POV Pick Up, Amalfi Coast, & Shoe Alley

So I feel like I want to start every blog update with "Another exciting day today," but I can't help but to feel that everyday is exciting here in Italy.

Friday, I checked WhereIsMyPOV.com and saw that my SUV was delivered, marito got off work, picked me up grabbed our documents, and ran to go get my baby.

To pick up your POV you need to go register your vehicle at the Navy Lodge (2nd floor) at CMRVO, and to have a smooth and quick registration you must have certain documents.

• Military ID
• Power of Attorney (if needed)
• Insurance Information
• Money (sometimes- I'll return to this)
• Inspection Form/ DD788

After signing a few documents, and calling the insurance company to email the registration office your new insurance card you will recieve your lisence plates. We had already bought a car while waiting for my car to arrive, therefore we had to go through an extra step and switch the other car from a primary to secondary. IF/WHEN you register a second vehicle you will have to pay Naples Road Tax on it. For our Alfa Romeo it costs us I want to say 23 euros a month, less than 300 euros a year. Now you can pay this tax monthly or 4 months at a time, your full term whatever. But keep in mind, that if you pay for let's say a year, and 3 month from now you total your car.. you don't get your money back. It's not refundable. We didn't want to fork out 300 euros just yet, so we'll do a few months at a time.

After leaving registration we went to pick up my vehicle which is in the lot back behind the Autoport. Did the walk around my car, signed some papers saying I know how to file a claim, put the lisence plates on and drove off. A very easy, 2 hour experience. My fuel was below E which I found odd, considereing it had 1/4 tank when I dropped it off, and it had 4 additional miles on it. Not sure if that is normal. Anyone else have that issue? Anyways there is a gas station across the highway from SS.


SATURDAY! Marito and I got up bright and early and went to the Amalfi Coast. It was a gorgeous end of summer trip. In August, the Amalfi Coast is packed full of tourist and buses. The locals have to alternate days of driving it is so packed. And let me tell you, it is a VERY narrow road. There were times a bus was rounding a corner and traffic jammed up because people would try to squeeze by and the bus couldn't go anywhere without hitting them.

Coming from Naples, we drove down towards Sorento, cut through town and started in Positano. Marito and I stopped at a small cafe on the cliffs, had the most delicious capochinos and bruchetta, with a spectacular view. It was nice, just marito and I at the restraunt, no other toursits- it was OUR seculded spot.



Digging in on some scrumptious bruchetta

After lunch, we got back on the winding road, pulled over a few times to take pictures, and talked about how this is something from the movies. It warmed my heart, holding my loves' hand and being somewhere straight from the pages of National Geographics.



Fabulous Ceramic Wall Along The Coast

We got to the town of Vietri and stopped to walk around. There are a TON of ceramic stores there. One building was a few stories tall stuffed with a large variety of plates, decor, etc. all made from ceramic.

Fortunately we had finished our day there and the Autostrade begins there, so the ride home was quick. It is 30 miles from Naples but took us almost 2 hours to get there cutting through town, and I rather cut through town at the begining of the trip and not the end!

Dined on my favorite Four Cheese Pizza (Quattro Fromaggi) from Il Chamade, across the street from the Chicken Shack on Via Stuffetta in Lago Patria. It was the the perfect end to the perfect day.

Sunday, Marito and I went to Shoe Alley. That's right, an area full of shoe vendors, selling amazing European shoes for a great price. It is located down the street from Cappo Base, not Downtown Naples like I had previously thought. I did think that Shoe Alley was an alley/street, but it really isn't. You walk down a street and it opens up behind a fence and there are a bunch of vendors set up like a market. And there were a LOT of vendors. It was very enjoyable to browse among the shoes, clothes, kitchen goods, and even fabric vendors.

 

Marito bought a pair of Europeanesque shoes to wear to prom night- oh yeah, the Hotel Agora is having their last BBQ this Friday and it's themed Prom Night, even including a Queen cover band! I am in seraching of some Hot Pink Glitter Heels to wear to Prom, which I found the perfect pair at Shoe Alley, but they weren't my size. Sad Face. I did end up buying a great pair of heels from the NEX that was on it's third round of clearence (saved $60), so I was a happy girl.

Here is a video of what Shoe Alley is like on a September day.

 

 

If you go to Shoe Alley, this purple building marks the right street. There are "White Caps" that help you find parking- they want 1.50 Euros, or you can park around the corner in a parking garage for 1.5 an hour. You will see a bunch of people on the street selling iPhone covers, fake purses and all sorts. The market is just beyond them.

 Shoe Alley is open from Friday- Monday from 8 am to 2 pm I believe.



Tomorrow the girls in the hotel and I are going to hit up Scarpe Scarpe (Shoes Shoes), so it should be a fantastic day tomorrow =]