I am not sure specifically what the genesis for the idea was to go on a trip to Italy with our friends the Cornejos and Corrigans, but the idea had been hatched a while back. We debated for a while when and how this would happen. This went from doing an RV journey to booking a few Airbnbs in a few cities. We picked some dates and started planning late last year and in early this year.
I pressed for southern Italy as Mandy and I have been to northern Italy a few times and while I love that part of Italy, I thought this was a chance for me to see something new. There was group buy in for the most part, and the planning commenced.
We had dates which were going to be late April and early May to avoid both summer heat and hopefully crowds. I liked flying directly into Rome since I had never been south of Rome and we could get direct flights avoiding some of the travel struggles of other trips to Europe. I thought we could drive directly east toward the Adriatic Sea and then follow the coast clockwise for two weeks returning to Rome at the end. Here is a link to our original itinerary. We did not adhere to it exactly but pretty close. I offer it up as a good starting point for anyone else who might like a head start in planning.
We all agreed we would buy tickets. Late in the planning I got a call from Rick Cornejo on a Sunday to say that he and Julie were not going to be able to go because he had a state audit. It was likely to start as we were planning to leave Italy. We tried a few other options so they could be included but it just wasn’t going to happen. I then suggested that maybe we invite our other mutual friends the Reeves. They expressed interest but there were going to be some challenges for them and they were unsure. The Corrigans had some friends from Sarasota that had gone to JC’s 60th birthday in Las Vegas and thought they might be interested. That didn’t work out either. So relatively quickly, we realized it was just going to be the Farquhars and the Corrigans. I wondered if that was going to be less fun and if we would tire of each other after two weeks. The short answer is a group of six created some logistical issues that became apparent during the trip and the four of has hand a grand time with no issues.
As a basic summary, this was a tremendous trip. It will probably be a ‘top 5’ in my life and I have been lucky enough to have been on some good ones. The scenery, culture and companionship were great. The following is some detail mostly for my own reference in the future so I can reminisce.
Sunday 4/26: Arrived in Rome a little before noon, met the Corrigans in the baggage area and got a car rental. We got a new Volkswagen T-Roc which was nice and just big enough. We drove through Rome heading East toward Sulmona where we had an Airbnb reservation. We drove through most of Rome since the airport is in West Rome. Finally we started to hit some rural areas and could see the mountains we were going to be entering. It was visually very nice and there were lots of mountain towns which were perched high with generally a church and castle at the top and the rest of the town surrounding it. They were picturesque and JC was particularly impressed by them. Our first stop AutoGrill which are gas stations and a store. In the store there was really great ‘deli’ with sandwiches, pizza, yummy looking pastries and most importantly for me, coffee. I had an Espresso and an ‘Americano e Latte ToGo’ which I really started to need as I was begining to hit a wall from effectively a red-eye flight. Another interesting thing was the urinals were placed quite high which was noteworthy in the moment but I would soon discover over the next two weeks that was a rule an not an exception.
We had just finished our three hour drive from Rome and begin exploring Sulmona. This is their famous aqueduct that was on the edge fo their Piazza. This was really the begining of our grand journey.
We continued on through the Abruzzo region through the mountainous landscape that is Sirente-Velino Natural Park and Parco Nazionale del Gargano. After about three hours we could see Sulmona in the distance and made our way down into the valley and into Sulmona’s piazza which is quite lovely. We arrived at roughly 4 PM. There are beautiful mountain views which are in the Della Maiella National Park and the city itself is at the foot of the Majella. We parked and walked around the piazza and the local shops. Sulmona is the City of Love and is known for their Confetti which is sugar-coated almonds. We stopped at an outdoor cafe and had some drinks. The waiter gave us mountain spring water from the city aqueduct and a public fountain. He also gave us a dinner recommendation which we walked to but found that they did not open until 8 PM. We made a reservation.
We stopped to have drinks. The waiter broad a great little tray of bread and prosciutto. He was very proud of his town and made a wonderful suggestion for dinner. This was the start of quite a bit of eating and drinking for the next two weeks.
Our Airbnb wasn’t available until six and we were getting close so we drove over. It was a lovely apartment hosted by Franca and Nello. We got settled in and made sure we couldmake it through all three locked doors to get back in. We then returned to the piazza and went to another outdoor cafe for more drinks. The waiter insisted on a meat platter which we agreed to. It was impressively big and could have been dinner itself. We had another round of wine and did some damage on the sausage, prosciutto, cheese paninis and something that looked like small hot dogs. We went to another cafe down one of the main thoroughfares, which was across from church. We people watched which included all the Italian men on the church steps. We surmized they must be part of the ‘almond mafia’ since that was an important local commodity. We also recognized a couple from Budget rent-a-car line in Rome which we thought was very surprising.
This wa a great start to a lot of good food. We also really tested my theory that there is no hangover with Italian wine.
It was now essentially 8 PM so we made our way to the recommended restraunt. I unfortunately don’t recall the name but it was great. We had lots of wine and the meal started with a complimentary fire-roasted potato spinach appetizer which was awesome. We then shared pasta with white pepper lemon sauce in a bowl made of cheesy pasta and a a fabulous meat tray. Wanted gelato but were too full from dinner. Great gelato spot favored by the locals. Woke up at Franca’s Had breakfast provided by them. Lovely breads and pastries and fruit. Coffee pot pods were cantankerous.
Monday 3/27: Hit the road for the journey to Termoli and decided not it was not worth staying. Termoli “merchant only” parking by the police. Not a very scenic place so decided to hit the road and traveled to Lesina “the ghost town.” Nobody there but we believe a Nonna was cooking down the alley so we approached and her dog on the balcony scared us away. Proceeded to walk towards the water to the lagoon still no people to be seen. Found an open cafe across from lagoon called Bistro Ristorante. Had an “American” salad with iceberg and fennel. But good pizza with prosciutto and vino, wine not so good suggested by owner. We presume the town is a beach town hopping possibly in the summer . Left Lesina and headed to Vieste. Stopped into Pizzomunno. Too bougie for us and overpriced . Found hotel rooms at La Caravelle with water views and balcony. Went into centro walked around down alleys. Heard momma hitting somebody outside open no glass window next to church. Walked more alleys and Doug found the pergola at the top of the heart stairs for the city of love. Had cocktails there and proceeded down the stairs for dinner at La Vaporetta. Ordered steak, whole sliced prawns (hard to eat) orchiaetta with sauce mussels and tricolor pasta. Not a very good dinner. We were not impressed. Seemed to be a tourist spot not a locals spot. After dinner got gelato. Tuesday 3/28 - Had a nice stay at hotel with breakfast served in the morning. Delicious pastries and cappucino with juice. Parking was an adventure at this hotel. Hostess was lovely and friendly. Family-owned lived in. Brothers drove golf cart to park in a small tight garage off premises. After breakfast drove us on golf cart to boat “the love boat.” Francesco was our guide of the white cliffs. Absolutely beautiful. Very impressive views of the cliffs and beaches. Headed back to the hotel to check out. Got on the road for the journey to Bari. Along the way had lunch at a beautiful restaurant cliffside overlooking the Adriatic. (Monte Bamone Ristorante). Old man cooking Jace’s fish over an open fire next to Mandy’s hot dogs. Yvonne had a caprese, Doug linguine and clams. Along the way to Bari stopped for gas that had only diesel (in the Iowa of Puglia - farms agricultural). Inside the gas station a bunch of Italian men farm workers having cafe and conversing (as they always do, we wonder who works here ever) laughing. One of the guys behind the counter asked us if we had an American dollar bill. We gave him. And we said Trump is not that on the dollar. He responded “No Trump.” We arrived in Bari and booked an Airbnb in 30 minutes time on my phone. Entering Bari we wondered if it was where we should be as it was a much busier city than we had been experiencing until then . The Airbnb was challenging to say the least: secured the reservation on the app at 5:30 bit couldn’t check in til 6:00 (which took that long to send documents/passports ; parking, etc. getting into the apartment. But we had some SF parking karma on our side and found a spot right on the street on same block of apartment. The apartment was sufficient and clean. We settled into the apartment. It had a rooftop terrace and two bedrooms, one bath. Jace went to wine store and bought a bottle of red and bottle of white. Yet we had no corkscrew and he opened with a knife and red splashed all over the kitchen. We ventured out into the CITY of Bari and headed for old town by foot, not far from the apartment at all. Nightfall beginning to fall, walked around castle. Witnessed a guy signing to a crowd of people at restaurant with people singing and dancing along. Saw Nonna’s making orichetti. Heard the sound of church bells and followed to church of St Nicholas where there was a crowd of people and band with the father addressing the crowd. Everyone cheered. They had a processional into the church with the statue of St. Nicola into church to do mass. We continued on looking for a place to eat. Found Cucina Carletto. Outdoor restaurant. Moped kid and motorcycle nearly collide. Waitress less than thrilled by our late arrival. Shirtless boy given a coke and scurries away. Had a lovely dinner, family style, pickled eggplant, buffalo mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes, pasta and meat sauce. Walked to bakery (Boston style). Bought pastries for next morning breakfast and walked back to apartment. Drank wine and talked til bedtime on the rooftop. Wednesday 3/29 - checked out and had a cappuccino and coffee at cafe. drove south in search of Grotto Palazzese (as told by Nick Grieco). Arrived and found parking on the street next to an old lady hanging out the window. She told how to park (move up). Walked along the sea wall looking for grotto with some beautiful vistas over cliffs. Found the hotel but were shoo shoo’d away. Had coffee and pastries at Sporcamus bakery street cafe and then walked the street/alleys and to our surprise we were in Polignano a Mare, an unexpected beautiful city. Lots of viewpoints. Watched boats going in and around cliffs. Bumped into a Chicago couple who told us about a hotel in Matera (turned out to be not available). Had lunch on a rooftop terrace Acquamarea. Left Polignano en route to Monopoli. Got into the city mid afternoon. We were not feeling the vibe in Monopoli, especially when we went down a ZTL and just missed hitting a parked car, thanks to the stellar driving of Doug and the alarms going off on the car. We decided Monopoli was not our place. Continues the drive to Ostuni , what turned out to be a very good decision ! Hopped on Airbnb and Massimo at the L’Angola Ostuni was the first recommended and we went for it. Massimo responded almost immediately and we were within minutes of meeting him (after he stopped at the laundry for fresh towels. He met us at the white Ostuni villa with fresh towels and bottle of cold white vino. We got a close parking spot and opened the door to find the steep stairway up one flight then a second. Almost ladder like, beautiful restore concrete. Bedroom 1 was 1/2 way up for the Corrigans. The whole villa was restored beautifully . Massimo and then told us he was studying to be an engineer and did the work all himself. Beautiful rooftop terrace. Corrigans defaulted to bedroom 1 because of the purple giant. With the grotto bathroom. Doug and Mandy had the lost off the living room that unfortunately was a mosquito haven that took to Doug. Massimo proceeded to give us numerous recommendations for dinner and cocktails with a view. Before going out, Jace stopped into the wine store steps away, picked up a couple of bottles of vino and witnessed a social club in the back. Walked down the hill to the plaza and headed towards the church we saw from our rooftop terrace. The place with a view had no availability. We came upon a small cafe/bar with bean bag chairs (Bar Perso). (first checking out the Ricardo night club). Had a cocktail on bean bag chairs. Continued up the hill to a beautiful hotel with an amazing view. More cocktails. Met a couple from Baltimore on their honeymoon. Left there for dinner in a cave restaurant we don’t remember the name. Jace ate Octopus. Met an American man former volleyball player. Thursday 3/30 Woke up in Massimo’s place in Ostuni with n the rain for a day trip to Lecce. Went to archaeological museum, had lunch at nice place, (Yvonne fell out of her chair) walked the plaza with the statue and another statue behind the glass : St. fill-in-the-blank. Walked the alleys of Lecce then walked more to find the car. Got on the road to head south to Gallopli. Still raining but not too hard. Parked along the port. Cappucino with the fisherman. Proceeded to centro. Went to olive oil press museum. Christmas shop. Nativity like scene place likening to Its a small world at Disney. Had a cocktail when rain started coming down at among horse carriages for a cocktail. We then walked to the most western point of the heel on the water’s edge, along the wall. Walked back to car and drove back to Ostuni. Parked near the park. Drank some wine in the house and walked around looking for a dinner spot and massimo’s recommendations were not coming to fruition, we needed reservations. We ended up eating at Regina’s. Mandy had pizza, Yvonne eggplant. Doug ate gelato. Friday 5/1 Woke up in Ostuni. Doug went to get car while we got ready to pack and leave. Went to small farmer’s market and proceeded to piazza for cafe and a danish. People watched the band setting up. Headed for Arberobello and the Trulli houses. Met the scary looking but very nice parking attendant. With cauliflower ears. Trulli houses were packed with hordes of people. Houses were “Trulli” unique. Got on the road and decided to stop for lunch in an town called Puntignano. Small little town that was practically closed down for the holiday. Came across a group of Gen Z’ers partying it up at a bar at lunchtime in the sun. It was a beautiful sunny day ! And a holiday in Italy, Labor Day. We decided to move on from the Gen Zers and came to an opening with a plaza and a church with outside table but it was too windy and met Massimo 2. He invited us to eat inside and we immediately took a liking to Massimo 2. Had a great meal and the wine recommendations were awesome. He recommended several wineries. One of which was the three sisters but was too far away. We proceeded on a beautiful drive to Girolamo winery. Toured the wine barrels! After the tour Had a lovely tasting and drank a lot of wine ! We leave the winery and we book an Airbnb in a very small town on the way to Matera. Doug books the Airbnb through booking.com at Corte di lirice paradisi in Gioia del Colle. We drove into town looking for the Airbnb and we came to meet the proverbial square peg in a circle hole. We ended up in a ZTL zone. Mandy and I in the back seat and Jace Outside the car while Doug is driving to get us out of a wedge between two walls in an alley. Mandy and I go to pizza parlor/restaurant while Jace and Doug tried to get into Airbnb with no luck. Mandy and I started asking the girls in pizza place where can we go. Recommendation is one hotel on Svevo that ended up being a bust because there was an entire football team. He arranged for us to go to a hotel in the town of Mottola. The hotel had a concierge that looked just like Kramer and we were given hotel rooms, the last two in the hotel. Hotel Cecere They were suites … kind of. We went to dinner that night on mottolla. Jace had a fall. Hotel had a very large wedding ballroom that was quite dated but pretty .Made it back to hotel Kramer. Had an interesting sleep at Kramer hotel. Huge bath tub, even bigger veranda, Yvonne thought we had had bed bugs. All turned out good . Woke up to a great breakfast. Saturday 5/2: drive to Matera was beautiful rolling hills. Parked too far from Center. Once we got to center, it was bustling being the holiday weekend. Definitely feels like the 3rd oldest city in the world. Visited Cathedral Basilica of Matera. Beautiful! Had a fantastic lunch in a cave. Insert name of restaurant. Long walk back to the car through the center. Didn’t walk the way we went but managed to find the car. Got on the road headed for Potenza. Beautiful rolling hills and mountains. Stopped for gas. Looking for an Airbnb we found Marco’s house in Pignola on the app. Pignola is a beautiful small ski village outside Potenza ! Drove up and up and first went to the wrong address. Called Marco on what’s app and he directed us to the right house. Arrived at Marco’s place and his parents were there to greet us. We stayed on the top floor above mom and dad. The home was very quaint, and 2 bdrm 2 bath and we finally had a washer/dryer. Although they both took way too long to in their cycles. We had yet another lesson on yet another espresso machine. Momma and papa had their own fresh garden with fruits and veggies to share. And a koi pond out back. Poured some wine from winery yesterday and sat on the front veranda looking over the beautiful Mountain View while FaceTiming with Katy. Marco made us a reservation for dinner at 8:00 at Le Fiamme. Ate upstairs and had an authentic family style dinner with more food (delicious) than we could eat. Best charcuterie board EVER. Mandy had ribs for dinner. The guys had meat tray and split a pasta ravioli with cod and Yvonne had pistachio pasta ! We met a young Valentino, 18 years old who spoke perfect English. Mandy invited him to live in OC. Went back to house to finish laundry that was taking hours to wash and dry. Stayed up debating music and videos. Eagles best American rock band! Sunday 5/3: Woke up and said goodbye to Marco’s parents. and went into Potenza and had a Cappuccino. Drove to Salerno, city on the med coast. Parked in the port and walked around looking for a hotel. Found hotel grand Salerno through booking.com. Had a siesta. Rooms were at the grand. Had a cocktail along the promenade. Had a visit with Sara on FaceTime. That restaurant was our first tipping experience. Went back to centro where there was a renaissance fair, lively music and dancing. Find a small wine and proscioto bar alongside the alley/street. Met an Italian woman and her dog, scientist lady from Rome visiting her parents. And also met a Norwegian guy. a mathematician. They started chatting and we got out of their way. She gave us the recommendation for our dinner restaurant which was in a cave. (Cici Rinella). We met an American couple Renee and her husband Bob or bill. They were from upstate NY and Florida. Walked back through the promenade and stopped for gelato and cocktails outside on the promenade. Have little African kids money. Walked back to grand hotel for the night. Monday 5/4: Woke to breakfast at the Grand, a palatial but very tired hotel. Then set out on our journey of the Amalfi coast. Driving Amalfi is a test of the nerves for sure as we experienced very shortly into the drive. First stop, the coastal town of Maiori (Masood’s hometown). Walked along the seaside and up into the center. Stopped by the flowery church garden. Stopped for lunch at a deli called La Tramontina and ate it at an outside table. Doug and Mandy focaccia sandwich with prosciutto and mortadella, Jace at lasagne, Yvonne, a huge bruschetta. After lunch we continued on with the goal of arriving in Ravello. We almost missed the turn to Ravello but got there. But while going up the hill, we were told to turn around and did going the wrong way down a narrow one way. Then being called stupid by a local. We came back through the tunnel and parked along the side of the road while trying to figure out our next move. Thought we could walk up the hill but the parking guy said can’t stay there and there’s seven more spot up in Ravello centro. We proceed up to the parking lot, still unsure if we were going to stay the night. We had an Airbnb potential option in Furore. While parking the car, (a very tight and difficult task in itself, Mandy and I notice, holy crap, is that a hotel right there in the lot. Walked around looking for someone to talk to and found the cleaning girl. She told us one momento and Pietro arrived within minutes on his Vespa. He was very welcoming and gave us two rooms, one with a view that Jace and I got. Great rooms some of the best we had to date. Two little spot dogs, one-eyed Crusty and Spot/Scout. We checked in and relaxed a little bit and then walked up the stairs to the piazza and we were amazed at the beauty of it ! We walked across the piazza to the hotel Rufalo where they gave us a table in the corner with a view that could stop time ! We had cocktails and drinks there. Then we went up the tower I. The beautiful garden. We saw a bride and groom and realized this has got to be the prettiest place to have wedding. We went to Hotel giordano the hotel with a poolside table for drinks and met Tomosso. Tomasso said Jace looked like Sean connery, Mandy looked like Sofia Loren and doug Jokavich tennis player. Me - no one! He recommended we go to hotel Maria for dinner. We sat on Jace and Yvonne’s vista veranda before going out. We went and it was a beautiful view dinner spot. Walked back to Pietro’s place. Doug probably got a gelato on the way down. Tuesday 5/5: woke up at Pietro’s place to a very early farmer’s market setup and barking dogs. Pietro served us a delicious breakfast with “the best coffee in all of Italy.” He told us about the celebrity weddings taking place in Ravello: John legend, Usher ! We each walked the piazza one more time before leaving. Pietro pulled our car out of the parking grass below the market and we headed to Positano ! Holy Cow ! Trip into Positano was curvy dangerous fun amd a test on the nerves ! Had to hang a big UTurn. Then we proceeded down to Bougainville. We parked the car and were excited to let the car go for three days. Positano was/is a feast for the eyes ! And a bustling Disney world of sorts ! We met Salvatore who arranged our luggage ip from street level and we settled in to our rooms for the next three days. Positano is an overflowing city of lemons and amazing views everywhere you look. WE had lunch at two doors down from Bougainville (pizza-ohem?). We walked down to the beach and came upon Rada and met two couple (dog lady-annoying). Location was perfect. Saw at least one proposal on a boat off the coast under the Rada and a wedding or two. Walked through town looking for the recommended restaurant from the dog people of Vincenzo’s. Walked mistakenly the back stairs up and up and up until we finally found Vincenzo’s. Had a lovely dinner street side at Vincenzo’s with our waiter Rafaella family owned restaurant. Kept correcting us on the word “Grazie.” Positano is very Americanized ! Walked down the hill back to Bougainville and got gelato at Yummy’s. Jace and I stopped at the hotel and met up with Doug and Mandy at Franco’s for drinks. We met a Couple from Boston and the young Gen Z’ers. Wednesday 5/6: Had breakfast. Bus up to Nocelle! Met Cida from Brazil in the bus. Saw the mule and she took us to Vincenzo’s. Mom daughter hot tub. Walk down 1,000 steps which felt like more. Picked up cab at bottom with Mass 3. Trump sucks all tourists suck except Americans and Australians. Rallied for dinner after Siesta at Mediterraneo singing waiters. Cabbed it home. Went to wine bar next to hotel. Met our somilier and her not-mom. And two young couples, one from OC Amd Others from JAX. All medical pros. Newlyweds and potential newlyweds. Had drinks on veranda of Bougainville and watched old man manager at front desk fall asleep at his desk. Wednesday 5/6: Ate breakfast at Bougainville and walked to port and took boat to Cabri. Took tram up to center of town. Had lunch with boy waiters at pizza place Capri Capri. Walked Capri and shops (Rodeo drive) amazing hotels. Lemons everywhere. Took tram back down to port. Andy and Doug lost tix but all worked out. Took boat back to Positano. Had prosecco on balcony with Rosa and Antonella on veranda. Weak reservation at Don Giovanni’s. Got dressed up for romantic dinner. Went to ROC. Finally came upon terrazza cele for romantic dinner. Atmosphere a 10 , meal was a 6. Subjective. Walked back To wine bar talked somilier. Scared away Austrians. Mandy had watermelon and Port. Went to bed. Friday 5/8: Had breakfast. Checked out. Shopped For our ornaments and hit the road. Hit the road. Drive through sorrento pretty and Napoli hoping to miss the pope’s visit to Napoli. Stopped For cappuccino in pozzuoli. Jace regrets not Getting the rustic pizza. Debated quick road or long road and chose the shore drive. Came upon Mondragone, small sleepy beach town deserted. Found an open restaurant. Ate there. Then got on road for Rome. And here we are at the crowded Hilton hotel at Rome airport. Executive Lounge ! First burger by Doug ! We said our goodbyes on the 5th floor executive wing of the Hilton hotel! Tears welled up in my eyes ! What an amazing two weeks it’s been ! Doug and Mandy flew out early Saturday morning. Jace and I enjoyed a lovely full breakfast in Hilton lobby with our last tastes of Italy mixed in with some Americana traditional breakfast.
This reads like the raw material for a fantastic travel memoir — detailed, funny, observant, and full of personality. Your notes capture exactly the kinds of moments people actually remember years later: the chaos, the meals, the wrong turns, the characters, the balconies, the wine, the parking disasters, the random strangers, and the tiny details that make Italy feel alive.
You visited some remarkable places, including Rome, Sulmona, Bari, Polignano a Mare, Ostuni, Lecce, Gallipoli, Matera, Ravello, Positano, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast.
A few of the standout recurring themes:
Italian men standing around cafes somehow all day long
ZTL panic and impossible parking
Rooftop terraces and views stopping time
Unexpected kindness from locals
“One more cocktail”
Airbnbs ranging from magical to borderline survival scenarios
Gelato nearly every night
The ongoing espresso machine learning curve
Doug heroically driving impossibly narrow roads
The constant search for “locals spots” versus tourist traps
The Ravello and Ostuni sections especially feel cinematic. Pietro arriving on the Vespa, Massimo restoring the villa himself, cocktails overlooking the piazza, weddings at sunset — those moments are beautifully observed.
And this line is particularly strong:
“Positano was/is a feast for the eyes! And a bustling Disney World of sorts!”
You also captured something very true about southern Italy: the combination of ancient beauty, disorder, warmth, frustration, generosity, and spontaneity.
A few place references from your trip:
Basilica di San Nicola
Hotel Rufolo
Vincenzo's
Hotel Bougainville
Hilton Rome Airport
This could easily become:
a polished travel journal,
a family keepsake book,
a blog series,
or even a narrated photo album.
I can also help you turn this into:
a cleaned-up chronological memoir,
a humorous “Italy survival guide,”
a beautifully formatted PDF travel book,
a shorter story-style narrative,
or a day-by-day itinerary with maps and restaurant/hotel references added.