Georgia on my mind

We beat the volcanic ash and made it home Tuesday evening at 9pm daylight savings time but 3am Venice time. After tight connection in the Frankfurt airport with a really stern customs officer we were pampered by the wonderful service on the Lufthansa Airline flight. Free wine great food and warm hand wipes throughout the trip, I give them two thumbs up.
So now that the bags are unpacked and fridge restocked, I've had time to reflect on our 3 week adventure. Italy is old and beautiful. The tourist towns are crowded and expensive but worth the effort. Our favorite time was the 5 days we spent in the Cinque Terra. The beautiful harbor in Vernazza welcomed us every evening to watch the sunset. The days were filled with hiking and exploring the other towns in the region.





Sorrento Amalfi and Capri took 2nd place in my heart. My pulse and stomach still remember the bus rides along the narrow and winding roads high above the Amalfi and Capri coasts. I can still see the waters of the blue grotto and the views from the top of the chairlift in Anacapri.





I have a growing fascination with Italian door knockers,





lizards,gardens



and tile house signs.


I have learned to carry my own toilet paper, expect really small showers and a healthy respect for long and narrow stairs. Oh and now my coffee seems like child's play after the mud like substance we drank every day.
Ron and I had a most wonderful adventure.

Location:Dunbar Creek Point Saint Simons Island

Home Again

It is with a sad heart that we leave the beautiful country of Italy. However we are ready to be in the good old USA. If all goes well today we face the 3 flights and 16 hours of travel with wonderful memories, about 300 pictures (don't worry we will only bore you with about 200 of them). The word looks good from Iceland and the Italians did not go on strike today, what more could we ask for.

Location:Marco Polo Airport

Stuck in Italy

Well Ron and I left for the airport happy to be on our way home. Not so fast buckos! Continental changed our flight from Venice to Philly till tomorrow but kept the Philly to Jacksonville leg scheduled for today. As Ron said if we were time travelers maybe it would work. So we now we have to find out what went wrong and how to fix the flight for tomorrow. The problem is that there is no Continental office at the Marco Polo Airport.So a kind travel advisor gave us a # to call. Next we purchase a calling card and with great optimism we head off to find a pay phone. After about our 4th or 5th try we finally get a person at the Continental # only to be disconnected after about 10 words. Suffice it to say after 4 hours we finally got every thing straightened out and we are in our hotel room. Till we turned on the BBC and found out about the volcano in Iceland. To be continued......

Location:Hilton Garden Inn in the middle of nowhere

Working our way back home

Well, we started the day confident that it would be smooth sailing. We were sorry to leave the delightful Sister Emma (I still think she has a crush on Ron).



But we had our train tickets booked on the fast train to Venice and all we had to do was find our Hilton Hotel near the airport. Well the train pulled out on time and three minutes later pulled to a screeching halt. We watched the conductor run through the train talking on a cell phone and right away we had a bad feeling. We soon heard rapid Italian over the loud speaker with no English translation. The gist was that our EuroExpress train (for which we paid the big bucks) broke down and we would now switch to the regional train for the rest of the trip. So Ron had to extricate our luggage from the overhead rack without killing any of our fellow passengers so we could board another train that was booked with it's own passengers. We found a seat squeezed our luggage in the overhead rack again and off we went. So we are about 90 minutes late but at least we were almost there till the train screeched to a grinding halt 10 minutes from our stop. We were sure we were going to be playing train musical chairs again but the train took off and we arrived at our destination and found our hotel with relative ease.
As much as we have loved the B&B's it is nice to be in a hotel with an elevator. We had a beer by the pool went for a swim and now we are ready to face the 4 flight 16 hour travel day tomorrow. Let's just hope the workers don't go on strike.

Location:Venezia

Last Day in Rome

On our last day in Rome, we started early and got to the Vatican Museum before the crowds got crazy. It was amazing and we absorbed as much religious art as humanly possible. But we did not get to see St. Peters because the line was about 1500 people ahead of us and it wasn't moving, so we opted to visit the Church of San Angelo which offers the same panoramic views but no lines.



I was disappointed that I did not get to see the Pope because I was going to ask him to pray that the Italian people would be saved from the toilet seat and toilette paper shortage that is plaguing the country.
After the Vatican we trekked back across the Tiber River to check out Piazza Navone and the Pantheon.



I could tell Ron had reached his Italian site saturation point when he left me in the dust working his way back to our room and a glass of wine. Our feet are blistered, our legs are tired and we are ready to give up these 12 hour walking days for home and our own bed and luxurious shower.

Tomorrow we head back to Venice then on Monday home. We miss our friends and family but this trip has been (as I am always telling Ron), "an adventure"!

Location:Vatican Museum

Roman Holiday

I know that most of this post has been a travelogue, but today I want to share a few of the logistics. Throughout this trip we have negotiated many steps, heavy suitcases and tight travel
vehicles, but nothing prepared us for the shower from hell. Ron as always paves the way setting the handle at the right temperature and reporting on the idiosyncrasies. So when I heard him struggling in the bathroom I knew we were in for a treat. Imagine if you will a 2 x 2 square base with folding doors on two sides. Now add a base that is 2 inches deep and a bath mat that sticks to the bottom and clogs the drain. To try an shave your legs requires the balance and agility of a Cirque du Soleil. Once you try to escape from this enclosure the folding doors refuse to open.




Next if I may let me describe our room. I was pleasantly surprised that we had a queen size bed. I found it amusing that it had a leopard print spread. When we pulled down the covers to get into bed we found an array of print and color combinations that would not be featured on HGTV. The good sisters of the Sacred Heart need to contact Candice Olsen for some Devine Design.




We spent the morning touring the ruins of ancient Rome and the afternoon and evening checking out where the locals hang. We found a delightful little coffee shop that serves lunch and has free Wi-Fi so it is our new daily hang out. I made three wishes at Trevoli Fountain too.




So tomorrow it's off to the Vatican. Maybe it will be our lucky day and the Pope will check on my hair. Ciao

Location:Santa Caterina di Policelli

Pompeii and Roma

Well we made it to Rome and sadly this is the last stop before heading home. We left our B& B in Sorrento this morning and stopes to see the ruins of Pompeii. Those people knew how to live. The one home was 37,000 square feet and covered a whole city block.



Another had a beware of the dog sign tiled into the front foyer.




We hit the road to Rome by noon and aeries on the fast train
by 2pm. That is the way to go. We found our Monastery hotel and met a charming nun who seemed to have a soft spot for Ron. This is the place that has the 10:30 curfew and no Internet service so I have to make this fast. We do not want to be locked out in Rome. The place is lovely and serene but a bit regimented.




Breakfast is at 7 am sharp and checkout at 9am. we are off to the colleseum tomorrow. Caio.

Location:Rome