Aunt Mickey and Uncle Billy Cruise to Naples

Early Thursday morning, Brian and I set out to find Aunt Mickey and Uncle Billy in downtown Naples. Armed only with our GPS, the name of their cruise ship (the Celebrity Silouette), and a meeting time of 9am, we were a little skeptical that we would be able to find them! This is Italy, after all. But we followed signs to the port along the highway and found the ship, despite needing to ask Port Authorities which way we should go near the very end. And after a few minutes of roaming around on foot, I snagged them and Brian whisked us away toward Sorrento.  

Everything was going pretty smoothly for the first 30 minutes, until suddenly we were forced to take a detour from the main road to Sorrento. We followed the stop and go traffic for an hour and a half, only to reach a road completely blocked due to an Italian strike, or so the polizia told us. 

 

So, we diverted and headed to Ravello instead. We love Ravello, and it has impressed other visitors we've had, so away we went...up the windy road with views of steep plunges over the mountainside. We made sure no one had a tendency for car sickness...but as we're making our ascent, what's that, Aunt Mickey? You're very afraid of heights? Ooops, sorry! But we're halfway there now!

We all appreciated how fortuitous it was to have encountered the strike, because we wouldn't have had the opportunity to see this AUTHENTIC herd of goats in transit to Ravello as well. 

And then there was the AUTHENTIC horses carrying wood that we would've missed along the TERRORIZING road, as Aunt Mickey liked to call it.

But we finally made it to Ravello and enjoyed exploring the quaint town before lunch.

We ate lunch with the most surreal backdrop--the Amalfi coast with its crystal blue water.

Then we returned home to spend time with the girls after school. We went out for pizza and Aunt Mickey proclaimed it the best pizza she'd ever eaten! Not bad, considering she's from New York, where there's some fabulous pizza!

After spending a night with us, we enjoyed a leisurely morning sipping homemade cappuccinos and then we set out to Capua amphitheater in the nearby town of Caserta. This amphitheater is only slightly smaller than Rome's colosseum and is said to be where Sparticus led slaves in an uprising against the Roman Empire. 

Aunt Mickey poses near the M Miranda discovered on our last visit there. M is for Aunt Mickey and for Miranda.

Then it was time to head back to the ship. Despite a wrong turn I made near the port, we made it with plenty of time to spare. We had a lovely, albeit quick, visit!