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| giant door for cars, tiny door for humans at our hotel in Napoli |
After a grueling 3 months of study it was time for vacation! We took the fast train to Napoli for four days in a city as different as possible from our new home base Arezzo. Napoli is noisy, gritty, crowded and packed with interesting historical sites, as well as providing the best coffee and pizza in Italy (according to the Italians). Of course we tried both and the pizza is indeed delicious.
We never figured out the bus system but most things were within walking distance and there were plenty of taxis. Napoli beat Florence in the national championship soccer game while we were there, which gave us plenty to chat with the taxisti about. There was quite a scandal as a crazed fan shot a Napoli fan in Rome where the game was being played. A battle ensued and 6 more fans were seriously injured.
The museo archaeologico is a major attraction in Napoli and well worth a visit. It contains the Farnese marbles as well as the artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The sculptures in the Farnese collection are incredibly well preserved because they were transported to a private collection almost immediately after they were discovered.
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| Tom shows Hercules how to pose after his 11th task |
The frescoes and mosaics from Pompei are equally well preserved.
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| The first "beware of the dog" sign from Pompeii |
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Part of the Pompeii porno collections from the "Gabinetto Segretto". In prior times
the collection could be viewed only with the permission of the king.
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| Tom admires some glass and bronze artifacts from Pompeii |
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| Pillars and mosaics from Pompeii |
On another day, we walked through the University district (reminder of home!), various piazze, through a 6 block street market, to a funicular that took us to the top of the hill overlooking Napoli, site of an old castle and an even older convent, both with spectacular views of the Gulf of Napoli and the city.
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| Napolitanean waters his dog at piazza carita |
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| fruttivendolo at street market |
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| Tom and friend in convent cloisters |
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| pig faces and tripe at market |
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| View of Naples and the Gulf from the castle |
There are an incredible number of churches in Napoli and we visited a lot of them. We stopped in at the Duomo for Sunday mass (of course) which was being celebrated as a high mass with three bishops.
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| the over the top St. Gennarus chapel at the Duomo |
There is graffitti everywhere in Napoli--even on the churches!
After 4 days in Napoli we took a very roundabout route to Sardegna--walk to the train station, take the train to Rome, then the bus to Ciampino, then RyanAir to Alghero on Sardegna then a rental car to our hotel! We could have taken a ferry from Napoli but I made the plane reservations before we decided to go to Napoli. The day after we arrived we picked up Kelly at the Olbia airport and the sightseeing began!
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| a morning toast on the apartment balcony in Palau |
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We walked up to Capo d'Orso (bear rock) which didn't look like a bear but there were
beautiful panoramic views |
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| in front of bear rock |
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| view from our apartment balcony |
We did a one day tour of the Costa Smeralda but, as Kelly mentioned frequently, we did not see George Clooney. We did see incredible beaches, yachts, and lots of flowers.
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| "I wish I had my bathing suit!" |
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| Porto Cervo--Tom's next boat |
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| selfie at the beach |
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| The island is covered with wildflowers |
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| antipasti at mother's day lunch |
We also took a ferry ride to Maddalena Island and drove across the causeway to Caprera Island where we visited Garibaldi's house ).(Garibaldi is a huge hero in Italy--he is credited with creating the unified Italian state in the 19th century. Our rental car is a Skoda yeti--something I'd never heard of. Didn't stack up to well against the Ferrari 'parade' we saw on costa Smeralda--6 red ferraris in a row, followed by a lone BMW.
On one of our day trips we visited two nuraghic sites--the nuraghe are the remains of prehistoric civilizations on Sardegna, 4000-6000 BC. There are over 7000 nuraghe on Sardegna, many still to be excavated.
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| Kelly on top of nuraghe temple |
Today we moved from Palau to Costa Rei, a 'resort village' that is virtually deserted. We can see the ocean from our apartment, and the beach is a 3 minute walk. Kelly and I enjoyed a swim and some beach time in the warm blue water, then we dined al fresco on the balcony. There is an almost full moon and it is supposed to be 80 degrees again tomorrow. Ce la dolce vita!
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| Queen of the Rock! |
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| Catch me mom! |
