Mom's Adventures in Salerno

Again a little late, but here it is.

Last week, we went to Salerno. It wasn't planned. I had a lesson in the morning and then when we returned to my apartment I searched train times for Salerno. There just happened to be a train in a half hour so we left for the station. It took us about 1 hour to reach Salerno including our one stop we had to make. We decided to go to Salerno for lunch. Like most of our adventures, they usually revolve around food.

We arrived in Salerno and since I didn't know exactly where we were, I asked for directions. If I walked maybe one step I would have seen the sea right in front of me. We walked along the sea and looked for a restaurant.

We found a restaurant. It was interesting because there were people from all over the world sitting amongst us. There was a table full of Americans, a table from France, a table from Spain and the rest were Italians, I think.

Linguine Scampi

Pasta Sorrentino- lots of cheese and tomatoes

After lunch we set off to walk further along the shoreline and walk off our lunch.

We adventured into the historical part just a street or two in from the shore. Mom wasn't too keen to leave the water but afterwards she was glad. I took her to the Cathedral or Duomo. It is very old, like most things in Italy :) They were preparing for a festival because they had the statues ready for a procession. Mom enjoyed looking at the architecture and the design of the church since you could tell there was another influence that wasn't Roman.

Afterwards, we strolled down the street. Mom was particularly interested in the fact that they emphasize and show off the old buildings/stones amongst the new construction. She would point it out every foot or two. It was really impressive.

After strolling the historical streets of Salerno, we returned to the sea. We stopped for gelato. Watched the people then returned to the station. We had a good day...

On our way home, we had to stop in another city to change trains. When we were walking to the platform, we heard someone serenading us. There was a guy singing opera and playing the piano in a building near to the station. We could hear him loud and clear. It was like we had our own personal concert while waiting for our train. What was interesting was that the birds were flying around and singing along with him. It was truly an interesting and wonderful experience. It was a perfect way to end a great day. 

Mom's Adventures at Zia Rosetta's House

It has been one week but I am finally posting about our trip to Zia Rosetta's house for dinner. It was quite the food lover's experience :) Zia Rosetta is Ipolita's aunt. She wanted to have my mom over for a meal before she left for America. We got the news that on Friday night she wanted to have us over for pizza. We thought, ok pizza we can handle that.....

Bruschetta

Melanzane - Eggplant

Prosciutto di Parma, Melon, e Mozzarella

Pizza rolls- cheese and meat inside

Sausage and peppers

Pizza- Margherita, with corn or with hotdog and french fries

Fruit

Dessert

Gelato 

So much for just pizza. :) Thank you Zia Rosetta for the great meal! :)

Mom's Adventures in her favorite city: Sorrento

I have been late in writing these blog posts but I am writing it now!

Last week after my lesson in the morning, we went to Sorrento. We decided to go there for lunch and then see where life took us. We had missed the regular train that takes us to Naples but thanks to Ipolita, we managed to catch the train from another station, which is located quite a ways away. We changed trains in Naples and then continued on our journey. We passed Pompei and great views of Vesuvius. 

Mom hadn't been in Sorrento for 12 years but she remembered it being her favorite place in Italy. Sure enough, she stepped off the train and started raving and stating how this was in fact her favorite place in Italy. She now wants a villa in Sorrento....

We walked through a private courtyard/garden that belonged to a fancy hotel and Mom was in her glory. She loved it. She kept saying it was how she remembered Sorrento. 

View from the hotel

View from the hotel

After strolling through the gardens and hotel, we found a restaurant to have lunch. It was located in the middle of a square with pretty scenery and lots of people for people watching. :) I thought we were going to a pizzeria. But somehow we accidentally managed to sit down at a "light" restaurant. We are in Italy, nothing is "light"! Yet, somehow we managed to find it! I told Mom it was a disgrace! But she was glad to have a light meal since we had been eating a lot of food lately! It was very good and just what we needed but it felt like I was committing a sin! 

our view which was perfect for people watching

Our light lunch: salad with raspberries...but really strawberries. 

vegetable gnocchi

After lunch, we decided to walk towards the water. We took pictures but then we were bombarded by other tourists so we opted to leave and head towards the other part of town. We walked, more like strolled. We looked at sights, took pictures and found another park with views of the water. We took pictures in peace :) We sat and people watched. 

First spot before the bombardment...

Second spot...

We strolled the streets and looked at the shops (even a Christmas store). And a few other things...look below. Then we decided we needed to rest our feet, people watch some more and drink some Italian water. :) 

A bell tower

Watched old men play cards outside a really cool building

Mom stopped in a few churches...

Mom took pictures with Pinocchio

and St. Francis

Our Italian water :) 

Afterwards, we made our way to the train station but not before stopping for some gelato! A trip isn't complete without gelato! :) Then on the train we met a couple from Baltimore. We were offering them tips and welcomed them to Italy. :)