04/25/2026 Run/Walk

Again slept okay, up in the night as usual but slept into morning. Laura was up when I got up, and Ann was up soon after. Little chat, then I went out for a morning run. Weather was good, but these streets were unfamiliar to me, so I had a number of times where a ran down a sterrt or alley only to turn around and run back. Found a football stadium and ran around it, then I located some kind of old walled Citadel with a generally nice path around it. I did two loops, then started heading back. With the exception of one detour, I made it back to the flat pretty well, didn't really get lost. Very slow in the first mile, but I had a fairly fast third mile.

Avg pace = 8:55/mi

Total distance = 3.22 mi

Elapsed moving time = 28:46

Avg heartrate = 130 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 11

After the run the three of us walked to a chain coffee and pastry shop (I didn't know it was a chain); the pastries and cappuccinos were fine, actually pretty good. Back to the flat via another route that took us through a major nearby piazza, where we plotted out the day. We walked over to the Duomo, the local cathedral, and bought tickets for the complex, which came with an audio guide. I couldn't download mine, Laura's downloaded right away, and Ann's took a very long time (don't know why) to download. I went into a nearby church while I waited, hear a nun singing, slightly off-key, and accompanying herself on a guitar, out of tune. Could have been beautiful, but I couldn't listen to it very long. We eventually gave up on downloading the audio guide and went into the main cathedral building. It was pretty, nothing very special about it to my taste. There was an interesting little library area with large old music texts. Other than that, fairly standard decorations. The crypt area had some frescoes depicting Jesus on his way to the cross, and the baptistery was also mildly interesting. After that, Laura directed us to a pizza restaurant that actually ended up not having pizza. This place was on some lists as a good restaurant in Siena, maybe that's why she picked it. We had a large cheese plate and Artichoke pie for appetizers, both were good. My gnocchi was okay, a little too much pesto flavor. Then it was back to the flat for an afternoon rest. I read and had a nap, felt refreshed. Later in the afternoon, Laura and I went to a wine shop not too far away for chianti and red wine tasting. Ann's stomach was upset, so she stayed back at the flat. The wines were decent, the server was nice and descriptive of the way the wines were made. Chianti wines are mainly made with Sangiovese grapes, I learned. Laura paid for the tasting and a bottle of wine we brought back to the flat. When we got back Ann was feeling better, and a little later we walked over to a place where Laura thought there was a rooftop bar/restaurant, ostensibly to watch the sunset. However, she couldn't find the entrance, so we ended up walking over to the large piazza near the flat and having drinks and light snacks at a high-priced place with a decent view. We walked into the piazza just as a celebration of Liberation Day was wrapping up. Back to the flat after that, and a very light dinner of crackers, cheese, and the wine from the shop. That wasn't filling enough for Laura, so later she went out for a late dinner while Ann and I turned in for the evening.

04-24-2026 Walk

Travel day. Slept decently, with vivid dreams, probably from eating late. Woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I read for a bit. Got up, cleaned the Airbnb, had breakfast, showered and shaved, and packed up. We left about 7:20 and got to the train station in plenty of time to catch the 8:14 to Naples. This train was crowded, but we got to the station and the platform early, to ensure we had seats with room for our backpacks. The train trip was uneventful, and we arrived in Naples in time to have a coffee and a pastry. Went outside the central station found a clip joint for breakfast, food okay but way overpriced. Inside the station there was a Toast House. They announced the platform for our higher-speed train to Firenze (Florence) with just a couple of minutes to spare. We had assigned seats, and this next leg of the journey was also uneventful, although it was a longer journey. The train went through Rome and actually switched directions, which was unusual. Into Firenze station (surprisingly small), where we had a short time to make our connecting train to Siena. Got on the train, no assigned seats but we got adjoining seats. This was a nice train, but it took a roundabout way to travel the 30 miles to Siena, about an hour and a half. We arrived around 3:45 and waited for Laura to get in. Got some water and snacks at the Pam supermarket in the mall adjoining the station, then we walked all around to try and find the bus stop. We found one but it wasn't the right one. Connected with Laura when she got in, and we successfully located the bust stop (not very well marked). Caught the bus to our neighborhood and walked a little bit to find the Airbnb. It was a pretty nice layout, well equipped. After settling in we walked to a nearby place for a drink. Ann got upset with me for not being nice, so she was frosty for a while. We walked to a restaurant that Laura had found and ate dinner. Got there just before the rush. Dinner was good, I had a thick noodle dish (Pici) that apparently is a local favorite. Back to the flat after dinner, and that was basically the day.

04/23/2026 Walks

Went to sleep early, I guess it was a longer day for me than expected. I got up in the night for a fairly long time before getting back to sleep. Ann's alarm woke me from deep sleep at 6:45, and we had breakfast before walking down to the port to catch a ferry to Capri. Big crowds to get on, including several large tour groups, but we were there early enough to get on the boat and get decent seats with a view. The boat might have been a hydrofoil, was a smooth ride in somewhat rough seas. We left around 8:30 and docked a little after 9:00. Then we walked to the dock for the smaller boat ride that would take us around the island on a viewing tour. We sat in front of a family with an annoying kid who was being constantly placated by the parents, especially the dad. Seas too rough to go into the blue grotto area, unfortunately but not surprisingly. The other three grottoes were mildly interesting, water color beautiful by the green grotto. The tour guide was hard to hear, so we didn't get very much of what she said. She pointed out a large "castle" villa that had been owned by Mussolini, mentioned something about the connection with Dolce & Gabbana. We rode by the three rocks jutting out of the ocean, with an arch in one of them. Two-hour tour was actually just a little over an hour, I guess because we didn't stop at the blue grotto. Ann got a little queasy in the rougher seas as we approached the dock, so she found a place to sit and settle her stomach after we got off. Very, very touristy, this place. We took the funicular up to the main city, which was basically shops and restaurants. Walked over to Augustus Garden, where it took 25 minutes to use the website to buy tickets. They essentially gave us a couple of nice views of the coastline, not much more. We walked partway down the Via Krupp, which apparently leads to Marina Piccola. From there we walked back to the upper village, and Ann found us a relatively inexpensive take-away restaurant for lunch. I had Ravioli Caprese (aka in the style of Capri), her salad was bland. I felt a little bit energized after the food, but this place was definitely not my vibe. I didn't want to go further up the hill, so we walked around the village through a neighborhood leading up to the Arco Naturale. Didn't make it that far before we had to turn around because of time constraints. Back to the funicular and down to the marina area, where we sat at an overpriced Cafe while Ann had a limoncello spritz. Then we walked to the ferry back to Sorrento and got on. Ferry ride was a little rougher on the way back, but I dozed for a couple of minutes before it launched. Back to the Airbnb before 4:30, time for a rest. I did go to the store and pick up a few things before calling it a day. Here are a couple of bullet point notes from our excursion:

We saw our first Swarovski store of the trip, right after I had seen a pair of custom sandals decorated with Swarovski crystals

There's a mild obsession with the people of Naples regarding Diego Maradona. Apparently, he played for Naples for a period of time and led them to their first and second Serie A titles

At the lookout point in the Gardens of Augustus (aka Krupp Gardens) there were a number of locks attached to the iron railings, like we've seen before on selected bridges

On the Via Krupp, I heard two young women discussing the best photo look. One of them said to the other, "You could show more belly, just pull your skirt down a little." The other lady really didn't need to do that, IMHO

I saw my first mobile toilet cart ever in Capri city, which has narrow alleys and, apparently not enough facilities. Ann wasn't paying attention, and she came a little close to getting hit by the toilet cart, which certainly would have made for an entertaining story

Capri certainly isn't my kind of place. Tooany tourists, too many tourist shops, upscale fashion junk, just a few nice vistas to walk to and see from a boat

04-22-2026 Run/Walks

Slept okay, although I was up reading for a long while. Got up after 7:00 and got ready for a morning run. It had been a while, and initially I was slow both in pace and in having to avoid pedestrians. Picked up the pace in the succeeding two miles, running negative splits throughout

Avg pace = 8:51/mi

Total distance = 3.23 mi

Elapsed moving time = 28:55

Avg heartrate = 123 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 7

I stretched before, and that seemed to help with right leg tendon tightness, both during the run and through the day. Still, I'm slow and need more speed work to get faster. Back to the Airbnb, and Ann was up. I was sweaty, had a shower and felt better (<!>). Then we went out to find some breakfast. I found a good bakery, where got some bread and chocolate croissants, but they didn't have coffee. So we walked over to a restaurant, Radical, recommended by the baker. It was a breakfast place, so we ended up eating breakfast there (pretty good shakshuka) and saving the croissants for later. Then we explored the downtown area more fully, visiting the local cathedral, stopping at a church with some wonderful photographs by Rafael Celentano, including an iconic one of nuns on a swing (nice little selection of photos of Mother Teresa as well). We walked through several tourist alleys, stopping at a place that made their own limoncello, talking to Andrea, the guy who handed out the free samples. We bought a small bottle for Laura, then walked back to the Airbnb. Had a break for a while, then in the early afternoon we went out for another walk, seeing a small waterfall with a little altar nearby, then walking up a serpentine road that really led to nowhere but was supposed to provide good views of the city. Mildly interesting, one decent vista. Back to the flat, where I had a little nap and read for a while before we walked in the late afternoon to get a gelato (chocolate and banana, very good). We walked down to a seaside viewpoint, then through other parts of the downtown shopping area. Back to the flat, stopping to get food for breakfast and a bottle of wine for our own happy hour in the flat (watching Young Wallander) prior to dinner. Ate at a vegetarian/seafood restaurant, Green Wave, that has only been open four months. Food was decent, service was good (free little appetizers but a €10 cover charge), prices were a little high for what we got. Still, enjoyable. Back to the flat after that, and a quiet rest of the evening.

04-20-2026 Walks

This was an interesting tourist day. We had tickets to get into Pompeii when it opened at 9:00, so we got up early and were walking to the train station before 8;30. Train was crowded, but we were able to get two of the last seats together. As one would expect, the entrance was crowded. I thought it might be less so, given it was a Monday, but no. It took a while for the opening crowd to get through the entrance gates, and then we were in the compound. Highlights included:

Temple of Apollo - worship area

Baslilca - hall of justice, with two naves separated from central hall by brick columns, similar to future church designs

Central Forum - main gathering place, open area with shops to the east

Temple of Jupiter - aligned with Mt Vesuvius in the distance, head of old statue of Jupiter visible

Forum Baths - very cool and well-preserved, with dressing room and cold, medium, and hot bath areas

House of the Tragic Port - with mosaic tile work showing Cave Canum (around here is where we started to run into tour group crowds)

House of the Faun - largest house in Pompeii, with cool little bronze statue reproduction, nice grounds, some fine mosaic reproduction as well (Alexander vs Darius)

House of the Small Fountain

House of the Large Fountain - right next door

House of the Vettii - very popular spot, owned by two brothers, with beautiful wall frescoes, some of them erotic

House of the Golden Cupids - I couldn't find the statues here, pretty internal garden

House of the Wounded Bear - with cool "HAVE" mosaic in front

Amphitheater - oldest known one from the Roman Empire, could hold up to 20000 people

Plaster casts - created by filling voids created when people were burned in the lava and ash from the eruption

There was more to see, but we had reached the end of the incomplete Rick Steves audio tour, and Ann was ready to leave. We walked back to the train station and got on a very crowded train to Sorrento, standing room only for about 2/3 of the trip. Ann found us a sandwich shop that was open in the afternoon (I had my first Aperol Spritz). Food was a little weird, quite messy. Then we went back for a rest in the afternoon (<!>). Evening was quiet, we walked to the market, got some curry rice for dinner and food for breakfast. I spent some time packing up gear into my backpack for the Amalfi Coast ride. Agreed to meet with Ann during the ride. To bed fairly early.

04-19-2026 Walk

Slept okay, about five hours before I woke up and could get back to sleep. I read for a while, had some cookies, and then willed myself to sleep, waking up when Ann's alarm went off at 6:45. We showered, packed our stuff up, ate a light breakfast (including gelato we had bought for the previous evening), and left the Airbnb around 8:15. A little over 2 minutes to walk to the Roma San Pietro train station, which was easy to find. Our train to Naples left on time at 9:13. No issues on the train ride down, I had a very short nap. We got to the central station around 12:10 and dropped our backpacks off at a nearby pharmacy, where Ann had made reservations. I found us a really fine little family-owned pizza restaurant, Nonna Anna, where we had a nice lunch. Then we headed toward the Naples shopping district. I was watching my stuff, but somehow someone picked my pocket and stole my power bank out of my cargo shorts Velcro pocket. Pretty amazing and frustrating, but at least it wasn't anything important. That incident bugged my happiness for sure. Ann was guiding us to supposedly cool areas of Naples, but I was unimpressed. It was gritty, somewhat dirty, and filled with tourist shops, stands, and restaurants /bars. We walked to another train station, found a gelato place and had some, then Ann had some digestive issues that had to be attended to. She considered finding a Metro station and getting back to our starting point, but it was not clear where to buy tickets or where to pick up the Metro. So we ended up walking back, slowly and carefully watching for pickpockets. Got back to the pharmacy and picked up our backpacks, then we took a Metro to the ferry dock area. We got there early but it was a nice afternoon to sit outside. The ferry ride was uncrowded, we didn't have to pay extra for oversize bags, and the view from the left side of the boat was beautiful, including some nice pics of Mt Vesuvius. Got to Sorrento and had to climb a bunch of stairs from the shore up to the town, that took some effort. The town itself is pretty, quaint and upscale touristic. I was tired by this time, ready to find the Airbnb and relax for a bit. We did, after a little trouble following the directions to the building. We rested a while and then I found a nearby place for dinner. I was 50:50 about eating but was totally glad we went. We ate at a very small place (mentioned in Rick Steve's travelogue), Addu Mamma, in the kitchen. It was excellent, perhaps the best gnocchi I've ever had. Lots of lightly smoked mozzarella mixed in the sauce made the dish for me. We talked through dinner with a nice guy from Switzerland who was also traveling through Italy. Ann and I shared a bottle of wine over dinner. We were really tired after the long day and glad to rest at the Airbnb.

04/18/2026 Walks

This was a very busy sightseeing day. We had an early start, given that we didn't go to sleep until around 2:00. I woke up at 5:30, did some sleuthing about how to get to the Vatican Museums as well as a pastry shop to have breakfast beforehand. Ann got up at 6:30, and we were out the door by about 7:15. Coffee and pastries were good at the place we went to, then we walked to the museum entrance, where the lines were pretty huge, especially for those folks who needed to buy tickets. Still, we didn't get into the museum proper until about 8:30, it opened at 8:00. We walked directly to the Sistine Chapel, Ann didn't stop much on the way. I took my time a little more, the galleries on the way to the chapel were mildly interesting. The chapel itself wasn't at all what I expected, was rectangular, and the Creation of Adam central fresco was smaller than I thought it would be. It was still very impressive to consider that Michelangelo spent four years painting the frescoes on the ceiling. We slowed down after that and walked generally back to the main entrance, including the iconic octagonal courtyard, which was cool. There were some beautiful paintings by Rafael, fine sculptures as well, including works by Bernini. The grounds were also impressive, although we didn't explore them too much. Spent about three hours in the museum, then Ann and I were ready to take a break. We walked back to the Airbnb, which is up four flights of stairs. Took a little break, and I had a refreshing 30-minute nap. Ann found a sandwich shop nearby, and we walked over. Took 15 minutes before we got a table, but the sandwiches were decent and the right amount of food. From there we walked over to St Peter's Square, saw another long line to get into St Peter's Basilica. Once we got in the line it took us maybe 45-50 minutes to get into the basilica itself. In the line, we talked to a family, originally from India, visiting from Boston. The basilica was consistently impressive, sculpture by Michelangelo, main alter by Bernini. Many former popes are entombed there, and the underground grotto area was interesting to walk through. Crowds were annoying but not overwhelming. Used a mediocre audio guide for the Tour. It worked okay but didn't have enough stops to talk about. After the tour we took the elevator up to the plaza by the dome of the basilica, then it was about 200 challenging steps to get up to the walkway near the top of the dome. The views were worth it, very impressive. Walking back to the upper plaza was easier, Ann took the elevator down (longish line) while I jogged down the ramped steps. That gave me a few more minutes to walk through this impressive basilica and take some additional pics. We were pretty much walked out (so we thought) by this time, so we found a little cafe near our Airbnb and had a drink. Stopped at a Carrefours Express after that and got some snacks and light food for dinner, then headed back. We were all ready to settle in for the night when we got a surprise text from Laura, saying she was staying overnight in Rome after her flight from home. I debated whether to get up and meet her, but we decided toeet in the middle, near the Parthenon, about 15-20 minutes away. We got dressed and walked over there, and she showed up about 1 minutes after we did. Found a restaurant nearby and had drinks and dessert. I told the story of our travel adventure, which has some comical elements that make it entertaining (now that it's over). Split up after that, but we both ended up walking, separately, over to the Trevi Fountain to see it at night. Lots of folks out and about on the way over, but the walk back to the Airbnb from there was sparsely populated and through a lot of dark streets. We didn't feel unsafe, but we were both definitely ready to lay down at the end of this long day. Took a little more than a half hour to get back, I was super glad when we made it. It didn't take long to get to sleep after three extended walks during the day.