Home at Last!

Well, we got up this morning knowing that our comfy beds were waiting for us in Charlotte.  That in itself is enough to get me going.  I don't think I have mentioned how hard the mattresses are in Italy.  It doesn't matter what 'star' hotel you stay at....they are all the same.

We decided to take a cab back to the Termini to catch the Leonardo Express again.  We knew it would take us an extra 20-30 minutes, but it was worth it since we still had a couple of train rides left on our EuroRail pass.  We got through everything at the Termini and the airport without too much trouble.  The only trouble we had was dragging all the 'memorabilia' I acquired while in Italy.  :-)

Our trip back included a plane change in Philadelphia.  We had a direct flight going into Rome.  Well, one thing I didn't realize is that when you buy items that have the tourist tax added to them, you have to have them in your physical possession to get the custom stamp and get your money back.  I had all the forms and everything filled out, but no one told me that I had to have them with me.  We had checked most of the things except the tile.  I think we only lost about $50, but I could have used that $50!  Hey, I haven't had a Starbucks in 11 days!!

I am a bit tired as we have been up almost 24 hours, so I am going to try out my mattress and see if it is just how I remembered it.  If you aren't tired of following this, check back tomorrow evening and I will have the pictures up.  I don't have enough 'gas' left to do it tonight.

The Vatican

Well, it's almost time to go back to the grind. We have had a great trip. It's the first time that I have been on a vacation and really feel like I have done enough and I am ready to go home. We jumped on a train this morning to go back to Rome. One thing is for sure, if you are taking a train, you will be on time!! It's really amazing how efficient the whole system is.

Vatican at dusk

We are staying at the Adriatic Hotel that is right around the corner from the Vatican. Again, I booked this hotel because Frommers suggested it. It is a two star hotel and it has turned out to be a good place to stay. It's clean, good location, nice staff(only one person at a time...but hey) and cheap. We have a small room with two singles and a queen for 140 euro!! That is a deal. Has all the other extras that the better hotels had: hair dryer, soap, 4 shampoos (the expensive Salerno hotel only gave us two for 3 days!), linen towels and the best air conditioning we have had yet.  The only thing that it didn't have was a refrigerator, but the ones in the hotel didn't keep things that cool anyway....so no loss there.

One of the ceilings in Vatican

We had 'skip the line' tickets to see the Vatican. That worked out perfectly. The line was huge again, so it's nice to walk right by the line. We didn't do a tour and that worked great for us. Just walking through without reading all the history they have put for you took about an hour! It's amazing how they have you zig and zagging all through the museum on your way to the Sistine Chapel. There is so much to see and take in that you really need a couple of hours. One thing about Michaelangelo that I didn't know (actually I'm not all that well versed on Roman history) is that he was forced to paint the chapel! He had signed a contract for his his work but he thought it would be all sculpting. I won't go in to the whole story but google it and read about it. It's really interesting.

Ted on spiral staircase in Vatican

The boys were sleep deprived from getting in around 4am (normal for Italians) so they went right back to the hotel to take a nap. Ted and I walked around the area near and across the bridge from the Vatican. That's where all the expensive shops are!! We did mostly window shopping!! :-) Then back to the hotel for a quick nap. We got up and went to dinner and to see how the Vatican looked at night. It was beautiful.

Home tomorrow. So check back to see the pictures of our travels!! Thanks for going along with us!!

So Long to Salerno!

I know this is a late post for Friday but we just got in from having dinner!!! 12:09 am! The whole town was still alive and kicking when we left the restaurant. Even the small children were still up this late. I have fallen in love with their day to day life. The family is always together: school until 1 pm, home for lunch with all the family, father goes back to work at 3-3:30 and the kids are done for the day. However, they do go to school on Saturday too.

Carson, Pietro, Forrest & Salerno friends

We have had a great time discovering Salerno and visiting with Pietro's family. We want his younger brother, Francesco, to come to NC for school also. Pietro's whole family is wonderful. His father is a mechanic so Forrest has really enjoyed talking to him and checking out all the cars and trucks that he is fixing. Carson hasn't felt that great on the trip so we are thinking that he may have a gluten allergy. That is pretty much all you eat here with very little protein or green veggies in the diet. It's great food don't get me wrong, just way different.

We did a great job in the shopping department today also. Ted's really nice titanium glasses broke so fortunately Pietro's mom knew a local guy and he fixed them 'pronto'. Ted got two new frames for a great price. I ended up getting some cool sunglasses from the same guy. He gave us great prices and was extrememly kind and friendly. (uhmmm..pretty cute too!)

The boys went to a local water park so Ted and I just walked and walked and walked. We figure that we put in at least 10 miles today. It was great!  This area is beautiful. I dint think that you would ever get tired of walking around.

Tomorrow we are back to Rome for our last day. We hope to see the Vatican tomorrow afternoon.

Salerno, Amalfi and Positano

View off of our hotel balcony

Wow! When we woke up this morning and looked off our balcony....what a view! This coast is beautiful. It is not flat like Myrtle Beach. There are gorgeous mountains where there is literally just a drop off from the mountain into the ocean. The sand is a grey/black with lots of larger rocks mixed in with the sand.

Almalfi coastline from ferry

We met our exchange student and his family and walked from our hotel down just a couple of blocks to catch a ferry to Positano and Amalfi. It was an amazing ride. Carson said it was his

Ted relaxing on ferry

favorite thing to see so far. You pass many small towns that are embedded on the side of these mountains. Each one having its own basilica whose dome/steeple can be seen over the whole town. I don't see how these people built these amazing buildings. You wonder how they haven't slipped off the side of the cliff. One hotel had an elevator built on the side of the mountain to take it's guests down to the beach. The Frommer's book of Italy suggested driving down the Amalfi coast but my vote goes for the ferry. There is no way that you can put into words what you see from the boat. So, it is impossible to see this from a car or a tour bus.

We got off at Positano first. It is known for it's pottery mostly but also it's lemons. They are the size of a big peach! I had already bought the pottery that I wanted in Florence, so I was a little worried that I might find something I liked better. Anyway, I decided to go to a shop that the Frommer's 'Born to Shop Italy' suggested: Ceramica Assunta. Well, don't buy there. We stopped at a little shop on the way up to Assunta called Emporio della Ceramica and it was much better. Prices at Assunta were higher and the quality and choices were not that good. Emporio's owner was very friendly and he had more unique pieces. His tables were to die for...OMG! The quality of the pieces was better at Emporio also. I ended up buying a small scene to put in the kitchen as a back splash.

Another town along the Amalfi coast

We got the best fresh lemon slushies here also. YUM! We walked around a little more and toured the local basilica which was beautiful. After that, we headed back to the beach to catch the ferry back to Amalfi. The ferrys leave about every hour at about 15 after the hour.

Basilica in Positono

Amalfi is another charming town on the side of these mountains. You see right away that it attracts more upscale visitors. Frommer's Italy book says that these towns are appealing to the rich and famous because of their inaccessibility to the masses! Our local family that we were with knew a restaurant owner so we stopped there for our lunch. They had the best bruschetta that I have ever eaten. You could choose from several different kinds. One of which even included tuna! After that, we went to a shoe shop that was owned by our new friends' aunt. She gave me a great discount on some shoes for my granddaughter, Hollins!  The boys then went to try out the ocean. It was pretty cold but a great relief from the sun and most importantly...from shopping.

Positano beach area

While they were swimming, I checked out some of the shops with all the gorgeous linen pants, dresses and blouses. They were incredible and were incredibly high priced. I skipped the linen
because it wasn't really any cheaper than in the US: better choices though.  They had some very unique tops and dresses, but I wasn't in the market for those things. Amalfi also had wonderful handmade sandals. You can basically pick out which one you like and then the guy will make them in 30 minutes. I didn't get to this shop in time to wait for him to make them, so I couldn't get any sandals. Next trip!

The breathtaking views are endless

We caught the ferry again back to Selarno. We saw some windsurfers around which were fun to watch. Our boys and Pietros' family went back to Pietro's house and tools us ti he ready at 7:30. We were having supper at their house. Pietro's father came to pick us up and we began our long winding trip up the mountain to their house. There were so many narrow winding streets that I got a bit carsick on the way up. There town was really neat and you can sea the water from their house. Pietro's dad has his car mechanics shop under the house. It was really neat. The first floor had Pietro's aunt and uncle on it and then the second and third floor belongs to Pietro's family. We had a great meal which of course included appetizer, first plate(usually pasta), second plate(usually meat) and then dessert. The meat was a chicken dish that was made by Pietro's grandma who raised and killed the chicken!! Pietro's grandparents were delightful. It's been really nice getting a glimpse of how a local lives and survives.

Basilica in Amalfi...beautiful!

Still wishing u could get pictures up, but no internet yet to try. the only bummer is that we can't go to Capri because the seas aren't calm enough. Well, we could go but we couldn't get into the Blue Grotto, so it's not worth going for us.

Tomorrow we are at the mercy of our local family, so remarkably...we don't have a thing planned! Surprise...surprise.

Tip of the day, you can buy Frommer's Italy guide but don't bother with the shopping counterpart. I have found several things that I don't agree with so just go explore and find your own shops. That's more fun anyway!

Trivia about Michelangelo's David!

Okay...so picture this in your mind...the famous statue of David. You remember the guy right?
David who killed the Philistine giant in the Bible! The 17 feet tall, curly hair, and naked body David! Well, guess what I found out today about David? You see that he is holding one thing in each hand. I always thought the pebble was in his right hand and the slingshot in his left. Wrong! He is holding the handle and strap for the slingshot in his right hand and the pebble in his left. The real secret though is that when you walk behind him, the slingshot leather is draped around his back! I didn't realize how long the strap was on his slingshot. I have always pictured the kind of slingshot that you get Woolworth's and buy for $1. You know, maybe a wooden gismo shaped like a 'U' with a little piece of leather attached to a piece of rubber tubing. :-)
After seeing the length of the leather strap and knowing how small the pebble probably was, you understand even further how God had his hand on the whole situation. It would be so hard to whip the pebble around and be so accurate as to hit the giant in the head so perfectly to knock the him down...and with the first stone.  Cool huh?!

(no pictures here....you are not allowed to take pictures in this museum)

(R-L)  Carson, Forrest, Pietro

After our tour, we headed for Salerno. It is a southwestern coastal town. The boys friend,Pietro, met us with his family at the train station. We went and had dinner and we were back at the hotel by 11:30pm!! People eat so late here...and they eat sooo much. We had an appetizer, a first plate(usually some kind of pasta dish) and then a second plate(meat or fish)and finally dessert! You go to sleep right after that and then get up 7 hours later and start the whole eating thing all over again. Not to mention the Gelatos that you eat in between that. The most amazing thing is, is that you look around and they are all skinny!

I thought I had figured out a way to get some pictures posted by using my iPad,but the hotel Internet doesn't work at night. Check back tomorrow and I'll try again.

Pietro's brother, dad and mom

CIAO!

FOOTNOTE:  We weren't able to make it to Greve in Chianti.  I'm really disappointed about that,  but
                         we will just have to make that a priority next time.

The Mona Lisa

No, we didn't see the Mona Lisa but we did stay at the Mona Lisa...does that count? :-)

On our walk to the train station today, I discovered a quaint pottery shop around the corner from the hotel. OMG! The wares in there were beautiful and the lady making and painting these was about 70(or more possibly). On the way back this afternoon, I had to stop and support this little old lady!! If I didn't buy anything from her, she may not eat next week!  I am expecting my spoils late August. Come by and see me and we will have a party. :-)

Stairway in Pisa Tower

We took a quick ride on the train to Pisa. I don't think words can express the breathtaking view that is in front of you as you round the corner to the tower. It's amazing. I never knew that it is just part of a cathedral that is an amazing structure in itself.

Top or Pisa

Again from my Frommer's book, I was able to reserve a time to climb the tower and 'skip the line'. It worked like a charm. The plaza was swarmed with people all trying to get a time to climb the tower. When we walked up at 1:30, the sign said that they had times to climb after 7:30 pm!! People just have to sit and wait just for that 20 minute opportunity to go to the top!! It was such an experience! As you start to climb, you feel like you are on a boat that is listing. As you get closer to the top, the stairwell gets narrower and narrower. If I was any bigger, I'm not sure that I would have fit!!

Ted and I climbing to the top

It started to rain after we were down, but that was okay because I got a Pisa umbrella out of the deal!! :-) We headed back to Florence but made the mistake of getting on the locals train, so it took us an extra 30 minutes to get back. That was okay though because we got to see more of the mountainous area. One of the neatest things still is the field after field of sunflowers. It would be like riding through Iowa and seeing sunflowers instead of corn. They bow their heads all together when it is cloudy or getting darker. It was cloudy today so they were bowing for us as we passed by!!

Mona Lisa with a kitty

Smoking Mona

Oh...one thing about this hotel, they have pictures of the Mona Lisa all over doing all kinds of things...even smoking a cigarette. It's pretty funny.

We have another 'skip the line' tour tomorrow. This time to see the statue of David. After that we are going to try to get to Greve in Chianti. I guess that you can figure that one out!
After that, we are off to Salerno.

Why Salerno you ask? The boys had a friend, Pietro, this past year at school. Pietro is from Salerno. Carson and Forrest will be staying with him for a few days before we go back to Rome for our last day of Italy!  Also, Salerno is right at the beginning of the Amalfi coast.

(sorry for any errors...I am having to do these last few by phone because I have no wi-fi here)

Last Day in Venice...On to Florence

Venice has been fun but there really is limited stuff to do...except of course shopping could go on forever if you have a big enough wallet!! Did you know that there are over 400 bridges in Venice? It's really pretty neat to be walking down some narrow alley and all of a sudden you come upon a bridge.  Some bridges may be only be 5-10 steps and then you are across.

Got our water bus back to the train station and then we were off to Florence. The trains are wonderful except for one thing...the bathrooms are disgusting. Whatever you do, pay the .80 Euro to use the toilet/water closet at the train station.  :-)

When arriving in Florence, we walked out of the train station and you could see to the right the most amazing cathedral that I have ever seen. It was the Basilica of Santa Maria. It is breath taking. The tiles used are colored, so from the outside it looks like what you might see on the inside. Supposedly it has the largest brick dome in the world. Can't wait to see the inside.

One more new tip on traveling: get international service on your iPhone or other type of smart
phone. Why you ask? It is your very best way to navigate through the cities. Even with the local maps that your hotel will give you, it can be difficult to understand the road system.  Taxi drivers are on strike here so instead of waiting in at least a 30-40 minute taxi queue, we decided to use our phone GPS and walk to the hotel. It worked great!

Okay, I won't be as long winded today. It's 12:10 am here and we just finished dinner at 11:00 pm!! The cities come alive around 8:30 pm. Tomorrow we are off to climb the Leaning Tower of Piazza.

Ciao!