Slacker!

I know, I know, I have not updated in a while...so I've been a little busy (which is good) or lazy (which is bad) but either way, lost focus on the blog.. I have 3 trips planned over the next couple of days, so they'll be pics to share of "out and about Albania"...
Gracie is doing well, went for a loooong walk in the park yesterday... sleeping most of today.
the weather has been nice, so again looong walks exploring the town, dinners, eating, coffee, more eating...
oh, and planning our trip to Prague for Thanksgiving, buying Xmas presents online, skyping with the kids, planning Paris in the spring, blah blah blah..
So probably after Thanksgiving, and the TWIG Xmas Bazaar, I promise to update..
till then, Happy Thanksgiving to all.. we have sooo much to be thankful for!

Napoli, Torre del Greco, Cameos and beyond!

This trip all started a couple of months ago when Mark flew back from the states and sat next the a kind gentleman who had been in Las Vegas for the jewelry show. His name is Gino DiLuca, and his family has been making Cameos in Torre del Greco, Italy for years. http://www.diluca1929.it/en/collezione.htm
He gave Mark some information and said "whenever you want to come visit...".  Well, that's all our friend, Martha, needed to hear. She has a wonderful collection of cameos from her mother. One of them her father bought in Torre del Greco about 50 years ago! She wanted to buy more for her 38 nieces and nephews!  (she's Lebanese, almost as big of families as the Italians!)
Many emails ensued and our girls trip to Torre del Greco was planned. Gino suggested a fabulous B and B, Villa Patrizia http://www.villapatriziabnb.it/b&b/GB_USA/default.htm run by a charming young couple, of course, friends of Gino.
He picked us up at the Naples airport on Saturday morning, holding a sign "Martha".. and off we went.
Here is a picture of the view from my room.

After getting a little settled, Gino suggested we take the train to Naples and check out the "old" section, and spend the day. Then he insisted we join he and his family, and some friends for dinner and that they would pick us up at 9! 9?? OMG, we were up at 3:30a to catch our flight, but hey, "when in Rome".

Off we went for a wonderful day in Napoli, churches, beautiful narrow streets, pizza, gelato, pasta shops






and the released white doves



Center of the square

We spent a lot of time in this store sampling Limoncello!

Pizza for lunch



Cannolis !







Delicious Gelato for dessert

by the Napoli coast

Our host Gino and his beautiful family

Enjoying a fabulous dinner



Linguine and Clams after appetizers of THE MOST DELICIOUS PIZZA EVER!



Gino and his wife and adorable children picked us up at 9p, we didn't dare lay down for a nap beforehand or we'd not see til morning... We went to a fabulous "local" restaurant,

 Gianni al Vesuvio, and were joined by

10 other friends and family.  More food and wine and the most delightful company. At midnight, one

of the friends suggested karaoke, but the "kids" were tired, thank goodness, so we were taken back

to our B and B with promises of "next time"

We awoke around 10a and took Gino's advice to visit Sorrento and Pompeii... an easy train ride from Torre Del Greco

It was a gorgeous day, and we decided to take a bus to see the sights. Sorrento is a "port" for the big cruise ships, lots of restaurants, shops, resorts and tourists.. but a beautiful place

\

The Isle of Capri

Olive Groves

Our bus took us on a visit to a Limoncello Factory, and villa, once owned by the Laura Family (shipmakers)

After our bus ride and walking thru the narrow streets we stopped for lunch, and of course, had to have more of the famous Napoli Pizza. A quick coffee and we were back on the train for Pompeii

The train took us past Mt Vesuvius, the volcano responsible for Pompeii's demise centuries ago.

It is still consider "live" ! and beautiful

Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, its sister city, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in 79 AD. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for over 1,500 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1599. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.

We got to Pompeii late in the afternoon and were only able to spend about 1 1/2 before it got really dark. It's a massive site, one could explore for days. Walking on the stone streets you can totally imagine what life was like.. a thriving city, destroyed by nature.
Mark wants to see it so we will definitely be back.
Caught the bus back to Torre Del Greco, arriving in the midst of a downpour. Thank goodness there are coffee shops on every corner. A cup of cappucino and hot chocolate warmed us as the rain abated.
A nice walk back to our Villa and an early night ended a delightful day.