Blogs from Campania, Italy, Europe - page 4

Much to our surprise and utter delight, by mid-morning today we spied blue skies and sunshine! What a welcome relief after days of dreary and wet weather conditions. We were even able to ditch our jackets by mid-day, when the air temperature poked its way into the low-to-mid 60s as we walked to the viewing point overlooking the Gulf of Naples. The crystal-clear air and the blue waters of the gulf were like a picture postcard, with Mount Vesuvius and the city of Naples clearly visible in the distance. After enjoying the scenic view out over the gulf, we paid another visit to the cloister at the church of San Francesco, where I believed there to be an interesting gallery exhibiting a local photographer's work. However, it had apparently moved to another location, so we continued ... read more

We were somewhat encouraged by the hint of sunshine and clear skies early this morning. But alas, it was not to be, as the clouds began to roll-in by late morning (just when Dee hung some wet towels on the drying rack outside on the balcony). Although there was no precipitation, the overcast skies lingered for the remainder of the day, with the high temperature reaching 59 degrees. Around lunchtime we entered the maze of narrow streets to locate a restaurant on the Via dell'Accademia, oddly named "Piennol Land Food", that Dee had found during an internet search. It turned out the name of the place is derived from the sweet-tasting variety of tomato (piennolo) cultivated on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. The very friendly and attentive manager, who spoke excellent English, greeted us warmly, and ... read more

The highlight of our last few days here in Sorrento was the much anticipated arrival yesterday of a very dear friend who lives in Rome, but who also has an apartment in Milan. We first met this remarkable lady (Laura) way back in 2014, when we rented her palatial apartment in the Prati district of Rome for two weeks. The following year she arranged to spend an afternoon with us when we were in Florence; and we met again briefly at the Rome airport in 2016, just prior to our flight back to the states that year. During the intervening years we have developed a special kind of relationship and bond with her. She is without doubt one of the most fascinating, kindhearted and energetic people we have encountered during our many years of traveling, so ... read more

We spent this morning attending to some mundane household chores, including using the washing machine for the first time since our arrival. Despite the lack of instructions, we were able to do a load of wash, but it took almost 2 hours for the cycle to finish. The apartment has no clothes dryer, so we were forced to use a drying rack that we placed outside on the balcony. Although there was direct sunlight for awhile, by the time we left the apartment around noontime the entire balcony was in the shade; plus the winds were nonexistent. Needless to say, when we returned later in the day, the clothes were still as wet as when we had hung them out to dry! Today for lunch we tried the Trattoria Chantecler, a restaurant we had passed when ... read more

A frontal system brought some heavy rain showers throughout this region of Italy yesterday, along with some lightning and thunder to boot (go figure that out, with air temperatures in the mid-50s!). Needless to say, the inclement weather put a damper on our plans to pound the cobblestones and explore another section of the town. So we stayed put inside our apartment the entire day, venturing out only for a grocery run in the late afternoon, and for dinner across the street at Benvenuti in Casa in the evening. We had another wonderful experience at this family-owned and -operated restaurant, where friendly, attentive service along with delicious Italian cuisine seem to be the key ingredients to its success. We are simply amazed at how a husband and wife team can manage to cook and serve with ... read more