The Italian Adventure Begins

By Thomas Morrone, CFP®, CPA

We ventured to Italy for our second time this past September. In upcoming newsletters, I will write about some of the specific locations, regions and events that we enjoyed. We organized our entire itinerary so there were many details that needed attention. This writing is more of a summary of the trip because to attempt to fit all the different activities and experiences into one newsletter would not be practical and would not be giving the fabulous journey justice. We flew from Newark nonstop to Napoli airport. Naples is not my favorite area, but it is a transportation hub for planes, trains and water taxis that service the region. The proximity to the Amalfi coast, our first region visited, made flying into Napoli a no brainer. We were greeted by our private driver Diego who took us over the mountains from Napoli to Ravello which overlooked the Amalfi coast. This was our temporary home for three wonderful nights where we wandered the streets, alleys and Piazzas, climbed steps and were in awe at the views that awaited us around every turn. We took a day trip to the ancient ruins of Pompeii which was a bucket list item for me. Loved Ravello. 

Diego, our same driver that took us from Napoli to Ravello also drove us from Ravello to Sorrento, our next stop where we met up with Kelly and Dave. The drive was along the Amalfi coast through towns and villages such as Amalfi and Positano. It was a beautiful drive with amazing views from different vantage points. We stayed in Sorrento for three nights and enjoyed the local seafood and other wonderful types of food and of course many different wines. We did a private boat excursion to the islands of Ischia and Capri. More on that boat excursion in another writing. 

The time went quickly in Sorrento and off to the train station in Napoli to go north. After three hours, we changed trains in Florence and got on a regional line to Lucca in the Tuscany region. A section of Lucca is a walled city in the heart of wine country where we stayed for 4 nights. Lucca has over 100 churches, 28 inside the wall. We stayed inside the walled city in a 3-bedroom, 2-bath apartment, complete with a rooftop deck with 360-degree views of the city. The walled city of Lucca was amazing. It was ancient, but also had hints of modernization at the same time. More great food and wine.

Our last leg of our journey we ventured further north to Lake Como. We rented a car and armed with my international driver’s license, we rented a small SUV and we drove the 3 1/2 hours through the beautiful mountains to Como. In Como, we got on a ferry for a two-hour boat ride to the village of Cadenabbia, directly across the lake from Bellagio and Varenna. The views were breath taking as we glided along the lake on the ferry past numerous villages perched in the mountainside. We noticed a change in the architecture and food as both took on German and Swiss influences. We enjoyed Cadenabbia on Lake Como for 3 nights before we had to head home. We had a driver take us to Milan for our flight home direct to Newark. It was an amazing adventure with countless memories that were created. As mentioned previously, stay tuned for future newsletters regarding some amazing places and excursions we experienced in the beautiful country of Italy.

Ciao for now!

Until the Next Tom’s Take…

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