Italy_Honeymoon_Adventure_2024

  We had a rainy start to the day but it ended up being a beautiful day.  We had a tour of the Forum and Palantinen hill and Colosseum scheduled.  We went back and forth about the weather but finally marched out to light rain.  We headed for the Colosseum and passed several union protests going on in the streets.   We got to the Colosseum and met our group. Our guide was Guido and he had a wonderful outlook on life.  He infused the tour with knowledge and information about the people and places we were going to see.  The Forum was the best of Rome and where business and politics connected.   Over the decades the empire rose and then fell because of the leaders and the people.  In the end the leaders lost the support of the people and the civilization collapsed.  On top of the Roman Empire many other civilizations rose and fell.  It’s quite a history.   We walked thru the history seeing the buildings and the monuments created by...

The day started at 12:30 AM when Jack began to have pain in his right hip area.  It took awhile but he finally decided it had to be  kidney stone which happened in August in Yosemite. It was the right kidney and it hurt pretty bad - but at least he knew what to do.  He downed two strong painkillers and a ton of water and after a few hours the pain was a lot less.  He tried to sleep but that wasn’t happening.  Another pain med and more after around 5 and things kept improving.   We decided to head out to St Peters around 10 and he felt a little dizzy but the pain was pretty much gone. The walk went slowly but it still a lot of fun to walk thru Rome.   When we got to St Peters we were able to jump the long line by showing our Via Franchigena passports and we went right to the front.  Once inside there was about 20 other hikers getting their certificates.  It was so fun to get it filled out inside the church entryway.   We toured St Peters ...

  We were a little melancholy leaving Sorrento.  It was a wonderful 3 weeks that we will long remember.  Lots of memories and we will be talking about it for a long time. We boarded the Campania Express train and headed for Naples.  The train ride was smooth and we arrived on time.  We went upstairs to Napoli Centrale and boarded the business class train to Rome.  We arrived around 1:30 and were at our Airbnb by 2.  It’s a lovely little place where we stay for 3 nights.   We headed out brother Trevi Fountain which is being remodeled but still beautiful.  Then to the supermarket for Coke Zero and bananas.  Back to the Airbnb then off to supper.  We ate at an empty restaurant near the park that holds the Borghese museum.  We had another wonderful meal and talked about our trip.  I called my mother to wish her Happy Birthday!!  She is 99 today.  Very cool. We walked to the Spanish Steps which were beautiful in the e...