In celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary (a year and a half ago)...and both turning 40 recently-ish, Mike and I went on a grand adventure to Italy. Lois and Mark kindly held down the fort here so we could spend a week together without any of our kids! What a gift!! It was AMAZING. We flew to Naples and spent the first part of the trip on the Amalfi Coast, new for both of us, and ended the trip in Rome, which we each visited in our high school/college days - which was a long long long long time ago.
I was a little sad leaving the kids behind, but then...
...Positano!! What a beautiful town for a relaxing adventure. This was the view from our hotel balcony.
We took a bus way up into the mountains and hiked along a beautiful stretch of coast called the Path of the Gods - see the black dots in the picture below? Mountain goats! - and then made the unfortunate decision to take the stairs down. We didn't see but one other group along that lengthy journey down 1800 steps. We were reminded of this decision just about every time we took a step as the pain in our knees and legs lingered until almost the end of our trip.
The smiles of two people who didn't realize how much further they still had to go.
Then some beach time. I'd read about a restaurant called Da Adolfo over and over again in my research before we left. A very little boat with a red fish sign picks up whoever can manage to get on and takes you to their beach cove where we had a delicious lunch and lounged on the beach the rest of the day.
Menu: we went with what the waiter recommended - grilled mozzarella on lemon leaves, raw tuna with garlic and olive oil, mussels in a tomato sauce, pasta, and peach wine. Delicious!
Next to the island of Capri. We caught a boat and went straight to the blue grotto where a smaller boat came up to ours and took 4 people at a time inside the sea cave. We got to be fast/close friends with a lady from Arizona (she's the one below with the camera on top of me and then Mike) when we all had to lay on top of each other flat on the bottom of the boat in order to fit through the small tunnel leading into the cave.
It's definitely blue.
Once off the boat, this was the view of all the little boats vying for a turn into the cave.
Then up to the top of Monte Solaro in Anacapri on the infamous single person chairlift. Lots of time to yourself to take self-portrait photographs (or "selfies" as Mike calls them) and to witness a beautiful view. Except, once we got to the top it was covered in clouds, so at that point the view was extremely limited. Like, all white.
Making our way through the cloudy abyss.
We were sad to learn this path was closed so we just enjoyed the views. Can you find Mike below?
Though we wouldn't have minded avoiding it, we braved a ride on the town buses that seem to drive without incident along one lane roads (with two lane traffic), a steep cliff on one side, hairpin turns, pedestrians walking along the road, and mopeds passing from every which way to get to Amalfi and Ravello. We'd read they get overcrowded, hot, with long waits if you miss it, and we found that this is indeed all true, though we managed just fine. We spent most of our time in quiet, quaint Ravello and walked the streets, toured villas, and enjoyed amazing views at every turn.
Mike taking a picture of me taking a self-portrait photograph with an unbelievably beautiful view.
Duomo in Amalfi.
Then off to Rome, but first a bus (like those I mentioned before) to Sorrento, a metro train to Pompeii, a five hour walk through the ruins (SO fascinating!), a metro train to Naples, a fast train to Rome, a city bus to our hotel. All that (except the Pompeii part), with our luggage - good thing we travel very light. Done.
An archway in Pompeii with good old Mount Vesuvius in the background.
Mike behind the counter of a 79 A.D. version of a fast food joint and me in one of the rooms of a 79 A.D. version of a brothel.
Theater in Pompeii.
Just a run of the mill building in Rome.
Once we got to Rome we became big time tourists and walked to every site from our hotel in the amazing Campo de Fiori neighborhood. We had a very short time there, Mike planned the activities and he's a former speed walker so he wasn't messing around.
Pantheon (both of us vote this site the coolest of the cool)
The Forum
The Colloseum
Trevi Fountain
Roaming around Rome.
Spanish Steps
St. Peters Basilica - we went up to the dome, considered walking up, then saw it's about 500 steps. We didn't make that mistake again.
On our last night we visited St. Peters and took an evening tour of the Vatican museum. The map room is one of my favorites (above) and the Sistine Chapel was amazing.
After climbing up and down innumerable numbers of steps and hills, taking countless selfies (most from that solo chair lift), and poring through Rick Steves' recommendations and listening to his guided tours at most of the sites, somehow the trip was over and it was back to reality. The kids loved their time with just Nana and Papa and while I rarely like it when a vacation ends, it was nice consolation to know that we would soon see these little ones again at the end of a wonderful trip together.
Now, a few days later and it's like we never left. But thankfully I have the pictures to remind me we did. Our next adventure? Summer! Starting in just two weeks!!! More fun times ahead.
P.S. Also, thank goodness for Rick Steves...
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