Post #24: Naples (Sorry about the formatting!!!)

Docking at Naples
Boarding Salvatore’s van
Mt. Vesuvius from two directions
View down the coast

Views going down the Amalfi coast

Not too many helmets worn in Italy

Coming into Amalfi
Amalfi
Lemoncello shop
Shop where we got the tile

View when we parked to go to lunch
Walking up the alley to the restaurant
Views from the restaurant
My lemoncello (one from cantelope)

Our guide Franco at Pompeii
The outside of Pompeii
A typical road with stepping stones
Chariot ruts
A tourist with Franco

In a bakery (baked goods found in ovens)
Shop lined streets
Typical shop
A very nice house with indoor garden/fountain

A poor soul that didn’t make it.

Many things just in storage.

Saying goodbye to Salvatore (Steve and Chris)

Vesuvius from our balcony at ‘sail away’

It was nice getting the hour back last night
Had the alarm set at 8:00am to meet for our tour at 9:00am
But was awake by 6:30.
Got the morning coffee at Aqua Spa then back up later for breakfast
Had fun taking pictures as we were docking
Met Steve’s group of four and Rich/Lynn at the dock
Walked to meet our driver, Salvatore
Nice Mercedes van.
He was talking about things right out of the chute.
Very informative
Had a head set so sound came from speakers…easy to hear.
Due to the crowds we saved Pompeii for last
Naples is a very large city
Lots of traffic and industrial areas
Drove down the coast to Amalfi
Mt. Vesuvias visible most of the time
as we drove to the start of the Coast drive.
Stopped at several ‘scenic turnouts’ for pictures.
Island of Capri could be seen in distance
Pronounced CAP-ree, not kuh-PREE
The roads are just as discussed and visualized…
Meaning narrow, crowded, with steep drop offs
An Italian, talking with his hands,
driving a stick shift and talking on the cell phone
certainly added to the excitement!!!
Beautiful drive. We all had fun.
Stopped at the ‘village’ of Amalfi and shopped…cute place.
Bought a colorful tile and a decorative lemoncello bottle
Continued our journey.
Had lunch in a fabulous restaurant up a canyon with a great view.
Caprese salad, Pizza, wine, 3 kinds of pasta, dessert, and lemoncello
The Italians love: mozzarella cheese, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar
And pizza…oh, and did I mention wine (and lemoncello?)
With four of the 8 being non-drinkers
meant more Lemoncello for me!
Pompeii…Great guide (Franco’s family is what he called us)
Pompei was very impressive. A heck of a lot bigger than we thought
Similar to Ephesus in that we could see a complete town and how they lived
Franco was very knowledgeable, fun, and really added to the experience
Imagine if a city like Walnut Creek, Ca. had the same thing happen today
And years from now it was excavated…yup, like that.
When we left Pompeii,
Salvatore drove like crazy to make it back in time
Traffic can be bad between Pompeii and Naples.
If there had been an accident we would have been sunk
Pun intended
Made it back at 6:30pm…1 ½ hour to spare
Met Rich and Lynn for a drink before dinner…I detect a pattern.
Only four of us for dinner...others ate at the Ocean Café.
Good thing, we were duds (very tired)
Off to bed early to pack for the next two days.
Had the balcony door open as the ship’s sound is soothing.
Just as we were settling down to turn off the lights
A bird flew into the cabin (looked like a finch…not very big).
They must get under the ‘eaves’ while in port.
Scared JB, she thought it was a bat…pulled covers over head
I was cracking up chasing it around the cabin ‘hearding’ it outside
And I never even thought to try to take a picture!
Can we relax NOW! We had to try…
Need to get up early to catch the 8:02 train into Rome (from Civitavecchia)