Puglia and the Amalfi Coast

Greetings!

So, I'm typing now from the Amalfi Coast, town of Positano. We drove up here today from Puglia, pronounced Poolya, where I used to live. We drove south to Puglia two days ago; about a 480 mile drive. The toll roads are fantastic -- 90 miles an hour, and the toilets in the rest areas are clean! So I was a little tense getting back to where I used to lived. But was I impressed! Despite a few too many plastic water bottles thrown on the ground, Puglia has improved pretty significantly since my last visit. Had two of best meals in the country there, and the pace was just a little more comfortable and down to earth. Our hotel was a collection of Trulli houses -- round, conical roofs made of stone. Was the nicest and best equipped hotel we've stayed in to date. And it was half the cost of the hotels in Venice and Rome. So I drove to the town where I used to live and took pictures and video. The downstairs flat, where my landlord lived, was intact. But our upstairs flat was under major renovation. Took pix, and video. Diana says her first memories where in that house. Also went by our first house, a villa out in the country. I was surprized I could find it as it's really a function of which gravel road do you drive down... The plastic factory was still there, next to where we used to live. They made plastic bags there; the kind you get at the grocery store. The town of San Vito has grown drastically. But where I lived is still much the same; was very strange to see it. Pix and video are in the cameras, I'll get them loaded eventually.

So after two great nights in our wonderful (and cheap) hotel near Alberobello, the land of the Trulli houses, we left this morning and headed northwest towards Napoli; sometimes referred to as the asshole of Europe. We'll avoid Naples proper, but the area south of Naples is the Amalfi coast. Narrow winding roads above the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, with a few buses and cement trucks thrown in to make driving that much more fun... But we checked into a hotel, and it really is romantic here. Steep cliffs, with the towns basically carved into the cliff faces. And the water reflecting some 800 feet below... Just found and internet cafe that is basically a bar with computers. So we're slightly under the influence, and typing away... Then we have to pay up and walk back up the damn hill to our hotel!!!

Tomorrow we'll probably head towards Pompei, about 20 miles from here, but probably a 2 hour drive on the curvy coast road... See the ruins buried by the Volcano, then eventually back to Tuscany, north of Rome, and the Vineyard with Ugo and Barbara. The bulk of our luggage is there -- we'll spend one night and then head to the U.S. Army base at Camp Darby, near Pisa, for a cheap room and some American style laundry facilities. The up to London, and back to L.A. a week from today.

So while in Puglia, after seeing my old houses, we drove to the base I used to be assigned to. The antena is gone; so big the golf course used to wrap around it. But the guard shack was still there. Manned by Italian Police--the Americans are long gone. Rome uses the base for some purpose for its army... Then we drove out to the beach, and went through a couple of beach towns. Spechiolla, popular when I was there, was a ghost town. One or two restaurants were open, but didn't look promising. Then we went through Torre Santa Sabina--a beach town a few Americans lived in when I was assigned at the base. Saw a restaurant that has quite a few people in it, and it was overlooking the ocean. So we go in, and have a totally wonderful meal. Veronica even comments that she likes the feel of Puglia compared to the rush of much of Italy. Then, practicaly rolling out the door, the owner says Ciao to us as we're leaving. And I felt obligated to tell him that 22 years ago, I lived near there, and was assigned to the NATO base at San Vito. He immediately asked me if I remembered a Pizzaria in the town of Carovigno that had roasted chicken on a rotisserie that was very popular amongst the local Americans. And of course I did, as it was Lisa's favorite as the butter and fat dripped down on seasoned potatoes under the heat below. So then he tells me his name, and of course, it was Michele, Michele's Pizzaria that we used to go to, and as we left, I noticed the name on the door of the beachfront restaurant was Michele's... And so the world continues to shrink...