The drive to Gaeta was smooth enough. We passed some very low-lying agricultural areas that seem prone to flooding as all the roads we travelled on were raised. The towns before Gaeta were just dusty, servicable places, but Gaeta was a holiday destination, with lots of hotels, restaurants and things to see and do. Our hotel was opposite the bay and a naval shipyard and in dock was the Carson City, a US navy vessel, built in Hobart AUSTRALIA. it was a very fast multi task vessel with a helipad. The other US vessel, the Mount Whitney was a blue ridge class command ship, and the flagship of the US sixth fleet.
We dropped off our luggage and took in the view from a private terrace. the strong sun and light drzzle gave us a beautiful rainbow to look out on. The rain soon passed and we took a walk out along the curve of the bay, past the naval dockyard, the pleasure boat marina and across to the working port and shipbuilding facility. We stopped at a seafront cafe to get sandwiches for lunch and got talking to the guy serving us. Though he spoke with an excellent Italian accent, he was in fact a Scotsman. He had arrived in Gaeta 29 years ago to visit his sister who had married a local, and just stayed on.
Gaeta is known for its Christmas illuminations and we saw ample evidence of the preparations, though god knows what an enormous gorilla, a train, fish and other similar motifs have to do with Christmas. still, the place will be ablaze with lights, and there is also a huge Santa village, a mobile ice sculpture display and an ice skating rink. We had a short rest in the hotel then went for a drive at sunset. Everything fire up! A three masted schooner, the Signora Del Venta came into port and suddenly the dock was full of people. It was a luxury sailing ship and some lucky people had been travelling around the Italian coast from Monte Carlo and down to Sicily on her.
The much anticipated light shows up and down the streets of Gaeta also fired up and things that looked a bit odd in daylight suddenly sparked with gaiety. NOW the streets of Gaeta became a traffic jam as people cruised up and down the promenade, taking in the sights. The empty market stalls of the afternoon, were now thronging with people. The fishing boats had unloaded their catches and were selling them straight off the street.
