Tuesday

Shuttle at 6 to FCO. FCO to LHR right over London. You can see 'The Eye' in the bottom photo, right of center.

LHR to ORD. Had 2-5 seat rows all to ourselves. Watched Spotlight and Truth and napped. ORD to TUS. Shuttle to car. Car to La Quinta. Head on bed 12:00 midnight. 26 hours.

Tucson to Silver City. Home sweet home at 10:30 AM Wednesday.

Monday

Got up early and packed, had breakfast, paid with a 5 percent discount for cash. These off season rates are great and the weather has been pretty good. 60-70 degree days 50 at night, only a few rainy days and then for just a short while. It really couldn't have been a better trip...except for the broken arm and tendonitis in my knee for the last few days, and blisters on Steve's feet. Steve was a real trooper through all this. Schlepping our bags on train rides and up steps, fetching ice, slowing his pace for me. Can't say enough about the Italian people either. So nice, helpful, friendly even giving up a seat on a Metro because of my arm in a sling. They really do have a joy of life we Americans could learn from. I think their political system is so insane all of the time that they just don't get caught up in it like we do. No 24 hour news announcing what someone else thinks is important or how we should feel about things. Their focus is more on family and enjoying what is in front of them at that moment whether that is art, food, friends or a tourist asking for directions. So yes we enjoyed this trip immensely!
We boarded the Cicumvesuviana train and since it originates in Sorrento we took a 4 top for our suitcases, that wouldn't fit in the overhead area, and us. By the time we reached Naples the train was once again packed full and someone was sitting where my suitcase had been.  Crazy! We got to Naples early and got our tickets to Rome changed to the next one. Bought some more Lindt chocolate and waited for the platform number to appear on the board. This train has assigned seats so that was really nice and our luggage fit above us. Once in Rome we got the Leonardo da Vinci train to FCO airport. People farm along the tracks. All sorts of vegetables and the ubiquitous, huge artichokes. Got lucky and only waited a few minutes for the shuttle to our hotel in Fuimicino. The hotel was basic but the price was right and the shuttle only cost 6 euros each one way. Our hotelier gave us a map of Fuimicino and described all of the local restaurants, markets, bars etc. Since we hadn't eaten all day except for breakfast and a snack and it was almost 3 we headed to the bar for a sandwich and beer. Walked down by the coast, huge freighters going out to sea. Got some olives and beer at the market and went back to the hotel for a nap. Dinner was very Italian. Pizza and Bolognese, wine and bread. We were definitely the only Americans in the place. Back home by way of the sea view and in bed early.

The Almafi Coast

Our last day before we begin the journey home was spent on a bus ride down the coast to Amalfi. We began with breakfast at the hotel where we talked for quite a while with a Canadian couple. They had traveled to many interesting places and were going to the Isle of Capri for the day. We caught our bus, sat on the right and enjoyed the view.

You can see on this map Sorrento on the north side of the peninsula. The road crosses to the southern coast, passes through Positano and on to Amalfi. The scenery was incredible and the bus driver well practiced in the art of close calls. 

Leaving Sorrento

Olives and Lemons

Some near misses

Positano

 We wandered through Almafi and finally settled in for a nice lunch.

Hung out at the harbor for a while before we boarded our bus back to Sorrento.

And don't mind us, we've only been waiting half an hour for these bus drivers to finish their heated (oh that's right they're Italian, they just look heated) conversation.

We disembarked in Sorrento, used the 50 cent toilets and walked up Corso Italia. The Sunday Dolce Vita Stroll was beginning and couples, old and young, mothers with baby carriages (Italians love their babies) and families were enjoying the late afternoon...and the common thread that seemed to tie them all together...gelato! We opted to return to our hotel for a glass of wine before dinner. Since it was our last night here we went to the seafood restaurant Zi'Ntonio that we had had lunch at earlier. Campari & soda for ma and a Martini for Steve. The 'bartender' was very proud of his creation. Prosciutto & melon, cannelloni, omelette and since we had seen them receiving  a delivery of live lobsters the other day I ordered lobster linguine. Sometimes when you get an English menu, which they just give you without asking, there are things missing that are on the Italian menu so you have to ask. All was good and we even discussed Hillary Clinton with the waiter whose brother lives in Florida. Also told him how expensive the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, our favorite, is in the states. We got it here for a mere 16 euros! Back to bed after a stroll to the balcony overlooking the ocean.

Pompeii Day

There is breakfast at the hotel. Quite a spread and wonderful coffee. So we did that and then boarded the Circumvesuviana for Pompeii. Much less crowded today which is kind of why we picked Saturday for this journey. The train drops you a few steps from the entrance and it was quite an experience. Some similar architecture to Ostia Antica but really frozen in time. The ominous Vesuvius looming in the distance.

So we aren't adept at selfies...thank God!

We walked through time to see mosaics,

Welcome

Beware of the dog

the mill, where they ground wheat into flour,

the fast food place,

the baths,

the small amphitheater

and a whole lot more.

Since the cafeteria that we had stopped at for a beverage earlier didn't look great for food we decided to go back to Sorrento for a late lunch. Went to an English Pub for Fish n' Chips  and beer and it was surprisingly good. Bought a bottle of Limoncello and a bottle of wine to take back to the hotel and iced my knee which was beginning to ache. That seems like a simple task but in reality Steve had to wait for one of our hosts to go next door for ice. The evening found us at Meating for a great pizza and beer and we were back in bed early.

Laundry Day

Always an experience, we loaded up our laundry and walked a few blocks to where Rick Steves said the laundromat was located. It was closed and an old Italian gentleman told us where there was one below the hospital. Would have been great if we had known where the hospital was. The guy followed us by bike for a while and once we thought he was gone we headed in the opposite direction toward the train station and another laundry listed in Rick Steves'. The guy on the bike caught up with us but just looked at us like we were really stupid Americans. The walk through town was very picturesque with lemon trees everywhere, small shops and this

Anyway found the laundromat and Steve went to the train station to check on bus and train schedules for the next few days while our clothes washed and dried.
After returning our clothes to our hotel room

we made our way to the seafood restaurant that was now open!

They had a 15 euro menu that included appetizer, entree and dessert. Steve had the best cannelloni de Sorrento. Melt in your mouth. Wonderful fish and desserts. We walked around Sorrento

out to an overlook with a view across the Bay of Naples to you guessed it Naples. Looks much better from a distance!

Down to the harbor.

We followed Rick Steves' walk and after a brief respite at the hotel we went to our cocktail place again. We walked around town to see the lights and to the balcony to see Naples in the distance. Happened upon this cloister

Had dinner at a kebab place. Really good with spicy chili sauce, tzatziki, chicken and beef in a fluffy pita. Also had falafel in one. Good beer and very friendly owner.
Hate to admit we were kinda looking forward to some English tv and there is one BBC that just repeats the same stories over and over. Glad to see no one has bombed anything while we were gone.

Thursday

Caught the train to Naples at 8 and enjoyed the ride through the countryside. The scenery became progressively worse as we neared Naples. My friend Aaron told me Naples was a shithole and since he has traveled extensively throughout the world we assumed he knew what he was talking about...and he did. We wanted to go to the Naples National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli) so decided to check our bags and brave the gritty city. Many of the statues, mosaics and frescoes in this museum are from Pompeii and Herculaneum and since we were going to be visiting Pompeii we really wanted to see this place and we were not disappointed. A short metro ride from the train station deposited us at the museum's steps. After a couple of hours we tried to find a pizzeria we wanted to eat at but got semi-lost and since we really didn't want to be lost in a shithole hopped the first metro we saw back to the train station. Grabbed a quick sandwich and a beer, collected our bags and boarded the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. This train was packed but with views of the sea peaking through we started to feel more relaxed and looking forward to a nice room in Sorrento. Sorrento was beautiful.  On a peninsula in the Bay of Naples. Our room was lovely and our hosts quite gracious. We went to a restaurant for a cocktail. Actually got a Manhattan and a Martini. The Manhattan was perfect but Steve's Martini was a little heavy on the vermouth but still the closest he's had to the real thing in 9 days. They also gave us corn nuts, peanuts, little pizzas, some kind of savory donut hole thing and pistachios. We tried to eat at this seafood place recommended by out hotelier but:

We returned to have dinner at Meating which was right across the alley from our hotel. It was very good except for the 6 euro water.

Wednesday

Our last day in Rome Steve got some croissants at the local bakery and we had a lazy morning. We went to Termini to purchase our train tickets for Napoli tomorrow. We are looking forward to being out of the chaos belle of Roma and on to a new adventure. We ate at an Irish Pub and split a burger  and a Greek salad. Both were very good. Stopped by at our corner Gelato place for a gelato. So many flavors so little time. We went back to the apartment to pack as our train leaves at 8 tomorrow. Had a nice dinner at a Trattoria Cadorna. The service was terrible but the food was great. We split a minestrone and Steve had a lemon pasta and I an artichoke pasta. We left without dessert and opted for limoncello and cookies back at the apartment.