July 2013 - Amalfi Coast

We landed in Naples, slept in a small hotel, and then took the train the next day to Sorrento. A bit of an adventure figuring out the local train system, lugging our supposedly travel-ready suitcases, and jostling through the weekend crowds. In Sorrento, we gave up on figuring out the bus and took the taxi to our hotel. We had awesome pizza at a quaint restaurant with a panoramic view of the Amalfi coast, a pleasant way to start our Italy adventure.



2013_7_027	2013_7_028	2013_7_029	2013_7_031	2013_7_032	2013_7_033

2013_7_034	2013_7_036	2013_7_037	2013_7_038	2013_7_039	2013_7_040

2013_7_041	2013_7_042	2013_7_043	2013_7_044	2013_7_045	2013_7_046

2013_7_047	2013_7_048	2013_7_049
Fresh squeezed orange juice from a fun machine - every morning should start with this much excitement! We found Jonmichael and Jen, and we took an hour bus ride to our new hotel. We carried our suitcases all the way down to the BellaVista hotel lobby, only to find out that our room was at the top of the stairs! Arghh. But nothing pizza and beer can't solve. After lunch, we went down to the water, where we found the courage to dive into the waters off the dock (emboldened by our Seattle experience). JMX won the diving contest. After freshening up, we went on the infamous hair-pin bus ride to Amalfi. The bottle of wine over dinner calmed our nerves.
			2013_7_050	2013_7_051	2013_7_052

2013_7_055	2013_7_056	2013_7_057	2013_7_058	2013_7_059	2013_7_060

2013_7_061	2013_7_062	2013_7_063	2013_7_064	2013_7_065	2013_7_066

2013_7_067	2013_7_068	2013_7_069	2013_7_071	2013_7_072	2013_7_074

2013_7_076	2013_7_077	2013_7_078	2013_7_079	2013_7_080	2013_7_082

2013_7_083	2013_7_084	2013_7_086	2013_7_087	2013_7_088	2013_7_089

2013_7_090	2013_7_091	2013_7_092	2013_7_093	2013_7_094	2013_7_095

2013_7_096	2013_7_097	2013_7_098	2013_7_099	2013_7_100	2013_7_101

2013_7_102	2013_7_103	2013_7_104	2013_7_105	2013_7_106	2013_7_107
Another gorgeous day. We ventured to Positano and took pictures every other step. Super lunch overlooking the beach. Then we lazed around on the beach, while Jen tried to teach JMX how to paddleboard. Hard to say which was funnier - watching JMX dive or paddleboard. We ended the evening was nice cold wine at a 5 star hotel overlooking the town. Before we knew it, the trip with JMX and Jen was over, and we took the morning bus back to Sorrento.

2013_7_109	2013_7_110	2013_7_112	2013_7_113	2013_7_115	2013_7_116

2013_7_117	2013_7_118	2013_7_119	2013_7_120	2013_7_121	2013_7_122

2013_7_123	2013_7_126	2013_7_127	2013_7_128	2013_7_129	2013_7_130


2013_7_131	2013_7_132

After saying goodbye to JMX and Jen, we took the morning train back to Naples. Alan fell asleep on the 1 hour ride, awaking to ML's urgent questioning, "How many stops are there in Naples?" A fellow passenger answered, "One." That woke me up in a hurry. I grabbed 2 of our heavy suitcases and jumped off the train, turned around to help ML with the next set of baggage, when the train door snapped shut, and the train took off. I could see ML and Kyle's mouths drop in surprise. Our SIM cards didn't work (Italy infrastructure for you), and we didn't have an exact plan for how we were supposed to get to our little apartment in Varenna in Lake Como. Figuring my wife was smart, I took a deep breath and waited for her to return. Luckily she did 15 minutes later, but that certainly was a stressful 15 minutes!

Next: Lake Como ->

iTien