May 28

boats with fresh fish and shellfish being sold right on the beach
"animals" on a rock
little mud fish
the beach looking toward Mt. Vesuvius - We collected some pumice here.
view of Naples, a really lovely town if you look in the right places

Abram really wanted to visit the National Archeological Museum of Naples, where many of the Pompeiian treasures are held, and Owen really needed a break. So while Daddy went a looking, Owen and I set off for the beach. He was a bit sad that "Daddy's goin' to the museum; Owen can't go to the museum," when Abram got of the train before us, but he was very pleased to get to the sea. We discovered that Naples in not only filled with very friendly people but also has some very lovely spots. I, for one, think it's gotten a bad rap. In a lot of ways Naples was exactly what I expected from a trip to Italy. Owen enjoyed wading and splashing and being petted by all the people. Children, teenagers - even boys - grandmas and grandpas all petted him and gave us advice : he needs to have the sand rinsed off (he's going to get right back in it), he needs to go out and float on the big log that washed up, where is his papa?, he needs to be out of the sun (due to his blond hair), he needs to be off the rock (2 grandmas and a man my age0, he needs to go higher on the rocks - we'll take him (a group pf teenage boys). They were all very friendly and I didn't feel at all like i would have getting parenting advice from Americans.
We all met back at the hotel and boarded a train to Chiusi (in Tuscany). We had rather an adventure finding the agriturismo where we are staying, and we will be paying the 500 Euro deductible for damage to the car since we declined the no deductible coverage. But, we all arrived safely and were well fed at the Ristorante Rabarbaro that they found for us for dinner where they served a variety of gluten free dishes, were very kid friendly, and were very affordable. We'll be eating there again before we leave!