Day Seven (Friday)

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Another great night of sleep. This hotel may be out in the middle of nowhere but it's quiet, cool and spacious. I couldn't ask for more. except maybe a REAL breakfast. I didn't even bother walking across the dog turd minefield for Chinese breakfast. Instead I had my last Sam's Cola that I had brought from home and kept cold in my room's refrigerator and ate some trail mix.

As usual we got an early start. We were on the road by 8:00 am. We would be spending the night along the beautiful, rugged Amalfi Coast near Sorrento. I say "near Sorrento" because we ARE on an EF trip. In order to put together a super cheap price they often put us up on the outskirts of the primo attractions (or in the case of Rome, waaaaaay on the outskirts). This night we would not be in Sorrento where the jetsetters stay but in the town of Meta di Sorrento which is about 3 miles outside of the action.

Our bus ride to Meta was rather uneventful. We did make the usual bus driver rest stop where I was sorely tempted to buy some over-priced Parmesano Reggiano and salami. This was going to be our last night in Italy but I was counting on finding a food store once we got to Meta. Our hotel for the night would be the Hotel Panorama Palace.

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Photos

Monte Cassino
As we drove down the highway toward Naples I saw this huge impressive building atop a mountain. In the back of my mind I recalled reading about the prolonged World War II battle for the monastery called Monte Cassino somewhere in Italy. I assumed it was up north near the Dolomites, but just then Jurgen took the mike and drew our attention to "Monte Cassino on our left". It did have a commanding presence in the area but I couldn't understand why this garrison held up the entire Allied advance through Italy. Another note to myself - read further about the Monte Cassino campaign.

Hanging onto the Amalfi Coast
The drive past Naples was uneventful. Just another big city. But once we passed Naples and got off the highway we joined Ss145 or Strada Panorama ("Scenic Street"). Just outside Naples the road begin to climb then cling to the side of the mountains. The views into Naples harbor were fantastic but unfortunately I was sitting on the wrong side of the bus. I was almost afraid to lean over to the scenic side. This was about as good a picture as I could take from the moving bus. Another area we need to return to someday when we're on our own.

Weight Watcher's Convention in Meta di Sorrento
Unlike our previous bus trip in 2002 which took us along the same coastal highway we only traveled a few miles above the dizzying shoreline. Meta di Sorrento was only a half hour outside Naples. I was starting to think Salvatore had it easy this trip. On our prvious trip parts of the road had such tight hairpin turns that the road became one lane in parts and it often looked like we were in imminent danger of falling into the sea below us. But when we got to Meta Salavatore suddenly found himself on some of the narrowest city streets I've ever seen. In fact, all traffic coming toward us had to throw their cars in reverse and back-up hundreds of yards just to get out of our way. Finally we arrived in a parking lot along the seaside.

Withering Heights
While Jurgen phoned the hotel our bus sat in the parking lot. We had been told that we would have to haul our suitcases a good distance up to the hotel. We just didn't have any idea where exactly the hotel was located. While we waited we hopped off the bus and gawked at the scenery below us. The black sand beaches are a result of volcanic activity over the centuries from nearby Mount Vesuvius.

Schlepping the suitcases
As soon as Jurgen got the word from the hotel he and Gail worked-out the room assignments while the hotel dispatched a van to pick up some of our suitcases. Most of us hauled our wheeled suitcases up the steep incline to the hotel. Gail took this photo about halfway up the hill looking down at Salavatore's bus and the hotel's luggage van.

The Presidential Suite
When we reached the hotel we were told that half the rooms weren't ready yet. Everyone, except me, was eager to hit the beach. Those kids that did get rooms instantly infuriated the hotel manageress because of their exuberance. She yelled at one kid for making too much noise, another for slamming his door, another roomful of kids for not turning on their a/c properly and then at those sitting in the lobby for moving some of the furniture. My room was ready right away. Not that there was very much they needed to make ready. My air conditioner only blew in the outside air and my TV only picked-up one channel. Tap water from the bathroom was downright hot.

Super Salvatore
Gail and her mother wanted to go to the beach but Gen, Tyler and I wanted to eat (no breakfast). We decided to combine the two. Gail and Grandma donned their suits and the five of us descended halfway down the hill to the little town of Meta. We sauntered about a half mile to the end of town looking for a restaurant. There was nothing other than a little snack bar. We passed two corner grocery stores but both were closed between 1-4pm. As we walked we passed Scott Bashore who proudly held-up a couple bottles of locally produced wine. He was justifiably proud that he paid only 1.50 per bottle. When we found nothing in town we decided to go down to the beach area. We paid the special tourist price of 1 Euro (the locals pay .60) and rode the town elevator built inside the cliffs down to beach level. There were three private beaches each charging an entrance fee. We entered the furthest one which looked to have an actual restaurant. It was miserably hot inside but a couple beers put things right. I had sausage and peppers. Tyler thoroughly enjoyed his deep-fried cheese. We found our bus driver wandering around so we invited him to join us for lunch. Salvatore knows no English but Gail was able to communicate with him a little in Spanish. After one of our adult travelers, Lynn, bought him a cold beer he was all smiles.

Getting ready for the next day
After our excellent lunch, Gail and her mother went to tan on the beach while Gen and Tyler took a walk into town. Mr Excitement went to his room and took a two hour nap in his 110 degree room. Since Gail and her mother still weren't back and I had no idea where Tyler and Gen were I went down into the lobby to watch TV. It was much cooler down there thanks to a nice breeze blowing in from the sea through the open windows. Next thing I knew, the nasty Hotel Witch was closing all the windows. As soon as she left the room, I reopened them. A few minutes later she came back and yelled at me claiming the a/c was on. It soon got so hot I went back to my steambath of a hotel room.
Our dinner was one of the more disappointing meals of the trip. The dining room in the hotel was not air-conditioned. We had some decent rolls but the butter was totally melted so we had to eat them plain. We had a mysterious green vegetable soup with chicken as the main course. The chicken was on the bone and tasted gamey to me. Many of the kids in the group headed off to a bar with Jurgen in order to watch Italy's World Cup soccer game that night. The five of us decided to take another walk through town. Walking down toward town we watched the workers on the private beaches straightening the beach chairs and rolling the sand until it was smooth.

Meta Bay
We walked back into downtown Meta where all the little shops were now open at 8:00 pm. A little fruit stand here, a newstand across the road, an unobtrusive little cafe to our right... We found a little food store with two aisles of merchandise. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to decide what kind of beer to buy. I had no qualms about dumping a half kilo of Parmesano Reggiano and some hard salami in my basket. Gail bought a bottle of wine made in this region for 4 Euro. It actually had a label unlike the locally produced stuff our travel companions and fellow Wine Club members had been finding. I finally settled on a couple cans of Peroni.
When we returned to the hotel things were a bit lively since another tour group of Englishmen had shown up and they were all gathered around the lobby TV watching soccer. We went back outside where it was cooler and just watched the sunset over the Bay.

Party on the roof
As night fell the adults congregated up on the hotel roof where we had a nice wine and cheese party. There was a friendly competition over who had the cheapest wine. Mr. Bashore won hands down with his 1.50 Euro contribution. I've tasted better cough medicine, but then again, I'm not a fan of red wines.
At the end of that night while the Wine Club was having its roof-party, we could hear the soccer game on TVs all over town and when Italy won, the bells in the town rang and the cheering echoed off the surrounding cliffs and up from the streets below. Damn... as a German fan I was hoping Italy would lose. So far Italy had won two games decided on very controversial calls. How lucky could they get?