Tom`s travels: Salerno (11-12/01/2020)

After the Christmas break, I returned to Rome for work and on a nice sunny January weekend, decided to go see my aunt, uncle, and cousin in Salerno. I left work and took the metro to the Anagnina station, and from there took a bus which in about 3 hours brought me to Salerno. I arrived quite late on Friday night, so decided to head to sleep right after reaching my relatives' house. The following morning, I slept quite a bit, and then woke up to a nice sunny day and decided to take a stroll around the neighborhood with Rosebud, my aunt's dog. Then I spent lunch and the rest of the day with my aunt and cousin around town running errands. During the afternoon, I then decided to head to the port and stroll along the seaside admiring from the pier as the sun set behind the Amalfi Coast mountains. Then I headed towards the city center, and stopped at the church of Sant'Anna, right by where my aunt used to live and visited the small nativity scene museum located inside. Then I walked over to the Villa Comunale park, where a beautiful arrangement with lights was set up. I had in fact taken the chance to see Salerno during this period because of the annual Luci d'Artista show; during the Christmas period, some squares and streets of the city feature lights conceived by contemporary artists, who qualify for the high scenographic value or for strongly symbolic and conceptual values. The arrangement set up at the Villa Comunale portrays the theme of a fairy-tale garden, this year with figures of animals from all over the world. I saw deer, flamingoes, panda, giraffe, lion, fox, whale, and even colorful parrots. The arrangement was really well made and amazed me as I did not expect it to be so spectacular. The park was in fact full of people and especially kids who enjoyed the view as I did. From the park I then walked through the city center admiring the rest of the lights; I particularly like the one in Largo Campo which featured a sea of blue lights and sea animals hanging from it as if swimming in the ocean. Walking through Via Mercanti, the city's main street, I admired more light and then reached Piazza Flavio Gioia where a huge light tree was set up to cover the entire round square. I then decided to head back to my aunt's house for dinner and later to sleep. The next day I woke up early deciding to head to the nearby town of Vietri Sul Mare on foot. I had walked that way several times during the summer and fall, but never in January. The sky was clear and the sun warm, so I only took a shirt with me. After passing through the city center, I walked up the road that overlooks the port and a few minutes later was in sight of the first houses of Vietri. After descending down through the old town, I reached the beach and walked along the waterfront where some people were enjoying the sun while basking in the sun. I then walked back uphill and passed by the 16th century Torre d'Albori, set up for defense against pirate incursions, like many other towers along the coast. Right after the tower I then spotted a small staircase leading down, which I followed until I reached the beach below. Despite it being Sunday and sunny, I was alone down there and had the whole beach for myself. It was funny to think that once, during summer, when I had walked by, I had seen it so full of sunbeds and people that I had thought it impossible to even reach the water. Now I could just lay on the sand or on the rocks beside enjoying the sound of the waves and the warmth of the sun. At one point I had the crazy idea of taking a swim in the water; it had gotten so hot standing right on the rocks that the idea didn't seem so crazy, and in fact, after getting off my shirt and pants I jumped in the sea. The water was not as cold as I expected it to be and being there no wind I was able to dry off without any wind standing close to the rocks. After enjoying the sound of the sea among this beautiful spot I decided it was time to head back to Salerno for lunch. So after putting my clothes back on I ascended the stairs and from there walked back towards the city. Finally, after reaching my aunt's house I had lunch with her and my cousin. Not long after, I had to pack my bag and head to the train station where I took the bus back to Rome after a great weekend in the south.