Christmas is almost upon us.
In two weeks time we head for Vegas for a couple of days to celebrate my 50 12th birthday (thats 62 for those of you who are numerically challenged)
It is National Finals Rodeo week so I guess that I can wear my black hat with out any problems.


More from Vegas.

All Roads Lead To Rome

Today we drove from Sorrento to Rome, the drive to get to the freeway was the usual nightmare. There is a picture of Anne with her mask and ice pack ready for the drive.
Once on the freeway it was great, the speed limit is 80 mph, this is widely ignored except when you come to a speed camera; it seems that everyone knows where they are and only slows down to pass them. My GPS warns you ahead of time by about a half mile to allow time to slow down. The update for speed cameras costs about $20 a year and is well worth it considering my track record. Dango and Dienenthal have already had to visit city hall twice on my behalf at $136 a pop.
There is a picture of me wearing a lime green bow tie and cummerbund, Madam thought that this was a good idea, I'm pretty sure from the picture shows how I thought. I convinced her that if she wanted to make home with me then I should revert to my lime green tie with no cummerbund. She agreed.
Once in Rome we headed for the HD store; it was a great place called Roman Village HD. It is butted right up against the original city wall which looked like it had an aquaduct on top. They had a customized bike for only $40,000

Tonight we are staying at our final hotel which is built onto the airport, tomorrow we have to walk along a bridge into the terminal.
We checked tonight and they want us to be ther two hours before departure which means 4:30 AM!
I guess we had better have an early night and an alarm call.

All in all this has been the most fantastic trip and has fulfilled everything that I
had hoped that it would.

Ciao Bella
Norm

Some of the pictures from the last post may need a comment.
The sign showing all of the safety precautions for the construction site is a joke. The only guys I saw wearing hard hats were on boats, go figure.
The Smart car convertible I thought would have been great for us except there would not have been enough room for Anne's shoes.
There are also some pictures from Positano where we went by boat yesterday.
We had the mis-fortune to be sitting near some of the worst kind of British tourists, they complained about the water, the tea, the soap and the prices. And how pleased they were to be going home the next day.
Gimme a break!
Then of course there is the standard problem in Europe, you have to be ready for old guys wearing Speedos. It's enough to put you off your beer, well almost.
Today we drive back to Rome.
More from there...

The Ride To Salerno HD and Back!
We drove to Salerno todayto visit the HD store; what a bust! They did not have any LOGO tee shirts. We did however meet a couple from Noo Joisey who had taken two boats and a cab to get to the store only to find the same thing that we had. No shirts!
On the drive back we found that all previous driving experiences were nothing when compared to this
Hemmingway wrote a book called "Death In The Afternoon" Had he lived here it would have been called "Death at every turn"
Following a few near squeaks, we made it back to the hotel in time for an afternoon beer.
This evening we found the one and only bar in Sorrento which sells Bud!
Heaven on Earth!

Yesterday we drove from Naples to Sorrento, it's not very far as the crow flies but we didn't come that way. I would honestly suggest to anyone coming to this part of Italy that they think twice before renting a car.
The town of Sorrento is totally overwhelmed with tourists, a lot of them are from the UK which makes it kind of like Blackpool with sunshine.
Last night we went to a show which Anne had seen advertised, it is described as rustic and traditional. Fortunately I slept through some of it. However I would have to give the cast an A+ for effort.
The hotel is perched on the top of a cliff and has stunning views out over the peninsula.
Today we are going to drive the road along the Amalfi coast. If there are no more blogs you can guess why.

Read the comments from the previous post.

Even El Leopardo got in on the act!

Yesterday we went to Herculaneum and Vesuvius. The ride of death through Naples was the usual scary trip. There seem to be no rules at intersections, you try to force your way across or around to wherever you need to be regardless of cross traffic.
Herculaneum was incredible, the place was buried undrer 70 feet of mud and lava during the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. The houses and public buildings give some idea of the lives of the people. There was even the equivalent of a fast food store called the "THERMOPOLIUM"
We then headed for Vesuvius, another white knuckle ride. Hairpin turns about every 1/4 mile on a road that was designed for donkey carts. Then you meet a forty seat tour bus going the other way. Once at the parking lot,it is about a 30 minute walk up a very steep cinder track. Well let's face it they have plenty of cinders to work with.
The track was being repaired in a few places with not even a nod to health and safety, gaping sections had slid down hill leaving a hole big enough for one of those small Italian cars to fall into.
However it was an acheivement to make it to the top.

These are the pictures from the great day. All my planning went really well. We went over to the Isle of Capri for lunch.
The restaurant was just as it seemed on the website, and because I had made a reservation we got a great table on the balcony. The music I had on my iTouch was Band of Gold by Freda Payne, that was top of the charts on the weekend we got married in 1970. The little speaker I had was so loud it gave a few people a start when the music kicked off. Then once the music was over I gave Anne the bling. She was totally surprised.
Last night we went to a neighboring hotel for dinner , the restaurat is on a roof terrace with fantastic views out over the bay of Naples.
More soon.

A New Day Dawns In Napoli

Another great day on the anniversary tour.
Today we walked to the maritime area where the cruise ships dock and you catch the boat to Capri or Sorrento.
We then took a cab to the Archeological Museum and spent a good part of the day there. The exhibits are truly out of this world.
After some walking around we had dinner near an old castle opposite the hotel, not that there are any new castles.

We drove down from Rome to Naples today with only one slight hitch, the GPS was set to avoid toll roads, so we drove all over Hell and Creation until I realised the problem. The A1 was a very smooth fast road with three lanes, no issues except the Italian drivers who think that driving in two lanes is better than one. We got to Naples and found that L.A. freeways are used by the most polite and defferent drivers in the world. These guys are nuts! I finally managed to get on to the tram track and follwed a tram to our hotel. Many motor scooters and small bikes totally ignore the traffic rules; they run red lights, go the wrong way up one way streets, and generally tempt fate at every street corner.
The hotel is fantastic with a wonderful balcony and a view out over the sea.

On Saturday we head for Pompeii.
Ciao Bella.

Here we are on the plane.
This was the first big surprise for Anne, we flew business class, I was able to keep it a secret until we were almost on the plane, only at the last minute when she looked at her boarding pass and saw that we were in row two did she ask questions.
I guess that blonde hair has really taken root!
Anne thinks that champagne prior to take off is a good idea.
Both flights went really well, the only problem was that I left my Netbook at security in Frankfurt. By the time I realised, we were at the gate ready to get on the flight to Rome. A quick sprint about half a mile back to security was all that was needed to retrieve the netbook.
It is just as well that I am young and in the peak of condition!
We were in Rome before I got my breath back and my heart rate under control.
The customs control in Italy was very relaxed, a young guy walks up to us as we are leaving the airport,
HIM "Whera did youa acome froma" "Do youa hava anything to declara"
ME "NO"
HIM "Ara youa sura"
ME "YESA" I was getting the hang of the lingo by now
HIM "OKA hava nica daya"

We are in the Hotel in Rome for our first night. On Friday morning we drive to Naples.
More soon.

Here we are on our way to the airport.
Ciao Bella!

On Our Way

We are in the airport lounge following the limo ride to the airport.
More soon.

Anne Earns Her Wings

Well here she is, now that she has conquered her fear of flying she has decided to become a filght attendant and start her own special brand of airline. As you can imagine the passengers will get special attention and lots of conversation!

Preparing for a trip to Stateline to visit my money. We are headed for Stateline on Saturday for an overnight stay. We planned to ride but when we found the temperature in Jean will be 108 and Baker will be 118, we decided that discretion is the better part of valor, and we opted for the truck and A/C. The usual suspects will be there, Barb, Leon, Kelly and Jeff. Anne decided to stay home as she is not a gambler and there are no shows to see this weekend. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Stateline, it is the border between California and Nevada on I15. That makes it the first place to gamble (non-Indian) as you head toward Las Vegas from Los Angeles.

2010 4th of July

We had a quiet 4th, we stayed home and looked after a couple of extra dogs for a friend who was obliged to attend a wedding. (Well at least it wasn't his own)
Here we are Angels and Dodger fans, lots of dogs, and, who would believe it Newcastle Brown Ale ads in Sunset Beach!
For you non-Geordies NBA is called DOG in the north east of England, so I guess it was a very DOGGY day.