A Week in Rome & Naples

I’m about to hit the road for a little mini-trip within Italy. I leave for Rome this evening (hopefully after the Champion’s League and G8 madness is all gone) and will stay there for 3.5 days, after which I’ll spend 3.5 days in Naples before coming back to Milan.
In Rome, I’m excited to see the final stage of the 2009 Giro d’Italia – I’m a cycling fan (thanks to the husband), and although I chased the 1999 Tour de France around (with said husband, of course) and got to see the start of the 2008 Milano-Sanremo in Milan, this will be my first chance to get an up-close-and-personal look at Italy’s Grand Tour. I’m looking forward to it – not least because I’ve got a great zoom lens and the cyclists are wearing spandex. (Oh, you know how I am. I’m all about the cute boys who play soccer in this country, not to mention the random men who take off their pants in public.)
I’ll also get a chance in Rome to hang out with some of the great people I met briefly during my last visit last weekend (and hopefully will meet another one or two people I missed last time), which I think will go a long way toward making more happy Rome memories for me. As I’ve said before, I think it’s much easier to fall in love with a place you might not otherwise adore if you’ve either got friends there who can show you what they love about it or at least a guide whose love of the place is infectious.
After Rome, it’s on to Naples. I’m not yet sure what my itinerary in Naples will be, except I’m hoping to make at least one day trip to the Amalfi Coast or the islands (where I’m also thinking I’ll meet up with more online friends – are you sensing a theme to this Italy trip yet?). I’m told I’ll have internet access in both of the places I’m staying in Rome and Naples, so I may be able to add updates while I’m traveling, but it’s more likely that things will be spotty here until I get back to Milan and have more time to upload photos and whatnot. I have figured out how to update Twitter from my little mobile phone here in Italy, so if you want a more by-the-minute look at what I’m up to you can check my Twitter profile page.