On my last morning in Rome before we left for Sorrento I got up extra early and headed off to see the pope. An "audience" with the pope means you gather in St. Peter's Square with thousands of other people and the pope passes by. He also gives a little talk in six different languages to this audience. You must have advanced tickets to attend this event.
I was lucky because my friend, Mary, who had been in Rome last Fall told me exactly where to sit. So I arrived three hours ahead of time and got a prime seat. I would have been able to touch the Pope. I was that close. But he has an entire slew of bodyquards, much like President Bush's Secret Service. The experience was quite special for me.
When it was over Ron and I needed to take two trains before reaching Sorrento. And then we checked into our hotel. Ron had found the Villa Garden online. It was a few miles outside of Sorrento on the water, just overlooking the Bay of Naples. Never in our lives have we had such a luxurious room. We had a large tiled balcony nearly hanging over the sea. This private balcony had a table with two chairs and also two lounge chairs all for us. It was the only one in the hotel. How did we get so lucky? The weather was warm and balmy. We walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We had local wine and more scrumptious pasta. Mine was gnochi with prawns. Unbelievable!
The next day we took a cruise to the Isle of Capri. On the boat a charming man named Luigi convinced us to join his sightseeing group. He guided us not only through Capri, but also up to the top of the island to Ana Capri. Such sights, such incredible beauty.
After this full day we returned to our heavenly room, watched the sunset and pretty much crashed.
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