Click here to join out Facebook group Day 7 was a free day so we were going to go to Ercola to see the ruins there. Luckily we were able to contact Gianfranco at the last minute and he had the day free. So off we went, however, the ruins were closed on Wednesday’s. You close the ruins! So we changed course and headed to Pompeii, which was no problem for Gianfranco. Who by the way, is the best drive in Campania and you can reach him at Salerno Car Service. Well let me tell you it was hot. On the way in we stopped for two hats. Sixty Euros yikes! Well I walked away… “wait forty”, no thanks. “How much do you want to pay?” “Thirty” “Thirty-Five, I buy coffee” LOL still a ripoff but what are you going to do. I guess we spent about 90 minutes in Pompeii, we could have stayed longer but it was just too hot and very crowded. Much different than 25 years ago and much more has been unearthed. But certainly worth the visit it you are near Naples. On our way back from Pompeii, Gianfranco gave us the history of macaroni in Gragnano. How the streets and buildings are laid out to maximize the climate and ensure that the macaroni dries properly. You then carry it home under your arm and break it in half when you get home to put into the pot. Gianfranco asked if we saw the view from Posillipo, and we said no. “You can’t leave Naples, without the view.” So off we went. Going up the mountain Gianfranco kept telling us… “Don’t look”, “No not yet” Finally we arrived at the scenic point and the view is amazing. Photos do not tell the story. By now we are pretty hungry and after seeing a few of the government buildings, Gianfranco dropped us off at the bay where all the restaurants are located. He recommended La Scialuppa, which was excellent and quite reasonable for the location. And I finally got my Gnocchi Sorrentino! We took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel and took in a few more sights and then… time for dinner. Tomorrow off to Scilla in Calabria.

Click here to join out Facebook group One of the things I really wanted to try was the Frecciarossa fast train from Rome to Naples, and in a sense we did try it. When we arrived at the station I noticed that there were a lot of delays up to 60 minutes and increasing. That being said our train was not showing any. We were due to leave at 4 PM and our train was on the board, but no track no delay. At 3:55 they put up a track and we make a mad dash. As I tried to scan the ticket the gate attendant said don’t stop…go. So we get on and leave about 4:15 only to arrive 2 hours late at 7:15 But at least we were on the train. We were met at the station by the best driver in Campania Gianfranco Padovano from Salerno Car Service ( more about him in a later post ) and our guide Vincenzo D’Onofrio. We were brought to to our home for the next 6 days Spaccanapoli Home Short Lets. We were met by our hosts Cristina and Marco and found the flat to be clean and tidy with welcome gifts and a bottle of wine. The flat is located in the historic district and walking distance to the Duomo and the State Archives of Naples. Right outside there are many shops and restaurants.  The flat had everything you needed, including a washing machine. We went out for coffee every morning, but don’t expect it before 7:30. I went to the same shop every morning with great cappuccino and espresso and very fresh pastry.  Walking through the alleys was really cool, like going back hundreds of years, well except for the motor bikes winding there way through the streets. Travel hint: Don’t try to dodge them, let them maneuver around you. Because we got in so late, dinner was pushed back until 8 PM.  We were set up to go to a quaint little place, Tandem Ragu on via Paladino, just a short walk from the restaurant. As it turned out, things got very confused and it took almost an hour to straighten out. Once everything was set the food was super and kept coming. Because of the confusion the management was very gracious and sent us Champagne to make up for the problem with the set menu. Our waiter Usman was delightful and excellent. And the food was awesome. So we ended a very long day with a late train and a late dinner. Day three is a great day with a walking tour of Naples, visit to the Duomo and a fantastic lunch with cousins! Stay tuned.

Interview with Diana Giovinazzo about hr new book “Antoinette’s Sister” SisterAs Marie Antoinette took her last breath as Queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch—Antoinette’s dearly beloved sister, Charlotte—was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did Charlotte know, however, that her sister’s execution would change the course of history—and bring about the end of her own empire. “You are the queen. You are the queen that Antoinette wanted to be.” Austria 1767: Maria Carolina Charlotte—tenth daughter and one of sixteen children of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria—knows her position as a Habsburg archduchess will inevitably force her to leave her home, her family, and her cherished sister, Antoinette, whose companionship she values over all else. But not yet. The Habsburg family is celebrating a great triumph: Charlotte’s older sister, Josepha, has been promised to King Ferdinand IV of Naples and will soon take her place as queen. Before she can journey to her new home, however, tragedy strikes. After visiting the family crypt, Josepha contracts smallpox and dies. Shocked, Charlotte is forced to face an unthinkable new reality: she must now marry Ferdinand in her sister’s stead. Bereft and alone, Charlotte finds that her life in Naples is more complicated than she could ever have imagined. Ferdinand is weak and feckless, and a disastrous wedding night plunges her into despair. Her husband’s regent, Tanucci, a controlling and power-hungry man, has pushed the country to the brink of ruin. Overwhelmed, she asks her brother Leopold, now the Holy Roman Emperor, to send help—which he does in the form of John Acton, a handsome military man twenty years Charlotte’s senior who is tasked with overseeing the Navy. Now, Charlotte must gather the strength to do what her mother did before her: take control of a country. In a time of political uprisings and royal executions and with the increasingly desperate crisis her favorite sister, Queen Marie Antoinette, is facing in France, how is a young monarch to keep hold of everything—and everyone—she loves? Find out in this sweeping, luxurious tale of family, court intrigue, and power. Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video

https://www.italiangenealogy.blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/99662202-F1C7-4940-8D8E-01C538A49B17.mov Click here to join out Facebook group So after seven days finally a bit of time to write a blog about day one in Rome. BITN booked us into the Floris Hotel on Via Nazionale. Very convenient and about a ten minute walk from the Trevi Fountain, if you go in the right direction. Make a left out of the hotel. If you make a right you are just two minutes from the Metro station to the Coloseum or Vatican. Also, right outside the door is an excellent restaurant “La” Buca Romana. After the free breakfast at the hotel, we hopped on the Metro to the Vatican. It was surprisingly easy to use as the have the 3 steps highlighted and you can insert your credit card. It appeared as if everyone was going to the Sistine Chapel that day. Man, was it packed and hot. Be sure to bring water, especially if it’s as hot as it was when we were there. If you do a tour, and I suggest that you do, it’s about 2 hours until you actually get to see the chapel. It’s not as big as I expected, but still quite a sight to see. Sorry, no photos allowed. After the tour we gathered our luggage at the hotel and went off the to station to get the fast train from Rome to Naples. We’ll…when we got to the station nothing was leaving and the delays were mounting. My wife and kids went upstairs to find some seats and I figured I should wait by the board. Nothing was showing for our train until 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave, when the flashed the track. I had to call my daughter run! So we get on the train and leave about 15 minutes late only to arrive in Naples 2 hours late. But at least we were on the train. Tomorrow Naples

Fun interview Pat Benincasa about her family’s trip from Calabria to Canada to the USA, her finding relatives in Calabria, her art and much much more. Check out Pat’s art here. Visit Our Shop Podcast Click here to join our group on Facebook Video