Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Vineyards & Vistas - a Magical 'Water & Wine' tour of Italy's Amalfi Coast

This has been the most exciting and adventure filled trip to Italy to date!  From Sept 9th to 19th, 2015, a group of fun miners from the Albertan north joined VM Travel in Southern Italy!  Tracey, Brenda and Kim, Brandon, Sarah, Chance and Krista, you were a fantastic group to run around with - my stomach muscles are still sore from all of the laughter!

From the start of the trip in Rome all the way to the end in Naples we ate, drank wine and enjoyed some memorable milestone moments, since Chance proposed to Krista in Anna's garden at the Vecchia Quercia.  They now have their own lemon tree - where the fancy diamond was hiding, right before he popped the question.....

After a few nights of wine party on the rooftop terrace in Rome, we had a fantastic tour around the Vatican and Sistine Chapel with Domizia, who kept us out of the way of the tourist swarm... all the while explaining the intricacy of Michelangelo's frescoes.

Saying goodbye to the Capital and the many "Madonnas" we took the Frecciarossa train to Naples, despite a couple of false starts.....  getting 8 persons and bags through the crowds at Roma Termini takes more than 6 minutes, that is for sure!!

Nicola our driver picked us up in Napoli with a big smile on his face, and he whisked us up to the Volcano of Vesuvius - which we conquered for an early afternoon activity.  Great views of the bay of Naples from up there!

Nicola took us to meet Nicola (is there a theme emerging...?) at Pompeii for a very informative visit to the Odeon, the Stoa and Forum and of course the brothel, which had us all making some surprised faces!  Grazie Nicola!  Our studious efforts of discovering the time of 79 AD when Pompeii was covered in ash, had us rewarded by a nice 'Lemon Granita' with.... vodka.... I promise to Kim that we will make sure hers has been spiked next time!!

                                              A few days of pool, wines of Taurasi and the cooking school were perfect as we were hosted by Anna and her sister Silvia form Montevetrano.  We made sure to conquer another important hill as we ensnared ourselves in the brambles at the Castle ruins.  No problem, the bubbles make everything better!


A day in Sorrento filled our suitcases with more gifts and limoncello, then we ferried across to the Isle of Capri for a 3 night stay at the Villa Ceselle.  Jacuzzi, wine parties and Chance's birthday were more memorable events, but the best day was our boat ride around the island with our private driver, Antonino.  Boating backflips, secret beaches and the green grottos waters made Tony's day as we went to all of the VIP swimming holes!  A nice lunch at Gradola goaded the guys to jump the cliff back into the water from a significantly dizzying height! Yikes!





Back across the bay to Naples, we had some time to explore the Lungomare and the Castel dell Ovo from our hotel at the Transatlano, known for their restaurant and seafood..... some great meals were shared!


I look forward to more fun trips with this group of adventurers!  Thanks to Tracey for getting this amazing group together!  And GRAZIE for letting VM Travel Adventures be part of your special engagement trip, Krista & Chance!  Happy wedding and honeymoon, Sarah & Brandon, and see you again very soon Tracey, Brenda and Kim!!

Saluti a tutti, a stato assolutamente divino!










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