Rome... Our last stop!

We took a ferry from Capri to Naples, grabbed a bus to the train station, and rode a fast train to Rome. We checked into Albergo Mediterraneo, just a quick luggage pull from the train station. It was a gorgeous hotel, and our room was really big! After a quick shower, a driver met us for a whirl wind tour of the city. We hit all the major cites feeling a little bit like Chevy Chase! It was late in the afternoon, so we were treated to gorgeous light on all the buildings as the sun set. Our tour was four and a half hours long, which was just long enough to know we definitely need to go back and spend more time in Rome! The driver said we got really lucky with little traffic and beautiful temperatures! We ended the night with dinner on the rooftop of our hotel. It was perfect! The next morning we said good bye to Italy! We are so grateful to have been able to celebrate our 30 year anniversary with this special trip! We made memories that will last a lifetime! 

A few of the adorable people of Italy!

The Isola di Capri

After a beautiful ferry ride from Positano to Marina Grande in Capri, we caught an open air taxi to our apartment, Aiano B&B. The owner Antonio met us and showed us around. He brought us to his patio and gave us seats under a 65 year old fig tree. He brought us juice and a map. He showed us everything we needed to do. He grew up in Capri and was a former tour guide. He knew everything! Later we walked to the main square and on to the garden of giardini di augusto. The views were absolutely incredible! We explored and had drinks in the piazza. We walked to Terazza Brunella for a late dinner. The food and views were amazing! It turns out that Italian almond cake was invented here. Brunella added dark chocolate many years ago and now it's a tradition. It was to die for! The next day we took another open air taxi to the Blue Grotto. The open taxis are such a treat. They were made solely for Capri! The Blue Grotto had been closed due to high winds for 5 days. We got lucky because it was open today. We waited in a short line watching the people go in and out. It was crazy! It was high tide so you had to lay completely flat on the bottom on the tiny boat to get through the tiny hole in the cave. Once inside it was gorgeous! Such a bright electric blue. The boat guides even sang in Italian! After that, We caught a bus up to Anacapri. John rode the chair lift to the top of the mountain while I shopped. It was way too windy for me to ride. John said he had to hold onto things at the top! After a nice lunch, we caught a bus down to a beach club called lido di faro by the lighthouse. We enjoyed the sun! Johns swam in the gorgeous water among the rocks. We rode the bus back, rested, and had a picnic dinner at the apartment. That night we walked to town and I got my handmade Capri sandals made by Mr. Schettino. I met his wife Lydia whose father opened the shop 85 years ago. She showed me a picture of Jackie Kennedy getting sandals made there many years ago. Custom sandals are a must on Capri! We went back to the square for people watching and drinks. The fashion is indescribable!

The next day Tony and his wife Juicy made us breakfast. Tiny set up a private boat tour around the island even though he said the wind was up. We rode the cable car down to the marina and met our guide Stephano. He was the best guide! He grew up in Capri and loved the island! It was choppy but so much fun! It turns out that Stephano had Will Smith on the same boat last year! He showed us a picture of them together! We were a little queazy toward the end, so we found a  nearby beach and hung out for a while. We had a picnic dinner at our apartment again and enjoyed the views from our terrace. Capri was absolutely amazing!  Three nights just wasn't enough!

Things that made me go hmmm...

Toilets! First of all they are few and far between, and I mean far! Second, they are not free! If I was lucky enough to find one, I had to dig around to find coins, then I'd have to dig around to find my glasses to see what coins I had. By the time I did all that I was dying! No two toilets work the same. Some flush on the wall, some flush on floor, some times it's on the right and sometimes it's the left. Some just left me completely baffled, and I gave up.  Some toilets are just a pan in the floor. I already covered that though; it was a dark moment. Many restrooms are shared by men and women. That took some getting used to. I was always startled and thought I was in the wrong place. Faucets were crazy too. Cold on the right, then cold on the left. They all turned on differently, some I couldn't get to turn on at all. Thank god for hand sanitizer!  Showers were so tiny! I mean barely shoulder width. If you dropped the soap, too bad. Want to shave your legs? Good luck! Some showers were just level with the floor. There was water everywhere! Some only had half a door. Still water everywhere. Every day we saw examples of extraordinary architecture and engineering, but the plumbing left us so confused! 

Blow dryers were offered in most hotels. Some were just tubes that came out of a wall like a vacuum cleaner hose. They barely blew out any air at all, but the end got insanely hot so you couldn't even hold it. Strange. 

Water is expensive. It comes two ways- fizzy (gas water) or still (flat water). It took us a while to get used to ordering "still" water. 

Potatoe chips are everywhere! They are served with every drink you order! We even saw old Italian men sitting at tables drinking red wine and eating potato chips for breakfast! The potato chip salesman in Italy is living large! 

Trains confused us. We purchased tickets for our longer rides from home and brought paper copies. I think we took  8 or 9 trains and our tickets were checked only 2 or 3 times. Anyone could have ridden for free. In fact, we unintentionally rode several street cars and buses free. We wanted to pay, but couldn't figure out how, and no one asked us. I honestly don't know how they stay in business. Maybe all the pee-pee money funds everything! Also, there was no security at all in any train station, but we felt completely safe.

There's no tipping at restaurants, but it costs money to sit in a chair. It took us forever to figure out the extra charge on bill each time. They finally explained it was a "chair charge". Some chairs are more expensive than others. Very interesting...

It was truly fascinating to see how another country lives, but this girl needs her American hair dryer! 

Memories (misadventures) continued...

We dried out on the train to La Spezia, then took another train to Monterosso in the Cinque Terra. We chose Monterosso for its famous beach, but still dodged a lot of rain. Our hotel was adorable, charming, but tiny! To move from one side to the other we had to climb across the bed! Bad hair in Cinque Terra was an understatement! My first hat didn't survive the rains of Pisa, so I bought another. Not wanting to wear a hat every minute, I passed a tiny local hair salon and had an idea. I stopped in and said, too much rain, braid? They laughed. They said, you wait. We heard that a lot in Italy! You wait. I waited and watched a local woman get a blow out. I changed my mind. I asked for a blow out and Luca made me feel like a new woman! Best part was it cost only $18 euro! Money well spent! We travelled to Riomaggiore for a day visit. The rains had been so bad the night before that our return train was delayed almost two hours due to storm damage on he track! Stay positive, have a cocktail! One misadventure in Cinque Terra involved the bathrooms, or lack there of. I'll spare the details, but I'll just say that some bathrooms are only holes in the floors.  I had to go, no choice, and had on jeans that day. Mike had gone in first and knew what I was up against. He was ready when I came out with hand sanitizer and a hug. I cried a little bit. Enough said. 

On to Bellagio! The renting of the huge van was a mistake! As Mike made his way down the tiny street with only inches to spare, we knew we had a big problem. We got to the hotel then Michael had to go off with the hotel owner Jackamo to park. Jackamo rode a scooter, Michael followed. Apparently parking in the "box" didn't go well at all! He had to reverse, too tall, then turn around, then find another spot. Remember, it was manual and hilly! Jackamo finally returned as Michael was walking back, well over a mile away. When we see Jackamo he is clearly worried about Mike. He says, "your friend Mike, he need 5 minutes, he be ok." We'll never know how bad it was for him.

The villa in Tremezzo was amazing. Very few bad moments, but I did go four days without a hair dryer. I called my hair Italian Hot Mess! Mike brought a speedo to wear in our villa pool for the true Italian experience.  It only lasted slightly over an hour, thank god! My suggestion was that he wear a bell so we would all know to look away when he stood up! He got to have his Italian moment though, so he was happy! 

On our last day there, the Seamans and Mclaughlins both got emails that their flights home were cancelled! Air France was on strike! It lead to a few tense moments, but flights were rearranged and they all made it home! 

In Venice we were on our own. There was a lot getting lost in the teeny tiny streets, but since it was just us, it was more like meandering than getting lost. We meandered a lot looking for cash machines! Very few people took credit cards, so the theme became, remind me to get more euros tomorrow!

In Positano our only mistakes were overpaying! Every time you sit in a beach chair it costs money! Who knew? Everyone seemed so friendly; I thought they were giving things away!  We got on a boat and a man was pouring shots. He was singing, Limoncello, would you like to try some Limoncello? Sure! I sip it, that will be $4! Same thing at a bakery. We had already purchased something and he says, would you like to try some cake? I'm thinking samples. "Sure!" He gets the cake, "that will be $4." What? Nothing is free! Italians are just super happy, and try means buy!

So as far as bad moments go, ours were few and far between. No matter where you go, things are going to go wrong. We just kept going and marveling at the beauty of Italy and its people!

Memorable moments...

In the interest of balanced writing, I've decided to write about the not-so-perfect moments of this vacation.  While this trip has been amazing, it's been filled with lots of moments that, in hind sight, we just have to laugh about. 

To start off, we were all asleep on the plane when we heard the pilot ask if there was a doctor on board. We briefly woke up and thought, oh, that poor person. Of course my thoughts went to Matt! When we got off the plane, Sabrina didn't look so good. Turns out she was the sick one! We had no idea until she told us! There was a cardiologist on the flight, so he went through her meds and adjusted some things and all was well. She spent a good portion of the flight on the galley floor, but she's fine! Day 1: minor cardiac event!

After our first night out in Milan, I showered and washed my hair before bed. I had all the right converters, but somehow my hair dryer got insanely hot. Seconds later  I heard a bang, smelled smoke and the power went out. Turns out I blew out the power on most of the floor of Uptown Palace! Welcome to Italy! 

Day 2- since we were up late with the power outage and I was fighting a nasty head cold, we way overslept our first morning! Our travel buddies were NOT happy with us! We all got over it though and headed out into the pouring rain to see the sights. Ponchos for everyone! Milan was gorgeous, but we dodged rain for two days. I never even got out my big camera. 

Florence- we started out getting incredibly turned around while pulling our luggage from the train station. We tried to keep our sense of humor! I used my Italian to ask where our hotel was, but unfortunately they answered in Italian. This happened to me a LOT! I was so excited that I had learned some Italian, but I had no idea what they were answering!  We had quite a few mishaps in Florence including four of us going to the wrong museum to see David! After much walking and more taxis we all made the tour with just a minute to spare! We also all went to the wrong train station in Florence! Luckily that worked out too after so much running and luggage pulling!

Pisa: nightmare! The historic rainfall continued! We remained positive. We had a scheduled Segway tour, so we got into two taxis, drenched! We arrived at the tour location. Completely locked up tight! Not sure if it was because of the rain or the national holiday we didn't know about. Either way, the driver took us to the tower and put us out. We had come this far, we were going to see it. We took shelter in a cafe that wasn't even open yet. We bought ponchos for our suit cases and covered them as best we could. We took turns watching the luggage and walking (wading) around the tower. Ready to leave, it turned out there were no taxis because of the holiday. We had no choice but to stand by a taxi sign and wait in the downpour! Finally one man came to the rescue.  He took half of us to the train station then went back for the other half. He said he was very poor so he was working the holiday. We rewarded him well! Soaked to the bone, we got on a train and headed to LaSpezia and Cinque Terra hoping for sun. I'll write more misadventures later!

Positano... a gem!

Right now we are enjoying the sun at a beach club in beautiful Anacapri. I finally have time to write about Positano. We woke up in Venice at the crack of dawn to meet our water taxi to the airport. Private water taxi was the only choice for transportation at that hour. We paid $120 for a 25 minute ride! It was so beautiful to be on the water at that hour though, so I'm trying to think of it as a treat! We got to the airport for our Easy Jet flight. We were so excited about our low fare of $44 each until we found out our bags cost the same amount! $44 each! Oh well! It was a quick one hour flight to Napoli. Our driver Gernermo met us and off we went in his little black Mercedes. He gave us a great tour during the hour plus ride into Positano! We were thrilled to see our charming and beautiful hotel, Albergo Savoia! The views were gorgeous! If you ever go, ask for room 302. We had another corner room with two windows and two different views! Spectacular! We were starving, so we put on bathing suits and headed out for lunch to one of the places on my list - le Sirenuse. It was much fancier than I expected, but the views were insane! We were greeted by a gentleman in a white tuxedo. "Do you have a reservation?" "No." "Are you a guest of the hotel?" "No." "You sit here," he said pointing to a table toward the back. We were most definitely not in the first row overlooking the town and sea, but amazing nonetheless! That lunch was one of our most expensive meals so far!  So much for my list! We made our way to the beach and finally enjoyed the sun under those famous orange umbrellas! Our beach guy was another Gernermo and found us chairs on the waters edge. It was so strange to be on a rock beach- no sand at all. John swam, but too cold for me! Dinner was a light picnic of cheese, salami, bread and wine. The next day we were up early, had our breakfast of pastries and were ready to hike The Path of the Gods. We had been looking forward to this for a long time! It's a path along the top ridge of several of the areas mountains. We took a city bus to the town of Nocelle. We hiked/climbed/scaled UP about 4 or 5 miles to the town of Priano. Once at The Priano marker we had to go down about 1200 steps! In total we walked about 4 hours. The sights along the way defy description!  One of my favorite sights was when a man and his three do lies came right up the steps we were going down! We kept wondering how people got what they needed in the mountains and now we know! The donkeys had big silver crates on their backs. We watched the man unload a bunch of stuff on a bench and then head on. I guess someone will be by to pick up his delivery! My legs were shot, but before they completely froze up we were lucky enough to catch a bus back to Positano.we showered and collapsed in our beach chairs.  We had read about a great restaurant called Cera una Volta. It's so high up that they send a car to pick you up. The car picked us and two other couples up, we had another fantastic meal looking down on Positano. The next morning we slept late. We were packing up when I heard a band. I looked off the balcony to see a marching band coming down the winding streets! These streets are already packed with people cars and buses, and now came a parade! No one was mad about the traffic; everyone was delighted! Only in Italy! We spent a few more hours on the beach, then caught our ferry to Capri. 

Venice

Raining! Change of plans... We're tired, so we looked on trip advisor for take-away, or street food, what we would call fast food. We found a 5 star rated place right around the corner.  It was AMAZING!! We even watched him cook it! Crazy good food, boxed up with wine and prosecco! Stood at the window of this tiny gem and had a killer meal! Tuttinpiedi was the name. We asked what it meant, he said, everyone stand up! Perfect! 

Venice...

There was complete confusion on the faces of everyone getting off the trains in Venice! No one really knew what to do; people were just sort of funneled toward water buses or water taxis! Luckily we found the right water bus to get us to San Marco. We were packed on the boat, but it was a gorgeous ride! For the past two weeks we have experienced several "luggage pulls", but none like this! Of course Venice is the city of bridges, but these bridges are made of stairs! You pull up, up, and up, then bump down, down, down, hoping not to break the wheels on your luggage! We were rewarded when we found our hotel; very old but full of charm and character! We have a corner room facing a canal and a side street, so we opened the windows to the sounds of the city! The hotel

Is very close to The San Marco piazza, so we headed there for our afternoon spritz and potatoe chips! There are live orchestras on each side of the plaza making for a fantastic environment! We people watched for a long time and enjoyed the area as the crowds thinned out. We took the elevator to the top of the San Marco Camponile. We were lucky enough to be at the top when the bells rang!  What a view! We walked and explored and found a beautiful restaurant for dinner "a beccafico". It turns out it is one of the best restaurants in Venice. The food was so amazing that we are headed back tonight.  After dinner we caught a sunset gondola ride. It was perfect! Today we got up early to walk and see the city come alive. It was so nice to be out with just a few locals on their way to church.  I stole a few handfuls of cereal from the hotel breakfast buffet, and we headed to the pigeons. I did it! There was a lot of squealing and screaming involved on my part, but I have pictures to prove I let them land on me! John was totally calm with about 6 birds on him! We went in several gorgeous churches and found an awesome lunch place. We took a 2 hour boat tour out to Murano Island to see the glass making. The boat ride was awesome as was the tour. John got all caught up in the moment and I had to talk him down from a crazy purchase!  After the boat ride back we toured the San Marco Bascillca. It was beyond description! We enjoyed the view from the top, too!  Tomorrow is an early morning as we head to the Amalfi Coast! I'm so thrilled we got to experience Venice! It's like nothing else!  It's impossible to imagine a city built on water without seeing it! It was the most crowded and most expensive place we've been, but it holds incredible beauty for water lovers like us!