Sadly, because I wanted to stay! God I love Italy. Love it. I had such a headache the day we were leaving and my entire body felt sick, as though it was telling me that leaving was the wrong choice.
We've had the most marvelous trip - 4 days in Rome, 5 days in Positano. We've walked thousands of miles on cobblestone roads, thousands of steps up and down... my legs are hurting and my stomach is flatter than ever.
We didn't buy the Roma Pass. We didn't buy the Campania Artecard. We didn't use public transit in Rome even once. We didn't go to any of the recommended restaurants. We didn't make a proper visit to the Roman Forum. We didn't enter the Colosseum. We didn't see the Sistine Chapel. We didn't climb the steps to St Peter's cupola. We didn't visit a single museum.
Fact is, that we didn't follow my plan much at all.
When our feet wouldn't carry us any longer in Rome, we took a taxi. The last day in Rome we even bought tickets to one of those shuttle buses that lets you on and off at the biggest sights. We ate both lunch and dinner in restaurants, but still managed to stay on budget as we - with only one exception - only had a primo or a pizza, and didn't drink much wine. The exception to this was on our wedding anniversary in Positano, when we went to Chez Black and had aperitivi, primi, secondi AND dolci. And a whole bottle of Vesuvian wine.
A waitress at a simple lunch place near the train station in Naples advised me to take off my gold necklace, but apart from that I've felt completely safe throughout the trip, despite staying on the south side of Termini for the first days. It was dirty and messy and seemed to be the Chinatown of Rome, but our B&B was peaceful and quiet in a gated property and it felt perfectly safe.
Even the weather was good.
Amalfi was everything I thought it would be and then some. I've said before that it feels like home to me, and it really does. That's where my real home is, not here.
Just read your post, and I feel your pain. I was so sad to be leaving Italy.( which was my first trip there.) Weeks after I was home, I was still feeling down, and could not figure out what was going on, thinking, this still could not be from jet lag. Then I realized, how much I missed the smiles of so many friendly people we would pass, in the different small towns we visited. The smell of the bakery, or from the coffee shops, seeing the fresh washed laundry hanging out to dry, almost every window, and door, adorned with so many beautiful flowers. The fountains, the statues, the sound of motor scooters. The beauty of the ancient buildings, and on and on. Yes, I too, love Italy, and long to return.....................
I hear ya! I get this way every year...it is called withdrawals! It is difficult to get back to the real world (here),but you can always start planning for next time! Remember to write in your journal, it will keep your memories alive!
I'm glad everything went well. Sometimes plans are made just to make you feel better, and when the time comes, it's better to just go with the flow, if you will.
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