Old and New - Perspectives

 Old and New      -   Perspectives

Mount Vesuvius - Tale of 2 Cities? (Click any picture for a larger view)

Our ride south from Ostia via Roma started with a blustery morning in Ostia and an observation re: trafficking that'll have to be explained offline.

We left the B&B at 10:30am having checked weather forecasts and knowing we'd have to adapt to what came next. We already felt the winds which were bringing in the weather systems we'll experience over the next couple of days. The 220 kms is covered in less than 2 hrs. and we had decided to use the Autostrada to allow us to move through the weather quicker., try to outrun, or take cover at a rest area. We had a brief shower catch us for a few minutes but because of the hot conditions we dried up within a couple of minutes. No harm no foul!

For those not familiar with Italy, in 2014 we had titled that area south of Rome as Hidden Italy. It's still true today. As we arrive in the Caserta area it's still much more a day to day city than a tourist centre even though it has some interesting sites to see.

For one, it's on the north side of Mt. Vesuvius where Pompei was on the south side. Different perspective, different outcomes. With the rain squalls coming off the Bay of Naples it was visible and invisible in a matter of minutes. We walked to a Mercato close by, got some fruit, buns, and a bottle of Montepulciano Abruzzo and made lunch after checking into our Novotel hotel. Our sightseeing today was decided by timing between the rain. This saw us both have a nap (still getting over J/lag) to awake to nicer conditions and we made our way around 5:30 pm to Casertavecchia, the old town, which is actually high up on another mountain looking toward Vesuvius.

We were glad for the cooler conditions and fresher air as we wound our way to the mountain top and walked the old town. Parking was at a premium and again the bike found a premium spot with a view of a slightly obscured Mt. V.

Royal Palace far below (center)

Another spectacular view overlooking Caserta itself revealed the Palace and it's grounds. The old town itself has a cathedral from the 8th century with brick work reminiscent of the orthodox churches we saw in Bulgaria from that same time period.

But it was the relic art work inside that revealed just how old this church really is.

As we walked the old town streets we are struck by the beauty/luxury of being able to step back in time. One interesting conversation occurred as we returned to our bike, where a gaggle of Italian visitors were using the viewpoint to take pictures. They had seen the Cdn.flag stickers on the bike before we returned and on our approach noticed our riding jackets bare the same ones stitched on. With a hand motion of applause one woman replies "Complimenti!" and they ask where we are from in Canada. 

In Hidden Italy, away from the demands of tourism, you encounter some inconveniences as well. We were heading back into modern day Caserta on a Monday, to discover many of the Trattoria's near our hotel were closed. The Palace is closed Tuesdays. 

I'm reluctant to head to a fast-food restaurant  but we start walking in that direction only to find a great little pizzeria/gelateria that was doing 'land-office' business selling pizza's out the door faster than you could shake a stick. We lined up got a couple of huge pieces of pizza boxed for E3 and headed back across the street to our room with a view to enjoy some of that wine, and great pizza - Napolean style.

What a beautiful end to an ever changing day!