Teaching Kitty Not to Scratch

Jipsy has been progressively destroying this (previously) rather nice foldout couch of Holland's. She has also begun to destroy a wicker chair of mine that was not expensive but I very much like. I have decided that something must be done. The internet says that you can spray furniture with "cat repellant" spray (I think it usually smells like citrus or citronella) or put double-sided tape on the furniture, because cats don't like things sticking to their paws. I'm going to go to the pet store this weekend to look for some spray or "Sticky Paws" tape. I'm also contemplating buying an ugly, crazy-cat-lady cat tower in the hopes that she will scratch that instead. In the meanwhile, the internet says that tin foil can be a temporary fix because cats don't like the sound tin foil makes. So here I am, with tin foil on my furniture. Did I also mention that we have blankets hung over our windows also? I'm wondering if I will ever have a presentable home again.

B & B Donna Regina

We stayed at the most interesting place in Naples. It is a bed and breakfast, which in Italy means that you're actually staying in someone's home. We went through a nondescript little hobbit door that was cut in a much larger, older door. An old Italian woman then instructed us to take the teeny tiny elevator up to the forth floor. We went through the doors and stepped into this beautiful art gallery. It actually is an art gallery/apartment that is in a building from (I believe?) the 13th century.

Pompeii!

Yesterday, we took the hydrofoil from Capri back to Naples so that we could visit Capri. I was excited to see Pompeii because it is the first thing I can remember studying in Social Studies in elementary school. If you look closely, you can see Mt. Vesuvius in the background!

Foreign road signs

I asked Holland what he thought this sign meant and he said, "Burning bush ahead, take off your shoes!"

I think it actually means fire hazard.

Fiat parade!

All over Italy, there are these vintage Fiat driving clubs. One of them was driving all over Capri while we were there. They're super cute!

Villa Jovis

During our four days in Capri, we also hiked a ways out of Capri Town to the Villa Jovis, where the somewhat-crazy emperor Tiberius moved the entire Roman court for the last ten years of his life. He picked the best spot on the entire island to build his home- on a high point with a great view of the Sorrento coast, across the Bay of Naples. He also supposedly threw his enemies from the cliff at "Tiberius' Jump."

Although our guide book said the villa is open until dusk, when we arrived at four, there was a sign saying it closed at three. This is in true Italian fashion, as most places here tend to open and close at seemingly completely arbitrary hours. A man walked out and told us that it was closed, but he would let us in for 20-25 minutes. We later observed him telling other tourists the exact same thing!

Oh, and there's a church built over the ruins at the top that is devoted to Mary.

Monte Solaro

From Anacapri, you can take a chair lift (basically a single-chair ski lift) to the top of the Monte Solaro, which is the highest point on the island. The view from the top is beautiful. Holland and I rode the lift up, then hiked back down. On the way, we came across an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The path leading up to it has beautiful bronze Stations of the Cross on the way up from town.

Villa Damecuta

One our first day in Capri, we went on a nice walk to the Villa Damecuta, a former "vacation home" of Roman emperors. It was formerly a sort of national park but is now "closed to the public.". This doesn't stop anyone from going in and the very nice lady who ran our hotel told us to just hop the fence and go right in. There were a number of people, including locals walking their dogs, when we visited.

The medieval tower was built much later.

Grotta Azurra

The Grotta Azurra is a famous cave on the island of Capri where the waters are bright blue. The color is aided by reflection of light off the limestone walls. You have to go inside via rowboat, through a very small opening that requires lying down flat in the boat!

Afterwards, Holland and I did a nice long hike called the Walk of the Forts. The path winds all along the edge of the cliffs and passes a number of old forts from the 1800s.

Capri

So now we come to Capri, which is where we have been since Thursday. Capri is a beautiful island in the Bay of Naples. It is famous for its clear blue waters and sheer limestone cliffs. We are actually staying in Anacapri, which is another town on the island and not as overcrowded with tourists as Capri Town itself.

One of the most impressive things in Capri are the tiny roads. They are very narrow and, on the way to Anacapri, on the edge of a cliff! Cars going both ways barely squeeze by one another. The bus drivers here are pros and will usually honk the horns when going around blind turns, so cars going the other way will watch out!

Here in town, a number of tiny roads are meant to be footpaths, but that doesn't stop people from driving these skinny, tall little vans and scooters up and down the hills. For this reason, Capri is a famous place to ride Vespa scooters. You can rent a Vespa here but Holland and I had NO interest in that!

Japanese food reviewer?

This was in a restaurant. I think it is a Japanese (?) food rating system, like Zagat's in the US. In case you can't tell, the symbol is a cat carrying a kitten in its mouth.

European toilet

This was in a restaurant in Florence. The seat automatically springs up when no one is sitting on it and sprays a disinfecting spray on the seat. I got sprayed trying to figure out how to use it!

Ponte Vecchia

The Punta Vecchia is a bridge that is covered in jewelry stores. Back during Renaissance times, one of the Medicis ordered jewelers to sell there I nudge out the butchers, who had been there before but made the area unsavory and smelly. There is a walkway that goes from the Palazzo Vecchio, across the bridge, and to the other side, which was built so the Medicis could go places without having to mix with the commoners!

Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio was formerly the residence of the Medici family, who were like semi-royals and great patrons of the arts in Renaissance Florence. The Palazzo is now the city hall. The most fascinating part of touring the palace is seeing the huge frescos thy the family commissioned, portraying themselves in comparison to figures in Christian history and to Roman gods.

The huge globe is in the map room, which one of the Medicis had built with the goal of plastering the walls with maps if every area of the known world. South America was on the maps but North America was completely absent!

Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella

This is where we got the Acqua di Santa Maria Novella, which was an ancient remedy for hysteria. We mostly got this as a novelty because it's an interesting idea in medical history that a lot of issues in women were attributed to "hysteria," believed to be somehow caused by the uterus. Holland also got a concoction that was supposed to prevent catching the plague.

The farmaceutica was originally run by the monks and associated with the church of Maria Santa Novella in Florence. It is now privately owned an makes a whole range of high end body products. The building is beautiful. There is a museum but, sadly, it was closed for renovations!

Il Duomo

The Duomo is a MASSIVE medieval cathedral in Florence that is famous for its huge dome. It was built by famous Renaissance architects. You can actually climb up in the dome but we didn't do it because it cost eight euro and we wanted to go see other things.

We did go downstairs into the crypt, which houses excavations of the prior early basilica, on top of which the Duomo was built. The interesting thing about buildings in these Italian cities is that they just built new buildings on top of old ones. So a lot of medieval churches will be built on top of an old basilica, which itself was often built on top of old Roman ruins. We even went in one where the old church had been built on top of a pagan temple!

These old churches and/or their excavations also often house relics, usually some sort of physical remains of a Catholic saint. The skull you see is in a reliquary (the name for the box) in the crypt of the Duomo.