Wofford Travels – 2018-09-30
We began the day, after a hearty breakfast, with a drive to Alberi, in the Comune of Meta. This was a visit that Lotus had planned for her family: William and her cousins Marcia and Gail. Of course, the rest of us would enjoy the visit as well.
Boarding our trusty van mid morning, we headed up and up and up until we got to Alberi and Santa Maria delle Grazie. On the front of the church is a plaque recognizing several Americans: four Espositos (Ehs-POH-zee-tohs), and two Ruggieros (family members), due, in part, to their financial contributions. No doubt however, they were very active members of the parish as indicated by their listing on the plaque as director, prior, vice prior, treasurer, and curators!
We attended Mass in this lovely church…are any of them, not?! Much to our surprise, the music was lively with the whole congregation participating. They had customized binders with the words of the songs in paper protectors…very nicely done. And although we didn’t know the songs, if you paid attention and followed the choir director (it didn’t hurt if you were a musician as well), you could follow quite a bit of it. After Mass, we spoke briefly with the young priest, looked around the area, took our standard photos, and departed.
Back on the bus, we headed to Sorento to see its sights. Of course, everything centered around the city square or piazza. There was the hustle and bustle of shoppers, cars and cyclists darting past you, and always…the eternal decision of…where to go now!
Speaking of cars and cyclists, it’s amazing how quickly you can learn to navigate around them, or more accurately, how quickly you can help them navigate around you. You are always skimming the walls, hugging the shops and restaurents, or falling in with the pack, like a swarm of fish, and moving in one swell across the road. It’s an art, believe me.
We continued to walk around the town, not splitting off as we didn’t have a lot of time there, taking a group photo, and of course…eating our gelato. This has become a tradition for us…the “need” for gelato on a daily basis. And, I’m telling you, NO ONE makes it like the Italians. “It’s the ‘cream’ &@”#%,” it’s the cream.”
Our van had dropped us off at Sorento and then left, so we caught a train back to Vico Equense. I enquired of Augustino (the hotel manager) if there were any places I could check out regarding civil records (my genealogy pursuit). He referred me to a business just down the street called “Cioffi.” William and I walked over to it, and after some dialogue back and forth, it turned out that they could not help…they dealt with things more like automobile licenses. Returning back, we got all our gear together and then acquired another van to deliver us to our next destination.
This was quite an eventful ride, since again, we climbed, and climbed, and climbed on a narrow road. You would sit amazed at how two vehicles could even skirt by one another.
Approximately an hour later we arrived in Minori and settled in our hotel, Palazzo Vingius. Afterwards, we had dinner at the “Sol de Riso” known for its gourmet pastries, a varieto of gelato (thank heavens) and a delicious selection of meals. We spent 4 nights in Minori, so there will be plenty to cover at this location.
Tita