carter & linda blog: September 2019

We rise early - a little after 6am - for the trip to Naples. This is a bus journey - not sure what I was thinking but it was definitely "interesting". The intent, once across the Arno River, is to flag a cab but the 5km road to the bus station (where I had intended on getting the cab) is one way the wrong way!! We decide to walk as far as we can and somehow we manage to walk the entire route - bags and all! I'm thinking Linda could sherpa in Nepal, no problem! (total walk with bags - 8km)!!!......Once we board the bus, we are happy to watch the world roll by from the front seat of FlixBus Salerno 543....we pass Rome and the countryside transforms......We arrive in Naples which must be Italian for New York....OMG!....so many cars not moving!..we are quite happy for hotel checkin, shower, pizza then bed! First day is the Amalfi Coast in a nice Mercedes van with a couple from Virginia Beach - Mark & Tracy although I called him Mike all day and nobody intervened!!!.....people seem to be lowering their expectations for me and I am fine with that!......besides being our first long term exposure to the Mediterranean, Amalfi is spectacular at so many levels - Big Sur has some competition on the coastal nature side...also, building communities on this coast is an incredible accomplishment....once back at the hotel we are excited for our reunion with Jessica.....Day 2 we meet Jess at the train station....what an amazing feeling watching her emerge from Metro Centrale and greeting each other in Garibaldi Square....I really don't have words that describe it....our world got a little bigger and a lot more beautiful for sure!.....we all head down to the Port of Napoli to wander, catch up, have some antipasto and maybe find a pizza.....Naples is pretty wild in a way - the vibe from one small section to another changes dramatically....we are fascinated by the many facets of this city that we observe in our limited little walk......Napoli - city of mystery and home of Tony Saprano (friend of our bus driver).........tomorrow Sardinia.....tonight we celebrate!

Hey!!....first night in Naples - doesn't matter how tired you are!.....pizza

1st look at the Amalfi Coast ahead....that is Positano below and the Positano Beach (little diamond on the shoreline)...Positano is 100% resort with an allocated month of owner occupation once a year....tres international!...like Brad & Angela had a hotel there before the "grande splitterino"!!

Whoever can explain how that car got there (in the middle not the ones above it) wins a week working at Brad & Angela's hotel......

we think it is one of those flying cars like in the James Bond movies....did we win??

So this is Jack Lemon's cousin Antonio Lemon or Sour Tony as he prefers to be called....

This is Mark & Tracy from Virginia Beach (pretty close to Sonova Beach).....our fellow Amalfi explorers.......

Leaving Positano.......

Seriously - room for 2 buses and a pack of cigarettes!!....glad I'm not driving!

What I would give to spend a week here with a wide angle camera!!!

influence of the occupation of the Moors.....

Just plain WOW!!

well if they need a little help, I think I can handle this boat!!

Linda just found out that they don't need any help!

I wish we had seen more of these old traditional working boats - been around forever....so cool!

any agriculture (lemon trees, grapes, tomatoes, olives, etc.) are terraced above and below properties...seriously, the fitness of these folks is phenomenal - gotta bring the lemons up 12 levels for market!!.....yoiks!

2 elephants that reached across the waterway to touch - permanently connected to each other - a beautiful Amalfian folk story depicted in the natural rock.....

Moorish castle from 1000+ years gone by!

behind Amalfi the hills are developed to provide greater protection from invaders....Ravello is on top of these hills.....

I just love the colour of the Mediterranean Sea.......

not to mention the town!!

we wind up in Ravello and wander through the streets.....

what is this cat up to??

what is THIS cat up to???

Linda watches for invaders on the Bay of Salerno - on the hill in the distance you can make out the silhouette of The Sleeping Giant......time to head home!

Garibaldi Square from our hotel room - the action here never stops! (no, I don't mean our hotel room....OMG!)

Finally - Jessica has arrived - we walk down to Castel St. Elmo in the port area......

after some amazing antipasto we wander through Piazza Plebiscito......

the Umberto Galleria

Next stop, Sardinia.........

So after winding our way through the cobbled lanes of Orvieto we hit the open road for Forence. We travel through the Val d'Orcia hoping for stunning Tuscany views but BC has definitely spoiled us......very interesting, golden rolling hills, cypress lined driveways.....best to get into Florence in reasonable time........somehow we know that there will be some challenges - we are learning!!......after the usual driving anxieties we end up at a GPS spot with no Hertz.....Linda spots an Avis sign and goes over to the doorway which sends Avis customers further up the road.....once again as we get close to the Avis place, Linda spots a ramp up into a garage with Avis, Hertz and a couple of other car rental companies - Linda does it again!.....so happy to hand the keys over to the rep!.....Florence is lovely and our first day starts with a climb up into Brunelleschi's dome and up the Campanile bell tower followed by wandering....day 2 starts with the Uffizi Gallery then wandering......Florence is not quite as busy as Rome otherwise very similar - narrow cobblestone streets, lots of traffic and incredible architecture everywhere.....the food is amazing!

too many pictures of the Duomo but, wow, what an amazing place!.....