Good to be back

Well, the trip is over. It was fun but it really makes you appreciate the good things we have here at home like driving rules (dmv may not be so bad after all) and sand on the beach. One nice thing we found in Rome was the airport. There is a train which takes 30 minutes from the city to the airport and once in the airport from the train to our gate took 20 minutes! It may have been a light travel day, but it was super quick. Coming through JFK took us 40 minutes through customs because they flagged me for search. Ridiculous security theater.
Anyway, the trip was good and we wouldn't have changed it.

Catholic cash machine

We woke up a little later today and had a nice breakfast with cappucino in the hotel. We relaxed a little after breakfast as our Vatican reservations were for noon. We hopped on the metro at Termini and it made it to the Vatican stop in about 5 minutes and then we had maybe a 10 minute walk from there to the Vatican entrance. There was no one in the guided tour line; however, when we got to the group meetup point, there were over 30 of us. The tour turned out to be pretty good, cutting through some of the more uninteresting stuff and getting to the meat of the collection like the Raphael room and the Sistine Chapel both very awesome. The chapel was packed with people. We found out there were 10,000 visitors to the vatican museum that day (and that it was a light day). At an average of 10e per person that's like 100,000e per day. The popes are pretty smart to realize capitalizing on collectibles is a good way to keep the gears turning. After the Sistine Chapel, we went into St Peter's church which was massive. After touring the church, we went out to the square and saw where the pope will have his audience tomorrow. It was about 3 and we hadn't had lunch. So, we set out and grabbed the 40 bus to Campo de Fiori. We found a cool little bar that served up dozens of different sandwiches. The sandwiches (Jadine had a turkey and I had smoked ham) and beer were good, but it started raining while we were eating and the temp dropped. Jadine ordered a cup of hot chocolate and that's what they served - melted milk chocolate very thick and quite good. We caught a break in the rain and found a shop that could sell Jadine a scarf. Then, we resumed our walk over to Piazza Nuvola where the 4 rivers fountain was unfortunately closed. From here we kept walking through the sights (pantheon, stolen egyptian obilisk, column commemorating Augustus) until we came to a mall. Jadine was feeling shopping withdrawal and we stopped into Zara where Jadine bought a couple sweaters. After shopping, we made our way to the Trevi fountain. The fountain was fantastic - like something you'd see in Vegas but this was the real deal. We tossed our coins into the fountain. We went onto the Spanish Steps and to the subway this time a little earlier (just before 9). We made it to our hotel stop and had dinner near the hotel at a restaurant with terrible service and ok food (we ordered basil dishes and only got at most a leaf). Maybe not the best note to end on but maybe that was the Trevi fountain's way of ensuring that we come back and find better spots in Rome.

Rick Steves in half a day

The plan today was to take a boat ride to Naples and a taxi to the station; however the wind had kicked up and suspended boat travel. So, we had to quickly get ready to catch the 9:30 bus. The buses in Italy are a mess - everyone scrambles to whatever bus pulls in and checks with the driver which way it is headed. We found our bus which apparently everyone else in Amalfi wanted because it was packed and we had to stand. The road out of Amalfi is too narrow in parts for 2 buses to get by so there were several times when our bus got jammed and the bus uphill would have to pull back. After a 2 hour winding bus ride (dramamine and fresh air from open windows helped) we made it to the Circumvesuviana station. We caught the 12:07 train and got to Naples around 1:15. We found our 1:48 train to Rome and hopped on board. We found out the train's snack car doesn't open until the train starts moving (some enterprising individuals took advantage of this fact and sold snacks baseball park style through the train aisles). We grabbed a mediocre ham and cheese sandwich and a eggplant panino and some pringles for lunch on the train. We arrived in Rome around 3:15 and walked to the hotel (about 10 minutes from the train station). We checked in, freshened up, and headed out for Rick Steves forum walk. We first walked to the Colosseum. It was so impressive in person Jadine suggested we go inside. To get inside it's 11e per person, but it's pretty cool to stroll through it and imagine its glory days and the centuries of vandalism and decay afterwards. After the colosseum, we strolled through the roman forum and saw Julius Caesar's funeral pyre spot and the ruins of ancient rome. It was just about 7 (when they actually close the forum) when we hopped on the metro for Rick Steves spanish steps walk. The metro is convenient, but the ticket system is a little odd - there are machines available to purchase the tickets but they are slow or broken or don't accept the currency you have. The tabacchi shops are where to go really - they sell all the metro tickets. In any case, we made it up to the Piazza del Poppolo where they had a band playing and some circus performers. It seemed like a nice place but full of tourists and where there's tourist in Rome, there are thieves. So, we continued the walk seeing all the shops along the Corso until we reached the Spanish Steps. The steps were less impressive in person than on the big screen and a lot more crowded, but still a very nice spot to hang out and enjoy the night. We went to the nearby Rick Steves recommended Ristornate il Gabriello. It was a little hard to find as it is below street level but it was a good find as the food was excellent. We had a very tasty bruschetta, Jadine had spaghetti with clams followed by mussels, and I had pasta with prawns followed by a steak and lettuce salad. By the time we finished, it was a little after 9:30 and we were tired from the day so we headed to the nearby metro station which as luck would have it was closed (Rome's metro stinks like that). Luckily there's a cab stop nearby and the ride back to the hotel was only a couple extra euros than taking the metro. Tomorrow sees us at the Vatican.

Blue grotto mandolino

We got up early today so as to catch the first boat to Capri. We grabbed the prepackaged food from the hotel breakfast and headed for the pier. I decided to take a dramamine this morning and pack one for the return so as not to repeat yesterday's motion sickness fun. And it was a good thing I took it, because the sea was angry today, my friend, like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli. We took the jet boat (LMP company) which got us to Capri in an hour (around 9:45). At the dock, we found the 30 ft boat that would take us to the grotto. About 15 or so people were on the boat as it made its way from the marina to the grotto. Once there all the little rowboats started rowing over to us, but the capitan and the head grotto guy stopped them from taking people from our boat (I guess to wait for the other boat to unload first). After about 10 minutes, we hopped in one of the dinghies along with another couple and the boatsman rowed (standing) us over to the cashier where we payed the entrance fee. Then we were rowed to the entrance just big enough for the dinghy and maybe only 3 feet high from sea level. there is a chain here where after timing at the trough of a swell the boatsman pulls us into the grotto. Once insdie the sight is amazing. The bluest blue I've seen. All the dinghies are hanging out inside and some of the capitans are singing, it's all a little bit nutty like a disneyland ride. When we made our way back the sea had picked up and the entrance was being covered by swells quite frequently. After waiting in line for a few minutes, our boat slipped back out and we got back on the return boat. This was my mistake. Rick Steves says the best plan is to skip the return boat and go direct to Anacapri on land from the little dock at the grotto. I missed reading that and we went back to the marina. It was lunchtime now and thinking that probably the worst restaurants would be on the marina, I started walking in the direction the signs pointed to the city center. Mistake #2. The walk from the marina to Capri is a long uphill walk. They didn't build a cable car here for nothing. After a lot of stairs we reached a little Trattoria that didn't look open because the staff were all sitting at a table eating, but they welcomed us in. This turned our fortune as the food was excellent (caprese salad with fresh mozarella and a wood fired pizza marinara). The seating was excellent, in a patio area with a fantastic view of the bay of Naples. One of the other customers, who came in after us and was sitting a couple tables over, turned out to be a mandolin player. One of the chefs had been sitting out in the patio as well and goaded the old mandolin player into playing a couple Italian folk songs. It was pretty cool stuff. After lunch, we made it to Capri Town and walked around some of the shops. Jadine found a coral/turquoise shop that had some nice but expensive jewelry. We took a bus over to Anacapri to try to ride the chairlift, but it started raining and they shut it down. Jadine found another jewelry shop selling turquoise, but it was not as good quality so we skipped it. We hopped on the next bus to Capri Town which was packed. As it was getting late, we took the funicular down to the marina and got our tickets for the "jet" to Amalfi. The port was a mess with people most of who were heading to Sorrento. One interesting thing is we ran into the same people on the way back as on the way to Capri. These guys were really on top of things calling just before reaching port to get picked up to go out again. Back in Amalfi, we decided to go back to the same restaurant we went to the first night. This time we ordered primi piattis instead of the secondis we had the first night. Jadine got a tasty seafood risotto, I had some pasta with eggplant which I've forgotton how it tasted, but the highlight for me was the desserts and wine. We got parmesan with pear and honey and the local speciality, lemon cake. The cheese was good with the honey and the cake was moist and tasty. We had an Orvieto wine (a whole bottle so the rest of the night was a bit of a blur for me). Tomorrow sees us leaving this quiet little town heading to the largest city in Italy.

Little town slow down

We got up a little later today and made it down to the hotel breakfast around 9:30. It was fairly crowded with tourists from all countries (the little Amalfi town is all tourism and so far the people here have been fluent in english and willing to speak it - a much different approach to foreigners than their big city urban compatriates). Turned out the food was pretty lousy - milk, yogurt, meats were left out not chilled, there was a bug in the cereal - not good. After eating the prepackaged stuff we decided to head down to the "beach." The hotel has a section of the harbor for themselves in which they put a dock covered it in artificial turf and set up chairs and umbrellas. We sat down there and watched the people swimming in the water next to the docked motorboats (water was still kind of clear). Around 1, we headed out for lunch. We sat down at the first sandwich shop which turned out to be a (my) bad idea. I ordered a salami and artichoke sandwich and Jadine got a caprese sandwich (edible but not so great). We left the shop heading for the hotel, but first stopping at an internet point so that we could book the train tickets to Rome. Luckily, on the way back to the hotel, we ran into a pastry shop (Andrea Pansa's) to make up for the lousy lunch. We grabbed a delicious lemon cake and ate it on the pier. We decided to relax and head over to one of the public beaches a little later. While relaxing in the hotel room, we read about the nearby town Atrani in Rick Steves guide. We decided to go there. Following the Rick Steves instructions, we traversed the sidwalk until it ended and went up some stairs; however, it wasn't just some stairs -- it was a lot of stairs. Turned out to be a bit of a hike, but there were some great views. Amazingly, we ran into some older folks who seemed to have no troubles with the stairs (my guess some kind of Darwinian thing - all the people who hated the stairs moved away). We reached Atrani and it was just as described a nice town with a beach and no tourists - actually eeriely so. With only locals around and no one in the water, it seemed a little wrong for us to go in. In any case we stuck our feet in. The water was warm. We were getting a little hungry so we headed back to Amalfi this time along the road like everyone else (the Rick Steves way is nice but a little impractical). We first went to the supermarket and picked up some water, milk, and a snack. Then we found a nice restaurant next door. We ended up getting one of the best meals here (in the Piazza dei Dogi). We had eggplant parmesan, artichoke and mushroom salad, and spaghetti alla bolognese. At the end of our meal, we found out the waitress was going to Japan on a work exchange program as they were hosting some one from Osaka right now. We told her about our trip and met the lady from Japan. Amazingly, the people at the restaurant speak english so well (from a town that has maybe 10000 residents)! This small town with its major tourist pulse still has quite a bit of charm. Tomorrow we're off to Capri.

Italy through a glass window

We got up extra early today so as not to miss our train. We had breakfast, checked out, and took a cab ride to the station. The internet reservation for the train tickets worked out well. You get a number through email and when you get to the station you enter the number in the self service machine and you're ticket is printed. Our train got in a little late so we had to wait some time in the station. Our seats on the train, 74 & 75, were diagonal from each other (the train is set up with four seats around a table). The lady next to me asked me in pretty good english would I like to change seats with her so that I could sit across from Jadine, which was nice of her. Afterwards, Jadine asked if the trains in Italy usually run late, but now she couldn't understand and kept looking at us puzzled. The guy across from her now launches into some joke about Americans and they have a laugh. I gave them the stink eye -- we'll see who has the last laugh. The guy on the train proceeds to hit on the girl asking her what her favorite number is and what her favorite fruit is -- wow is this where romance originated? At some point, she becomes disinterested, though. She leaves the train at Rome and he has no way to contact her -- too bad. Anyway, the scenery from the train is nice and we make it to Naples about 12:15. We pick up the Circumvesuviana tickets and head out onto the streets of Naples with luggage in tow. There is a TI booth in the station where we picked up a map but it didn't have the street with the Rick Steves recommended pizzeria. The streets of Naples during the day near the train station are like the sketchy areas of new york -- full of con artists and people selling ripoffs. The Rick Steves pizzeria was not looking close and we stopped at a pizzeria where the waiter was standing outside. Jadine ordered a Margherita and I ordered a Diavola (salami and crushed red pepper). The pizzas were good and the service was not so great. Some old lady sitting next to us was crooning some song while sucking down a pack of cigarettes (seems everyone smokes in Italy). We paid and went back to the train station. After a half an hour wait, our train pulled in. We hopped on board the graffiti riddled train (the grafitti actually worked to our advantage as it provided shade for the hot sun). After about an hour on the local train, we made it to Sorrento. The Sorrento bus stop proved challenging as there were several buses and no clear indication which was the one we (our any of the other travelers) wanted. Finally, under constant pressure from the disgruntled customers, the bus driver caved and put up his sign -- bus to Amalfi leaves at 4:30. We picked up our tickets from the snack shop along with an overpriced (3e) Powerade and waited. The bus got going on time and started along a very scenic, yet extremely winding road (hairpins similar to those we rode near Nikko on the way back from Kegon Falls). After an hour of it, I couldn't take much more and had a "What About Bob?" on the bus moment (false alarm). We made it (I still a little green) to Amalfi at 6 and our hotel was a short 5 minute walk away. We checked in and then, after my brain caught back up that the ground was no longer moving out from under me, we headed out for dinner. We took a look at several menus along the sea sidewalk and decided on one serving a spinach salad which appealed to Jadine. The place turned out really well. We had the spinach salad, a baked fish, and a house special fish cooked in a light tomato sauce. The house fish is prepared in a way which we also saw done at the Naples restaurant where it is cooked whole and then filleted tableside. After dinner, we did a little exploring and got some limone sorbetto and amaretto gelato at a little shop on the main drag. We returned to the hotel weary from the day's travels.

Giardini

We started early today with breakfast in the hotel, which included a cappucino and hot chocolate. It's been a week now and we were ready to do some laundry. We found a laundromat near the hotel and loaded up the washer and went next door to an internet café. We ordered the train tickets for tomorrow's trip to Naples online. Then while the laundry was drying, we walked around Florence. We were in the leather district and went to a leather school nearby. Everything seemed of not the best quality and was rather expensive. All the store salespeople spoke English well, probably because the area was frequented by many American tour groups. We grabbed the laundry hot from the dryer put it in the backpack and dropped it off at the hotel. We had lunch near the hotel at a restaurant called La Grotta Guelfa. Jadine ordered the pasta carbonara which was speghetti in a heavy butter sauce with pancetta. I had Le Pappardelle which was fresh pasta sheets in oil with tomatoes. We also ordered a half bottle of rose which was quite a bit better than the by the glass wines we have had. After lunch we crossed the Arno on the Ponte Vecchio and saw the little gold and silver shops that lined both sides of the bridge. We made our way to the Pitti Palace and bought tickets to the Boboli and Bardini gardens. The Boboli gardens were massive. There were some good views of Florence from atop the gardens. The Bardini gardens was a rather confusing walk from the Boboli gardens but we found it. The Bardini gardens were nicer and less crowded but harder to walk around as they were steeper. After the gardens our legs were pretty tired and we headed back to the hotel. We stopped at a gelato place and got a small cup of stracciatella and frutti di bosca which was very tasty. We got back to the hotel about 6:30 and got ready for dinner -- this time we would try the Rick Steves recommend Osteria di Porcellina. After getting ready and on the way down to the lobby, we met a guy from Arizona here with his wife. He let us know that a taxi to the train station is a good way to go when we leave tomorrow. The restaurant had decent food and not so great service. The waiter got our order wrong. We ordered salmon carpaccio but got beef, which was OK because the beef carpaccio tasted pretty good. We also got a steak in peppercorn sauce which also was pretty good. Overall we were not that impressed, the lunch spot was better. The final note on florence is that it has some old world charm mixed with new world commerce but with a little bit of a touristy feel.