Amalfi Coast

We arrived in port this morning and the first question of the day from Josh was very cute... Are we going to Staples today? Yes, today we arrived in Naples, not to be confused with Staples. The weather was a perfect spring day and we had booked a private driver to see Sorrento, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast. Private car was a good choice, since the coast is incredibly treacherous and these are huge cliffs overlooking the sea. They are basically one and a half lane roads that wind from town to town along the coast. Buses are really not able to cover as much of these towns as you can in a car or van. We booked our tours today and tomorrow in Rome through romeconnections.com. Our driver was Geatano and he was native to Sorrento. Most of Giovano's job today was to drive us safely from town to town and he highlighted the history, terrain, agriculture, and politics of the area. The drive from the port of Naples to Sorrento passes by Mt. Vesuvio, a volcano that towers over Pompeii. We opted out of a visit to Pompeii since we will see so many ruins tomorrow in Rome. Our first stop (about 40 minutes) was to Sorrento. We spent an hour of free time around Sorrento and enjoyed shopping. Sorrento was our favorite stop of the day. It was clean, lots of open air cafes, and interesting shops. Scott purchased three silk ties and two leather belts. I purchased new shoes. I am wearing them now.

After free time in Sorrento, we drove through Positano and stopped along the way for several photo opportunities. Since Geatano was from Sorrento, we took some back roads by vineyards and lemon orchards. We stopped by his friend's home and they gave us a homemade bottle of wine to take back with us on the ship. How cool was that? On the cliffs of Positano, we stopped to try some blood oranges. For lunch, we wanted pizza, pasta and a view. There is my version of lunch with a view and the Geatano's very literal version. He took us to one of the highest lookout points on the coast near the town of Ravello in a town called Pontone. The restaurant has a web site, so I am hoping if you go here, you can see this place... www.ristorantesangiovanni.com. We tried the gnocchi, pasta with clams and mussels, pizza margarita, and pizza with mushrooms and olives. Scott and I had an espresso and the kids had lemon profiteroles. Sorry for the spelling errors! We ran around outside the restaurant and then spent time walking and enjoying Ravello. I had a latte and Scott and the kids had lemon ice. The kids slept on the way back to the ship and we compared notes with Geatano regarding schools for our kids, politics, economy, and life.

The show tonight was the showing of the new release Disney movie Oceans. The fish danced on screen in a Disney animated sort of way set to wonderful, dramatic music. There were lots of big eyed fish and wonderful colors. Big fish eat little fish, so chomp chomp. Makes you think twice about Sea World and Orcas!

Last night, the show was Once Upon a Song. It was a show with five very talented singers singing the best Disney power ballads - from classics like, "When you wish upon a star" and more recent Phil Collins and other movie mash ups. If you like Broadway, this is the right show for you. I enjoyed, but if you want Mickey, look elsewhere.

The other exciting thing is that we finally acclimated Josh and Max to the kids play area. Last night was Ninja Dodge Ball and Boys Club (the girls went to the other kid area). Yeah!!! Free time for us. It only takes our kids five days to get acclimated, so luckily this is a ten night cruise and there is some R&R insight for us.

Cheers. Tomorrow Rome.