Monday, May 6: Day 1
The brilliance of the plan to fly from Newark (for the cheap airfare) was compromised somewhat by rain and traffic and the trip took longer than expected. Combined with incredible lines for security--even with TSA Pre-check-- and we only had time for quick sandwich before boarding. The flight was full but uneventful ... I slept a few hours and Diana watched three movies.
We land on time in Rome to sunny skies and cool temperatures. Luggage pickup and car rental go smoothly and we are on the road headed south without a problem. We do spend some time unsuccessfully trying to figure out the built- in GPS in the car and end up using Google Maps on my phone.
Once out of Rome, the drive is easy--little traffic and beautiful scenery with snow capped mountains in the distance. We stop at a busy Autogrill for coffee and cornetti...our traditional first stop in Italy. We find our hotel in Caserta with only a little difficulty...one wrong turn gives us a 15 minute tour of the center of town.
The Hotel dei Cavalieri is a modern building on one of the main piazzas...Piazza Vanvitelli. As will become clear in subsequent reports, Luigi Vanvitelli is an important figure...he designed La Reggia...the massive 18th century Bourbon Palace that is the main tourist attraction in Caserta. We check in (have to wait a while until the room is cleaned), park the car around the corner in a lot and get settled. I go out for an orientation walk while Diana takes a nap.
Caserta doesn't have the best reputation as a tourist attraction but the parts of town that I walk through are quite nice...mostly commercial streets with many shops, restaurants and bars. I am taken with the views through entrance gates as I walk....
Back at the hotel, I give in to the jet lag and take a nap.
We are in Caserta to meet our Swedish friends Ulf and Elinor who are staying at a nearby hotel but just before we are to get together, the sky opens up and a tremendous thunderstorm rages for about 45 minutes.
.
When it lets up, they walk over to our hotel and Elinor slips on the wet pavement, hurting her wrist quite badly. After much discussion, they decide that they should go to the emergency room and get it checked out. After that, the sun re-appears so I go out to explore a bit more of Caserta before dinner.
We decide to have dinner at the hotel restaurant...La Bougainville. The hotel has a special deal for guests....Euro 25 (about $28.00 US) for two courses, a glass of wine and dessert. Not only is it a bargain but the food is quite good. Diana has a plate of prosciutto and local mozzarella, followed by an okay risotto. (My mistake ordering risotto in this part of Italy, I know.) I enjoy my fried stuffed anchovies and then baccala (reconstituted dried cod) served on a bed of spinach puree. The local white wine (Falanghina) was excellent. I have a pistachio semi-freddo for dessert that is delicious. A very pleasant first meal in Italy....
Ulf sends us bulletins from the hospital and we learn that Elinor has a couple of fractures.
We make our way upstairs and quickly fall asleep...hoping to make it all the way through to morning and cure our jet lag.
Jim and Diana
The brilliance of the plan to fly from Newark (for the cheap airfare) was compromised somewhat by rain and traffic and the trip took longer than expected. Combined with incredible lines for security--even with TSA Pre-check-- and we only had time for quick sandwich before boarding. The flight was full but uneventful ... I slept a few hours and Diana watched three movies.
We land on time in Rome to sunny skies and cool temperatures. Luggage pickup and car rental go smoothly and we are on the road headed south without a problem. We do spend some time unsuccessfully trying to figure out the built- in GPS in the car and end up using Google Maps on my phone.
Once out of Rome, the drive is easy--little traffic and beautiful scenery with snow capped mountains in the distance. We stop at a busy Autogrill for coffee and cornetti...our traditional first stop in Italy. We find our hotel in Caserta with only a little difficulty...one wrong turn gives us a 15 minute tour of the center of town.
The Hotel dei Cavalieri is a modern building on one of the main piazzas...Piazza Vanvitelli. As will become clear in subsequent reports, Luigi Vanvitelli is an important figure...he designed La Reggia...the massive 18th century Bourbon Palace that is the main tourist attraction in Caserta. We check in (have to wait a while until the room is cleaned), park the car around the corner in a lot and get settled. I go out for an orientation walk while Diana takes a nap.
Caserta doesn't have the best reputation as a tourist attraction but the parts of town that I walk through are quite nice...mostly commercial streets with many shops, restaurants and bars. I am taken with the views through entrance gates as I walk....
Back at the hotel, I give in to the jet lag and take a nap.
We are in Caserta to meet our Swedish friends Ulf and Elinor who are staying at a nearby hotel but just before we are to get together, the sky opens up and a tremendous thunderstorm rages for about 45 minutes.
.
When it lets up, they walk over to our hotel and Elinor slips on the wet pavement, hurting her wrist quite badly. After much discussion, they decide that they should go to the emergency room and get it checked out. After that, the sun re-appears so I go out to explore a bit more of Caserta before dinner.
We decide to have dinner at the hotel restaurant...La Bougainville. The hotel has a special deal for guests....Euro 25 (about $28.00 US) for two courses, a glass of wine and dessert. Not only is it a bargain but the food is quite good. Diana has a plate of prosciutto and local mozzarella, followed by an okay risotto. (My mistake ordering risotto in this part of Italy, I know.) I enjoy my fried stuffed anchovies and then baccala (reconstituted dried cod) served on a bed of spinach puree. The local white wine (Falanghina) was excellent. I have a pistachio semi-freddo for dessert that is delicious. A very pleasant first meal in Italy....
Ulf sends us bulletins from the hospital and we learn that Elinor has a couple of fractures.
We make our way upstairs and quickly fall asleep...hoping to make it all the way through to morning and cure our jet lag.
Jim and Diana