We just returned from a lovely 2 weeks vacation in south Italy. It was part of the celebration of my wife’s birthday and also to attend a fantasy wedding of a friend. The journey brought us slowly down south as we move towards the island of Pantelleria – the southwestern tip of Italy.
We landed in Rome on 21 Aug and took a train to Naples, then to the Amalfi coast before heading to Sicily and finally towards the 3 days wedding event in Pantelleria.
Naples was a rich empire that started its decline in 1870 when Italy was unified and the northern cities of Rome, Milan and Venice took over. Before that, it was a prosperous empire with a rich history that spans into Sicily.
After 2 days in Naples, we headed to the Amalfi coast and visited Pompeii on the way down. It was amazing to see a town frozen in time more than 2,000 years ago when Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted in 79 AD. At that time, the citizens were not even aware that it was a volcano as it was dormant for more than 800 years!
Next stop was Sorrento. I was pleasantly surprised with this festive place as I was expecting an old town with a slow pace. It had a holiday vacation feel to the place which made it very enjoyable. The guided tours gave us a well-covered understanding of the place within our 2 days there Sorrento Small-Group Food Walking Tour.
Next off was a day trip to Ravello and Amalfi towns. Ravello was where Wonder Woman was filmed and we could see the majestic mountain views that inspired the director to choose this location. Amalfi was a small vacation town next to the beach where we stopped for lunch before heading to Positano for our next 2 nights stopover. Remind me to never drive again in Amalfi coast – it was a hair-raising experience with the narrow roads. The first warning omen was when I picked my rental car at Hertz – the guy at the counter commented that my car was a bit too big for the Amalfi coast…
Positano was a picturesque town that was exactly like all the photos were saw. Buildings were built into the steep hills over the centuries and the colourful paints made them even more outstanding. The room we were in had a balcony with a lovely view – the bedroom even had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling! We had a lovely meal at a very homely family managed Italian restaurant (Da Vincenzo) and the Al Dente pasta was simply awesome… Thanks to my wine course last year, I learned that Italian wines consist of multiple grape varieties and each region has their own specialities that go well with their local food. Campania wines were therefore on our hit list.
The next destination was to the island of Sicily. We flew from Naples to Catania and rented a car to drive into the city of Noto which my Italian friend had recommended that we visit. The lovely city was welcoming to visitors and its food was superb. Never knew a grilled eggplant could taste this good. The tour guide recommended us to a small family restaurant Trattoria Fontana d’Ercole and I tried another most amazing pasta. Apparently, the owner was a former barber that decided to open a restaurant since his wife cooked so well!!! The stories we hear about the birthplace of the mafia via movies now looks so tame by comparison.
After 2 nights at Noto, we drove westward to Palermo with a stopover at Syracuse to visit the Roman ruins and huge ancient amphitheatre. Again, the town of Palermo surprised us with its rustic charms. It was a throwback to what Italy was in the 1960s. Which we could have stayed another night to explore the city further.
Finally, it was off to our final destination to attend my friend’s wedding in Pantelleria. The resort Resort Acropoli we stayed in was an old palace built on top of Roman ruins 300 years ago and now has a modern swimming pool with a lot of olive trees and rosemary bushes surrounding it. Our villa was called Dammuso Zafiro and it was more than 200 years old. During our 4 nights stay, we managed to visit the volcano created lake (Lo specchio di venere) to do a mud bath and did a private boat cruise around the island.
Thanks to the wedding, we had 3 days of celebrations in some of the best locations on the island. The first evening was an informal wedding reception to welcome the 100 guests, as we were all meeting for the first time. It was in a nice luxury hotel Sikelia Luxury Retreat that overlooked a great sunset.
The second evening started earlier at 5 pm with a church wedding in a small church that was built in 1725. The event was made even more unique as the groom had also invited a Myanmar Catholic priest to the ceremony and colourful flags from the Myanmar church were also hung outside the building.
The subsequent dinner was held in a stunning location that took my breath away. It was a restaurant located between a valley that was surrounded by vineyards l’Officina – Tenuta Coste Ghirlanda . We literally could pick raspberries off the roadside and grapes from the vines to eat them directly. How cool was that!?! We had a long table prepared for all the guest and they had a pretty flower arrangement set up which was made of all edible fruits and herbs. A roving live band played Italian classics throughout the night. It was magical. We stayed till 1 am and skipped the handmade desert as we were so tired by then. Most of the guest stayed till 3…
The final day was a recovery late brunch at 2 pm in another scenic venue (Altamarea) for more seafood and drinks. As most of us knew each other by now, it was an informal let-your-hair-down session to chillax and groove to the music.
We left Pantelleria with lots of good memories and had to stay in FCO Rome airport for a night to await our connecting flight home. This coastal town area was also quite quaint and we could experience how a day at the beach was like for a local family.
This 2 weeks vacation adventure was good for the soul. It was like when we were young where my wife and I travel to new places to discover new experiences before the kids came. It helps to put me in the right frame of mind to plan my next halftime career moves.
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