Amalfi Birthday Weekend

For my birthday, Tom and I spent a weekend at the Amalfi coast.  We stayed in the actual town of Amalfi, and on Sunday, as we drove back, visited the towns of Positano and Sorrento.  It was beautiful and perfectly relaxing!

The town of Amalfi from the beach on our first evening.

 

The greenery you see here are lemon trees.

On our second day we hit the beach.  Because it was the middle of May the beach wasn't overly crowded, but still plenty warm enough to lay out for a while.

After the beach and some walking around we relaxed and had a drink in front of the 9th-century duomo.

The architecture on this church is strange but incredibly beautiful.  It's a mix of Gothic and Moorish styles that together create something truly unique.

Fish on the capitals.

I absolutely love architectural details such as this inlaid column. 

As we were sitting we happened to catch a wedding take place.

Leaving on our third day.  The center of town has one main street that is mostly for pedestrians, making driving a bit difficult.

Driving along the coast.

The town of Positano.

We decided not to actually stop in Positano, as we couldn't find parking, but we stopped for a bit along the road to take pictures and enjoy the view.

Looking away from the sea.

Where you see the arches indicates where the road is.  The road is INCREDIBLY curvy, and on our way down, since we had been driving for a good deal of time already, I got a little car sick, but on the way out, since it was the morning and we were just starting out, I was fine and able to enjoy the scenery much more.

Patiently waiting while I take 1,000 pictures.

And ruining my pictures...

Sorrento.

As mentioned above, we didn't stop in Positano so that we could have more time in Sorrento, rather than being rushed in both towns.  In retrospect I wish we had stopped at Positano instead.  Sorrento was nice, but much more commercial and spread out, which is not quite what we were expecting.  But we had a nice lunch and walked around.  Of the three towns we saw, we both liked Amalfi the best, so I'm really glad we decided to stay there.

To give you an idea of some the roads in the area...

It was a fantastic birthday.

La piccola Zucca!

Last week Katie and Claudio adopted a teeny tiny kitten and named her Zucca (pumpkin).  She's our newest roommate!

 She's only 40 days old and is the tiniest thing ever.

 

 

She has blue eyes!

 

Being so cute is exhausting. :)

Beatification of JPII

On Sunday May 1st, John Paul II was beatified, meaning he was given the title of "Blessed" and became one step closer in becoming a saint.  There were huge gatherings at the Vatican all weekend, culminating on Sunday with several prayers and celebrations, and who knows what else.  I didn't want to be anywhere near the area on Sunday, but I met with Emily 2 for lunch on Saturday afternoon and caught a glimpse of the preparations and chaos for the big day.

 

Army medical tents being set up in nearby Piazza Risorgimento.  I'm not quite sure what they were expecting.  Fainting nuns perhaps?

 

Bleachers at the end of Via Conciliazione.

 

Aerial shots of the big day from the newspaper La Reppublica.

 

 

This shot is awesome-- it shows the crowds all along Via Conciliazione, gathered around Castel Sant'Angelo, along side streets, and in Piazza Risorgimento.  Basically the whole area around St Peter's was filled.

 

I think I read 1.5 million people showed up?

 

And this is exactly what the piazza was made for: huge gatherings, although I'm not sure if Bernini ever anticipate quite so many people.

Royal Wedding Party

Our friend Debbie, hailing from the great nation of the United Kingdom, had the girls over on Friday evening to watch the Royal Wedding.  The wedding began at 11am our time, but most of us had not watched anything during the day, and so the party was our first glimpse of the big event.  Luckily the royal family has its own youtube channel (!) and was streaming the whole thing on a continuous loop.

Debbie and Treva's door buzzer was given a more appropriate label for the evening.

 British delicacies, including tea, fish and chips, brownies, scones, gingerbread men, and cupcakes.

 

Amazing hand-made decor!

 

Katie, or her hand at least, goes in for the cupcakes.

 

The Queen!

 

The lovely hostess herself.

 

 

 

I thought the night called for pearls.  And a UK patch.