Trip to Italy May 1998 Journal

ITALY JOURNAL, 1998
 
My husband Tony and I traveled to Italy and had a great time!  Italy is a wonderful travel destination with so many sights to see and things to do.  This was our second trip to Italy.  Our first one was in 1990.
 
18/19 May 1998 (USA/Rome):  Our trip didn't start so well.  We flew on Air France (good flight and decent food) from Dulles International Airport outside Washington DC.  Our flight left late so we missed our connecting flight in Paris.  Although there were several morning flights to Rome, we were placed on an afternoon flight.  I requested that the Air France agent contact my hotel in case we were to arrive late.  The woman said she would call.  Well, we got to the hotel (Hotel Smeraldo - see my list of Hotels and Restaurants for those listed in this journal) just around 6pm.  We had taken the train to the Termini station (15,000L each), then the local bus (I believe it was #64) to Largo Argentina.  When we arrived and announced who we were, the evening manager told us he getting ready to rent out our room.   He never received a phone call from Air France.  We were lucky!  We should have been in Rome by noon, so I felt we lost a good portion of the day to begin our exploration of Rome. 
 
We settled into our room and unpacked our bags.  The room was nice and clean with our own bathroom and t.v. This hotel is in a great location. It's around the corner from Campo dei Fiori, a colorful piazza, which has a market during the day.  We went out to explore the nearby area.  We enjoyed drinks in the Campo dei Fiori, then dinner at we dined at La Fraschetta near the Piazza Navona.  We sat outside to enjoy the area.  
 
20 May 1998 (Rome):  Tony and I woke up to a beautiful sunny day.  Our first full day in Rome was filled with many sights and walking to all of them. We stopped by a café for coffee, tea and pastries near the Campo dei Fiori for breakfast.  We walked via piazza Navona, one of my favorite piazza's, passed the Trevi Fountain (the fountain had recently been cleaned of the pollution and it looked beautiful) visited the Pantheon, and walked through the piazza di Montecitorio to Piazza Colonna.  We backtracked and had sandwiches sitting at the steps of the Trevi fountain, enjoying our meal while taking in the scenery of people.  The piazza is very colorful with various colored buildings. 
 
We walked down to piazza Venezia to Vittoriano.  I took several photos of the Roman Forum from Campiologio.  Michaelango designed the "floor area" of the Campiologio.  We went to the Colosseum and paid to go inside to the upper levels.  The inside is so interesting.  The original floor is missing and one can look down to the ancient rooms. We sat outside the Colosseum and watched the 'gladiators' trying to get tourists to pose with them for photographs.  We rested for a while at the Parco di Traiano, near the Colosseum.  That was a big mistake for me.  Later in the afternoon, my left arm started to itch and swell with redness and bumps.  I once got a bad case of poison ivy at home.  At the park Tony laid down while I rested back on my arms.  I caught something like poison ivy on my left arm.  We had to find a pharmacy fast.  It was difficult to describe what I had since we didn't speak much Italian.  I made a scratching motion at my arm with an aching looking face.  I think they got the point.  I was given an ointment and I was very careful not to scratch my arm.  Within 2 days it disappeared.  We were really worried that it would spread.  It would have ruined my vacation! 
 
We walked down Via di S. Gregorio passing the ancient racetrack.  The area is overgrown with grass, but one can still see the shape of the track.  We visited the Baths of Caracalla, an interesting huge place.  Some of the flooring had remnants of tile and along some of the walls were large portions of tile.  Next we walked to S. Maria in Cosmedin where the Bocca d Verita - The Mouth of Truth - is located.  Anyone who has seen the movie 'Roman Holiday' will recognize it.  People waited in line while others had their picture taken with their hand in the mouth.  We headed back to our hotel passing the Teatre Marcello. It was certainly a long day of walking and sightseeing.
 
We returned to our room to shower and freshen up for the evening.  We ordered a bottle of red wine at a café in the Campo dei Fiori.  We didn't finish the bottle, but placed it in my bag to take with us.  We found a restaurant, Osteria ar Galletto in the Piazza Farnese.  Delicious food and wine!  We had to head back to our hotel to call Tony's cousin in Naples to make arrangements to meet them at the train station.  Tony rested on the bed while I called, then I made the mistake of lying down too.  We both fell asleep and woke up several hours later!  Too late to go out, so we just changed and went to sleep.  It must have been the wine we enjoyed and the full day of walking. 
 
21 May 1998 (Rome):  We had breakfast at a café with tables and chairs outside.  We had coffee, tea, and a sandwich.  We met another couple who took our picture and chatted with us for a while.  We headed to the Spanish Steps.  Of course, we passed some of the sights we had seen the previous day: Campo dei Fiori, the Pantheon, saw the Church of S. Maria Sopra Minerva, and the Trevi Fountain.  When we were in Rome in 1990, the Spanish Steps were filled with flowers.  Not this time.  But the area as filled with people sitting on the steps or shopping.  There was a McDonald's nearby, which we used their restrooms: that's the only good thing about McDonalds.  The place was crowded with kids buying burgers and fries.  We headed north to the Piazza Popola.  The statues in the center were all covered with scaffolding, like other sights in Rome.  Rome was "cleaning up." 
 
Our plans were to visit the Vatican in the afternoon.  Along the way to the Vatican, we stopped for pizza.  It was very good and inexpensive. It was a small pizzeria and there were no tourists in sight.    As we arrived to the Vatican, we could see the whole front was under scaffolding and plastic.  Fortunately we were there in 1990 so I wasn't disappointed about not taking any pictures.  We came prepared by being dressed properly.  We saw a lot of people wearing shorts, mini skirts, or sleeveless shirts being turned away.  Some even complained and still tried to get into the Basilica.  We took the stairs down to see the crypt.  We climbed the stairs (L5,000 each) (or L6,000 with the elevator and stairs at the portion of the Cupola) up to the Cupola. One had to walk at an angle while climbing the stairs around the cupola because of the curved dome.  It was a long climb, but we enjoyed great views of the city.  We shopped at the Vatican store for gifts.  A friend of mine wanted a rosary blessed by the Pope.  I asked the nun at the counter if they had been blessed and she said no.  Well, I couldn't go home without it being blessed, so Tony and I did the next best thing.  We went back inside the church and sprinkled the holy water on the rosary.  Not the same, but we made our best effort.   On the way back to our hotel, down the main street from the Vatican, we stopped to enjoy some ice cream.  Tony had a beer.  We chatted with two women who were on their way home.  They told us they had attended the Wednesday mass with the Pope, which it was crowded with people.  At one point the Pope sneezed.  Everyone in the audience immediately responded, "God bless you" in their own language.  The audience laughed. 
 
Before dinner we walked to the Pantheon and had drinks at a café enjoying the outdoors.  As you can already tell, café life is very important in Italy.  It definitely should be on everyone's Must Do list.  We found a restaurant along the way to the Trevi fountain (Pizza Fantasy, Via di Pietra) and ate a delicious meal.  Our dining neighbors were from Australia.  As soon as the gentleman stated he was a retired police office, both he and Tony pulled out their badges and the talking never ended!  We headed to the Trevi fountain so I could do some night photography.  The piazza was crowded with people hanging out for the evening.  It was quite lovely all lit up.  Then we walked to Piazza Bernini and had dessert before heading back home.  It was another wonderful day in Rome!
 
22 May 1998 (Rome/Naples):  Our last day in Rome.  We slept in till 9am.  We packed our bags and placed them in the hotel's storage room while we went out for the day.  We paid our bill, and then headed out for breakfast at a nearby café.  At the Campo dei Fiori, I picked up some fresh strawberries to snack on.  We walked to Trastevere, on the other side of the ArnoRiver.  This area is a lot quieter and more tranquil than the rest of Rome.  We visited Santa MariaChurch, which a film crew was setting up their equipment.  I wonder if they were going to make a movie.  The Church is quite beautiful.  The ceiling is very ornate with gold.  Behind the altar were beautiful mosaic tile works.  We had lunch at Bruno all Lungaretta on the same named street.  We sat outside, as we did most places throughout our trip.   We headed back over the ArnoRiver into the old Jewish quarter.  Other than the synagogue and a shop or two, it would be difficult for one to tell they were in the Jewish quarter.  It was a quiet area.  Nearby we saw two interesting buildings.  Parts of the walls were from ancient walls and pillars.  Old and new together. 
 
We headed back to our hotel, picked up our bags and headed to the train station on the local bus.  We took the 5:10pm train to Naples, which we arrived at 7pm.  We passed Formia, which is midway to Naples.  We were in Formia back in 1990 where we enjoyed wonderful seafood dishes at a restaurant called Nostromos.  Go there if you can.  Gaeta is nearby also where we stayed with family.  It's a local fishing village and no tourists! 
 
Tony's cousin's wife Alessandra and her parents picked us up at the train station.  They live high above Naples and live across each other.  From her parent's apartment, they have a spectacular view of the Bay of Naples.  Alessandra showed us to her one-bedroom apartment, which they gave up for us.  She and Pepe "moved" across the street to her Mother's house for the few days we were there.  They were wonderful hosts throughout out our stay.  After settling in, we walked across the street to the parents' house to meet the rest of the family.  We stayed for drinks, then headed out to dinner to A Fenestella, Via Marechiaro.  This restaurant is located right on the water.  We enjoyed a great antipasti platter with various seafood, and then pizza.  Tony unknowingly insulted his cousin by giving the headwaiter his credit card to pay for the meal.   We wanted to treat Pepe and Alessandra to dinner, but that wasn't the way to go.  Pepe said (through Alessandra who speaks a little English), "While in my home, I pay!"  From that point on, we didn't drop a penny.  The best part about staying with family was the pleasure of dining where the locals dine.  No tourists.  Great food.  On the way home, Pepe drove us around Naples and showed us where Tony's grandparents had lived.  We got home late and were in bed around 1am. 
 
23 May 1998 (Amalfi Coast):  We spent the day driving along the Amalfi coast, which was beautiful!  The temperature was comfortable, but it was an overcast day.  Our first stop was in Vietri Sul Mare, my favorite ceramic town, although I have never been to Deruta.  I bought a couple of lovely ceramic pieces.  I wish I had brought 2 suitcases to fill with ceramics!  We next drove to Amalfi.  Amalfi has a beautiful church, but we could not go in as we were wearing shorts that day.  We did peek in the doorway.  The arches in the front of the building reminded me of the Alhambra in Cordoba, Spain.  I purchased 2 bowls with the typical lemon design (with a bright blue background).  Throughout the Naples area, lemon trees grow in abundance.  The area is famous for their Limoncello liquor drink (see my recipes page).  We also stopped at Positano for a short visit, then we headed to Nerano for lunch at Ristorante Pappone. It's located in the Pensione La Certosa in Nerano - Marina del Cantone.  It's a small beach area with a few boats in the water.  Our drive along the AmalfiCoast was exhilarating and a little scary.  Fortunately we were hugging the mountainside of the road (east going west towards Sorrento).  For those that get car sick, definitely sit up front.  I had to after a while.  We stopped in Sorrento, which is much larger than the other towns along the Amalfi coast.  I took several pictures of the area, the Bay of Naples and MountVesuvio.  Sorrento is famous for their inlaid woodwork.
 
For dinner, we were invited over to Alessandra's parent's' house.  Her Mother made a fabulous meal.  Her pasta was wonderful made with eggplant, tomatoes, egg.  It's a Sicilian specialty.  Next was mixed seafood antipasti.   Then came the platter of buffalo mozzarella (the best in the world!), procuitto, salami, and marinated zucchini.  For dessert we had fresh strawberries with homemade whipped cream.  In between all this eating, we had wine.  Tony had whisky while I sipped on Lemoncello, which I wrote down the recipe (see my recipe section).  I tried their grappa, but I didn't care for it.  We went home around midnight stuffed from the wonderful meal.  Italians do love to dine late and do love their food.
 
24 May 1998 (Naples):  We spent the day Naples.  Pepe drove us around various areas of Naples.  Of course he was driving too fast for me to take any photographs.  There is one street in Naples, which is said to be the first street built in Naples.  It was very old looking, run down, with laundry hanging out the windows.  We parked the car in town and walked to San Severo.  Inside is the absolutely beautiful Veiled Christ.  It is one of the most spectacular sculptures I have ever seen.  The detail of the sculpture was perfect and so detailed.  Photography was not allowed inside, so I bought a postcard.  We also saw San Lorenzo, San Gregorio Armeno (people were dressed in costume enjoying a festival), S. Domenico Maggiore, and S. Chiara, Chiese del Giesu.  Alessandra was big on showing us all the Churches in Naples.
 
Nearby was an area where there were excavations being worked on while at the same time being a museum to visit.  Throughout Naples, there are Greek and Roman ruins.  We went down below to see the different levels of the ruins, with Roman ruins built on top of the Greek ruins.  It was quite interesting seeing the differences between how the Greeks built their walls versus the Romans. 
 
We walked to Via Toledo, a shopping street, but the stores were closed that day.  We took the local bus to the National museum.  Because of the pollution in Naples, cars cannot be driven during mid-day.  Pepe came inside, paid our tickets and both Pepe and Alessandra waited for us outside.  He also paid for us for the other places we went to.  We visited the museum for about 2 hours.  There were many beautiful artifacts to see.  We could have spent most of the day in the museum. 
 
For lunch we ate at Add'a Figlia do Marenaro on Via Foria.  This place had excellent seafood and they specialized in soup called Suppa di Cozze. No broth, but mixed shellfish (mussels, clams, baby snails, shrimp and oysters) on top of toast with hot oil. It's a local Neopolitan dish and was quite delicious.  After lunch we drove to the waterfront and walked to the castle, palace and gallaeria nearby. 
 
We took a drive for a panoramic view of Naples before heading to Tony's aunt's house to visit family.   There were probably about 2 dozen aunts, uncles and cousins who came out to visit with us.  Of course, they tried to feed us, but we weren't hungry.  We nibbled on some pastries and wine.  By the time we got back to our house we decided to just order a pizza.  The pizza didn't arrive until 10pm, which is late for us.  We dined the last two nights late as well.  I told Alessandra that the next night we would like to eat earlier (around 7-8pm) because we would have to get up very early the following day for our flight to Venice.  For us, it's difficult to sleep well on such a full stomach. 
 
25 May 1998 (Naples):  Our third day in Naples was supposed to be a day trip to the island of Capri, but we awoke to the sound of rain.  And it rained all day long.  So we relaxed, did some laundry, and visited with family for lunch.  It was another feast, but on the small scale: risotto with mushrooms, chicken cutlets, fries, a salad, fruit and wine.   Alessandra's Grandmother was visiting and made us lunch.  She's an excellent cook!  We were invited back for dinner, which seemed only a couple of hours later.  The Grandmother had made pasta that afternoon and it was incredible.  Had I known she was making pasta, I would have stayed to help her make it.  We dined again like the other evening: homemade pasta with a red sauce, stuffed beef, eggplant parmesan, a cheese platter, a dessert similar to tiramisu, and of course, wine.  By this evening I had to finally stop them from filling my plates.  I didn't want to insult them and not accept their food, but it really was too much to eat.  And poor Tony, for every portion they placed on my dish, they doubled it for him.  The food was delicious, in fact the best of our trip, but we were happy to move on to Venice and get back into our own eating habits.
 
26 May 1998 (Venice): Alessandra's father drove us to the airport, which took only 20 minutes.  We had standby tickets, but had no problem getting on board, as the flight wasn't completely full.  We paid $35 each.  Ah Venice!  My favorite place in Italy!  What a city. So unique and how quiet and peaceful after Rome and Naples.  You could hear the birds sing and enjoy the fresh air.  We had flown from Naples to Venice in about 2 hours.  I was so excited to be in Venice that while on the vaporetto I must have shot off a whole roll of film before getting into Venice.  The ride from the airport to San Marco took one hour.  We had to transfer to another vaporetto to get to our stop, the Academia.  Our hotel, Galleria, was located next to the AcademiaBridge.  Perfect location.  We had a very small room, but it was clean.   The bathroom was even smaller - just enough room for one person.  But we had a view of the Grand Canal!  Luciano and Stefano managed the place and spoke English. 
 
As soon as we dropped off our luggage, we dove into Venice.  Our visit in Venice consisted of walking everywhere!  We just wandered and turned on any street we came across.  Each turn brought new sights, another bridge, and another dead end.  Venice is pretty small, so we got to see most of Venice.  I really enjoyed wandering down little streets.  Half of my photo album consists of pictures of Venice and those who visit will understand why.  Venice is a museum in itself.  The canals Venice did not smell, although one or 2 smaller ones did because they were being worked on and the water had been drained.
 
We did purchase a 3-day vaporetto pass.  It was worth the price for the 3 days, which we could get on and off the vaporetto anytime we wanted.  We took the "slow" boat all around Venice to enjoy the views.  We grabbed seats in the front so we could see both sides of the canal.  Many of the buildings are falling apart and need repainting or renovations, but that's what makes Venice so unique.  It's a city slowly dying.  We got off at the Zattare side and had drinks along the water.  We met a couple from Michigan and had a nice conversation.  It's always great to meet people and engage in a conversation.  It makes the world seem even smaller.  We enjoyed a great dinner behind the Academia, Taverna San Trovaso, then took a walk.  Venice is wonderful to walk around in the evenings.  The tourists that come in for the day are gone and the streets are quiet.  It's so peaceful.
 
27 May 1998 (Venice):  We woke up around 8am.  Breakfast was served in our room: coffee, tea, croissants, and toast and butter.  We headed to the Rialtobridge where many stores are on the bridge and nearby.  Jewelry, Italian crafts, and souvenir's were all over the place.  Nearby is a wonderful outdoor market with fruits, vegetables (great white asparagus and artichokes), and fresh fish caught that morning.  I watched an older man pick out three large eels for his dinner.  It's quite fun to watch people shop for their meals.  We walked around the area and picked up lunch at S. Bartolomeo, a great cafeteria filled with a huge variety of foods near the same named piazza.  We did a take-out and found a lovely little canal with a bridge and enjoyed our lunch while watching the gondoliers try to get tourists to ride in their boats.  A gondola ride is quite expensive, about $60 for half an hour.  I suppose it's worth it, but we never did take a ride.  Maybe on our next trip to Venice.
 
Venice has many beautiful sights.  We visited the Palazzo Ducale, the Campanile, and the Basilica in the piazza San Marco.  San Marco was very crowded with people and pigeons.  I can't imagine the crowds in July.  We climbed the stairs up both the Basilica and Campanile for to enjoy the great views of Venice.  Inside and up the stairs of the Basilica are the original 4 bronze horses, originally from then Constantinople.  They are stored inside for protection from the pollution and copies were made for the outside.  If you take the stairs up you can walk outside for a great view of San Marco and of the rooftops nearby.  Inside the Palazzo Ducale, we visited the prison area and walked across the Bridge of Sighs.  The Campanile had the best views since one could see the Basilica and Palazzo.  We didn't stay up long because it was getting near the time for the bells to be rung.  And those bells are huge!  Another area we visited was the Ghetto quarter.  This was another quiet area in Venice with lots of shops and restaurants.  We purchased a beautiful Venetian glass menorah for our friends back home.
 
After a full day of sightseeing, we wanted to ride on the Grand Canal, so we took 3 vaporetto's to get back to our hotel.  It was fun "vaporetto hopping."  Back at the room, I sat on the ledge of our window, wrote in my journal and sipped on lemoncello that Alessandra gave to us as vaporetto's packed with tourists floated by.  I wondered if they were envious that I had a room with a view!
 
We dined at Omnibus a Terrasse, near the Rialtobridge.  Although they had a 'tourist' menu, the food was very good.  The scenery was awesome.  It was so wonderful to dine outside and have Venice and the Grand Canal for a view.  We splurged in the evening by having drinks in the piazza San Marco while listening to the 3 bands that took turns playing.  For 4 drinks it cost us close to $30, but it was worth it!  Others would just stand around the café areas and listen to the music. 
 
28 May 1998 (Venice):  This morning after breakfast, we took the vaporetto to San Marco and then took a vaporetto to the island of Murano to visit some of the glass factories. Murano is a lovely, quiet island with its own beautiful bridges and canals.  We saw a demonstration of the making of a "leetle 'orse" as Rick Steve's mentions in his travel guidebook. I should have bought one if only for a good laugh.  I did purchase a few glass items, but overall the shops were pretty expensive. We visited a small glass shop where the owner was making glass candies.  We headed out, but I turned back and asked to purchase the one we saw being made.  We had to wait about 15 minutes for it to cool.  It was our best souvenir because we knew it was definitely made in Venice.  We had seen a boat filled with boxes with "made in China" stamped on the sides of the boxes.  We wondered if they were glass products being imported into Venice. We went into a meat and cheese shop where the woman behind the counter made us sandwiches.  We ate them outside along the canal in the shade.  There were no boats available for us to get to the island of Burano (a big disapointment), so we headed back to Venice and got off on the north side where we picked up ice cream to enjoy while we walked back to our hotel.  We stopped at the Rialtobridge and shopped for jewelry on the Rialto bridge.  There were great prices and getting the VAT tax back helped too.
 
Near our hotel, we had dinner at Trattoria Ai Cugnai.  Three women served the guests, hurrying along with plates filled with delicious freshly made food.   The pasta was wonderful.  It was our best meal in Venice, though a little pricey.  The place is very small with 2 rooms crammed with tables and chairs.  Our dining neighbors were from London and one of the servers tried to get them to speak Italian claiming she didn't know any English.  We knew better as she was kidding with them.  She understood English perfectly well.  Since it was our last night in Venice, we took a walk around the area.  We ended back at the Academia bridge where we met a young man who had arrived in Venice that morning and was taking the late night train out.  He had just finished medical school and was treating himself to a very short trip to Venice. 
 
29 May 1998 (Venice/Milan):  We were sad to leave Venice, but it was time to head to Milan, our last stop on our trip.  We took the 9:58a.m. train and arrived at 1p.m.  It was a rainy day.  We took the metro to the Duomo stop and walked a couple of blocks to our hotel, Speronari.  Our bathroom was pretty funky.  As we walked into the room, Tony said, nice room.  I thought, oh no, we must have a tiny bathroom.  He said, no that's the closet.  I said no that's the bathroom.  I was right.  The bathroom was an after the fact.  Try to picture this: the bathroom was narrow with the entrance at the short end with a toilet and bidet next to each other on the left side.  Straight against the back wall, was the showerhead.  Above the toilet was a sink, which could slide left and right, depending on which toilet one would use.  Then for the shower, we had to pull the shower curtain across the toilets and sink to cover them and the remaining floor space WAS the shower.  The whole floor got wet.  I did ask a guest about their bathroom and she said her bathroom was 'normal.'  Oh well, we survived.  Other than the weird bathroom, the room was comfortable and roomy.
 
Because it was raining, we decided to buy a picnic lunch and dine in the hotel's lobby.  We purchased food at Pecks, a wonderful gourmet store, along with a small bottle of red wine.  Later we walked to the Duomo, Galleria and nearby streets.  We had drinks at a bar, which served complementary snacks - pickles, olives, chips, etc.  For dinner, we dined at Calafuria Unione, Via dell' Unione.  Rick Steves recommended this place in his travel guide.  The food was very good and the restaurant was located close to our hotel.  I enjoyed their salmon pasta dish, which was very rich in flavor.  We walked to the Duomo in the evening to see it all lit up.
 
30 May 1998 (Milan):  Our last day in Milan we headed out early to view the painting of the Last Supper.  We were in line 1-1/2 hours.  The weather had cleared up and it was a beautiful sunny day.  Only 30 people at a time could go in to see the famous painting after going through 3 air locks.  Everyone was allowed to view the painting for 15 minutes.  We stopped by a local grocery store and picked up some picnic food.  We headed to the SforzaCastle and had our lunch, then toured the museum there.  The museum is free and includes an unfinished sculpture by Michaelangelo. 
 
We walked to Via Montenepoleone, a famous shopping street for the rich.  One dress, A Versaci, was priced at $2,400.00!  It looked like someone draped a long sheer scarf around the mannequin.  The shoes were priced around $800! 
 
We headed to and went to the top of the Duomo (L6,000) and walked along the roof with the other tourists.  The Duomo reminded me of an ornate cake with its spires. After climbing down, we found a crowd of people nearby which turned out to be a festival.  Apparently some important person was being sworn into office and they were having a celebration. 
 
We had drinks near the bar from the other day, and then shopped in a major department store.  We made a few purchases to include a lovely coffee cup from Vietri.  It was my last chance for ceramic purchases. 
 
We enjoyed pizza and drinks at Ciardi Linda e Gennaro, Via S. Raffaele near the Galleria (on the east side).  We were sure the chef was from Naples because the pizza was fabulous, just like in Naples. 
 
31 May 1998: (Flying home from Milan):  We had to get up early to take a local bus (#73) to the Linate airport.  The bus stop was about a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel near the shopping area and it took only 16-minutes/7 km to get to the airport.  It was very convenient and inexpensive.  I did some last minute shopping in the duty free shops, spending the last of the lira we had.  We tried to get our VAT refund while at Linate, but had to get it in Paris.  When we arrived into Paris to change planes, the airport was packed with people.  Air France was getting ready to go on strike the next day; so many people were trying to get home earlier than planned.  We had to wait in the VAT line for about 40 minutes.  I was getting worried that we would miss our flight because of the long lines.  After filling out the necessary forms we headed to the line to get to the gate.   We actually asked to cut in line because our flight was going to leave in another 20 minutes.  We got through and found out our flight was delayed.  We didn't care for the delay, as it was a repeat of our original flight.    But we got home safely and about 1-1/2 hours late. 
 
We had a wonderful time in Italy and hope to go back someday soon.  I would love to return to Rome, the AmalfiCoast, Venice, and travel to new places such as LakeComo, Florence and other Tuscany towns, Capri, and Sicily.  We never had any problems with pickpockets, gypsies, or theft of any kind.  Everyone was friendly and helpful, especially the hotel staff where we stayed.  May was a perfect time to travel to Italy.  With the exception of the day of rain in Naples and a portion of one day in Milan, we had sunny days with temperatures in the mid to high 70s.  Places were not as crowded as I could imagine during the high travel season of June-September. 
 
Ciao!
 
Monica