Bang!

2007 started with a bang. Quite literally. Following a somewhat abysmal Christmas celebration we decided to escape for New Years and found ourselves at a friend of a friend's farmstay / B&B at Meta, on the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately we miscalculated, and discovered that all of the restaurants and pizza joints were closed, so New Years Eve dinner was bread rolls with cheese and ham. However, in accordance with what has become something of a personal custom we found a quite, private spot to celebrate the start of the New Years...the terrace roof of one of the farms buildings, up on a hill with a fabulous view of Sorrento and part of the Amalfi coast line. From there we watched the locals celebrate with the traditional, generally illegal and somewhat dangerous, practice of releasing exorbitant amount of fireworks. The local church and a nearby villa put on a spectacular show, but we could also see the Sorrento-by-the-sea fireworks and those behind the hill. The view exploded with colour and sparkle, eventually dying down at about 1am.

Naples too celebrated with an excess of fireworks, evidenced by the thick layer of smoke that lay over the city all of the next day until the late afternoon. We drove into the haziness at noon having abandoned our plans to do some sightseeing following a rainy, grey start to the day. I'm sure it wasn't a sign of the year to come, it will be full of sunshine and blue skies. Happy 2007!