Our Apartment in Florence

Our apartment is very cute. It's not a color cast in these pictures- the walls are light purple. We're in a residential area not too far from Joey's school. Although the area is residential, there are pastry shops and cafes and grocery stores within easy walking distance. We have big windows which are always open(there's no air conditioning here) and lots of light.

We spent the first few days learning our way around. We fumbled our way through grocery shopping which was interesting. When you buy produce at the grocery store, you weigh it and print a price tag. We figured this out by watching--but we were the only ones who needed an English to Italian translation book to do it. I finally found the eggs (uova) on the sugar and spice aisle-not refrigerated and right where everyone keeps them-right?

I have figured out how to work the gas, and how to wash clothes, but not how to make coffee with a European coffee maker. Fortunately, I found Coke Light at the supermarket-so I can get my caffeine fix without leaving the apartment.

We were pretty tired when we got here. He spent the week getting used to our surroundings. Next week, we are looking at more tourist exploration. Some of Joey's school friends will be here for a couple of days. After that, we are thinking of taking some weekend trips by train.

More next week...

Naples and Pompeii

After 3 nights in Rome, we were too tired to see anymore churches. We got up early and took the train down to Naples. After an overpriced and harrowing taxi ride through narrow and hilly roads, we arrived at our bed and breakfast in Mergellina-a small neighborhood near the port.

Our arrangements with the bed and breakfast were all made via the internet and by email-all in English. So, we were moderately surprised when the manager of the bed and breakfast spoke only Italian. Somehow, we managed to check in and go exploring.

Since we had been internet and phone-less for several days, our first exploration involved finding an internet cafe. After a few hours walking around, we determined that Mergellina is Internet Cafe-less.

The next day, we somehow managed to take the underground train, change lines twice, and find the main train station--where we then managed to find a train down to Pompeii. Mostly this was Joey's effort, not mine. Pompeii was interesting. But, by the time we got there, we were pretty exhausted, We managed about 2 hours of exploration before we headed back to Naples.

We found a restaurant that had Wi-Fi. I don't remember if we liked the food, or even what we ordered, but Joey was happy to send off emails to Bart and his friends.

The next morning we tried to call a cab to the train station. They wanted 50 euros for a 15 euro ride. Somehow, Joey got the manager of the b&b to get the cab straightened out and we were off to Florence.

Touring Rome

Joey and I had about 2 1/2 days in Rome. Our tour guide, Marilena, was energetic, fun and informative. She made me wish I had paid attention during history lessons some 30 or so years ago. Joey pretty much knew what she was talking about, but I either never knew or forgot pretty much everything.

Marilena helped us figure out how to ride the Metro and the Italian trains. She also had a European SIM card which Joey was able to use in his phone. If we hadn't spent all of our money on tour guides and gelato, we could phone home. For now, we're using Skype to talk to Bart and CJ.

The size of everything blew me away. I have to go back with the guide book and pictures to remember what all we saw. Even though we went to the Vatican City, I think we were probably the only Americans in town who missed the Sistine Chapel. Joey was very good directions and navigation, so we could wander around after Marilena left us. Ordering food was a challenge without Marilena. I think we had pizza for 5 straight days.

I haven't looked at our pictures yet, but I know I couldn't do justice to the sites we saw.

After Rome, we left the safety of an English speaking guide and took off on our own to Naples where no one we met spoke English. More later...

Arriving in Rome

Joey and I arrived in Rome at 8:30 a.m. and were met at the airport by our bed and breakfast host, Giorgio. He is almost 80 and still giving tours of Rome. I was a little worried about what was in store for us when Giorgio couldn't remember where the car was or how to pay to get out of the parking garage. In Rome, when you want to figure out something, you abandon your car in the middle of the road (leaving your jet-lagged female passenger in the back seat) and wander around until you figure things out.

Giorgio took us the long way back so that we could see Ostia-a beatutiful beach area. Now the problem is we're going to run out of fuel...

Finally, we get some fuel, Giorgio treats us to a cappuccino and we arrive at the bed and breakfast. Giorgio lives between the hospital and the university about 4 blocks from the Metro. By Rome standards, a quiet neighborhood. It reminds me of New York.

We have about 5 minutes before our guide, Marilena arrives to take us for a quick overview (6 hours) over the main areas of Rome.