Guardia Sanframondi

Leaving Paris on June 2nd, we took the TGV from Garde de Lyon on route to Guardia Sanframondi, just northeast of Naples. The TGV was a very fast and smooth ride through the mountains, and then the pace slowed to a smooth and gentle ride on to Turin. Here we had to change trains to catch the night sleeper to Naples, but there was a slight hitch in the plan! Turin has two stations, Porta Nouva and Porta Susa, which somehow I had missed, or made an assumption they were the North and South sections of the same station. As you can now guess, we arrived in Porta Nouva and the next train left from Porta Sousa. Luckily we had enough time to catch a taxi and haul ourselves and our luggage to the correct station and platform. By the time we got to the sleeper car it was about 11p.m. and still 92 deg F. The two-berth sleeper cabin was about as big as a closet, but we managed to stash our bags and climb into our bunks as the train left the station. The ride was not at all restful, but the air conditioning finally kicked in as the train got underway. This was our third attempt at sleeper trains and I think probably our last!!

Arrived at the Naples Train Station early in the morning and spent time drinking Capuccinos while waiting for the next train to get us to our car rental location.

Diane's father's family came from a town called Cosenza, and here we found a train leaving for that destination later that morning! We hope to make it there on another visit.

The next train destination was Caserta, where we would pick up a car. Arriving at the station, we thought that the rental agency was near the train station, as it was described as "Caserta downtown"! After some fractured conversations we managed to get a taxi to the Eurocar rental office, not downtown, but in an industrial area outside of town!!

At last the GPS we brought with us was set up and would get us, eventually, to Guardia Sanframondi.

We had stayed in Guardia in 2015 and were happy to return and find that many of the old streets and buildings had been completely renovated.

The stonework is high quality and reflects old-world craftsmanship. As can be seen from the above photo, the streets in the old "Centro Storico" are very narrow, but never-the-less, some cars make it, as well as some building equipment.

Len at the front door of Clare's Arthouse in the Centro Storico where we stayed.

Met again with Adelina and Clare.  Adelina in the native costume of Guardia which the women hand embroider.

Shopped at the local market, notice the 1 euro table.  Great bargains to be found.

Fresh local fruit and vegetable stalls.

Diane enjoying a quiet afternoon on the balcony.

and soaking up the view.

Clare took us on a drive to the top of the mountain that we could see from our balcony at the Arthouse.  This is a trail we took through the Beech forest.

Some pretty steep and winding roads to get there.

It was pretty hazy as we returned to Guardia, but this photo gives some idea of the view across the valley.

We decided we should visit Pompeii and were advised to take the train as the drive and parking was difficult. We managed to buy train and Pompeii tickets on line and the journey was quite easy. We did have to make sure we were on the correct platform and get on the appropriate trains.

The ruins of Pompeii cover a large area and it was a hot day, so Diane managed to find a cool hat, bought from a street vendor near the entrance to the ruins.

We chose to wander the old streets to avoid tour groups. The map available to navigate the site was pretty useless, so for much of the time we were effectively lost!

All of the buildings exhibited an artistic approach to their construction, this kind of work was to be found everywhere.

A small statue in the middle of a tiled courtyard. The major houses must have been quite spectacular in the day.

 It is always amazing to see such beautiful pieces of old buildings just lying around.

Back in Guardia, we spent time soaking up the local scene. These men were at this bar most days playing some kind of card game that involved the onlookers as much as the players, no money seemed to be in play.

Alchimie is a new bar and restaurant that was not open on our visit two years ago. It quickly became one of our favoutite places as the food was terrific and we were introduced to the idea of afternoon "aperitivos".

An aperitivo before we set off again on our Italian journey.
Next step, the Adriatic coast.