First Stop: Naples, Italy

I'm going to begin telling you a bit about the trip.....I was gone for so many days and so many things happened that I will probably get some things out of order, and I may even repeat myself a lot a little. So I will just apologize to all of you ahead of time for any confusion or repetition that may take place in the upcoming posts. (Especially to Kenny, who I know falls asleep from time to time while reading this blog.) :)

I thought I would start out by showing you the cruise ship that we were on. Melissa took my picture in front of it so we could show everyone. It was called the Carnival Freedom. The Carnival Freedom was absolutely the most wonderful cruise ship that I have ever seen.....I do realize that it is the only one that I have ever seen, but you will just have to trust me when I tell you that I am certain it is the most wonderful.

I'm just saying is all.



Our first port of call was Naples, Italy. (Hi, Aleisha!) This is a picture of Melissa and I getting off of the most wonderful cruise ship. (I should probably also mention and apologize that Melissa and I took our pictures doing absolutely everything; we just wanted to share the experience with everyone is all. Trust me though.....you will love most all of the pictures.)



We basically just drove through Naples (I will tell you about the driving conditions here in a future post) and then on to Sorrento and Positano to be able to see the Amalfi Coast. This picture is me standing in front of Mt. Vesuvius; it was so beautiful. Mt. Vesuvius you may or may not know is the volcano that erupted and destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii in AD 79 (I believe). It's definitely worth looking up if you are not familiar with it.



These next two pictures were taken along the Amalfi Coast. My camera, of course, does not do this place any justice, so once again, you will just have to trust me when I tell you, "This place is breathtaking!"





The rest of the pictures that I am showing you today were taken in Positano. If you have seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, Positano is where Diane Lane goes with the first man that she meets and has a romance with. (Just so you know, I am full of all kinds of perfectly useless information like that. It's a gift.)

Positano is as charming as it is beautiful.
Everywhere you look is an amazing view like this one.



And I have never seen so many different types of flowers and trees in my life. All types and all colors.



We were told that all of the houses like the ones you see on the side of the mountain, you have to walk up steps to get to. The people who live in them have to park their cars on the side of the road (like I said earlier, I will talk about the driving conditions here in a future post) and walk up however many steps to get to their homes......Please understand.....It is a lot of steps.



After looking around and shopping in Positano (I'll tell you about that later too) our tour guide drove us all the way to the top of the mountain to have lunch at a local family restaurant. The name of the restaurant is painted on the plate in the next picture.....Imagine a really attractive Italian man pronouncing it for you......Sigh



This restaurant was like something right out of a movie. Nestled at the top of a mountain with an amazing view, full of very attractive Italian men, and more food than you could even imagine. And the whole place was filled with the aroma of fresh baked bread and rich tomato sauces...mmmmmmm! Each dish that was brought to our table was better than the one before; and after stuffing ourselves full......they brought out platters of desserts. It was overwhelming and wonderful.

After stuffing myself to the point of popping, I had to visit the "ladies room." Kenny and Yvette , this last picture is for you. I walked into the bathroom only to see this little picture window opened and overlooking this......



.... a bathroom with a view......only in Italy.:)