Day 3---Pompeii & Mount Vesuvius

This is the garden where breakfast is served each morning. Very nice---not hot at all.

We were really excited about today and we weren't disappointed. We met our driver in the hotel lobby at 9 a.m. for the drive to Pompeii. Once there, we met our private guide, Julia. 

It's so worth it to have a private guide to avoid situations just like this. You can't even see the end of the line. She was able to go to the front of the line and get our tickets. No wait for us. That includes, while inside the city too---we get to go ahead of all the lines---no waiting. Definitely a perk and I know I am spoiled! Now if we could only find someone like this for Disney World!

Pompeii was incredible. Butch said it reminded him exactly of Epheseus in Greece. Our guide said that it was the same time period so it would look the same except Pompeii is much bigger. I didn't really remember too much from history about Pompeii. On August 24th, 79 AD, Mt. Vesuvius erupted. The 18,000 people of Pompeii were immediately poisoned by the gas and then buried in 21ft. of ash. Anyone that came to find out what had happened, or to loot, were also killed by the gases. As a result, it was just abandoned.

Centuries later, when they tried to find the city, they couldn't. Pompeii was a seaport. After a few centuries, the shoreline had receded. It wasn't until 17... something that, while building, they accidentally discovered the ancient city beneath them. That's when the excavation started.

This is Julia. She was so interesting. The whole story is completely amazing. As we all know, the Romans were pretty advanced with roads and sanitation. The people here bathed 3 times a week. I have family members that don't even do that!

The houses were all very large as this was a wealthy community. This is the entry to the house called the atrium. I'm not going in to the whole story or layout, but behind was the garden. Enough of the history lesson.

Our picture with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. It seems so far away---and took us about 45 minutes to get there by car. When the eruption happened, the city was cast in total darkness for 3 days. By the time the sun broke through, all 18,000 were dead. If the wind had blown the other way, Naples would have been buried.

 When we arrived at Mt. Vesuvius, I took one look at the dusty trail and the distance and said, "no way." I saw Butch off and parked myself on a bench with my book.

 We must have had our esp going because at some point, I looked up and there he was waving at me. This is actually closer than he was. See that little dot in the middle of the photo?

This was the closest I could get of him waving at me. He continued on to the top. A couple times he thought of turning back, but thought he couldn't possibly have that much farther to go. Really, what kept him going was that he was hunting for a geo-cache at the top. He found it and left a travel bug traveling from Sweden. He was happy.

I met him on his way down---all covered in dust. I was happy I didn't try it for a couple of reasons---too far and steep---in fact, when Butch had checked his "fitbit" it said he had gone 78 flights of stairs (he said it was more than that)---that would be reason enough, but probably the biggest reason at the time was that I had on new pants that I need to wear another time. I knew they would be permeated with dust.

Butch explained geo-caching to our driver and guide. Julia was all excited when Butch described to her where a cache was hidden in Sorrento---where she has lived all her life. She immediately went to the website so she can sign up! It's a really fun and "free" thing to do. There are geo-caches all over the world. To find out more about it, check it out here.We're pretty sure she went to find the one Butch told her about tonight.

As we were driving back to Sorrento, I saw signs for cameo factories. Since cameos are made in this area, I had decided that I wanted to get one for my souvenir. I had planned to go out tonight to shop for it. I asked Julia if those factories gave tours. She said they did and asked if we wanted to go. I jumped all over it---another thing about your own drivers and guides, you get to do unusual things.

We went to "APA"---a family owned business since 1848. Here's where my ignorance comes in. I had no idea that cameos are carved from sea shells. I don't think I ever really thought about what they were made of. Of course, you can find plenty of "fakes" made out of plastic and acrylic, but the authentic ones are made out of sea shells.

 We got to see one of their craftsman at work. The value of the cameo is determined by the amount of detail in the work. Some can take weeks to carve. No two are ever alike.

My new best "cameo" buddies! I was so happy for my purchase. They even threw in the gold chain. I'm no dummy, I know that ultimately I paid for it!!

On the way back to Sorrento, we stopped for a photo op. Just so beautiful. It's the Mediterranean Sea--I asked our driver first thing this morning. I'm not afraid to look stupid. I thought it was the Med, but didn't want to just assume. After our Mediterranean cruise where we were on other seas besides the Med, I just wasn't sure. I want to know EVERTHING!! Not that I'll remember it! But for just a little while I will.

This is the cameo I settled on for myself. I struggled with getting the traditional one, but I was so drawn to this one. It's called "three maidens." It's about 2" tall and can be worn as a pin or a pendant. Notice the detail of the flowers above and the ruffled skirt. It's actually carved out of black onyx. When you turn it over, it's black. This is what the inside looks like.

Anyway, it was a great lesson and a great day. We got back to the hotel around 4. We freshened up and  headed out for an early dinner since we never stopped for lunch. Julia had recommended a couple of places, but we were too early for them. We ended up going back to the same place as last night. We forced ourselves to get something different and it was just as excellent. Tonight, I didn't let my eyes get the better of me! We shared a Caesar salad---usually, I've been burned out with them, but whenever they come with anchovies, I always go for it. 

We also shared the lasagna. I felt pretty safe having pasta since I was wearing my coral blouse. I'm always careful not to wear white to an Italian restaurant. Well, I was doing just fine until Butch decided to flip some meat on me. He was all apologetic, but still, it left a grease mark. I plan to wear all of my clothes twice. I've learned my lesson and always carry extra tops. Looks like that's going to come in handy this time. But still...

Coming up---Day 4---the Amalfi coast.

Sorrento---Day 2

Considering I discovered another problem to interfere with Butch's sleep, we ended up having a pretty good night's sleep after all. I was up from midnight until 3 a.m. reading. But, every time I had to get up to use the bathroom, my slippers squeaked on the tile floor--pretty noisy. That doesn't happen on carpet! Despite that, we awoke refreshed and ready to start the day.

First off was breakfast in the garden of the hotel. I just LOVE Italian salami---there's nothing like it. Add the cheeses and the bread---and it's a perfect way to start the day. The only thing on our schedule was to explore Sorrento. It is the cutest town overlooking the sea. I keep forgetting to find out which sea it is. I need to find out. It would be good to know where I am in the world!

I had a few minutes to take some photos around our hotel. This is the lobby. I didn't realize that when I went in search of the garden it was where we had eaten breakfast. I'll try to get a picture of that when there aren't so many people there.

 From our balcony, besides overlooking the sea, our room overlooks a lemon orchard.

One of the things I love about browsing the shops in Italy is all the lovely displays. It took a lot of will power to resist these flower seeds. 

 Another of my favorite things about Italy---random works of art surprises us here and there.

 This was the view from Piazza Tasso. I cannot describe how far down this was or how far to the sea. Butch went all the way to find a geo-cache down there. Originally I was going to go, but when I saw the 100 steps (or more), I passed. He found it, but hasn't been able to log it in yet.

 I thought this was cute---Hazel's leather shop was right next door to Mary's leather shop. Maybe they are sisters. They are two separate stores.

 This was the prettiest church from the outside, but we couldn't go inside. 

 This church was gorgeous. They were setting up for a wedding and already had the programs on the pews.

After we got back from exploring, we had the leftover wine and bread for lunch. Then, what better way to spend the afternoon than stitching with a glass of wine and this view? 

 The elevator in our hotel is so pretty---the floor is inlaid mosaic tiles. I think it's marble.

 We had dinner on the Piazza Antoine. We started with drinks. The olives and nuts were complimentary. They were the brightest green olives we had ever seen. Turns out, they tasted like black olives.

 We shared the shrimp and avocado salad---this wasn't even half the portion. It was so delicious. And the bread...need I say more?

 Butch got the chef's special---shrimp and cheese ravioli with a pistachio sauce topped with mussels. OMGosh---it was divine. We both declared it the BEST ravioli we'd ever had. Sorry Grandma.

 I ordered the pass with meatballs. Butch wanted to just get one thing and share, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Next time, we'll share for sure. This was delicious too, just too much.

Along with our bill came a complimentary Lemoncello. Guess which one is mine? It finally became his. 

The same view from Piazza Tass at night.

I don't know how this picture went out of order, but this was also during our browse about town. The fish market displays its wares outside. You would think it would all be covered with flies, but not a single one. Hmmm, maybe flies don't like dead fish. Maybe that's the answer to fly problems in the house---just leave a couple of dead fish lying around.

Day 3---Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii! Can't wait!

Italy Day 1

Technically, it's day 2 as it's midnight and I can't sleep. I broke the cardinal rule. I went to sleep too early. I've always done what my friend and travel agent, Mary has told me: "Stay up when you arrive and go to bed at the normal hour."

I just couldn't do it.Yesterday was a total travel day. It was literally, "planes, trains and automobiles." We arrived in Rome at 10 a.m. Our driver picked us up and took us to the hotel where we'll be staying at the end of our trip so we could leave a suitcase in Rome. No sense in hauling what we don't need for the next 10 days.

After the suitcase drop-off, Alessandro took us to the train station which we took to Napoli. Another driver picked us up and drove us the one hour to Sorrento. We checked in to our lovely room at the Grand Hotel De La Ville.

 The room is beautiful. Can you guess what I like best? That would be the tile---no gross carpeting here!

Butch went out to find us the makings of our hotel room picnic---it's one of my favorite things we do when we're traveling. When you're just so tired, there's nothing that hits the spot better than a little picnic. After he left, the first thing I did was take a shower in this nice bathroom. All of the bathroom fixtures and knobs were easy to figure out.

Butch got back with a bottle of wine, cheese, fresh bread and a container of olives. It was perfect. We have the most perfect view from our cute little balcony:

The weather is warm---mid 80's, but not as humid as we're used to, so it's very pleasant.

When dinner was over, it was time to get down to business---checking my blogs. I got an extra pillow out of the closet. It came in this humongous ziplock bag. 

I don't think I ever realized that I have a problem with ziplock bags until my heart skipped a beat when I saw this. Butch says I can't keep it. He says they probably re-use them. I travel with ziplock bags. Is that weird? You never know when you might need one to carry little souvenirs, cookies, rocks, pills, zip drive, etc. ---just whenever I don't want something floating around the bottom of my purse.

I'm not complaining, because we have high speed internet---and it's FREE, but it takes a while for pictures to upload to the blog. Then, they don't always show up 100%. Some are cut off from the upload process to the transfer to the blog. I'm not sure how to fix it. We'll see. I'll try to post pictures as best as I can.

I've started a great book on Monday---The Host by Stephanie Myers---the author that wrote the Twilight Series. I flew through those in less than a month. At the scrapbook retreat a couple weeks ago, a girl there was talking about The Host and how good it was. Imagine my delight when it came across as one of my Kindle deals of the day---that very day---for $1.99. I was going to get it anyway, but was happy for the "deal." Anyway, I'm only 18% "in" to it and it is EXCELLENT! Seriously, really, "I can't put it down" good! 

Now I'm going to get back to my book and try to conserve what little battery power I have left on my computer. Butch couldn't even start his up---deader than a doornail. I didn't offer to let him borrow mine. Is that bad? I just think when it comes to battery life it's every man for himself! We have to find an electrical adaptor tomorrow (oops, today) to charge them up. When I get up in the morning---for the second time, I'll go ahead and let him use my computer. I can't be that selfish.

A Few Little Things

The weekend end was really a lot of fun. After our shopping trip on Saturday, Mindy and I saw 1D (One Direction) in 3D. OMGosh! It was so good. Those boys are so darling---and the accents! I'm not being creepy---I could be their grandmother! Love them and their music. Great docu-movie.

So cute! They seem to be such nice boys. I hope they stay that way. In the end, they all seem to go off the deep end---ahem---Miley and Justin...

Actually, I love just about all music. This weekend was definitely a testament to that. So I saw 1D on Saturday, listened to 3 hours of showtunes as I worked on Sunday morning, saw Hank ---a live stage production and a tribute to Hank Williams, Sunday afternoon, and finished the weekend with a 2 hour NPT 60's show hosted by Davy Jones and Peter Noone last night. 

At Hank, they built the bar for the set. It was really awesome. You were allowed to go on stage to buy a drink. I got a bottle of water and these shots:

The bar top was made out of 100's of corks. The bartender said they put a call out for the corks. It took a while to get enough. Really cool.

Oh how I loved Herman's Hermits. I used to "smooch" Peter's face on the album when I was a teen. He's still pretty cute!

While brunching at the Bonefish Grill on Sunday with Connie and Nancy, we were discussing Estee Lauder and the fact that Macy's has the free gift promotion going on right now. They were saying that they don't end up using the freebies. I do---they are great sizes for travel. They said they don't use the bags either. Well, I do---for many things. They make great bags for your poker money. I always carry several when I travel for charging cords or pill bottles. 

Today, I used one for my travel office supplies. I always travel with office supplies. I find that I need highlighters, binder clips, paper clips, pens, empty zip locks, zip drive, screen cleaner and cloth when I travel. Doesn't everyone?

On Monday, Steph and I went to Five Guys for a burger before going to see The Butler. It was so good. I agree with Connie---Oprah and Forrest Whitaker deserve Oscars. There were so many stars---even if they were small appearances. We really enjoyed it. There definitely was a bit of a liberal bias. And, I can't stand Jane Fonda---as far as I'm concerned, she's a traitor. I thought of boycotting the movie because of her, but since I heard it was so good, I just couldn't. And now, she's being celebrated for looking so good at 75. Gag me. She's had tons of cosmetic surgery people!! Really, I see it every week at bridge. You can tell who has had surgery. Their face doesn't match up with the rest of their body. 

Wow, I really digressed there! Anyway, it was a nice way to wrap up the weekend. Steph and I don't usually have one-on-one time. That was nice too. Basically, our family is a pack. And that's how we run.

I'm all set for Italy. I have all of my envelopes ready---one for each day with what's happening, tickets and vouchers inside. At the beginning of each day, I check the envelope for times and where we're supposed to be, grab the tickets and go. 

At the end of the day, I jot notes on the outside about the day---anything important that happened or was said. I put all receipts, stubs and memorabilia in the envelops and move it to the bottom of the stack. When I get home and get my pictures developed, I just have to sort them in to the appropriate envelopes. All ready to scrapbook!

Wishing you all a great week---and a short one at that! 

My next post will be from Italy. See you then!

A Professional Woman

That would be Stephanie. She's a smart, articulate, creative, hard-working, forward thinking and  ambitious woman. 

After over a week of secrecy, the company broke the news that she is leaving on Friday. They allowed her to talk to her team right after because she knew that it would be a shock to them. As it turned out, it wasn't such a shock after all. One of her friends guessed that she was "looking". Steph asked her how she knew. She said, "Because you wore your "interview shoes" a couple of times." 

Now Steph's company was pretty lax with the dress code. Still, Stephanie (and Mindy for that matter) always dress professionally. After all, they represent their company. In general, my girls have always liked to dress up. So it wasn't a surprise that Steph would be dressed up at work---the usual dead give-away that someone is looking for a new job. Turns out when she went on the interviews, she wore closed toe shoes. It was the shoes that gave her away! Pretty observant if you ask me!

I think Connie said it best, "You are supposed to dress for the position you want rather than the position you have" or something like that---I didn't write it down. But, it made perfect sense.

I took Stephanie and Mindy shopping on Saturday. Our goal was to get Steph a new work wardrobe---new job, new clothes (and shoes). Of course Mindy had to have a few things too. Then Jordan got in on the act---she needed a black dress, black slacks and a couple of blouses for her speech class at UT. And lest you think I left Sandy out---while there in May, I took her shopping picked up some new things. I don't do it very often (except I usually take the grandkids shopping once a year) so it was a lot of fun. When I turn the household bills over to Butch (which I'm seriously thinking about doing) it's things like this that will be a little extravagant to explain! Maybe I better re-think that!

There were Labor Day sales all over so it was a perfect time to shop. We started at Macy's and found several cute dresses and shoes. Next we went to New York & Co. They have the best sales---ALL the time. The clothes are pretty cheap and you can always find cute stuff. This jacket works with several of the dresses and go perfect with her tan and black new shoes.

It looks like leather, but it's some sort of soft synthetic. It is so cute and flattering. They had many styles and colors. Regularly $90.00---a steal at half price! I just love it on her, so cute.

We're so proud of her and wish her the best in her new position---"Education Manager." I want her to take a picture of herself on her first day---sort like the first day of school pictures. But, even though she has so many positive qualities, being ready early is not one of them. She may not have time on her first day. I can hope. If I were going to be in town, I'd make her pancakes.

We love you, Steph!

What's Happenin'?

Outside my window: The turkeys continue to come through. Every morning, afternoon and evening. There's 5 big ones and the two little ones---but they have really grown up.

I am thinking: That there is a lot going on this weekend. I think I say that every week.

I am thankful for: More than one tv. Did you know that football has started up again? At least he can go upstairs and watch it. It's non-stop sports around here. There's only two sports I like to watch---Cardinals baseball when they make it to the World Series and Titan's football if I can watch it at home and stitch at the same time. Other than that, I don't like to watch sports.

From the kitchen: So earlier in the week, I let the kids know that I would be serving Imo's pizza for dinner. This is how it started:

 Apparently, it wasn't laid flat on the way home from St. Louis. As a result, we didn't know it had "scrunched up" before we froze it! We had to pry the pizzas apart. One actually broke. What a mess!

We could hardly get all the plastic off. In the end, it was delicious. I also had toasted ravioli and a salad to go with it. 

I am reading: The Butterfly Ball by Hal Manogue. I'll finish it tomorrow. Hal is the husband of one of our book club members. It's pretty good. We'll have a good discussion for sure. Last week I read Silver Star by Jeannette Walls. She is the author of The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses. All of her books have been excellent. Silver Star  is her first work of fiction. It was really, really good. But I thought the ending was weak.

I am busy creating: Not only have I not been creating, I'm not even unpacked from the scrapbook retreat last week. I've played "catch-up" all week in order to get out-of-town again on Tuesday.

 I'm bummed: That I might not get to see Jordan again before she goes back to school

I did get a kick out of seeing her. Somehow when she's around, there is always an animal involved.

 Look close. Closer.....

She's wearing the cutest alligator bracelet. She called Steph this morning and said she was nervous about the 3 1/2 hour drive home---all highway. We don't get on the highway much around here, so you have a relative new driver who has not had much highway driving experience. She started off by asking Steph where she should get gas. She said the gas pumps are different in Knoxville. I guess she figured it out. But after getting back on the highway, she ended up heading away from Nashville. We don't know how far out of her way she went before she realized she was going in the wrong direction. It took her several months to figure out how to get to the mall. We think college is going to be good for her!

I am hearing: TV in the background.

Around the house and garden: I haven't spent any time in the garden. Now that I'm the rental agent for our beach condo, I've been spending a lot of time with that. It's really fun---and I'm sure it won't be so time consuming once I have done it all a few times. Right now, I'm just so worried about messing up someone's rental, or giving them the wrong door code. I'm sure I'll relax soon.

In other news: We're leaving for Italy on Tuesday. It's going to be a fun trip. I'll start packing on Tuesday morning. I keep my packing list on my computer, so it doesn't take me more than 30 minutes to pull it all together.

One of my favorite things right now: I love the scented candles I got from Bath and Body Works. They have 3 wicks, but I only light one at a time. The candle will last longer and the aroma isn't quite as strong.

I appreciate: My friend and travel agent, Mary. She comes up with the best itineraries for our trips. She knows all kinds of little things that are not to be missed. I'm really excited about a concert she's scheduled for us on our last night in Ravello. The backdrop is the sea!

I regret: that Mindy left her lunchbox in the work refrigerator. She rarely goes in the office. She didn't even know she had forgotten it LAST week. Stephanie saw it and brought it to her. 

 If it weren't monogrammed, she might not have realized it. Then she did this as she wrinkled up her nose:

I said, "Oh no! You clean those out!" She turned and whined, "Daaadddd?" He tried to protest, but we all knew he'd take care of it. He just can't refuse his girls---or grandkids. Me, not a problem!!

This is Mindy's latest pile. Most likely, she'll "forget" half of it. She has stuff everywhere!

How the weekend is shaping up: Tomorrow I'm meeting Stephanie and Mindy at the mall. Steph is starting a new job on the 9th. We're shopping for new work clothes. Plus, I'm going to pick up a few things for my trip. We'll have lunch and make a day of it. After the shopping, Mindy and I are going to see the new 3D One Direction movie.

On Sunday, Connie, Nancy and I have theater tickets for the Franklin theater. I don't even know what we're seeing. We have season tickets---Nancy's in charge of them. Connie handle Rep Theater tickets and I take care of the Broadway series. We're having brunch at the Bonefish Grill---one of my favorite places. 

Monday, Stephanie and I (Mindy has to go out-of-town for work) are going to see The Butler. After that, I'll make sure to have every thing done in order to get out-of-town myself---pay bills, laundry, arrange for mail pick-up and fish feeding, etc. You know, getting all the ducks in a row.

Lastly I want to share a few pictures from Elizabeth's parent night at her school. 

 Outside the classroom, they have the children's work on the wall. We thought it's pretty cute how she spelled "gramparents" the same all the way through!

 On this paper, she was to use magazine images to tell the story of her family. She says that her mom vacuums and uses Swiffers. She cut out Advil---saying that Mitchell has allergies---of course, that's not an allergy medicine. Then, she cut out a Coke can and said that her whole family drinks Coca Cola---when the fact is---no one drinks Coke!!! They drink Sprite. I guess she figured Coke was close enough since Sprite is part of the Coke family!

This is the picture her teacher took of her giving her Frecklejuice book report. She's soon to be 8---growing up way too fast. She's our last little one!

One last question---is anyone else having trouble with Bloglovin'? I emailed them about the problem of having to keep going back to the site rather than being able to forward through my blogs. I did get a response about 5 days ago that they are working on it. Just wondering if everyone is having trouble or just me.

And that just about covers it. Next report could be from Italy.