Day 22 Salerno to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast We took a train from Salerno to Pompeii today...I slept in, so we left at 9:00 instead of 8:00....So we got to Pompeii around 10:00. The train we took wasn't in the guide, and turned out to be a great trip...it ran on a different line than the train from Napoli, surprisingly...and the views were great. We traveled through a mountain pass rather than through tunnels, as we expected. We only had to walk for about 15 minutes from the station the park entrance..the cab drivers at the station told us it was 3k! Once at the park, we fought our way through a few tour groups (American and German this time) and had a pleasant three hour walk around old Pompeii....I had a very early memory ... read more

Day 19, I think....Sunday/ Naples Yesterday we took advantage of the lone sunny day in the near future according to the forecast, and hopped a boat to Capri...we had some difficulty finding the right place to catch the boat, but ended up in the right place at the right time. Once on Capri, we decided to hike up the little pathways to the town of Capri. We were alone on the path, since the huge groups of tourists went by bus or funicular. (Most groups are Japanese.. the economy there must be doing well?) We then hiked to the ancient palace of Tiberio, Roman Emperor. After a hike back, we took the bus to the town of Anacapri (serious rivalry and dislike between the towns has apparently exisited for centuries), ate a great lunch (the first ... read more

Day 15 Lucca to Siena We arrived in Lucca in the rain and left in the rain....It took three trains to travel the relatively short distance to Siena...uneventful trip except for watching two criminal types get arrested when they got off the train...they were being held by the train police in the car next to ours. Siena is beautiful, even in the rain...but I think I like Lucca even better. The cathedral here is not to be missed though! We walked around town all afternoon, and then ate at a small restaurant, which is a Rick Steves reccomendation, we found out. (We keep ending up at "his" places with out his guidebook!) Our hotel is even older than the one in Lucca...the original building dates to the 13th century or older...it has been a hotel since ... read more

Day 11-12 Sanremo to Riomaggiore We efficiently zipped around Sanremo on Saturday morning, seeing the sights, and liking the town better in daylight. It was overcast, so we didn’t get in any beach time, and took the noon train back down the coast to Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre towns. It was a five hour trip, but the scenery was just as great the second time…we got into Riomaggiore at dusk and found an apartment with a kitchen to rent for two days… We ate dinner in the small cove as it grew dark and the trick or treaters made their rounds…yes, Halloween has come to even this small Italian town! We explored the tiny alleys and pathways here after dark, getting lost a few times, but found our building without ending up in someone’s ... read more

Day 6 Padova After spending part of the day trying to use the free city wifi to no avail (but we now have a permanent membership card for the wifi and library cards from the city), we visited the park where the Chapel Scogvegni (1303) is located, along with the Ermitani Church (1276), which was heavily bombed in 1944. The Chapel has frescoes from Giotto, which we finally decided not to see since it would cost about $30, for 15 minutes inside. We did watch the introductory video from outside the waiting room windows. We then headed back to the city center (all of these towns have been great for walking…many pedestrian only areas and short distances between sights) to visit the University of Padova, created in 1222. Galileo taught there starting in 1592. There are ... read more

Days Five and Six Padova and Venice We had an uneventful trip to Padova by train, except for having to ride the Eurostar (which costs more than twice the price of regular trains). When we in, we checked at the tourist information in the station, since we had read that they could book rooms for you. this was a lucky move: the woman at the desk told us all the rooms in town were booked due to a big auto show (an the Venice marathon we found out later). When we said we were hoping to find a place near the station, she happily told us that a hotel right behind the station had just called and said they had a room freed up. This turned out to be a great stoke of luck: the hotel ... read more