Wofford Travels – 2018-09-29
It was time for us to be saying “Addio, Mia Bella Napoli,” as the famous song proclaims. For me, it was more than I expected. It will be hard to lose the sense of the city. It is so vibrant, that I feel it gets into your blood, and it is with you wherever you are.
Our next stop would be Vico Equense (VEE-koh eh-KEHN-zeh)… (2010 population: 21,200) we are moving south along the coast. This is a comune in the metropolitan city of Naples (2014 population: 984,000). After a bountiful breakfast, we grabbed our luggage and wheeled it down several blocks to meet our ride at 11:00 as the driver was not able to fit the van in the narrow alley way by our hotel. We were fortunate to be using a van, rather than a bus or the metro, especially with eight of us moving about.
Our new accommodation was the Aequa Hotel. It had been totally refurbished since our travelers, William and Lotus, had been there before. They said it was a significant improvement. Needless to say, it was beautiful…very well appointed, with a large swimming pool, a very large terraced patio, and best of all, an amazing balcony view of Mt. Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples
With each new travel site we typically like to go into the town, and often there is a square (very European) that is its center. Shops and restaurants are close by, as we are now in tourist territory.
After spending some time walking around the town we decided to eat an early dinner at the “erasè.” The whole restaurant was white with cobalt blue table glasses…the only other color. It was quite striking.
More walking, window shopping, and real shopping (I have some good shoppers with me), and just plain sight seeing. We walked into a beautiful 14th-century cathedral: Santissima Annunziata, Gothic architecture, a bell tower, and overlooking the sea.
As we continued we came across some views that were absolutely picture postcard…with amazing structures on the sides of cliffs. Some look so precarious it makes you wonder how they were even built! Another stop at “Chiesa S.S. Ciro e Giovanni sec. XVI. The architecture is exquisite.
We stop by a quaint tile shop. Purchases, of course. (It should be noted that I’ve done extremely well on this trip in lack of purchases, although some would argue whether that was doing well or not!) It was so enjoyable just walking the tiny little back streets. You never know what you’ll find. We came across a wedding photo shoot. The bride was beautiful, swirling around in her exquisite gown, and you could see the groom was taking it all in, as were we.
The day was winding down, but we didn’t want to go out for another meal. We gathered ourselves at the hotel terrace and inquired about some type of snack. We were graciously offered sliced meats and cheeses, along with beverages of our choice. That, along with wonderful conversation, brought the day to a perfect end.
Tita