We have a bit of catching up to do!

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On Friday we spent the day at the Borghese Gallery, becoming acquainted with the ethereal sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini….it was a great day which began with a big smile and a hello from Richard Lewis of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’! After the Borghese Gallery, we walked with our guide to the Spanish Steps where we made yet another trip to American Express to exchange our much less valuable American currency. Then a trip to the Grecco Café, one of the oldest cappuccino bars in the city, dating back several hundred years. There we were introduced to the notion that you could have a cup of cappuccino standing up for .095 euros, or like ourselves, sitting down on velvet banquets for $7.00 euros per cup!!! Unfortunately, we learned this lesson too late. But the experience was almost well worth it. We then took a stroll and saw the Cat Forum, which is a square which is one level beneath the street open air in an ancient ruin, where a foundation for cats takes abandoned kitties and neuters them and houses them in the outdoors where they are fed and taken care of. Fantastico!!

On Saturday we left the hotel at 7:30 with a driver who took us south to Pompeii, a 2000 year old city which was stopped in its tracks by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, where it was completely covered by 30 feet of hot mud and volcanic ash, which preserved the entire city as the most complete example of ancient Roman life. 80% of the city has been excavated to date.

After Pompeii, a drive down to the Amalfi Coast, an exquisite lunch at La Cambusa in Positano, a boat ride to the town of Amalfi and then a long drive back to our hotel in Rome. What a day!

Today we made a trip to the oldest Synagogue in Rome, had a nice lunch in what was once the Jewish Ghetto and then back to the hotel for some rest….tomorrow we are off to Florence.

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