L-O-N-G Hike Straight Up

We decide to start late in the morning (10:30ish) for our hike.  We walk up the street to TuttoXTutti and get our hiking snacks.  From there we walk uphill, then up some stairs, then up another hill the square in front of the other church in Praiano.  Beside this church is the sports complex- a soccer court with astroturf.

We pass the church and turn right up a long flight of stairs.  We get to the top (after I've stopped a few times) and reach the highest street in Praiano.  We cross the street and walk to the sign that reads "Path of the Gods" with an arrow.  From the bottom of these stairs, the top is not visible.  There are probably 200 I can see and I just know anther 1000 I can't see.

We start.  I stop.  We go.  I stop.  My heart is pounding so hard my ears are ringing.  But Mike is carrying my water bottle and he and Helen are about 25+ stairs ahead of me.  I stop so many times on the trail that by the time I reach them, they've sat down to take a break and they get up when I get there and head on up the trail.
All in all, we climb somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,300 feet.  As we are nearing the top, I start questioning whether we have missed the turnoff for the lower trail.  Are we sure we are in the right place?  We haven't seen a single sign.

We reach a flat path and I decide to go with it and see where it takes us.  At least we aren't climbing anymore.  We run into 2 men walking back from Agerola (where they took the bus this morning in order to just do the walk down).  They confirm where we are on the map so we head on over to the trail down to the Convento.

On our way, we see a picnic bench in the shade.  There's no view from here but its shaded and a good place to take a break and eat some snacks.

A few minutes later we are on our way.  We pass the split in the trail and walk on ahead like the travel info person told us to.  The views are spectacular!  We stay on the path and walk on around to the other side of the hill and the views get even more beautiful!  WOW!  Fortunately, we run into some folks from California who take a killer family picture for us.

We enjoy the views for a while and then head back down to our house via the other trail through the convent.  The convent looks out over the hillside and out at the ocean.  I know the sisters here had to leave their families, but the church has such a beautiful spot.  Maybe there was some solace in it for them as well.

We kept walking down, down, down.  The paths are worn and the rock stairs are uneven.  We are all concentrating on not falling.  I'm not sure which is more difficult, climbing up or going down.  I think this side is a little more gradual but in truth its probably about the same.  The tragedy is that you can't look out while you are going down, but the scenery is so phenomenal, I have to keep stopping on the way down too.

We don't arrive back at our apartment until almost 3, so we only stay around a half hour to change into swimsuits and relax without our boots on.  Then we set off for La Praia.

The walk down is hard, and thinking about the climb back up is a little painful, but off we go.  We reach the beach and it looks like there may only be another hour of sun.  So we walk down to the beach and sit a few minutes before getting in.  The stony beach makes the water super clear.  I am in to my waist and still able to see my toes and the shape and size of all of the rocks around me.

I swim out, with much coaxing from Mike and the girls, to the end of the cove so I can see down the side of the cliffs.  I am uncomfortable this far out and I start heading back.  Mike swims past me and suddenly, I can see a diver in a wetsuit probably 25 feet below me super clearly.  I think he's near the bottom, but I can't see it.

When I get out of the water, we have about 10 more minutes of sun.  After the sun passes, we head up to il Pirata for a drink.  There I buy the train tickets to the airport that I had forgotten about when I booked the other train tickets yesterday.  Done.

We had a yummy seafood pasta dinner for our last night and a chill evening with some card playing and reading.  A fantastic end to a superb week!

Off to Rome tomorrow and home Sunday.  After this week of R&R, I think I'm ready for home. :)

Long Hike Beautiful Views

Today we went on the Path of the Gods hike up the mountain. I understand now why it's called the path of the GODS. It was not built for humans. The only direction, just like the hike in Cinque Terre was up. Dad had this great idea to count stairs on our way up but he said it when we were already a quarter of the way up and no one wanted to climb down just to come up again. 

When the stairs ended, it actually became pleasant. Just a sloping uphill with a spectacular view. Along the way, we stopped at a picnic bench to make sandwiches and eat the snacks we bought at Tutto X Tutti. I ate the worlds largest peach and then couldn't manage to eat more than half of my prosciutto and cheese sandwich. YUM! When we got to the top, Mom and Dad made us go a little further up, closer to Nocelle and Positano to take lots of pictures. It was mostly flat getting there and back so none of us wasted much energy. 

The pictures were great with city, ocean and cliff behind us. Maybe one of the pictures will make it to the Christmas Cards! The way back down was a lot more difficult. The stairs weren't very stable and some of the time we had to almost slide down the rocks. This was even more of an issue for me because I was wearing white shorts. 

We passed a convent on the way down that was right around the halfway point. It was pretty small and it wasn't still active but the whole building was open for unguided tours. The nuns had really small sleeping quarters but the view off their balcony's was absolutely stunning. It would be so wonderful to wake up every morning and see that out the window. 

When we finally got back to Praiano, we decided to take one last beach trip. This time everyone got in the water, Mom included. It was great to swim after being so hot and I enjoyed the cold water. After drying off we went to a bar for WiFi. Mom was booking things so Dad and I went to the grocery. We got things for dinner and our last night in Praiano. I can't believe we have to leave tomorrow, I will miss it so much!

Last Day in Praiano

Meghan and I woke up at the same time, but this time our parents got up before us. I guess they were embarrassed that they slept in yesterday. We ate a quick breakfast and then left the apartment to go on our big hike. We went to the grocery store first, and got some food for lunch. 

When I said big hike, I meant BIG hike. It had so many steps, your head would explode if you tried to count them all. My thighs were burning by the 100th step. It wasn't gradually going up, it was straight up, then flat, then straight down. On the flat part we found a picnic table and ate our sandwiches and peaches. Instead of going straight down, like the map said, we went on a smaller path for only ten minutes. The view was way worth it though. It was the prettiest part of the whole hike. 

We ran into a nice trio of people, and they took our group photo, and then we took theirs. We went up a little further, and then came all the way down, back to the regular trail. We met some more people that came from the way we were going to, and they said it was really dangerous. They were right. It was even worse than going up. My legs felt like they were vibrating. 

We stopped at a small convent on the way down. It even had a small snack bar. The sign said SNAK BAR. We didn't hang around, sadly, but we made it all the way down the mountain without collapsing, but at the bottom I'm pretty sure all of us felt like jelly.

We went back to the apartment and changed into our bathing suits and went to the harbor beach. All of us got into the water, which was a nice change. We stayed on the beach until it got cold. Dad cooked dinner, salad and spaghetti. We played a round of Donkey. It was a nice last day in Praiano.

Path of the Gods

Stopped in at TuttoXTutti for bread, prosciutto, fontina and some fruit for our morning hike, the Praiano loop up to the Path of the Gods and back by the Convento Domenico.  Hiking snacks are so much better here and any small grocer can slice meat and cheese.  

We started climbing stairs right outside of the grocery and kept climbing out of town and up into the terraces of vineyards, olive and fruit trees.  It was a tough climb, about 450 meters and we didn't come across many other hikers so we had to refer to the map and question our path a few times. Once the path leveled off we found a picnic table and snacked.  The view along the trail was spectacular, deep blue ocean, light blue sky and the Amalfi coastline.  The girls thanked and thanked me for forcing them to hike.  The trip down was tougher for me and my legs were shaking by the time we got back into Praiano. 

We stopped into the apartment for a short rest and then headed downhill and down more steps to the La Praia beach for our last dip in the Mediterranean.  I even had a hot rock massage (sort of).  

Dinner back at the apartment, linguine with seafood, tomato sauce for Helen and a salad.  We were all exhausted and it was an early night.

Two Beach Day

Slept in a bit this morning before we took off for the La Praia Marina beach.  This beach has little stones, instead of sand, and in the stones are little bits of broken tile rounded out like sea glass.  I collected some of them while Meghan, Helen and Mike swam.  It was warm on the beach, but not too hot and the water felt pretty cold to me.  I didn't go in.

We walked home for lunch and rest time, up the hill to our house.  While Mike napped, the kids and I read and generally laid around.  I sat outside looking out at the water from our deck.  There is just something that is so calming to sit with a book and every time you look up, the view is so astonishing, you have to stop and watch it for a minute... then find your place again, sometimes start the page over because you forgot what was happening.

We left for the beach Mike called "On Fire".  To get there, we have to walk to town's main square then cross the street and follow a path down... down ... down to the water.  We started on this path the first Sunday we were here, and since we didn't have swimsuits, we turned around half-way down the stairs and walked back home.  This time, we plowed on down the stairs.  I was a little excited to see the beach on fire.

We arrive at a concrete platform with orange deck chairs and orange umbrellas.  We got there at an opportune time.  We passed, within a minute of reaching the bottom, 2 families making their way up the hill.  When Mike asks for 4 chairs, we end up with 2 on the front row and 2 almost right behind us.  Score 10! 

They deliver our beers and water in a plastic bag with handles filled with ice.  This is almost too much, because there's wifi too! WOOT!  I make our train and hotel reservations while sitting looking out at the phenomenal view.


Mike and Helen jump off the concrete wall two times and I both photograph and video them.  Meghan walks down the ladder and gets a little wet.  I'm fairly certain she's not jumping off the rock because the water is pretty rough and she might lose her suit.  I decided, even though I'm in my swimsuit, I'm not in need of the cooling off.  So, I sit back in my deck chair and read my book.

We walk up to the Trattoria San Gennaro in the square for dinner.  It's okay, not fantastic, but the view is lovely and I'm glad we have stopped here.  We make our way home in the dark.  Another fantastic day on the Amalfi Coast!

Beach Beach Beach Yah!!!

I had the best day EVER! There wasn't anything to do this morning of any importance, except go to the beach, so I got to sleep in. While I'm traveling, I sleep a lot. Well, actually I sleep a lot anyways. Once I was awake, I had a bowl of chocolate cornflakes and I sat outside and read my book while I was eating. I sat out there until it got super hot. 

Later, Dad said that it was time to got to Marina de la Praia (the beach). We walked all the way down the stairs until we got to the sandless beach, that made the water crystal clear. It was freezing but Helen, Dad and I went in the water anyway. We swam for a while, and then got out to dry and joined Mom on the shore. It was lunch time, and we didn't want to eat on the beach or at the little restaurants, so we went back to the apartment. After lunch Helen and I sat down and played cards, read, listened to music, drew and mainly just sat around.

At 3:00 we decided to go to "the beach on fire" as Dad liked to call it. I had never been there before so it was kind of a shock to me. There was no actual beach, it was just rocks and cement. It was also a bar so while you were sitting in the sun you could order a drink from one of the waiters or waitresses that circled the chairs. Helen and I both got a lemon soda which is basically homemade lemonade, with pulp, but carbonated. YUM!!! 

When even Helen was tired and we were all hungry, we went to a trattoria/restaurant on the square where I ordered a huge calzone with seafood pasta on the side. It was really good but I couldn't eat all of it so I got to take it home for leftovers!

Embarassing!!!

We basically did the whole run through of yesterday, except this time we did it with Mom and Meghan. Meghan and I both got up earlier then Mom and Dad! Big surprise, because it was later then 8:00. 

We went to the small beach first, because Mom and Meghan hadn't seen the awesome beach yet, and you always want to save the best for last. The harbor was much better then yesterday, because it didn't have as much pollution and the water was way clearer, so I could see lots of fish, rocks, and Dad's feet. We stayed at the small beach until 1:00, and we left because it was starting to get really windy and cold, and plus, we were hungry. 

We went back to the apartment and ate lunch, and then Dad took a nap. We headed to the other beach at 3:30, and it was less crowded than yesterday. We rented four beach chairs. Meghan and I got Lemon Soda's and played cards. I really wanted to go swimming so Dad and Meghan and I all went swimming. Meghan didn't want to at first, but then she finally caved in and went in with us. Dad and I jumped off the rock, but Meghan took the stairs. I tried to but with my goggles on, it was way too rough. We got out a couple of minutes later. I was exhausted. 

We played cards until it got boring. Meghan started reading her book. Stupid as I was, I forgot to bring a book or anything. I tried to take a nap. It didn't work. I went swimming, by myself this time, because no one else wanted to come. I jumped off every rock I could find.

After my like, seventh jump, a lady beckoned me over. I walked to her, a little unsure. She smiled at me and said, "You speak English?" I nodded. "Those boys over there," she pointed at the boys that were jumping off rocks too, "are very impressed that you are jumping off the highest rocks with them." She finished, still smiling. I couldn't see my face, but I was positive it was bright red. I smiled weakly, and said thanks. After that I quickly walked back to Meghan. Embarrassing!!! I could feel myself blushing. 

We left the beach at 6:15 and ate dinner on the plaza in a nice restaurant and watched the sun go down.

Beach On Fire

Nothing planned today but to hit the water.  We started at La Praia beach, the closest to us and really the only public beach hidden in a cove that also serves as the Praiano harbor.  The big boats don't stop there but water taxis come and go and small excursions to Capri.  It gets and looses sun early - we stayed until about 1 and took a mid day break at our apartment for lunch.
 
After 3pm we walked into town and below to the One Fire beach, I call it the beach on fire or Orange Umbrella Beach.  It is a happenin' place - much different from the tranquil Praia.  It is hard to find a free spot to spread a towel and it would be on concrete so we splurge for the cabana chairs and umbrellas. In the afternoon the prices are half. Two large speakers are playing music and the bar is dishing out drinks.  The sun sets behind Positano in the distance and we got 2 front row chairs and the girls sat a row back.  The only way into the rough water is by metal stairs or jumping.  I joined Helen for a couple jumps off of the higher rock.  It is not a calm swim but refreshing and there is a shower to rinse as well as changing rooms.... very civilized.  

The Italians take their beaches seriously.  Anyplace along the coast with access is developed and there is always a bar or restaurant and chairs for rent.  Even without a beach, this place was hoppin'.  They have to receive supplies by boat - the only other access is by stairs, a lot of them.

Paestum

Meghan and I set out early this morning to head to a city built by the Magna Grecia, a group of Greek settlers who colonized most of southern Italy in the 6th century BC and was later controlled by the Roman Empire in 273 BC.  The people there were plagued with malaria and got tired of fighting off raids and abandoned the city.

In the 18th century, a group of people building a road rediscovered the city.  The road "plows" through half of the Anfiteatro (the place where gladiators fought and public executions were witnessed) and continued to pave... ie. the road is still there!  We ate lunch 'across the street' from the ruins!

When we arrived in the train station, the woman in the info center gave us a map in English and pointed us down the street.  We crossed an empty road and walked down the street through the impressive gates of an ancient wall and down a totally abandoned road.  We could see a gate and some people walking around on the street we were headed to, but there was nothing on the road we were on.  When we got to the end, we could see the largest building to our left, so we walked that way.  The guard at the gate stopped us and told us it was the exit, so we had to go the other way to get inside.

There are three large temples that are in very good condition, considering they were built 2500+ years ago.  The roof tiles are missing (but most are in storage in the museum). The Doric temples in the surreal blue sky look almost fake as Meghan and I wander around between them listening to our shared audio guide.  We stop and eat a snack next to the Tempio di Nettuno (Temple of Neptune - which scholars say is really a temple to either Apollo or another god).

The site is small and we make our way back to the Museo.  Inside they have several pieces of pottery and figures but what is most impressive are the marble carvings from the tops of the temples.  The lions heads that served as guttering are fascinating and it makes me wish it was all still there on the temples - to see it all together.

We stop for a lovely lunch and enjoy the gorgeous weather and the view of the Neptune temple from our table. 
We hop the train back to Salerno, catch the bus to Amalfi, trade buses in Amalfi for Praiano and arrive home to catch up on our blogs and sit in the afternoon sun looking out our windows and enjoying our apartment.  What a spectacular day! 

We are so blessed.

3 Temples, 2 People, 1 History

Mom and I left early, just the two of us to go to Paestum. We had to take two buses and a train to get there. When we got to the station there was a short, pleasant walk to the museum and the ruins. 

First, we went to the museum, and bought our tickets and a little audio guide. The ruins were big, with fifteen stops on the guide, and three of them were temples. We started at the Northern temple, the one dedicated to Apollo (the sun god). The temple was huge, with six by thirteen columns on the sides. There was a big stone altar in the middle. We passed many other things on the way to the other temples. A house with a well, the baths, the forum and lots more. 

The second temple that we saw was the biggest and the most complete. The columns were nine by fourteen and the inside was huge. The scholars studying Paestum thought it was a temple or Neptune (otherwise known as Poseidon) the sea god. Because it was so big they thought it was so

perfectly corresponding to the greatness of the sea. It was such a beautiful day, there weren't any clouds in the sky, and the sky was a brilliant blue, so when we took pictures they looked fake. Just like if we were in a studio and we picked a Paestum background!

The last temple was the oldest and it was dedicated to Hera. Looking at the temple was crazy how long those columns stood there before they were discovered. The people that worshiped there were the starters of the Olympics! Now a hundred years seems like a long time, but compared to that, it's like a week! Really puts things into perspective, huh? After we saw everything outside, we went inside the museum. Everything there was either the inside of the temples or around the ruins. They had taken the top rim off of all the temples  because it had designs on it and it shouldn't be outside in rain or snow or really bad wind. The designs were lions, shells, tulips and any other odd design. There were also many statues, pottery vases and shards. 

My favorite was the tomb with the diver. It was painted on the lid of the tomb. The diver had jumped off columns that represented life. He was between the top of the columns and the unknown, the death. It was representing the way in which you have no idea what you're jumping into, but you're already falling. All in all it was a really cool day, but it also really wore me out.

Fun Day

Mom and Meghan went to some Greek monument that Dad and I didn't really want to go to, so we had a free day ahead of us. Dad's plan was to swim at the beach in the morning, then go on a hike, and then swim at the other beach afterwards. I liked everything except for the hike. We would be walking uphill back to our apartment when we finished swimming both times, which is enough walking for me. So we ditched the hiking part, and started down the hill to the first beach that we had already been to before. 

It wasn't very fun. The water was so polluted, I could barely believe that people were swimming in it. We couldn't find an open space in the sun, because half of the tiny beach was sunny and half of it was in the shade. Everybody was crammed into the sunny space, so there was barely any room to walk by. Plus, it was high tide, so that made it even more cramped. Dad and I sat in the shade, and he went off to talk to the people who owned the place called Rent a Boat, because that's exactly what we wanted to do. After I he left I got freezing, so when he came back we went over to the tiny cement walking space where the boats pulled up. That was really uncomfortable, even though it was sunny. We left the beach after about two hours and stayed a little bit at the house. 

At 3:00 we left for the beach that we hadn't been to yet. It was nothing like I imagined. It wasn't really much like a beach, but it was awesome. It was like a deck made out of cement, with a restaurant and beach chairs that were all full. There were waitresses, and the water was really clear. There was a ladder down into the water. The only downside was that the water was super rough. There were sharp rocks near, and you had to jump out far if you wanted to jump at all. Loud (bad) music came out of speakers at the restaurant. Dad and I stayed for about three hours. It was nice, and Dad said that we might come back later, to see the sunset.

Sandless Beaches & Orange Umbrellas

Helen and I slept in, I headed up the street to the Tutto X Tutti (grocery) for some more chocolate corn flakes, bread and some other items that I have already forgotten.

We hung around the apartment and then headed to the beach on our side of town, a good morning spot since it is cut into a tight harbor and looses the sun around 4pm.  It is a ways down, down, down to the water but worth it.  A small pebble beach next to a concrete dock for boats and water taxis.  The water is cool (maybe a bit cold) but it feels great.  We have heard say that the water here has more salt in it, i can float really well on my back and there is a white film on skin and suits when dry.  I think I like the sand less beaches, it is hard for pebbles and small stones to stick in the crevases of my body.

We took a mid day break at the apartment and then headed to the beach on the NW side of Praiana (the orange beach). Public beach but 90% of the space is run by a bar/ restaurant with orange sun chairs and umbrellas.  It was a rockin' place with music and a dude walking through the crowd with backpack sprayer misting those interested with cold water.  

No beach here but a concrete bulkhead with stairs into the water, which was much rougher than the harbor beach.  But the view here is superior, looking toward Positano and beyond.  This will be a good place to watch the sunset..... maybe tomorrow.

POMPEII!!

Today I got to walk around in a city that was greatly flourishing until a natural disaster in 79 AD. Pompeii! It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that the streets that I was walking on used to be covered by volcanic rock until it was excavated. Streets where there were no cars, just carts, donkeys and horses. Streets filled with people that had no idea what was going to happen to them. When you think about it walking in Pompeii is just like walking in a cemetery or a ghost town. No one is there but you can see straight into their past. 

Many things in Pompeii were cool but my favorite was the amphitheater. Similar to the colosseum but not as big, the amphitheater looked kind of like a modern, circular, sports stadium. That was where they held the "entertainment" for the city. There was a story on the audio guide about how they closed the amphitheater for 10 years because of a fight that went on that got very dangerous. The Roman emperor didn't want there to be a chance for that to happen again. Sadly it that I wish I could go back and live in the time where everyone was alive and the city was full of culture. I could help those people preserve that culture for generations to come. 

Sadly it isn't possible but the best thing was to just take it all in and absorb as much as we could. And that is exactly what we did.

POMPEIVIVA

Pompei

Surprisingly, I got up on my own accord at 7:18, instead of Dad having to wake me up. We left for the bus station at 8:30 and we caught the blue bus to Pompei. 

We bought tickets, and we also rented audio things that looked like phones. It had numbers from 0 to 9 and you were supposed to press the right ones, and then play, and this guy starts talking about the thing that you're looking at or going in. It was pretty cool, but after a long time your arms start feeling tired from holding the thing up to your ear. I took pictures of almost everything because a) they were so ancient and awesome looking and b) because I wanted to get caught up with pictures because I was far behind on picture taking compared to my Dad. The scientists buried through the rubble and ash and found a city that was alive 2,000 years ago. There were all these parts of buildings, and all these other awesome artifacts. 

One of my favorite parts was the house that belonged to a very wealthy family. It was almost all there. It showed the baths (well, really the room that had the baths in them) the servents quarters, the room where the Mother and Father slept in, etc. It was weird how the house stayed straight up, but basically everything else was toppled over. There was 124 stops in Pompei. Thankfully we didn't go to all of them. If we did, it would take way too long. 

Another place I really liked was the arena, where people (gladiators) came to fight. The audio phone said that the people in Pompei liked watching a good fight. We sat down in the middle of the arena, where 2,000 years ago, people were fighting for their lives. Now, grass was growing everywhere, and half the benches were gone. After we left the arena, Meghan and I were tired so we decided to sit down in a shady place while Mom and Dad went to the theater. When they came back, it was already time to go. We left Pompei on the train and then took a one hour bus ride back to Praiano.

Pompei

It's easier to get around now that we spent some time asking questions at the Info office.  We hopped on a bus to Sorrento to make our way to the train to Pompei.  Our bus driver is another competitor for pole position in the Indianapolis 500, only this time he has an unwilling stomach on board and we have to make a pit stop to get their seats and floor cleaned up.  Blech.

We arrive at the station with time to spare, buy our tickets and get on the train.  It's a Naples train, more like a subway car than a train like we have been riding in to get from city to city.  This is evident by the amount of graffiti and writing on both the inside and the outside of the train.  It's a newer experience to us, and I think I might be grateful that most of the writing is in a language we neither speak nor understand.

We get off at Pompei with half the people on the train.  We are all ready to eat lunch now too, so we stop across the street and sit on a low wall to eat.  We walk down the street, past all of the booths of people hawking souvenirs and sunhats, and turn into the entrance.  The ticket line is long and while we are standing in line, we are approached for a tour in English.  Mike goes to talk to the guy and the Brazilian lady behind me tells me we should skip the tour, the reviews on TripAdvisor and other places say they are horrible.  A woman walks up and asks me if I would like her map and hands it to me.  Score!  When we get our tickets, we realize we will be waiting with the guide until they fill the tour and we back out while we rent audio guides for each of us.

We the phone looking audio guides and map and head down the ramp to the entrance.  There is no line to get in, so we come through the turnstile and start up the hill into the Porta Marina.  The uneven stones are slick and we slide around some on our way up the hill.  The map that comes with the audio guide is numbered different than the one that was handed to me.  We circle the things we want to see on the audio guide map so we'll know the number when we get there - only the roads on the audio guide map don't show which roads are open for walking and which are closed.

The site is huge!  As we start walking, I realize we are not going to be able to see everything we wanted because we didn't get on the early morning train and it's almost noon now.  I start down a road to get to something I want to see and get to the end.  When I turn there is a gate, we can't go that way and have to backtrack to a road that is open.  I'm getting a little frustrated with the other map as well, there's "doors" on the map and trying to find the Orto dei Fuggiaschi, I have to walk around all four walls to find the door at the other end of the wall I started on. Grrrr.

We sat in the Anfiteatro in the shade and listened to the

audio and had a snack.  It's pretty impressive, even after seeing the Colosseum in Rome.  The Colosseum was inaugurated in 80AD, the year after Pompei disappeared under 3m of ash and burning pumice stones.  Here they held gladiator fights and, although there were no underground tunnels, let wild animals fight people.

The Theatre was impressive too.  They have refurbished it and added lights and aisle numbers so they must use it for plays or performances of some kind.  It would be pretty cool to sit in this building and watch a play, I think.

We make our way back out of the site and head to Sorrento.  This is a cute town and we decide to wander around and look for dinner.  We stop at a restaurant on the pedestrian street.  The food is ok, but Meghan and I's bottle of water tastes weird.  Before we leave, I pour the bottled water into my waterbottle.  When I reopen it later, air escapes.  The waiter has served us flat sparkling water in a "naturale" bottle.

We hop the bus and head for home.  It's the first driver we've had that hasn't made me queezy and we return to our home by the sea without event.

Positano and Amalfi

We took off this morning for the info center.  The woman that works there was VERY helpful and we got a full picture of how to get around here.  We took the red bus to Positano and we waited until it climbed to the very top before we got out at Chisea Nuova.

In a way, it was kind of frustrating because there was nothing at the top to tell you how to get down.  Every now and again, there would be a sign to the beach, but since we wanted to see the town first, the beach arrows just served to remind Helen we were on our way to the beach.

We walked down the road a bit and finally caught up with pedestrian walks along the road and into the pedestrian alleys.  The shops were over the top with extremely pricey clothing, shoes and jewelry.  After we got to the bottom, I was a little ready to go.  It was a little windy and overcast, but the big ferry boat didn't seem bothered by the white caps and we set off for Amalfi.

In Amalfi, we found a place to eat and after lunch we split from Mike and Helen (who went to the beach) and went shopping.  Meghan found a skirt and shoes, I got a calendar and a belated Father's Day gift for mi padre.

We met them on the beach and Meghan changed and swam

with them for a while.  Mike got up and went to buy them goggles and brought them back.  There were quite a few English speaking folks on the beach, and I marveled that they were not all the same accents.  Since we have been here we have met English speakers from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England.  Sometimes I forget how many countries actually do use the language. :)
Traveled home and had dinner - yummy gnocchi and pesto with eggplant and tomatoes on the side.  Mike is an excellent cook wherever he goes!

A Boat Ride and 2 Cute Towns

This morning we woke up, got dressed and went on a walk. We were going to the Praiano tourism office. We wanted to get a bus schedule and tickets to go to Positano and Amalfi. Those two cities are on each side of Praiano and are pretty big. 

First we took a bus to Positano and got off at the stop at the top of the city. From there we walked down into the shopping, touristy part of the city. We walked around, got gelato, and window shopped for a while. I saw tons of cute things but didn't have the chance to get any of them. Once we got down to the coast there wasn't much else to do so we caught the ferry to Amalfi, the city that the whole coast was named after. 

 From there we walked around a lot until we found somewhere to eat. It was small but the menu was big and everything was local food. I had the fried fish plate with shrimp, calamari and baby octopi. After eating, Helen and Dad went to the beach while Mom and I went shopping (my favorite thing to do in foreign countries). I bought a pink crochet skirt and some silver strappy sandals. 

After we finished our little spree, we joined Helen and Dad at the beach so I could swim. The water was really cold in places warm in others. I swam almost the whole length of the beach, but got tired and decided to stay in the shallow
end and talk with Helen. When we were watered out, we went to lay down and get a soda. Dad had left to go somewhere but when he came back, he had GOGGLES! Immediately we were back in the water trying them out. I saw so many fish that were all different colors. Helen and I dove to the ground and swam along the bottom until we found a school of fish. When we saw one we swam as fast as we could with our arms outstretched trying to catch or just touch one. Neither one of us managed to. 

Around 6 we got on a bus back to Praiano to eat dinner and fool around. I love being at the beach so much!!!

Positano & Amalfi

Walked into town to the tourist info office.  There are some sidewalks in Praiano, but we are on the other side of the tunnel and the easiest and shortest path is the main road.  No sidewalks and we have to walk single file, as close to the buildings, guard wall, or parked car as possible as traffic speeds by..... a little unnerving, but the norm here.

We caught the red bus after thinking we missed it, and buying SITA (blue) bus tix to Positano.  It was a very scenic and windy 10km.  Got off high above the beach level and made our way down through the shops along with the mobs of tourists.  Stoped at a gelataria along the way.  Positano is very picturesque but it is filled with high-end shops and restaurants.  By the time we made to to the beach were weren't quite hungry for lunch and weren't too excited with "the scene".  

We caught a water taxi for Amalfi, passing by Praiano (which doesn't have a harbor) and took this pic.  Our house is near the center of the hill.  Amalfi was a little toned down and our speed.  Found a great restaurant off the beaten track and then we hit the public beach.  The girls were excited about the coarse sand - it was easier to walk on than small stones.  No beverage service at the free beach so I walked across the main street for 2 Peronis and 2 Lemon sodas.
 

Used our already purchased blue bus tix for the ride back to Praiano.  Dinner at the apt on our amazing terrace and then Debby and I walked into town for a drink and wifi at our favorite spot, the front balcony of Hotel Le Fioriere.

Amalfi Beach

We walked to the information station and talked with the lady for a couple of minutes.  She told us we should take the Red Bus to Positano.  We caught it right as we were leaving.  It took us there, and we walked around in the shops.  We got gelato, and we were going to eat lunch, but we wanted to eat in Amalfi.

So, we took the boat to Amalfi (it was about 20 minutes), and then

we found a nice place for lunch.  Mom and Meghan dawdled, but Dad and I went straight to the beach.  It had sand, which I was really happy about, but it also had rocks.  There was a lot of sea glass.

When Mom and Meghan came, Dad left and bought us goggles. 

We tried them out in the ocean.  You wouldn't have believed how many fish we saw.  Meghan and I tried to catch the fish, but they were too fast.  It was awesome, but we kept scaring them off.

We took the bus back to Praiano and ate dinner there, gnocchi with pesto.  Meghan and I had this HUGE fight, and I decided I didn't want to sleep with her, so I slept on the couch.  We heard fireworks, but we didn't see them.

Slow Sunday in Praino

Got up this morning and walked to Praiano "town", or whatever that might mean if the bulk of all of the retail establishments are on the main drag.

We found hotel with a bar and wifi and set up shop there for coffee and cake.  The info office was closed and I was looking for a map of Praiano.  The steps here do not say where they go and I am far too lazy to just start down (or up for that matter) if I'm not certain they will be going through or taking us where we want to go.

We started down a set of stairs that said spiaggio (to the beach) but when we finally rounded the corner and there were another 200 steps down that turned into some foliage we couldn't see - and we were sure that they weren't even near the beach there - we turned back to go get groceries and eat lunch in house.

We climbed the hill back up to our place and went to the Tutto per Tutti (Everything for Everyone) grocery and bought a few days worth of groceries and went home and made lunch.  After lunch, I went and took out my contacts layed down - I was toast.  Mike took the kids to the beach (a different one, I was later to find out) and I slept round 2 after they left.  Chirping birds and a low fan.  Blissful silence with a gorgeous view (when I could keep my eyes open).

We had dinner in and enjoyed the gigantic moon over our place.  Banner Day!

First Day in Praiano

I got to sleep in again today! I woke up around 10 and looked outside through the opened window. I could see out onto our patio and over the edge to see the ocean all the way to the horizon. It was amazing and definitely brightened my day right up. I was a little hungry but decided to look around the apartment before I ate breakfast. It's so big! 

Mom and Dad split a room, I get a room that Helen and I share sporadically (when she's not sleeping on the couch). In Mom and Dad's room there's a bathroom and Helen and I split the one off the kitchen. The kitchen itself is small but cute. We have a couch, a TV, a couple chairs, a dining room table, and 3 huge windows looking out onto the patio. The patio has a table with 4 regular chairs and an umbrella with 4 deck chairs. Huge, HUGE apartment. 

Breakfast was cereal and yogurt. I know it's silly with croissants left and right, but I really missed cereal! We hung around the apartment being lazy until lunchtime and then ate a big salad with carrots and zucchini and lots of good things. After lunch we continued to be lazy until we decided to go to the beach. We had already tried out one of the beaches, well we kind of tried it but half way down the huge set of stairs, we decided it wasn't worth it. 

Mom wanted to take a nap so Dad, Helen and I packed up our stuff and headed down to the beach. Sadly, almost all the cities on the Amalfi coast are on cliffs so if you want to go down, you're going to have to climb back up. The climb down wasn't bad but when we got down there, half of the beach was already in the shade. We set up on the sunny side and went swimming for a while. The water was a little cold at first but soon enough it was great and totally worth it. I wasn't cold but the sun felt really good when we got out and dried off. The beach was moving into the shade quickly, since it was between 2 cliffs and wasn't very big. Once the shade hit our blanket it was time to go. 

We walked back to our apartment, said hello to Mom and started cooking dinner. Mom, Dad, and I had noodles with butter, Parmesan cheese, bacon bits, clams and green onions. Helen had noodles with tomato sauce and bacon bits. We sat out for a while and talked while the sun set mostly into the clouds. 

Mom and Dad left to find an Internet Cafe, but Helen and I stayed. I'm so glad we did. The moon came up and it was yellow and absolutely huge! The farther it got from the horizon the smaller and the whiter it got. When it was about a quarter ways up in the sky the fireworks started. They went on for at least 10 minutes and it was amazing. Helen and I just sat out on the patio and watched. When it was over we both went inside to relax before falling asleep.