European Adventure: Positano

On our way to Positano we stopped in Naples and wandered around for awhile, becoming increasingly grateful that we weren't actually going to be spending the night there. You guys, Naples is crazy. Especially the traffic. I have never seen a more chaotic intersection in my entire life as I saw in that city, and the only reason we didn't die trying to get across is because we shadowed a local. That is always the secret to survival.

We made sure to stop for some pizza at some famous pizza place, thus fulfilling #86 Have pizza in Naples.

You also probably figured out by now that I fulfilled #7 Travel to a foreign country.

The pizza was delicious, though strangely we had better at a Naples-style pizza place in Florence the next week. Also, please note that if you don't eat a lot in the U.S., you still will not eat a lot in Italy, despite everyone's insistence that the portion sizes are smaller. Everyone told us we should order an entire pizza each. Do you see that pizza? It's not that small. Luckily by this point we'd figured out that Chase and I are truly weak-sauce in terms of our ability to eat much, so we just ordered one to share. And it was perfect. 

Later that evening we arrived at the oh-so-lovely town of Positano, along the Amalfi coast. It was breathtaking.

Old watchtowers for the Turkish pirates

 

We accidentally got off at the bus stop at the top of the town, instead of the (only other) one at the bottom of the town, which would have been right next to our hotel. There aren't all that many roads in Positano. There is, in fact, one. Chase was a champ and insisted on carrying both suitcases down the gazillion flights of stairs. Love him.

Our first day in Positano was a dream. We slept in until nearly noon, then hung out at the beach for the afternoon, where I accomplished #30 Actually get in the water at the beach. We also had the best lunch ever at a little restaurant right there on the beach. All it was, was prosciutto and cantaloupe and a fresh lemon granita, but every element was perfect, and just what I wanted on a hot afternoon at the beach. It's funny because I'm actually not a huge beach person, but after walking all over Rome for the past several days, chilling in lounge chair by the water was precisely what I wanted to do. 

That night we caught a bus to Ravello, a little town up in the mountains above Amalfi to see a performance from their annual summer concert series. Apparently Wagner was a huge fan of Ravello and had his inspiration for Parsifal there, so they have the music festival in his honor.

Ravello was gorgeous, and so peaceful.

And the venue for Beethoven's violin sonatas couldn't be beat.

(#35 Attend a classical music performance)

It was magical.

That was one amazing day. The one hiccup being we missed the last bus out of Ravello and had to take a cab instead. $100 later, we were back at our hotel--but at least it got us there in half the time?

The next day we went on a hike, called "The Path of the Gods," that started in the mountains above Praiano, and finished in Positano

#73 Go on a good hike (I was on a roll!)

 Chase likes to freak me out--he really is standing on one foot at the edge of a sheer cliff.

  Looking down at beautiful Positano

 The hike was great, but at the end we had to walk down what felt like thousands of steps to get back down to Positano. And this is where we really had to stop to take breaks, because my legs would not stop trembling. Stairs and I--we don't get along so well.

We stayed in the greatest little family owned hotel. I loved the view, especially at night, but unfortunately none of those pictures turned out well. 

We bought a few prints from this artist, and he started chatting with us and talked for a good long while, and was so incredibly fun and friendly we had to get a picture with him.

Pompeii

The next day we were sorely tempted to remain in Positano. We loved it there, and could think of a dozen more things we'd like to do. But we also really wanted to go see Pompeii, so reluctantly we packed up our bags and took the crazy bus and commuter train to Pompeii.

It was fascinating. And hot. I was melting, but it was worth it. 

There's good ol' Mt. Vesuvius (what's left of it anyway) in the background.

The Romans seemed to have thought of everything. They had "fast food" restaurants, fountains all over the city for drinking water, and these stepping stones at intersections for the people to walk across when they flooded the streets each day to clean up after the horses. All the chariots had standard sized wheel axles that fit over these stepping stones, too.

 Other things of note: lemons as big as your head, lots of stair climbing, and a really expensive laundromat (we're talking $30 for two loads of laundry). I guess when you're the only laundromat in town, you can charge whatever the heck you want!

But we loved Positano, and I would so happily go back there again someday. In fact, I truly hope we do.

European Adventure: Rome

I guess Rome wanted to welcome us in a big way. This wall was right next to our hotel.

I think Rome might have been Chase's favorite. It is an incredible city, with amazing history, art, and architecture on every corner. We ate some amazing food, including gelato twice daily, and fully enjoyed walking our feet to the bone as we crossed and re-crossed the city on a daily basis.

A lot of the art can be enjoyed in situ, i.e. in the place for which it was originally intended. And as a bonus you can actually take pictures in the churches in which they reside, while you cannot in most of the museums.

A few examples include Bernini's St. Theresa in Ecstasy

 Bernini's elephant statue, topped by an obelisk, topped by a cross (to indicate Christianity's triumph over paganism)

And Michelangelo's Moses. This one was particularly striking--I wish the photograph could capture it.

 There are also lots of fun fountains around Italy:

Outside the Pantheon, enjoying our first gelato (of many).

 Gorgeous and brilliant ancient architecture:

 This would be Chase's "Are you seriously taking another picture?" face.

Trevi Fountain: amazing

 Spanish steps: fun place to hang out til midnight. No one seems to go to bed in Italy. It suited me just fine.

 Colosseum

 I may or may not have grown faint and had to sit down while listening to Rick Steve's very tame rendition of the Gladiator fights. I never said I was tough.

Roman Forum--where Julius Caesar's body was burned after his assassination.

 Sights walking around Rome:

 Vatican:

 We saw the Sistine chapel, among other treasures in the Vatican museum

 St. Peter's Basilica (um, huge does not begin to describe it)

 Michelangelo's Pieta

 All the artwork in St. Peter's are mosaics, not paintings, so they've lasted through all the years.

 Looking down from the base of the dome.

Climbing to the top

And there it is:

 Swiss guards

 The Borghese gallery. Probably my favorite museum of the whole trip, but no pictures allowed.

So I googled a few images. The museum is pretty much a shrine to Bernini, but there are other incredible works of art there, too, trust me.



And just for a second, notice this relief from the Roman era, repaired by Bernini's father. In person it truly looks as though he's being thrown off the horse on top of you (it's right below the ceiling). I have never seen a relief that's so practically a sculpture, and it is amazing. Those Romans were incredible artists.

There were some funny moments in Rome, like when we arrived at the airport, and the guy didn't even bother looking at our passports, much less stamping them. I thought that seemed weird, and when we flew out of Switzerland they thought so too--until we said we flew into Rome, and then they just rolled their eyes and let us through. Italians are warm and friendly and fabulous...but maybe not so concerned with protocol and keeping to a schedule. Ü

We also attended an opera review that made me cry it was so beautiful, were very much annoyed by all the guys trying to sell roses on the street, and enjoyed accordion music that was probably only done for the tourists, but that's okay because it made me happy.

Rome was incredible.