Road to Naples - via a palace and a winery!

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Sadly today we had to bid farewell to the Amalfi Coast! We had to check out and leave by 8:30 this morning (that was rude!) and drive along the Amalfi Coast for the last time. Just to add to the thrill, there were cyclists on the road. We drove in the direction of Salerno then started to head toward Napoli. Once again we got to see Mt Vesuvius- there is no avoiding this monster! Our first destination today was to visit the Royal Palace of Caserta. This palace was built in the 18th century and was the last of the great creations of the Italian Baroque. It was constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples and in 1997 it was designated as an UNESCO World Heritage site. It is the largest Royal Palace in the world - it has 1,200 rooms and the gardens stretch for 3kms!! Of course, in the time we had, there was no way we were going to be able to see all of it. Robyn, Clare and I decided we would walk along the path of the garden, to the waterfalls and waterways we could see in the distance. About half way Clare turned back as she also wanted to see the rooms inside but Robyn amd I kept going. We walked for over half an hour but only got about 3/4's of the way but we're pleased with what we were able to see. By the time we got back to the palace, we only had about 10 minutes left so I did a quick run up the stairs and then a speed view of a few of the rooms. Amazing artwork adorned the walls and ceilings of these huge rooms! This is seriously one mighty big palace!

Michele was keen to keep us to a tight timeline, as he wanted to make sure we were back in Naples in time for people to catch a 5:30pm train to Rome, so unfortunately we didn't have any extra time to spare in this wonderful place. One to add to the list for my next visit to Italy! So, from the royal to the rustic- our next destination was a farmhouse in Sant'Agata de' Góti. This farmhouse is also where they produce Falanghina wines from the black grapes grown in the Campania region. I have had this wine a few times already, as Michele had advised it was local to the area, and I really like it. The lady who now owns this farmhouse, it was passed down from her family, took us underground to see the cellar and where they store the wines. She explained about the process they use and it was really interesting to see the history underground. It was also a lovely respite from the heat upstairs as it was a cool 13 degrees. Once we came back upstairs, we walked to another building where they had set up tables for us to enjoy some of their wines with lunch. Now, Michele had told us that it would be a light lunch. You would think by now that I would know there is no such thing as a light meal in Italy! Mamma Mia! We started with antipasto and got to try some local cheeses and salami as well as focaccia from the region, mini arancini's and some other things I can't remember! Then we were each given a bowl of broccoli and beans. This was then followed by the local pasta - and I was done! I couldn't finish the pasta and said no to the next course, a fruit salad, and the next course, a desert. All this was accompanied by three of their wines to taste - and by taste I mean she filled our glasses then left the bottle on the table. Three times!

We rolled out of there around 3:30 and said farewell as it was time to tackle the traffic on our way to Naples. Michele was kind enough to give us time to siesta on the trip back but as we approached Napoli, he cranked up the music. It was that famous Italian song that sounds sad - damn, I can't think of it now but I am singing it my head as I type this! Anyway, it did the trick and woke us up. Our first stop was the Art Hotel, where our tour commenced. We dropped off most of the group and it was sad to say goodbye - especially to Jacqui, Sue, Phil, Paul and Judy who were all on my Sicily tour. I was staying at a different hotel so Andre was going to drop me off on the way to the Central Train station, where he would drop of Michele, Robyn, Clare, Paula and Brian, who were all heading off to Rome. So then it was my turn to leave and say farewell to all of them! Michele has been an absolute gem - we were so lucky to have him as our Tour Leader, and especially for me for two tours. They dropped me close to my hotel so after waving goodbye as the bus drove off, I set off to locate it.

I ended up having to call the reception as it was tricky to work out how to get access to the hotel. Seems to be a thing in Naples! The girl was lovely though and buzzed me in and gave me directions to the lift and then to the fourth floor. This hotel, Twice-Naple, is a really nice boutique hotel. The room is lovely and the bed is very comfortable. After checking in, I spent some time in my room as finally I had good internet. I was feeling really weird and a bit anxious as suddenly I was on my own again, after such a long time. It's funny how being part of a group makes you feel, as you sort of hand over all responsibility to someone else and you are constantly surrounded by people you've got to know then when you're on your own, it kinda feels like you've had your right arm chopped off! I was also a bit anxcious about being in Napoli on my own, as you always hear lots of bad stories about it. Around 8pm I decided to chat with the girl in reception about where I could go out for a walk - I didn't want to eat but thought getting out amongst people might make me feel better. I ended up following the path she set for me into the historic centre. This was where we toured on our first day in Naples so it was somewhat familiar to me. There were heaps of people out enjoying themselves and it had a great atmosphere. I wandered down the main street where there were queues of people lining up for the best pizza in Napoli! Then I would hear someone singing and playing an instument and couldn't work out where it was coming from. Turns out he was standing on a Juliette balcony high above the crowd! I found a little bar where I could sit and have an Aperol Spritz while I people watched, which is always fun. Eventually I decided that was enough for one night and managed to find my way, safely, back to the comfort of my lovely little hotel.

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