Mama Mia!

Last night there was a party in our dining-room with the general manager playing music and singing and the Italians dancing. It was great fun to watch. Ira and I actually danced a couple of dances as well. They gave us a glass of this booze that tastes like grapefruit. Not sure what it is but it really grows on you as you drink it.

Our relaxation day on Thursday turned out to be heavenly. We rode the bikes over to the market in the morning, which was fun. I thought it would be a fruit and veggie market but it was a huge market with clothes, shoes, sewing material, knock-off purses and sunglasses, etc. There were feeding frenzies at the 3 euro tables. I guess this is how the Italian women can afford to look so fashionable.  I’ve been noticing how colourful the Italian men have been dressing and have been trying to talk Ira into buying a pair of the orange jeans and purple shoes like these ones I found at the market but he just won’t go for it. Party pooper!

These are the ones!

We soaked in the thermal waters for an hour then Ira went for his hour-long thermal oasis (hot steam bath/sauna) and then our Indian-style massages. Ahhhhhhhh.  Afterwards we just strolled around and watched the National holiday festivities. They had boxing matches in the streets and lots of things for kids to do.

You know how I’ve been blogging about the pigeons following us ….. well, Ira decided to eat it for supper. He rates it 3 out of 10. Lots of dark meat but it’s dry and tough and gamey. The matre’de says that he doesn’t eat it but it is a Tuscany traditional meal that locals eat in the restaurant. Ira will try anything once.

Ira eating pigeon

The Sorrento coast

Friday morning we headed down to the Amalfi coast. The local railway leaves a lot to be desired for comfort (no air conditioning) but it gets you from point A to point B quite easily. Our hotel is lovely and the pool is even lovelier. It’s about a 10 minute walk to the beach. We had supper at a small restaurant overlooking Sorrento. It was quite wonderful with a spectacular view. And the pizza here is much, much better than what we’ve had so far in the rest of Italy. Ira also quite liked the Limoncello. It packs quite a punch. Our hotel is overlooking a lemon and orange orchard so there’s no doubt that the Limoncello is very, very fresh.

Pompei

Today we went to Pompeii. Ira has been waiting anxiously for this for years. It didn’t disappoint. It was quite a sight. We had no idea it was so massive. It took us 5 hours to walk through and we still didn’t see everything. Thankfully, they had a cafeteria on the site, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it. They also had drinking taps all over the place and we were able to re-fill our 1.5 litre jug about 4 times. We’re drinking lots of water in the 29 C heat. We hit the pool when we got back but it was getting late so didn’t get as much sun time as we’d hoped. Tomorrow we’ve vowed to be at the pool by 3:00 p.m. Monday we’ve booked an exclusive mini-van tour to take us up the Amalfi coast, stopping in Posteano, Rufallo, and Amalfi. It will be much more comfortable than the local bus, I’m sure. I’m looking forward to it as I have heard so much about the road, as well as how lovely the 3 towns are. We are going to Herculeum tomorrow, expecting it won’t take as long as today. After all, the pool is waiting.

Pompei

The WiFi in our room is not working so I won’t be able to blog as regularly as I have been. I’ll do my best to make it happen.
Take care.
Sue