Well, we are almost home... just one more stop before we fly back to the States. We are in Naples, the most Italian of Italian cities, vibrant, crowded, great food and tons of churches.

I wont beat around the bush: the best thing about this city is the pizza. There is a place called DiMatteos, on a packed cobbled street in the middle of the historical center. This place is widely (and, I think, accurately) credited as having the best pizza in Napoli, which city is reputed to have the best pizza in Italy, which basically means that Rebecca and I got to eat the best pizza in the WORLD for lunch every day. The tomatos are so fresh you can almost taste the ocean air, and the crust is so thin you have to eat it like the locals do, with a fork and knife. Mmmm.... I miss it already.

We also went to one of the many medieval castles. Castel Dell Ovo is so large, and perched on an island so small, that it basically occupies the whole thing... thats where I took that picture of the coastline. And another afternoon was spent exploring Underground Napoli. There is a whole gamut of historical sites under the earth that were uncovered just a few years ago. They include a 2nd century Roman theater, once the venue for Nero himself (and 7,000 people he paid to clap for him), now serving as the foundation for an apartment building, of all things. It is accessible through a trapdoor in an old bedroom. There is also an extensive aqueduct system (400 km, extending all the way to Pompeii) built by the Greeks, where we got to squeeze through narrow caves, lighting our own way only with candles, to reach a startlingly beautiful cistern 40 meters underground. Fabulous!

Most of all, we tried to mentally prepare ourselves for returning home. I for one am looking forward to it... traveling gets quite tiring after a while. But thats not to say I wont miss it! By now we have visited a zillion places, and we have a zillion and one beautiful memories that we can treasure for the rest of our lives. For now, Ill just be glad to have the same bed for more than a few days at a time!