The Hotel Agora

Not too long ago I had written briefly about The Hotel Agora, where marito and I reside until our big move in day. I was taken aback when the owners had been forwarded my blog and they were so happy to hear my opinion about my home away from home. Now that our time is running short here I wanted to give Hotel Agora a real brag.

Two short months ago, marito and I were dropped off here not knowing a single soul, or where we even were. After a couple of weeks being cramped in a small room (which we purposely chose to not upgrade) marito and I were at each others neck. I learned that I needed to escape the hotel room. Out on the patio I met a fellow Facebook Friend Nicole, and her two children. After finding someone to connect with I started to make more connections. I learned the hotel staffs' names- Alfredo, Alessio, Alessandro, Bianca, Johnny, Johnny, and Raphaella, as well as the hotel regulars. Instead of learning the Italian language in my room on the computer, I started to practice it with the staff. I soon then met Christian and Jennifers (The Owners) and their family and really got to know everyone in the hotel.



Me, Christian, and Melissa

The atmosphere here is so relaxed, and happy. Now, not bouncing off the walls happy but very content happy. Every Friday during the summer the hotel cooks a BBQ, which I have talked about before. It's just very nice to know that come next summer we have a place to go to on Friday Nights to relive the good memories we have recently created.

On top of Friday nights, we took part in other activities such as Grilling on Tuesdays. One of the hotel regulars started to grill every Tuesday and it soon became a tradition. Which is nice when you are tired of eating from the same two restraunts and just want to have home cooked food. We dined on steaks, brats, pork, tender tips, kebobs, corn, beans, asparagus, fresh salsa and chips. You name it, we cooked it.

Wednesday nights are notorious for being Man's Night. The men all gather at 7 PM, buy round for each other and just have a night with out the women. There were times when Marito didn't come home until 2 AM because the men were having such a good time. This inevitably led into the creation of Ladies Night.

A couple weeks ago, two friends and myself decided it was time for the ladies to enjoy themselves. I remember the bartender bring out a round of Limoncello shots and saying "I love Ladies Night!" We had a great time! Every week we have had a couple more ladies come out, so hopefully we can keep the tradition going. We did just change it to Friday nights until the BBQ is back on this summer.

Speaking of BBQ, the last Friday in September is the last BBQ. This year the BBQ was themed Prom Night. The hotel had a Queens Tribute Band entertain us, as well as a DJ. With over 200 people in attendance, let's just say it was a ball! The hotel guest got to come for free, and those who weren't guest paid a cover charge that was donated to a couple of good causes: Animals Without Limits and Local Volunteers TNR. With other ways to fundraise money, almost $1,400 was raised to help spay, neuter, and provide basic veterinary care to the stray animals in Naples.

So, not only was the hotel involved in a great cause, they also gave us a great excuse to dress up! It was so nice to see the guys and girls dressed in their finest. We danced the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha Cha Slide, and of course the Macarana. It wouldn't have been a party with out grooving up on the chairs, so I did. That was how much fun I was having! Mind you, I wasn't dancing like it was my job!

All in all, I am looking forward to moving out of the hotel and finally getting my own place with marito. It saddens me to know that I can't just walk out onto the patio to get my entertainment while marito works, but I'll be right around the corner, I'm sure I will be stopping by quite often!