I forgot to post this from our travels. Saturday, May 29, and the last whole day in Sorrento, we took the Bus down the Amalfi Coast. First, getting off in Positano, you can see several shots of the area, and walking down into town (very touristy). Next, a view of Amalfi Town, with way to many tourists for us. We quickly took the walk into the next little town, Atrani. There Judy had a walk into the Mediterranean Sea, and we had a great meal at the local Pizzeria. After a stroll through town we went back (through the tunnel) to Amalfi Town. We then trekked up to the Museum of Paper (Cartas), and back past the fantastic Cathedral, a mix of Moorish and Byzantine flavors, built in 1000-1300, with a new Neo-Byzantine façade from the 19th century.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vA2-9VyMcY
The topper for the night was when we got back to Sorrento; Judy had an e-mail from a Sacramento Home Winemakers Club friend, saying another wine club couple was in Sorrento that same night. We called them up (using Skype) and met for dinner, thousands of miles from Sacramento, California. Amazing how small the world is, with technology.
Arriving by airplane form Catania, Sicily about 9:00 AM, our first hint that this was a different sort of town was when we took a waterbus from the airport instead of a bus or a taxi. There is actually a “water road” marked by large piers on either side, to guide the boats through the water, each boat keeping to its right, just as in a car driving situation. On the way we passed the Island of Murano, famous for its glass blowing companies, and Museum.
Then, we were in the Gran Canal, surrounded on both sides by beautiful palaces, boats, people and lots of things to look at. Our hotel was very near the Rialto Bridge, one of the most famous sites in the city. Many of the Gran Canal pictures were taken from that bridge.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnsOKNiFUrs
One of the most wonderful things about Venice (besides all the canals and boats), is the absolute lack of any motorized vehicles, cars as well as the ever present motor scooters in the rest of Italy. It was total pedestrian bliss; even the crowds of tourists were not too bad.
In the afternoon, we walked to Saint Mark’s Square, although somehow we ended up at Accademia, we soon corrected ourselves and came to the famous plaza. Aside from the famous church (which was undergoing some reconstruction or cleaning work, was and partially covered), the first thing you noticed was all the crazy tame pigeons… all over people if they held still, or had some grain to feed.
Although the church and Doge’s Palace were closed, we rode the elevator to the top of the Campanile bell tower, and got some fantastic shots of the view of Venice in all directions.
Early the next morning we again arrived in the area, and this time took the tours of both Saint Mark’s Basilica (beautiful and technically free, but every time you turned the corner they wanted several Euros to go further, we were quite disappointed) as well as the Doge’s Palace (quite worth the cost), including the trip over the covered “Bridge of Sighs” into a medieval prison that must have been quite ghastly when in use… we could just imagine the smells and the sounds. We also toured the Correr Museum, and returned via the crazy twisted streets, bridges, and covered walkways, finishing with a fantastic dinner on a piazza under the lights.
Two days is certainly not enough for Venice, so we are scheduling this one for a return visit.
One of the days we took a beautiful cruise to Panarea and Stromboli, with the purpose “to see Stromboli at night.” Stromboli is an active volcano for the last two millennia, spewing sparks and red hot rocks into the air. In the daylight, you can only see puffs of steam but at night it is fantastic, about every 10-15 minutes there is an explosion as you can see several in the video.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE12zeX8mVw
First we stopped at Lipari the biggest island, and the administrative head of the whole group of about 7 livable islands, and some rocky crags, as you will see. That was just to take on passengers, so we only got shots from the Boat. Lipari is a white island, rich in pumice. The Aeolian Islands’ culture extends back 6000 years and there is evidence of trade with virtually every Mediterranean culture from the Etruscans to the Greeks
Then we were off to Panarea, where we were able to get off for an hour, and have some gelato! Panarea is the smallest island and the most exclusive (according to the tour book), it is known for its coves (you will see a neat one), rocky islets, clear water for diving, and nightlife.
After that stop we went to Stromboli, had several hours wandering the island and having a nice dinner at reasonable rates. We also saw a (clearly) state sponsored film about the lava flow and emergency services protections in place on the islands. Ha! With the volcano erupting every 15 minutes and recent lava flow in 2001 that covered some houses, they can use all the protection they can get, but we can’t say it made us feel any safer! Then out trip at night, around the back for the show, and back to Vulcano.
A bit about Vulcano, it is technically a “spent Volcano” but it still has a constant sulphur emissions seeping out of the ground all over… and I mean all over, sometimes in the ocean, causing little warm pockets of water, sometimes just out of the side of the mountain and a lot from the crater itself, as well as the famous fanghi mud baths (too stinky for Judy). It turns the rocks yellow and red, and on one side there is a beautiful black sands beach we walked. As you drive around you frequently smell the rotten eggs result of the emissions, thankfully not where we stayed though!
After a nice train ride, all the way to Milazzo, the best port to ship to Vulcano for our 7 day stay in Judy’s RCI Resort, booked through Shell Vacations Club, named Bahia Fenicia, closer to Vulcanello (small volcano) than the main Volcano. It was a smooth trip, with door-to-door service from the office in town. A tiny studio/condo, but fine for relaxation.
The next morning, Judy and I decided to climb to the top of the volcano (named Gran Crater). Reading the helpful sign along the road to the start of the climb, the sign said it was a Class 1 climb, EASY to do and you should get there and back in 1 hour and 45 minutes.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MojHxonEA40
Several things are wrong here, for example, I am not a mountain climber. If I want to see the top of a mountain, I look at a satellite map on Google. Second, when they say a Class 1 climb, I expect at least an escalator not a steep gravelly path almost straight up the mountain. I also advise you not to wear a pair of open toed sandals since the gravel kept getting into the bottom of my feet. PAIN to walk on! The gravel was small. However, as I climbed, I noticed that the gravel between the bottom of my feet and my shoe seem to increase proportionally to the number of steps I took. Soon, I thought the gravel had increased to some outrageous size that exceeded any other rock on the mountain. However, looking back, I’m sure that’s not true.
We started up the “easy Class 1 climb”, managing to go about 200 to 300 feet at a time before we had to stop to catch our breath and rest. Half way up, Judy started shaking, even while resting but after a brief rest and a drink of water, and some reassurance from a Swedish couple who spoke English, she was fine the rest of the way. Finally we came to some harder rock and the climb got better.
The climb to the top was well worth it, since the volcano is still spewing gases with a strong sulfur smell. The view of the gases, along with the sulfur color and deep crater inside the volcano made the climb worthwhile.
“It is difficult to imagine, and even more difficult to explain, how you feel on a narrow path, with a view to the sea and islands on one side, and on the other the heart of a living mountain, colored with sulphur and giving off steam, heat and hisses. The awareness that, in the past, forces of nature capable of changing the shape of the landscape have broken out from the crater makes you respect and fear this place pulsating with life.” (Dr Franco Italiano, Vulcanologist)
In fact, a large portion of the island smells like sulfur, since there are sulfur dioxide emissions throughout the island and numerous hot springs. Finally, I would like to reclassify this posted Class 1 climb as a local Sicilian (or Vulcanian) joke against the tourists.
While in Rome, for some reason I got an asthma attack. I haven’t had an asthma attack since I was a teen ager which was a couple of years ago, more or less.
In talking to the receptionist at the place we were staying at, he suggested that I go to the emergency room, since that would be free and if I wanted a doctor to come to our place it would cost a $100 euro’s. I also had the option to go to a private hospital, but that would be expensive.
I arrived at the emergency room, not knowing what to expect, since in the U.S. you can wait a couple of hours or more. However, within 30 minutes or less, a doctor interviewed me (not some clerk wanting to know my life history and a promise to go to mediation if the doctor screwed up)
I told him I was having an asthma attack. He took the information down and told me to go to the waiting room. Sure enough, I had to wait about 30 to 40 minutes. I was then taken to another room, a doctor listened to my chest, put me on a nebulizer, with vapor coming out of it, an IV (a shot of cortisone I think), took blood samples, did a EKG and sent me back to the waiting room. While in the waiting room, someone came and took me up for two x-rays. Finally after two doctors examined me, one a specialist in bronchial problems, I was told that indeed I had had an asthma attack.
The doctor gave me a prescription for three drugs, a full printout in Italian of the blood test results, the EKG, his diagnoses and told me when I got near another hospital in the next week or two, to go and talk to another doctor and give him this report to see how I was doing.
Total cost – zero. If I had been a senior citizen of Italy, the drugs would have been free. By the way, the total costs of the drugs were $83 euro’s, and that was only the ones I had to take afterwards, not those at the hospital.
I can well imagine the costs of going to an emergency room in the U.S. and getting that kind of treatment. The hospitals in the U.S. would charge at least $10 to $15 thousand for two doctors and all of the tests. It was really nice to have the doctors in charge of my treatment, instead of a hospital administrator or an insurance company dictating what a doctor can do or not do.
If you don’t like socialized medicine, well, you don’t know what you’re missing, other than what the insurance and drug companies are telling you. (By the way, they’re in the market to make money off of well people and keep you from having to take any medical tests or procedures that they think are unnecessary, not the doctors ideas of how many tests or procedures you should have.
The argument I hear from people say that the American government can’t run anything (other than the military, the police, the road systems and on and on) In general I hear we have the best health care in the world. Sorry, according to theNational Health Organization, the top health care country, that is the country that has the best health care for their citizens is France, followed by Italy. Where do we rank? Thirty seven out out of a hundred and ninety countries. Yep, we’re two steps above Cuba.
You know by now, that because medicine is so high in this country, people in this country are buying airplane tickets to India and other places because they can’t afford our great medical system.
Of course, the biggest joke I’ve seen in years was senior citizens protesting Obama’s attempt to have insurance for everyone. They said they don’t want socialism but it was OK for them to collect their social security and have Medicare insurance.
Taking the Circumvesuviana Train back to Naples, we were determined to see the best art and statues that had been ripped off from Pompeii and Herculaneum. After walking a while we came to Museo Archeologico. When Pompeii was excavated in the early 1800s, Naples’s Bourbon King bellowed “Bring me the best of what you find!” The actual site is barren but the best finds are here!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1MqoGtAeP0
Some beautiful statues from the Farnese Collection, a very rich family that collected these statues, then donated them to the museum. The most famous is the Toro Farnese, depicting a woman being tied to a bull. At 13 feet it is the tallest ancient marble group ever found. The story: In Greece, King Lycus was bewitched by Dirce. He abandoned his pregnant wife, Antiope (standing regally in the background.) The single mom then gave birth to twin boys, shown here. When they grew up, they killed their deadbeat dad and tied Dirce to the horns of a bull to be bashed against a mountain. Lots of other action in the marble, and in the background, Antiope sees this harsh ancient justice with satisfaction.
Many more beautiful statues, some done in different marble to show the difference between skin and clothing, pottery and other artifacts abound.
The waiter at the place we stayed in Rome runs a side business of taking guests on side trips or to their next destination. We decided to use his services instead of taking a train to Sorrento. It was much more convenient, we skipped the hour long train ride to Naples and the train ride from Naples and Sorrento, also we got to stop for a two hour lunch and we made several site seeing stops along the way. Plus we got left off at the front door of our hotel in Sorrento which was a couple of blocks from the train station…
Trains are an excellent way of traveling in Italy. We used the train from Sorrento to go to Pompeii and Naples. One suggestion is if you are traveling a long way on a train; go first class, much more comfortable and quieter, as Italians seem to be in the habit or getting into arguments on trains.
While we were in Sorrento (a very touristy town), we found a great family run restaurant down by the tranquil Marina Grande called Trattoria da Emilia. Wonderful fresh fried fish, heads included, we found a cat to feed those to. Lots of locals, which is always a good sign. It was quite a walk back in the dark though!
The next day we went to Pompeii and then (a smaller less known site also covered by the Mount Vesuvius explosion in A.D. 79, smaller, but in much better shape than Pompeii, because while Pompeii was covered with 30 feet of hot volcanic ash and pumice, Herculaneum was instead covered in 60 feet of hot, boiling mud, which baked into “tuff” rock, perfectly preserving the whole city. Also it wasn’t raided as early as Pompeii, due to the difficulty of exploration.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yDo6-2Odr0
Anyway back to Pompeii, it used to be on the sea coast, the first picture is the site where they tied up the boats, now it is a LONG way to the current sea coast, thanks to Vesuvius. And it is Huge, I never thought it would be so big, and there are still parts that haven’t been uncovered. 20,000 people were living there, but only 2,000 died in the ash that August 24, 79 A.D. I guess they were the ones that didn’t heed the emergency services warning! Joke. Our video tells the tale.
Notice the Fast Food Joints in both cities. Apparently Romans (except the rich ones) did most of their eating out. The round tops lead down into a huge ceramic vase, which held olives, wine, soup and other foods of the day. (Judy had no idea how they could clean them out, no drains, so you could imagine the quality of the food… they must have had strong stomachs!
You can clearly see the chariot tracks in Pompeii, on the original roads, and tell by the number of stones in the road whether it was one way, two ways, a major thoroughfare or pedestrians only.
Herculaneum also was a sea front, most of the people found died while crouching under the arched docks which once held the boats. (I guess the first comers got away on them.) You can see in the pictures the high cliffs, with the modern town on top to see how much excavation had to be done to find the city.
This was a big day, with lots of walking. We were exhausted… more to come.
Coming from Saturnia by car, we tried to stay on Via Aurelia (a highway that turned into the street we were staying on (according to the map…eventually), but lost the signs, pickling it up 50 KM’s later as we entered Rome. Judy says it was the worst navigation job she had ever had… several U turns, and returns and about 20 minutes, and we found Via Aurelia (there are at least three of them in this town) and finally found our Condo (through Judy’s Shell Vacations Club)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDODGZK4irg
After unloading the luggage, at about 5:15, we then got direction from the receptionist (who never drives in Rome – we should have taken that as a sign!!)…anyway after 45 minutes of trying to find the drop-off that was “5 minutes away” and closing in 15 minutes, that was a no-go. We then tried for the site on the other side of Rome that was open until 8PM. What a mess!!! But it was a good start of a video game that is a real life video game! No good street signs, one way streets, you name it we had it. Motorcycles coming on around both sides of the car, hand signs and honking, no marks for lanes, smaller cars would crowd up along either side. At about 10 minutes to closing, 7:50, we found it! That was almost two hour of driving in Rome, enough to last a lifetime.
From there it was a piece of cake on the subway and walking to our place. No dinner though, too tired.
The next morning we start out on the bus for the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill, “Ancient Rome” on the tour books.
You just have to see it to believe it… the video starts at the Victor Emmanuel Monument to Italy’s first king, built 50 years after the country’s unification. The 43 ft long equestrian statue is the biggest equestrian statue in the world. The king’s moustache is 5 ft wide, and a man could fit into the horses head!! Then you see some churches across from the monument.
From there we pan to the Colosseum. Notice how big it is, and how they reconstructed the wood floor that used to cover where the fights were (below are the cages for gladiators and animals, lifted by a slave propelled elevator). The wood floor was covered in sand (to soak up the blood from the fights)
Leaving the Colosseum, we scan the Arch of Constantine, who gave Christianity a huge boost when he converted in AD 312, and then the video turns to the Forum, where most of the discussions and decisions were made in Ancient Rome.
Then back to our condo, on a different bus, which threw us for a loop for a while, but we made it back. On our way we saw a restaurant we liked, and instead of stopping, we went home because David wanted a shower. When we came back, it was over an hour wait (should have thought of a reservation!) But the food was fantastic.
The next day was Sunday, and this being a very Catholic town we decided to go for the National Museum of Rome, Judy and I got sort of lost on the bus, going out of town instead of in, but a few busses and the metro and we were back on target. Luckily David had gone ahead on his own as he wanted to spend all day in the museum!
When we finally got to the Museo, there were some fantastic statues, both bronze and marble, lots of busts, some which were a different person’s face mounted on a nice body, paintings, glass artifacts, pottery, etc.
Renting a car in Pisa, we easily got to an exit out of town with no mistakes. Our plans were to go through Sienna, for a quick stop, then go on to Montepulciano, where we were spending the night in a castle!
In Sienna we walked past Il Campo and the Duomo, and the Cathedral. Sienna had as really good museum of Etruscan history and Renaissance Art, which we also toured. After a lunch we continued on to Montepulciano, where we took a walk to find the hotel, while David rested his knee in the car. Finding our hotel, we then had the attendant called by the wine tasting lady across the street. The castle, now called Camere Bellavista was neat, and we got a room for three, for an extra 30 euros.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9SUTw2t6NI
Then we explored the town, being very near the Piazza Grande, the Duomo, and quite a few wine tasting rooms. In fact I have never SEEN so many wine tasting rooms anywhere in such a small area. The wine is Vino Nobile, a hearty red, improved and softened with age and oak. But truly, every street you turned on had a wine tasting room. The restaurant we went to (forgot the name was very good)!
By the way, driving a car in an old city that was built in the early Anno Domini (AD) period is an experience. The streets are very narrow and making a 90 degree turn unto another street with inches to spare on each side of the corner is something you do with care!
The next morning, we left for Assisi, parked below the escalator, and began the Rick Steves tour, first the Roman Amphitheater from the first century AD, the buildings filling it today were built in the 13th and 14th centuries. Passing right by our hotel without noticing it and continuing, we came to the Cathedral of San Rufino… looking at one of the lions at the base of the Cathedral, you find the lion eating a Christian martyr, reminding worshipers of the courage of early Christians. Then on to the Basilica of Saint Clare (who ran away from a wealthy family to join the church after hearing Saint Francis of Assisi, talking about the life of non-materialism). She became a saint almost immediately after her death.
Because I spent four hours in a café with internet access, we were too late to see the Basilica of St Francis, but have some pictures of the outside. After walking back across town to the parking lot, it took several U turns and requesting information to make our way back to the hotel for the night, within the walls of the city.
Leaving at 7:30 am we quickly navigated ourselves onto the road to Saturnia, a natural hot springs (David had been waiting for weeks!!) Along the way, we passed through an ancient city called Pitigliano. That was fantastic when viewed from the side of the road and below. The whole town is built on a big hill composed of a light colored volcanic rock called tuff or “tufo” in Italian. Apparently the seven hills of Rome are also made of tuff, and quarried tuff is in the Colosseum and Pantheon and is the material that most of the catacombs were built from. It is apparently easy to work with (soft and easy to carve) as a building material then it hardens and becomes stronger when it is exposed to air. There are shops that have been cut into the mountain side (like a cave) and you can see them as we drove along the highway through the town. You can see the town and also a door shop which is tunneled alongside the road and into the mountain on the video.
The springs at Saturnia have a very high sulfur smell and we could tell when got close to the springs. We found it, and bathed, but it was sort of lukewarm, not hot and a mild disappointment.
Buranco Agriturismo where we stayed in Monterosso al Mare
Getting ready to leave Monterosso and Buranco Agriturismo on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, we were greatly aided when the owner’s wife, Loredana offered to drive us to La Spezia, (where we were going to end up after an expensive taxi ride or an impossible walk with our packs and a train ride through the first 5 Cinque Terra towns!
Quickly (quite quickly, in fact very FAST) she drove us over some hills, down the other side, through some neat inland towns, fantastic views, quick switchbacks, passing cars about every five minutes on a narrow road where you could not see and were completely in the other lane, I think you get the idea?? She gave us a running flow of information, most of which we understood, and if we didn’t we said “Si” anyway, and we watched her have several incidents with other drivers where she made the famous Italian gesture over her shoulder with the right hand (hers was very refined – her husband is a member of Parliament – and not accompanied by any words… if you get my drift.)
Again, quite quickly, we were on the train station, and then on the train to Pisa. The Hotel Milano was quite nice and VERRY close to the train station. We unloaded and began our walk of the town. We got a little lost (although Rick Steves recommends doing that… and had a great meal at a sort of Turkish/Greek place with fantastic filled pita bread meal). I think because of this misdirection we also got to see the remains of a Roman bath, not even on the map for Pisa (See pictures)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X1LUE4a5UE
Then we walked toward the “Field of Miracles” from the Leaning Tower end of the field. Amazing… even after seeing hundreds of pictures in my life, I was still floored by seeing it in person, how huge it is, you have to walk far way away to get a decent picture.
The Duomo (Cathedral) and the Baptistery were equally fantastic, and we went to a museum to see the original drawings of the murals that cover the inside of the Camposanto Cemetery. The dirt inside the Cemetery is “holy dirt”, brought back by Crusading Pisasanos from the Holy Land. The “Holy Land” dirt is supposed to reduce a body into a skeleton within a day.
Really fantastic.
After all that we spent 20 minutes finding a Hostel for David, as our hotel would not take a third person.
The next morning we rented a car and were off to the Hill Towns of Tuscany…
