This enchanting Italian view makes me miss the mountain view from the deck at Dornan’s.
After months of traveling, being in cities and meeting (albeit lovely) people, I needed a break. And, it was my birthday so I thought what a better way to celebrate than to go for some R and R somewhere peaceful. In Bella Napoli everyone seems to be a friend or relative of someone and in this case, my dear friend Amedeo had great friends at Hotel Aequa in the Costiera, at Vico Equiense at town that is located between Pompeii and Sorrento. He called his friends on my behalf, saying I was his “American cousin” and the day after my birthday I was on a train to my salvation from stress, too little sleep and the screech of motorcycles.
Hotel Aequa is an oasis, tucked in a little curve, on a cliff above the Golf of Napoli on the Mediterranean Sea. After spending a few hours in the sun at the pool, listening to the wind in the trees and lapping up the shaded breeze underneath my umbrella, I was treated to a wonderful meal at the restaurant located in the hotel.
I let this charming Italian waiter do the ordering for my birthday splurge.
I am what Italians might call “golosa” which means I really like to enjoy food. So when the waiter asked me what I’d like, I told him to bring me whatever he thought was the best. When he brought a full bottle white wine, a Greco di Tufo that went perfectly with the swordfish, fried mozzarella and pasta with clams I politely said that I only needed a single glass. He chuckled knowingly and said “you can always take a nap”. I sat, looked out at the sea and enjoyed the view, sipped the wine, chatted with the table next to me and felt like there was no where else I would rather be in that moment. In the evening, after the nap I had to inevitably take, I sat and sipped the rest of the wine and watched the sun stretch over the water.
In Jackson, my go-to getaway is Dornans, especially in the Spring or early Fall. One of my favorite things to do there is sit on the deck and watch how the light envelops the Tetons in the late afternoon: slowly, with purpose. Once I had a quite refreshing margarita there after a motorcycle ride and the time I performed at the Hoot I was (easily) coerced into a very nice gin and tonic by my performance-mates.
In Italy I enjoy white wine, but at Dornan’s I often choose red.
Another very huge attribute of Dornans is that they have Pappy Van Winkle, a very hard to find Bourbon – something that alone makes it worth the trip, especially for my whiskey-drinking Dad when he comes to visit. However, my beloved drink of choice for animal watching while enjoying a slow conversation with a friend is wine. Since I usually drive there, I attempt moderation and get a glass of red. Although I love the deck experience, in the Winter there is something even more enchanting about the atmosphere. I have met some very interesting wine connoisseurs who, along with enjoying the view beside me have taught me how to savor good wine and spontaneous company. Dornan’s is a place that you sip in, a place like Hotel Aequa that you forget about all the rest and watch the world go by with grace and ease.
