Italy Trip - Positano

In March of this year Chris and I took a trip to Italy. We took along our daughters and each took a friend so there were six of us. To be honest this was my youngest daughter's idea as it has long been her dream to visit Italy. I was originally opposed to the idea but it quickly grew on me and I  will admit that it was a wonderful trip.

Positano from the road along the Amalfi Coast

We flew out of Jacksonville on a Sunday morning and after layovers in Atlanta and Paris we finally arrived in Naples around noon on Monday. It was a long and tiring flight with some long layovers but it was worth it. Sarah and Chris had spent months planning the trip so we had a limo (in Italy that meant a Mercedes van) waiting to drive us down to Positano. The drive was beautiful and we were awed by our first views of Italy and the Amalfi Coast.

Chris enjoying the Welcome Champagne

Arriving in Positano we had an uphill walk with lots of stairs in order to get to our hotel. Luckily, they had a porter to carry our suitcases up all the stairs which is good because we had a lot of suitcases for the two week stay. I'm not sure that I could have handled the suitcases on the stairs. But again, it was worth it as the Conca d'Oro was as beautiful as it was relaxing. The staff were friendly and very attentive to our needs. This was our first stay in a foreign country and they made us feel right at home. The rooms were awesome and the beds were very comfortable. The Cooca d'Oro was our favorite hotel of the trip and we really enjoyed our 4 days in Positano,

Positano from the beach

Some of the 175 steps up to our hotel.

The beach was gorgeous but it was unlike any beach we have back home. It was volcanic and brownish  gray which was quite a contrast to the white sandy beaches along our Florida coastline.

A nighttime view from our hotel room

Chris and I overlooking Positano

Venice

Venice was the last stop on our Italy trip and we got into the train station mid afternoon on Friday. The train ride from Florence to Venice took about 2 hours and was a nice ride after a rocky start. First, we got on the train and found someone in our seats. She claimed that we were on the wrong train car. So after getting that straightened out as we were rolling out of the station (turns out she was in the wrong coach and we were right where we were supposed to be), we tried to stow our bags and settle down for the 2 hour trip. But I missed the overhead storage bin and dropped my suitcase on my head and neck. Ended up with a headache and a sore neck the rest of the day.

Once in Venice we opted to hire a porter to carry our baggage to the hotel which was about a mile away and over several bridges. Best 35 Euros we spent on the whole trip. Lots of bridges with steps on each side and the porter had a rickshaw type cart that was designed to carry luggage and negotiate the steps. Plus he knew the way to our hotel and we didn't.  He took off with our gear and I was left trying to keep up with our party while limping along at the rear of the procession.

We wondered around Friday evening looking for a place to eat and decided on a small sidewalk cafe. It was a little cool out but the food and ambiance were good.

Saturday was spent wondering around Venice and taking in the sites, But to be honest, once you have seen one canal with houses built at water's edge you have pretty much seen them all. Most of the streets were crowded with shoppers and the whole place seemed kind of hectic to me. Lots of cobblestones and bridges with steps on both sides. Not good for my knees.

Sunday morning we were up early for breakfast after losing an hour to the time switch to Daylight Saving Time. We had made reservations for a water taxi as that was he easiest most reliable way to get to the airport. after figuring out the checkin process at the airport we were on our long trip home.

Our hotel is in the middle where you see the awning.

The canal at dusk.

Ponte Vecchio

Earlier this year we were blessed to be able to take a trip to Italy for two weeks. We crammed a lot into those two weeks seeing the Amalfi Coast, Rome Florence and Venice. we took our daughters along with two of their friends.

I'll post more about the trip later along with more photos, But, I wanted to start by posting one of my favorite images from the trip. This was taken at the Ponte Vecchio in  Firenze (Florence).

Florence was my second favorite city on the trip. Positano and the Amalfi Coast will always be my favorites. It was rough on my knee walking up and down the hills and steps in Positano but it was worth it. I'll never forget it and I already want to go back.

Stick around for more on Florence.

My Journey - First Steps.

After  a 30+ year software developer career I retired last year (2018). To be honest, I was burnt out and disgusted with the current state of software development.  JavaScript seems to be the dominate language these days as there is some new framework popping up almost daily. Too many are buggy and try to make JavaScript do things that it was never intended for. I grew tired of chasing my tail with the current mess of of frameworks. And it just wasn't fun anymore.

So, I have now turned towards my creative side and this blog will journal my artistic journey. I'll talk about my failures as well as my successes. I'll also talk about artists I like and  as well as those who have influenced me.

I'll explore the software and tools I use both digital and analog. I'll talk about different art styles as well as techniques that I am interested in or use in my art. I'll post my goals as well as details on how I'll achieve them. And you will be able to read about my successes as well as my failures.

You will see honest reviews as well as my opinions of the current art scene along with my input on what it is like to make a career change at the age of 63. I'll even document things if all that happens is that I turn into a starving artist.

I'll even show some work in progress as well as my portfolio as I build it.

I'll leave you with my long term goals. My wife and I want to tour around Europe and live there part time after she retires. I want to do this while keeping up a photography and travel blog (or vlog) and at the same time creating an urban sketch diary of our travels.

I also plan to sell some of my work as sketches or reprints and use Patreon to help out with the costs. I'll blog more about how you can help me achieve all this once I get my Patreon account setup and all the details worked out.

Stick around for more of my thoughts.