The Home Stretch!

Ciao from Sorrento!

Well, we decided to take a little break from our hectic pace to do a little laundry today in beautiful Sorrento! Although laundry is not much fun, laundry with this kind of view is nothing to shake a stick at. So as our clothes tumble in the dryer, I'll catch you up on our latest happenings.

Day 13: I think we last updated you when we were blessed by an extra day in Riomaggiore, thanks to the national train strike. We did make it out the next day and arrived in Siena. But on our way, we took a little detour to the bustling town of Pisa and saw the famous leaning tower! Quite impressive (that it has not fallen over yet, that is...)! Lesser known but just as noteworthy are the cathedral and baptistery in the same complex. We toured the baptistery and while we were inside, they closed the doors and someone sang (the security guard of all people). It was magical! It sounded like sound was coming out of every corner of the room! Because the sounds reverberated for so long, the sounds actually harmonized with each other. Neat experience.

We stayed in Siena that night. Siena is an awesome little town in the heart of Tuscany. We arrived in the early evening and had just enough time to drop our bags and head to dinner. We found an incredible little trattoria right off the main square that was run by a delightful Italian named Alberto. He didn't have menus, but rather spouted the available items from memory right at our table. We let him pick what we were having and he did not disappoint. New favorite eatery is Trattoria La Torre in Siena.

Day 14: The next day we decided to take a bus tour through the Tuscan countryside and wine country. We left Siena and headed to a little winery outside of a small town called Montalcino. The owner of the establishment, Mario, and his wife lets us sample the wines that they made on sight. Molto Bene! We all ordered bottles and shipped them home! Next was a stop at a Gregorian Abbey tucked away in the hillside. It was very simple yet incredible moving all at the same time! Finally we stopped in the town Montalcino and spent the evening hours perusing the streets. All in all, a very nice excursion!

Day 15: We left Siena and headed to Assisi. It was a long day of traveling, so by the time we got there we were already beat. We dropped our bags and headed for the Basilica of St. Francis. Despite a little detour to the fort way up on the hill, we made it to the church and set up a guided tour with a Franciscan Monk name Fr. Noel. He gave us a lively description of the building as well as some of the history of St. Francis and the Franciscan Order. Very interesting tour. We wandered the streets of Assisi that night and were all very impressed. The least touristy and most deserted of all the towns we've been to thus far, Assisi has a slow and contemplative feel to it.

Day 16: We only had one night in Assisi. So the next morning, we started to make our way south to Sorrento. We were supposed to catch a 9:00am train to Rome and then from there change trains to get to Naples. Problem is, our 9:00am train never left until 11:57am. Oh well... It just put us a little behind. We had to cut out our stop in Naples (which was only scheduled for the afternoon anyway) and went directly to Sorrento. It probably worked out for the better as Matt and I were afraid that Eric might pick a fight with a mafia man... We arrived in Sorrento and an especially friendly woman named Maria showed us to our room. We walked in and were dumbstruck at the view from our little porch. A sweeping view of the Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background. Breathtaking! We had dinner and called it a night.

Day 17: We actually got to sleep in a little the next morning. After our 13 hours travel day the day before, we all needed it! We woke up in time to grab lunch before our stop in the ancient Roman town of Pompei! I'm not sure what we were expecting, but Pompei blew all of our expectations out of the water. The degree to which the buildings are still preserved, the complexity of the architecture, the sheer size of the city... it was amazing! The knowledge and ingenuity that these people had was clearly evident in the ruins of this city! We snapped lots of pictures and spent all afternoon exploring. We finally made it back to Sorrento in time for dinner and, of course, a gelato, which we enjoyed by the water.

Which brings us to today... Day 18: We woke up early this morning to take a little excursion down the Amalfi Coast, just south of Sorrento. Yet again, Italy has impressed us with its beautiful coastlines! We took a bus ride from Sorrento down the coast, along a road which is itself a feat of engineering. Clinging to nearly vertical rock cliffs, at some points we could see nothing but the raging water down below when we looked out our window. We arrived in the town of Amalfi, thankful to be back on level ground, and spent a couple of hours exploring the town before we caught a ferry ride back to Sorrento. The ferry ride was just as scenic and perhaps even more thrilling. The seas were a little rough today with swells as high as 10 to 12 feet (our very scientific estimation). Needless to say, it was a bumpy ride! We made it back, grabbed lunch and a nap and now we are here, doing laundry in Sorrento!

Its been an absolutely incredible trip. We've spent some time over the last few days reflecting on the experiences and trying to comprehend all that we've seen. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity! And its not even over yet... Tomorrow we head to Rome and the event that Eric has been waiting for... The Boss! Yes, tomorrow we see Bruce Springsteen live from Stadio Olympico! Should be legendary! Then we finish up with the Vatican on Monday and ancient Rome on Tuesday. Wednesday, we'll be heading back home to inundate you with pictures and stories.

Hope all is well back home! We love and miss you all very much! Can't wait to see you soon!
lots of love,
EJM