Brindisi, Puglia — Resort Naturista Grottamiranda

We stayed 14 days in late July in an apartment at Resort Naturista Grottamiranda ($161 /night without breakfast). Died and gone to naturist heaven. Pierre and Martine are fabulous hosts and their beautiful historical property was a delight. It’s small scale, exceedingly quiet and the perfect vacation within our vacation where we mostly stayed at the property simply recovering from a busy travel schedule and recharging our batteries. We prepared our own breakfasts and some dinners while taking advantage some nights of the special events or their salads and other options available some evenings but not all.

We rented a car one day, once we were rested, and went to Leece about an hour away and explored. There’s more nearby villages to explore for next time!

Nocera Terinese, Calabria — Calabrialcubo, Fangiano di Ferrini Farm Marco

We stayed three nights mid-July at Calabrialcubo, Fangiano di Ferrini Farm Marco in the home village of Paul’s paternal great-grandfather ($124 /night) including breakfast. We may have been the only tourists in town! We visited the town municipal office to fill in some blanks on Paul’s family tree, wandered up and down this mountainous town and discovered what seemed to be the only restaurant in town — twice! So good! The hotel property has a pool and we enjoyed a couple of lazy afternoons there before discovering the town cemetery on our last afternoon to visit some more of Paul’s family relatives. What a great addition to our European summer travel!

Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Salerno — Hotel Parsifal

Thanks to some friends from Egypt who steered us away from Amalfi town, we stayed three nights mid-July 2023 in a superior double room at Hotel Parsifal ($198 /night) including breakfast. Hotel Parsifal is located in Ravello which is up the hill from Amalfi about 30 minutes and is a much quieter option to busy, touristy Amalfi. After Rome, and the Italian railway strike delaying our arrival, we were happy for the peace and quiet. And all the happier because we were upgraded to an amazing room with a big private terrace. It had to be the best room in the hotel. The views were breathtaking as they are from just about anywhere on the Amalfi coast. A great memory and a definite highlight of our time in Italy!

Unknown to us before our arrival, Ravello has a summer music program and we instantly bought tickets to a concert while we were there. Pure magic! And so was all the food. Next level delicious! See the pics below, both the first carousel of the hotel and the second of our activities.

Rome — Hotel Golden

We stayed five nights mid-July 2023 in a superior king room at Hotel Golden ($188 /night) including breakfast. It’s a small family run hotel comprised of very limited common areas although the room was adequate and in a good location. We took advantage of being just steps from Villa Borghese, a large park with many worthwhile attractions that also served as a cooler reprieve from the summer heat of Rome. Easy walking distance to all the things we wanted to see, Metro nearby which we didn’t use. Also taxis are easy. Rome is one of our favorite cities in Europe. You cannot get a bad meal and magic will happen in unexpected places. This a low-key, affordable option in a quiet area and Mama Teresa will cook you breakfast every morning.