Again, more Sorrento

Im writing this pst from Stuttgart, Gemany 25 Feb, but I am going to catch up with what we have done so far: Sat 13 Feb A simple uncomplicated day, but interesting nonetheless. After breakfast, Sheila and I headed straight for Mimis, a local pastery shop and coffee house. We tried one of Dominico`s doughnuts Very different in texture and sweetness than the American equivalent. We ad a beautiful sunny day one of the few we`ve had since arriving in Italy. We were looking forward to the trip to Salerno down the Amalfi coast argueably one of the most picturesque coaslines in the world. We waited for the SITA bus, and met a couple from San Diego going part way with us. There seem to be alot of Americans in Italy. That`s good because we can keep the Japanese company. They`re in plentiful supply too. The ride down the Amalfi coast is a thrill not so much because of the view but because of the ride. This is a one lane road most of the way. There is no way a bus can negotiate this road, but some how they do. The bus must honk to warn oncoming drivers on blind curves of impending doom. Often drivers ours included must brake sharply to avoid collision. Inching by oncoming traffic, passing by trucks with fractions of centimeters to spare, motorscooters, sportcars passing us to get ahead, all happens while clinging to a cliff 500 feet above the Mediterranian Sea. It was hair raising, and I loved it. The Amalfi coast is beautiful, but no moreso than our oun Northern California coast. What makes Amalfi so popular are the villages and homes that cling to the hillsides.It is truely spectacular. It is a long ride however. Three hours each way from Solerno and back of course takes all day on a bus. What it cost us was the ability to see Paestum south of Salerno. Paestum is the site of some of the best ancient Greek ruins in the world. I wa disappointed to have missed it. Were I to do this trip again, I would take the bus to the town of Amalfi, go back to Sorrento, only a couple of hours. Then I wold take the autostrada to Paesum enabeling us to see both sights. Travel is about learning and making choices about what you want to see. this issue will coe up again as I cintinue this narrative. When we got back to the hostel well after dark. Thr driver for some reason dropped us off before the schedule stop. He just said, Sorrento? OK, here, and he opened the door. One other person, Sheila and I had to get off. Sheila and I didn`t know where we were. We wandered around finally getting oriented. We came back into town to a town full of people out walking, vendors installs selling everything from tee shirts to sausages, leatherwear, hats seemingly everything, and none of this stuff was here when we left this morning. We found our way through the throng, and we stopped at the local market for dinner: wine, tuna stuffed peppers abot the siz of a silver dollar, olives, proscuito, artichokes-a meal fit for Ulysses himself. I brought the tabe in from the terrace, and we had dinner in the room and talked over the day past and the day to come. We leave tomorrow for another adventure. I hope all is well. It certaily is here. Love to youall.

More Sorrento

Thurs 12Feb. Sheila and I got up for the breakfast included in the price of the hostel. It was definitely forgettable not because of the food because of the coffee. We have been spoiled by the coffee availabe in the hotels and coffee shops. It's always freshly made, but this was from a machine. Well, not a problem. We'll just find another local coffee shop and indulge ourselves. After breakfast, we walked down to the local fishing village for alook at the local color and our first view of the Mediterranian. This is the site of Odysses' encounter with the sirens. It is reflected in the local artwork: the wooden inlays and the ceramics. Next day we walked the streets of Sorrento. It's a charming place hugging the Amalfi coast: It is said that Enrico Carruso spent his last weeks here because he considered it so beautiful. To save money and experience more of the local fare, we go into food shops,alimentaria, to get food for dinner. It's great stuff, but we always have to eat it cold. No micowaves. Oh the hardships. Next day, we had an amazing experience. The trip so far has been about the rock stars of history: the kings, the popes, the great artists, but today was different. We went to Pompeii, and today was about the people. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD burying the city of 20,000 and preserving a Roman city at the height of the Pax Romana. The narrow cobbled streets are rutted from the passage of centuries of wagon commerce. The shops lined the streets. We wen tinto homes where the frescoes were still visible. We went to theatres where people entertained themselves with drama, comedy or gladitorial contests. We walked in the footsteps of the people. We even went into a brothel with frescoes depicting the menu of services. The entire experience was very enilghtening. The city is set overlooking the Bay of Naples and rests in the shadow of Vesuvius. Beautiful. We were freezing when we got back. Stopping into our local wine shop, Carlo, the proprietor, said, "Cold?" and without hesitation poured us each a glass of limoncella, a local lemon liquor. We had a friend. Bye for now. Love to you all.

Sorrento

Sheila and I said our goodbyes to Roma and headwd for Sorrento. It has been raining for most of our trip, but it does not seem to dampen the spirit of this journey. We got to the Termini, the main train station n Rome. We had to negotiate the long linr waiting for tickets. This was going to be our first use of the Eurail Pass. It went well, but we had to pay 6 euro for a reservation fee, but wee got the most amazing acccomodations--first class because that's what eurail passes require. We had a cmpartment to ourselves. The train ride-- I fantasized that I was Hercuel Perot from an Agatha Christy novel. Fun! We rode through the soggy Italian countryside reminiscent of Mexico--charming but cluttered and trashy in someplaces. Around every bend however, there is some reminder of antiquity--a castle, a villa, a remnant of an aquaduct. It never stops. We got to Sorrento after dark somehow found our accomodations--a hostel in name only. Hotel Ulysses delux This place is palatial marble floors, suited desk clerks, a wet bar, 65 euro per night. Reasonable. Sorrento is a name that derives from sirens who called to Odesseus. Right now, Sheila and I are in Civita, an ancient Etruscan city and dinner is on its way along with Franco's homemade wine. More later. Love to you all.

Dear friends and Family, since I have computer access, Im going to continue with my our saga. Sheila and I finished the Vatican day with a visit to the Basilica. Great, but overwhelming in a different way. The size of this place is incredible. The statuary is gargantuan. Everythig says bigger is better. Even the audiotour says its the largest Christian church in the world, and it gives measurements to prove it. By the time we got to the end of the day sometime around five oclock, we were all religioned out. Whew. Maybe the highlight of the day the rest room easily the cleanest in the known universe. Theres always someone there to clean up. Speaking of that, Sheila loves the bidees in Italy. Secretly so do I. Were having a great time. Next day we took a walking tour of Rome. We walked through Piazza de Fiori an open air market. It was raining so the shoppers were hardcore to say nothingof crazy American tourists on a budget. We went to the Bernini four rivers fountain, the obilisk Augustus dedicated to himself celebrating his victory over the Egyptians, the pillar Marcus Aurelius erected to himself celebrating his victory over the Gauls. One would think these guys suffered from severe penis envy. We saw th Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps. We caught all the highlights. Some of the best parts of Rome the people almost everyone has been great. I love the traffic, Its not like drivers are really trying to kill you,but you get the feeling that they wouldnt mind if they did. I absolutely love the motorscooters. These are the acrobats of motor traffic. They are all over the place rain or shine. Mostly rain. They dont care. They weave in and out of traffic passing on the left or right. Everyone rides them men women old young. Its great. I saw one guy talking on his cell phone turning a rainslick corner holding a cup of coffee in the hand on the handlebar. Sheila and I have proven we can eat on under 20 euro a day easily. With one exception we have taken public transportation or walked everywhere. Our weaknesses are predictible wine and good coffee or capuchino. We love you all. Hope all is well. All is certainly well here. More later.

Wow, maybe I figured this blog thing out, but no guarantees. Sheila and I have arrived safely in Europe. In fact we're over a week into our travels. Here's the news. We arrived in Rome after dark on a rainy night after over fifteen hours of travel, and we were exhausted. We were confused and disoriented. We couldn't find the bus station so we paid a cabbie to drive us. We were immediately ripped off. Thirty euro for the ride. Live and learn. After that, everything has gone swimmingly. After checking in, we found this quaint little pizzaria and met these two proprietors, Marco and Mateo. We had good pizza and a bottle of wine for half the price of our cab ride. I knew I was in the right city. On our first full day in Rome, we took a hop on hop off tour bus around the city. That gave us an overview about where things were located. We knew what we wanted to see. Second day, we went to the Colosseum, the Palatinate, and the Forum. This is arguably the most important piece of real estate in Western history. There we were walking in the footsteps of emperors. We ate a lunch of lefttovers from last night's dinner sitting on a fallen granit pillar 2000 years old. How cool is that? We walked all day, and I was sick with a cold. It rained to boot, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Next day, we went out to explore the open air market behind our hotel. We bought fruit, gorganzola, and proschuto for lunch. It was a wonderful experience rubbing elbows with the locals, listening to the calls of the fish mongers, and figuring out the currency. Great fun. That afternoon, we went to the Museo Nazionale Roma the most extensive collection of ancient statuary in Europe. There we were staring into the eyes of Augustus, the original statue that I'd seen pictured in history books. And the bust of Socrates and Caligula, and Nero, but I'm rambling. The bronze statue of the boxer impressed me most. It just spoke to me. No one who has sacrificed as an athlete could fail to see the sacrifice in his bronze eyes. Incredible. That afternoon, Sheila and I returned to the market to get some vegetables for a salad then to the local supermarket for bread. We dined in our room for undre twenty euro. Next day, Sunday 7 Feb, we went to the Borghese Museum. We needed reservations because they theoretically limit the time you can spend in the museum, but we never felt rushed. Nevertheless, we arrived early, picniced on leftovers from dinner as we listed to a local musician play the the sax. It reminded me of Berkeley. Cardinal Borghese was a ruthless art collector threatening people with prison if they didn't fork over their works. The museum is unbelievable--Bernini and Carravagio marble, paint and canvas come to life, and every work has it's own story. But nothing prepared us for the next day--the Vatican Museum and St Peter's Basilica. There are no words to describe this. Corridors 200 meters long not one square centimeter undecorated. Non one square fot of flor space not holding a masterpiece. Yet, even that is no preparation for the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo at the height of his creative power. We were looking up at man's creation and his last judgement. Breathtaking. Beyond words. More later. Love to you all, Michael and Sheila