The Long Road to Rome

Oh my goodness, how long has it been since we posted?  We left you all hanging in Positano.  Which, to be honest, is not a bad place to hang.  It's pretty close to heaven.

(NOTE:  We've actually finished our vacation and are back home.  But I'll finish the daily blog so that y'all can get the full story.)

Today we made the final leg of our journey -- from Positano to Rome.  We rose, finished packing our cases, ate our final breakfast here, said goodbye to our amazing balcony view, and checked out of the Hotel Savoia.

We've had some pretty incredible luck when it comes to catching buses and trains.  Very rarely have we had to wait for anything and today was no exception.  With our 50lb suitcases in tow, packs strapped to our backs, we walked the half kilometer up the hill to the main road through Positano to catch a bus to Sorrento.  When we were almost to the top of the hill, we saw the SITA bus sitting at the stop, the last few people in line filing through its doors.  So we RAN -- yes, RAN, uphill, with luggage.  Okay, I'm being dramatic.  It was about 10 meters.  But that's probably farther than I've ran in probably a year and a half.  Heh.

Once aboard the bus and in our seats, Hannah and I each took a piece of our seasick gum.  It was supposed to help us with the motion-sickness that typically accompanies a voyage on these buses.  You can sort of see what I'm talking about in this video that I took along the way:  http://youtu.be/ti7sZ4KWcRM.  It doesn't really do it justice but you can have an idea.

In the video you can hear a guy talking -- John -- who was traveling on his own and liked to talk.  About pretty much everything.  The entire way there.  He was very nice, but it's difficult to focus on someone talking when your stomach is itching to re-upholster the seat in front of you.

I didn't get sick, but Hannah wasn't so lucky.  She kept it down, but just barely, poor thing.  So when we arrived in Sorrento and prepared to board the Circumvesuviana city train to Naples, she opted to take a motion-sickness pill.  Which makes you oh-so-sleepy.

We took the train to Naples.  Hannah slept. Then we caught a high-speed train from Naples to Rome.  Hannah slept some more.

In Rome, things got a little tricky.  I arranged for a B&B about 3 blocks from the Colosseum.  But the B&B was owned by a couple who weren't in town.  They needed for me to call and let them know when we arrived, so that they could have their neighbor let us in.  Unfortunately, we did not have phone service in Italy.  So I ended up having to find a pay phone and explain to a stranger in my bastardized Italian that I couldn't figure out how to use a phone.  I started impressing the Romans early-on.

Oh -- Hannah took a nap on the sidewalk while this was happening.  :)

Obviously, it all worked out.  Our room was clean and spacious enough.  The bed, similar to most of the beds we experienced, was sort of like lumpy plywood.  But other than that it was very decent.

After we checked in and woke Hannah up, we decided to walk.  We walked by the Colosseum then the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, which is a giant monument created to commemorate the first king of a unified Italy at the beginning of the 20th Century.  It is elaborate and made of solid marble.  Some call it the Wedding Cake. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altare_della_Patria

I'd like to point out how different Rome is from Naples.  Both are very large and busy cities.  Both have what Americans would call "crazy drivers" and crazier pedestrians.  But Rome has an elegance about it that seems to be absent in Naples.  It is full and busy without being dirty.  You can't spit without hitting something ancient.  It is full of tourists of course, so it is also full of languages.  Every other person that you pass is speaking Italian, German, Spanish, English, Greek, Russian, etc.  Rome is GRAND, in every sense of the word.  It is huge.  It is old.  It is timeless.

We walked a bit further and decided that our first dinner in Rome would be Chinese food.  Sometimes a little break from pasta is required, so we opted for rice and chicken which was delicious.

After dinner we walked to Trastevere (a bohemian part of Rome which features lots of restaurants and night life), and watched the sun set over the Tiber river.  On the way back, we had THE BEST pear gelato -- you could feel the tiny bits of granular pear in its smooth sweet texture.  Sooooooo good!

Not a bad first day in Rome.  :)

SCOOOOOOTERS!!!

I don’t know if I can describe one of the best days of my life with words.  Honestly.  I mean, I’ve had some pretty wonderful days that cannot be surpassed – the birth of my nephew, for example.  But today was definitely in the top 10. 

Our intention when we got up this morning was to rent scooters and scoot to Amalfi, which is about 8 or 9 miles away.  I need to preface this with another story.

Last time I was here with my friends, Deanna and Maria, we rented scooters.  Typically, when they rent to an individual, you can rent a 50cc scooter which is fairly low powered.  It’s a good idea to go this route if you’ve never ridden before.  However, on that day, they were out of the 50cc scooters and gave each of us 125cc scooters, which have a bit more power.

I’ll spare you all the details, but I crashed that day.  Twice.  I ran into a garage door and got my leg caught in a sconce, and then I ran into a cliff wall on the freeway.  I had huge bruises from my hip to my toes. 

So today, when they told us that again they were out of the 50cc scooters, I got a little freaked. But we did it.  Why stop now?

They brought us to the garage, showed us the scooters (they did have one 50cc left which Hannah got since she hadn’t ridden on the coast here before), gave us a little primer on how to operate them, and helped us on our way by riding with us about a half kilometer.  After that, we were on our own.

What to say next…

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! 

OMG, we had SO much fun!  At first we were timid, staying slow-ish, getting the feel of the bikes, the curves in the road, and the traffic.  We were pretty much that way until we got to Amalfi. 

Amalfi is a beautiful little town a bit smaller than Positano but probably more popular.  It has more of a port than our town does, though and gets a bit more traffic. 

We parked our scooters (in a parcheggio) and found food to go (a calzone-type of thing but the pastry part was soft and doughey like a donut).  Then we made our way to the beach.  One must have priorities.  We rented more chairs on the beach and laid in the sun for about an hour and a half, then changed back into our street clothes.

Next we did a little shopping in Amalfi, stopping at beautiful little stores.  Hannah bought a new green bag which looks very cute.  Oh, and we had gelato!  Crème di limone.  Soooooo good.

We also took a tour of the Amalfi Cathedral which is dedicated to the apostle, St. Andrew (the first called to follow by Jesus).  It is said that the saint’s head and some other bones are kept in a reliquary here.  This is often the case with many old Catholic cities that have a patron saint.  It gives them a sense that their city is blessed and holy.

Then it was back to the bikes!!  Last time I rode, we were so shaken by my crashes that we didn’t do much besides go to Amalfi and back.  This time, we headed farther from Positano, zooming along the windey highway, dodging other cars and scooters, stopping occasionally to see one magnificent view after another.  We were high from the wind and the sun and the beauty of it all.  All that smiling we did risked major bugs-in-teeth but we were living on the edge, baby! 

We drove through Atrani, Ravello, Minori, Maiori all the way to Capo d’Orso.  We actually made it so far that we could see the city of Salerno!  At that point we took more beautiful photos, then decided to head back before it started to get dark.

On the way back we stopped in Praiano and ate pizza and Fanta while we watched the sun go down on the Mediterranean.

Can you possibly beat that?  Honestly?  I don’t think so. 

Oh – and neither of us crashed.  Not once.  Not even close!  Unless you count the time when Hannah tried to pass a car in a tunnel and almost hit a van head-on.  But hardly close!

We have to go continue being blissed out. 

Love you all!

Side Note: Best Dinner in Positano

We have been getting dressed up for dinner – puttin’ on our fancy dresses (yes, I said dresses) and puttin’ on airs.  This place is fancy in general.  But last night after all that cold rain, we just felt like feeling comfortable.  So we dressed in our jeans/capris, put on sweaters (and my new sandals from Capri) and headed down to the beach area for our last big supper in Positano.

My favorite restaurant is the lower section of a place called Baca di Bucco.  It’s my fav not necessarily because of the food, but because it happens to have the perfect view of the town from the beach.  They do pretty decent food, though and last night was proof of that.

We started with a common favorite – bruschetta con pomodorini (tiny tomatoes), which was followed by linguini with lobster.

NOTE:  If you plan on ordering any seafood that requires hands-on work that is drenched in marinara sauce and butter, do not wear white.  And wear a bib. Actually, we had an awesome idea for a scarf/bib kind of a thing that looks fancy but still catches spills before it hits your clothes.  I don’t want to say too much until we get the patent.

After the lobster dish, we had our first try of swordfish.  Also drenched in butter and lemon juice, the swordfish was grilled and soooo yummy.

But wait, there’s more.  After dinner we ordered this … this … creamy piece of heaven made of pistachios and Bavarian cream.  It looked like a cheesecake, but was green with toasted pistachios on top.  It was salty and sweet and had about five different textures from light and fluffy to chewy to crunchy.  Unbelievable.  This was accompanied by a sweet desert wine made from honey.

On the way back to our room, we bought these little chocolate shot glasses for our limoncello.   YUM!  

Could you think of a better evening?

Are we back in Portland?

Buongiorno!  Come state, tutti?

If you read yesterday's blog, you know that we postponed our trip to Capri due to a "strike" on the island. Today it appeared that the strike is over, power to the people!  So we got our tickets this morning and boarded a boat for the island.

About five minutes before we boarded the boat, it started to rain.  At first, it was sort of a light drizzle.  By the time we got off the boat on the island, it was a constant, steady rain.  It felt like we were back in Portland. What the heck!

Capri is a beautiful rocky island a couple miles off the coast by Sorrento.  It is known for its grotto caves -- there are two popular grottos named after their primary colors (azzuro or blue grotto, and the emerald grotto), as well as some intensely upscale shopping at the top of the island.  

Upon arrival, we immediately bought an umbrella which turned out to be our best purchase of the day.  The second thing we did was find the tram that would take us to the top of the island.  Since the weather was so bad, we figured seeing the grottos would not be a good idea.  They are right on the water, and the sea tends to get a little "angry" when it's this rainy out.  

By the time we reached the top via tram, we were starting to get a little peckish.  We figured, let's find a less expensive restaurant to eat a bite and refresh before we deal with more rain.  We must have walked for 20 minutes, looking at menus and trying to find a meal we could eat for under $70.  Seriously.

We finally went down a back alley to a place that we later realized catered to Asian tour groups.  

A little note here:  if the walkway to the restaurant smells like poop wrapped in dead fish, that should be a sign.  Did we go in?  Did we wait around to be seated?  Did we demand to be seated?  Why yes.  Yes, we did.

We ordered simple ravioli and fried calimari and shrimp.  What we got were things with eyes.  Lots of eyes.  There were whole shrimp -- with eyes -- as well as tiny little fish that were about the size of sardines, deep fried, with eyes.

We ate a lot of bread.  They even made the chocolate cake taste bad.  How does that happen here in Italy???

We ate as quickly as we could among the cacophony of tour groups that were seated around us.  It was a little bit difficult to catch the waiter's attention because he was trying to say the few words in English that folks might understand.  "Knife!  Knife!  Knife!"  "Pizza!  Pizza!  Pizza!"

We left via the cesspool walkway and up another flight of stairs.  I asked Hannah if we could go a little slower.  "Walking up stairs after eating fishheads tastes bad."

We spent the rest of the afternoon huddled under our single green umbrella, dodging puddles and looking in windows of very expensive shops -- Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana -- drooling a little. 

Hannah tried on some clothes at the Benetton store.  I tried on a Rolex watch that had a 4,600 Euro price tag!  I know I shouldn't have tried it on, but I just wanted to say I did.  It was NICE.  It felt so good -- kinda heavy.  But so is a car.

We ended up escaping with the umbrella and a new pair of sandals for me from the Benetton store.  Not too bad.

Then we headed back down to the pier to wait for our boat home.  We stopped and asked a dock worker where we should wait for our particular boat, and he said dock #13.  So we did.  We waited for 45 minutes.  We waited until the ship at dock 13 boarded -- which was headed for SORRENTO and not Positano.  We waited until the ship we were supposed to take left the marina.

I was livid.  We ASKED.  So we went back to the little dude who told us where to wait and pointed to our ticket.  He looked at it as if to say, "Oh!  You wanted to go to POSITANO."  GRRR.  Then we went back to the ticket office and bought ANOTHER ticket on another boat with another company.  It was that or take a boat to Sorrento and then take another SITA bus back.  Honestly, we'd pay anything not to take a bus again.

Now it's time for dinner here.  Love to you all!

I'm a Little Bit History, You're a Little Bit Shop n' Stroll

We've realized that Hannah and I enjoy some of the same things in travel, as well as some very different things.  For example, we are both enjoying the food, the people, the weather, etc.  I also enjoy the historical aspect of travel, while Hannah enjoys visiting the shops.  It's definitely helpful to know this kind of thing so that we can ensure that each of us has a chance to enjoy what is important to us.  Know your travel buddy!

Today's excursion of the day was intended to be visiting the Isle of Capri, which lies off the tip of the Amalfi Coast/Sorrento peninsula.  So we had our usual breakfast, got our stuff together, and headed to the shacks on the beach that sell tickets to various ports around the area.  

Apparently today (Sunday), the dock workers on Capri decided that they did not want to work on Sunday, so they went on strike.  Well, they may have had other reasons but that sounds as good as any other reason when you don't get to go on your day excursion.  We could have boarded a boat, but we  couldn't have gotten off the boat.

Instead, we chose another pre-planned day trip to Pompeii, the ancient city that was buried when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in the first century AD.

In order to get to Pompeii, we had to backtrack a bit.  We bought tickets and waited to board a SITA bus (the bus line that serves the towns in the area) on the main road in Positano.  While there, a rather severe looking woman with three other people (another severe woman and two men) walked up to me and started asking me questions in Italian.  The cool thing was, I understood almost 20% of what she said!  I sort of pretended I understood 85%.  I answered her questions - this was the bus stop, we were going to Sorrento ... and that I really didn't know when the bus was coming.  She may have been asking where I got my shoes (doubtfully), but I really don't have any idea.  I just shrugged and said, "non lo so."  Yay me!

When the bus arrived we took our seats and held on for the trip.  I may have described this bus ride before -- very windey roads, taken at a very high speed, with a lot of breaking and speeding up along the way. Oh, and honking.  This time around, it didn't sit quite so well with Hannah.  After 30 minutes of that carnival ride, she was ready to get off.  Or else.

Luckily, we arrived at our destination 5 minutes before she lost her pears and nutella. 

We took a little breather, stretched our legs, ate some of our picnic lunch, and then took the city train to Pompeii.

The regular city train (kind of like MAX in Portland) stops right at Pompeii's city gate.  Literally.  We bought tickets and walked up the large cobblestones into the ancient city.

Pompeii is 1600 acres of incredibly preserved city.  It is one of our best examples of ancient culture.  When Vesuvius blew, it buried Pompeii -- as well as nearby Herculeum -- in dust, small rocks and mud.  It did so very quickly so that even the unfortunates who lost their lives were preserved very well over the centuries.  They've been rebuilding the city since its discovery so that visitors can understand how people lived.

We spent a good three hours going through our guidebook and seeing a lot of the sights -- a gladiator barracks, amphitheaters, typical roman homes, a brothel (probably the most visited attraction there), and temples.  One of my favorite views is in the forum (the center of city government/religion) where you can see Vesuvius still looming -- although very quietly -- so close above the Temple of Apollo.

When it was time to leave, it was time for gelato!  Hannah got a really good limone gelato cone from a Polish fella trying to strike up a conversation with her in Italian about Alaska.  

Our train ride back dropped us off at Sorrento, so we decided to do a little shoppin'!  John Huff and I stayed in Sorrento a few years back and had a great time, but it seems we spent more time at the laundromat and getting the worst haircut of my life (I looked like a dirty q-tip) than we did seeing the historical parts of town.  This time Hannah took the lead, so she sniffed out some beautiful streets that had a multitude of beautiful shops and very few cars (a rarity here).

Before we got back on the bus, we picked up some seasick pills and some Italian cheetos which are called TamTams.  Sorry, Italy, Cheetos are better.

This time around the seasick meds made us REALLY sleepy.  So rather than getting fancy and going out to dinner, we got takeout pizza, hamburger and a bottle of wine.  When we returned to the hotel room to watch a movie and eat, we realized that the hamburger was JUST A HAMBURGER.  No bread, nothing else.  Just the meat pattie.  WHICH WAS DELICIOUS.  So was the pizza.  And the wine.  And the limoncello.  You get the picture.  It was all good, people.

That's it for today.  Until next time!  Muah!

Bright sunshiney day

Heaven! Im in heaven!

 Where to begin? Today was an amazing day and still is. After a very tastey dinner last night, a little wine and a good night's sleep, we woke today around 9:30 and headed downstairs for breakfast (colazione). On our small terrace with the sun peeking at us over the hills, we ate croissant (with nutella, of course) sliced meat, yogurt, juice and caffe latte.

Since it was such a beautiful morning, we decided to make use of the sunshine and start our day by kayaking on the Mediterranean Sea. So we made a visit to our local boatman (the writer of the new holiday symphony, the Nut Scratcher), and rented a plastic tandem kayak.

Either we looked very sporty, or they just figure most people know how to ride a kayak. Cause the minute we sat down (or the minute I wedged my hips into the unforgiving narrow plastic seat), they pushed us out to sea and gave us a quick wave. No asking if we know how to paddle or swim. NO telling us where we should or shouldn't go.

We figured it out well enough, though. We paddled around the coast, feeling the roll of the light waves and gazing up at the tall wind-carved rocks. So beautiful. We paddled and relaxed in the kayak for about an hour before our butts/legs fell asleep so we headed back to our beach.  We dismounted (I somewhat awkwardly) the kayak and then had to stand in the water for about 5 minutes until our legs woke up again.

The beach in Positano is limited -- there are little beach areas surrounded by rocks; so of course they can get a little bit crowded. That is why sections of them are fenced off and allowed only for people who pay a daily rate of 5-10 Euro. We paid the fee and got a very nice spot with lounge chairs, table and umbrella.

When it came time for lunch, I headed to a local grocery store to grab some food. At that particular time, a large group of American teenagers had flocked in to get sandwiches made at the deli counter. All of them were standing in line, wondering what to do. I walked in, grabbed some beverages out of a cooler and stood by the deli where I was acknowledged by one of the workers who took my order. Then one of the teenage girls said, "is this the line?" I told her, "Actually, people don't get in line in Italy. You go where there is room and order when you can." "Ooohhh!" she said, then went back to her friends to relay the new information.

We had a really good lunch -- sandwiches with pancetta, fresh mozarella, olive oil, fresh cherries, pringles, and pineapple bacardi coolers. Hannah took a little cooling-off break by wading into the sea a bit (which isn't warm really). Walking the 10 meters from the chairs to the water isn't as easy as it sounds. The beaches here are primarily pebble beaches, covered with small rocks more than sand. So walking is awkward and slightly painful without shoes. Everybody on the beach, except those who work there, look like a swarm of invalids.

Once she got to the water it was all downhill. Literally - the bottom drops pretty quickly. Which also made it frantically awkward to get away from the jellyfish that seemed remarkably attracted to her.

After several hours of sunbathing, we headed leisurely back through town to our hotel, stopping occasionally at shops to browse shoes (I've been borrowing Hannah's flip flops since my sandals have literally been eating my feet -- I have 7 blisters currently), limoncello, and clothes.

Here in Positano, it is very easy to appreciate il Dolce far niente -- the Italian phrase for the sweetness of doing nothing. We Americans have a hard time doing this without pangs of guilt or shame. Hannah is panicking that she doesn't have any mathematical papers to read or grade. So we're being schooled in it big time here. And it's awesome.

Enter Positano!

Mama Mia, this place is soooo gorgeous!

This morning Hannah and I took our leave of Naples.  Though it was an adventure and an interesting opportunity to visit that huge and busy city, I think the coming days will suit us much better.

We left our hotel around 10:30 this morning and took a cab to the central train station in Naples.  From there we took the Circumvesuvania city train (sort of like MAX in Portland with more graffiti) around the southern crescent of the Gulf of Naples to Sorrento. See this map: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/itgulfofnaples.htm

From there, we took a bus from Sorrento to Positano -- only 9 miles away, but via a very long and windey (like 30 switchbacks) road.

Our new hotel, Albergo Savoia, is awesome! The front door of the hotel opens to the main section of the city.  Our room, which is on the 4th floor, has a balcony that opens out to the town and sea.

But you should see our SHOWER!! It has nozzles from floor to ceiling and I think there are massaging jets and electronic-controled temperature.  It is insane!  I hope Hannah has a great time on the beach. I'll be taking a shower.  A very loooong shower.

We got here at a reasonable time -- around 11:30 -- so we quickly unpacked (we finally are at a place long enough where we can unpack our clothes into actual drawers and closets, sigh...) and headed down to the beach area.  We sat at a seafront restaurant and had a nice though expensive lunch -- pizza and spaghetti.  Oh, and some amazing freshly squeezed orane juice.

Then we decided to lay in the sun a bit in our clothes to soak up our first rays of Positano sun.  Here is our conversation while we laid there:

Hannah:  I need to shave my legs.  But hair doesn't grow on my calves.
Me:  Hair grows everywhere on me.  I'm surprised it doesn't grow on my elbows.

Its these deep, meaningful conversations that make us such interesting people.

We then decided to walk around to see the place and people-watch.  Oh, the people-watching.  This place is a mecca for people-watching.  Tourists from all over the world take day-trips to Positano by boat from cruise ships and neighboring towns.  There's an enormous amount of khaki shorts with black socks, big floppy hats and large cameras.

We're not with them, of course. We have a hotel room here.  We're practically natives.

It's really hard not to people watch when all you have to worry yourself about is which side you want to tan.  So we did.  We watched people shop, browse, look at the scenery, chase their children, board and disembark small boats, and ... scratch.

We seriously watched an elderly gentleman scratch himself for a good five minutes.  Under his waistband.  And then sample his own Speedo cologne.  I don't know how else to say it.  He did this several times in the middle of the beach.  We have video.  We then realized that he's the guy who rents sea kayaks, which we intended to do tomorrow.  We've agreed to not shake hands with him.

After several hours of leisurely strolling in the sun, we had a bit of rain.  That's ok, it gave us an excuse to come and write to you.  :) So hello all of you, from beautiful Positano.

Pics to come very soon! xo

History Lesson: Naples

This is my fourth trip to Italy.  In the past, I’ve been to Venice, Florence, Assisi, Rome and the Amalfi Coast (which includes Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii).  I could probably take many of you on a tour of these places with some knowledge of who built what, when and why they’re important. 

I haven’t the foggiest idea about Naples. 

From what I read in my sad little tour book, Napoli has been an “occupied” city for much of its history.  From the Greeks that settled it possibly as early as the 10^th century B.C., to French to the Spanish, Naples has been occupied by foreign governments for centuries. 

Originally, the city was called Palaeopolis, or old city, by the Greeks.  Neopolis, or new city, was built nearby.  After Roman rule and a wave of invasions, it came under Byzantine influence and went through a period of rebirth.  In the 10^th century the invading Normans conquered southern Italy.  In the 12^th Century the French and Spanish took over.  It was hit hard by the Inquisition, plague and overpopulation. 

Naples is known for a lot of things including its food (pizza!), poverty, music, and the beauty of its bay. 

This morning, after sleeping in (our shades worked so well that Hannah refused to believe it was nearly 10AM when we woke up – she thought it was 4), we showered and got ready to hit the town.

That is, after I finished my laundry and hung my undies on the balcony to dry. I'm classy like that.

After checking out our tourbook a bit, I thought hey, let’s go to the Piazza Mercato, which is known for some creepy things happening – lots of beheadings, plague, fun stuff like that.  It used to be a town center of sorts.  What it is now is sort of “Garbageville”.  Though garbage pickup is sketchy here due to the Mafia’s ownership of the garbage service, the Mercato was especially grimy and grim.  Bad choice on my part!

After that we hung a louie (made a left turn) and headed more toward the center of town to a district called Decumano Maggiore toward a church called the Duomo.  This is one of the larger churches in the city and was quite amazing.  I tried to take pictures of some of the outside and just couldn’t fit any of it into a frame.  When we went in, Hannah almost got us kicked out by flaunting her naked shoulders (Catholics here are picky about having joints covered, especially shoulders and knees but I’m sure hips are included).

After the Duomo, we headed southwest to a district called Spaccanapoli which was a major thoroughfare during Greco-Roman Naples.  Now it is a very interesting mix of ancient ruins, narrow streets packed with shops (including fish shops that added to the ambient odors of the alleys) and tons of graffiti.  We managed to find Music Row that had shop after shop of guitars, drums, pianos and an assortment of other instruments.  Hannah bought two Italian picks and a capo for her travel guitar there.

After a pitstop at our hotel and a quick cat nap, we headed out again in the opposite direction toward the sea, taking time to watch a military parade in the Castel Nuovo.  A little farther out we hit the Galleria Umberto (a giant, regal looking building with shops in it) and did a little more shopping.  

Hannah had a chance to buy some new jeans and I bought several boxes of bandaids.  Over the course of the afternoon, my skin started to stick to my leather sandals. So I tried covering my blisters with bandaids which would quickly wad up, covering my feet in sticky wads.  Hannah started walking farther and farther away from me as my feet randomly shed one bandaid after another. 

Not having eaten since this morning, we couldn’t help but stop at the same pizzeria for a quick Margherita pizza and bruschetta.  The flirty and funny waiter commented on Hannah’s perfect Italian as she assertively answered “si!” to his questions in English.

Tomorrow we are off to Positano – one of my favorites!  We’ll be there for five nights to soak up the sun and play around the Amalfi coast. 

Arrivaderci!

O Sole Mio!

Ciao, Assisi!  Buongiorno, beautiful pink city on a hill!  Arrivaderci, life-changing Ravioli!

We took our leave of our first city this morning.  We arrived fairly early at the train station (I misread the train schedule) and got to chill for a while.  First, we had a lunch of Panini made of flour tortillas, dried meat and cheese.  Then we serenaded people waiting for the trains (Hannah brought her travel guitar).  Nobody spat on us which was good. 

We even had smoke effects for our performance.  Note: Hannah doesn’t feel like she fits in in Porland because she doesn’t have tattoos.  Here in Italy, she doesn’t feel like she fits in because she doesn’t smoke 5 packs a day (or at all).   

It took quite a while to get to Rome Termini Station.  When we finally did, we got in line to get tickets to Naples and immediately got on another train – this time a high speed train.  We went 310 km/hr! 

We arrived in Napoli a little after 6:00PM and took a cab to our hotel, Hotel del Golfo.  NAPLES IS CRAZY!  Streets are a tight mix of cars, scooters and people – all of whom act like it’s everybody else’s job to watch where they’re going.  I’ve never seen streets so chaotic.  Rome looks like a country town in comparison. 

Our new room is pretty sweet.  The hotel doesn’t look like much from the outside, but our room on the 3^rd floor is HUGE and has a balcony!  Okay, the balcony overlooks cars and some garbage (they collected it this evening and it took them 20 minutes to get it all) but hey, it’s a BALCONY!

We took a walk about a quarter mile to a pizzeria that I found in my travel book.  The people here are quite a mix, but I’m pretty sure everybody here “knows somebody who knows somebody”, if you get my drift.  Everywhere you look, it’s like watching the Sopranos.

Our first pizza was soooo good – fire oven baked with a fantastic mix of cheeses, meats, funghi (mushrooms) and sauce.  YUM.  Accompanied by a cold Fanta, it doesn’t get much better.

Hannah continues to practice her Italian.  Tonight, she has been repeating, "Mi dispiace" which means "I'm sorry".  I asked her why she kept repeating it.  She said, "I'm just practicing being sorry."

Tomorrow we go exploring!  Naples is gi-normous so there’s no way we can even see a fraction of the sites.  But we’ll do our best.  Where there’s a will, you know.  Hope all is well with you all.  Love you!

Speaking of Jet Lag...

I want to apologize now for my lack of clarity where time is concerned.  When I start to write these blog postings, they’re generally a list of notes and bits written throughout the days.  Then I try to put them together during the brief moments of internet access (with Italian hosts looking at us wondering why in the world we’re taking up so much of their internet connection).  Hannah pointed out that I mentioned “today” several times throughout my post yesterday, but those “todays” took place over a 48 hour period.  So, apologies!  I hope y’all get the gist.

Due to the aforementioned jet-lag, we took “today” pretty easy, allowing ourselves times for naps, a couple of great meals, some blog-writing, photo-downloading, etc. 

It is a GREAT thing that Assisi is comprised of mostly stairs.  We had gorgonzola and cream sauce for lunch, frozen cream (gelato) as a snack, more gorgonzola and cream sauce at dinner, followed by an amazing home-made tiramisu made with mascarpone (more heavy cheese/cream).  My ear lobes are gaining weight.  Seriously, we have to walk a quarter mile up hill to get anywhere (where did downhill go?  NO idea.), so we’re using the calories efficiently.

We also spent some time learning Italian!  We’re both realizing that a few words make communication with hosts, shop keepers and taxi drivers much easier.  Well … WE are working on learning some Italian, and Hannah is working on making up her own Italian.  “Cool” is apparently “Coolio” in Italian.  And to “care” in English is “Chiare” (kee-AR-ay) for Hannah in Italian.  I’m pretty sure that word means something else, but she’s happy with it, so there we are. 

During dinner, in fact, we counted.  Yep.  We counted long, and we counted high – all the way up to 49 ‘cause I don’t remember how to say 50.  After 49, if it comes up, we’ll just have to use our fingers.

As anybody who has ever been there would understand, we HAD to go back to Di Cecco for dinner.  For  … (Hannah’s eyes glaze over and she starts to drool) … RAVIOLI con gorgonzola, pear and walnuts (In Hannah Italian: pear-ay and walnuto), bruschetta con fungi (mushrooms) and garlic, and pork loin.  We did have the option of ordering something with roughage – salad, vegetables – but we gave a hearty “no way, bring on the cheese”.


Okay, this paragraph starts another "today" which is Wednesday here.  We're having the typical hotel breakfast in our Assisi hotel, preparing for our journey to Napoli.  From here, we take a train to Rome, then on to Naples where we will stay for two nights.  We're hoping that we'll have better access to Wifi in other hotels so that we can post more pics and blogs.


Until next time, amici!

At least there’s no vomit in it.

When we arrived in Italy, I was very sick.  I couldn’t wait to get to our hotel so that I could shower and feel better.  The first time I washed my hair, I realized I had no hair dryer so my hair was a wreck.  I couldn’t do anything with it.  Strangely, Hannah’s favorite quote for the trip so far is my comment to her, “My hair is a disaster from hell.  But at least there’s no vomit in it.”

This is a handy way to stay positive when any negative event hits us:

“The hotel coffee tastes like it was made with road gravel. But at least there’s no vomit in it.”

“The bed feels like plywood on springs, but at least there’s no vomit in it.”

“My luggage got here so late but at least there’s no vomit in it.”

Yesterday was a very good first day, in all.  We visited the popular Basilicas here in Assisi – di San Francesco, di Santa Chiara – which are very beautiful, old meccas for Catholic pilgrims and even people from other religions who revere St. Francis and St. Claire. 

Shopping is an ever-present activity.  Hannah found a bag and shoes that she really really liked in this very cute ITALIAN shop… that were made in INDIA.  When she realized this, they weren’t nearly as cute.

As I mentioned, I didn’t have a hair dryer and we didn’t expect Hannah’s luggage for another day.  So I bought a 30 Euro ($50) hair dryer.  We found out later that Hannah could probably blow on my head with more force and heat than that dryer produced.

GREAT NEWS:  Hannah’s luggage arrived today!  We got a bit of a scare before that, though.  While I was in the shower, someone knocked on the door and Hannah talked with them.  It was the bellman with a suitcase!  A suitcase that we had never seen before and resembled NOT Hannah’s suitcase.  What the heck!!  Needless to say, that freaked us out a LOT.  But soon, after some very confusing discussion with the front desk, we found that it was a very simple mix-up on the part of the delivery driver.  He did indeed have Hannah’s luggage, and it was indeed in-tact.  All was well.

This meant that we could both get fancy for dinner!  We both put on our finest new threads and headed to my favorite restaurant, Di Cecco.  Every time I’m in Assisi, I go there and bring my traveling companions. 

When we walked in, the place was hopping – totally full.  But when the usual waitress saw us, she stopped in the middle of taking an order, got a puzzled look on her face and said, sort of accusingly, “I remember you…”  Slightly awkward moment!  She later asked me how my children were and if I was feeling well.  Then she called me “mother”.  ????  Another awkward moment!  The other waitress came over to ask how I was but her English came out, “Who are you!”

Awkward moments aside, we had Ravioli con gorgonzola, pears and walnuts that were life-changing.  We also sat next to a Panamanian couple that had just come from Positano.  We talked with them until the restaurant closed and they started turning off lights.

After that, unfortunately, our jet-lag caught up with us.  Neither of us slept well at all.  Hannah didn’t sleep a wink.  She watched a movie on her laptop, listened to music, contemplated the meaning of life and then at 6AM went for a run.

Today we’re both pretty worn out.  Jet-lag happens, people.  Sometimes it hits hard, sometimes it’s no problem.  Today was hard, but tomorrow will be brilliant!

Love to you all!

Episode IV: A New Adventure

Listen my friends to the woeful tale of our first day of travel, of our Trip to Italy, 2012.  Well, woeful might be much. But the day certainly included moments of terror, anxiety, distress, loss and sickness. On the up-side, it also included Italian magic medicine, very friendly locals, most excellent company and a first taste of Roman pizza.

Our day began (if the day before ever ended) around 4am when the nasty alarm went off. Full of excitement and a little leftover BBQ Bratwurst from a bon voyage party our friends threw, we slithered out of bed and finished our packing. A cab pickd us up at 5am to transport us to PDX airport. Our time spent there was pleasant, even so early in the morning. Everybody, from TSA security to the guy at the electronic store were chipper, friendly and helpful.  I mention this for contrast which I'll get to later.

The flight from PDX to JFK in New York was most pleasant -- until our Captain, aka Maverick, flew us through a 747's jet wash and sent us into a near lateral spin!  I'm not joking.  Our plane shook, started to fall, and then turned sideways.  Poor Hannah -- I think I climbed her though I don't remember actually doing it. Perhaps I thought I could climb to the highest possible spot to be safe.  I was in panic mode, after all and wasn't thinking clearly. It took me a while to stop shaking. But I sure was awake after that.

The JFK airport was interesting.  I provided a glimpse of PDX staffers -- friendly and outgoing.  Well, those at JFK reminded me more of that TV show, Scared Straight, where scary prison inmates scare juveniles into being good kids. Their mission was not so much to be helpful as to ensure you didn't make the mistake of coming there again.  Any question -- from "how do I get to my gate" to "where is the nearest bathroom" provoked a glare of contempt, a heavy sigh, rolling of the eyes and a dramatic pause to make sure you felt their discomfort. 

Once on our new plane to Rome, my fanny made the acquaintance of a six year-old who sat directly behind me. He liked to extend his legs and press his toes against the seat in front of him; what he was actually doing was providing me with an unwanted butt massage through the thin fabric at the base of the seat.  No thank you, Mr. Six Year Old.  Thankfully, Mr. Giggilo-in-training was interrupted with dinner.

For us, dinner consisted of chicken salads. They may have come with a little extra treat because I woke up feeling not so good.  At all.  At ALL.  Not so good in fact that as the plane landed, I filled up my very first "feel better" bag.  I'm not going to go into too much detail because my moment was actually trumped...

The luggage carousel turned out my suitcase, but not Hannah's.  Thankfully it was only full of beautiful new clothes that she bought just for the trip, and only a handful of older, sentimentally meaningful clothes.  We think that someone grabbed her suitcase thinking it was theirs.  The luggage people were very soothing and hopeful that someone would return it, though.  Sigh.

We took a short train to Termini Station in Rome where we could catch another train to our first desintation, Assisi. While there, I stopped at a Pharmacia (which is sort of like a heavenly Italian doctors office) and they gave me a magic powder to help my nausea.  They don't practice medicine here -- they practice Italian magic!

The train ride took place in true Italian form. Our tickets said, "Assisi via Orto" which I thought meant a transfer in Orto. But I've learned to take nothing for granted and struck up a conversation with a woman next to me. She indicated that we would transfer in Foligno (sort of halfway between Rome and Assisi) and that she would be doing the same, so follow her.  Great!

Then the train stopped.

The conductor announced that we would be sitting there for 20 minutes, for no special reason. Which would mean that we would miss our connection.  Thankfully, they later decided to alter their usual route and go all the way to Perugia (which would take us by Assisi). They must have heard about my tummy and noted a lack of "feel better" bags.  Really, everything turns out, especially here!

We found our beautiful city, and our sweet little hotel -- a new one for me called Lo Scudo. Very cozy, extremely friendly. Then we headed out on our first walk around the town ... when it started to rain.  You're welcome, Assisi!  We brought it with us.

We weren't here an hour before Hannah bought a new pair of shoes. But honestly, they called to her.  That's what she tells me anyway.

Sigh.  So Hannah is going to get off easy in this blog edition.  She saved my life (or at least another hip) about four times, not including the Top Gun sitch on the airplane.  The rain here makes the beautiful pink sidewalk stones very slippery and I slid into impromptu splits several times -- and each time she caught me.  She probably wants to keep me around because I speak the lingo like a native (of somewhere other than Italy).  I'm kind of an asset.

_______

That was yesterday.  I didn't get a chance to blog due to internet resources here...

I can't tell you how good it felt to sleep horizontally for more than a couple of hours!  Bags and dark circles are fading, cankles are reducing, digestive systems are resuming normal (if not aggressive) operations. We're still jet-laggy which is to be expected, but a full 8 hours of sleep sure was helpful.

This morning we awoke to the sound of a geriatric Italian clogging team who were apparently rehearsing on the iron steps next to our room.  There is a gaggle of women who like to spend their mornings and evenings together, gossiping and watching television in the common room downstairs.  They are perfect Italian women -- expressive and each holding their own very strong opinions.  I love it!

Well this blog entry has gotten long so I'll sign off for now.  Days will be much shorter than yesterday so these entries should be more reasonable in the future.  Love to you all!!