Comments on My First Trip to Italy? - Rome to Amalfi Coast
Jun 8th, 2004, 10:15 AM
#101
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PJMay -- We must have been lazy honeymooners! : )
My husband fell in love with Ravello. I think it was mainly because after walking down the Belvedere of Infinity in the Villa Cimbrone, we stopped at the little ivy covered bar to drink wine and eat olives while taking in the view. I want to become a grape picker for a winery in Ravello!!!
My husband fell in love with Ravello. I think it was mainly because after walking down the Belvedere of Infinity in the Villa Cimbrone, we stopped at the little ivy covered bar to drink wine and eat olives while taking in the view. I want to become a grape picker for a winery in Ravello!!!
Jun 8th, 2004, 11:32 AM
#102
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Thanks to both of you, kellbell and pjmay! It was from your earlier conversations (last winter) that turned me on to Villa Rosa and the Marincanto. This new information is further helping my planning.
I think we will play it by ear and see if we have the time and desire to visit Pompeii. We'll be there in August, so I imagine it will be quite hot to tour it.
We are not staying in Sorrento -- 3 nights Positano and 2 nights Capri (Caesar Augustus in Anacapri) -- but I thought I wanted to at least visit Sorrento for a couple of hours. However, it might be nicer to relax in Positano, visit Ravello one day (sounds like a must!), then on the 3rd morning, take a boat from Positano straight to Capri. Rather than lug our bags to Sorrento from Positano, find someplace to store them, sightsee & then take a boat to Capri. At least I know that there are options if we want to explore more than to relax.
Kellbell -- hairy soap in the hotel, witness to a bill and monica moment, husband hurting his back (is there more?), and you still have such an upbeat attitude! It's very refreshing...
I think we will play it by ear and see if we have the time and desire to visit Pompeii. We'll be there in August, so I imagine it will be quite hot to tour it.
We are not staying in Sorrento -- 3 nights Positano and 2 nights Capri (Caesar Augustus in Anacapri) -- but I thought I wanted to at least visit Sorrento for a couple of hours. However, it might be nicer to relax in Positano, visit Ravello one day (sounds like a must!), then on the 3rd morning, take a boat from Positano straight to Capri. Rather than lug our bags to Sorrento from Positano, find someplace to store them, sightsee & then take a boat to Capri. At least I know that there are options if we want to explore more than to relax.
Kellbell -- hairy soap in the hotel, witness to a bill and monica moment, husband hurting his back (is there more?), and you still have such an upbeat attitude! It's very refreshing...
Jun 8th, 2004, 02:29 PM
#103
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He was "attacked" by a lame pigeon while sitting on the piazza in Capri. I spilled red wine all down my left leg 10 minutes before our reservation at Il Convivio in Rome (supposedly the nicest restaurant in Rome), and had to go in there with wine, spot remover (ala the waiter at the cafe where I spilled the wine), water stains (from me trying to remove the spot remover in the bathroom with wet toliet paper -- no paper towel), and probably tears from me crying/laughing so hard!!
Then we had to wait for our SITA bus to Sorrento for over an hour due to construction. Oh, and then there's me getting sick from our first gelato and having to leave Mike at the table for 45 minutes. People -- do not eat gelato if you are lactose intolerant!! I had to just have one, though. It was bad enough I didn't get to see the Sistine Chapel!!
Believe me. . . the story of my wedding is FAR WORSE than anything that could have happened on my honeymoon. Maybe I'll go post that story under the U.S. forum under Ohio. . . . it is a riot!
I like your Capri straight from Positano plan. When you get off the boat at Capri, there will be these guys in white uniforms and blue hats asking what hotel you are staying at and asking to take your luggage. Do it! You'll be so happy that you didn't have to drag it with you on the funicular and then on the bus to Anacapri! It only cost us 7 euro to have the porter drive it to our hotel. It might be more for you since you are staying in Anacapri (good call!!).
We didn't have any over the top amazing meals in Capri. . . one place right off the plaza on Via Longano (sp?) was good. We had great pizza up in Anacapri at a place called Ristorante Barbarossa. It is right on the corner where the bus drops off folks. It has a balcony where you can eat and see people going to get on the chairlift to Monte Solaro. Not expensive either.
Then we had to wait for our SITA bus to Sorrento for over an hour due to construction. Oh, and then there's me getting sick from our first gelato and having to leave Mike at the table for 45 minutes. People -- do not eat gelato if you are lactose intolerant!! I had to just have one, though. It was bad enough I didn't get to see the Sistine Chapel!!
Believe me. . . the story of my wedding is FAR WORSE than anything that could have happened on my honeymoon. Maybe I'll go post that story under the U.S. forum under Ohio. . . . it is a riot!
I like your Capri straight from Positano plan. When you get off the boat at Capri, there will be these guys in white uniforms and blue hats asking what hotel you are staying at and asking to take your luggage. Do it! You'll be so happy that you didn't have to drag it with you on the funicular and then on the bus to Anacapri! It only cost us 7 euro to have the porter drive it to our hotel. It might be more for you since you are staying in Anacapri (good call!!).
We didn't have any over the top amazing meals in Capri. . . one place right off the plaza on Via Longano (sp?) was good. We had great pizza up in Anacapri at a place called Ristorante Barbarossa. It is right on the corner where the bus drops off folks. It has a balcony where you can eat and see people going to get on the chairlift to Monte Solaro. Not expensive either.
Jun 9th, 2004, 01:05 PM
#104
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Hi Kelly!
I hope the rest of your trip was great. We never made it to Anacapri for our last day, but we walked to Villa Jovis which was really beautiful because it had panoramic views of the island from the top. The last night at Belsito, there were amazing fireworks from the water that we watched from our balconies. They lasted about half an hour or so...It was a wonderful send-off for our return home. However, I very much agree that Belsito is in dire need of a face lift and a good wash. We had no hair in our soap, but the shower had lots of rust & very limited hot water. No to mention, the tiles were really dirty as were the floors. About Pompei- we were stressed out because we didn't give ourselves enough time & we had to hustle to make the last ferry back to Capri or we would have been stuck in Sorrento for the night. My recommendation for Pompei is to get the guided tour. It will be a lot easier to navigate & you will be better informed than just renting the audio guide. We should have done that & we would have had a better experience. I hope your pictures turned out well. We've got 10 rolls!
I hope the rest of your trip was great. We never made it to Anacapri for our last day, but we walked to Villa Jovis which was really beautiful because it had panoramic views of the island from the top. The last night at Belsito, there were amazing fireworks from the water that we watched from our balconies. They lasted about half an hour or so...It was a wonderful send-off for our return home. However, I very much agree that Belsito is in dire need of a face lift and a good wash. We had no hair in our soap, but the shower had lots of rust & very limited hot water. No to mention, the tiles were really dirty as were the floors. About Pompei- we were stressed out because we didn't give ourselves enough time & we had to hustle to make the last ferry back to Capri or we would have been stuck in Sorrento for the night. My recommendation for Pompei is to get the guided tour. It will be a lot easier to navigate & you will be better informed than just renting the audio guide. We should have done that & we would have had a better experience. I hope your pictures turned out well. We've got 10 rolls!
Jun 10th, 2004, 07:26 AM
#105
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Chlo:
TEN ROLLS?!? That's incredible. I realized when we got home that we didn't actually get a picture of YOU and Mr. Chlo!! The fireworks sound awesome! We ended up loving Positano and Ravello. Did you go to Ravello? We skipped out on Villa Jovis. Too bad that you didn't make it to Anacapri, but I'm sure the Villa Jovis views were great. Did you eat at Belsito's restaurant near Villa Jovis? If so, how was it?
TEN ROLLS?!? That's incredible. I realized when we got home that we didn't actually get a picture of YOU and Mr. Chlo!! The fireworks sound awesome! We ended up loving Positano and Ravello. Did you go to Ravello? We skipped out on Villa Jovis. Too bad that you didn't make it to Anacapri, but I'm sure the Villa Jovis views were great. Did you eat at Belsito's restaurant near Villa Jovis? If so, how was it?
Jun 10th, 2004, 08:12 AM
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"We had great pizza up in Anacapri at a place called Ristorante Barbarossa. It is right on the corner where the bus drops off folks."
We had lunch there! Very good pizza and nice place to cool off with a breeze.
Joelle
We had lunch there! Very good pizza and nice place to cool off with a breeze.
Joelle
Jun 10th, 2004, 10:48 AM
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Hey Kelly,
When we developed the pictures we realised that we hadn't taken any photographs of any of the people we met on our trip! I guess we spent so much time talking it never occured to anyone...
We ended up eating at Belsito's other restaurant. I think it was called 'La Terraza'. Anyway,its the only restaurant on the walk to Villa Jovis so they were quite busy. The patio was nice because you were surrounded by lemon trees (as the ad boasts)& the service was good. Their caprese salad was awesome, but we ended up ordering a pasta with beans (which ended up being fish & kidney beans?) special of the day as our main meal upon the waiter's suggestion that I wasn't crazy about. Derek loved it though, so I can't complain. Overall the atmosphere was nice & it was a great break after that HUGE climb to Jovis. We never made it to Ravello & reading all the positive posts about it makes me wish we had! I guess we'll just have to go back again someday! But I agree with you- next time we'll skip the Naples train station. What a nightmare! We didn't walk in on a Bill & Monica, but we had a couple of accordion playing gypsy kids try to pick our pockets for money while their parents watched from the other side of the track...
When we developed the pictures we realised that we hadn't taken any photographs of any of the people we met on our trip! I guess we spent so much time talking it never occured to anyone...
We ended up eating at Belsito's other restaurant. I think it was called 'La Terraza'. Anyway,its the only restaurant on the walk to Villa Jovis so they were quite busy. The patio was nice because you were surrounded by lemon trees (as the ad boasts)& the service was good. Their caprese salad was awesome, but we ended up ordering a pasta with beans (which ended up being fish & kidney beans?) special of the day as our main meal upon the waiter's suggestion that I wasn't crazy about. Derek loved it though, so I can't complain. Overall the atmosphere was nice & it was a great break after that HUGE climb to Jovis. We never made it to Ravello & reading all the positive posts about it makes me wish we had! I guess we'll just have to go back again someday! But I agree with you- next time we'll skip the Naples train station. What a nightmare! We didn't walk in on a Bill & Monica, but we had a couple of accordion playing gypsy kids try to pick our pockets for money while their parents watched from the other side of the track...
Jun 15th, 2004, 10:28 AM
#108
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Hi! Have you seen the frenzy I unintentionally whipped up with the Naples thread. Whoops. Oh well. I guess it is good for people to share their stories -- good and not so wonderful. Fish and beans? I can see why you might not have been so excited! My list of things to do is huge for our next trip back to Italy -- maybe my honeymoon 1b??? Probably more like 10 year anniversary! Haven't worn my Italian heels yet. . . ankle is still on the mend! Did you end up buying anything besides Derek's sunglasses???
Jun 17th, 2004, 10:41 AM
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Hi Kelly,
Definitely go for the Honeymoon 1B! I highly recommend it! I saw your heels while shopping on my last day in Capri. They are stunning! I was tempted to shop more, but Derek was holding on to my credit card so no luck. I had bought a pair of heels in Rome & a purse. That was the extent of my shopping, though I could have bought a whole lot more if I didn't know that my visa bill would be part of the welcoming committee once we got home. How did your pictures turn out? Our nicest ones were of Positano.
Definitely go for the Honeymoon 1B! I highly recommend it! I saw your heels while shopping on my last day in Capri. They are stunning! I was tempted to shop more, but Derek was holding on to my credit card so no luck. I had bought a pair of heels in Rome & a purse. That was the extent of my shopping, though I could have bought a whole lot more if I didn't know that my visa bill would be part of the welcoming committee once we got home. How did your pictures turn out? Our nicest ones were of Positano.
