ANDERSON AWNING WINDOW

***note: this church, located in the town square, lit up every night in the purple-ish hue you see here. I could not find any lights casting a purple glow, so I have no idea where this effect came from.

Day 3

The plan for this day is a bit more laid-back. We’re grabbing a complimentary breakfast on the roof of the Marriott Grand Flora, renting a car from Avis, and driving down to Amalfi where we plan to stay for the next 3-4 days. Breakfast was a huge buffet with just about anything you could want, and it was eaten on the rooftop patio which overlooked much of Rome. To the left you can see the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica standing out clearly against the sky, while the majority of the view is of the Borghese gardens, which includes the Galleria Borghese and the Villa Medici among other things. After breakfast we went to get our rental from Avis. The reservation was set up with the Avis office at the Leonardo da Vinci airport, which would require a metro ride to the Stazione Termini, followed by a 45 minute train ride to the airport, followed by negotiating through the airport crowds to the counter, getting the car, and driving back to the hotel to finish checking out. As I walked out the front of the hotel I noticed an Avis sign and asked the bellman about it. Lo and behold there was an Avis office two blocks from the hotel! I walked down there and there were incredibly helpful, switching my reservation and hooking us up with the weekly special which included full insurance coverage (something I normally don’t bother with but will come in to play later in our trip) a newer model and unlimited mileage for less than the original reservation. As a spur of the moment decision I also added a Tom-Tom, which was the smartest thing I did the entire trip. It was worth every penny of the cost as it likely saved our marriage. Without it we’d have been lost many times and probably would’ve ended up in multiple arguments. Anyway, the vehicle they gave us was a blue 4 door Opel with a manual transmission and a 1 liter, 4 cylinder engine. That’s right, 1 liter. We left the hotel and began following the Tom-Tom’s directions to Amalfi, when I noticed something. Street signs and traffic lights were in very different locations, so much so that I ran the first traffic light I came to and nearly clipped an elderly woman about to cross the road. Needless to say she let me know I was an idiot in a very colorful way. We made our way south down to Salerno and began the drive up the coast. This was fun and nerve wracking at the same time as the road was very narrow, very windy, cut into the side of the mountains, and had many blind corners. Oh, and they were filled with scooters weaving in and out between the cars and giant tourist buses bullying their way around the hairpin turns. As we finally pulled into Amalfi Jen pulled out the reservation information. It said there was no parking at the hotel and that we should call them to find out where to park and so that they could send down the luggage service which would transport our bags to the hotel. Yeah, we didn’t have a cell phone that worked in Italy and pay phones didn’t seem to be readily available either, so we asked a traffic cop what to do. He helped us out and soon enough we parked the car in a parking garage, left our bags for the luggage service, and headed to the hotel (Residenza del Duca) which was located on the 7th floor of a historical building just off the main piazza of the village. There wasn’t an elevator, and I wouldn’t suggest this hotel to those that aren’t in some modest bit of shape. There were two days in Amalfi where we went up and down those steps enough to justify a second dessert after dinner. By the time we got settled, showered and changed into clean clothes it was time for dinner. Amalfi is a small town, and the main piazza is where everyone congregates in the evening. There are many cafes, pottery stores, and gelato shops, and the local liquor Limoncello is served and sold everywhere. It is manufactured up and down the Amalfi coast and comes in two forms, both made primarily from the local lemon crop: a clear lemon liquor, and a cream lemon liquor, both of which are quite good. Each town on the Amalfi coast claims to be the original Limoncello makers, and even the Isle of Capri lays a claim to it also. I’m not quite sure where it actually originates. As we ate at a sidewalk cafe and enjoyed people watching, a group of musicians came around and played several of their songs. I’m a bit of a sucker for this kind of thing, so I bought one of their CD’s. They call themselves Gypsy Orient and have 4 member: a singer (with a tambourine of course), a guy with an accordion, a guy with an acoustic guitar that had duct tape holding it together, and a bassist who played a standup bass with only 3 strings. Did I mention how much of a sucker I am? Anyway, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying the people w

It's Sunday night, a little after 10:00pm. Michele and I are watching "The Apprentice" in the bedroom - Zoey is curled up next to Michele and Merline and Geronimo are sleeping at our feet. Typical Sunday night wind down routine.

Suddenly, without warning, Geronimo jumps up and starts barking in a tone I've never heard him bark before. He leaps off the bed and bolts down the hall towards the kitchen and living room. Maybe he heard a weird noise on TV and is just freaking out over nothing. No, it can't be - he is REALLY fired up. One learns the tone of their dog after a while, and he was very upset about something.

I followed him to see what was going on - he ran to the back door, barking his head off the whole time. Very odd we thought. Our minds racing trying to figure out what's bothering him so much - did someone come in to our apartment? Surely not. The lights were on - we were both home - it was Sunday night at 10:00pm. Who in their right-mind would rob a place with the people home?

Michele notices that her purse and a laptop bag had been placed by the back door. Did we do that? It's hard to remember these things - half my "watching TV" time is spent looking for the remote. Why would we leave those items there? Was anything missing? Nope.

Geronimo is still agitated. Sniffing around. Barking - very jumpy and alert. I go out to have a cigarette - my pack is gone. Nothing unusual, I misplace stuff all the time. I hunted for a bit, gave up, and opened another pack.

Had someone really come in to our apartment while we were home? We hadn't heard anything and what kind of person would try and rob someone silently while they watching TV in another room?

Today Michele mentions it to the maintenance man - asks if they can review the previous night's surveillance tapes. He responds - "Well, another apartment was robbed last night while the guy was sleeping." The guy then shows up and talks with Michele. He talks about the stuff that was stolen and mentions that they had left a pack of cigarettes on his counter. My pack of cigarettes.

So, we really did have an intruder last night. It appears they were silently storing the loot at the back door and hoped to get away undetected. If they were, it would be easy enough to slip out the front door if they heard us get up. Which is exactly what they did. Geronimo sensed something was not right; perhaps he caught their scent. It sent him into a frenzy and he scared them away. Lots of my camera gear was in the living room, my wallet, two laptops, and various other little items that are valuable to me (external hard drive of pictures, etc.)

We never left our patio door locked. We live 4 stories about the street. The only way someone could get to our place is if they scaled a row of hedges and then crossed the patios of 5 other units. We live in a very safe neighborhood. Our building has security cameras everywhere. Sure it was dumb of us - we were naive. San Francisco is such a wonderful city - it's easy to become blind to the fact that bad stuff can happen here just as it happens in any large city.

So, long story short, Geronimo saved the day. He is a hero. He doesn't care though, he was just being himself. That's the best part - he doesn't realize just how special he is in every way. Stinky face and all.