Let's Go Across the Boot!

Matera, 2019 European City of Culture!  What an amazing city!  This ancient town in the region of Basilicata is like no other.  You could be walking in a city in the Middle East or perhaps in Turkey.  There are thousands of caves that were once inhabited by the local population.  It was only in 1950 that the people living in the caves were relocated to more modern accommodations.  Today, this "Sassi area" of Matera has grown with houses and shops being built over the caves.  Because it still has the look of a city much older, it has been used in period type movies like, "Passion of the Christ" and "Wonder Woman".  We were told that scenes from the newest James Bond movie were filmed there just a few weeks ago.  Matera is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We stayed in a lovely little hotel that had rooms spread out all over the Sassi Barisano.  All the rooms of Residence San Giorgio were built over caves and some even had part of the rooms inside a cave.  You could see parts of the caves from inside the rooms and one even had an old church.  Matera was another fun place to explore.  We had an excellent guided tour of the Sassi of Matera with Gaetano who shared all the important information about the long and varied history of the town.  We also had a wonderful dinner at Ristorante Dedalo that was located, of course, inside a huge cave.  The white-washed walls, with added mythological carvings, was another "out of this world" dining experience. 

On Saturday, we said farewell to Matera, which everyone really enjoyed and continued our journey west, across the boot.  As if visiting fairytale-like villages, majestic seaports and an ancient cave city was not enough, we had to make a last stop in one of the oldest sites on our tour, Paestum.  This Greek town dating from the 6th century BC has three temples that are some of the best preserved Greek structures in the world and therefore, another UNESCO World heritage site.  We took some time to explore the small part of the excavated town that was originally called Poseidonia by the Greeks and later changed to Paestum by the Romans in the 3rd century BC.  The Romans respected ancient religions, so they did not destroy or rebuild over those places of worship. Thankfully for this, today we have these amazing temples to visit.  The Temple of Hera is from 550BC and is the best example of a temple from this period, even better than the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.  We were even able to walk inside the temple.  During World War II, American soldiers used these temples as a place to camp and there are photos showing them with their laundry hanging out to dry from the temple columns.  There is a museum here as well that has some wonderful treasures of both the Greek and Roman ancient world.  The painting found from a 5th century BC tomb is the oldest Greek painting anywhere in the world.  Paestum truly is an overlooked treasure.

From here we made our way to our little "vacation in a vacation" in the area of the Divine Amalfi Coast and the town of Sorrento.  Hotel Il Nido clings to a hill with views that overlook the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius that are stunning.  It is the perfect place to settle in for a few days.  We did just that and enjoyed dinner with a view from the hotel's fine restaurant.  Lemon Risotto with shrimp, fresh seafood and Canelloni Sorrentina were just a few of the delicious dishes we enjoyed.  We were also joined here by Michelle Mahoney, a frequent IWF's tour member.  She just had to spend a few days in Italy this year and what better place to start.

Sunday was a day of "la dolce vita" for all to enjoy the good life found in this area.  Most of the group went to visit the nearby Isle of Capri and had the perfect weather for it.  There was also time to shop in all the wonderful stores throughout the area and of course, have more of that delicious coastal cuisine. 

On Monday, we rode the crowded train from Sorrento to visit one last UNESCO World heritage site, Pompeii.  Wow, have we seen some amazing places or what?!  We met our guide, Daniela, an architect with Askos Tours.  Having a guide who is also an educated architect adds so much to a tour of this famous ancient Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. We explored as much as possible and enjoyed every minute of it.  Everyone was pretty tired on the train ride back to Sorrento and appreciated a little time to relax in the beautiful setting of Il Nido for a while before heading back into Sorrento for our farewell dinner at Ristorante Tasso.  This was the perfect place to end a perfect tour.  From the minute you walk inside the lovely setting of Ristorante Tasso, you are treated like family!  Once you get past the "donkey sculptures" and take your seat, you are wined and dined to the max!  Every dish is delicious and beautiful, the wine is divine and the limoncello is the very best!  We almost closed the place down and did make it back just in time to catch the last shuttle back to the hotel.  Wow, what a superb evening!

I am sure that you can tell that the first IWF's tour of the region of Puglia was definitely a huge success.  I hope that I an return someday and spend a bit more time in Puglia as there are even more lovely places to visit.  This group made friends quickly and that made it even a better time for all.  I appreciate each and everyone.  It is always hard to say goodbye to new friends and when you have experienced such amazing moments together, it is even harder.  Our memories will live on forever however, in all the fantastic pictures that everyone took.  I will try to get more posted soon. 

On Tuesday, everyone said farewell.  Larry and Peggy made their way to Naples for a night, Carol stayed on in Sorrento to continue her "roots tour" and everyone else rode with me to the Rome airport.  After I turned in the van, which is always a wonderful and freeing experience for me, I picked up little car and Michelle and I headed to Tuscany.  This is my little parting gift to myself for all the hard work in the last 6 weeks.  Several days "under the Tuscan sun" near Cortona is the perfect way to relax and I did just that.  Once again, I was so blessed with tours that were filled with amazing places to see, delicious food and wine, safe travels and delightful tour members.  Yes, it is a good life to travel to Italy and France with people who I know have made some new memories of a lifetime!  I hope that you can visit Italy or France someday as well.  That is it for now as I close another great year of travels with Italy With Friends tours.  Buon Natale and felice anno nuovo!!  Ciao, Suzan