melted smoosh

photo credit: Rebecca! ( Naples, day 1 here ) the next day started bright and early with fresh cornetti and fruit dropped off by our AirBnB host, so we could enjoy breakfast on the balcony. pretty incredible weather for late October!  unfortunately, the next part of the morning was not quite as idyllic. we planned to take the regional train to Pompeii ... and so had pretty much the entire population of Naples. we crammed on the train, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, with sweaty strangers, trying to keep hands on the stroller and wearing our backpacks on the front to discourage pickpockets. with various delays and inexplicable stops along the line, it took over an hour for us to arrive. finally, we arrived at our stop and tumbled out, grateful to be breathing the fresh air!  fueling up before getting slathered in sunscreen the entrance to the excavation site Greta stealing a page from the other tourists' playbook last year, we had visited the ancient ruins of Ostia Antica n...

the week we arrived in Rome felt a bit like an extended vacation, as most of the faculty were out of town on retreat and Nick was completely free from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. we had casually discussed taking a day trip somewhere before his schedule picks up, but i hadn't given it any real thought. then, the afternoon that we landed in Rome, Nick said, "would it be too crazy to go to Tivoli tomorrow?" well, it kind of was  crazy. but not too crazy -- just the right amount -- because the following day was Wednesday, August 14, the eve of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. several towns around the country celebrate with special processions, but Tivoli's is one of the most elaborate. so what better opportunity to visit? we still had plenty of clean clothes in our closets here, so rather than unpacking what we'd brought back from the US, i started researching train tickets. we did look into renting a car for the day, but that would have cost a...