Ciao, Positano
This short post is about leaving Positano, and starting the long trip back to our cabin in the Catskills. We will be in the U.S. for the next three weeks (with a short side trip to Canada to see polar bears), before leaving for the second leg of our trip.
We left Hotel Le Agavi in Positano at about 9:30am. The staff there was very helpful (particularly Signor Raffaelle at the front desk) and very friendly, but I think they were not entirely sorry to see us go. Most of the guests were American couples in their 60s and 70s, and the running and shouting of our “mostri bambini (monster children)” disrupted the ambience a little.
We drove up to Naples in about 90 minutes: an hour on twisty, narrow roads perched high above the sea, and 30 minutes on the highway.
Naples airport was in a state of complete chaos. It took a long time to get through each step of returning the rental car, getting the shuttle bus to the terminal,ticketing, checking the baby backpack in the mysterious “special baggage area,” and getting through security. We saw our young friends from the Capri trip in the security line, as they went off to Barcelona.
The kids and I had time for one last espresso (for me) and cold water (for them), and we ran for the plane.
The flight to Madrid was very bumpy. For the first time in our traveling lives, India (a nervous flier) asked me whether she should take Xanax or Valium or something on flights. We will look into supplementing our medical kit, but I can’t imagine her taking pills. Lu slept the entire way, and aside from spilling a glass of water on himself, Zola drew battle scenes and did schoolwork.
We have boarded the flight from Madrid to New York, and should take off soon. This is a long day of travel. Zola and I have been working on a summary of the first leg of the trip.
We are looking forward to being at our cabin
Late tonight, and to spending Columbus Day in the Beaverkill.