Sept 5, 2019
This has been one of those travel days to try the most sturdy traveler. We got all packed up and out of our apartment by 11:00 am this morning and David actually figured out how to call a taxi in Italian. He has been managing his Italian really well this trip, unlike me. As soon as I try and talk, I'm searching for words and can't remember what word I need. I'm blaming it on a change in diet, sleep and exercise. I feel like all the brain gains I've made have disappeared. In any case, we got a taxi and went to Budget to rent a car. That all went pretty much to plan even though the way it is done would never pass muster at home. We rented the car and then were sent across busy streets without cross walks to pick up our car, all the while feeling like our life was about to end. We managed to grab a quick coffee on the way to pick up the car since we'd had nothing to eat or drink. With our new Italian car, we headed to Pompei, which is on the way to our Air BnB on the Amalfi Coast. That all went pretty smooth, other than missing a couple of turns and having to pay toll three times to correct our journey. Finally in Pompei, it was hot and humid. After a bit more frustration, we managed to download an app to help us on a self guided walking tour. If you love Roman ruins, Pompei is your place to visit. It was founded in the 7th century BC and was a thriving Roman city for hundreds of years. In 62 AD, there was a severe earthquake, damaging much of the city and they were in the process of rebuilding much of it when they were smothered by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. So much of the city has been uncovered and you can walk for miles through the streets, viewing temples, houses, bakeries, places of business, theaters and the ancient Roman baths. You can actually see people and animals who were petrified by the volcanic lava. It is so weird. We spent about three hours there and filled our minds with Roman history lore until we'd had enough. By now, it is about 4 pm and I still haven't had anything but coffee and starting to feel the impact. We stopped at a restaurant called Mt Vesuvius Ristorante - imagine that. It was good food but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the food we had in Napoli. Finally, filled up and ready to move on, we got on the road headed to our Air BnB. Somehow in all the navigation process, when I reloaded the address for our Air BnB, I failed to add the city, putting in only the address. Little did we know that there were two towns, a few miles apart with the same address. We ended up at the wrong one and the person trying to figure it out with us spoke not a word of English. Tempers flared a bit and I think it might have been my least shiny moment. I'm still trying to adjust to my new hormones on board and it doesn't take much for me to want to dissolve into tears and fly off the handle in anger. This isn't my normal MO so it doesn't feel quite right and after a while, I talked myself off the cliff and we worked things out. David got pretty amped and upset as well, not his ordinary way of doing things either. Just a rough spot. The Air BnB owner finally sent us a dropped pin location on the iPhone and then we easily found our spot. Traveling has those moments. We apologized to each other and our 22 year old son was the peace maker, behaving admirably just the way he'd been taught by his two parents who were acting otherwise.
David handled the drive like a gem. There is no way to describe driving on these streets that are so narrow with people and cars passing each other and only inches to spare. Nobody seems to bat an eye. It is just the way it is.
Our AirBnB is absolutely lovely and we can see the Amalfi Coast out our window. If you can't feel happy about that, you have one foot in the grave. Pretty incredible here.
This has been one of those travel days to try the most sturdy traveler. We got all packed up and out of our apartment by 11:00 am this morning and David actually figured out how to call a taxi in Italian. He has been managing his Italian really well this trip, unlike me. As soon as I try and talk, I'm searching for words and can't remember what word I need. I'm blaming it on a change in diet, sleep and exercise. I feel like all the brain gains I've made have disappeared. In any case, we got a taxi and went to Budget to rent a car. That all went pretty much to plan even though the way it is done would never pass muster at home. We rented the car and then were sent across busy streets without cross walks to pick up our car, all the while feeling like our life was about to end. We managed to grab a quick coffee on the way to pick up the car since we'd had nothing to eat or drink. With our new Italian car, we headed to Pompei, which is on the way to our Air BnB on the Amalfi Coast. That all went pretty smooth, other than missing a couple of turns and having to pay toll three times to correct our journey. Finally in Pompei, it was hot and humid. After a bit more frustration, we managed to download an app to help us on a self guided walking tour. If you love Roman ruins, Pompei is your place to visit. It was founded in the 7th century BC and was a thriving Roman city for hundreds of years. In 62 AD, there was a severe earthquake, damaging much of the city and they were in the process of rebuilding much of it when they were smothered by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. So much of the city has been uncovered and you can walk for miles through the streets, viewing temples, houses, bakeries, places of business, theaters and the ancient Roman baths. You can actually see people and animals who were petrified by the volcanic lava. It is so weird. We spent about three hours there and filled our minds with Roman history lore until we'd had enough. By now, it is about 4 pm and I still haven't had anything but coffee and starting to feel the impact. We stopped at a restaurant called Mt Vesuvius Ristorante - imagine that. It was good food but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the food we had in Napoli. Finally, filled up and ready to move on, we got on the road headed to our Air BnB. Somehow in all the navigation process, when I reloaded the address for our Air BnB, I failed to add the city, putting in only the address. Little did we know that there were two towns, a few miles apart with the same address. We ended up at the wrong one and the person trying to figure it out with us spoke not a word of English. Tempers flared a bit and I think it might have been my least shiny moment. I'm still trying to adjust to my new hormones on board and it doesn't take much for me to want to dissolve into tears and fly off the handle in anger. This isn't my normal MO so it doesn't feel quite right and after a while, I talked myself off the cliff and we worked things out. David got pretty amped and upset as well, not his ordinary way of doing things either. Just a rough spot. The Air BnB owner finally sent us a dropped pin location on the iPhone and then we easily found our spot. Traveling has those moments. We apologized to each other and our 22 year old son was the peace maker, behaving admirably just the way he'd been taught by his two parents who were acting otherwise.
David handled the drive like a gem. There is no way to describe driving on these streets that are so narrow with people and cars passing each other and only inches to spare. Nobody seems to bat an eye. It is just the way it is.
Our AirBnB is absolutely lovely and we can see the Amalfi Coast out our window. If you can't feel happy about that, you have one foot in the grave. Pretty incredible here.
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