Amalfi Coast

31 July... The drive along the Amalfi Coast is every bit as spectacular and nerve wrecking as what we've read about and people have told us. Narrow roads, two-way traffic, big buses, tourists unfamiliar with the local roads, distracting views... a sure recipe for disaster! Thankfully Shad drove us safely all the way there and back. We did have a slight disaster though, I accidentally slammed poor Mum's fingers in the car door 😫. Luckily nothing was broken and we managed to buy some icy lemon granita from a roadside seller which we used to help reduce the swelling. So no hospital visit on this trip, yet! Anyone who knows our family will know that somehow we seem to find ourselves at the hospital or doctor's whenever we go on holiday, whether it is an ear infection and a sprained neck (Ryan Ngam jumping on the bed) in Koh Samui, or suspected dengue fever in Sri Lanka! Anyway all's well that ends well, and as Ryan said, "thanks to Poh-poh we got to taste the yummiest lemon granita".

Stunning view of Positano 

Absolutely breathtaking from every angle of the drive down the coast

The crowds were overwhelming at Positano and Amalfi so we stopped for lunch at Minori, a little town along the coast instead. Still busy with beach goers but we managed to find a parking spot right in front of the beach and a table for lunch at a cafe nearby, which coincidentally I read online has the best dolci in town. 

So true... this limoncello cake was delicious!

Summer holiday makers enjoying every part of this little piece of rocky beach 

Hmm... we're totally overdressed for the occasion!

Boats on one side

People on the other

Walking off the calories after a heavy lunch through Minori 

Vespa country 

"Miss I-want-to-buy-this, I want to buy that" was not impressed with the European siesta concept! 

We stopped at Ravello on the way back to Sorrento. Perched on the hills and closed off to vehicles, this little town has breathtaking views of the hillside as well as the Amalfi coast.

The hills

The coast 

Sorrento

29th July... this morning we loaded up our breadloaf and began our 6-week road trip. Our destination for today was Sorrento, stopping at Cassino for a quick lunch along the way. 

The drive took longer than we expected, by the time we reached our airbnb it was already past 6pm. We chose to stay in a little farmhouse outside Sorrento in order to avoid the summer traffic congestion around Sorrento. This is a little working "farm" tended by the parents of the owner of our airbnb. It was a very pleasant change from city living in Rome. 

Stairway to home

Exploring our garden 

Tomatoes everywhere

Our cosy little breakfast area

Too tired to head out to Sorrento, we walked along a narrow cobbled walkway behind the house to the nearby village, Sant'Agata for dinner. People were starting to gather around the town square waiting for the music festival to begin. Nightlife begins late here in Italy, and the concert wasn't going to start until 9:30pm so we went to look for dinner first. By the time we finished and walked back to the square, all the seats were taken. Everyone was out to enjoy the music and the beautiful night. 

While the kids play, Mama is on poop watch! Dog poo everywhere 😱

 

Mid-way to Sant'Agata

10pm and the concert is now in full swing 

The next couple of nights we ventured out to Sorrento for dinner. It so happened that the night we went to Marina Grande, the little village was celebrating the last night of the Festa Dei Santi Anna. People were all crowded around the little church preparing for the parade to begin, when they would accompany the statue of Santi Anna on her walk out from the church. Canon shots announced the start of the parade followed by a beautiful fireworks display. 

At the Pier looking back at the village. You can see the beautiful lace linen hanging from the windows of every household in the distance. No one could really explain the reason behind this except that it was a tradition associated with the Sacred Festival.

Little Missy busy capturing the fireworks 

Dinner at Trattoria Da Emilia, touristy but food was good nonetheless.

Yummiest calamari e gamberi fritti we've had so far!

A perfect end to a beautiful day

Roma

Five nights flew by in a flash. We took a leisurely approach to our time here, taking long breaks in-between sights so that the kids could rest and adjust to the time difference and not get overly tired, but more important, to save ourselves from having to deal with grumpy, exhausted little people!

We stayed in a lovely airbnb in San Giovanni, right by the Aurelian Walls. We loved the area, very local with lots of small little cafes and restaurants, little mum and pop grocery shops, gelaterias and a small market. Don't think we saw any other tourists the entire time we were here.

Our first stop... caffe latte at a tiny caffetteria near our apartment 

Our backyard 

Streets of San Giovanni

Our breakfast spot each morning, all kinds of freshly baked goods

The perfect start to the day... prosciutto mozzarella pizza, potato pizza and a caffe latte

Homestyle cooking at Domenica restaurant just up the road from us... fritturi di verdure miste (vegetable fritters), pork skin beans and tomato stew (a Roman specialty), frittura calamari e gamberi, pork cheek pasta. So so good!

Our home in Rome and our local neighbourhood

The other good thing about the apartment was its proximity to the Coliseum. We could walk there in just 20 minutes, although the person with little legs did whine a little, actually more than a little, she tried to convince me to divorce her father because he MADE her walk soooo far! 

Right in the middle of the arena where the gladiators fought

Underground in the holding area where the gladiators and animals were held before they turn to fight. As they guide was explaining the workings of the underground, Mia pulled out her journal and started writing down her version of what went on down there. 

Ryan very enthusiastically woke up super early in the morning to go for a run with Shad to see the sunrise over the Coliseum, and it was one of the most beautiful things he's even seen, he said. 

Dawn 

Our second day here at sunrise, not a soul in sight.

So very quiet and peaceful, we could close our eyes and imagine what took place here thousands of years ago.

15 years ago Shad and I visited all these historical sites, however it has been a whole different experience being back here and looking at everything through the eyes of these kids. Some good some not so good. We time our visits to avoid the hottest and most crowded hours, we spend a much shorter time at each exhibit, and we take more and longer breaks in-between places. Of course this means that we're seeing a lot less this time around, and definitely many fewer museums and churches. But it was wonderful feeling their excitement as we moved through the Vatican museum stopping at exhibits which may have only vaguely caught our attention before, like searching for Hercules and seeing the joy in Mia's eyes when we finally found him! 

We're also travelling much more comfortably this time, getting around in a car, staying at cosy, spacious places and eating very well, unlike our last trip sans kids when we had to think twice about having a coke at dinner in order to save some money. We just hope that these kids realise, and remember just how fortunate they are and not take any of this for granted.

Gelato heaven!

The ever crowded Trevi Fountain 

Ryan and Mia threw their coins and made their wishes. Hopefully they will be back one day with their own families.

Light shinning in through the dome at the Pantheon 

Pantheon at night

Admiring the beautiful interior of the Basilica San Giovanni

The Papal seat

Taking in the peaceful surroundings outside the Basilica 

But not for long. The temptation of a wide open space was just too great!

Treasure hunting at the Vatican museum 

This little one loved the audio tour!

No photos of the Sistine Chapel. Thankfully both kids were just as fascinated as we were when they saw the frescos. We had shown them short documentaries before visiting the museum so they knew what they were looking at and also the stories behind the paintings. They were quite happy to sit for over half an hour just staring up at the ceiling. Although Mia did find the Last Judgement fresco "freaky"! 

Kids caught their first glimpse of a Swiss Guard at St Peters Basilica and couldn't take their eyes off the colourful uniform!

Poppy joined us on the last day.

Soaking in our last night in Rome at the Piazza Venezia.

Loading up our "bread loaf" (the shape of this Renault Kangoo looks like a loaf of bread from certain angles!) as we start our road trip around Italy.