My Honeymoon with Allison

After Amy and went our separate ways (boohoo), I was on to my next destination of Southern Italy....first from Dubrovnik to Bari by overnight ferry and then from Bari to Rome on the train. As you might imagine, I was so sad to say goodbye to Croatia...it had brought me such full memories...and I've learned that the scary thing about travel, is you never know what is next. Had I only known that the next 10 days would bring equally crazy/intriguing adventures and fun memories, I would have been much less sad to move on. I call this post, "my honeymon with Allison" because every place we went was fit for a honeymoon...and for any of you planning one in the near future (or even in the not so near future) I've got some fabulous suggestions for you.

I met Allison at our hotel in Rome around 7pm when my train got in from Bari. She was fast asleep...after a nightmare layover in Toronto, she really had no idea what time it was or what day it was...but I quickly reminded her that it was night time in Roma - and we had one night to enjoy the magical city. On the suggestion of a friend of Allison's, we headed to a restaurant near, but not in, the Camp Fiori called Pier Luigi around 9:00. And it defintiely lived up to the good review. We were met at the outdoor restaruant with a glass of champagne while we waited for out table...dined on such yummy antipasta and pasta...and without ordering it were given the traditional limoncello, compliments of the owner who happened to be sitting next to us with his friends. Despite our urge to soak in the Roma nightlife, we actually were both pretty exhausted, Allison from jet lag and me from a night on a ferry boat...so we turned in for a good night sleep before our journey to the island of Ischia the next day.

Ischia is an island that is just off the coast of Naples. It neighbors the more famous island of Capri..but is in the same family of islands. I've been to Capri before - it is a short trip from Sorrento - our next destination. So we decided to check out soemthing new to both of us. Sherry has made a visit to Ischia in May and took a sailing school there. She loved it. We did not take a sailng school, and we stayed on the other side of the island in a town called Forio d'Ischia...and we, too, LOVED it. After a train to Naples, a taxi to the port, a ferry to Ischia and another taxi to Forio, we fainally reached our hotel which was called Paradiso Terme...indeed, a small paradise. The area in the hills above Forio where we stayed, is known for it's healing waters and natural springs. Our hotel was also a spa, and the pool was filled with these healing waters. When we arrived on thursday night, we took the bus down to the main town to find a place to eat. We figured we'd just walk around to find something. But the more we walked around, the more we realized, there wasn't much...or at least not in the area we were looking. It's funny, because the one complaint I had about Capri when I went there, was that is soooo insanely crowded. Shops and restaurants and tourists galore. Ischia on the other hand, was full of locals, little known restaurants and quaint shops with wares from local artisans. As we were walking around, we walked by this one shop that had several art pieces and other household decorative items...and I fell in love. Outside the shop was an oil painting is subtle hues of pink/purple/grey of tulips...not obvious...but beautiful. I stared at is for several minutes and asked the shopkeeper about the possibility of shipping it. He looked at me like I had four heads....not sure if the idea of shipping was way outside the box for him or if he didn't understand a word I said. I walked away, still in love and all the more determined to figure out how I could make it happen.

We continued our search for food until we came upon a church built into the rocks, that had a restaurant just next to it on the cliffs overlooking the water. Jackpot! It wasn't cheap, but the food, wine and view were fantastic. We later learned from the locals that it's the most expensive restaurant on the island. No shocker considering it's me and Allison - but in our defense, at that moment in our eyes, it was the ONLY restaurant on the island.

After a great night sleep and a run on the treadmill overlooking the hills, the sea and the thermal pools, Allison and I settled into our day by the pool of our hotel and spa. I threw in a much needed pedicure...man, that felt good. And, in our usual routine, we went down into town later in the day to shop and eat...this time with a recommendation from the hotel. And we ended up back at the same shop, again, me staring at the painting. The shop owner, who now I know is named Mauricio, saw me and said in very broken English "wait - I find friend." Not sure for what...but then he hands me his cell phone and I am speaking to Domenico. Domenico was a friend of Mauricio who spoke perfect English. He had worked for the cruise lines for several years, so was certain that the painting could be shipped and he would come down to the square to discuss it with me. In the matter of 5 minutes, Allison and I were sitting having wine and bruchetta with Domenico and Mauricio and discussing everything from life in San Francisco, to all thier families, to Ischia vs. Capri...everything but the painting. It was an afterthought right before we left...Domenico would go to the post office tomorrow to find out what the shipping cost would be for the painting and then we would meet to figure out the details. I still couldn't tell if this was actually going to happen, but the process was sure fun. The next several hours after dinner, we came back to the square so Allison could buy a couple things from Mauricio's shop, and next thing you know we're being introduced to all the 7 brothers of Mauricio, his niece, nephew, wife....bascally the whole town. Life in Ischia.

So the next day, Allison and went our separate ways for the morning...I to deal with my painting and she to Sant Angelo...a neighboring town with rumored great shopping. So I met Domenico in the square....good thing there was just one...basically it was where everyone was. And believe it or not...it all happened! I bought the painting and had it shipped home (thanks Mom and Dad) and actually for a very reasonable cost all things considered! It was about 1:00 then and Allison and I had until about 4 before we had to catch our ferry to Sorrento, so Domenico handed me a helmet and said "jump on" and proceeded to take me on a tour of the island on his motorcycle. It was a hoot. Understand that Domenico is probably about 55, divorced, and hilarious. Seriously great sense of humor. He showed me all the spectacular views, a gorgeous resort (one of the perfect honeymoom spots called MezzoTorre....look it up) and a view of Poseiden which is a massive hot springs park in Forio...like an amusement park with healing water. We then went to meet Allison in Sant Angelo for lunch and Domenico suggested a real local place right on the beach. No menu - just tell them what you want. Domenico ran into some of his friends - also in the 55 plus crowd - and I think they were in 7th heaven hanging out with such spunky "young" women. We had a good laugh over it all. But then at four , sadly, we had to leave our little Forio adventure...and we caught a ferry to Sorrento....more adventures awaiting.

We arrived in Sorrento in the early evening and checked into out hotel....La Residenza. It was OK...but not sure I'd return to that specific hotel. I would return, however, to Sorrento, the hub of the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. We walked into Piazza Tasso, the main square in the town and had dinner right on the square. It's such a treat eating outside, wearing sundresses and not even thinking about bring a sweater. This has been the case throughout my trip, and I don't know how I'm going to adjust when I go back to San Francisco! After dinner we strolled around a bit and around midnight started our walk home. On the way home, we heard a lot of what we had gotten used to..."ciao belle" "hallo beautiful" etc, but for the most part it's a little wierd and you just ignore it. But as we were walking a couple of guys that looked really normal, stopped and in a total NON gawking NON creepy way, said hello and asked us where we were going. Apparently there was a place to go dancing that they were going to and wanted us to come, but we declined and said that we wanted to get up early to run before going to Positano which was our plan for that Sunday. They protested a little, but didn't harrass and said good bye. Their names were Fausto and Alfonso...how much more Italian can you get.

As promised, the next day, we got up to run and then took the bus to the town of Positano. Positano is built completely into the side of the mountain...and it is virtually all steps. About a million steps down from the main road - and about a million steps back up. We started our afternoon with a little lunch, and then we walked up to do a little shopping before spending the rest of the afternoon on the beach. As we were finishing our shopping and walking to the beach, who do we run into? You guessed it....Fausto and Alfonso. Pretty cute...they knew we were gong to be in Positano, so decided to spend their Sunday afternoon there as well. It's a fairly small town, but not so small that you'd be sure to run into someone, but sure enought, we did. We said hello and talked for a few minutes, and then they graciously let us go our own way to the beach and they did the same. Because they were not aggressive and just nice, we actually didn't mind having their company, and were happy when they later found us on the beach and sat with us for awhile. The side bar is that I actually thought Fausto was really cute...nice looking, but also great personality. Figures I find a nice guy in Italy. Anyway, we agreed to meet later for drinks after dinner and finished our gorgeous day in Positano with a ferry ride back to Sorrento.

We ate dinner in the same square as the previous night and then went to a little bar on the Corso Italia to meet Fausto and Alfonso. Had a drink there and then took a ride on their vespas to another place near our hotel. It was a local Karaoke bar - where women in too high heels and too big hair were singing along to random italian music. We drank limoncello and cracked up at their horrid singing style. After Allison and I decided to try our ability at riding the vespas on our own (we weren't too bad either) we finally headed back to the hotel....late...

And despite the need for a good night sleep, poor Allison woke to a nasty bout of food poisoning...and was up all night getting sick. Our plan was to go to Capri together for the day, but Allison couldn't move...and had to spend the whole day of her precious vacation in bed. I did end up going to Capri for a few hours in the afternoon on my own, and then came back into Sorrento to browse through the shops. When we had left Fausto and Alfonso the prvious night, there was an offer on the table for Alfonso to cook us dinner at his house...which I gathered in typical Italian fashion would also be mamma's house. Not sure, but on some level I think it was going to be mamma cooking us dinner. I met Fausto for an Apertivo around 6 when I got back and then got in touch with Allison to make plans for the nght. Unfortunately becuase Allison was not well, we had to forego the homecooked meal, but as fate would have it for me, that was the night I went out on a bonafide date in Italy with Fausto. I got picked up on the vespa at 9:30...never the best for the hair situation, but when in Italy...we went to a restaurant on the water, took a walk and ended with a drink at a bar with very good music. Depsite the fact that his English is far from perfect, and my Italian is, well, pretty non existent, we managed to have some pretty great conversations that gave me the impression that he was actually a really good guy. I told him all about my trip and he was saying that he needed a holiday. He's an architect for the mega five star hotel in Sorrento and oversees all the renovations. So I told him he should go to Nice at the same time as me. It's one of the few places I'm on my own, and what better place for an Itaian to take a holiday. It was a throw away comment, and he said he'd think about it..but I really had no expectation that he would follow through. Another late night, great memories, and in the morning, it was off to our next little slice of Heaven...Taormina.

Fortunately Allison was feeling much better in the morning, so after our daily run, we took a taxi back to the Naples airport and caught a flight to Catania, Sicily...the airport closest to Taormina. What can I say. It was another adorable, stunning, perfect town, that made me never want to leave. Taormina, like Positano, is a city built on a cliff. The town was at the top of the cliff, and the main drag, Corso Umberto, was full of great shopping. The beach, on the other had, was, of course, at the bottom of the cliff. About 650 stairs down and...well...650 back up. There was a gondola that you could take both ways, but that was for the weak. Allison and I not only walked it to get to and from the beach, but we added a morning run to the mix, including all those stairs. So each day in Taormina, we did over 1200 stairs....and walked all over town shopping like the girls we are. The hotel we stayed at in Taormina was called Villa Schuler..and I would stay there again in a heartbeat. It was sooo cute, well located, and really friendly staff. Again our days were filled with running, beach, shopping, and dining outdoors without a sweater. No drama or other excitement to report, except that on our last night, our waiter fell in love with Allison, and literally would not let her leave. At first it was kind of cute and sweet, despite the fact that Allison had no interest whatsoever from the get go. But then it got a little wierd. That creepy kind of aggressiveness that just ends up pissing you off. We did finally get out of there...and we did get a free bottle of really great wine, but really...nothing is free. Our price was dealing with the dorky, unrelenting waiter...

Sadly, Allison left on Friday....the whole 10 days, though eventful, seemed to have gone by so fast. I so enjoyed the time with Allison and will look back and laugh at our adventures for years to come. I sayed one more night in Taormina and then continued my journey to Palermo.

A word on Palermo....

I arrived around 3:30 in the afternoon by train that was delayed at least an hour. When I got to my hotel, the incredibly rude man at the receoption desk told me that I didn't have a reservation, despite the fact that I was holding the printed confirmation, with confirmation number in hand. Clearly the hotel had made a mistake, but instead of apologizing and putting me in an upgraded room, he made me feel like it was my fault and put me in a dark room at the back of the hotel. A four star hotel nonetheless...meant nothing. I didn't even unpack before I came down to go out to explore Palermo. I asked the guy where I should go and he gave me very little information, including the fact that everything would be closed until after 5. I walked around and here are things I noticed. It felt deserted. It smelled. It wasn't particularly charming. I felt unsafe. And all I could think about it...how am I going to spend three days here. Aroun 5:30 or 6 I came back to the hotel and called Alitala. The flight to Nice that I was supposed to take on Tuesday connected in Rome, so I asked if I could fly to Rome tomorrow and keep the second leg on Tuesday....and bless his heart, the Alitalia guy made it happen. So with a littel change fee, that was that...I was on my way back to Rome in the morning. I ran across the street to the internet cafe to book a hotel and voila...Palermo could be a memory. I did try to make the most of my stay by walking around the city in the evening when things seemed to come alive a but more. But all I could think was Tijuana with better architecture. Bye bye.

The next day I walked tot he train station to buy my transfer to the airport and I walked by a guy that did the classic once over and made some rude comment....I kept walking...but then about 1 minute later I turned around and saw that he had turned around and was following me! I panicked....and walked as fast as I could to the train station. I thought I had lost him, but then as I walked out of the train station, there he was walking in. Ugh...hate that feeling. I made my way back tot he hotel and even though I had an hour before I had to leave, I sat in the lobby of the hotel and read my book under the watchful eye of the rude front desk guy until I had to leave. Never was I so happy to be on my way.
Now I'm in Rome and having a ball. My hotel is charming, my dinner last night delicious, and I am safe. I love Rome. I've now been here 3 separate times on this trip, and 3 times previously...so I'm getting to know it very well. It feels familiar and comfortable. I have a run here that I do every morning. I know the squares, the shops, the restaurants and some of the restaurant staff. It's nice to have that sense of comfort. So now, I think I'm gonig to pick myself up and head right over to Trevi Fountain and throw my money over my left shoulder...the legend is that if you do this, you are sure to return to Rome one day...I believe I will.