Of Motherwell, and Alloa, and Sorrento and Rome (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)

Greetings from Rhodes, Greece, where I will attempt to get caught up a bit 

Talk about co-incidences! Our driver in Naples, Francisco, a man in his mid-50s, had spent twenty years living in Alloa (near Stirling), working at Gleneagles, playing snooker in Motherwell, and rally driving around Scotland.  Of course he spoke excellent English, albeit still with a heavy Italian accent.  He now lives back in Sorrento from whence he had come to Scotland, and he had a dislike of Rome that can only be likened to Glasgow’s attitude about Edinburgh.  As well as providing excellent commentary about places we visited with him, he told us, in no uncertain terms that the coffee in Rome was like “brown water” because being a barista, and being able to blend, grind and brew coffee according to the barometric pressure on any given day (barista being from barometric, not bar), was not something Romans had accomplished.  On the contrary, in Naples, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, they had gotten that all down pat many, many years ago.

He was quite the philosopher, and, as it happens, comedian and philanderer.  You should have seen his face, when, almost half-way into our 7 and ½ hour trip, he found out that Jim was a “priest”.  But more of that later.

First Pompeii.  When Vesuvio emerged out of the early morning mist at 7 o’clock this morning, towering over the Bay of Naples, it appeared docile except for the gaping crater created by the eruption of 79AD.  For years I’ve been quite fascinated by the pictures in history books of mosaics of barking dogs and plaster casts of those taken suddenly by Vesuvio’s blast.

I was not disappointed when I later saw these at Pompeii.  Like many before me, and, no doubt, many after me, I was not prepared for the vastness of the excavated site, the richness and completeness of the remaining frescoes, the beauty of the bath house, the still-visible ruts in the pavement left by passing chariots. We stayed about an hour and a half – g’pa did not find the climb to the entrance or the initial cobbled streets easy to walk on, and chose to sit at an ancient crossroads in the shade until Jim and I finished our stroll through the past.

Next was an incredibly beautiful drive along the Amalfi coast to Positano, with stops en route to take pictures at vantage points known by our native driver, who took us to a most excellent family-run Trattoria way up on the mountain above the town.  Not only was the view here spectacular, the food was also.

Words cannot it do it justice, but everything was cooked by mama using home-produced organic vegetables and home-made pasta, sauces and desserts.  The wine served with this prix fixe lunch was also made on the premises, and I suspect the limoncello that came with the desserts was too. Having heard extolled the digestive virtues of well-brewed expresso, it was difficult to refuse a cup at the end of the meal.  Tutti molto bene!  By yet another strange co-incidence, the 40-something couple and two teenage girls bedecked in wedding attire, who appeared at the restaurant (some 65 kilometers from the boat and not on the tour-bus tourist route), turned out to be a family from Texas, who were on the same cruise as us.  The couple were renewing their wedding vows as part of their 25^th wedding anniversary celebrations.  Very romantic – male readers, take note!!  This was when the philanderer side of our driver came out.  He was interested in all three females, and requested kisses.  Afterward he commented that the mother was especially attractive to him because of her big bazoombas (his word).  I swear, I could have given her a real run for her money!! 

 

After lunch were drove down the steep, winding, and very narrow road to the town itself and spent a delightful 45 mins wandering around its equally steep, winding, narrow and tourist-filled streets before heading back to Napoli and the boat.  It was during this part of the journey that the rally driver comedian side of our driver became apparent.  By this time, he knew Jim was a “priest” so he offered a number of jokes that might be suitable for a sermon.  Perhaps some of you will hear some of them, so there will be no spoiler here!

Tomorrow will be a day at sea as we head through the Straits of Messina toward Pireaus.  Given the many Europeans on our ship, I already have the next blog title in mind, but you’ll have to wait for that too.