Italy, Part III

Napoli is not our favorite city. Granted, we arrived here tired, having not slept well on our 11 hour trip (Ethan fell out of his upper berth during the night, with no memory of it in the morning), but we are warned before leaving the train station to: take off and hide my necklace and earrings, physically hold on to the children, and not to trust any vehicle to stop as we cross the streets. Lovely place, huh? Red lights are considered “suggestions” or decorations, and we literally run for our lives each time we attempt a crossing. The locals consider themselves Neopolitans, only acknowledging their allegiance to Italy for the Olympics or the World Cup. But, in Napoli’s favor, they make awesome pizza. We share a huge pie, with nothing but sauce on it, but it is the best crust and the best sauce ever.

We take the first train possible down to Sorrento, on the Amalfi Coast, the southwestern area of Italy. Here, cliffs line the coast, and the drive south from here is stupendous. Kim and I are glad to be on a bus and not driving through the hairpin turns, with trucks and buses coming the other way. This tower, in the background, in one of the smaller towns near Amalfi, was the model for one of Escher’s famous pictures.

Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? On August 24, 79 AD, this town had a bit of a surprise. The mountain, which you can see in the background, exploded, revealing itself to be a volcano. The city was covered in meters of ash, instantly freezing the life of the town in time. This is Pompeii, with Vesuvius, still actively smoldering looming over it. We wander the streets, marveling at the bakeries, the fast food places, even the gardens. Archeologists have been able to determine what kinds of plants were there based on the cavities the decayed roots left. The streets still have ruts from the carriages. Vesuvius hadn’t erupted in 1200 years before that fateful summer day. If you make a triangle, connecting the two present peaks, you can get a feel for the size of the original mountain, and the vast quantity of earth that covered this city.

We ferry over to Capri (pronounced CA-pree, not like the short pants). This is the original vacation home paradise. Roman Emperor Tiberius had a house here, and liked it so well he ruled the Roman Empire from here. We arrive at the Blue Grotto minutes before it closes for the day. A generous boatman offers to row us in for a mere 10 Euro ($14) a person. We can almost touch the cave from the landing, and so decide to forego the expensive ride. The water is still warm enough, so we dive in, pulling ourselves through the small opening to the cave. The light that seems to emanate from the water is an unearthly blue. Our bodies appear phosphorescent and the only sound we can hear is that of the waves surging through the opening. Since we swam in, we couldn't take any pictures. Try this link: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/B... It is truly a magical place.

Wine continues to be our drink of choice. A bottle in the store is $5 and a liter of house wine at a restaurant is $9. The food is wonderful. We have fresh pasta and pizza everywhere we go. Ethan prefers the pizza, Siena, the pasta. Kim and I partake of both. The quantity of food eaten at meals is astounding. We usually have either a primi piatti or a secundo piatti (first or second plate), but the Italians will usually start with a pasta, have a meat course, then a salad and a cheese course. We see gelati (Italian ice cream) everywhere, and sample much of it ourselves. It does taste different from our ice cream. It is softer, with a smoother richer taste. Whatever the difference, it is awfully good.

Salute! (Cheers or Health in Italian)
The Beattie Clan