Last Day in Italia

Today was the last day our our Italian adventure. We've definitely seen a drop off in our tourist interest. We only took about 5 pictures today. A clear sign that we are ready to go home. We are definitely ready to eat something not Italian. We can't wait for some good old Mexican!!

With nothing on the agenda, we just wandered the city, window shopped, and went back to the same place as yesterday for lunch. Unfortunately, April was unable to locate the FedEx boat. Instead, she had to settle for the DHL boat - lame.


We would like to take this time to alert our fellow Americans that they have been the victims of an insidious scam. We can confidently say that Mario's has the best chicken parm in the world. Of course, that is largely due to the fact that chicken parm does not exist in Italy. We've been to nearly 30 restaurants during our odyssey and no one has had chicken parm on the menu. Tom is so disallusioned. That's like finding out burritos are not Mexican (...What's that you say...?!?)

So we leave tomorrow morning and will be back in LA by late afternoon. We've had a great time and hope you enjoyed following our trip.

Venezia

Yesterday was our first full day in Venice. We didn't have a very long list of things to see, so we pretty much just wandered around the city. We did manage to get in a couple of very important sites - the bridge without railings and the original Ghetto. For some reason, April had her heart set on seeing the bridge without railings. Apparently, we were the only ones. It was tucked away on the north side of the city and we were the only ones around. April was sure to stay off the bridge when Tom was near, knowing the temptation might be too great for him to resist. The original ghetto is definitely not a ghetto anymore. It looked like most other piazzas. There was a holocaust memorial & a synagogue.

We also hit some of the more traditional tourist highlights like Piazza San Marco. However, as with most of those types of places, we found the hoards of tourists unbearable. For some reasonù, people let pigeons land on them and they feed them from their hands. Don't people know they are just flying rats? Gross! After a few minutes, we decided to escape the tourists and were remarkably successful. We actually wound up in a completely deserted area of town near the arsenal. It was a nice contrast to the overwhelming crowds. We found a decent spot for lunch that was probably 50/50 locals and tourists which is actually pretty good. It was one of our cheapest meals of the trip.

Last night, after dinner, we went on a gondola ride. Surprisingly, we were the only boat in the canals for most of the trip. Usually, when we see gondolas, they are backed up in traffic jams so we got really lucky. We went by Mozart & Goethe's houses as well as other famous Venice sites. It was very romantic (Tom did not write this).

Today is our last day in Venice, and Italy! We don't have anything planned, so April's search for the FedEx boat will probably be our only real mission.

Firenze

This morning we headed to Venice with a brief stop in Florence. But first, we had to get to the train station. It is about 1.5 km from our hotel, so we asked the guy at the desk the best way to get there (we originally walked from the train station - but were in no mood to do that with our heavy bags). He said he could call a cab, but we could walk. Tom told him that we'd probably prefer to cab it, and his response was priceless: "But you are strong". Tom quickly agreed that he was strong, but would still prefer to ride.

The train to Firenze was fairly quick and we were there by 11 AM. We decided to spend 3.5 hours there, figuring that would be enough to do everything we wanted. However, an hour and a half later, all we had seen was a line to the Academia Gallery (statue of David) and an even bigger line into the Duomo (monster church). At least we now have something to look forward to on our next trip to Italy. We did see the Ponte Vecchia bridge and a copy of the David statue. Overall - we were less than impressed. It seemed there were many more tourists in Florence than even Rome, and it was a bit annoying. The highlight of the day was when the cops came down a street which sent the hustle men running. We've never seen people move so fast. They obviously have the art of packing up their counterfeit goods down to a science.

Satisfied that there was nothing left in Firenze, we took an early afternoon train to Venice. April is looking forward to a romantic gondola ride tomorrow evening, but Tom is more interested in reliving some of their great canoe rides in the Concord river, where we tried to tip over other canoes (except for nerds in kayaks).

The Suffering

This morning we woke up early to get ready for our bike ride. April decided to return her
original bike so she could rent a better one from the great shop we found last night. We got to the shop and were happy to see Paladino, the owner. He got us set up quickly and we told him we'd be back for his lunch time ride. He seemed suspicious that April was coming - but I let him know she is usually faster than me. April was a little bit agitated, and was eager to prove him wrong.

After heading home to 'kit up', we headed out for a short 30 km morning ride to the west of Lucca. It was nice to be back out on the road, and this time on a properly fitted bike. Our course was also much more quiet than our ride out to Pisa. There was a decent hill at the edge of our trip, but we got nervous about gassing out when we still had the big ride in the afternoon, so we turned around to head back for lunch. We also started to see the first cracks in April as she dropped back rather quickly when the road started to go up.

We grabbed some quick pizza, but much to our surprise/disappointment, it was basically square, elementary school pizza. Thoroughly unsatisfying - an Italy first. We then headed over to the shop. April started to get nervous as she realized, the many gelato days were starting to have an effect. We were pretty embarrassed when it appeared Paladino sent away one of his friends who came to ride. An obvious comment on his opinion of our riding skills.

We set out for a ride along some open fields on narrow and quiet country roads. When we turned to start into the hills, Paladino was pointing out sites of interest including the home of a famous Italian sprinter's mom. We stopped a couple of times along the way to get water and take picture before the major climb started. It was 7.5KM long and a total elevation gain of around 2900 ft. If you do cycle, you know that is pretty tough, if you don't cycle take our word for it. After the first couple of kms, Paladino pulled away from Tom. April was already in distress. The good times didn't last much longer for Tom. Paladino said that the record time up the climb was just over 19 minutes by a professional. We're not sure how long it took us, but I'd bet over 45.

On several occasions, Tom would circle on the switchbacks (corners) to catch his breath. He pretended he was waiting for April - but that was really just a cover. April was even worse off, nearly brought to tears. Another friendly Italian gave April words of encouragement as he rode with her for a while. He ended up stopping at the top, waiting, and continuing with us for a few more miles. Eventually, the ultimate indignation - Paladino started back down the hill to see where we were. Tom was only 1 turn from the top but was in his circling pattern. He played it off like he was waiting for April, so Paladino came away with a very false impression of Tom (A. he's a strong cyclist held back by April and B. he's a supportive husband willing to sacrifice his ride for his wife - both false). Paladino continued down and April wasn't actually too far behind and gave her some encouragement. He then went back up to the top with Tom. When April got to the top, Paladino was actually super impressed with April. He said she was the best female cyclist in Lucca.

We then rode another 40 km the long way back to town for a fantastic ride (90km total for the day). Needless to say we are pretty wrecked, largely due to the preceding extended period of extreme inactivity. Overall, it was the highlight of our trip. We bought a couple of jerseys with the shop name (ChronoBikes) and took more pictures. Paladino said he was going to put our pictures on his wall, and we even heard him bragging in Italian to his buddies about April's riding prowess. We'll definitely have to come back once we are in a bit better shape! We got him a thank you bottle of wine and are going to send him a jersey from our local shop.

Slightly Askew Tower of Pisa

Yesterday, we arrived in Lucca, the next stop on our whirl wind Italian vacation. It's a small, walled medieval town about 50 km west of Firenze (Florence for you noners).
We're staying at a quaint B&B, Villa Romantica. Tom is none too pleased about the name, but he can't deny it's probably the best place we've stayed to date. Of course, his opinion is largely swayed by not 1 but 2 english-speaking television channels!!

The town is surrounded by a 30 ft high wall that is also about 50 ft deep. It's pretty impressive. The top of the wall has been converted to a park with benches and a wide bike path. Inside of the wall, it is truly a medieval city. It's exactly as you'd imagine it except replace the rats and lepers with fancy shoe shops and restaurants.

Today, we rented bikes at one of the 2 bike shops near our hotel. Tom broke his first bike on a test ride - completely bending the deraillier. They gave him the only other road bike they had but it was a little too small. April's bike was a little on the small side too, but they were close enough. We rode about 25 km to the south to see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was great to be on bikes again and off our aching feet. We took back streets but they were still busy, and we even had to traverse a 1km long tunnel. Tom flatted twice, so we spent almost the entire time in Pisa trying to pump up his tire (unsuccessfully) and then find a bike store (successfully with the help of 2 tourists and a couple of cops).

Overall Pisa, exceeded expectations. Based on what everyone told us, we were expecting a dump. It was actually pretty nice - but there wasn't much to do beyond see the tower and make fun of people taking lame pictures where they pretend to hold the tower up.

When we got back, Tom returned his bike because it was just too small and we went exploring the city and found a 3rd bike shop that also rented bikes, but high end ones. The owner was super cool and one of the employees was from the states so communication was a little easier than at the other shops. The owner offered to take us on his lunch time ride tomorrow up in the local mountains. We are thinking of doing it as we've been dying to do some climbing.

Pompeii & Friends

Yesterday, we trained up to Pompeii to check out the ruins. We weren't expecting such a large and well preserved city. It was amazing! Walking down the small streets with largely intact buildings on both sides, you could really get a great sense for what this place was like 2000 years ago. Many of the houses and shops were in great condition with paintings still on the wall. There were also a couple of theatres and a mini-coliseum that were in much better shape than the ruins in Rome. There was also some surviving marble which was neat. We spent over 3 hours touring the site and still didn't get to everything. Again, there were plenty of well behaved independent puppies roaming around and benefiting from the generosity of the tourists. Some people were petting them, but we're sure they are regretting that now that they probably have fleas.

We headed back to Sorrento for a late lunch and our customary afternoon nap. But as we were walking through town, we heard someone calling Tom's name. It turned out it was one of our friends from college, Adam!! He and his wife, Danielle, were spending a week in Italy. Tom hadn't seen him in about 2 years and April hadn't seen him in 7 years. We spent a while chatting in the street and decided to hook up later for dinner. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant in the marina and had a great time. It was a nice change of pace from our usual solitary meals.

Our dinner neighbor tried to get us to order whitebait, which sounded like some sort of sardinnes, but we all balked. When our dinner came and he saw we didn't order them, he was pretty sad, because we think he wanted to have some. April offered him some calamari but he really had his heart set on the whitebait.

Today we trained up to Lucca (about an hour west of Florence). At the train station in Napoli, we tried to buy some snacks for the ride, when it was brought to our attention that we were trying to pass a counterfeit 20!! We think it was from the change we got at lunch on Saturday at the Fauno Bar (do not go there!). So now we have a useless fake 20 - thank god it wasn't a 100.

Tomorrow we are all set to rent some bikes and head out to Pisa and beyond. We checked and there are 2 bike shops next to each other and they both rent road bikes so we are all set.

Positano Stairs

In lieu of the lack of availble bikes for hire (aren't we continental?), we decided to head over to Positano on the other side of the penninsula today. We grabbed the SITA bus from the station around the corner which took us on a long windy road over the mountain along the cliffs to Positano. The views are spectacular but the road is narrow so it can be a bit nerve wracking at times. (People with the initials JA would be pumping their imaginary brakes the entire time!)

The bus let us off about 800 ft up, so we had to hoof it down the stairs. Not bad on the way down, but we were not psyched about the return trip. Positano has a really neat old world feel with very narrow streets and tons of shops. Of course, we aren't big shoppers so most of that is wasted on us. Positano must be known for its sandals because about everyother shop was selling them. A few places had guys outside actually making them.

We ran into a family that we met yesterday catching the train. It was good to see they made it as they got on the wrong train! We also met a family from Connecticut with a near identical itinerary as us. They actually did us a favor and let us know that there was construction on the road to Amalfi, so we ended up not going. We grabbed a nice lunch right on the beach and then headed back up the mountain. It actually wasn't all that bad and we were passing people left and right, so our form isn't completely gone.

The bus ride home was quite an adventure. The first bus that came by was stuffed and only one person could cram in. By now, there were probably 30 people waiting to head back to Sorrento. When the next bus came, it didn't look much better. For some reason, this bus was only 2 minutes after the first, but the buses are usually at least a half hour apart, so we knew this might be our only chance for a while. Seeing an opportunity, April made a dash for the bus, knocking old ladies to the side (accounts may differ). It was great to see such tenacity and very unexpected! Luckily, I was able to sneak into her wake and sneak onto the bus. About another 10 people were able to get on and people left road side were very upset.

Apparently in Italy, there are little to no safety requirements as there were people practically stuffed in overhead bins. It was insanely hot, so we didn't much mind that this driver was more aggressive than our first. He basically, just honked his horn the entire trip to say "coming through, move it or lose it". There were a couple hardened old cyclists along the road which was like rubbing salt in our wounds. The saddest moment of the day when an older man in his 70's, about as tall as Tom's waist, tried to get off the bus but by the time he made it through the crowd, the driver had started up again. Everyone yelled to stop, but that driver was hard core. The bus drove on for another 10 minutes before he was able to get off at the next stop. April almost cried.

So far the neatest thing about Sorrento is the vibrant independent puppy community. We say independent because they are not affiliated with any specific people. They frequent most of the shops and take siestas outside the others. Some enjoy strolls with their friends and others prefer more solitary walks.

Tomorrow we head to Pompeii.

Train to Sorrento

Yesterday, we checked out of our hotel and took a train to Sorrento. Unfortunately, our intended train was booked so we had to catch the next one an hour later. This gave Tom time to wander around the station looking for a bathroom, which was surprisingly hard to locate. And when he found it, it charged 0.80 euro, so he decided to hold it.

We had window seats facing each other, but no seat reservations, so we had to hold our breath while other passengers boarded - hoping they wouldn't have tickets for our seats. Luckily, no one came and we got to keep them. The train ride was 2 hours, but went by really fast. There were mountains on one side and fields and ocean on the other. When we got to Napoli, we had to transfer to a commuter style train which was much less comfortable. It took 1:15 to get to Sorrento, but it seemed like forever.

After checking into our hotel, we decided to have lunch, explore a bit then check out a local bike shop where we planned to rent a couple of bikes for a trip along the coast to Positano and Amalfi. The walk to the bike shop was much longer than expected and when we arrived, to our disappointment, the shop was no longer there. It seems the shop hadn't been there for a couple of years either. Tom was so sad he almost started crying and he was fussy the entire walk back to our hotel. I almost put him on punishment and almost made him spend the night in one of the Carl Farbmanesque fold down bunk beds mounted on the wall across from our bed.

Dinner was great. We ate at a lively outdoor place complete with live piano music- mostly movie theme songs then we explored a bit more before heading back to the hotel. Next up, we're daytripping to Amalfi and Positano.

Last Day In Roma

Today was our last day in Rome and we still hadn't seen any catacombs so we got some tickets for the Archeobus to go see the biggest and oldest catacombs at San Sebastian. We definitely felt like noners being crammed on a tour bus, but it was the easiest way to get out there. It was our first time seeing and going outside the city walls which was really cool. We jumped off the bus at the first stop and decided to walk the rest of the way. It was a pleasant walk on a private tree lined street right off of Via Appia. As we were walking an old man on an even older bike passed us (barely). Although it was over 80 degrees out, this guy was wearing a cap, long sleeve shirt and sweater vest. We thought he was going to tip over he was going so slow. April wanted to hug him.

We got to the catacombs just in time for the last tour of the morning. They told us that these were the first catacombs and that the name catacomb actually derived from this area. This is apparently crucially important as our guide repeated this fact no less than 5 times. She also had a wicked accent. Tom was confused as to why she kept talking about symmetry, but she was really saying cemetary. Also, don't ever confuse a creamatorium with a dormitorium if you ever go on this tour - the guide will be very sad.

After we got back, it turned out to be Gelato Day again, so we went to one of the top places near the Trevi Fountain. It was manned by the Gelato Nazi. April was trying to kiss Tom when it was their turn to order so he had to quickly disown her or risk not getting any treat. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but some other people we asking for tastes and he barked "No Tastes!" We imagined the "for you." We'll give him this, that man knows how to make a Gelato.

Our last dinner in Rome, turned out to be our best (at least from Tom's perspective). It was nearby so we didn't have to walk far, it was relatively cheap, the check came in a flash, and oh yea, the food was good too.

Tomorrow morning we are headed by train to Sorrento for a couple of days. We're hoping to rent bikes on Friday and go for a long ride along the Amalfi Coast. On Saturday, we are going to visit Pompeii. After that we are heading up to Tuscany, to Lucca, for some romance - according to April. However, as evidenced by the current struggle for the keyboard, I think we all know what is going to happen.

Vatican

Yesterday we toured the Vatican. We used the same tour company as with the Coliseum, but results weren't as good. The Vatican was packed with huge tours so we had to use ear phones to hear our guide even though our group was only 5. Between shoddy connections and her accent, it was sometime difficult to hear. It wasn't that bad, though, so it was still enjoyable.

Tom was underwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel, but did you really expect anything else from such a non-believer? Saint Peter's Church was insanely big. We couldn't get over how enormous it was. We also went below to see some of the Pope's graves. John Paul II's had a crowd and a security person. We were both angry that the Roman's seemed to have a thing for statues of little boys killing cute baby animals. They were the true barbarians!

Our tour was in the afternoon, so by the time we got back, it was time to go to dinner. We tried a place around the corner from our hotel, that came highly recommended by the hotel staff. April had a bad experience the night before with the shrimp (they just fried the whole thing and left it for her to dissect!) so she took extra precautions with the waiter this time, including drawing a shrimp in his notepad. Unfortunately, the language barrier was too great and another 2 shrimp carcasses came out on her plate. Luckily, Tom came to rescue and cut the heads off on his plate and hid them under his garnish. Despite the scary presentation, the shrimp and the rest of the food was actually very good. And in what seems to be a dining tradition for us, two thirds of the time we spent at the restaurant turned out to be time waiting for the check after we asked for it. We can't quite figure out what happens during the course of the meal but at some point, our waiters just forget about us. The worst part is, we end up sitting at the table like idiots with no food or drink or cake. Anyway, Tom took matters into his own hands and went looking for our waiter who, as it turns out, was about a foot away from our table, filling waterbottles. Tom asked for the check for the second time and after about ten minutes, another waiter brought our check over. We paid and bounced.

Roma Day 2

After walking for about 3 hours yesterday, we made the mistake of returning to the hotel in the late afternoon to "rest" our feet and watch the Giro. Almost 3 hours later, we woke up confused and hungry. Not to worry, we went back out for a nice dinner and bottle of wine on Via Veneto. Thanks to our prime hotel location, this added another 3 miles to our mileage for the day because someone is too cheap to spring for a taxi (on the plus side, April has plenty of stores to choose from to purchase the necessary items for her hair). We also learned that 3 course meals are 2 too many for April.

By the time we got home and went to sleep we figured everything was set for our 9AM tour of the Coliseum and other ruins, but our cat nap earlier in the day came back to punish us as we both woke up at about 3 and couldn't fall asleep again until after 5:30. Of course, just earlier in the day Tom jinxed us by proclaiming that he never gets jet lagged (which he still stands by).

So after waking up late, we had to double time it down to the Coliseum for our near personal tour (only one other couple). The guide was kind of strange, but he was very thorough. It ended up as a pretty great experience and we're excited about tomorrow's tour of the vatican from the same company. The ruins were fantastic, but we still had trouble figuring out what was from the Roman Empire and what was added later because they kept building churches amongst the original ruins. The size of the buildings is pretty amazing especially considering they did it with only manual labor. We also learned that Tom would have been likely sold into slavery as a Gladiator. According to the guide, that often happened to the husky boys. He probably wouldn't have lasted long.

Some other notes on Rome, jaywalking is not only allowed, but apparently encouraged. This is greatly appreciated coming from LA where most people dare not cross once the light starts blinking. Food service here is pretty quick, which is a huge plus compared to our previous adventures in Europe. The weather has been great - mid 70's and it looks like we are in store for another gellato-day tomorrow!

Finally, we've been in Rome for 2 full days and we've yet to swat one baby down, but we remain at the ready!

Locked Up Abroad - Switzerland

April kept her streak of getting hassled at airport security intact on our way through Zurich. As usual, her bag was identified for additional screening. The first swab test came back positive, so the security person came back with some sort of battery powered hair drier and began rummaging through April's bag. At this point, I quickly removed my wedding ring and faded into the crowd so at least one of us could enjoy the vacation. April was annoyed but not surprised by my move, but I warned her about her nefarious activities. After watching a couple seasons of Locked-Up Abroad she should have known what she was getting into. But I imagine, locked up in Switzerland probably isn't too bad - likely no machetes. Luckily she passed the second test and I was able to reclaim her as my wife.

The flight was long, but the personal TVs, real silverware, and free booze were nice.

Our hotel is nice, but definitely not in the "prime" area. We are really close to the train station, which if you are familiar with Philly is like a dirtier 30th St. Station. We didn't get in until after 7PM, so we just dropped off our bags and got some quick pizza. April had a sausage pizza which was more like mystery meat, and I had what apparently was their clear flavor. I was able to convince her to "share" which should have let her on that something was up as I never share food. At least it was cheap.

After dinner we did a quick walk around town and saw ruins of a huge kegger in a park with bottles and trash everywhere. Beautiful.

This morning we woke up and headed out for a longer walk around town and saw some of the sights including the Pantheon, Spanish Stairs and the Trevi Fountain. April didn't want to see any of the major ruins like the Coliseum. We have a tour scheduled for tomorrow and she didn't want to spoil the surprise.