An Update 1 – Vesuvius and Herculaneum

One of the things I regretted when I started my blog in the deep, dark days of the Covid pandemic, was the fact that many of the places I was writing about were places I had last visited back in the 1990s, armed with an old Pratika MTL3. That meant I did not have much

Amalfi and Ravello

A caveat: Since I first wrote this, things have changed greatly in Ravello. On our return there two weeks ago, we ate in the excellent Café Klingsor and did not have to mortgage our house to do so. Lots of other tourists in other bars, cafè’s and restaurants also seemed to be enjoying the experience

A Glow-in-the-Dark Crucifix

“Do you know where I can get a glow-in-the-dark crucifix?” asked Andy.“You what?”“A glow in the dark crucifix.”“Well, yes. But why on earth do you want one?”“I’ll tell you later. But these things actually exist then?”“Yes. Why?”“I thought he was pulling my plonker,” Andy said, shaking his head. This conversation was confusing me, but Andy

Positano!

“If you thought last week’s walk was spectacular, then just wait till you see what we’re going to do today!” announced Catello, back in Bar Aldo the following Sunday. “But drink up, or we’ll miss the bus.”“Bus?” I asked, but Catello had gone. I paid up, wished Aldo a pleasant Sunday and followed Catello to

Punta Campanella

Roberto was waiting in Catello’s office to show us around the new flat. He was a distinguished-looking man with longish, grey hair, swept back over his head, expensive gold-rimmed glasses, corduroy trousers and cream pullover, and a haunting, haunted expression. He quizzed us in a friendly manner on why we wanted to leave Naples and

A New Home

Mimmo suggested taking the scenic route back to Naples via the Sorrento Peninsula. There was a pizzeria in a little town called Vico Equense, that had become famous for making delicious, metre-long pizzas from dough containing lard. Mimmo thought that a metre of Margherita might be a nice way of rounding off a very pleasant

Salerno

Maurizio and Mauro had had a bit of a tiff.“Under no circumstances,” Mauro announced over the telephone, “are you to pay Maurizio the rent when he comes round for it. From now on, you pay me directly. OK?”“Fair enough,” I said.No sooner had he rung off than Maurizio was on the line.“Mauro’s trying to rip

Easter Time!

Easter again. And a welcome break from the monotony of life in the new house. The Italian Easter Egg is one of the most beautifully presented objects you will ever see. Not for Italians the milk chocolate egg wrapped in flimsy coloured foil that is difficult to peel off, packaged in cardboard boxes that can

A New Friend

It didn’t take long to realize that the new flat had been a mistake. Although it was great to be away from Daniel, and I was enjoying the novelty of pristine white walls uncluttered by postcards and pictures cut from magazines, we quickly came to realize that we had moved to one of the dullest

Third Time Lucky!

Sabrina the secretary had some good news for us the next morning. She had made another appointment for us to go and view a flat. This one was not in Vomero, but in a zone called Socavo, further down towards the city centre. It even had a garden, she announced proudly. A garden sounded nice,