Piratis in Italy-Prolouge

On Monday, Aug. 29th the Pirates have gathered in Rome for the 2020-Covid postponed sailing trip off  the coast of Italy, west of Naples.  The Pirates, L-R, Dan, Bill, Bill, Cap’n Steve and Jim enjoy their first meal in Rome.  They arrived a few days earlier than me to get some sightseeing and Italian language emersion under their belts in Rome. Looking at the size of their “personal” pizzas they apparently acquired quite an appetite on their flight to Rome and are accumulating a lot of food under their belts too!!

On Tuesday, Aug. 30th as the sun rises over Rome the assimilation of culture begins as Dan adorns the Parliament building.  

Jimmy shows his impression of a friendlier and paler version of The Hulk at the Supreme Court.  

And the once great, but now slightly slower and older gladiators, gather at the Coliseum where they once did battle.  Are they still looking for the gypsy that took this picture and ran away with their phone?

As the Pirates tuck themselves into bed after an exciting day of “Rome’ing” I begin the traverse of the Atlantic so that I can complete the motley crew that we are in a couple of days. Protecting myself with mask and double boosters from the scourge of Covid that caused us to postpone this trip two years ago. I’m not afraid of plundering booty but I do not want to get Covid again!  

As I am boarding I get word from my son Ryan that he and Mattie (who did all the work) have brought a new life into this world.  Meet Alexander Lucas Brand, their first child and Angela’s and mine fourth grandchild.  Welcome Alexander!!  You may have avoided your Papa today but we will meet soon enough!


The boys are on a guided tour of Rome on Thursday.  

This is their tour guide, Daniela, who is patiently waiting for her turn on Jeopardy. Until then she does the heavy lifting of educating and entertaining these boys on everything that is Roman history and more. 

Daniela diligently continues her tour informing the Piratis about the history of the Vatican and St. Peter’s 

I am still traveling, now waiting forever at the Paris airport for my flight to Napoli but at least I have a nice Heineken to keep me company and hydrated. 

My flight, delayed many times,, also overshoots the runway in Napoli and we get one more quick tour of the Mediterranean and Mt. Vesuvius before finally landing at the airport. 

Now I’m tired and would like to be in my room with a bed to sleep in. 

My desire to explore and use my legs overtakes my tiredness and I decide to walk to my room for the night in downtown Naples. 

I have spent a lot of time in Italy, almost all of it in Florence which made me love Italy. If I had spent all that time in Naples, I probably would not like Italy that much. My impression from a 4 mile walk is Naples is a city that is dirty and that the people don’t care. They may still be lovely people but something seems slightly broken.  

This orange sunset highlights the graffiti on one of the Metro stations along my way. 

I found my room after moonrise and slept like a dead person.  

Meanwhile back in Rome Amos begins to help out his fellow pirates by drinking for them!

Refreshed on Friday morning and with a new day ahead of me I walk about 5 minutes to the Montesanto station and for 2.5 euro I’m on a 35 minute Metro ride to Pozoulli where the pirates will finally congregate. 


After a 15 minute exploratory walk and a slice of pizza (of course) for lunch I make my way to our hotel for the night. After relaxing and reading a bit I find a little comfy nook to take a nap. Apparently my idea caught on and this women continues to nap.  I hope I didn’t snore as loud as she does. 

Meanwhile the boys are hopping a bullet train in Rome and are now speeding this way at 180mph.  Is Italy ready for all 6 of us together?? We shall see….

The Piratis are finally together in Pozoulli.  After getting reacquainted in the Villa Avalinno’s bar we have a very nice dinner in a nearby restaurant where the bricks of the subterranean room date back to Roman days and the foundation dates back to the Etruscan age, up to 900 BC, way older than us!  However the food is fresh and very good and the wine and limoncello leave us with a happy glow. Tonight we sleep and tomorrow we will get on our boat on the island of Procida to truly begin our Italian adventure.