Boat to Capri

We left Sorrento early this morning for Capri.  The pictures tell a thousand words!
We've hired two Tornado boats to ferry us the island, about a 35-45 minute ride.  Capri is one of the truly loveliest places to visit.  Annacapria is the city is on the top of this hill--the hike wasn't for the faint hearted--it's a long way up with lots of steps but the views are breathtaking.  So we took taxis! There are small shops, restaurants, coffee shops and gelato shops.  For the faint hearted, there was a funicular.  

We returned to our boats and make our way to Amalfi, Italy's oldest maritime republic.  Amalfi today continues to enchant its visitors.  It is just over 3 square miles of devastatingly beautiful scenery at the mouth of the valley Mulini.  Amalfi's typically Mediterranean architecture, made up of lanes and characteristic white houses piled one upon the other, makes it one of Italy's most famous resorts. This is one of Dad's favorite places and was where many movies have been filmed, including Under the Tuscan Sun and A Good Woman.  The pictures tell a thousand words!

Breakfast before going to Capri

Jeff

William, Nana, and Elsbeth

 

Just hanging

One of our boats, Cinnamon Girl

Our Restaurant for Lunch

View of road along Amalfi Coast

Our ride to Annacapria

Waiting for Gelato

Rock formation along the coast of Capri

Dorsey watching the cliffs

Dorsey and Theo enjoying the view

 

Sofia Loren's villa

Almost sunset

Colors of the water

Worn out

Returning to Sorrento

Last Day in Sorrento

This is our last day in Sorrento, and we're still going strong and making the most of it!  The children are glad that we came here after Rome so they could relax and spend time together in the water. A couple are tired of pasta.  Olivia wants a plain ham and cheese sandwich and a couple of others wanted peanut butter. (Should have brought a jar or two). But when they get restless, it must be time for more gelato!  Our hotel has an elevator that runs between 10 am and 2pm, and then stops, and starts up again at 4 pm. We don't understand that but it's okay.  The hotel has a lovely pool, but we decided it was for serious older vacationers who wanted peace and quiet and sunshine. So we go to the beach. The sand is black volcanic sand but that doesn't bother the kids.  They have enjoyed diving down to find ancient Roman glass and interesting stones. Here are some pictures of what they love to do.

We are checking out of the hotel at 3:00 and heading back to Rome FCO for our flights out in the morning. We all leave within about 30 minutes of each other, so we'll have plenty of time for farewells. Most of us will meet back up in three week’s time in Jacksonville beach for a week with more cousins. We've all had a wonderful time and hate to see it end. But the moments we've shares, the sights and places we've seen, and the laughs and stories we have to tell will last a lifetime. This has truly been a trip of to remember and each of us is so blessed to have been a part of it.

Pompeii

Today we are off on another adventure: Pompeii.

One of the most popular visitor attractions in Italy is without a doubt the ruins of the ancient lost city of Pompeii. Buried by the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79AD, the excavated site is a fascinating glimpse back in time to the days of Roman life in the first century AD. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Pompeii attracts over two million visitors every year.  And we will add 15 to that count. We left the hotel early to arrive in Pompeii about 10:30 while
It was still cool enough to enjoy. Our guide, Paulo, guide, shared within us information concerning our visit and explained how surprised the people of Pompeii were when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The people had no time to prepare or run for shelter before they were covered in hot ash and gas fumes and about 3/4 of the population died in this eruption.   Paulo explained how life was before the eruption.   He immediately engaged the kids on what we were going to experience.  Our first stop inside the walls was where the gladiators lived and practiced. Theo and Dorsey became the gladiators.  Other ruins in Pompeii became a guessing games. From looking at the ruins at another stop, what did the kids think had been on this sight? After of few moments of guessing, Paulo gave the kids clues.  As it turned out, he said, it was probably an early Italian McDonald's, where workmen and families could stop for something to eat. He pointed out the serving shelf, where the pans would have been kept warm and where the bread would have been baked. Paulo explained how the roads would have run only in one direction because it wasn't wide enough for the chariots to pass each other. The kids saw how the wheels of the chariots had carved grooves in the stone streets and were shown where horses were tied up along the sidewalks. We went into a former house and saw how the wall were decorated to make the city dwelling look as though it were in the quiet countryside. When we went into the forum Olivia and Bella were chosen to be the actress and the singer for the performances. They were show how the people attending the performance would have found their seat by statues on the rows that were carved to look like chess pieces. We went into the public baths and Paulo explained how there were three rooms of different temperatures and that it was as much a social meeting place as a bath as they didn't have soap at the time. We came to the central part of Pompeii where the temples to the different gods were located:  Zeus, Apollo, and Jupiter among them. After seeing the molds of what was found by the excavators we left Pompeii for some gelato before we began our trip back to Sorrento. Hot, tired and sweaty, everyone wanted to go to beach for the rest of the day.  Michele, Bella and I had another adventure to come, however. We had an early dinner and then made our way to the Correale Museum di Terranova for an evening of opera!  Three musicians, a pianist, a violinist, and a bassist, accompanied a lovely lady and grand gentlemen sign the greatest Italian opera and Neapolitan songs.  The first three songs were rather sad and soulful and Bella got sleepy. But the tempo picked up and the songs were lovely and entertaining. We clapped and cheered and gave standing ovations to the singers and musicians. It was a truly wonderful evening for the three of us!

Mount Vesuvius

All of us at Pompeii

Arriverderci Roma and arriving in Sorrento

Last morning in Rome. It's been a wonderful experience for all of us. Each has benefited from the lessons we've learned, the sights we've seen and the enjoyment we've had doing things with family. The children have been remarkable, playing together, looking after each other and enjoying so many giggles. We checked out of the Hotel de la Minerve at noon and then did our own thing. Michele, Hilary, Jeff, Bella and I went to the "CHAGALL Love and Life" exhibition at the Chiostro del Bramante.  What a wonderful way to present the art of a complicated, lovely, and romantic artist. The exhibit highlighted his life's works with the words that inspired him to paint.  His religious period was extremely interesting as was the period that he painted to express His love for his wife Bella. We stopped for a quick lunch before going back to the load the bus.  "arriverderci Roma".  I hope this part of our trip will inspire to the children to return again and again to the Eternal City.  Our ride to Sorrento took about four hours. The adults slept but the children giggled, told stories and jokes and played cards.  Our guide Andrew gave us an instructional history of Mount Vesuvius and the eruption that destroyed Pompeii. We rode along the edge of the Vesuvius National Park on our way to Sorrento.  Soon the road turned single file in each direction with the scooters, Vespas, and bikes going both direction on the middle line. Very curvy and unpredictable road and traffic conditions. Then from our window we could see Sorrento along the coast ahead of us. We were all ready arrive!  The first sight of our hotel was breathtaking. After taking bags to our lovely rooms we left the hotel for our first dinner.  Everyone loved the shop-lined street and interesting restaurants right on the side walk. Elsbeth was happy that we'd left the big town behind for some quaint small town feeling. Everyone was anxious to do some shopping--in the morning. Especially Ron. We met for breakfast overlooking the private waterfront of the Imperial Taramontano Hotel.  The children couldn't wait to get into the swimming pool. Soon they wanted to put their feet into the black volcanic sand beaches and float in the buoyant Mediterranean Sea. Ron was with us and then left to shop some more. Having dinner in town tonight with a view of the port and waterfront.

On ride to Sorrento

First view of Sorrento

View from our balcony

Our first sunset

Bloody picture

A lazy day in Rome

A lazy day in Rome!  Just about worn out from so many scheduled activities, decided today was a day of leisure. Really late breakfast, slow in deciding what we should do. Ryan took Annika and Theo to Campo di Fiori to walk around and see the area of town where Catherine worked and lived. Ron walked to the Via Condotti, Rome's most fashion street, with Elsbeth overlooking the Ponte Vecchio, Sofia and Bella to cruise the shops. They all came to lunch carrying Louis Vuitton and Guess handbags. They were thrilled to pieces as they showed off their gifts.  Hilary and Pat with their kids followed Ron, Ryan, Jeff and Pat and William to the Spanish Steps to hire mopeds for the afternoon. Ron, Patrick, Ryan, and Jeff with William behind spent most of the afternoon riding through the Eternal City.  I remember the times I've done that will Ron, and was glad to be more mature now. They came to the Minerve, I think to show off for us and probably for a breather. Michele and I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and watching  two different wedding parties leaving the church in front of the hotel. Beautiful and exciting. Had a wonderful lunch off the square. William had his 5th meal of penne arrabiata!!  Had gelato and Bella went shopping for art supplies. Loved her drawing journal.

Nicole tasting the wine

Sofia, Olivia and Elsbeth

Sofia and Elsbeth and Nana

Florence

The entire group, minus Ron and I, went to the Rome train station to catch the 8:15 to Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance and the home of masterpieces of art and architecture   Upon arrival and passing by Santa Maria Novella, they went to mercato centrale, a huge indoor food market with butchers, fishmongers, fruit stands and spice vendors.  It provided a great shady spot to eat some fresh peaches, blackberries and strawberries for breakfast.

View from train to Florence

What is William reading Dorsey and Theo?

Arrival in Florence train station

After a short (read: would have been short had someone been able to correctly follow a map), they made their way to the Duomo and the Baptistry of St. John. . The bronze doors were amazingly detailed and the dome was huge.  After taking in the wondrous beauty of these two, they walked through the Piazza del Signoria where the copy of the statue of David by Michelangelo stood in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the old political center of the city.

All the cousins at the feet of David

All the cousins at the feet of David

Duomo

Piazza Della Signoria: Michelangelo's David

Nicole's old apartment building from student days in Florence

Jeff showing how tall he is

Florence street with Vespas to rent

Elsbeth overlooking the Ponte Vecchio

Right next to this piazza is the gateway to the famous Uffizzi Gallery, home of many of the greatest pieces of Renaissance artwork. They walked through the gateway, but they didn't browse through but instead made their way to the Arno River and Nicole's old apartment adjacent to the Ponte Vecchio.
Next was lunch in a shady spot near Piazza de Duomo.  And then on to Managini ice cream where kids got to create custom ice cream bars with dipping chocolate and toppings.

Santa Croce 

Nicole taking pictures 

After the group split with one going to a DaVinci alive interactive exhibit in a church and the other to Santa Croce, the oldest church in Florence that houses the bodies of Dante, Michelangelo and Galileo.

Florence Cathedral

Florence Cathedral

Which trinkets should I choose?

Annika loving Florence!

Annika and Olivia walking streets of Florence

Then back to the train station for the trip back to Rome. Arrived back in Rome hot, sweaty and tired. Just enough time for a quick shower before dinner time.  Went to another great Italian restaurant with more delicious seafood and pasta dishes.  After dinner Michele led us to the Piazza Navona fountain to throw coins in which we hope will ensure a return to Rome -- the Trevi Fountain is closed so this was our best effort.  Lots of palmists, buskers, and sellers of various cheap souvenirs that were amazing to the kids. We stopped for more gelato on our return to the hotel at the end of a very long day for kids and parents alike.

Anneka and Olivia with Nana

Another feast together