Welcome back! Would love a debrief when you’re able. CFB is….less interesting, but this board is still great (save three or four knuckleheads). We need you!
I actually do miss it but i was fast becoming one of those dreaded knuckleheads and needed to depart for everyone's sake (my own, too, of course, lol). I lost the edge... and it wasn't pretty. My bp is normal again lol.
Long story short, we stayed most of the month at a friend's place in sorrento... we are probably 2 of the luckiest people on the planet as the rainiest month of the year hit us up for about 6 hours one day and a drizzly nothingburger a couple others. Beginning of month was chilly but when ur in italy and the sun is shining... seriously, what else is there?
We might be able to retire there... got some ant problems in sorrento but i suspect if you keep the pesto boys out there often its fine. Crowds in march vs crowds in july.... whole nother thing. But walking the streets in relative obscurity was just nuts. Every day... walk out and stroll and gobble it all up. Loved Frankie's pizza.. ate there 2x a week (on a recommendation that was spot on). Hell, loved it all. Only downer was we wanted to lunch at the Caesar Augustus on Capri but they weren't open yet. Aside from that... so freaking fine. We chose to live a little bit like residents when we could, so i did cook, she cleaned (a cliche for sure)... we went cheap here and there. But it was spectacular!
Covid. Ahhhh, da covidsaurous.,
We left on March 1st. On that very day italy thru up its hands and said enuf enuf enuf... we need tourists! So we had a choice... test or vax. Not both (now to be fair, the us of a required both to return lol). We flew on ITA (the new italia air) which was doing its inaugural mia to roma flight... meaning tv peeps, head grand poobahs giving speaches.. cake, merriment etc... so they had no choice but to fly us on a flight that was barely 30-35% full. Wife had a very nice row to herself for a long sleep lol. [Coming home more like 85% full. No cake.] Masks? Welllllllllllll... sorta. By 1/4 way in, most of the europeans had ditched them entirely. Coming back? Don't even think about letting that mask slide down lol. Vax cards? Asked 3 times.. in all cases, the moments they knew we were from america, they didn't care... come on down.
Did a ton of walking (of course). Matera was simply stupid good. If it's within a 5 hr drive, just do it. The nights are unreal with all the lights shining up that history (that said, all the menus are pretty much the same, so 3 nights is fine). 9000 years old, james bond, what more to be said? Just keep going and do puglia and maybe slide to Bari. Next Italy trip we do Sicily, re-visit the Basilicata, Sardegna, finish up in Rome.
In Rome we were turned on to Risorante Costanza by our airbnb maven... wow. It was our anniversary but i wanted something unique and full of history... we got it in spades. Place built using arches from 2000 years ago that were part of the first roman theatre (held 20,000 peeps) and was reputed to be the place julius of caesarland said to have given up the ghost. Way off beaten path but so good and so authentic... we'd go back in a heartbeat.
Coming home? Oh drat. Tests and forms and more forms and checkpoints and argggghhhhhhhh. lmao... all those forms and no one bothered to look at one of them. Just collected and move along sheep.... which is good since i signed all of mine as mickey mouse lol.
Perhaps my favorite moment of the trip... we have global entry. I go thru in about 30 seconds. Wife's turn. She's short. We try to get her face inside the box to get her photo'd... lmao, not happening. Inventive F that i am... i solved the problem by picking her up and getting her aligned within the frame. Not sure that's how it's supposed to work lol. As always, we're in luggage in 5 minutes and by the time the luggage arrives, everyone else has cleared customs. roll eyes lol.
End of month we're off to cartagena for a wedding... this should be interesting!
Trip highlight? Matera. Best seafood... porta marina. Otherwise, all the places we ate were exceptional. Dessert? Venerusso.
