Ravello, I Love You

Jeff and I have been in Ravello now for 2 days and it is an amazing place. The humidity has created a haze that won't blow out and doesn't allow us to 100% see the beautiful view, however the view is still one of the most spectacular I have seen.

We are staying at Hotel Villa Fraulo and the staff here is great. It's been so relaxing. We wake up, eat breakfast, lounge on the deck, swim in the infinity pool, longe some more, shower, wander the town, eat, drink, nap, wander the town some more, enjoy dinner, have more wine, espresso and then sleep. So simple, yet the perfect getaway!

Today we are checking out of our hotel and headed to an apartment Jeff rented for 2 days. He is excited to cook for me - he feels inspired by all the wonderful meals we've had. Yesterday we went to some new friends home for lunch. It was such an experiene that explaining it would not do it justice. The fact that they opened up their home to us and then treated us to a heart felt meal really made this trip so special. (Thank you Katharine and Salvatore!)

The meals here should be their own seperate post - we've had no bad meals. Last night we went for pizza but also had a salald that contained the thinnest sliced octopus ever with lemon and olive oil - so simple yet ridiculously good!

The people here have been great and to compare this place to Napoli would be like comparing night to day. Napoli was fun, crazy, but fun.

Enough of my rambling, I just wanted to try and catch you up to where we are and what we are doing. We have taken so many pictures, if you have the time you can check some of them out. Remember Jeff has been here 10 more days than me so the first 1000 or so are from his business portion of the trip. Enjoy!!

We're on a boat?!? We are on a BOAT!!!

Our last night of business in Napoli was spent on a boat. Our VPN friends, Massimo, Peppe, and Stefano, hosted a sunset cruise to the island of Procida. We enjoyed an Apertivi hour with Diego at the helm and then docked in this aweswome little village. Our dinner consisted mainly of local seafood dishes and wine. It was an incredible way to end 10 days of Tutta Bella cultural immersion. Friends, food, and the Tyrrhenian Sea - la dolce vita!

TuttaBella Fella's Lady Arrives

Hello! Tarah here - I finally arrived yesterday around 3pm. What a whirlwind of a day. I left home around on my flight at 7:30am (5am for the shuttle) - I literally was given the last seat on the plane. Then got to Philly and was told the Rome flight was full but Venice had room. I called Jason and he said that the next days flight "was in the red". Ok, headed to Venice then! So thankful I bought the first class upgrade as that was amazing. The seats recline all the way into a bed. They feed you dinner (I had cantelope and proscuitto for an appetizer, iceburg lettuce and blue cheese salad, seared sea bass and then dessert. Not to mention 3 glass of pinot grigio, hot tea and bottled water. Then when I woke up they gave me yogurt, granole and berries along with hot tea and juice. Oh and I watched 2 movies on my personal movie player. It was great. I slept for a bit of the flight in hopes to acclimate to the 9 hour time difference.

Once we arrived I chatted with my first class neighbor about Venice as I wasnt sure how to get to Rome in an efficient way. She suggested the train for the scenery (6 hours though) or a flight bu she thought they would be spendy. Once in the airport I manuevered my around, all signs have english so that helps. I found the exit, I found information, I foun the ticket counter... Come to find out a flight to Rome and then to Napoli is 124 Eur and the train was 112 Eur. I took the plane due to time. My excitement to see Jeff squashed my sense of adventure a bit. Thinking back I should have taken the train as I could have seen so much more but I am so happy to be here with Jeff as
I missed him! He has grand plans so I'll be seeing quite alot!

I caught a cab and he zoomed me through the narrow streets of Napoli (they are so narrow and people are just in the way but manage to move out just in the nick of time). Right when he pulled up to the hotel there was Jeff - waiting at the cafe with a bottle of sparkling wine waiting for me. It was so great to see him! We caught up and drank the wine and then I insisted I had to shower - the 4 flights I just experienced needed to be washed off.

After cleaning up we headed out and just wandered the city. Napoli is a bit dirtier than I expected but it holds many old buildings and monuments that were interesting to see. I didn't take many photos just yet so you'll have to wait for those. Sorry.

We had pizza for dinner which was delicious! Then gelato and espresso - of course. I was dead tired so we finally made it back to the room and I crashed hard.

Now we are off to explore. More later. Ciao!!

I'm still alive...

I apologize for not posting in a few days, but Napoli has been hectic to say the least. The sights, sounds, smells, food, and people have all been amazing. I'm getting very little sleep immersing myself in the grittiness that is Napoli. I'm looking forward to a little down time to catch my breath and submit more posts. Until then...

First pizzas in Napoli...

We are in Napoli!!!

Bologna to Napoli

Today we had the pleasure of meeting up with Salvatore and Christina whom have been friends of Joe and Jeff for several years. They own and operate a local travel company that specializes in the Firenze (Florence), Napoli (Naples) and the Amalfi Coast areas of Italy. So, today we traveled from Bologna to Napoli stopping in Montalcino in Toscana (Tuscany) to visit the Altesino cantina (winery). They produce an absolutely fabulous Brunello di Montalcino. For all you wine lovers out there, do not worry, I’ll post about our visit.

In the meantime, go visit:
www.simplyamalfi.com
www.altesino.it/en/