Saturday 13 October 2012
Day 23, October 13,2012
I had a broken sleep, obviously waiting for our alarm! Our driver was picking us up at 6.15 am. No breakfast but that's ok, I wanted to hit the road. We were at Naples train station in plenty of time. Hardly anyone on our bullet train, the only way to travel Im convinced! Gosh, we reached Rome at 10 am. The taxi driver was good , for Rome but drove at at least 140 kph. Shit!! Arrived safely though, to find our booked hotel had to put us in another hotel for the night as the rooms on the floor we were to stay on had plumbing problems!! No worries, the hotel we are staying in tonight is very, very nice! Traditional yet has all mod cons including wifi- everywhere in it!! After settling in to our rooms Angie and I went for a walk, a long one, all the way to the Vatican and back, about 6 km round trip. The weather cool and about to rain! We just made it back before lightening and thunder! Here I am writing this journal now! Angie rang her god daughter this morning when we arrived. She has lived in Rome for years and is an interpreter for the Vatican. She is picking us up later for a meal. Angie very excited to see her after a long absence. We are sitting in the hotel bar listening to " English Speaking" music and snacking on chippies and olives. Soon it will be nana nap time!!
Day 19 - 22, October 9 - 12
Today was a long day to say the least! We trained it from Monterosso to Pisa, to Florence, to Naples, then we were picked up at the train station at 5 pm to be driven to Positano, one and one half hours away. Phew. The road to Positano was long and very windy but totally awesome in views. We stayed at the Hotel L'Ancora, a small delicious hotel facing the sea, and of course we had a sea view room! My goodness gracious me, I was in love with this place. Angie and I had a super large room but the staff thought we shared a bed. Laugh, I said we weren't lesbian after they said " you married",!! We went down to the attached restaurant for dinner while they fixed the bed situation! Wow! The restaurant was perfecto. Bonus, it didn't cost the earth for a truly sensational small meal. Back at the hotel, we collapsed , slept deeply and decided to skip the planned trip to Capri and AnaCapris, we were exhausted. A day was spent browsing and caught a bus to a local phone card shop for me to buy a sim for the iPad to allow browsing in Italy. As usual all things Italian don't necessarily work, meaning, this sim doesn't work much at all. I spent a good amount of time with the hotel receptionist to sort it out- still doesn't work!! I don't know how these people get on with this technology! Another bonus, made friends with the lovely young receptionist who was 35 yrs old and still single but wanted to be married with kids! She helped us enormously over the following days. Meanwhile, I wanted to find friends in Perth who were also here. They only had this day, the one day to catch up as they were leaving the next day for Florence. I didn't have their phone number so it was a case of keeping the eyes open! I got Angie to look for a balding man with a pretty, blond wife! I had to return my iPad to the hotel and blow me down, coming up the hill a man said boo. It was Bruce!! Talk about wonderful. We all had our greetings, then went to a restaurant for lunch, then had dinner with them that night at a restaurant of their choice-- lovely, overlooking the bay with the lights of Positano glittering in the background.
Next day we were picked up at our hotel for our booked Pompei and Vesuvius tour, an all day affair. The bus picked up various people along the way around the Amalfi coastline so we got a good viewing of these magical towns embedded into the mountains. Lots of photos were taken! Pompei is behind the coastal mountains, next to Naples. The city of Pompei was in existence well before Christ was born and was a thriving modern city of over 30,000 people when Christ died. The people had a sewage system, road rules, drinking fountains and bathing facilities and was very clean. They also had brothels as they had no inhibitions and believed in sex as a natural thing. There were many phallic symbols, mostly carved into the road , to indicate the home was a prosperous one with children! No one believed that Mt Vesuvious was a volcano and life was good, rich and ordered, but paganism was the order of the day. Christianity came later. In 79 AD Vesuvius blew out of its side and the whole of the city eventually was to die. Many people escaped but those that stayed were covered in a thick layer of ash which hardened and the people suffocated. They were not destroyed by lava. We walked the most of Pompei listening to our excellent Italian tour guide , but, boy was it hot!! About 35 I guess. I remember the last time I was in Pompei in 1974, it was also hot!! There's more excavation since there. After a typical tour lunch at a typical restaurant for tourists we all hopped back on the bus for the long climb up My Vesuvius. Up and up into the clouds we went until it was cloudy and cold. The view from the top overlooking the Bay of Naples was awesome. We saw lots of old lava flows and old dead twisted trees and we saw where the volcano blew its side out. Some people climbed to the top to see the new crater forming for the next big blow out. The last one was in 1944, so any year now!!! After another long but satisfying day we tidied up and went out for a light meal back at the lovely place we went to the first night by the bay of Positano. I know why people keep coming back here, it is magic.
The next day our last was to be restrictive as the heavens opened and it poured and lightening and thunder was to be had! I took some sensational pics of the thunderous skies. We did venture out for a bit to buy some providores for our in room snacks. Bottle of local wine, and ham,artichokes, olives etc to be dinner! Off to nigh nigh, another big day travelling in the morning.
Next day we were picked up at our hotel for our booked Pompei and Vesuvius tour, an all day affair. The bus picked up various people along the way around the Amalfi coastline so we got a good viewing of these magical towns embedded into the mountains. Lots of photos were taken! Pompei is behind the coastal mountains, next to Naples. The city of Pompei was in existence well before Christ was born and was a thriving modern city of over 30,000 people when Christ died. The people had a sewage system, road rules, drinking fountains and bathing facilities and was very clean. They also had brothels as they had no inhibitions and believed in sex as a natural thing. There were many phallic symbols, mostly carved into the road , to indicate the home was a prosperous one with children! No one believed that Mt Vesuvious was a volcano and life was good, rich and ordered, but paganism was the order of the day. Christianity came later. In 79 AD Vesuvius blew out of its side and the whole of the city eventually was to die. Many people escaped but those that stayed were covered in a thick layer of ash which hardened and the people suffocated. They were not destroyed by lava. We walked the most of Pompei listening to our excellent Italian tour guide , but, boy was it hot!! About 35 I guess. I remember the last time I was in Pompei in 1974, it was also hot!! There's more excavation since there. After a typical tour lunch at a typical restaurant for tourists we all hopped back on the bus for the long climb up My Vesuvius. Up and up into the clouds we went until it was cloudy and cold. The view from the top overlooking the Bay of Naples was awesome. We saw lots of old lava flows and old dead twisted trees and we saw where the volcano blew its side out. Some people climbed to the top to see the new crater forming for the next big blow out. The last one was in 1944, so any year now!!! After another long but satisfying day we tidied up and went out for a light meal back at the lovely place we went to the first night by the bay of Positano. I know why people keep coming back here, it is magic.
The next day our last was to be restrictive as the heavens opened and it poured and lightening and thunder was to be had! I took some sensational pics of the thunderous skies. We did venture out for a bit to buy some providores for our in room snacks. Bottle of local wine, and ham,artichokes, olives etc to be dinner! Off to nigh nigh, another big day travelling in the morning.
Monday 8 October 2012
Day 18, October 8
Feeling better today after nurse Angie looked after me yesterday. Determined not to waste the day, we headed off on the train to see the other towns along the Cinque Tierra - alas most have closed and there seems to be only the serious walkers taking the high top trails as the donkey trails closer to the coast remain closed after last year's landslide. Today actually is the anniversary of the event. For October the weather is hot and muggy and rains predicted the day after we leave for Positano tomorrow. Lots of laughing along the way especially on one train trip where a woman and man's best friend (dog) was alighting from the train with leash firmly wrapped around her wrist along with shopping bags. Big doggie wanted to get off train as soon as doors opened and took woman with him - at horizontal level leaving her splayed on the platform. Unfortunately for her, it was something you would only see in a movie starring Leslie Nielson.
Day 16, October 6
Today we are back to mastering the French/Italian system. Up and down steps at great pace to make train connections but we did it although our luggage seems to be getting heavier but we haven't added to it with any shopping. Four hours later we were in Cinque Terre - our stop for the next three nights. What a small world. We are running into Aussies everywhere and many from Perth including one heavier party going who missed his train and jumped on the next one. Lives in Nedlands and knows lot of mutual acquaintances.
Back to the hotel we stayed at four years ago in Monterosso only this time we don't have the top room like before so the tiny room below absorbs all the sound on the marble floors. Can see where last year's floods certainly devastated the five towns and some have even closed for winter already. Monterosso closes at the end of this month but there are heaps of tourists here and the weather is certainly war if not hot. All the travelling has laid me low starting off with a small virus that has all the signs of turning nasty. Fresh fish for dinner.
Back to the hotel we stayed at four years ago in Monterosso only this time we don't have the top room like before so the tiny room below absorbs all the sound on the marble floors. Can see where last year's floods certainly devastated the five towns and some have even closed for winter already. Monterosso closes at the end of this month but there are heaps of tourists here and the weather is certainly war if not hot. All the travelling has laid me low starting off with a small virus that has all the signs of turning nasty. Fresh fish for dinner.
Day 16, October 5
Time to explore the coastline so back on the bus again, this time for Monaco. Magical views along the way and the luxury boats moored at little coves along the way are the true stuff of millionaires. Weather warm and perfect to discover one of the cleanest countries in Europe. Nothing out of order and ultra-modern buildings. On good advice, we headed to the casino area where we sat at Cafe de Paris and simply soaked up the sights of the rich and famous as they spun their Ferraris and Lambourginis up to the front door. One Aussie we met the following day told us how he had run slap bang into John Cleese outside the casino while we caught glimpses of European who's who.
Day 15, October 4
Coming to grips with the bus system in France is a bit of a headache as we discovered when trying to catch the local bus at the back of our hotel into the main city area. The hotel is located not far from Nice airport on Promenade des Anglais and a 45-minute walk to the start of the city. We were under the impression we had to get our train seats at Nice airport for Monterosso but not so as we discovered after another long session queuing. Back into the old town square of Nice we walked and walked and walked soaking up all the atmosphere this city has to offer. Instead of trying find a bus we walked back to the hotel, probably about 12kms for the day. Quiet night beside the Mediterranean.
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