Cruise begins 18th Sept

This morning we enjoyed the amazing breakfast at il nido hotel, with freshly squeezed orange juice. Then we caught the train to Naples , a fast train to Rome and another fast train to Civitavecchia. We tried to walk to the port but the ship was not in the spot I expected it to be and we ended up needing to catch a shuttle bus to the place liberty of the seas was moored. We boarded and found our room, then went for a walk around the ship. It is similar to voyager of the seas in many ways. It even has Gordon our cruise director from voyager as the cruise director on this ship.
We did the life drill and then showered and had dinner in the dining room at a share table with 3 couples from US. After tea we went to the show, Saturday night fever , which was good.

Today we travelled to Sorrento . We caught the bus which dropped us at the door of il nido hotel . Jim and I have stayed here with Joel and Carlie before. We then got the bus into town and walked around and shopped. We did the lemon grove and the old town

 Today we travelled to Sorrento . We caught the bus which dropped us at the door of il nido hotel . Jim and I have stayed here with Joel and Carlie before. We then got the bus into town and walked around and shopped. We did the lemon grove and the old town. Wanita liked Sorrento especially the shopping .I bought a few things also. We had some nice pastries and a lemon and sugar crepe for lunch . I showed her the leather shop and the gelati shop. We had tea at the  hotel and then went back to Sorrento for an hour in the evening .

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Villa San Michele 16th Sept

Bfst at the hotel was croissant, coffee and fresh orange juice. We planned a rest day today though we did go for a walk through Atrani to Amalfi(15min) and went to the paper museum. We also did a bit of shopping before heading back for a swim at our hotel. Did I mention we are staying at this awesome place "villa san michele" right on the water/cliff front. We have dinner proved in this hotel each night and the food us beautiful.

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Walk of the Gods, Amalfi Coast, 15th Sept

This morning we got up early to catch the first bus to Bomerano which is way up the mountain. This was the start of the Walk of the Gods, named this because it is so high  and looks down to magnificent views of the coastline. There were many others who began the walk with us but we soon separated and went at our own pace. At one point an old man offered to guide us along the higher path and we wondered if he would want payment at the end but he didn't. It was very kind of him. The walk took a couple of hours . We decided not to walk all the way down to Positano but catch the bus. We waited an hour for it and it dropped us at Positano. We then waited another hour for a bus back to Amalfi but it filled up quickly and went without us ,so we decided to get a ferry back as we were sick of waiting around for buses. We got back to Amalfi at 4 and then caught a bus only a short way to our next accomodation which is right on the cliff above the ocean . We showered and rel
axed until tea. Tea was provided at this accomodation.

Ravello & Positano 14th Sept

First thing this morning I skyped Jim and woke Wanita . Sorry Wanita. This hotel gives bfst of fresh croissant & coffee. We also had a look at the library for info. We decided to go to Ravello today by bus and we visited Villa Cimbone there ,which has a jaw dropping view from its infinity terrace and lovely gardens . We had some yummy lemon sorbet as it was quite a hot day and listened to a band play in the square. We walked around the ceramic shops and saw a large organic garden and took photos for Benton. Some good art galleries as well. We caught the bus back down the hill. These buses have to pass extremely close as the roads are so narrow, only millimeters in it sometimes. When we got back to Amalfi we had lunch of pasta and congoli(cockles) .This is a speciality of this area. They gave us more lemon sorbet complimentary to finish the meal. Next we caught the bus to Positano. We had intended on catching it to the green grotto but couldn't figure out which was the right stop for it so we stayed on the bus till Position. We had coffee overlooking it before walking down to the beach. Again lots of interesting shops but quite expensive because it's so touristy but interesting art galleries again. We caught the ferry back to Amalfi at near sunset which was entirely pleasant. We had pizza for tea and tiramisu for dessert.

To Amalfi

 We packed up and wanitas boss drove us to Orte to catch our train to Salerno with one change in Tibertina. When we arrived in Salerno mid afternoon we just caught a connecting ferry to Amalfi. The 30 min trip was rough and many were green around the gills, not me though. Our room in Amalfi looks straight out onto the cathedral steps and is great for people watching. Amalfi is heaving with tourists which was a bit different to Soriano where we were pretty much the only tourists. We discovered that there is a modern musical opera on tonight in the museum and so we booked and it was fabulous,the story of amalfi.
We ate fish in a cup, a great brushetta and some baba. The cathedral is interesting and we came upon  wedding in front of it.

Villa Lante &Viterbo 12th Sept

This morning Wanita went to get the train tickets and I went to the markets and bought some clothes. We met Ian and Noelene in the Piazza to go to Viterbo. We shopped at a shoe store and Wanita got some nice shoes. We  then went to Villa Lante which has a very grand Italian garden. We had lunch and headed home for a rest before meeting again at 5. We then went back to Viterbo to the old town and Noelene gave us a tour of the old town we saw some amazing illusions painted on the ceiling in a church and saw the  5 tonne tower that is carried by 150 men through the streets.  We went back to Soriano for dinner with Wanitas boss and wife.

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