We are safely home from our European vacation after a 10.5 hour flight from Rome to Calgary, then a short hop to Saskatoon.
I was being quite faithful in making frequent updates detailing our adventures in Europe, then there was a good reason why I was unable to update. A pickpocket stole my iPhone in a Rome Metro station. Fortunately, my wallet was safe and my phone was locked. Furthermore, we had Linda's phone.
Let me back up a bit.
From Florence, we traveled through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to Pisa. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is quite impressive. I had a vision of the tower being a stand alone structure, but there is a beautiful cathedral and baptistry adjacent to the tower. The funniest thing to me was everyone was taking the same corny photo positioning the photographed person so it appears they are holding the tower from falling over or in my case making it appear I was pushing the tower over. Tuscany is beautiful with cypress trees, canopy pines, rolling hills, and hilltop villas. Just like the movies.
After Pisa, we traveled to Rome for two nights. Linda and I did not participate in the tour of The Sistine Chaper; however, we toured Vatican City on our own. The main event was a guided tour of The Colosseum, but the crowds, even at this time of year, were enormous. Very impressive! Later in the evening, we participated in a food tour of Rome a stop in The Jewish Quarter (Probably a bad idea because October 7 was the anniversary of the Hamas attack on the Gaza Strip),
Our tour ended on Tuesday, October 6 in the morning. Linda and I checked out of our hotel and were taking the Metro to the train station when a pick pocket robbed me of my iPhone. Rome is crawling with pickpockets. It's a jungle in Rome. If you ever go to Rome, be on high alert everywhere!
Being robbed was a definite buzz kill, but we forged ahead taking the highspeed train to Naples. The train goes 300 km/hour. In Naples, we transferred to a regional train that took us to Sorrento. Our accommodation was centrally located so we toured the Sorrento area thoroughly. Sorrento is all about the lemons. Lemon dishes, clothing, liquors, tea towels, cutlery, etc. We ate in several Italian restaurants, sat in outdoor cafes for caffe, ate gelato, and enjoyed the amazing scenery.
The highlights of the Sorrento area were a tour of Pompeii and a boat tour of the Amalfi Coast. The boat tour took us to Positano, then to Amalfi where we took a bus to Raffalo then we walked down the longest of stair cases back to Amalfi. Thank God, we decided to take the bus to the top. Going down the stairs was taxing enough. The boat that took us back to Sorrento wasn't a large one and the waves were huge. People were hanging over the edge vomiting, turning green, and praying for the boat to arrive in Sorrento pronto. We were going to tour the island of Capri, but after that ordeal, we chose to tour Pompeii instead.
Pompeii was awe inspiring. I will leave it up to the reader to discover Pompeii. I will say that the level of technology 2300 years ago was beyond my comprehension. Our tour leader was a retired professor who really brought the Pompeii story to life. Pompeii was probably the best historical site tour in the three weeks we spent in Europe. Touring Pompeii is a must if you are in Italy.
We were away for a total of 20 days and were quite ready to return home after touring 4 countries and multiple cities. There were many iconic sites such as the Tower of London and the Eiffel Tower. Throughout the tour, we met interesting people from all over the globe, we ate some great food, and saw beautify landscapes.
We eventually overcame our horrible experience of being pickpocketed and had a great time in Sorrento. Now we have a treasure trove of pictures, videos, and memories that are looking forward to sharing in the coming days, months, and years.
There's no place like home. I love my neighborhood, my city, my province, and this wonderful country of ours. Moreover, I love my dear family, neighbours, and friends.
Cheers.
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