Rome: Let's do This!!

 

After an almost-pulling-the-plug action for Kenya (due to Conan not receiving his visa until the last minute), we're on our way on Tuesday. But first, our armor is on, and we've been fighting the crowds of Rome. It's pretty busy here, but we're surviving. I'll just leave the journey to be explored below...

Our last, long train ride:

Seeing the Colosseum for the first time (and a beautiful sunset around there):

Another fun, walking tour of Roma (and Zoom in on Conan's picture--he's emulating the statue):

See y'all in Kenya!!!

Salerno: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 

Well, it's almost time to say goodbye to Italy (add a few days in Rome beginning Saturday), and what a ride it has been. Other than a few quick pictures I might post of our time in Rome, this is the last Italy post. Six weeks. Wow. Back to reality soon, though.

The Good

Salerno gave us quite a few surprises, some of which were pretty good:

Some of the best-preserved Greek ruins (yes, Greek: Salerno Ruins) in the world:

A magical candy store and Christmas store:

And Conan finishing his (second) submission of Boethius, a celebratory beer the size of his head, and some pretty scenic walks:

The Bad

Okay, not much was bad about Salerno....just different. The worst part was the park. Check out this Google Maps link of the park: Mercatello Park. Looks great, right? And when you're traveling the world with an active 11-year old, you look for parks. The reality of this park, though, is a different story.

A walk through our very close but inaccessible park:

The Ugly

Okay, I hate to highlight the negative, but Salerno was definitely different than Reggio Emilia. As I explained in my last post, it's a bit unkempt and there is the most dog shit we have ever seen. Really. It's in the metro station, on the sidewalks, in the parks, on the roads, and in our hearts. Hehe. 

Let's play a game--how many piles of dog crap can you spot?

Or, would you like to come along on a scenic walk around our neighborhood?

Well, all kidding aside, we did have some good times here and ate the best pizza we've had yet. Thanks for following along with us. See you in Kenya!

Salerno: Unkempt Parks, Popular ATM, Pompeii, and Halloween

 

We made it to Salerno! It's a city south of Naples and--as Conan calls it--is a summer city. What does this mean? Well, a lot is shut down, and businesses seem to operate around summer fun: wind surfing, SUP, etc. We moved here for the warmth, but it's still a bit chilly, and we all really miss Reggio. It was pretty idyllic. We've had fun exploring, though. The picture above is the mountain we climbed to get to old ruins. Could we drive there? Sure. Would the Griffins do such a thing? Nope.

Salerno is, um, a bit rougher. Gone are the squares with couples dining on afternoon aperitifs. Now, it's almost as if the Travel Fairies knew we needed to scrub the cleanliness and gentrification off us and get back to the dirt and grime of this type of travel. Salerno has that. The parks are crazily unkempt; people are still enjoying them, but they all honestly look like abandoned parks with homeless people, lots of random feces piles, cigarettes, and creepy corners. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures. I'll do a visual Salerno post next time--look out for the parks.

Okay, so our place is pretty cute, but small. It has a balcony, which is nice (and something Reggio didn't have), and it has the most popular ATM we have ever seen. Really. It has a constant stream. It could be because there are two gambling rooms on our block...?

In our efforts to do something Halloween-related, we decided to spend the day walking around Pompeii (because what's more creepy than an ash-covered city?) with fake blood on our faces. Italians don't really celebrate Halloween (except they do!), so we were the ONLY ones in "costume." Regardless, it was fun, and had we not done this that day, we would not have found the business trick-or-treating that was happening as we emerged from the ruins. Score!! See pictures below.

We have two weeks left before heading back to Africa. Again, if someone gets a crazy hair up their butt, come and spend Thanksgiving with us in Kenya and/or Tanzania! Much love.