The Amalfi Coast

Well, sorry it's taken us so long to post, but internet access in Tuscany was pretty non-existant. Anyway...
Tuscany was unreal, better than we ever hoped it would be. It's no wonder that people have been going to war over that land for centuries. I can't even describe the beauty...but I'll try. Rolling hills, wineries with fields of grapes, strange trees that look like green sticks coming out of the ground. While we were there, we went to Montepulciano, Pienza, Montelcino, and Sienna, tasting wines, balsamic vinegars, and cheeses everywhere we went. Each of these towns are on the tops of hills and many have the ancient walls surrounding them that used to exist to keep out neighboring armies. Our first night we stayed at the Residenza d'Arte which was a really funky artsy farmhouse with a great view and a really nice owner who helped us plan our time in the area. The second night was in an equally nice, but very different farm house in southern Tuscany--the Quercia Rossa. It took a looooong and wiiiiinding road to get there, but when we did (at 9:00), the owners welcomed us with an absolute feast. We sat at a long dining room table by ourselves and had a five-course meal.
After that, we drove south to Naples, handled Naples' rush hour traffic, and boarded a ferry to Capri. Sadly, this was a disappointing part of the trip. Our hotel was great, but Capri did not live up to its reputation in our opinion.
So, the next day, we ferried back to Naples, had some great local pizza (in the city where it was invented), and drove to the Amalfi Coast, where we are now.
This area is really unique. It's a collection of towns that hug a giant cliff looking out on the ocean. They're all connected by a series of stairs...or you can risk driving the winding roads. Our hotel here is nice too, and for the first time in three nights, we have air conditioning! That means sleeping without hearing the sounds of goats (like in Capri) or hunting (Tuscany).
Tomorrow we are going to Pompeii and the next day, it's off to Greece.
We miss everyone! It's been great, but we also look forward to coming back and seeing everyone....we'll post again soon, probably from Athens!