The trip was in early May. We took advantage of May day to saved on our annual leave. 2 of my friends and I took a flight from Bangkok to Rome (another person would join us later in the trip). We arrived at Fiumicino Airport in Rome around 1PM. From the airport, we rented a car and drove straight to Naples. The total trip should took around 2.30 hours but, we had to stop at a rest stop for a late lunch. We really liked Italian rest stop because everything looked so good, I mean the food. After a quick browsed, all of us decided on Porchetta sandwich. It looked great and tasted good too especially after the staff heated in the Panini grill.
The next day, our plan was to explore Naples then, moved on to Vico Equence. It was raining a bit in the early morning but, by the time we were ready, it nearly stopped. So, we went out for breakfast. The B&B provided a breakfast coupon which we could took to the nearby café and exchanged for 3 items at our choosing. It could be a drink with 2 pastries or vice versa. We chose to have orange juice, coffee and a pastry. We decided to try the local pastry, sfogliatella.
Our first stop of the sight seeing was Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore since it was so close.
From there, we walked around a bit then, we took Via Benedetto Croce towards the Church of Gesu Nouvo.
From Naples, we drove for 45 mins to reach Vico Equense. This was where we would stay for 3 nights. I chose this town because I didn't like staying in high tourist populated place. Since we rented a car, there was not need to stay right next to attractions. Vico Equense suited our purpose and we found this very nice apartment in Airbnb to stay. The place was called Sea Tower. It was a small place but, once we saw the view from its balcony, we very quickly decided that we had to stay here. The Sea Tower located in the same property as Giusso Castle. There were 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathroom. We had a little problem finding the place because the street that leaded to Guisso Castle was so very small that we doubted whether we could drive there.
The next morning started with the rain. We saw in the weather forecast before hand so, we already decided that we would be lounging and relaxing at home (with our view). We love this kind of vacation where we can pretend that we actually LIVE in Italy and not being a tourist all the time. The rain stopped around 11AM and the forecast told us that we had until around 4PM when the rain would resume. We finally moved, got ready and left for Sorrento. It took us around 40 mins to get there, including the traffic and a short stop at a viewing point.
By mid afternoon, we were done. Before retrieving the car, we stopped at a supermarket for dinner supply. Another thing I like about staying at an apartment or house during vacation, as supposed to hotel, was we could cook our own meal. Eating out all the time could be tiring. For today dinner, I made spaghetti with muscles in white wine sauce. We got frozen muscles but, they were pretty good.
For our third day, we had a full day schedule. Our plan was to visit Pompeii for most of the day and to pick up our final gang member at Naples Airport. It was roughly a 30 mins drive from our place to Pompeii. The parking was quite close to the entrance. Honestly, we were walking kind of all over the place. We tried to follow the map but, it wasn't as easy as we thought. From the brochure, we tried to decided which places we wanted to see or my friends wanted to see since I have already been there. Then, we walked around zone by zone but, we got pretty confused. hahaha. Still it was a great experience even for the second time.
We had lunch in the cafeteria because it took us longer to got through the place. We decided that we only had time for a few places and so we chose the Brothel. There was quite a long line going in since it was a small place and one of the main attraction. The last place we decided to visit before leaving was the Villa dei Misteri (Villa of the Mysteries). I didn't go there on my last visit with a tour. I guessed it because it was on the outskirt of Pompeii and quite out of the way of other attractions. We were so glad that we chose to go. It was so well preserved, much better that any other places we had seen. I would recommend anyone to take a bit a time and a bit of longer walk to visit this place.
When we first arrived we though, Oh...this place was still intact. But the true prize was on the inside. The fresco was stunning and very well preserved with vivid color.
This was totally the highlight. I would say we were very satisfied and fulfilled after this place. From there, instead of walking back inside Pompeii, we chose the exit at the villa and walked along the perimeter of Pompeii just because it was easier to walk on the modern road.
From Pompeii, it was only 30 mins to Naples Airport where we picked up our friend. After that we didn't do much. We drove back to our place at Vico Equense and talked and talked until dinner time. There were so much to catch up. For dinner, we went to a restaurant in town (pre-selected from our last walk). The place's name was Terramia. The restaurant was pretty cozy and the staffs are very friendly. The food was so delicious. We shared appetizer; sauté clam and mixed fried Italian street food. Both of them were very tasty. Then, each of us ordered our main courses. I had grilled lamb with pistachio which was very tender and well seasoned. I liked that they served it with fried zucchini.
After dinner, we went back to our place and pack. We were leaving the next morning.
The next day, we packed up and moved on to our next destination which was Praiano. Since we were scheduled to check in in the afternoon, we stopped in Positano for a bit of sightseeing and lunch. I would say this one is probably my favorite town of this trip. Positano with layers and layers of road and colorful buildings was very charming. We didn't know if there would be a parking spot in town so, we chose the first parking lot we found. Turned out that we had to have a long walk down to the bottom but, the weather was really nice and we could browse along the way.
The center of the town was pretty clustered with small streets. We wanted to have lunch along the beach front, just to get a feel of it all.
We didn't have much time after lunch because we needed to meet with the owner of our next place. So, we only had a bit of window shopping before making our track uphill to the parking lot.
Our next place was in Praiano which was about half an hour drive. It's in the middle between Positano and Amalfi. For our place, which was called Blumavy on Airbnb, we had to drive uphill a bit. The location was great. From the house, we could see the entire coast. Our place was on the second floor (the ground floor was garage). Right next to our house was a small Moms & Pops market where we could get produces for our breakfast and dinner. The house was very spacious and airy. It also got large kitchen which suited us very well because we enjoyed cooking and sharing meal at home.
The place was very well kept and clean. Also, we were impressed with our host who had prepared all the documents and maps as well as thoroughly explain anything and everything about the surrounding area, direction of restaurants and shops even though he had to speak a mix of English and Italian. We really loved it here. We decided that we would spend time at our place today. So, after we got settled, we went to out grocery shopping for dinner.
The next day, we chose to go on a boat trip to and Island of Capri. I had heard so much about Capri and always wanted to go. We bought round trip ferry tickets out of Positano since yesterday. The ferry ride took around 45 mins. It was good that we bought the tickets ahead of time because it was pretty full. The view was amazing approaching Capri. I was quite excited.
Once there, it was pretty busy and crowded with tourists. We wanted to go to Anna Capri and at first, we were going to take the bus but, the line was long. So, we thought to try the convertible taxi. It might cost more than the bus but, I would say it was much more convenient.
If you could spare some budget, I think this is the better way to travel around Capri. The taxi took us to Piazza Vittoria where we had our quick lunch of Panini and coffee.
From there, we followed a sign to Villa San Michele. This villa was built by a Swedish physician/ author. The indoor part displayed an exhibition of the Swedish doctor, Axel Munthe. But, I think the highlight was the outside. The garden and panoramic view were stunning.
We also stopped for coffee and pastry at the villa's café. It was one of my favorite activities, sipping Italian coffee and enjoying the view. After that, we backtracked to the piazza and took another taxi to the center of Capri. The town center was very busy and crowded, we didn't stay long.
We explored the small alleys that let from the town center a bit, then decided to go down to the port and waited for our ferry back to the mainland. We could take another taxi or the funicular but, we saw a sign for the way to port so, we thought that a bit more exercise would do us good. Well, we didn't realize that it was a long way down. Even going downward could also take toll on our heel. Cross from the port, we selected a café for a drink and waited. It was pretty hot by that time. We mostly slept through our ride back to the mainland. That evening, we cooked a grand meal with seafood bought from the mini-market next door. Though they were frozen, they were not manufactured food. We could taste that they were very fresh.
The following morning, we took our time making and having breakfast. By the time, everyone was ready to leave, it was late morning. Our plan was to drive to Ravello and visit Amalfi on the way back. It took around an hour to get to Ravello from our place. My uncle told me that we really should visit Ravello so, we obediently followed my uncle's advice. The last 20 mins of our drive was all uphill on a narrow winding road. I didn't realize that we would have to go up that high. Just before we reach the Piazza, there was a sign to a parking lot which we had to pay by hour. Since it was already noon time and we were planning to go to one of the villa, we thought that it would be better for us to find something to eat now. Again, we decided on a simple Panini lunch at Piazza Duomo. It was a change from other popular town that there were not a lot of people around. I mean there were still tourists but, I guess because of the traveling time and most people would only go to Positano and Amalfi, it wasn't overwhelmed.
Because we didn't have as much time as I would like, we had to prioritize what we wanted to see and we chose to visit Villa Cimbrone. From the Piazza, we took Via del Rufolo and followed the signed. It was quite a long walk, around 15 mins.
It was an upward slope most of the way, but not steep. Even before entering the Villa, we got the feeling that it would be stunning.
The entrance fee, if I remember correctly was 7 Euro per person and it was totally worth it. The garden and the view were very stunningly beautiful.
The villa also offers accommodation and I thought that if I had a chance, I would come back and stay here once.
We were there for nearly two hours I think before we had to make our way back to the parking lot because we only paid for 3 hours. It was unfortunate and I felt that we only saw a fraction of Ravello.
From there, we made our way back and made a stop at Amalfi. It was a total change. Amalfi was so busy and crowded. We almost couldn't find a parking spot.
After the serene Ravello, this mass of people overwhelmed us. We walked around a bit, just to get a feel of the place. Also, we had some snack there, tried some gelato and fried seafood (we wanted to try since the beginning of the trip). It was very yummy and we had to have a second order.
For the evening, we once again went back to our place to cook. We really enjoy cooking at our holiday home. It was one of our criteria for the house to have a spacious and cute kitchen. This was our last evening at the house and so we made it an excuse to have another feast. No seafood this evening, we wanted meat. After we got back, we went to check out our source of dinner. Today, they shop had steak and chicken cutlet among others. We asked for 2 pieces of steak which the owner sliced for us, a little too thin for our liking but, we thought that was the way Italians like their steak so, we didn't object. The chicken cutlets was already breaded and seasoned. Apart from the meat, we had salad, stir fried vegetable and risotto. We bought a risotto mix from Amalfi and wanted to try if we should bring it back home.
Well, the beef was very tasty and tender. My favorite was the chicken cutlet which I pan-fried in butter and olive oil. It was so good that we were seriously thinking of running down to the shop and getting a few more pieces. The chicken was juicy and very well seasoned. I normally don't like chicken breast since it tends to get dry but, this was so good. It was kind of sad that we would be leaving this place tomorrow already. It had such a homey feeling.
The next morning, well late morning, we left Praiano and drove to Naples airport to drop our friend off. From there, we drove back to Rome and returned our rental car. We didn't need the car in Rome since the parking is so expensive and we didn't need it to go elsewhere. After dropping the car off (Rome Termini Railway Station) and took Uber to hotel. Well, we didn't plan to use Uber but, the traffic around the station was really bad, there was no taxi around and we were too tired to take subway. It was quite convenient. The first Uber driver who responded to us couldn't speak much English so, we asked to be cancelled. The second one, I think he was a limousine driver so, it was easy to communicate with him. By the time we got to our hotel (La Maison D'Art Luxury Suite), it was late afternoon. The hotel was housed in a very old building. I chose it because it was very convenient and quite close to attractions. The reception was on the 2nd floor but our room and the breakfast room were on the third floor. Once we were checked in, the staff gave us the passcode to enter the building as well as to different floor, so, basically 3 codes to remember.
From our hotel, it was less than 5 mins walk to Pantheon, very convenient. 
The next day, we only had till the afternoon before we had to go to airport. Our missioned was to do a bit of shopping, for ourselves and folks back home. We walked to Piazza di Spagna for some specific brand name shops. We had lunch in a restaurant in one of the small streets. Back at the hotel, we quickly packed our stuff and freshened up before going to the Airport to fly home.
It was a great trip and I still think about our vacation home with ocean view, about tasty seafood and the great time hanging our with friends. So, until next trip, whenever that will be .....
