Pompeii and Smelly Laundry

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Briana Branham

It’s rare that a place you visit is equally awe-inspiring the second time. Pompeii was just that. After a stressful ride on the local Circumvesuviana train, we arrived at Pompeii and met our tour guide. When Jake and I visited Pompeii in 2018 we toured on our own, but this time decided hiring a guide would give us a more comprehensive experience. Our guide was great. It was a lot of walking, but the kids handled it well and were in total awe. Ancient Romans were so much like modern people. We saw a tiled mosaic that was the ancient equivalent of a “beware of dog” sign. We also saw their version of a fast food restaurant. The plaster casts of people killed by Vesuvius eruption in 79AD are incredibly relatable. They are now spread throughout the site, so we didn’t get to see all of them, but each one was touching. There are also feral cats that roam the site- Penelope was into taking pictures of them. We also (somewhat accidentally) walked through the ancient brothel. Penelope had lots of questions. Overall it was an incredible day, and the kids rated it as the #1 highlight of the trip so far.

Stepping stones to cross the street. In ancient times it would be filled with water and sewage.

For dinner that night Penelope demanded something other than pasta or pizza. All she wanted was a home cooked meal. Unable to easily provide that, we found a restaurant that had grilled chicken. I’ve never seen her so happy to gobble up some very basic food.

The next morning we had to check out of our apartment. Before leaving for Pompeii the previous day I had decided to put some laundry in. When we travel I get a bit obsessed with making sure we have clean clothes. When booking apartments for this trip I made sure each apartment had a washing machine, but I didn’t realize I also had to make sure they had dryers. When we got back that evening, I took the laundry out to dry and it smelled like the worst mold/mildew imaginable. It was raining on and off the whole time we were in Naples, so drying on a rack on the balcony wasn’t a good option. I hung the laundry on the catwalk balcony and went to bed. We had to check out the next morning and not only was our laundry not dry, it still smelled awful. So before leaving for Rome, we had to hit another laundromat to rewash the clothes. I left Jake there to handle the laundry and took the kids to do some souvenir shopping. Long story short, between multiple direction mishaps I’ll just say thank god Penelope was there to lead us. That girl apparently has an excellent sense of direction (unlike Phineas and I). We’d probably still be lost in the back alleys of Naples if not for her.

Naples: chaotic, stressful, and authentic

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Briana Branham

It’s a long train ride from Venice to Naples. I thought we could all rest up on the ride, but the pace of the last couple of stops had caught up with us and we were all still worn out when we rolled into Napoli Centrale after dark. Naples was the city I was most worried about from a logistics perspective. From my research it’s not a physically dangerous city for tourists, but it’s chaotic, loud, riddled with pickpockets and scammers, and generally kind of lawless. Red lights are more a suggestion than rule, for example, and prices can be whatever the seller decides to charge you. And the mopeds!! So many mopeds buzzing by you with only centimeters to spare. It’s overwhelming and sensory overload. When we left the station we found our way to the taxi line and had to differentiate between the rouge taxi guys trying to poach tourists from the line and the way cheaper metered rides. It was hard to find our apartment – the door was hidden halfway down an alley – and all the doors had so many locks that I was feeling pretty on edge once we finally made it in. It was going on 9pm so we dropped our bags off and found the nearest pizza restaurant for a quick dinner. It wasn’t even a particularly well rated restaurant, but OMG it was delicious. Incidentally, I can now vouch that PiNapo, our Naples style pizza restaurant in Charlottesville, is quite authentic. Naples pizza is a little more soggy (in a good way) in the middle, but otherwise very close. After dinner we went back to the apartment for some much needed rest. The kids have been taking turns picking their beds first and this apartment had two nice bedrooms with queen sized beds and then a little cubby at the end of a catwalk hallway with a tiny bed and curtain that we affectionately called the servant’s quarters. It was Penelope’s turn to pick first so Phineas got the cubby.

The catwalk to Phineas’ servants quarters

We had two full days in Naples and had a Pompeii day trip planned for the second day, so when we woke up we were ready to explore Naples. It was only slightly less overwhelming in the daylight, but I was starting to appreciate what the guidebooks call Naples’ “gritty authenticity.” It looks exactly like it does in the pictures: small crooked streets with laundry hanging off every window and sometimes across the span between buildings. Mount Vesuvius, the still-active volcano that destroyed Pompeii looms in the near distance. Additionally, Naples actually sits on top of Campi Flegrei, a subterranean super volcano that regularly causes earthquakes and will erupt at some point, likely devastating Europe. Somehow this contributes to a general feeling of danger and prevalent superstition.

We decided to take a tour of the Naples Underground. Naples sits on top of the Greek and Roman aqueducts, an extensive system of tunnels and cisterns used for centuries to route and store water. The aqueducts were able to be chiseled out because of the soft volcanic rocks from a previous super volcano eruption 15,000 years ago. They were used for drinking water until the 1880s when it was figured out that sewer water was mixing with the drinking water contributing to widespread cholera outbreaks in the city. Luckily a modern water system was already nearly finished. The underground aqueducts were also used as bomb shelters during the world wars. We saw the areas where several thousand Naples residents had to huddle silently during multiple bombings. It was a fascinating tour, and thanks to an engaging guide, both kids rated it as one of their favorite tours in Italy.

Truffles and Laundry

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Briana Branham

Everyone was tired by our last full day in Bologna, and knowing that we were heading into a whirlwind Venice trip, we decided to take an easy day. The kids rested at the apartment (i.e. spent time on their screens) and I convinced Jake to join me on a laundromat adventure. We found a café close enough that we could periodically check on our laundry and settled in with an espresso and our books. We’re reading the same book incidentally, so we occasionally chatted about the plot, but mostly appreciated the quiet break.

When we were in Bologna in 2018 we stumbled upon an incredible restaurant. It was one of the better meals I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t think I liked truffles, but being a little tired of tomato sauce and cheese flavors I took a chance on a truffle spaghetti dish. It was so memorable that I wanted to find that restaurant again 6 and a half years later. While we were sitting at the café waiting for our laundry I realized this was our last day and therefore our last chance to dine at this restaurant. The quest was on! I found the photos I took back in 2018 and found one that I was pretty sure was from the restaurant. Google photo stores the location metadata for photos so I was able to cross reference the location and find a restaurant there. Comparing the menu and photos of the inside to my picture, I had found it: Da Cesari! As soon as our laundry was done we rounded up the kids and headed out to try to eat lunch there. I figured that dinner on a Friday night would be busy so lunch would probably be our best option. Upon arrival we were told they were fully booked. I asked if we could make a reservations for dinner and again was told they were fully booked that day. I must have looked devastated because the owner came over and said they would fit us in right when they opened for dinner at 7:30pm. I once again had the truffle dish and once again it was incredible.

Aperol spritz and board games before dinner

Sanctuary of San Luca and the porticos of Bologna

Posted on March 27, 2025March 27, 2025 by Briana Branham

A few miles outside of Bologna at the top of a hill sits the Sanctuary of San Luca, a Basilica offering incredible views of Bologna and the surrounding landscape. Beginning in 1433 the faithful have participated in a religious pilgrimage up the long hill to the Sanctuary. The Portico di San Luca is a covered walkway consisting of 666 arches built between 1674 and 1793 that lead from the city of Bologna all the way up to the Sanctuary. At 3.8 kilometers long it’s the longest continuous portico in the world, and together with the numerous other porticos in Bologna, are a UNESCO world heritage site.

After waking up well rested today, we decided to check out the Sanctuary. The climb up the hill is strenuous, and we didn’t want to burn out, so we took the San Luca Express, a tourist train/bus that makes the climb while giving an audio tour of the history of the area. We bought our tickets and had a few minutes to spare, so we stopped in a café for a quick Italian breakfast of espresso and croissants (and an orange…).

The breakfast orange saga, as told by Penelope: Phineas saw some oranges and asked for one. The employee was trying to explain that they were for fresh squeezed juice, and was asking Phineas if he wanted some orange juice but Phineas didn’t understand and kept asking for the orange. After several back and forths, the man just gave up and just handed Phineas the orange. While we waited for our espressos, Phineas hunched over the trashcan peeling his orange. I looked over and asked if he wanted help because his orange was peeled too deep and was covered in slippery juice. He said no but one minute later he had no orange and sheepishly explained that he accidently dropped it in the trach can. Since there was only an empty bottle or 2 in the trashcan, we told him that if he just washed if off in the bathroom it would be fine . Apparently he really wanted that orange so he got down on his knees and dug through the trash can until he retrieved it. As he was in the bathroom cleaning his orange the rest of us were joking that it couldn’t possibly get funnier. Buuutttt when he came out of the bathroom with his head down and NO orange we were confused until he said he was on take two of peeling the orange when he dropped it in the trash can AGAIN and gave up. WE LAUGHED LIKE CRAZY PEOPLE FOR 10 MINUTES STRAIGHT.

Heading into the bathroom with his orange

After breakfast we were off to the San Luca Express. I’ve been calling it a train/bus for lack of a better name. It’s basically an adult sized version of those little kid trains that tour around outdoor shopping malls. So it drives on the road like a bus instead of on a track like a train. And the sides are open for better views on the 30 minute ride. The Sanctuary was nice, but the views from the top of the hill were absolutely incredible. We paid for access to the very top of the Sanctuary and it was well worth the climb up the long circular stone staircase. Heading down the hill is way less work than climbing up the hill, so we decided to forgo the train/bus down and walk the 2+ miles of porticos. Near the end we passed through a more residential area of Bologna and stopped for a light lunch before our cooking class later in the evening.

On the train/bus. See another one across the square

The beginning of our adventure: exploring Bologna

Posted on March 27, 2025March 27, 2025 by Briana Branham

We decided to book a walking tour of the historical center of Bologna to get our bearings and learn some history. It was maybe the worst tour I’ve ever been on, to the point of hilarity, but we did get to spend a couple of hours in the sunshine walking around the gastronomy capital of Italy. One of the selling points of the tour was the famous Basilica of San Petronio; unfortunately the tour guide didn’t get us there until it was closing for lunch. Perhaps we will go on our own tomorrow! About 2/3 of the way through the tour we passed by our apartment and Phineas escaped, taking the headset and audio thing with him. We had to sheepishly return it later in the the afternoon. We weren’t alone in our shock at how bad the tour was. 11 minutes after the tour was scheduled to end, the guide was still touring us around with no sign of stopping. Luckily one brave attendee saved us by saying she had to get somewhere; everyone else eagerly took that opportunity and ripped their headsets off to also end the tour as quickly as possible before she could resume. As soon as the guide walked away the several of the other attendees starting the debrief of how bizarrely terrible the tour was. We didn’t end up joining, but one of the families offered for all of us to meet at the Bascilica later that afternoon to try to tour on our own.

Phineas had a shockingly hard time figuring out how to wear his earphone

Old buildings have a lot of Minecraft features. Torch holder and horse tie.

After the tour we were hungry and found a sandwich shop for lunch. It was incredible. Mortadella is one of the specialties of Bologna, also know as “fat city”. It’s essentially baloney, but much better somehow. I had a mortadella sandwich on freshly made bread with an artichoke spread. Jake had a sandwich of ham with a tomato and onion chutney. Penelope had fresh bread with Nutella (anyone surprised?), and Phineas had a side of meatballs in red sauce with bread. Perfect. We did learn one cool fact about tortellini on the walking tour: Bologna specializes in little tortellini made with mortadella, other meat, and parmesan. According to our guide, the inspiration for tortellini was the navel of a beautiful woman. There was also something about looking through a keyhole that we didn’t fully understand. The kids found the legend a little weird and creepy, especially when the guide was pointing at Penelope’s belly button as she told it.

Penelope has been wanting to shop, so after dropping Phineas back at the apartment we wandered out. The biggest shopping score was a pair of new glasses for Penelope. We found a shop that made them in 20 minutes! With Penelope’s sight restored and full bellies after an amazing dinner we all went to bed and slept a solid 8-10 hours. Finally well rested and fully acclimated, we are ready for the next adventure in Bologna

Dad needed a break while the ladies were shopping

Italy: the first 24 hours

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Briana Branham

It takes a long time to travel from Charlottesville, VA to Bologna, Italy. And between the extended travel time and the 5 hour time difference, it results in some very weary travelers. We flew out of Charlottesville around 3pm on Monday, left IAD at 6:45pm and landed in Rome at 9am Italy time (4am home time). Then, 2 trains later, we arrived at our apartment around 3pm Tuesday. But we’re in ITALY!

The kids handled the travel and lack of sleep exceptionally well, despite several mishaps. After our second train (Rome Termini to Bologna) we realized that Penelope’s glasses were missing. We spent an hour at the train station trying to report the glasses in case they were found on the train. Hot tip: don’t throw away your paper ticket because it contains the secret code you need to do/report anything involving that train trip. Sadly we have not recovered the glasses, but are keeping our fingers crossed they are found before we leave Bologna.

When we finally made it to our apartment, everyone needed a rest. Phineas was quick to get on Wifi and get his computer set up. Penelope was eager to check her text messages from friends. I spent a few minutes reading my book, and Jake promptly feel asleep on the couch. Around 5pm I realized that if we didn’t go get dinner everyone was going to pass out and wake up in the middle of the night hungry. So we rallied and went to a cute trattoria next door to our building. Despite it not being a particularly notable restaurant, Phineas remarked that it was the best lasagna he’d ever had. Penelope discovered a newfound love of pumpkin tortellini.

I’d like to say that we all slept well that first night after basically 24 hours of no sleep. Alas, both kids woke up continuously throughout the night. The first time Phineas woke up, after falling asleep at 8pm, it was only 9:30pm. He was convinced it was 9:30am despite it being dark outside. I had to show him my phone clock to prove that it wasn’t time to get up yet. Fingers and toes crossed that everyone gets a full night sleep our second night in Italy.