A trip down memory lane

Firstly, an apolagy for our last blogs rapid ending, at 1.50 per half hour or part of and having used 29 minutes so far we decided not to go into the next half hour. We ended our session at 29.33 in the end. Anyway, internet is cheaper here (only 0.50 per hour - always find China town when your on Holiday) we have more time. As we do today generally, a relaxing last day of Holiday has consisted of packing, getting lunch, sitting for two hours in a Cafe (the one we spent a day in last year when in Napoli) and finding the internet point from our last visit - just below the Hotel we stayed in last time as well, we've already decided to finish our days memories with a trip to Da Michele's, our favorite pizzeria, again from our last visit. All in all a good way to finish the holiday.
We've already decided that we will need to come back to this area at some point, my plan is to do an Island tour - fly to Naples, spend one night here (purely as an excuse to visit Da Michele), Ferry to Ischia for a few days, on to Capri by Ferry (which we missed on this trip) and the Grotto D'azzura, a final Ferry back to the mainland and Amalfi (which we visited yesterday - it turned out to be about a 5 hour round trip from Naples!), bus to Sorrento - another lovely little seaside town, and finally the train back into Naples for a night or two and many more Pizza's before flying home again. I think that would be a brilliant trip by anyone's standards - if uni doesn't work out I'll get a job planning package holidays, cruises etc.
So if he doesnt get to become a politician he'll become a travel agent - Scott Berry's, a much better ring to it than Thomas Cooks don't you think - he could actually run it as a sideline to berrys coaches. Plan the trips and then send people on them through the coaches which of course would be doing all of his planned itineraries! Great idea. Berrys and Son. Back to the real world, and as I said we visited Amalfi yesterday. I dont know if you could get a coach there though the roads are quite bumpy... ok ok enough teasin.. now for some pleasin! Actually one of the most impressive things about the trip to Amalfi was the coach drivers ability to fit two coaches past each other on a road that anyone else would fail to drive a coach along without plummeting the hundereds of meters over the cliff and down to the sea. It was actually a really nice day... Gorgeous weather, we had a gelati, i discovered the wonder that is the calzone, a pizza folded in half and deep fried, sat on the beach, worked on our haggling skills, i say we i mean me coz im amazing. Dani's very impressed at her ability to haggle a hand made Jug (complete with factory seal) from 19 to 15 euro's, as am I to be fair. I want to point out that this was in a shop, not just in a market where that wouldnt be a feat at all. And also to her credit no other shops nearby would haggle at all, and I'd assumed this one wouldn't either.
Last time we didnt mention that we'd been to Herculaneum and to the archeological museum. Herculaneum was quite interesting, by which Dani means we got to point 30 of our 49 point audio guide before deciding we were bored and anyway, that's plenty of culture for today, especially as we could recite the script for a "thermapolium" (Snack Bar) and everytime they described the decorations, we knew what they were going to say! "To find out more abour the IV style, press 108 on your audio guide". Because there had been an earthquake only 16 years before the volcano erupted everyone had to redecorate, and the fashionable style at the time was the IV style, although we were reassured that other styles had existed before the earthquake! I was also very disapointed to discover after several hours of walking around and many hours since breakfast that the "snack bar" which they had been signposting me to the whole way through consisted of a vending machine. How misleading. We went to the archeological museum - that was basically where they took all the nice pretty stuff out of pompeii and herculaneum. Although we didn't find any people (if someone could send Emma the link for this it would be appreciated!) only a few plaster casts of their Skeletons. Which had long black strings hanging down in front of them - apparently meant to look like falling ash - it didnt. Scott got stuck in it which was most amusing for me and all the passers by! On a separate note a woman also said to me when i bent down to get a bottle of water the other day "you mustn't - you are veeeerrry fat!" That made me feel good about all the pizzas id been eating :D (we should probably point out firstly that this was in a supermarket, not the Archeological Museum any more, and secondly that the woman was Chinese - because they have cheap supermarkets as well as internet - and spoke only broken English).
Finally I want to say, for reasons that will become clear, that every morning we've had MTV on the TV as we've been getting ready to go out. Initially for the music but lately more and more to see an advert they run occassionally for the Italian, much cuter and less irritating, version of the crazy frog. Which is a cat singing a song, in Italian, and the only bit we understand is what I assume is the cats name - Piero. Along with the number to text if you want to be charged a ridiculous amount for this ring tone, along with another ridiculous amout for other ring tones that you are forced to buy, and then the same amount each week, even though you told them to stop, for a month or so until you realise that they are ripping you off and call them to tell them "no really I want you to stop wasting my credit/money/phone bill".

Anyway, thats it from us folks, Lots of love Scott, Dani and Bump. xxxx

Song of the Moment: Piero, Piero, Piero - by Piero the Cat
(text Piero to 83592 - or the number they actually use - to get ripped off, even if it is quite cute)

Italians being tossers

So, we went for lunch today at a nice little cafe. We asked how much for a slice of pizza - €1.50 we were told. We asked for two, got asked what we wanted to drink, and asked for a lemon soda (foolishly forgetting to ask the price). We ate our pizza, even ordered a third slice, then looked for some dessert. We were told it would be €2.50, after we had just seen an Italian paying €15/kg, about €0.75 each. We said no, asked why there was such a price difference, but were given no answer. A little irritated, I asked for the bill with my best angry Italian voice and language skills. We were given a bill for €9.00, with the €1 change, and told jokingly, thank you for the tip. My maths tells me this was charging us €4.50 for one can of lemon soda - normally around €1.50-€2, although without an itemised bill, which is something only granted to Italians, it was hard to check. When eventually I got an answer it was that it was €3 for the lemon soda, and that 3 slices of pizza adds up to €6. I asked the price of pizza and was told €2 - which I questioned, to be told that €1.50 was the take away price (then why tell us that price when we were clearly sitting at a table). After much arguing with the manager, cashier, and other random Italian, we were told €7 - a still ridicolous price (€2.50 for one can of drink) but at this point I'd got out €7.50 in change, accepting that we should have checked the price of a drink, and just glad we had shared one rather than having one each. The moral of the story is two fold - one, check the price of a drink before you buy it, two, don't let Italian waiters push you around and play take advantage of the tourist. I think next time something like this happens I'll just leave without paying at all (a kind of Karmic justice to make up for the tourists they manage to rip off - perhaps donate the correct cost of the meal to a charity to buy spray paint and paint his prices on the front window of his cafe!).
I think if you compare this post to one scott posted last year in the czech republic it will be very similar!! I would like to point out that we are having a very nice time and angry rants like this are a rarity!! We've been to Ischia for 2 days, went to 2 different thermal spas which were amazing. And if anyone tells me that theyre radioactive again Im going to be worried because after we'd been i read ischia has radioactive springs!! After me spending two days telling Dani to be careful, and her taking some or not all of my advice, she's been worrying about the bits of my advice she ignored, causing her to ask regularly, "Scott, is the baby OK", "Scott, do you think the baby has 3 legs". i did take his advice! Got to go no more money! Lots of love xxx

Song of the moment: take on me - reel big fish