We broke our trip into two parts: 1) flying into Naples and spending three days in a town called Positano on the Amalfi coastline, and then 2) flying from Naples to Catania, Sicily, and spending three days in the town called Taormino.
Carl’s mom used to have an Italian expression that she used whenever she wanted to say something like, “That’s nonsense!” It sounded like “F’nauble” (it rhymed with goblet, without the “t” at the end). One day she explained to us that it literally meant, “Go to Naples.” I guessed that where her family came from in Sicily they didn’t think too highly of Naples. I think I now know why.
The guidebook described the city as having a crime problem, and provided suggestions for how to avoid becoming victims of theft. When we picked up our rental car at the Naples airport, the Hertz agent advised us to never park on the street, only in paid lots. The Never Lost feature that we ordered, which is usually mounted permanently in the car, was handed to us in a small carrying case, and we were warned to never leave it in the car, but always to take it inside with us.
For the first night of our trip, we stayed at a very nice hotel in Naples before travelling down the coast to Positano the next morning. However, while the hotel itself was lovely, it was located in a rough and rundown neighborhood. (In fact, the whole drive from the airport to the hotel was in what looked to be very bad areas.) The front door of the hotel was permanently locked; all guests and visitors had to be buzzed in by the front desk. In that neighborhood, the sidings of all the stucco buildings were chipped away. If there was paint on the building, it was usually peeling. Some windows were boarded up with wood or covered with metal shutters. Walls and sides of buildings were covered with graffiti. Trash overflowed dumpsters and littered the curbs and sidewalks. We saw at least four German shepherd dogs roaming the streets.
A few days later, we returned to Naples during the daytime just to see more of it. Even then, in the heart of the city center, there was garbage strewn all over. Our guide, who was from Positano, said, “They are crazy in Naples. Everything is so dirty. They are not like the people in Positano.” One very nice area in Naples, though, was along the coastline. In those neighborhoods, there were lovely hotels and restaurants and very high-line apartment buildings. “This is where the rich people live,” our guide told us.
I didn't get any pictures of the bad neighborhoods - but took this view of the coastline looking south from Naples.
POSITANO on the Amalfi coast of Italy
Positano is pictured below.
Because our visit to the Amalfi coast was during the off-season, many of the restaurants and shops were not even open yet. The hotel we stayed at – The Positea – opened for the season just hours before we arrived. The next photo shows the view from our hotel room.
There were not a lot of tourists there with us, maybe six or seven others in the entire hotel. Mostly we saw local residents and tradesmen – many involved in painting the hotels and sprucing them up for the upcoming season. This situation gave us almost an insiders’ view of this small town, and that was fun. With a permanent population of only 5,000, many residents knew each other, and they would honk or wave in greeting as they passed each other on the street. The hotel receptionist called one of his buddies, Favio, to be our guide for a day and drive us around the whole coastal area to see the major sights. (We decided to park our rental car that day and let someone else do the driving for a change.) We talked with the hotel owner one afternoon, as he brought us wine and tea in the dining area, and gave us some history of the place.
One morning we walked all the way down to the beach from our hotel. In the photo below, you can see it was nothing like the beach we go to at home.
When we arrived at the beach, we were greeted by a large, friendly black dog who had been sleeping on the sidewalk near a restaurant on the beach. When this dog approached us, he seemed to have a really sweet disposition, and we pet him. Well, he started to follow us back up the hill, and as it turned out that dog followed us a couple of miles along the switchback roads all the way back up the hill to our hotel. During the walk, several local people looked at him with recognition on their faces – some even greeted him. The receptionist at the hotel told us that it was Negro, the town dog. Negro fell asleep on the rug outside the hotel lobby while Carl and I slipped inside and went to our room. We were glad to see he had left and gone back home when we came outside again.
One evening we had dinner at a restaurant - La Tagliotta - that was recommended by the hotel receptionist. We were warned not to eat much for lunch because Mama would be insulted if we didn’t eat all of her food. Someone from the restaurant came to the hotel to fetch us – and later took us back as well. The restaurant was charming. We were greeted by members of the family who owned the place. (It was an uncle who was the driver – and he later served food as well.) There was no menu – they just kept bringing out the food that they had cooked for that day, one course at a time. They began by putting a big jug filled with red wine on the table – and bread. Then came the many plates of appetizers: ricotta & mozzarella cheeses, squid, chick peas & fagiole beans, roasted vegetables, spinach quiche, hams & cheeses, and risotto. That was followed by the pasta course: a large platter filled with gnocchi, cannelloni, ravioli, and manicotti, all smothered with a light and tasty tomato sauce. Next was the meat course, with another large platter containing five or six pieces of delicious grilled meats: sausages, chicken cutlet, shish kebob, pork chops, and steak. The dessert platter contained profita rolls, cheese cake, and pastries. Coffee and tea did not end it all – because then came the shot glass of limoncello, a locally produced lemon liqueur. (The area was filled with lemon trees and orange trees.)
Carl and I believe there are no bad meals in Italy. Everywhere we went, the food was tasty and fresh – even the pizza we had at lunch stops-- and even at the airport!! Believe it or not, the Naples airport had a wide selection of fresh and delicious foods, all arranged by the course: appetizers, pasta course, meat & fish, and dessert. And, of course, there were three types of bread to choose from. At the tables where we sat to eat, there were several bottles of extra virgin olive oil and vinegars to dress salads, and there was a microwave to heat up a dish if it was not warm enough. Amazing.
Pompeii - While we were near Naples one day, we did take a two-hour tour of the remains of the lost city of Pompeii. It was fascinating to see how highly developed that city was and to learn about the sophisticated systems they had in place before the volcanic eruption of the Mt Vesuvius destroyed it all back in 79 AD. Pompeii had developed a system of indoor plumbing, and running water for everyone. There were government buildings, an arena, a marketplace, a health spa with hot and cold baths for men and another for women. There were many shops, and homes of all sizes. (Among other places, our tour guide pointed out the remains of a house of ill repute – so identified from the ‘statue’ of male genitalia hanging over the front door.) There are still archeological digs taking place at that site – and people come from all over the world to participate. Below are just two images from the ruins.
Below is Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that spewed out the lethal ashes and buried everything and everyone in Pompeii. The guide told us the volcano was twice as tall before it exploded. The town along its base is Naples.
In some of the small towns along the Amalfi coast, we would see grottos, or small models of the town built into the rock alongside the road. The photo below is one example.
This photo shows a small fishermen's village located in a valley between the steep, rocky hills along the coastline.
The one aspect of Italy I do dislike is the driving culture. Everyone is in a hurry. People drive cars, motor scooters, and motorcycles around curves way too fast and cutting in and out of traffic. In Naples, at an intersection with a four-way stop sign, the intersection was jammed with about six cars, all pushing to make their turn first. If a driver hesitates for a second too long at a light that has just turned green, the driver behind him will invariably honk. Italian drivers honk all the time. It is a basic part of driving.
One humorous Italian driving sight I wish I had captured with a camera was that of a young man driving a motor scooter with his friend sitting on the back behind him. The driver was talking away to his friend and steering with only one hand because he was gesturing and ‘talking’ with the other hand.
Our start in Sicily was not so good.
When we arrived at the Catania airport, the car rental agent told us there was no record of our reservation – and dismissed us with a wave of his hand to find a car from another company. After we produced the paperwork, they produced the car.
Later, finding our hotel in Taormina was a nightmare, even with the navigational instrument in the car. We found ourselves driving in circles amidst a maze of narrow streets in town unable to locate our hotel. At one point, we turned up a one-way street going the wrong way and were yelled at by another driver, who reamed us out and, cursing us, drove off in a huff.
Of course, we finally found the hotel. After eating a quick meal in the dining room (empty except for the two of us) we went to our room and collapsed for the night. By the way, the hotel was magnificent. It used to be a monastery – and it has to be one of the grandest places we have ever stayed in. It was called the San Domenica Palace Hotel. Below is the view from our room.
Taormina was another ancient and beautiful town -- also set high in the hills. The picture below is looking down on the town from a higher hilltop.
The weather was warmer, and we spent the days walking around, browsing the shops, and admiring the scenery.
We were surprised to learn that shopkeepers closed for a siesta from 1-4 pm every weekday afternoon. (This was true in Positano as well.) One day, Carl and I decided to have our own siesta in the hotel room.
We visited the ruins of an ancient Greek theater that was built atop a hill in Taormina sometime around 730 BC.
The history of Sicily is really awesome. Someone described the island as being one large archeological dig.
The snow-topped Mount Etna loomed large on the horizon as we drove down the highway leading away from Taormina. A worker at the hotel said that is where they go when they want snow. One couple in a neighboring room at the hotel left early one morning with large backpacks - we thought perhaps they were hiking or climbing Mount Etna.
This photo shows all the citrus trees in the foreground.
At dinner on our second night in Taormina we talked with the restaurant manager, who it turns out has relatives in Norwalk, Connecticut. He told us that Mancuso is definitely a Sicilian name. After dinner and dessert, he brought us each a frozen liqueur glass filled with a Sicilian almond-flavored wine. DELICIOUS!
I later Googled the family name, Mancuso, and discovered it is a very popular name all over Sicily and on mainland Italy in Calabria. There are several websites dedicated to locating Mancuso relatives. The name means left-handed.
This trip was a beautiful topper to our year-long stay here in London. And even though it was off-season, we are happy we got to see this very special part of Italy.
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