Italy Changes from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C to . . .

During these three nights of our European adventure, our group of eight was staying in two apartments in a little village in the hills above the Amalfi coast. While not the most picturesque view out our window, we loved the convenience of having a little grocery store right across the street from us. We came to find out that Congad grocery was a one-stop-shopping oasis in our village, with the tiny parking lot full and primed for disaster. We witnessed one of the many fender benders that must happen here on a regular basis.

The grocery store had a good selection of cheese and produce, and interesting European foods to try. Denisa bought ingredients for a salad to go with our pizza, and she needed to buy some salad dressing. She thought it was interesting to find ranch dressing and French dressing--but no Italian dressing in Italy?!? Our favorite thing about the store was its fresh orange juice machine. We could watch the fresh fruit drop into the juicer and catch the delightfully fresh juice in our bottle.

We were learning to be flexible in our time in Italy. We made plans for the day, and Plan A was to stop by the grocery store for fresh juices, then walk to the bus stop to catch the first public bus for a cheap tour of the Amalfi coast. Plan A included hopping off the bus at Positano, then the city of Amalfi, then . . . It was a great plan and we got to the bus stop before the first bus of the day with our bus tickets in hand. Imagine our disappointment when that bus approached--but never even slowed down. What?!? There were several groups waiting at the bus stop, and we all decided to wait for the next bus. We waited there thirty minutes, and once again the bus drove right on by without even pausing. Then we spotted an old sign almost covered by foliage. It looked like our perfect Plan A had been too popular and the buses too full to stop. The sign read (in three different languages): "Due to the considerable turnout, users are invited to go to the terminal bus at the Sorento station." In other words, the buses are too full to stop here, so your best bet is getting yourself to Sorento.

So we made Plan B. A father/son duo that was waiting at the bus stop told us that yesterday they had made the pleasant walk to Sorento on a path through the countryside. So after finding the path on google maps, we started the very dangerous walk along the narrow and winding highway to get to the entrance to the path. After witnessing the driving on these roads when we arrived, it felt a little sketchy. We were glad it wasn't far on the roadway.

Plan B turned out to be a delightful walk through the lush landscape of the Amalfi coast.

At times we could see the coast with Sorento in the foreground and Mount Vesuvius in the background.

At other times we were content with the up-close beauty of the flowers beside the trail.

Neighborhood orchards shaded the trail, and we got our first look at the lemon trees that this area is famous for.

Brian and his long arms were great at taking selfies that can get eight people in them.

He was also good at taking a picture of everyone else enjoying the views.

Before we finished our hour-long walk into Sorento, we managed to score a couple plums and three lemons from the low branches overhanging the trail. We can report that they were the freshest tasting lemons of our lives.

While we didn't think this narrow path was wide enough for automobiles, as we neared town we met our first car. We still didn't think this narrow path was wide enough for automobiles.

Our Plan A included catching the first bus so we could eat breakfast in Positano. It was two hours later, and we still hadn't had breakfast. We were glad for that fresh-squeezed orange juice, but we were very hungry by the time we walked into Sorento. The restaurants were finished serving breakfast, so the fastest option was a street-side waffle/gelato stand. Our Plan B breakfast was decadently delicious! Denisa is holding a "Le-Imperdibile" which included waffle sticks, strawberry gelato, chocolate syrup, real whipped cream, and a macaron on top!

Cooper went straight to the chocolate gelato in a waffle cone with a chocolate macaron on top.

If you look carefully, you can see that the gelato was dipped up in petals to make the shape of a rose.

We all enjoyed our decadent Plan B breakfast on the streets of Sorrento.

After rain yesterday, we were blessed with blue skies this day as we wandered through the narrow streets and alleys. We looked at swim suits made out of fabric printed with lemons, lemon candy, aprons with lemons on them, lemon soap, beach towels printed with lemons, lemon candles .  .  . Do you get the feeling that the Amalfi coast is proud of its famous yellow fruit?

That gelato was just an appetizer, as we walked to a well-reviewed cafe for brunch.

This place was very pink, and we tried to pronounce this long neon Italian word imbedded in a wall of flowers.

We'll give you a chance to pronounce it before we give you a hint that it is actually in English. It reads, "Be the radical change." The food was delicious, and the young owner came by our table to visit about their mission in serving fresh food.

Our Plan C was beginning to form as we ate our brunch. We didn't really have time to explore the Amalfi coast today, so we decided to go to another site close by. It's a fast train ride to Pompeii. We could spend the day touring this famous historic site and then take a fast train back. Even though Pompeii was on the list for tomorrow, we'll flip-flop our plans to make Plan C. It seemed like a great plan until we got to the train station and found that the train workers were on strike today. Instead of trains every thirty minutes or so to Pompeii, today they would run only one at 13:38. That's 1:38 p.m. so we had some time to wait for the train.

There was an unusually large number of people jammed onto the train, and it loaded and finally left way past its designated time of 13:38.

It looked like some of the office staff was running the train, as the rest of the workers were on strike. At our second stop, our train's door refused to close. It took thirty minutes and taking the door apart before we could continue. Plan C was feeling a little shaky.

With all the delays, the train finally pulled into the Pompeii station around 3:00. We wouldn't have much time to experience it. But Brian and Alexia found a guide that promised to give us the best 1.5-hour private tour that included things that our group of eight wanted to see. 

She started by explaining that on October 24, 79 AD, nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted. We could see the top of what was left of the nearby mountain as we began our tour through the city that was frozen in time in 79 AD.

We had always envisioned that it was hot lava that devastated Pompeii. But she explained that people died from the smoke and ash and rocks that blew into the air. The people of Pompeii weren't burned by lava; the whole population was suffocated. But this form of annihilation left most of the walls of the city intact.

Many years later, people dug through all the layers of ash and rocks to uncover the city just as it was 2,000 years ago. We walked into a bath house were the rich men of Pompeii used to bathe in opulence. This public bath had heated floors, marble cold fountains, saunas, and cold plunge pools.

Pompeii was a rich city, and even the bath house was decorated with detailed statues . .  .

and ceiling carvings that were intricate.

It was amazing to see that floor frescoes were still intact. This one was at the entry of a home, and was made from thousands of individual tile pieces.

It was made by the working class laborers for the entry in a luxurious private residence. While the rich probably dined at home on food prepared by servants, the workers went to the local fast food joint for lunch. Our guide explained that the large holes in these counters would be filled with large pots of hot soup that people could scoop into their bowls for a quick meal to eat at the counter.

We made a stop at the Faun house, which was the biggest in Pompeii. Behind its grand entrance was the faun statue that gave the house its name. Its detailed mosaic floors and columns are also intact, and gave us a sample of the wealth of Pompeii.

Our guide also pointed out the ruts still visible in the stone streets through town. The ruts show that the wheels of the chariots and wagons were all a unique width to fit in those ruts. That prevented chariots from neighboring kingdoms (with a different sized axel) from speeding down the streets of Pompeii.

This entire city lay completely covered in ash and rocks and dirt until the 1700s when it was re-discovered. Many relics were stolen until the area came under preservation protection. The marble floors in the main forum of Pompeii were carted off to be used in the Charles III palace in Sorento. But we still found many of the original walls and relics of Pompeii to amaze us this day.

Our guide did a great job of pointing out things that interested our group of eight. This place was huge, and tourists can spend days here if they walk to the edges of the city. But our hour and a half tour was perfect for us on this sunny day with temperatures in the 70s.

Our last stop was the museum. The kids were fascinated to hear that cement casts were made of people caught in the volcano's eruption. Our guide explained that the bodies were gone, but the space where they laid was preserved in the layers of rubble that fell on them.

The imprints of entire families were cast to capture the postures of the people of Pompeii that died that day almost 2,000 years ago.

While the excavated city is quite large, the cranes are evidence that they are continuing to unearth more of Pompeii every day.

While we had a rushed visit at the Pompeii National Historic Park, we felt like Plan C was successful. But we were quickly working on Plan D. We could hope to find a train to ride back to Sorento, and then hopefully a bus to our apartment. We needed to do that quickly and seamlessly because we had a reservation to make this evening. Today's train strike made train service uncertain. So we went to Plan D, which included hiring a driver to take us back. We arrived back to our little village just in time to catch our ride for Plan E--a trip to a lemon farm. Our driver paused to let us take a picture of the Amalfi coast on our way.

We found that these green trees covered with nets were orchards where the fruit was ripening. They were protecting the fruit from the birds. The owner of our apartment has a brother still running the family lemon orchard, and we were invited to a tour.

It's late in the lemon season, but they still had plenty of fruit on their trees. The earliest lemons go for a cheaper price, so these late lemons will bring in a better profit.

While we came to see the lemons, we were also amazed at the kiwis growing in this orchards. We had never seen kiwis on the vine before.

We were amazed at the number of lemons on the trees, as well as on the ground. Shouldn't someone be picking them before they fall off and ruin?

After our tour, we were seated for our evening meal in the orchard. We were joined by several other tables full of tourists lucky enough to find out about this hidden gem.

We started with a lemon spritzer that packed quite a punch. While it looks deliciously refreshing, it had more liquor than Denisa cared for.

Our first course was a delightfully fresh caprese salad. Eating these large portions would fill us up quickly, but we cleaned our plates so our hosts knew we loved it.

Next came homemade ravioli, and we're really getting full!

The food was great, and the ambiance alone was worth the experience. Dining under the lights in a lemon orchard is another once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.

By the time the main entree arrived, we were full. They usually serve fresh fish since we are less than a mile from the sea. But Cole has fish allergies, so they changed the menu to shish kabobs just for us.

As if we hadn't already had a spritzer, we were served limoncello for a dessert drink. This potent local liqueur is served in a tiny glass because a sip is all you need.

While we waited for the dessert course to be served we speculated on what it would be . . . lemon gelato? lemon cheesecake? lemon tart? When it did arrive, we forgot to take a picture of the lemon pound cake until it was almost gone.

We were all tired by the time our driver returned us to our apartments. Remember that we were up early this morning to catch a bus ride that never happened. Even with all the changes, we had a delightfully delicious day as we worked our way in Italy from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C to Plan D to Plan E!