I can't believe that it's been six years since we traveled to Italy. I've been meaning to update this blog with photos and details of the rest of the trip, but things have just gotten away from me. So here's a quick catch up.
On May 7th, Mary and I went by train first to Pompeii. We got there early with just a few tourist groups having arrived before us. Here's a shot of the main street from near the entrance.
Lots of very nice murals and statues inside of some of the houses that were open.
Evidently the bigger the penis, the richer the merchant. Is that why Elon Musk has 400 children?
After a half day at Pompeii we boarded the train again to travel on to Ercolano. Smaller than Pompeii but it seemed that the houses were much more open and in better shape than the ones we went through in Pompeii.
Two things stood out on this day, first while we were waiting on the train, a older lady who was in are car got a late start on exiting. Don't know if she didn't realize it was her stop but as she walked through the doors they suddenly closed catching her foot. These are very heavy doors and not easy to bump open. She fell and the train started moving. A gentlemen jumped to her aid but it didn't appear that he could get her get her foot loose. It was incredibly chaotic. Women screaming and the train did not stop for several hundred yards. We watched the news later than night and didn't see anything about the incident. All we could do is hope she was okay.
On our way back from Ercolano, we thought we were on the correct train (the tracks split at Pompeii) but as we got to the Pompei city stop a older gentleman looked at us and asked "Sorrento". I nodded and said "Si" and he goes "No Sorrento". Very kind of him to straighten us out. We got off quickly with a British couple (who's names I've forgotten) just before the doors closed. As it turned out the gentleman was nicer than the people at the ticket office who just basically pointed in a direction and that was it.
Turned out okay as we got to see downtown Pompei. Fairly easy to find the right direction and the four of us had a wonderful conversation and finally caught the right train back to Piano.
On May 8th we caught a bus destined for the Amalfi Coast. Our destination was Ravello, a hill town some 10 or so miles from Amalfi. The bus ride out from Sorrento was everything I remember from previous trips to the area. Hairpin curves with big buses made it exciting to say the least.
Once we got to Amalfi, the fun began. One would think that even though it was early May, that there wouldn't be all that many tourists. One would be wrong in that thinking. And one would think that the Italian tourist buses would have plenty of buses and room. Another wrong assumption.
As we walked along the streets of Amalfi, we ran into our British friends and had a good laugh about the previous day and running into each other.
We caught the bus to Ravello without any real issue, but it was crowded. Once in town we walked up to the main square, checked out the church and then explored some of the neighborhoods. After we walked thru a narrow plant covered lane, we ended up at the Hotel Caruso.
As you can see, they have a great patio with wonderful views of the sea. We had a glass of wine and some appetizers.
The way back to Sorrento was much more interesting due to the lack of buses. Both to Amalfi and on to Sorrento were absolutely packed and difficult to get on. On the last leg into town, when we finally got seats. Mary was sitting with a lady who spoke very good English from North Korea. I had no idea that North Koreans were allowed to leave the country to study abroad.
We ended the day with a nice meal in Sorrento at a restaurant that I had eaten a previous. The O'Parruccchiano La Favorita. It's a great place with glass enclosed rooms and a wonderful patio and our waiter was fabulous.
I had the Frutti Di Mare pasta, which was very yummy.
Off to Florence the next morning after a very nice week in Piano di Sorrento.
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