK, plan B: find a pay lot nearby and hope O&R would arrive sooner rather than later. So we picked up the car--a 4-door stick shift like we drive at home, $317 for 7+ days--and scooted over to the very convenient underground city parking lot under the Hotel Grand Salerno, which we would end up using a couple more times over the course of the week when we took boat trips out of Salerno to the coastal towns.

My efforts to get our cell phone working had been undertaken solely for this day. When we rented the villa in Vietri we decided to get a place that would be large enough for us to host some guests (who would have to pay their own air fare, however). We extended the invitation to both of our children and their significant others. Our oldest son and his wife regretfully declined because they were saving their vacation time and money for a trip to Japan this fall, but our younger son (26) was eager to jump on the opportunity--he loves to travel with us. (Free trip planning? Free food? Scintillating conversation? He loves us?) O&R were flying overnight to Rome from New York and planned to take the train from there to Salerno as soon as they could make a connection, but none of us knew exactly what train that would be. Thus the cell phone. O has a global-access Blackberry so he was all set, and fortunately, after a couple of visits to Salerno phone stores, my old phone was reactivated as well. (I had used it on our last trip to Italy two years ago, but the SIM card had expired so I needed a new one.) What a nice thing to hear the phone ringing--and, better yet, being picked up--on the other end. Sure enough O&R were on the train and would be arriving about 6 p.m. Yay! The cell phone had done its job, and it went back into my bag and was never used again.

With a few free hours on our hands, we set off to get a bite to eat along the extensive pedestrian-only streets of downtown Salerno and then to visit the Salerno duomo, probably the main tourist attraction in the city. Our lunch at an outdoor cafe was pleasant, but the duomo was not to be since we ended up there during afternoon closing hours. We planned to return later in the week, but of course other things got in the way and we never did make it back. Next time?

We finally connected with O&R, retrieved our car from the lot, and drove off in search of our villa. The directions we had from Cuendet, our rental agency, weren’t all that precise (or maybe they were too precise?), but within about 20 minutes we got to Vietri and found the gate to the villa. We were buzzed in and blown away. What a great place it was! The name was “Casa Sorvillo,” and it was separate from but next to Villa Sorvillo, a large private home just up the hill from Vietri, walking distance into the town. With two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully equipped tiled kitchen, tiled floors, a large living room with a huge tree growing through the roof, a lovely big terrace, a gorgeous garden with lemons and berries galore, and a view of the sea and coast that kept me staring, it was well worth the $1600 we paid for the week. The gracious owner of the villa, Aurieta, and her 90-year-old father and their German shepherd Buck were wonderful neighbors with whom we had several interesting conversations over the course of the week. What a great place to relax, make ourselves at home, and pretend that we lived on the Amalfi coast! With plenty of room in the house we didn’t get in each other’s way, but inevitably we all ended up on the terrace either soaking in the sun or watching the lights of Vietri and the Amalfi coast twinkle away below us. Idyllic.

With a house comes the need to shop, for one of the ways to amortize the cost of the rental is to cook at home rather than eat out every night. And of course, shopping for food in the small stores in town is an adventure in itself. During our first foray down the hill into town we stopped at a little grocery and bought the things we thought we would need immediately and took them up to the house. Then decided we were too tired to cook after all and would eat out instead. We could cook another time! So the four of us trooped back into town and wandered around the streets until we came to an outdoor dining area in the middle of the town, Ristorante 34 de Lucia. There’s something about outdoor dining that really calls to us. We were enjoying our antipasti di mare, gnocchi, and assorted other tasty dishes when we were greeted warmly by two women walking by--they were the shopkeepers from the grocery we had shopped in earlier. It was like we were long-lost friends--we were being welcomed in the community because, at least for the week, we were part of it. A very nice experience!

May 17
One of the best parts about staying at Casa Sorvillo was its central location vis-a-vis the region’s tourist attractions. With our car it was really easy to get to Paestum, Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. The Amalfi coast road basically starts at Vietri, making the coastal towns very accessible as well. So though we definitely could have spent the day on the terrace, we knew there were places we needed to go--Paestum being today’s goal.

Within about 45 minutes we arrived at the amazing ruins of Paestum. The weather was beautiful, the red poppies were in full bloom, and the site was not crowded with tourists, so we enjoyed walking the grounds for several hours before heading into the museum to look at the frescoes and other relics from the site that were housed inside. The “diver” fresco was especially interesting. I kept wishing that the frescoes were still in place in the temples, but at least they are easily accessible nearby. We loved Segesta, Selinunte, and Agrigento in Sicily, but Paestum definitely rivals, if not surpasses, all of them.

After lunch at a restaurant not too far from the ruins we passed many places selling buffalo mozzarella, but we had already purchased some in Vietri and knew that it doesn’t really keep, so we passed them up and instead stopped at a fruit stand to stock up on fruit for the house. This night we had no excuse to eat out so J, the cook in the family, inaugurated the kitchen and we had a lovely meal on the terrace--papardelle, caprese salad, grilled eggplant and zucchini, and watermelon. All washed down with red (and white!) wine, followed by limoncello, of course. Who needs to eat out when you have a cook as good as that?

May 18
We were itching to get deeper into the Amalfi coast, so after a morning shopping spree for supplies in Vietri we piled into the car and headed off along the famed coastal road toward Ravello. (We didn’t want to rush things and go to Amalfi and Portofino straight off.) In our family J is the navigator and I’m the driver, and I was up to the challenge of the narrow road and hairpin turns. In fact, I loved that road. Even though I had to keep my eyes on the road (most of the time), I found the scenery around every bend jaw-dropping. I just kept repeating, “Guys, this is amazing!”

Our first stop was Cetara, where we found parking at the base of town right near the water. It was a cute, active little town, and our plan was to search out one of Fodor poster ekscrunchy’s recommendations, Al Convento, and make a reservation for dinner that evening. We easily found the restaurant, but the waiter there told us there was no need to reserve--apparently we were early enough in the season that he knew it wouldn’t be full. So after some exploration we got back in the car and headed in the direction of Maiori, then up the hill to Ravello. That’s when we noticed the road-watchers--official traffic people with walkie-talkie radios to communicate to each other about when to stop traffic and when to let it go. If a bus was coming down the hill, traffic was stopped at a place where it could pass, and so on. It seemed to be a good system, handled elsewhere in Italy with automatic traffic lights, but here using the ample human resources of the area. It certainly helped keep the traffic flowing.

Ravello was almost too good to be true. We parked down the hill from town and walked up through narrow lanes to the piazza, which took my breath away. What a view! It was like the backdrop of a play, appearing almost painted on. The pictures I took just don’t do it justice, but I have a good picture in my mind in any case. We found a table under an umbrella in the piazza and ordered drinks and something light for lunch, ending up with a pretty hefty bill for what we got, but then what we were really getting was the lovely view so who can complain? After lunch we wandered up more lanes (past a limoncello maker who also sold bright yellow t-shirts that read “Save water, drink limoncello”) to the Villa Cimbrone, where we spent quite a bit of time soaking in yet more amazing views and the lovely gardens. I really liked Villa Cimbrone--it may be the nicest villa we’ve been to in Italy.

Eventually we drove back to our own little villa in Vietri (also nice, if not quite in Cimbrone’s league!) where we relaxed until dinnertime. Back we went to Cetara (not that far away) for our much anticipated dinner at Al Convento. The setting was great--the former convent that houses the restaurant is perched up some steps above the center of town and looks across the lively piazza to houses and apartments with lots of early evening activities going on in them. It was fun to watch the windows light up as the sun went down. Most of our dinner lived up to ekscrunchy’s description--antipasto di mare, pasta with clams and mussels, mussels, zuppa de fagiole, wonderful breadsticks, grilled shrimp and calamari. Not so good was the braised tuna on greens with a balsamic reduction sauce that was disappointingly fishy-tasting--I think it was frozen. And the coffee machine was broken, so no espresso to finish off the evening. The tuna actually ended up being the worst dish of the whole trip, quite disappointing. On the whole, though, Al Convento was a good choice and easily reached from Vietri.

May 19
Having had a day at the coast it was now time to delve into more antiquities. We had planned to climb Vesuvius today but were lulled by a lovely morning on the terrace, so we put that plan off until another day. Instead we spent some time investigating Vietri’s beachfront (the typical Italian bring-your-own-towel public beach on one side and the private beach lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas on the other), then followed Aurieta’s advice and drove a short way back along the coast to the tiny village of Erchie, not far from Cetara, where she said local Italian families love to go in the summer. It was a delightful little beach (also with public and private sections) with a ruined fortress at one end, a great place to spend some hours if we had them. But no! We had a plan. After a nice lunch in the village we were off to Pompeii for the afternoon.

I really loved our central location that enabled us to go wherever we wanted to whenever we felt like it. The A-3 took us quickly to Pompeii so we could devote the afternoon to exploring the ruins. O&R went one way and we went another, and we eventually met up in one of the streets, took some pictures together in the House of the Faun, and told each other about all the other neat places we had seen. They hadn’t made it to the Villa dei Misteri, which I found fascinating, or seen the amazing poppy fields on the way there, so we sent them on their way and arranged to meet up again at the exit. I thought that Pompeii was interesting and had some outstanding features, but it didn’t grab me the way Paestum did. Perhaps I didn’t do my homework and prepare well enough for the visit--for one, I was expecting to see more mosaics, and I wished that they were housed on site rather than in a museum in Naples. There were a lot of people (but I wouldn’t call it overcrowded), and it was hot. In retrospect, we should have hired a guide, which would have provided more focus to our visit. Next time!

Back home at Casa Sorvillo, we were drinking wine in preparation for dinner on the terrace when we had a visit from Aurieta. We shared some wine and exchanged some stories, and then she invited us to tour her villa, the main house on the property. The villa was twice as big as our casa, full of family heirlooms yet very comfortable. And though we thought our view of the coast was nice, from her villa--especially from her bedroom--the views were super nice. Enchanting, really. It was a real treat to be invited into Aurieta’s home and to learn more about her and her family. This rental was turning out to be one of the best we’ve ever experienced.

May 20
O&R wanted to sleep in and spend the day poking around Vietri, but J and I had Positano on our minds. Rather than drive the coast road again, and to avoid the Positano parking nightmares we had read about in the guidebooks, we decided to take the early boat out of Salerno and enter Positano via the water. We parked easily at the underground lot in Salerno and walked the few blocks to the harbor, in time to catch the 8:40 boat. Which today wasn’t running. Oh well--how about the 9:40?

With more than an hour to kill we walked into town in search of caffeine. We found the perfect place! It was like the center of the coffee universe--people of all sorts were coming in and out of the place, downing their coffee and croissants and busily starting their morning. Watching the barristas was a show in itself--I managed to take a 45-second video on my digital camera that captures the action. I’ve realized that this is one of the reasons we travel--to enjoy a slice of daily life in another culture.

Back at the harbor, we boarded the boat to Positano, with a brief stop at Amalfi where we remained onboard--we would save Amalfi for another day. The day was a little overcast and misty, but by the time we pulled into Positano the sun was shining brightly. It was gorgeous! No wonder Positano gets all the accolades. We spent quite a bit of time going up and down the streets, admiring the beautiful colors (shades of purple seemed to be the color of choice), the pretty sidewalk art shows, and stunning views. But it was way too crowded! For every 10 people we would have seen in Vietri, there were 100 in Positano. As they say, it was crawling with tourists--and ten times more Americans than we had seen on the entire trip so far.

Fortunately, by climbing high up the steep staircases to the top of town we were able to get above the crowds and ferret out a fun, reasonably priced place for lunch--with a nice view--at Trattoria C’era una Volta (?), across the street from the Brikette Hostel. A caprese salad, pizza margherita (no, not as good as Salerno’s), and two draft beers set us back only 16 euros--a bargain! Down in the center of Positano a margherita pizza cost 11 euros; up the hill it was only 4.50. After lunch we wound our way back down the steeply staired lanes to the port, stopping every few yards to take photos, and caught the 3:30 boat back to Salerno. We did enjoy our trip to Positano but were happy to return to Vietri, our lovely base camp.

May 21
Another day, another volcano calling to be climbed. This time the fabled Vesuvius was definitely on the agenda for the day, so we were out the door by 10 and on the A-3 again, heading for the mountain. Once off the highway we wound our way up to the parking area at the base of the climb, joining quite a crowd of hikers of all kinds heading up the steadily sloping path to the crater. I wasn’t expecting all those people! But everybody seemed happy, even the woman in high heels who was herding a couple of kids up the mountain. Vesuvius is an icon of southern Italy, and it seemed like much of Italy was on the climb with us.

The crater of Vesuvius is impressive, especially for J the geologist. There was some haze, but the grand views out onto the Naples and the bay were wonderful--we saw all the way to Ischia and Capri (next time!). We tried to find Pompeii below us but couldn’t quite pick it out. O&R bought the requisite trinkets made out of lava, we basked in the sunshine, and then it was time to descend. Lunch was on the terrace of a deceptively large restaurant at the base of Via Vesuvio--La Rotunda Ristorante. Tasty pizzas and a round of beers helped us recover our energy and get ready for the afternoon we planned at nearby Herculaneum.

We parked in a small lot near the entrance to the ruins, bought our tickets, and strolled to the entrance. The site is small enough that we were able to get a complete view of it from above before we entered. As I’ve read elsewhere, it’s much more manageable than Pompeii, and we enjoyed it a lot. There are some stunningly fresh-looking frescoes in bright colors, and still in-place mosaics in some of the houses. A few of the buildings we wanted to enter were closed off for some unexplained reason, but we were very satisfied with what we were able to see. I highly recommend Herculaneum as a compact site for a morning or afternoon visit.

Sated with tourism for the day, we had a light dinner back at Casa Sorvillo and went to bed early.

May 22
Continuing our pattern of ruins one day and charming coastal towns the next, we spent our final day on the Amalfi coast visiting the town that shares its name. O joined J and me on the 9:40 boat from Salerno, which we shared with a visiting school group on an adventure from Rome. They were really cute and well behaved, and the shy boy sitting next to us took the opportunity to practice his English. He started out slowly but gained confidence during the ride, and by the time we landed we had decided that with his English and our Italian we would make out fairly nicely.

Landing in Amalfi, we walked up the main street and stopped at a cafe for 3 euro cappuccini (sitting at an outside table) and a delicious flaky pastry filled with orange/lemon cream. Mmmm. We visited the impressive church with its cloisters, basilicata, ornately decorated crypt, and cathedral and then explored the rest of what was really quite a small town. For lunch we decided to take on another of ekscrunchy’s favorites, A Partenza in the neighboring town to Atrani. The walk there was easy, high on the cliff overlooking the sea, with gorgeous views down to Amalfi. We found the restaurant with no trouble--for once there was no outside option so we ate inside--and had what ended up being the best meal of the trip. Thanks for the recommendation, ekscrunchy! We split an order of fried zucchini flowers stuffed with anchovy ricotta and an order of grilled scarmoza in lemon leaves. Wow! I had scialatiella a la Siciliana, and the guys had fabulous risolle di crema scampi. We shared the house white wine--Falanghina, at 8 euros--and were totally satisfied with both the meal and its reasonable price (75 euros for the three of us).

After lunch we walked back into Amalfi and decided to take the bus back to Vietri rather than wait an hour for the next boat. We had some shopping to do in the ceramics shops of Vietri, so O got off near our house and we went on to Salerno to pick up the car. I met up with O&R back in Vietri and we hit the shops--J didn’t have any interest in shopping and didn’t want to slow us down, so he relaxed on the terrace. We loaded up on ceramics, trying to be as judicious as possible since we knew we would have to carry everything back by hand. There are certainly lots of shops to choose from! And we visited almost all of them before finally settling on a few nice things.

Our last meal in Vietri was another one on the terrace--pasta alla Norma and assorted meats, cheeses, olives, and mushrooms that R had picked up in the local shops while we were in Amalfi. What fun this week had been! It was hard to say good-bye to our little piece of paradise. But there’s still more to see, including Sorrento, Capri, and Ischia, so there will definitely be a next time.

Next stop: A brief detour into Isernia, then on to Rome.

zeppole

I think if I go to Vietri sul Mare, I'm going to be doing just the opposite, which is spending all my time in the ceramics shops. I especially like the very modern Vietri styles. Of course I've already seen the tourist destinations on the Amalfi, so I'm not surprised they were a priority for you. If Paestum surpassses Pompeii, which I found fascinating, I really need to get there fast.

julia1

Loving your report! Brought back wonderful memories of my week on Lipari several years ago - and makes me yearn to return. Thanks for writing - looking forward to more.

aprillilacs

Thanks, Julia--it's nice to know somebody is reading this. Writing it helps me relive the trip myself.

Zeppole--I know what you mean. The ceramics shops could keep you busy for a couple of days at least. I also gravitated toward the more modern styles--I especially liked the volcano reds of Artek Vietri, and I'm drinking out of one of their cups right now. We did pick up some more traditional pieces, too--I was drawn to the sunny lemon patterns. Lots of places had virtually the same designs, so we just picked one with the friendliest atmosphere and did many of our purchases there. If I had had more money, I would have sprung for some bigger purchases that we could have shipped home, like some of the other travelers we talked to did. Since you life in Italy you aren't constrained that way, luck you!

LAwoman

Hi April -

Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your report. The destinations, B&Bs, vacation rentals etc are all somewhat different from most other reports, and your writing style is so engaging. Am having a very nice vicarious vacation, please do keep going.

annhig

hi aprillilacs,

i do't know which is better - your trip or your report.

I'm loving reading about it; i really wish that the posters who are of the "if it's tuesday it must be Venice" persuasion could just slow down and realise what they are missing!

regards, ann

Samsaf

This is a wonderful trip report. I'm really enjoying reading it and am looking forward to more.

Jenn11

What an excellent report... I especially love that you mention what places you visited and liked the most; and also what places are really nice to eat at including how much they cost, thank you!

MichelleY

Wow aprillilacs!! Your photos are so beautiful! What a great trip. Thanks for reporting in such detail.

MY

Flame123

aprililacs - your report is wonderful, thank you so much. You are writing about places in Italy (my favorite vacation spot as well!!) where I have yet to visit and I am drinking it all in very very slowly and enjoyably. I am going to take notes and hope to be able to visit some or all of those places soon. More please, more !!!

aprillilacs

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement! This was a very special trip, so I'm glad it is showing through in my report. Ann--your comment about "if it's Tuesday..." is quite apropos. Before we left on our trip I rented a bunch of old movies that feature travels in Italy, and "If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium," which I thought was hilarious when I first saw it in the '70s, was one of them. It still is funny--very campy. It also calls to mind another current posting that I'm enjoying reading here on the Forum, about the poster's plans to see something like 15 cities in 21 days. That's how we traveled on our first-ever trip (doing "all" of the British Isles in just 6 weeks), but since then we've really enjoyed the turtle approach (slow-but-steady), seeing a country or an area in more depth over a longer period of time. Anyway, here's the next installment!

ROME, WITH A DETOUR TO PETTORANELLO DI MOLISE

May 23
The original plan for this trip was to return the rental car in Salerno and take the train from there to Rome, but an opportunity came up right before we left the U.S. that led us to decide to keep the car for the day and make a detour to the tiny town of Pettoranello di Molise, in the mountains about an hour southeast of Rome. We had been invited to visit the hometown of someone who does occasional work for us--she and her husband would be in Italy the same time we were, staying at some property they owned, and we couldn’t pass up the chance to see a bit of the virtually untouristed countryside of Isernia and Molise. So we arranged to meet up with them in their picturesque village in the early afternoon for a quick glimpse into their Italian roots. O&R would still be with us through Rome, so this was a nice opportunity for them as well.

Thus we waved good-bye to Casa Sorvillo and the Mediterranean Sea (I missed it immediately) and headed inland, following directions we found on Googlemaps. Not surprisingly, they led us astray once we got into the mountains, and we wandered the back lanes for a while before finally mounting the hill into town. (We stopped at a farmhouse at one point and asked in broken Italian where Pettoranello was, getting a friendly response and a point in the right direction, up the distant hill.) We finally met up with our friends, who were very happy to see that we had (1) made the effort to get there and (2) actually found the place! They proceeded to honor us with a huge, multicourse traditional Italian meal that we couldn’t possibly do justice to, and regale us with stories of their lives in the town and the surrounding countryside. After lunch it was on to the only action in the dead-quiet town--the local bar for espresso--and then tours of their three houses and many acres of land, the underfunded local church, and the huge, elaborate regional church nearby that appeared to have plenty of funding.

This detour was quite an eye-opener. I’ve often thought, “Why don’t we just go off to some little town no one’s ever heard of and stay there for a week?” Our afternoon in Pettoranello, just such a town, gave me one answer: nobody is there, and there’s nothing doing! So while it might be relaxing, it also might be pretty darn dull. An afternoon was probably enough for us.

We needed to return our car to Ciampino airport and get into Rome at a reasonable hour, so we said our good-byes to Pettoranello and our friends and made our way to the airport--easy enough, except for the last few miles where the twists and turns and confusing signage get a little hard to follow. We had chosen to drop the car at Ciampino because it was on the way to Rome and we wanted to avoid driving in the city (done that before--not fun). We took the shuttle bus (4 euros each) to Termini station and found a taxi there to take us to our apartment near the Pantheon, figuring that would be the cheapest way to get the 4 of us into town. But we outsmarted ourselves--a taxi from the airport directly to our apartment would have been 30 euros fixed rate, and the cab from Termini to the Pantheon was about 25 euros. We would learn from that mistake and take a taxi directly from the apartment to the airport when we left Rome four days later.

We had reserved the apartment on Via Pastini for 4 nights through Sleep in Italy (440 euros + 35 euros final cleaning) and were excited to be in the historic center of Rome for four nights. (Though this was our third trip to Rome, we had never been as centrally located on our other visits.) We found the apartment and rang the bell for the owner, who lived on the floor above. A few negotiations ensued because we had only reserved for two people, not knowing at the time that O&R would be joining us. We willingly paid the surcharge for two extras and looked around to see what we had gotten ourselves into.

We knew that the apartment was located on a pedestrian-only street just off the Pantheon, but we didn’t realize that it was on THE major pedestrian thoroughfare between the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. So although that made it convenient to visit my two favorite places in Rome as many times as I wanted to (and that was many), it also meant that we had to accept that in our second-floor apartment we would hear the happy (but loud!) sounds of hordes of tourists in transit from one highlight of Rome to another. Oh well! We stuck O&R on the sleeper sofa in the front room, overlooking the sidewalk cafes of Via Pastini, and we took the much quieter middle bedroom. (That’s what they got for accepting free lodgings!) There was also a small kitchen and a bathroom in the back of the apartment, and a very pleasant interior terrace with a table and chairs surrounded by greenery, where we spent most of the time we were in the apartment. The contrast between the raucous babble in the front of the apartment and the more down-to-earth sounds of daily apartment living in the back was quite interesting (children cry and mothers yell in Italian apartments just as much as they do in American apartments). Aside from the noise, we were happy with the good space and very convenient location that the apartment provided for 4 people at such a reasonable price.

We were all tired from our day in the hills and all the logistics, and still stuffed from lunch, but we managed to get up enough energy to go out for a while, hitting our favorite gelato shop in Piazza Navona, before heading back to the apartment to try to get some sleep. Not so easy on Saturday night on Via Pastini--hundreds of diners and strollers make lots of noise, in addition to entertainment provided by a very loud opera singer singing Italian classics and a competing accordionist. The musicians were quite good, but it was like having a concert live in our living room that didn’t wind down until the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness Saturday night was an aberration and the rest of the week was a little quieter!

May 24
Today was my birthday (a significant round number), so it was my day to choose what we would do. We were up early and out the door--lo and behold, the street was EMPTY, no tables, no pedestrians, no nothing. What a difference from 7 hours ago! If you walked along the quiet Via Pastini in the morning you would never guess that it transforms itself in the afternoon and evening into a lively dining venue.

Getting out early allowed us to visit the Trevi Fountain without the crowds. Lovely! After coffee and croissants at a cafe we headed back to the Pantheon for a quick look before everyone was herded out for the Sunday religious service, then walked across the bridge to Trastevere, which we had never visited before. In fact, these three days in Rome would be all about visiting places we had never been before, centering on the historic center. We weren’t pressed to pack a lot in, having done that on our two previous visits to the city. We walked everywhere, forgoing public transportation, which allowed us to see a lot of interesting neighborhoods and take our time doing it. I hadn’t loved Rome on our first two visits, but it appears that third time’s a charm, for I truly was charmed by it all this time.

In Trastevere we decided to scout out a restaurant for dinner that night. After two weeks I had hit the pasta wall--pushed over the edge by the traditional Italian feast we had been served in Pettoranello--and wanted something completely different (sacrilege, I know!). We hit upon an interesting looking Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant in Trastevere, Miyabi 2, and decided we would return there that night for my birthday dinner. Suddenly I was missing all that ethnic Asian food we eat so often in the U.S., so this would be perfect. We wandered some more in the neighborhood, visited Chiesa Santa Maria where we stood in the back for part of a service, then stopped at a local trattoria for a delicious light lunch at a pleasant outdoor table. What could be better?

Back at the apartment we met up with O&R, who had done their own exploring, and we all headed to the Fondazione Roma Museo, not far from the apartment, which was presenting a superb exhibition of woodblock prints by the Japanese ukiyo-e master Hiroshige. He is one of my favorite artists, so this was a real birthday treat, with a large amount of famous and less well-known prints, grouped in themes. We felt very lucky to have come upon the signs for this lovely exhibit while walking in the area, and we spent more than an hour there.

Next up was the cat sanctuary at Largo Argentina. I had read about the good work the animal rescue volunteers were doing here, taking in stray cats and providing them shots, neutering, and adoption when possible. The shelter is right next to the ancient ruins, and the dozens of cats who live there at any one time are free to come and go among the stones of the sunken plaza. We watched the cats lounge around the fallen stones, toured the shelter, and admired the work of the dedicated volunteers. We were happy to donate to their cause.

Then it was back across the Tiber to Trastevere for our evening of Japanese/Vietnamese food, a welcome break for our palates. My lovely birthday was topped off with a limoncello toast late at night on the patio of our apartment.

May 25
This day in Rome was devoted to more exploring in and around the historic center, including (you guessed it) my daily required visit to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps (why are they such a tourist attraction?), the Capitoline Hill and a view of the Forum, which we had enjoyed on a previous trip. Following in the not-so-standard mode, we had all decided to take in the movie “Angels and Demons,” which had opened in Rome a week or so earlier and was still playing in English, with Italian subtitles. R had just finished the book and raved about it, so even though we normally wouldn’t spend valuable sightseeing time at the movie theater, we thought it would be fun to see it in its actual setting. First we headed up to the Piazza de Popolo and visited the Chiesa Santa Maria del Popolo since the theater was right down the street from the piazza. Little did we know that that church and so many other places we had visited would play central roles in the movie! It was really fun to be in Rome to see that movie, and it turned out to be a great way to spend a hot afternoon. Via Pastini even had a cameo role!

For dinner we again headed to friendly Trastevere, where we dined at the Ristorante La Scala around corner from Chiesa Santa Maria. After two weeks we had finally adjusted to the later Italian dinner hour, which meant that we were no longer early birds going to empty restaurants before all the action started. In Trastevere at 8:00 all the restaurants were packed, and we were lucky to get into La Scala without a reservation, after just a short wait. The highlight of our excellent meal was the gnocchi with smoked provola and truffles. Another great day in Rome!

May 26
For our last day in Rome, and our last day with O&R, who were heading off to Amsterdam for a few days on their own before returning to New York, we had reserved 1:00 tickets to see the masterpieces at the Borghese Gallery. Although we had enjoyed spending time in the Borghese park on a previous visit to Rome, we hadn’t made the effort to reserve tickets to the museum. Would it live up to its reputation? A resounding yes!

First off, though, we strolled from our apartment over to the open-air market at the Campo dei Fiore where we picked up great-looking fruit and vegetables for the evening meal we would be cooking at the apartment. Then we headed off on foot to the Borghese Gallery, hoping that we had left enough time to get there before our designated ticket pickup time 1/2 hour before the entry time. The walk was longer than we had anticipated but took us through neighborhoods we had never been--including the classy hotel district off Via Veneto where a small crowd waited to greet the Barcelona football team, which was arriving for the UEFA Champions League playoffs on the weekend. Lots of excitement! But we couldn’t stop--the Borghese called.

O&R had spent the morning shopping and promised to meet us at the gallery prior to 1:00. We were a little dubious, given the long walk from the apartment, and hoped that they would spring for a taxi so they would make it on time, but despite walking they arrived in plenty of time for us all to enter together. What a delight! A dozen or more superbly decorated rooms full of marvelous paintings, mosaic floors, elaborate ceilings, Roman stauary, furniture, and those incredible Bernini sculptures. The Borghese Gallery definitely gets 5 stars!

Out time ran out at the gallery so we set off through the surrounding park in search of someplace to eat. We followed signs to the cafes but they never materialized, so we eventually ducked out of the park at the Piazza del Popolo and found an outdoor restaurant a few blocks away. The lunch rush was over so it was easy to find a seat, and we were just in time to get our order in before the restaurant closed for the rest of the afternoon. The food was average, so no recommendation here.

J was worn out and ready for some quiet time back at the apartment, but O&R wanted to visit Castel Sant’Angelo so I decided to join them. J and I had spent time there on a previous trip to Rome, but I was happy to make a return trip, if only for the stunning view from the top (and the closeups of the sword-bearing angel that figured so prominently in Angels and Demons). The view was just as nice as I had remembered! Eventually we all made our way back to Via Pastini for a nice dinner on the patio, cooked by Chef J, followed by a last visit to my favorite fountain. It had been taken over by raucous football fans, mostly sporting red and blue Barcelona shirts. Not exactly the romantic spot we had hoped for, but fun nonetheless. Our brief Rome sojourn was coming to a close and we had to be up early the next morning so O&R could catch their early RyanAir flight from Ciampino to Amsterdam, and we could pick up another car for the remainder of the trip. I’m sure we’ll be back to Rome again in the coming years.

Next stop: A few days in rural Tuscany.

bon551

Aprillilacs,

I am really enjoying your trip report and can't wait to hear about Tuscanny,the Dolomites and Lake Como because we are going to all three (plus Cinque Terre) in September. Thanks for the detailed information and the beautiful pictures!

By the way - we share the same birthday!

LAwoman

We stayed at the Pastini apt a couple of years ago & have many fond memories of the place.

ekscrunchy

Aprillilacs:

I am loving your report! Good for you for getting a bit off the usual tourist path.

It sounds like a dream trip and I am eager to read more. You really kindled my desire to visit the Aeolians. Did you happen to notice if anyone was swimming in mid May?

Thanks ever so much for taking the time to write.

bfrac

Bookmarking for weekend reading.