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Taxi Tales: Part 2 Palinuro

Posted October 1, 2016 by Sharon 1 Comment

palinuroBy Walter Sanders

We always tell our readers and friends that Italy is great, but try and avoid it in August. Ferragosto is when Italians have a month of vacation, and many go to the seaside. Those towns are jammed, and the Italians who work there would rather be someplace else.

So we broke one of our own cardinal rules. We were invited to spend time with a friend in Pisciotta on top of a hill overlooking the Cilento Coast south of Salerno. When our hostess needed to commit to some other friends, we had the opportunity to ride with a driver named Francesca to Palinuro.

She was a delight. And incredibly helpful. (She stored an extra bag in her home while we traveled the shore: a generous offer and a guarantee that we would engage her again later in the trip.) We chatted all the way to Palinuro.

Francesca and her husband surprised us at the train station to say buon viaggio when we left Palinuro.

Francesca and her husband surprised us at the train station to say buon viaggio when we left Palinuro.

She dropped us off in the center of town near the Pro Loco, an office that might be helpful in finding us a place to stay. If we couldn’t find a place to stay in this busiest month of the year in this seaside town, we could stay with her and her husband in the hills. We thanked her for her kind offer.

It was 1:30 PM when we went to the Pro Loco which serves as the nexus of tourism. It was closed until 4:00 PM. So we decided to have lunch. We returned to the Pro Loco shortly after 4:00 PM. It was locked. We sat on a shaded bench outside the front door and waited. We could her the phone ringing in the office.

About 4:45 PM a lovely lady approached, unlocked the door, put on the lights, and booted up her computer. We gave her some time to get organized, then I entered to discuss finding a room.

She gave me the sad news that every hotel, pensione, B and B room was booked. And most had been reserved for a year. I asked her if she had any recommendations. She asked if we would mind staying with a family, her family,

We stayed with her family in a lovely room with a private bath, broad terraces and a distant view of the sea. It was special.

Contact info: Francesca Iorio mobile: 340 5594744

Filed Under: Campania, Lifestyle, Travel Tagged With: Campania, Cilento Coast, Palinuro, Southern Italy

Dream of Paestum

Posted August 11, 2010 by Sharon 2 Comments

Sharon at the crica 500 BC Greek temple of Ceres in Paestum, south of Naples on the Cilento Coast.

We’re thrilled that the award-winning paid subscription newsletter Dream of Italy is featuring three stories–leading with Paestum and its breathtaking Greek temples and museum–about Sharon’s recent exploration of the Amalfi and Cilento coasts of southern Italy. If you love traveling in the real Italy (or armchair fantasizing that you are!) this is the publication for you.

Subscribe now and you’ll Dream of Italy for days to come.

Filed Under: Architecture, Campania, Culture, Hotels, Travel Tagged With: Amalfi Coast, Cilento Coast, Dream of Italy, Greek ruins, Italy travel, Paestum

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