8/4 -- Sorrento/Amalfi Coast

Today our plan was to travel the Amalfi Coast.  Initially we planned to take the city bus down the coast, but then we read it can be very crowded (and indeed it was, every bus that we passed today appeared to be standing room only), so we planned to do a hop on hop off sightseeing bus.  We went to the train station where the bus is supposed to start but didn’t see any signs, so went inside to ask and they said that bus no longer runs.  So we signed up for a van tour of the coast.  It was us and a mother-daughter pair (from Poland) and the driver.  He drove super fast on the windy road and Russell ended up getting carsick (twice!).  He also didn’t really tell us a whole lot on the way and went so fast we couldn’t take pictures very well.  (He actually said we’d stop at picture spots but then never did.)  We drove to Amalfi and then got out to walk around; before we did he was pushing us to do a boat tour that none of us wanted to do so he seemed annoyed with us the rest of the day.  Our time in Amalfi was mostly spent getting Limonata for Russell to settle his stomach, and going to the pharmacy where I asked for something for nausea for him and they gave me basically Benadryl.  He had never had Benadryl before and it made him quite sleepy; he kept saying “I don’t know why I’m so tired all of a sudden.”

We got back in the car and he took us to the next town of Ravello, to a sort of isolated hotel to eat at the restaurant.  Then we walked around the town, then got back in the car and headed back north to Positano where we walked around and then back to Sorrento.

All in all, the scenery was amazing, but the tour left something to be desired.  If we had it to do over again, we probably would skip Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi Coast, but obviously we wouldn’t know that without having been here in the first place, so I can’t say I regret coming here.  I think it doesn’t help that Siena and Orvieto were such wonderful surprises that we had higher expectations when we got to Sorrento.

One funny exchange from today at lunch:

Owen, talking about how he’d like to visit every continent, said, “I’d like to go to Japan for Asia.”

Julia, making a face: “I do not want to go to Japan.”

Owen: “Why?  They have lots of robots there.”

Julia, face intensifies: “I don’t like robots, I just like regular people.”




On the drive down the Amalfi Coast





Ravello



Positano


The kids were sleepy on the drive back up the coast


There were several "Wine and Drugs" stores in Ravello and the name made me laugh, because apparently I am 12


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Utah August 2025 -- Jourdan Family Reunion

Image
  A family reunion with Jourdan’s family has been about 2 years in the making, and finally arrived.  We are planning to spend time in Zion National Park in Utah with Jourdan’s uncle David and aunt Gayle and their grandkids Halle and Kohen; his brother Todd (and his family: Christie and Xander); his cousin Katie (and her family: Cory, Luke, Victoria, and Grace); and our niece Sydney (and her family: Steve and Charlotte). Monday, August 4 Jourdan, Owen, and Julia left in the camper van on Saturday to take the drive in a couple of days — Russell had to go to drivers ed this morning so he and I stayed behind and flew down today.   The camper van folks stayed outside Salt Lake Saturday night and then at a place in the Utah desert Sunday night that was done up to look like Tatooine (a planet in Star Wars).   They said it was pretty cool, although the van — both outside and inside — accumulated a layer (or two or three) of dust from driving through the sand. Drivin...
Read more

8/5 -- Pompei/Rome

Image
We got to sleep in a bit this morning, as our train wasn’t until 10:20.  Packed up to move hotels for the last time this trip, grabbed a croissant for breakfast, and then headed to the train station to go to Pompei for a few hours on the way to Rome.  I think Pompei was the thing the boys were most excited to see going into this trip, other than The Colosseum for Russell. And it lived up to expectations.  The city is so well-preserved, it is hard to believe the structures were built 2000+ years ago.  Of course being buried under ash for 1600 years was helpful for preservation, but when it seems like very little is created anymore with the intent it will last more than just a few years, so to see so many old, well-built things, WOW. We retrieved our luggage and took the train to Rome, our last train ride of the trip.  Jourdan hasn’t loved the trains (at least not the ones in small towns) but I think it’s such a great way to get places.  We arrived ...
Read more

7/23 -- Venice

Image
Busy day in Venice.  We started with a Grand Canal cruise via vaporetta (a large boat that is essentially Venice’s city bus), going from one end of the grand canal to the other.  We ended just past St. Mark’s Square and then walked back to the square to see the Doge's Palace, which was built in the 1100s and was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the authority over the Venice Republic.  We had booked the Secret Itineraries Tour, which gave us access to the jails and torture chambers of the palace, including the jail cell of Cassanova.   Each room in the palace seemed more incredible than the last; the artwork on the walls and ceilings was unbelievable.  When we finished the tour, we all were hot and Julia was nearing a breaking point, so we headed back to the hotel for a nap.  A couple hours later we headed back to St. Mark’s square for a late lunch (at the place our hotel receptionist said had the best pizza in Venice — the pizza was indeed qui...
Read more