dinner with mariano and louis/tomas

We went to dinner with Mariano and his son last night.  It was wonderful.  They took us to a restaurant in sud Firenze that had a big patio.  The weather was perfect; the food was delicious; the atmosphere was excellent; and the company was groovy. We drank wine.  Talked about the "fishgato" (catfish) in the Arno.  Had limoncello for dessert...

 I forgot to take pics so I snapped this one of Mariano's son.  I think he introduced himself as Tomas, but Mariano kept calling him Louis.  So, we really aren't sure what his name is. 

-bn

Italian House of Beauty

The other night while we were getting ready to go to dinner, Beth was having a hard time trying to braid her own hair.  Fortunately, I learned how to braid hair on the school bus back in the greater Atlanta area.  Who would have thought that the hour long commute on the school bus would be worth something one day.

Beth had to do her own toe nails.  We turned our flat into a little Italian House of Beauty.

- WN

Nasty Naples/Amalfi Coast/Ischia

We went to Naples Sunday.  Had plans to go to Pompeii but didn't make it in time.  So, we walked around Naples and determined that we can cross it off the list of places to return.  It's nasty.  But, we did have good pizza and delicious arancini (fried rice balls). Wynn took a lot of pictures, but they are on my camera that is cruising around the Amalfi Coast.

 Monday morning we went to Amalfi.  It's a really cute town on the west coast.  As soon as we got there, it started raining.  We checked the weather before leaving Florence and everyday showed warm, sunny weather.  (The weather forecast are rarely accurate over here...they need a wizometer!)  So, we had shorts and a backpack with our swimming suits and an extra tank top.  We thought the rain would just blow over, so we went ahead with our planned hike along the Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods).  From Amalfi, we took a bus to Agerola to start the hike.  These buses are big and the roads are not.  It is quite amazing how they zip around the thousands of hairpin curves without  going over cliffs. It was a little nauseating at times.  We had lunch at Crazy Burger in Agerola.  I read that this place had great sausage and potatoes, so Wynn was excited.  When we got there, no one was in the restaurant except the owner.  I asked if he was open.  He said he was, so we sat down and he made us awesome paninis and pizza.  I don't know where the sausage and potatoes thing came from; we never even saw a menu. He also poured us wine from his vineyard.  It was at this restaurant that I realized I left my small camera on the bus.  It's the one I keep with me all the time, so that was disappointing.  We went on with the hike which would have been amazing if we had been a little more prepared for the conditions.  But, the views were still great. We didn't spend much time in Positano or Sorrento because I was wet and freezing.  We went back to the hotel in Naples and had room service.

Tuesday morning, we took a ferry from Naples to the island of Ischia.  It is a really pretty island with beaches and mountains.  We relaxed on the beach, walked around, ate fresh fish...

just in case you are ever stranded at sea...

Wynn in an arancini coma

-bn

ponte vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge in Florence.  It has jewelry shops all along it that were originally butcher shops.  Wynn and I usually avoid going over that bridge since that area always seems to be extremely crowded.  The tour guide that we had gave us a tip.  She said to visit Ponte Vecchio before 9:30 am.  So, that is what we did, and it was a very different experience...peaceful, quiet, beautiful.

This is a rare sight.  This area is usually
crammed with vendors selling all sorts of things
and tourists taking pics

-bn

gelato fest

Awesome!

we waited in line forever to get this
delicious-looking mojito gelato cocktail
that went into the trash...not good

lots of love at the gelato fest

-bn

our gym

When in Florence with limited space, you can always make the radiator into an anchor for workout bands...

 the bedroom floor into a workout space...

the living room floor into a workout space...

 and the computer into your personal trainer...

-bn

Tuesday Bluesday

Getting fired up about the live blues jam session tonight!


- WN

A cold, rainy day...

Hard to beat good Irish coffee on a cold, rainy day
like today

Mom was here to share in our introduction to
the best irish coffee at Friends'

Wild Bill and crew

-bn

Cable Car

Here's a short video from our cable car ride.  Beth was a little scared to ride, especially when she saw how many people got in with us.


- WN

Trail Fairy

I am not sure what this is, but we saw it on the hiking trail.  I figured words or a still picture wouldn't do it justice.


- WN

Merano

I have an awesome aunt and uncle in Villanova, PA that I don't get to see often enough. But, despite that, they still keep up with my brothers and me. When they heard about the adventure Wynn and I were going on, they sent us a letter with some recommendations on it.  They also very kindly donated to the Beth and Wynn travel fund (soon to be a charity case!) that helped us enjoy a fantastic meal in Merano.

I have a cool cousin, cousin-in-law, and soon-to-be baby cousin in Berkeley, CA. I don't get to see them often enough, either. They helped us get gear for our trip.
So, with the help of my family, Wynn and I were geared up and ready for Merano.  Merano is one of the places Aunt Claudia mentioned in her letter.  She said she and Uncle Jim love the Dolomites area, especially Merano and Covara.  Wynn and I just picked one, and I wonder if we just guessed well or if Covara is as magical.  Merano is very Austrian.  The predominant language is German.  Lots of apple trees, vineyards, mountains.  Great food, interesting wine.

We had reservations to stay one night in Merano and on the train ride into town, we realized that would not suffice.  This place is stunning. So, we immediately went to the ticket counter and tried to get the ticket changed with no luck.  We tried calling a number they gave us from the hotel with still no luck.  We decided that even if we had to pay for another ticket, we just had to stay longer.  Hiking is one of our favorite things, so we could not leave this place without doing it.  We're glad we stayed. (We didn't end up having to get more tickets back).  The hike was strenuous and awesome.  For the first 3 hours, the only direction we went was up. Wynn at one point said, "I had no idea what I was getting into"...I think that could be the story of Wynn's life...
On the way back, we missed a turn going into Merano and ended up on the side of an interstate (but not really on the side, because there was no shoulder).  The sidewalk stopped all of a sudden.  We had to run into someone's apple orchard and make our way through bushes back to the right road. We finally made it  back to Merano worn out.

the hotel where we stayed

beer garden at hotel

view from outside of our hotel door reflected in
glass on balcony

the details of this place are amazing...
this is a wall beside the sidewalk topped
with terra-cotta

merano is called "the city of flowers"

Ok, so not EVERYTHING is pretty here

a much needed lunch break with incredible
view and delicious food

alpine hut on trail that had drinks/snacks

Wynn's toe on edge of trail...it was quite
a drop-off

Thanks Aunt Claudia, Uncle Jim, Ryan and Veena.

-bn