ANDIAMO! Naples, Amalfi Coast and Puglia 10/8/16 - 10/26/16

Taxi, bus, train and ferry will be our means of transportation for the first eleven days. The plan is four days in Naples, braving its reported dangers and featuring a day ferry trip to Ischia, a nearby volcanic island with hot springs. Also Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at the San Carlo opera house, a visit to the famous archeological museum and a day trip to Herculaneum (a mini-Pompeii). Then, Pompeii for a day and a day in Sorrento. Then, a ferry for a two-day stay in Capri. After that, four days using Positano as a base to see the Amalfi Coast (Amalfi, Ravello etc.) and its vaunted coastal beauty. Finally, renting a car in Salerno and doing one day at Paestum for Greek temples and four days using Ostuno as a base to see some of Puglia with its hill towns and farm culture. Then back from Bari.

My new smartphone will be my only camera and communication device. I'm hoping it will suffice. Folding hiking sticks are an addition to our luggage. Also, a nightlight to illuminate strange hotel rooms as I make my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Another famous couple vacationed in Positano at the end of September, the American football player Tom Brady and his supermodel girlfriend Gisella Bundchen.

And finally, here's a bit of culture from 1938:

© THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 2, 1938:

Stokowski in Capri with Greta Garbo

Mayor of Ravello Says Couple Spent Day on Island – Actress Has Villa Near By

Greta Garbo, motion-picture actress, and Leopold Stokowski, the orchestra conductor, who once denied there was a romance budding, returned here tonight after spending a day together at the Island of Capri in the Bay of Naples. They were identified by the Mayor of Ravello.

SERIOUSLY, the real reason I'm traveling to this area of the world is the food, particularly the sea urchin dishes which are a highlight of the coastal sections of Southern Italy.

Stay tuned!