ericnorris.com

Birthday

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-08T19:21:00Z

I had a good birthday. Many thanks to my friends at Wake Med. Don't ask about the cake. I need some good revenge ideas. Send them to eric.norris at yahoo.com.

HOME!

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-05T16:55:27Z

We got in late last night. Sorry for the short post, but I'm still jet-lagged. Italy was a lot of fun, but I am so glad to be back in the USA!

English

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-02T10:30:31Z

There are quite a few Italians who speak or attempt to speak English. This is very nice and I really appreciated it on this trip. Also, some of the store owners attempt to appeal to the English-speaking tourists by posting signs on their shops. We've seen some pretty bad ones on our trip, including a menu that used the word 'surgery' out of context. Here is one of the better signs.

Soda

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-02T10:27:55Z

Speaking of soda, the selection here is pretty bad. Most places it is Coke or Coke Light (Coke Zero). If you have more choice, it is usually Sprite & Fanta. When I saw a flavor of Fanta that I had never seen before, I decided to try it- bad idea. If you are traveling in Europe, please avoid the following soda like the plague:

Pompei

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-02T09:59:43Z

We went to Pompei today. This was the ancient Roman city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It was very interesting. Here's a plaster model like some of the petrified bodies that they found when they were excavating this site.

Continue reading "Pompei"

Wine of America

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-01T10:19:00Z

Last night for dinner we ate at La Laterna for dinner. It was very good as they had a good mix of Italian and International foods. Dad was able to get a pork chop (he was getting tired of Italian food). I was getting a little tired of wine at every meal, so I decided to use one of Dad's jokes on the waiter. When he asked about wine, I asked him if he carried "The Wine of America" (keeping a straight face). There were two tables near us and both parties spoke English (not sure if they were American or British). When I said this, you could see them paying attention. After the waiter asked what "The Wine of America" was, I finally let him off the hook by telling him "It is Coca-Cola of course". Dad said the woman at the next table was stifling a huge laugh. The waiter thought that was great and told us that not many Italians drink it because they don't want to get too fat.

Capri

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2007-01-01T10:07:00Z

Today we took the ferry over to Capri. It's about a 20 minute ride and somewhat expensive (£25/$33 per person). We had been told by several of our friends that Capri is a 'must-see'. Despite overcast weather, Capri lived up to the hype. It is a very beautiful island with some good shopping and dining. We had a great meal at Capri's Ristorante that overlooks the port area.

Continue reading "Capri"

Politics

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-31T09:57:00Z

This is some kind of right-wing attack ad against a left-wing politician here (president?). We all thought it was funny, so Ian & Linda posed.

Massimo

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-31T09:54:00Z

We ran into Massimo our first day here. He was sitting next to two American tourists. We thought he was their dog, but he is owned by a local shopkeeper who lets him roam the streets of Sorrento. He decided to sit right by Linda at the cafe. We've seen him every day since. He tried to follow us into another cafe, but the waiters escorted him out.

Painful Internet Connection

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-30T06:33:00Z

I have some more posts, but the Internet connection here at the cafe is not so good. I will try to post the rest later today with photos. Happy New Year to all! En Italiono: Buon Anno!

Roma to Sorrento

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-30T06:20:00Z

We drove from Rome to Sorrento. The drive was pretty easy, except for the last 20km which were on a very winding and narrow coastal road. When we go to the hotel, they told us to pull the Fiat Minivan up the hilly drive to unload the luggage. Let me just pause to note that driving a Fiat Minivan here is the equivalent of driving a Mac Truck in the US. Cars were parked parallel along the drive except for one spot where two cars were backed into the wall and protruding into the driveway. Dad helped me clear the two cars. He said there was less than an inch on each side. I was almost to the hotel doors when a small car came speeding down the hill motioning me to back down. I had assumed that it was a one-way street. A concierge came out to tell me that it was a two-way street and that I needed to back down. <Ugly American On> I told him that there was no way I was going to clear those cars going backwards and that she was going to have to wait <Ugly American Off>. He was very nice and offered to do it for me. He ended up finding the owner of one of the poorly parked cars and getting him to move it. Made me feel better that he wouldn't try either

Catacombs

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-29T06:16:00Z

We rode a bus out to the catacombs today. Very interesting, but the commute and waiting was longer than the actual tour. Ian left today for the USA. The posts may be more difficult without his laptop.

Pickpocket!

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-28T13:32:37Z

Eve: Today we were taking the Rome Metro to the Villa Borghese area. For all of you who have never been to Rome think Christmas sale at Macy's crowded. We had to push and elbow our way onto the train and grab the hand rail--no seats. Dad was on my right and Mom on my left. The train jerked at the first stop and Dad was thrown because he wasn't holding on. I helped him find a place to hold on and then I noticed a 5 foot tall man holding onto Dad's back. I thought he was just off balance and would step away but he was like a little burr on Dad's back. Then I looked down and noticed his hand in Dad's right front pants pocket. I grabbed his hand and twisted it saying, "take your hand out of his pocket." The man said, "no, no." I told him to go away and he moved in front of Ian by the door. I called out "thief" and pointed to him, but Ian and Eric didn't hear me. The guy got off at the next stop.

Eric: We didn't hear & it's probably a good thing. Who knows how it might have gone down? We probably missed filing a police report and paying someone's hospital bill.

Ostia Antica

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-28T13:25:15Z

Eric: Today we went to Ostia Antica. This was the ancient port city for Rome. It was probably the most interesting thing I've seen so far. The city was very well preserved. We think the reason for this is that it was so far out that it was not looted as much. On the way back on the train there was an accordion player. Ian tried to snap a quick picture of him. He succeeded, but he came by for money later and told Ian he owed him for the photo.

Linda Happy!

eric@ericnorris.com (Eric Norris) — 2006-12-27T15:51:13Z

This is the happiest I've seen Linda on this trip. I think she misses her cats...