Hanging with the family in Sorrento

It's rare these days that one-year old Everest isn't our "alarm clock", but make the poor kid sleep-deprived from a red-eye flight and he sleeps like....a baby! My parents went out to get groceries this morning - a questionable plan given the maze of impassably narrow streets that present every time Google Maps (or TomTom) provide directions - and so Mindy and I had our Bellavista home to ourselves. We relaxed and soaked in the views, including Mount Vesuvius jutting up from the expansive Bay of Naples.

(Also gave me some computer time, with frequent interruptions to look out and enjoy the scenery.)

I would say that Mindy is trying to get her "pre-baby" body back, but she returned to peak form long ago. Maybe this was just in preparation for a day of indulgence. (She made me partake in the exercise, perhaps knowing I would lead the way as far as indulgence!)

With our tummys tightened, we re-grouped for a Terry Fox photo-op. After all, we're not going to lose a nearly two-decade streak of the Terry Fox Run just because we're in Italy. (Ahem, for clarity, Everest's Terry Fox streak is a mere two years as of today. Not bad for a kid who is less than two years old!)

We proceeded to head en masse into of the most picturesque towns of the Amalfi coast: Sorrento!

As parking is a challenge in the downtown, we parked once (at the same grocery store where our host met us yesterday) and began to wander.

In Parco Lauro, trees have adapted to dry summers (I surmise) by making their roots well-equipped to gather every drop of water that falls on the ground!

Elsewhere, we saw trees supported by wooden frames(?)

Next, we stumbled across one of the many limoncello shops throughout the Amalfi region. This one grows its own lemons in the adjacent grove.

Finally, we were in and amongst the narrow streets, piazzas, and shops of Sorrento's city centre.

We found a secluded garden restaurant for a delicious lunch.

Everest wasn't allowed in this store for even a moment!

You know how people spread their arms wide to show how narrow some old streets are?

Most of Sorrento is perched high on cliffs, so the beach and shore are far below.

Finally we got back to the apartment for a nap for Everest, and downtime for us.

Planes, trains, and automobiles...with a baby

I feel the accomplishment of summiting Everest! Only, for us, it was 21 hours of traveling with baby Everest. Maybe not in the same realm as a mountain climb, but it nonetheless required careful planning, a lot of effort, and sooo much stuff!

(If Mindy and I ever find ourselves wit hmultiple children under three years old, we have agreed we won't be taking them on a plane unless we have additional adults handy to help.)

Everest, for his part, made it as easy as he could on any two parents. 8+ hour overnight flight to Rome? Not a problem, he slept through most of it.

Shuttle to the train station? Everest and the slightly older child sitting beside him entertained each other. (The lack of a common language matters less when one of them doesn't speak any recognized language.) 2+ hour high speed train to Salerno? Everest made friends with the lady sitting across the aisle who kept offering him food. (In other settings, I'm not sure Mindy and I would be quite as easy-going about Everest getting potato chips(!) from a stranger, but we hadn't slept in 29+ hours and Everest was still tolerating the exhausting trip. We lowered our standards.) 2 hour drive to Sorrento from Salerno? The boy had the fun of his grandparents who had met up with us there, and he stayed in good spirits until he drifted off and slept. Everest was probably no edgier than the rest of us in the car as we were stuck in a 40-minute traffic jam in Sorrento - courtesy of the Gay Pride Parade. (We didn't get to see any of the actual parade, unfortunately.)

When we finally got through the traffic, we faced the dilemma of getting our wide car through an ancient, narrow, walled road. No dice. Our Airbnb host came to the rescue, meeting us at a local grocery store and leading us in her car to find the long(est) way around. (The second-most direct route also relied on a six-foot wide walled road, as we later discovered through Google Maps directions.)

Finally, we got to the accommodations my parents had found for incredible views. Worth every step of trouble along the way!