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!

Tram and Amsterdam

Tram 28 has a reputation as a “must do” for tourists in Lisbon, as it showcases (or at least passes by) many of the primary sights of the city – St. George’s Castle, the Alfama district, and the Lisbon Cathedral, to name a few. Unfortunately, it seems that a number of the tram operators are unaware of TripAdvisor’s recommendation. Two nights ago, Mindy and I tried to catch tram 28 from the stop right near our apartment in Chiado. One of the transit drivers there (same company but driving a bus) told us that the tram 28 was no longer heading downtown from there, only the other direction. He recommended picking up the tram at a later stop. It was late, so we didn’t pursue it. Last night, we went to Martim Moniz square where – according to TripAdvisor – we would be able to pick up the tram at its starting point and probably get a seat. There, a tram driver told us that tram 28 goes nowhere near Alfama from there. He suggested tram 15. When I asked him about “the famous tram 28” he looked confused. So when we got on the famous tram 28 from Martim Moniz this morning, and then ultimately passed through the stop right near out hotel where “the tram 28 doesn’t go anymore”, it was hard to tell if the locals were just having a laugh at some tourists’ expense. After all that effort, too bad that the trip wasn’t as impressive as the reviews made it sound.

With our final tour of the city complete, we ventured off to find breakfast (Mindy had been doing her research); Sama Sama Lisbon was a hearty treat!

Our chef was Irish, so I don’t suppose we can consider this Portuguese fare, per se…

Taking advantage of the bright sun on our last morning here in Lisbon, we wandered along the river and back to the main square…

…and back through the main promenade to our apartment one last time.

Like so many international destination cities, Lisbon’s metro connected easily to the airport (Toronto finally has a rail link, though not the subway). We were on our way to our next destination: Amsterdam!

A quick jaunt to Amsterdam for 17 hours would not normally be worth it, but we haven’t seen our friend Paul since our wedding, dinner will have to do for now! (I love the Netherlands and look forward to another real holiday here.)

Paul picked us up and took us to a restaurant on the water (a little outside of Amsterdam) just as the sun was setting.

Good food at de Dikke Muis; even better company.

Eventually we parted ways and headed back into Amsterdam for the night. It was cold and late. So we deferred sight seeing to the morning, when I did a quick tour of some of my favourite sights along Damrak and the nearby canals.

We even found time for some traditional Dutch cheese tasting (and buying)!

Eventually, we directed our feet back to Amsterdam train station, Schiphol Airport, and ultimately back home.