This was a travel day for us. We would be spending much of the day on our bus, heading south to Naples. The scenery from the bus included  natural elements such as cypress trees and olive groves, and human-made elements such as ancient ruins.  We pulled over at an Autogrill for a brief rest stop, and then later, at another Autogrill, for a lunch break.

Rest stops in Italy are not like those in our country. Of course they both have rest room facilities and “fast food”,  but  in Italy they also have “slow food.” By that I mean that they have fresh food being prepared by cooks. Nick selected a fruit salad, while I chose tortellini with pesto sauce. My meal was served cold, because pesto is never heated. Nonetheless, even though it was not like the pesto that I make at home, I enjoyed it.

Many tourists enjoy shopping. We had our first opportunity to do that at Apa dal 1848, a historical brand from Torre del Greco known for high-quality handcrafted coral and cameo jewelry of all kinds. I always get earrings for my daughter when we travel, and this was a good place to do that.

Then we were back on the bus for  the remainder of our trip to Naples. When we arrived at our hotel, the view left much to be desired. Years ago, an Italian teacher told me, “Italians will not hurt you, but they will rob you blind.” This seemed like a place where a lot of tourists  could be robbed blind.

However, the  inside of the hotel was lovely. Our room was very nice, and it had a view of the nearby mountains. I have not noted the specific style of bed we had in each hotel room. At times  during the trip, Nick and I shared a double bed, but often our  hotel room had two single beds, and one room had three single beds.

Some of our friends decided to explore the neighborhood. They did that by using a different door from the one we used when we arrived. To their delight, that door led to a an area that was  much safer. Nick and I didn’t join them, though. We chose to take a nap instead.

We joined our group for dinner in the hotel. Our meal began with  bread and butter, followed by pasta with tomato sauce, and a pork cutlet with potatoes. The dessert was tiramisu, which is typical of the area. I don’t drink coffee, nor do I eat foods that contain it. I passed on dessert in Rome, but this time I asked if I could have something else instead of tiramisu. I was brought a fruit plate that  contained pineapple, orange, kiwi, and a kind of fruit that I could not identify. I enjoyed it very much.  And I noticed that our group is  much more lively when wine is served with dinner!

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