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| Driving along the autostrada |
We woke up on our third day in Italy, excited as we were headed to a new city. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, and grabbed a taxi back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Before we left the states, three of us got our international driver's license so that we would be able to drive while we were here. I wanted to be able to move around quite a bit while in Italy, so I planned this trip to be a self-driving vacation. However, once in Italy, I quickly found out that I am not that brave. Driving here is well, let's just say quite an adventure. Our traveling companion and good friend, Marcus, started out behind the wheel. It took us about 3 times circling the airport to actually get out of the airport onto the autostrada. And I am so thankful that he was driving. He stayed calm and managed to keep us safe. Thank you Marcus!!!
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| View from window, villages along the hillside |
We headed to Naples, but we took the much longer, scenic route. Less traffic and beautiful countryside. We passed through some tiny villages and enjoyed the morning taking in the views. It was getting time for lunch so we stopped in the little town of Pietrasecca. According to data, there are only about 200 people living in this little piece of heaven.
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| Inside the restaurant |
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| Dining area |
The only restaurant we saw was the Ristorante Villa Rosa, a small family owned home where mom was in the kitchen, dad was manning the huge wood fireplace/oven and the son took our order. We were the only patrons.
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| Ball of mozzarella browned in oven, nothing but cheese |
Each of us had a primi of pasta, and a secondi of formaggio. Since the owners did not speak English, I ordered for us and unfortunately, I misunderstood the second course. Turns out, it was simply formaggio, a ball of buffalo mozzarella that was placed in a wood burning stove and browned. It was a huge hunk of cheese and each of us had one. While it was good mozzarella, it was way too much for us. Oops!
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| dessert |
Our dessert, a simple cake and homemade limoncello. So good and the limoncello is reported to aid digestion after a huge meal.
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| Ristorante Villa Rosa |
It was time to get back in the car and head for Naples as Marcus really wanted to get there before dark. Once again the view was gorgeous.
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| Beautiful countryside |
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| snow capped mountains |
We headed into Naples right at sunset. Not good! Napoli is the largest city in southern Italy and one of the oldest continuous inhabited urban areas of the world. It is big, busy, grimy, beautiful and crazy! Driving here is insane, and I mean insane. No one uses any lines on the road, Vespas pass on whichever side of the car they want and cars are bumper to bumper without any rhyme or reason. Absolutely crazy! I have never seen anything like it. No pictures of this as I was sitting in the back seat holding my breath and grasping the seats. Don't know how you did it Marcus, but I am so glad you were at the wheel and managed to keep it together!
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| Some had pizza |
Once we found our hotel, we parked the car in the parking garage and thanked our lucky stars we made it into the city. After getting checked in, we simply went downstairs for a meal of pasta, pizza and local wine. It was time to relax and chill!
After the huge meal, we wobbled back to our rooms. We did not feel comfortable walking about in the city after 9pm, although many do. In my reading of Naples, each reference mentioned a lot about crime, toxic waste, mafia, and poverty. This made us a little leery about venturing out after dark. So it was off to bed for us. Time for showers and some sleep to get ready for the next day!
Until next time...
Enjoy!
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