South Central Italy

 The town that Gran and Poppa have a house in is extremely small, and in a pretty remote part of Italy. This makes it a bit more complicated to access, but opens up a door to parts of the country that didn't make our original vacation list. We were able to get out and see a whole part of the country that we wouldn't have gone to otherwise, and it was stunning!

Close to Pietracupa in Agnone was the Marinelli bell foundry. I was skeptical that the making of bells would keep everybody entertained for the duration of the tour, but I was surprised at how interesting it was to see how bells are made. Like big church bells - which they have in abundance in Italy. Historic bells like the last bell to be rung in the leaning tower of Pisa, or the Jubilee bell presented to Pope John Paul II that hangs in St. Peter's square. If you think about it, bells are present for many important events, the most common of which is telling the time. 

Jon and I were able to go exploring on our own for a weekend while our kids stayed with their grandparents. We took the opportunity to go to Sorrento, Positano and Capri, all three places were truly beautiful, mountains like I've only seen in photos, gardens and greenery galore and clear blue water. They were also HOT. We explored the cities as best we like to, on foot, so we logged nearly 10 miles each day. We earned our aperol (or lemon) spritzes. 

We were on a boat! With a super skilled captain who either gave us a deal, or stole us from one of his captain co-workers. Probably both.  

Panorama Capri, it took work to get there, but was an outstanding place to catch lunch.

We are on the side of the road here. This is the view from the road!

Juliana recommended this restaurant, O'Parruchiano for dinner in Sorrento. Reservations are full weeks in advance so we stalked the staff at opening and were first in line for a table for two. The land started as a lemon grove and they decided to build a restaurant on top. Or, better wording, throughout. The tables were amongst the lemon trees, flower and herb gardens.

It was a unique place to have a meal after a really incredible day. 

Italy - Cascate di Caprinone

 We had a full night of rain, which very temporarily lowered the temperature enough to inspire us to get back outside. We found an attraction called the Cascate de Carpinone that was less than an hour from Gran and Poppa's house and decided to check it out. Once we found the town, just about every sign pointed (literally) to the entrance for the waterfall hike. The trail was well maintained and perfectly marked, but extremely muddy from the previous night's rain.  After every 100 steps it felt like I was wearing platform shoes made of concrete, so I'd stop and scrape off the mud, and continue on the next 100. This made the hike slower than it usually would be, but a small price to pay for some cooler air. 

The waterfalls were beautiful and serene! There were so many rocks just waiting to be skipped! We were the only people around, so we could explore the area to our heart's content while taking a break from the mud. 

I was really surprised at these sweet little spots that we found, they were not at all what I had in my mind as what Italy would look like. It's nice to be pleasantly surprised on vacation, it felt like we found a hidden gem that got us moving, and kept us cool in the very warm summer.