Naples

Somewhere new for me!! We headed to Naples this morning at 730 and didnt get there until ONEish becasue the ticket teller send us on a train that didnt stop where he said it would. It was ok though after a few laughs, another ticket, and a great scenic tour of the coast. Our hotel was grand...called Grand Hotel Parkers- its in tons of book and stuff- real nice with a breathtaking view of the mediteranean outside our window. It is kinda far away from the town though so unfortunately we have to take a taxi everywhere- something i dont care for. We decided to venture out into this well known town only to find a scarry dirty place. This town is full of loud people who all look at you as if the want to take you, your stuff, or they wish you would never make eye contact with them. So, we had som elunch and then walked up and down one of thier 'main streets' Kinda gross. After all this was done we decided we had enough and took an over priced taxi back to the hotel. We relaxed, went up to what is apparently the nicest resteruant in Naples (on the top of our hotel) and found is easy to relax with a glass of wine and a post card worthy view overlooking Naples and the Sea. Gorgeous, we started to feel better. By recomendation we found a cute, local pizzaria down the street and with the help of the hotel staff our stay started to become more enjoyable.

The next day we decided to head to the Almafi Coast because we read about thier beaches and interesting culture. It was a two hour trip with a train and an hour long bus ride that suprisingly didnt make me car sick. This bus wove around and around the mountains facing the coast, so there was water sometimes 100s of feet below us on our left and tall green hills towering over our right. These huge buses are in my opinion oversized for the tiny streets but somehow they seem to run smoothly. We finally stopped at a small town called Miniori and rented some umbrellas by the beach. We had a blast enjoying the black sand beach, sun, and water, but mostly we enjoyed watching the people. I dont think there were any other Americans there, all Italians from the town or on vacation. Thier culture, interactions, and bathing suit attiar are all so different we could help but stiar sometimes. This day became wonderful. We ended by weaseling our way to Georges (the nice reseraunt ontop) and only ordering salad and dessert... which still cost more than i would pay for a meal. None the less, it was wonderful- gorment food and a gorgeous view of Naples at night.