Langolo Delle Ginestre Morano Calabro

... a hand break turn.

Stresa our nearest town was like a very well-heeled Brighton; row upon row of immaculate hotels facing the Lake towards Isola Bella and manicured lawns with the occasional helipad.. but any nightlife would be fuelled by beta blockers and a fine red wine judging by the clientele. Stresa had the usual souvenir and gelato shops but it will have a fond place in my heart for it's where I stumbled across the DVD ...

... brought us local vegetables and good wines. The staff was very nice, and we had a great dinner in a very cool setting.

The next day we drove back to Salerno in order to drop our car off, spend the night, and catch the morning high speed train up to Milan in northern (clean) Italy.

On our way we stopped to see the ruins of the Greek and Roman town called Paestum. We had heard about the ruins but did not expect much from them. We ...

If you want a little extras during your vacations in Italy, you surely have to choose the right hotels. I’ve been a travel writer for many years, since I visited Las Vegas in 1998. I was so overwhelmed with this experience that I decided to travel the world in search for the best hotels.
Italy has no big hotels such as New York New York or Bellagio ...

... cold climate, literally clinging to a jagged mountain was beyond us, but it was a great place to spend the night, admire the vast views and walk around the lanes the next morning.

A steep descent took us to the coast. Here there is what is best described as a far less touristy, impossibly picturesque southern Italy version of the Amalfi coast, and definitely another highlight. We wound into ...

... and anywhere it was awful. The further south we got the worse it also got and throw in a barren burnt landscape, it was not the Sicily we were hoping to find. After a couple of days down South we headed back up to the top of Sicily near Cefalu. It was a lot cleaner up here but the beaches and snorkeling were just not up to much. After a good look around we decided to head back up to Praia a Mare to spend 4 days on the beach snorkeling and sunning before having to hit Rome and put the ...

... they had stopped so we set up camp, had dinner and a couple of Assisi reds then an early night for an early start to Pompeii. The ruins were fascinating, it is unreal what they have managed to unearth and restore. Our early start (waiting for gates to open) meant we beat the crowds of tourist buses and the crazy heat of the day. After 3 and a half hours touring the ruins and tagging on to the end of guided tours to here just that little bit extra we headed off down the road again ...

... Sei que muita gente poderia estar ali, digo, muitas pessoas teriam condicoes de passar pelos mesmos lugares que eu passei, mas que por um motivo ou outro nao tem interesse. Mas nao era nessas pessoas que eu estava pensando. Fiquei pensando na quantidade de pessoas que a unica preocupacao eh como colocar comida na mesa no proximo dia. As vezes me pergunto se as coisas acontecem "por acaso" ou se existe algo como "destino". Nao sei. Alguns momentos eu ...

Train rides in Italy are always an adventure. They almost seem to try to make it as complicated as possible so that if you're a tourist you are always getting lost. On the day we left Pompeii for Sapri, we got on what appeared to be the right train. It showed up at the right time, was going in the right direction, but was not in fact our train. We got as far as Sarento when the train ended. We decided ...

... Of course, my train was about to leave but I showed the officer the ticket taker and went on to board my train. I immediately started writing an essay I entitled "My Love/ Hate Relationship with Italy." What I was going to do with it, I am not sure but I felt better just typing away. I noticed our train was a few minutes late to leave, but wasn't sure what the delay was. Suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was the cabernardi who ...

... had some wonderful pasta with lobster and several "gifts" from the chef that I did not recognize, but were delicious. Then I boarded a local bus to Amalfi-around hairpin curves, hugging rugged cliffs, to see some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. The towns are poised on cliffs; the sea is a crystalline blue; and the sky is a glorious blue. I drove ...