Amalfi Coast

We bid farewell to Rome and headed down south by train to Salerno on our way to the Amalfi Coast and in particular to Praiano, located between Amalfi and Positano. The journey is quite a long one because it relies on three modes of transport, a train which takes two and a half hours, a ferry which takes one and quarter hours to Positano and finally a bus to Praiano which takes about thirty minutes but only leaves Positano every hour. Have you done the maths yet? Let's just say we got a train at 8.50am and arrived at our accommodation at around 4.15pm. A long day!

After hearing lots of stories about this coast road and the driving, I can truthfully say that IT IS A NIGHTMARE RIDE. Buses, cars, motor cycles all want to own the roadway at the same time and there is only one speed, go and stop and not much in between. Of course, a lot of the cars are sporting dings, scratches etc. Not  surprising !

Very happy to have caught the ferry across which gave us a view of the coast which is beautiful .

Finally arrived to be greeted by our host Genarro, a very (pretty) handsome Italian boy, who took us for a drive around Praiano and I must say his driving style is interesting.

Today we took the hazardous ride to Positano to look around. Very nice place but much busier than Praiano so very happy to come back to our little quiet place away from the craziness. Serenity now!

Abruzzo

Visiting the birth place of my parents was always something that I have wanted to do so on the last day in Rome we took a bus to L'Aquila which is the capital of Abruzzo and then took a local bus to the village, of Poggio Picenze. Not exactly a simple process as the bus from Rome to L'Aquila took about 90 mins then waiting for the local bus etc took some time. Of course, we arrived at siesta time, everything is  closed between 1 and 4 pm. So no hope of getting any lunch. We walked along a very quiet village .We opted to leave soon after but nonetheless, it was worth the visit. I was able to take in the sights along the way and see just how picturesque the region  as it set along the Appenines mountains and the Gran Sasso national Park. The village was also a surprise as it was bigger than I expected, well maintained and with a great view of the mountains as a back drop.

I'm glad I went and if I come back again will make the effort again but perhaps be better organised.

Pompeii

Another early start today, this time a day trip to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius .

Pompeii was a thriving town in Ancient Rome that was obliterated when Mt Vesuvius erupted and the city was covered by ash. The ancient Romans had no idea that Vesuvius was a volcano believing it to be a mountain as the summit at that time was like a cone and was much taller than it is today. So to say they were literally taken by surprise is clearly an understatement.  The tour around the ancient ruins was interesting but to some degree a bit disappointing because we were expecting something a bit different to the ancient ruins in Rome. Nonetheless well worth a visit.

              

               
               

Following the visit to Pompeii we stopped off to visit Mt Vesuvius to climb the summit. Rodney climbed but Gabriella didn't due to a headache. Rodney reports that when he arrived at the top he noticed a hole in the top and steam ! It seems that Vesuvius is due to erupt again in the not too distant future as she apparently has a major tantrum every 2000 years and it is almost 2000 years since she erupted. The citizens of Naples have no evacuation plans and don't appear concerned. One hopes that if she does go that the residents will have enough warning to evacuate.

Rome

Today was an early start as we had booked skip the line tickets to avoid standing in long queues for up  to four hours. No not us The decision to book was a smart one because the queues had already started and it was only just past 7.00am.

The Sistine Chapel was an amazing sight and fascinating to see the work of Michelangelo. We then walked through the Vatican museum and then went onto visit MacVatican,the McDonalds located near the Vatican City which has caused controversy. As you can see from the photo,even, the holy members of the community partake of the burger! We visited St Peter's square and the Basilica but didn't join the long line waiting to go in. Patience waiting in long queues is not our virtue.

                                          
           

            

We then continued our walk through the city and came across several other sights all very beautiful and ancient. Later on in the afternoon, we finished the second part of our Ancient Rome tour by visiting the Palatine and the Roman Forum.

                

Rome

Arrived in Rome after another fast train trip. I must admit l have become a big fan of train travel in Europe, you can travel everywhere by train and no long queues at airports or delays.

Anyway, off the fast train and onto the metro. Two stops later we exit the station and walk straight out to the Colosseum. Now there's a renovators dream, doesn't look like they've maintained it very well but falling off everywhere.

After unpacking the bags it was on the road to checkout the sights. First stop was just up the road with more of the ruins and a big white building.

We continued on throughout the streets to make our way to the Trevi fountain where naturally you would find, yes, hundreds of people and a fountain.

Oops, wrong one. Not a bad looking woman though.Yes an absolute hottie !

The Trevi fountain. It was very noisy with so many people and the carabinieri blowing their whistles for no particular reason.

Off again as so little time and a lot to see.

Back to the coleseum for a night tour. Now this building is more impressive at night. The tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. He told us that they are looking at reconstructing the original stadium floor so they can hold concerts in the stadium. Obviously people aren't happy about it.           

             

What an amazing and awe inspiring experience. Generally we have found that doing a couple of tours is important especially if you want to learn about the history and what inspired people to do things along with the science and the thinking of the time. The night tour of the Coleseum is one of those. Another obvious benefit to the night tour is that it takes you away from the hords that wander through during the the day .An interesting first day. Tomorrow we have an early morning start as we are visiting the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel.