Jamie & Kim's European Adventure: May 2012

We have spent the last couple weekends in the Netherlands. This past holiday weekend we hung out in town and had another large neighborhood BBQ. Then we drove to the coast to spend a day on the beaches . . we haven't been since our first week here last summer . . I can't believe we haven't taken advantage of living only 2 hours from the coast!
The weekend prior we went hiking at Vijlenerbos forest and then went to the Three Country Point in Vaals which is the point where the borders of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium all meet. I also went on a bike ride with some neighbor friends to Valkenburg, Gulpen and a couple other small towns.

Netherlands Coast & Beaches

Hiking at Vijlenerbos

Views of the Netherlands countryside from Vaals

Jamie in 3 countries in 3 seconds / Me in 3 countries at one time

Biking with my neighbor, Anne-Marie, and her colleagues

What an incredible trip and by far one of our favorites (up there with Skiing the Swiss Alps in Zermatt)! We just spent the last 5 nights in Italy with our friends Kari and Brian. This was our second trip to Italy but it was such a different experience and setting on the Mediterranean versus our trip a few years ago to Rome, Florence and Venice. We had a packed schedule and the most beautiful sunny 80 degree weather.
Our first day we spent touring Naples and the ruins in Pompeii. Pompeii is an ancient Roman town that was buried under 4-6 meters (13-20 ft) of ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. It was absolutely incredible to see how much of the city was excavated and preserved by the ash especially since the ruins are 1,933 years old. Then we headed to Sorrento where we stayed and ate dinner at Pizzeria da Franco. The second day we took a tour of the Amalfi Coast starting with Salerno and stopping in Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. All I can say is WOW! . . some of the most gorgeous views I have seen in my lifetime . . just incredible! On the third day we decided to take the ferry to the island of Capri and spent the day touring the island via scooters. Such a fun and efficient way to explore the island and see all the sites. The fourth day we took the ferry back to Naples in search of the best pizza and most famous pizzeria in the world at Pizzeria da Michele which was featured in the book Eat, Pray, Love and where Julia Roberts filmed the scene from the movie. There was a long line when we arrived around 2:30pm and a little over an hour wait. They serve only two types of pizza (margherita & marinara) at only 4-5 euros a piece and are cooked in the traditional wood-fired brick ovens. The pizza was amazing but we thought the pizza we ate in Capri was slightly better. The fifth day we took a trolley tour on the top of the hills to taste limoncello, wine, mozzarella and olive oil and spent the rest of the day exploring Sorrento and having our last dinner at Hotel de la Syrene. The last day we only had a few hours to walk around Sorrento, shop and soak up the beautiful views before taking the ferry back to Naples. A wonderful trip with amazing friends!!!

Naples & Pompeii