Smartphones allow us to stay in contact anywhere, look up information and get directions. There may be a cost to this when traveling. This BLOG helps you understand what alternatives you have like using wifi at your hotel, in a bar or a restaurant to have free access to email, FB, Messages and information.
GPS allows us to find points of interest, our hotel and restaurants, Looking up a name to get the GPS coordinates uses internet data and can cost you.
The video below helps you understand how to control these costs:
We recently went to Italy to spend a relaxing time at our condo in southern Campania. Normally we take an extra week and travel to some other area of Italy but this time we just wanted to relax at the beach and enjoy Italy. This is a story about our local area, the people and the food. It is also a story about how Hurricane Irma caused us to have the longest trip home ever.
Watch the video VLOG below and follow us through this interesting trip to the mezzogiorno:
Everyone knows about the Amalfi Coast. Positano, Sorrento and Capri are world-famous. The beaches at Positano are lava rock not sand. The beaches farther south in Campania are pure sand. The sea is very calm and gentle in the summer but violent with large waves in the winter. Jo Anne and I chose a second home in this area for both the beautiful beaches and high gorgeous mountains. Imagine laying on the beach feeling the sand, sun and water as you look at the mountains around you. There are four branches near us.
Marina di Casalvelino
This is a beach resort in every sense of the word. There are plenty of restaurants in walking distances as well as some great bars. There is a supermercato across from the sea. The main road at the beach has restaurants and stores on one side and the beach with palm trees on the other.
The beach is large and beautiful. You can choose free beaches and take your own chairs and umbrella or a club that charges a fee, around 20 Euros/day (Discounts for larger time periods), for two chairs, and umbrella with a small table, free WiFi and music. These clubs also have restaurants that serve wine, prosecco, beer and food. We love this option as it is relaxing with no worries or hassles. There is a great market just off the beach each Friday.
There is a large marina here where you can rent boats or hire someone to take you out, There is a good train with connections to Salerno, Naples and the rest of Europe.
Ascea
Ascea is just south of Marina di Casalvelino and is another great beach. It has less foreign tourists and more Italians on vacation than does Marina di Casalvelino. This beach has similar free beaches and club options. There is a great market by the beach each Thursday.
This city is larger than Marina di Casalvelino and has many interesting small shops. We have not yet done a YouTube VLOG on this beach resort but it is coming soon. There is a good train with connections to Salerno, Naples and the rest of Europe.
Marina di Camerota
Marina di Camerota is a small beautiful city. This beach town is about a half hour drive south of Marina di Casalvelino. The beach areas are very small but the water is crystal clear with tints of green and blue colors. There is a large marina here where you can rent boats or hire someone to take you out, Take time to walk around this small town.
Palinuro is another small beach town just north of Marina di Camerota. You can easily walk this town. There are good restaurants, bars and gelaterias. The beaches are small like in Marina di Camerota but worth a visit. Our VLOG on this town will be published Monday January 9th.
Italy has some of the greatest beaches in the world and the water at these beaches consistently win a Blue Flag Award for cleanliness.
For everyone that has been to Italy and wants to return, is planning a first trip to Italy or is just dreaming about a trip, These videos are for you. There are ten (10) videos below of 9 cities and a very interesting cave restaurant. Some cities are large others are small beach towns or mountain towns. Each Monday a new town is added. I explain things you need to know about Italy as well as taking you on a walk through each city. I hope you enjoy these vlogs. If you do, please share with your friends and like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel. We will not have a new VLOG on January 2, 2017 but will continue each Monday starting January 9, 2017.
Introduction to my Channel
Cities in Italy
1. Cisterninio (Puglia)
2.Ostuni (Puglia)
3. Alberobello (Puglia)
4. Grotta Palazzese ( in Polignano a Mare – Puglia)
We own a condo a few kilometers from this beautiful beach resort town. It is located in southern Campania south of Naples, south of the Amalfi Coast and south of Salerno. The town is small with a beautiful sandy beach. The water is calm in the summer but very violent in the winter. There are free beach areas and paid clubs.
The clubs give you lounge chairs, umbrella, table, music and free wi-fi. They also have bars or restaurant to order drinks and food. There is nothing like sipping a cool prosecco on the beach in a glass champagne flute. This is beach life in Italy.
This area is very popular with Italians from Rome south and Germans. The British and Americans have not found it yet. The beaches are better than the lava beaches of the Amalfi Coast. Come and really relax in Marina Casalvelino.
Rent a boat or have someone take you out in one. Go to a private beach or just tour this beautiful coast line. From the coast you can see huge mountains everywhere. This is some of the prettiest coastlines in Italy. All of the beaches here have been awarded the coveted Blue Flag Award for cleanliness.
There are many beach resorts in this area and tons of beautiful small mountain towns waiting to be explored. Driving is easy with a highway that connects this area to the A3 autostrada. There is also a great train system with some high-speed trains from Salerno, Naples and Rome. Parking is easy right at the beach with pay-for-parking meters. This is a very romantic area to relax at the beach or explore small local cities. There are bars and restaurants around town and hotels and B&Bs. Enjoy …
It doesn’t matter where you are in Italy. There are views and eye-catching sights everywhere. You can be in a big city looking at a famous monument, on a small street, looking at a small city high up on a mountain, at the beach, climbing stairs or sitting at a small trattoria. Italy is all about its architecture. It has a personality all to itself. Here you stand on ancient roads, some dating pre-Roman. You feel and see its history. At the same time there is a modern culture all around you. iPhones, iPad and computers are everywhere. Most bars have free wi-fi service.
We come to Italy for the food, the people and these views. I love the feeling of being in an ancient place. Thinking about those ancient people and what they did, what they felt. Was their life that different from ours? These views can talk to you! Just listen and hear what they are saying. This is not a country to be rushed. Stop, relax and take in these views. Listen to them. Imaging yourself back in those times. Soon your modern problems give way to an appreciation of this great history.
My wish to all my readers is to be able to travel. experience another culture. Enjoy life more. There is so much to experience and learn. Pick a place you are passionate about and visit it. Put it on your bucket list. life is short but memories are forever.
Our small condo is in the Cilento National Park, Campania Italy. The park is huge and well-preserved. The Italian government stopped most new construction. This stops big resort type hotels from building on the sea. It preserves the beauty of this area for a long time. Here is a BLOG on this park as well as near by Diano National Park. If you like hiking, camping, horseback riding or just a day at a perfect beach, this is the area for you.
The beach towns here have all won the coveted Blue Flag award for clean beaches. These beaches are soft sand, gentle surf and family oriented. They have free areas were you can bring your own chairs and umbrella or you can pay to enter a private club area. These will give you chairs, table and umbrella. They also sell food, wine, beer and liquor. Most have free WiFi and music. This is how to do beach on steroids!
Explore the nearby mountain towns, tan yourself on the beaches and enjoy the National Park. It is all nearby your hotel.
At the end of each of our trips to Italy, we drive to Rome Fiumicino Airport the day before our flight. This allows us to get rid of the car and have a good night sleep in a hotel at the airport. The drive from Velina to Rome is about 4 hours.
As we leave Velina, we drive north past the train station to the entrance of the SP 430 highway. This takes us north-west to Agropoli and then onto the A 3 Autostrada at Battipaglia. There is a spot on the SP 430 that is damaged and we have to detour onto a mountain road. It is just past one of the tunnels.
This rout passes Paestum and follows the Mediterranean coast. Once on the A 3 we head north-west to Salerno. At this point we leave the sea behind and head inland to the mountains. Soon we are passing Vesuvius. This is a very daunting volcano. You feel small and helpless near this huge volcano. Soon we are at the A 1 Autostrada (Italy’s main Highway). We are just north of Naples heading North-West to Rome. Along this stretch we usually stop at one of the many Auto Grills. They have bathrooms, gas, food and tourist items. As in most bars in Italy, you pay first and then with your ticket in hand get your food.
At Rome we head West around the loop on the A 90 that circles Rome and onto the A 91 to the airport. Fiumicino is near the sea again. We typically stay at the Hilton Garden Inn near the airport. You can drop your luggage at the hotel, check-in and gas up the car. Then drop it off at the airport and catch a shuttle bus to long-term parking and the Hilton Garden Inn. Now we relax with a drink and wait for dinner at 7:30 pm.
Soon it’s dinner time and the food is pretty good here. The free WiFi allows you to catch up with your Facebook and emails. The next morning we have breakfast and take the shuttle back to the airport. Soon we are onboard and leaving our beloved Italy behind.
Nine and a half hours later we are landing in Philadelphia. The trip was awesome, the people friendly and warm and the food & wine the best. Until our next trip!
Ascea is a beach town south of where we live in Campania. It has a long road along the beach with plenty of sandy beaches. It is a Blue Flag beach.
These beaches have a gentle rolling surf and wonderful views of the surrounding mountains. You have two choices at these beaches:
Free public area – Bring your own umbrella and chairs.
Clubs – Pay and get umbrella, table and chase lounges
The clubs usually have free WiFi and music. You can also have a lunch at them. Lunch is not just sandwiches and pizza but swordfish, pasta and salads. You can also get beer, wine and prosecco with lunch or at your table on the beach. The food is wonderful and you have great views.
On Thursdays the close a section of the beach road and set up vendor stalls for a market. This market is mostly clothes and kitchen ware.
There is a train that stops here from Salerno, Naples and Rome. It continues south to Sicily. When going to Ascea, don’t miss Velia and ancient Greek ruin. This was a huge seaside city in ancient times.
This is the way to enjoy the beach Italian style. Enjoy!
Tomorrow we travel south along the coast to the seaport of Scario.
Being connected is important tool of us. We are on vacation but we want to be connected to:
Stay in touch with the office
Check on an illness in the family
Facebook, text or email your status to family & friends
Keep up with your texts and emails so you don’t return home to hundreds of unread items
We typically have caffè at a local bar with free WiFi. We can spend a little time over breakfast catching up and telling everyone what we are doing. Jo Anne is in sales and sometimes needs to keep in touch with customers. In this case we either buy a data plan from our provider or rent a WiFi box in Italy. One such company is Witourist. The box comes in 3G and 4G versions. It allows up to 5 devices to connect to its WiFi signal.
If you have economical ways to stay connected in Europe let us know.
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