| Bonsoir... |  | 28 October ’05, Friday.
Sleep last night was hard to get. If you remember from one of my journals when we were here last, this campground is right next to a tower that sounds the time…it sounds the time every hour AND EVERY QUARTER HOUR for the whole day and NIGHT !!! It was a tough night to say the least. By 8, I was still looking for a little more shut eye, but there was no way that was going to happen. Anyway, we wanted to get on the road and get into Antibes as early as possible. We had a little fog most of the way, but over-all it was a bright and sunny day. The temp has hung in about 20-25 Celsius, or just over 70 Fahrenheit. We stuck to the main autostade, which would give us a quicker trip, and also save us a little fuel as well. Just before 3 we pulled into Nice and found our way first to the grocery store and then the campground. We will be here for at least 4 days, with the first day set aside just for the laundry. On Sunday, we will probably take the train into Monaco for the day. We have driven over and through, but we haven’t spent any time there yet. We have come to far not to go back and enjoy it.
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| November 02, 2005 09:20 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Happy Birthday Joelle !!! |  | 27 October ’05, Thursday.
I know we all do the same thing. When we have to get up a little earlier than normal, our built in ALARM CLOCK clicks in. Now the thing that I don’t understand is why does it insist on waking you every 30 minutes or so throughout the night ??? Hell, as it was, I was ready to get out of bed 15 minutes prior anyway… Well the shower was done, and we had just about finished packing the van when Ann arrived. 10 minutes later, and we were on our way to the airport. We left the campground just at 7am and had to be at the airport by 9. Under daytime, no traffic time, it is a 30 minute ride, but this is the “rush hour” traffic, and we had no idea how long it would take. About ¾ of the way there we knew we were going to be real early, so we stopped for a “coffee break”. Just before 9 we dropped Ann off and Louise and I headed north. We had just about reached the turn off to Pisa when it was time for Ann’s plane to take off. On our return trip up the coast of Italy, we wanted to stop and see the “Leaning Tower” of Pisa, so that was what we planned and accomplished. We didn’t take a long look, but what we did see was worth the time. It was bigger than I had imagined, and the slope of the lean was more than I had thought as well. The weather has continued sunny for us over the last week, and seeing the tower on such a day was great. We opted out of the 294 step climb to the top, as just seeing it from the ground was enough. The tower was built on marshy land back in the 15th century, and because of this, the foundation didn’t hold and the tower began leaning. It continued to lean about 1 mm a year, and that was even before it was finished. It started to tilt after the 3rd floor of the total 7. Finally they found a way to stop the “flow”, and visitors are again allowed to climb. Leaving Pisa, we headed for the campground we had stayed at in Levanto. This is the campground right on the coast and the jumping off location to see the Cinque Terre villages. It was a good days drive, and will give us a good days drive onto Antibes, France in the morning.
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| November 02, 2005 09:17 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| You Call This A Pyramid ??? |  | 26 October ’05, Wednesday.
You know, I think we have seen more of Rome than ANYONE IN THE WORLD !!! Yet, here we go again for our “last” day in the big city… The normal stuff in getting into town, and then we are off to see “Nero’s Golden House”. On the way to Nero’s, we stopped by to see San Pietro in Vincoli, or St. Peter-in-Chains Church. Built in the 5th century, this church was built to house the golden chains that held St Peter, and a Michelangelo sculpture that was supposed to be a tomb for a pope. Unfortunately, the pope died before the sculpture was even started, and besides, there wasn’t anybody to pay for it, so the Michelangelo only finished one statue…”Moses” flanked by Leah and Rachel which sits inside this church. The tomb was to have had 48 huge statues crowned by a grand statue of the pope himself. Oh well, we did get Moses… Ok, onto Nero’s, before he gets all upset. Domus Aurea…Golden House… This is now the barren remains of Emperor Nero’s Golden House which was re-opened to the public in 1999. This was (and what is still available to see) a HUGE house, even by Bill Gates standards… Fact is, there was once a 100 foot bronze statue of Nero himself inside, along with many waterfalls, a huge lake, and lots of rooms with very high vaulted ceilings. I’d like to say there were hundreds of rooms, but no body knows for sure how many. The frescos that were on the walls and ceilings were covered in gold, and most of the walls and floors were marble slabs. There was even one huge room that they said would rotate as the earth rotated, although the archeologists could never figure out how it could work or if there was one. This was a short tour as they would only allow 30 people in at a time and for only 30 minutes total, so out we went…it was interesting and brought out more questions than answers. Next we jumped on the bus again and headed over to see Rome’s Pyramid. I can’t and wont give you to many details about this pyramid, except that it was built back in the Roman days as a tribute to Egypt and their pyramids, but fell real short…short in that it is only about 2 percent of the size of the PYRAMIDS in Egypt. Other than that, it was disappointing to say the least. Well Ann, tomorrow morning we have an early wake up time. I don’t know why I let you dictate my time schedule to get up so early, but I’ll forgive you this once…6am, damn !!!
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| November 02, 2005 09:16 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| "They Don't Belong In "Our Group""... |  | 25 October ’05, Tuesday
After yesterday, we didn’t want to get up too early, so about 11:00 we caught the camp bus to the train station and then onto Rome. The itinerary for the day is to visit the San Calisto Catacombs. When we purchase our train tickets each morning for the ride into Rome, it costs us 1 Euro. The ticket is good for 75 minutes after it is put into the ticket meter. That gave us the opportunity to ride the train, jump onto the metro, ride the metro for 6 stops, jump off, and grab a bus that would take us for a long ride through the back part of Rome to the catacombs. That was a good deal, and I’d like to ask why the heck doesn’t Seattle get on the ball and get some rapid transit available??? Arriving at the catacombs, we (along with a dozen others) found out that the catacombs would be closed until 2:30 for lunch…OK, we forgot again, so we headed across the street to grab a bite ourselves. For us, 30-45 minutes was enough, but for them…2:30 !!! OK, we waited… Finally, time has arrived and so have all the tour busses…6 of them, with 200 people per bus…or so it seems… anyway, we are finally called…”English Tour !!!” We jump up and head for the gate, only to be told that the first of the group was all they could take, but we could join the next group… Well, OK, but the next is all, yep !! As the next group is called, it turns out to be a group from one of the busses. As we muster in line with them, they tell the gate keeper…”THEY DON’T BELONG WITH US !!!” Now I know how to keep my cool so long, and then… OK, let’s talk about this… We got in and enjoyed the tour very much, except as this was a special tour that we had joined, we got more information than the standard tour. The catacombs were the meeting and burial places of the Early Christians in Rome. With miles of tunnels and thousand of burial niche throughout, it made for the burial grounds for 300 years. There were Popes, Saints, Myrtars, and other Christians alike, that were buried here. Each niche was hand dug horizontally into the walls of the tunnels. Most were just big enough to slide the body in and seal it up. There were others that were family plots, and then other larger niche that were for the wealthy or Saintly. Ok, speaking of Saintly, the group were getting a special “Mass” down in the catacombs as well. As they started to enter this other area for the Mass, they started all over again as how we ‘DID’T BELONG WITH THEIR GROUP’ !!! This is a religious group, and I’d like to ask where is their Christian Charity to others? Ok, we were through, and we had enjoyed, but now it was time to head back to the “fort”. A bus ride, metro, and then a walk through a portion of town to the train. Before we called it quits, we just had to have one more GELATO !!! “Auntie Ann” is a bad influence on Louise and myself…
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| November 02, 2005 09:14 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Orvieto and More... |  | 24 October ’05, Monday.
We were up early enough to catch the camp bus by 8:30…it is amazing what we are doing for “Auntie Ann”… This morning we were going to catch the metro train to the “Terminal” station and from there catch the real train to Orvieto. I was afraid that if I showed up with the van again they would impound it right on the spot. Besides, the train ride was very comfortable, reasonable, and didn’t need a parking spot. The trip took us one hour and then as you come off the train there is a funicular to take you to the top of the hill…quite nifty if you ask me. Our return ticket was for 7:30, so we had plenty of time to visit every nook and cranny. Something that is amazing to us is the size of the main church or cathedral of each and every one of these hill top communities. Orvieto is no different, but it does have one of the biggest. The “Duomo” is quite striking, as it is made up of black and white marble blocks making the cathedral stripped horizontally inside and out. On the façade, there are white marble pillars that are carved with scenes of the world (Creation, Tree of Jesse, New Testament, and the Last Judgment). Then most striking to me, is the absolutely beautiful mosaic pictures that adorn the most of the front above the doors. In asking why such a church here in Orvieto, the answer was most likely because a blood stained cloth. In 1260’s, a Bohemian priest doubted that the bread used in Communion was really the body of Christ…as the story goes, the bread then bled, staining the linen cloth. So, with such a magnificent relic you must have a magnificent cathedral… After totally enjoying our time in the Duomo, we headed out to walk all the narrow streets and alleyways that Orvieto holds. We saw many “treasures” and views, met some wonderful locals, and as always did some shopping. As it is always necessary to eat, we did what is natural…we ate. For lunch we all had some homemade minestrone soup and bread, and then had to find the local Gelato Shoppe for dessert. Now we had to find something strenuous to work off the calories we had just finished. Finding St. Patrick’s Well, we decided to walk the 250 steps down into the well…and then back up… The steps were quite wide, as it was originally built so that the mules could walk down, have the barrels filled with water, and then walk out with out a problem. The interesting thing about St. Patrick’s Well, was that you did not walk up the same stairway as you walked down. They had designed it so that it could be in continuous use, and also well lit with natural light all the way down to the water. At about 5, we all wanted a glass of the local wine, so we went on the hunt. We originally started out looking for “tasting”, but we found none, so then we went looking for just the right spot to sit and enjoy a glass before dinner. Louise spotted a sign down this little alleyway that seemed to go no-where. Then, just when we thought it was a dead-end, a closed doorway appeared under a sign. It didn’t look like much, but we tried the door and looked inside. We found a small room, clean, tables set with checked tablecloths, and a mans voice from back in another room saying “Buona Sera”… He came rushing out to meet us with a big smile and a wave to sit at one of the empty tables (Hell, they were ALL empty…). We were caught… His personality, and the overall room made us feel we had found that just right spot, and let me tell you, we did. We had some very good local wine and we also found the best buy in town…we hit the jackpot. Now we had to hurry to find the right restaurant, have dinner and get to our train before 7:30. One of the things we have had trouble remembering while here in Italy, is the restaurants don’t open until 7:30 or later…we struck out !!! Oh well, we had a great time anyway, and the train ride back was good a well. Now let me tell you what happened when we got back to Rome. Getting off the train, we hurried to the metro only to find the gates being closed right before our eyes…the metro was closed for the night. Now what? The only real option for us is the bus…that will take us to the other train station and we can get home before 11:00. Running around looking for a bus, that we have no idea of were it goes turned out to be a bad idea. Then asking a couple of other bus drivers, they pointed to a location and said “MA-1”, so off we run. Just as we arrived, the MA-1 was pulling out and wouldn’t open its doors…all he would do was point back at the bus stop. OK, we’ll wait for the next bus. It wasn’t too long and it arrived. Great, now we will have plenty of time to catch the last train. Enjoying the ride, I noticed some Roman Walls we hadn’t seen before…”WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ??? Asking the bus driver if we were going to the train station, he shook his head and pointed back to where we had come from…stopping at the next stop, we ran across the street, caught the next MA-1 back the other direction. Luckily, we did make it, and I mean just, as the last train was still sitting at the stand…for another 5 minutes… Tomorrow…Rome one last time…
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| November 02, 2005 09:12 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| A Command Decision |  | Hilltop Villages…
23 October ’05, Sunday.
It has been a little foggy the last couple of mornings, and fortunately it burned off by early afternoon. This morning turned out to be the same, so as we pulled out of Florence we were optimistic of having a good day. Ann joined me in the front seat, while my navigator Louise sat way in the back. Fortunately for me, we were traveling on the A-1 most of the way, so I wasn’t about to get lost. The only real problem that sat in front of us was finding a campground for the night. While in Florence, we called a couple of campgrounds, and found that they had all ready closed for the season, so that put us in a position of “good luck” in finding something. Our first stop was at the hill town of Montepulciano (mohn-tay-PULL-chee-ah-noh). Small, on top of a hill, isolated, and beautiful…as we pulled up to one of the main gates of this hilltop village, we found a parking spot right away. Finding the “pay station” and locking up, we walked through the gate to something special. Even the first little store that was located right in the brickwork of the gate, was something special. With a totally medieval feel as we walked in, it made us want to explore all the nooks and crannies. The local wines, cheeses, and sausages that they had on display and ready to sell were very tempting. From that point on, it was much of the same as we followed the narrow streets through the village from one end to the other. The architecture of these hilltop villages is somewhat the same as each other, but once you leave the hilltops, the architecture changes. The color of the roof tiles, the bricks, and the rocks that cover the walk/roadways. Some of these tile roofs seem hundreds of years old, and are just as beautiful today as they were way back then. We also found out that there wasn’t any campground around, so we even gave a quick thought to renting a room for a night. Then I said, “Well, it’s only 3:30, so let’s move on to the next village…”. We weren’t too far from Orvieto, so we decided to drive over there to see if we could find something of interest. About 5, we pulled up to Orvieto. Looking at our guide book, we decided to find a small hotel that it had listed. I found a couple of police officers just about ready to get into their car, so finding a moment to ask, they gave me directions to finding this hotel. Now once I have directions, I’m normally pretty good at finding just where I was given directions. Driving their directions, we came to the end of the street, with both roads in front of us telling us “do not enter”. Now what??? Well, turn around and head back to the same parking lot and revisit our directions. “Well, maybe it was this other road they were talking about”… We headed off on this new road only to find ourselves driving down a “main street” with NO OTHER VEHICLES on it. Being a Sunday, it was LOADED with families walking the main street of this hilltop village. I would say this was a weekly affair for everyone. Well, here we are, driving through all these people who were trying very hard to get the heck out of our way and wondering just what the HELL we were doing driving down their promenade… I had to face all these faces that were passing by so very close to my windows all by my self, as the ladies that were sitting so close to me, were now laying on the floor hiding. Finally making it through the “busy” part, I found a place I could pull into. It turned out to be directly in front of the police department, and a “No Parking” location. Well heck, I just had to do it, and I also want the “ladies” to get out and find that hotel !!! I waited with the van about 15 minutes, and when the gals came back, they had mixed news…we could have a room, but the parking was outside the city walls. I made a “command decision”… we were going to head out to the same campground in Rome as we had been the week before, I had had enough for this day… We made it to Rome by 9, so that wasn’t too bad….tomorrow…we’ll be back !!!
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| November 02, 2005 09:11 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| So THIS is the Real David... |  | 22 October ’05, Saturday
Sorry, no pictures of "David", that's what the sign says anyway...
It seems funny to be back in Florence, but seeing as this is Ann’s first time here, we will enjoy it again. Last time we didn’t see the original Michelangelo’s “David”, so I was up early to make a reservation. We got the 4:45pm time, so we were off to see as much of Florence we could before then. We caught the bus down into the old town area, and headed straight to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. From there to the Mercato Centrale or the central market for lunch of sliced beef sandwiches. Now these were special sliced beef sandwiches…loaded with lots of beef fat, special sauces, and some great bread. We topped this off with a glass of their finest local vino. What a treat !!! Now it was time to see some of the big hits of Florence. For me, I’m in a rut because after lunch, I let the ladies go off on their own while I went to find an internet café. I tried to visit one more museum and church, but found I just didn’t have it in me. Louise and Ann on the other hand, took this to be their chance to be out on their own. We made a date for the 4:45 appointment at the Accademia to see “David”, but other than that, we headed off in different directions. They decided to take in the Duomo and the Duomo museum. Rick Steves calls the exterior of the Duomo “noisy neo Gothic”. I guess I would have to say I would agree, it is busy or “noisy”. It is covered with pink, green, and white marble. The cathedral has the 3rd largest nave in “Christendom”. After enjoying St Peters in Rome, it was more difficult to truly find the Duomo here in Florence exciting. Most of the great art work has been removed to the Duomo Museum across the street. Now from what they tell me, that was really worth the time and money to visit. The highlight, if you can call it a highlight, was the gruesome wood carving of Mary Magdalene who was clothed in her matted hair. Fortunately there were other wonderful artists works available to enjoy. Well come 4 o’clock, we all met in front of the Accademia. The gals had to show me their new purchases right away… they had made a deal with one of the street vendors for new watches for the two of them. I’m happy they finally got their own watch, so now I can keep mine on my wrist. It was wonderful to finally see Michelangelo’s “David”, and I’m glad we took the time to do it. There were other interesting works to enjoy, but David was the attraction. After saying good bye to David, we walked through town again and onto our bus stop. The weather held for us most of the day, with a little light rain off and on. Tomorrow we are off to see some “Hill top towns”.
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| November 02, 2005 09:08 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Assisi to Florence... |  | 21 October ’05, Friday.
Boy, it can really rain here in Europe. We’ve had sunny days for 6 days in Rome, and now we have found all this wet… Today was only matched by the rain fall we got while driving through Milan. It just seemed to stay with us from the moment we left Assisi to the moment we checked into our campground in Florence. Yes, I know, Florence??? We were supposed to be in Siena today, but when we got there we found that the only campground was closed. The books tell us it was to close the first week of November, but in parenthesis, they show (or earlier)… Well, it seems that we hit the “or earlier” time. So with no other choice available to us, we decided to drive on another 35 miles to Florence. Tomorrow we will probably take a train back to Siena for the day and hope this one day will give us all the time we need. Well instead of setting up our camper-tent, the campground has some semi-permanent tents that they rent out. Checking these out, Ann decided that this would work just as well, and besides, we wouldn’t have to put ours up. The rain has finally stopped, so let’s hope this will last a day of two. Looking at the weather report, it doesn’t look good. Ann and Louise have taken a walk to St Michaels Park, which is just above this campground. They wanted to see the night view of Florence, which this park is in a great spot for. For me, I’ve seen it… If I was to have gone with them, I know I would have had to stop by the Gelato stand there. Speaking of ice cream (dessert), Louise made us a great dinner of Ravioli stuffed with mushrooms, sautéed chicken, and a green leaf salad. We couldn’t have had a better tasting dinner anywhere in Italy… Oh yes, Mikleane, we will try to see the “real David” this time while we are here… | |
| October 22, 2005 04:39 AM
By Joel, Louise, and Ann
Location: Italy
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| Assisi |  | 20 October ’05, Thursday.
OK, Let's see how good you are...What is this picture of ???
We started off today with a bite to eat then off we went on our hike into Assisi. We still have the rain with us. The first stop when arriving into town was a stop at a shop to buy an umbrella and a hat. The rain was soaking through my coat and hood. We continued our walk to the Basilica of St Francis. As soon as we arrived, Louise and I head off to use the WC. This was the first time, since I arrived, that we had to pay to use the bathroom. It was .50 Euros and it wasn’t all that clean considering that you have to pay. Oh well, what are you going to do? The Basilica is a beautiful church built after the death of St. Francis in the 13th century. The art frescoes are deteriorating, but it is still an absolutely amazing church. We walked through the church and went through the attached museum which contains many church artifacts from the early church. It also contained some beautiful artwork that came from a private collection that was donated to the church. After our walk into town and our brief tour of the church and museum, we were hungry! Across the street we found a restaurant and ate pizza for lunch. The rain has continued off and on, but we have not let it stop us from checking out this beautiful town. After lunch we continued on with our exploration of the Basilica of St Francis. In the basement of the church was the tomb of St Francis as well as some of his friends that were also fellow monks. We continued on our exploration on the town and several other churches including St. Clare’s, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, and St. Rufino’s. Mind you during this time we are walking (sometimes still in the rain) up hills, down hills and up stairs. Lots of stairs! The town of Assisi is on a hill! Our last stop was the castle at the top. It was the castle of Rocca Maggiore. After we got up to the top of the hill, we then climbed to top of the castle. Then we walked down a narrow passage to the other side of the castle. It is a good thing I am not claustrophobic! The passage was not very high or wide, but there were occasional holes in the outside wall so you could see out. Once at the top, we had a beautiful view of the countryside and the town. Okay, we are done for the day, but we still have to walk back to the camp site. Granted the first part was down hill. But then it was uphill for the last half. We made it back and relaxed at the camp site with a little wine. Then it was off to another great dinner at the restaurant at the camp site. Tomorrow we are heading for Siena. | |
| October 22, 2005 04:37 AM
By Ann
Location: Italy
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| A Journal From Ann |  | 19 October ’05, Wednesday.
Our last day in Rome and here comes the rain. We have had beautiful weather during our stay in Rome. During our time in Rome, I stayed in the tent right outside of the camper. It was very roomy and brought back a few memories of camping with the Boy Scouts. We are heading for Assisi today. It took a greater part of the day to get here, but once we arrived, we settled into the camp site. I had a room in the hotel for our time in Assisi. It was small with two twin beds and a private bath room. You will never guess, but my room had two toilets! Well actually I think one was a bidet. We went to dinner in the restaurant in the hotel. There was a great fireplace with a log fire and they were cooking at the fire. They would scoop the coals from the fire and place them under the grill. It seemed like everyone took their turn cooking at the grill. Mind you this was out in the actually seating part of the restaurant. We each had something different for dinner and it was all great! And then of course we had to have dessert! Off to bed to get a good nights sleep to prepare for a day of exploration tomorrow in Assisi, the home of St. Francis. | |
| October 22, 2005 04:35 AM
By Ann
Location: Italy
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| Rome...Day 5 |  | 18 October ’05, Tuesday.
We just had to try and get our appointment to visit the Borghese Gallery, so I got on the phone right away this morning. Remember, they told us to call them back on Tuesday, so I got the word from the “boss” that this morning was in fact Tuesday. It was amazing, a short phone call and we were in…5 pm, and check-in by 4:30 or lose your time…(independent aren’t they?). OK, they win, we will be there. We didn’t leave for town as early this morning as we had been the last 3 days, but we were still in town by noon. For the 3rd day in a row, we headed for St Peters to see if we could get our chance to go up into the dome. BINGO, we only had to wait another hour, and they would finally open it. “OK, ladies, what do you want to do for the next hour?” Shopping was the obvious, and it was also right…”OK, I’ll see you in an hour”… I wanted to find a coffee shoppe, so off they went and off I went. Right on time, they met my at the bottom of the stairs to the dome. Unfortunately, so did one hundred million others…it was a crowd !!! That’s alright, we have the time, and we want to see it up close and personal. We bought our tickets, rode the elevator up to the bottom of the dome, and then climbed the narrow passageways of 323 steps that wound around the dome all the way to the top exterior balcony. In winding up the steps, it was interesting that it would make you lean as you went up, because of the shape of the dome…it kept you at an angle more than half way. Once there, it was a major traffic jam with people, but once you found your way to the railings you saw some wonderful views of the Vatican and the city of Rome. Speaking of seeing the views, I just want to let you know that a few days prior to Ann arriving, and still continuing, the sun has been out bright, and it has been a perfect temperature (70-75) to enjoy the days adventures. Getting down to earth again, we had thought we would make it to the catacombs, but time has gotten to late, so we instead headed off for a grocery store, bought some fruit, and other items for lunch, and then headed off the Borghese Gallery. We got there about 4 and settled down for a late lunch. Come 5, and we were in…thank you Lord !!! The Borghese Gallery is a private museum, that is filled with “The” best sculptures I have seen, and a treasure of paintings and frescoes. Not only the sculptures and paintings, but the building itself, is a masterpiece. It all was a private collection in the 17th century of Cardinal Borghese. There are more than a couple of pieces that I wont forget, but one in particular, is Bernini’s Apollo Chasing Daphne. In the mythological story, Apollo races after Daphne, and just as he is about to reach her, she turns into a tree… You have to see this in person to really know just how good it is…my words just can’t do it. Ok, it’s getting dark again, and tomorrows a moving day….to Assisi | |
| October 22, 2005 04:33 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Rome...Day 4 |  | 17 October ’05, Monday.
What is this, the St Peter’s Dome is still closed ??? Ok, we’ll give it one more day, so let’s head over to the Vatican Museum. Since it was closed yesterday (Sunday), and the dome is still closed, the line was wrapped around 2 corners of the Vatican wall and half way up the street. Checking out the speed of the line, we decided that we would wait it out and find a place in line. With so many in close quarters and for an extended length of time, we found the opportunity to find and talk to some very interesting people from all corners of the world. Finally getting to the front doors and getting our tickets to enter, we enjoyed ourselves for the next 4 hours. The book says that there is over 4 miles of displays, and my feet tell me that they totally agree with that figure. In visiting this museum it is virtually impossible to get off track or lost. The crowd will take you with it, or when it thins, you are taken from one room to another whether you want to go that way or not. The art work is some of the best that is found in Europe and then as you think you have seen the best, you are brought out into the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo’s talent was at his best when he was brought in to do the ceilings and other areas of the Sistine Chapel. It is absolutely some of the best we have had the opportunity to see. Fortunately we had an audio presentation of all the museum and Sistine Chapel’s art. It would have been a waste not to have had it. We had heard a rumor that the dome at St Peters had opened, so we headed there one more time. Well, rumors are just that…rumors. It looks like we will have to come back tomorrow after all. One thing we did find, we found that the Pope was having a special service for the participants of the “General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops”. They were at the Vatican to discuss “The Eucharist, Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church”. Well, we felt this might be a once in a life time experience to attend a mass given by the Pope in St Peters Basilica, so we stuck around. It was interesting to watch the Swiss Guards, the priests and the nuns arriving. We were thrilled to be among the 3-400 general populous to take in this service…quite a thrill. With the service ending at 7, we decided that this was the time to make our “night tour”. It’s not that we weren’t tired, it just seemed that seeing as how we were already there, why go all the way home (back to the van). We caught an underground tram back to the Spanish Steps, and started out our “night walk”. First the Steps, and then onto Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and finally Campo de Fiori. During the walk I think we saw at least 6 wonderful fountains that had some of the most incredible marble sculptures. Or course Trevi Fountain was the most impressive…and we even tossed our coins into the fountain… Just as we were approaching our final stop, Campo de Fiori, I felt kind of a light slap or touch on my back. Well, it turned out to be 3 young boys that had come up behind me. One of them reached up and unzipped one of the zippers on my backpack, while the other two ran up on each side trying to distract my attention to what I thought I had felt. Well, it didn’t work, I knew immediately what had and was happening. When I turned to face the oldest kid, they all stopped and took off empty handed. Finishing up our walk, we turned around and headed back to the station and on to our welcoming bed. We caught the last train and the last campground bus…it was 11:30 and we have a big day again tomorrow.
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| October 22, 2005 04:31 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Rome...Day 3 |  | 16 October ’05, Sunday.
“Come on, we’ve got to be there by 10:30”…(we understood that the Pope was going to make his Sunday appearance). The train was full of people heading for St Peters Basilica, and when we got off, it seemed like the whole world had arrived. As we made our way to the Piazza St Pietro (in front of the Basilica), we noticed that most of the people were in fact heading into St Peters. Well, we found a spot that we thought would be a good spot to see the Pope, so we settled in. It wasn’t long that we found that we were a little early, like 2 hours, so we decided to head out for a while, and then come back. In coming back and finding our spot still available, we settled in to see the Sunday blessing and message of the Pope. Following that, we joined the throng and went in to see St. Peters ourselves. This is known as “the richest and greatest church on earth”, and when you visit it, you come out with the same feeling. Our heads were almost fused in the position of looking up after spending hours inside. Just inside the main entrance we found Michelangelo’s “Pieta”. There is no doubt that I could re-write all the books that we have read and put them here, but right now I just want to say that visiting St. Peters Basilica was and will be one of the highlights of our journey to Europe. We were in hopes of getting to the dome of St Peters, but it was closed. Thankful that we will be in Rome a few more days, we all said “we’ll be back”… Looking at our books and a map, we decided to walk over to see Castle Angelo, or also known as Hadrians Tomb. This was originally built as a tomb for the emperor, Hadrian. In the middle ages it was used as a castle, prison and place for the popes to take refuge in. It was interesting to know that during the Roman times, there could be no “tomb”, not even fort the emperor’s, that could be built within the walls of Rome. So to counter that, he had it built across the River Tiber and built it high enough that all of Rome could see it no matter where they stood. Dinner time…it is amazing just how fast time gets away from us, so off we go, back to “Bumble Bee” and our dinner. Tomorrow is just a few hours away, and we will be back to continue Rome. | |
| October 22, 2005 04:30 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Rome...Day 2 |  | 15 October ’05, Saturday.
What a day…arriving in Rome first thing in the morning (10:30), we headed for the Spanish Steps, took some of our first pictures, and then headed for the Borghese Gallery. Now every guide book tells us that “YOU NEED TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT” to visit the Borghese…who, us ??? Finding the Borghese wasn’t too hard, but it was quite a walk from the Spanish Steps. The up side, it was like walking through “Central Park” in any town USA. Hoping that we would be lucky enough to get right in, but knowing that it might be a slim chance in hell, we headed on. When I walked into the ticket counter I found out right away, that what we had read, was right on…NO WAY JOSE !!! “Call us at this phone number and we will see what we can do for you on Tuesday”…Tuesday?, that is a long way off…OK, Tuesday… Hiking off dejected, we headed to see some of the Roman ruins, but first we had to find our way out of there. We went looking for the underground metro which wasn’t too much of a problem. The big surprise, was that in finding the underground, we also found a large grocery store and a short-cut back to the Spanish Stairs. Finding the grocery store is always one of the important things we will store in the back of our mind. Now we are on our way to see the ruins…first, the Pantheon. At one time way back in antiquities, the Pantheon was a place dedicated to all pagan gods of Rome. It was also one of the only ruins that wasn’t used as a quarry. Then, in 608 it became a Christian church. Michaelangelo also went to the Pantheon to study the huge dome. This was then used as a model for St. Peters Basilica. The difference is, St Peters is much higher but 3 feet less diameter. Then it was off to find the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Well it was nothing that wasn’t expected, the Forum and the Colosseum are as advertised…”Amazing” !!! I could go into a lot of detail about the different highlights of the Forum and what we saw, but I just want to say that it is HUGE!!! You could just see the chariots running through the streets. Then comes the Colosseum. It could hold over 55,000 people that came out to see the “Gladiators” fight to the death, whether fighting another Gladiator or a wild animal. They even tried to fill the Colosseum with water a couple of times and put 2 fifty foot fighting ships to fight to the end. The problem with that, was the ships were too large and wouldn’t sink in the depth of water available and also couldn’t maneuver inside the area. Oh yes, we also learned that there were no wives brought into see the excitement of the Gladiators, but sitting in the highest levels of the Colosseum were the “ladies of the night. And then sitting next to the Emperors box, was the “Vestal Virgins”…we’ll tell you more about them later… We did join a tour guide for the Colosseum, and found it to be worth while. With the sun setting, I gathered my “Vestal Virgins”, headed across the street, had a beer and snaks while watching the lights accent the Colosseum and the city. Then back to the van. When finally getting back, we found just how tired we were…absolutely wiped out !!! Well, tomorrow is another day in Rome, and we had better get used to that wore out feeling. | |
| October 22, 2005 04:28 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Rome Day 1 |  | 14 October ’05, Friday.
Because we knew that Ann was going to have to work her way through “jet lag”, we planned a light day. We did make it into Rome about 11:30 in the morning, and that was early for the way the morning started (tough time getting Ann out of bed..). The weather has remained sunny in the low to mid 70’s, and if this continues it will be a great time for us to explore Rome. Once in town, one of the first things Ann wanted to do was get herself some Euros. Then, we were off to see “the city that wasn’t built in a day” and spend some of those new Euros. I’ll do some name dropping now to let you know what we saw…first it was the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (one of the baths of the Diocletian and the very cool transcript), and then the church of Santa Maria Maggiorie, which is one of Rome’s oldest. Now because “Auntie Ann” has arrived, it doesn’t mean I am going to change my habit of eating…sooo, we stopped for lunch. We found the TI and they gave us a suggestion of a restaurant that “all the locals” go too. Thinking this would just meet our requirements, we headed over. Ann had quiche and glass of Italian wine, while Louise had salad (boring…) and a glass of vino as well. Now that we have the ladies hooked, all I’ve got to do is keep them there… Then with one more church to see, we headed over to Santa Maria del Popolo. This is Raphael’s “Chigi Chapel” and has 2 wonderful Caravaggio paintings from the 13th century. Ok, that is enough, now we have to take it a little easier so we don’t wear our new guest out. To do this we found the stop for the “Hop on Hop off” bus. Buying the tickets, we took a long ride with them and have now seen the whole city the easy way. Fact is, we took the bus all the way around to our train stop…it was time to head home for a barbeque of good ole fashioned hamburgers by me… Tomorrow…more Rome | |
| October 22, 2005 04:27 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| "Aunty Ann" has arrived in Rome... |  | 13 October '05, Thursday
First just a quick up-date on the last couple days. Tuesday we just hung around the campground and did "nothing", but a little catch up on a little laundry. Wednesday we stayed in camp until 3 and then caught the campground bus down to the train station into Rome. We didn't want to see or do anything "sightseeing" before Ann arrived, so we just went looking for a cash machine and a grocery store. We were never able to find a grocery store, but we finally found a cash machine...we were down to $0.70 in my pocket. Taking care of that, we caught the next train back. The train station is about a 20 minute walk from the campground, and they have a bus that makes the trip every half hour. While waiting for the bus, we did find a "mini-market", so we picked up a couple of items there. We did see something interesting on the street in front of the grocery store. On one side of the street was the grocery store and a "tobac" shoppe, and then on the other, is a concrete wall that stands about 3 1/2 feet tall. Lined along this wall, were about 30 men, all in a joyful converstation and each enjoying a beer. Fact is, they had been enjoying quite a few beers...the top of the wall was filled with tall bottles. They could go into the mini-market, buy a large beer for less than a Euro, take it across the street, lean on the wall with all their buddies, and enjoy a "beer hall" of their own without the cost of one. Well, today is the day..."Auntie Ann" arrives from Spokane. We left early for the airport so that we could look for a super market along the way. The only market we did find, was in a small town about 5 miles beyond the airport, but the important thing is, we did find one and it was a good one... We found everything we were looking for and for Italian standards, a good value as well. Leaving the grocery store, we headed off for the airport with about 30 minutes to spare before Ann was to land. Fortunately the time of landing and the time of her actually coming out of the airport to meet us in front of "C" terminal, was much different. Fact is, it was about 45 minutes additional...AND WE NEEDED IT... I just don't understand it, just when you feel you have everything under control, you are hit by a sign that is either missing or non-existent. We got lost again...fact is, we were lost for about 45 minutes. Luckily enough, we did beat Ann to the pick-up area, although Louise went in one door looking for her and Ann came out another...now where is Louise??? While I was "triple" parked for over 20 minutes, the police lady came up and wanted me to move. We were now without my wife... OK, Louise found, Ann has arrived and made her trip out to the campground, checked in, had dinner, and is now having a "family" conversation with her sister (Louise). I just to let everyone at home know that all the conversation is "totally about them", the juicy stuff... Tomorrow...Rome
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| October 14, 2005 12:18 PM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| More "Travelers" |  | 10 October '05, Monday.
We found Tiber Camping in a couple of our camping books, but they had conflecting information. Finding a place in Rome that will be close enough to get us into the sites with out having to travel all day was one of the first things of interest to us. Second was how well the campground was run and how clean the toilet and shower areas are. This is were the conflecting information came in..."very rustic" to "new toilet facilities"...we held our breath and hoped for the best. It is very nice, and "Auntie:" Ann will have to wait to see some of the others, and I'm sure she will... This may sound like a broken record, but we had some more washing to take care of and then it was off to find a grocery store. The grocery store in Italy is one of the hardest to secure. They are not very plentiful, and when found, they are small...no "Hyper-markets" here... Oh ya, we also found the IKEA store, so we had to make a visit there as well. "We will be back" before we leave Rome... In looking for "that perfect pitch", here in the campground, we met another American couple that have purchased a class B motorhome and are making an extended camping trip through Europe. And then parking in the next 2 spots to them, were 2 Brits who are also doing the same thing. About 2 years seems to be the length common to all. I hope we can keep in touch. As it was, everyone has some very interesting tales to tell.
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| October 11, 2005 08:32 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Greek Temples ??? |  | 9 October '05, Sunday.
As you know, we are not one's to get going too early in the morning, and this morning wasn't any different. Out of bed a little after 9, shower, dress, breakfast of sausage and eggs, and check out...all by 11:30...who's in a hurry in this world anyway? The Greek Temples were about a mile away, so we headed out to see them, and with hopes of beating the crowd. The sun was out and felt real good. The crowds have definitely started to diminish, so we didn't have to worry about having to get there early. I find it interesting that what we are seeing here in Paestum are "Greek" antiquities, I would have thought Roman seeing as how close we are to Rome and being in Italy, but apparently the area was founded by the Greeks in the 6th century BC. The Romans didn't come into this area and conquer the land until the 3rd century BC. Two of the ruins reminded us of those we saw in Athens, but in far better shape. The largest one was the temple that they say is misnamed. The Temple of Neptune, which was constructed in 450 BC and dedicatede to Hera. This is the one that is very similar to the Parthenon in Athens, but believe me, it is in much better condition. It is amazing that they could construct a structure such as this in 450 BC, and we can't construct a structure that will last 50 years today. We also saw the Temples of Hera and Ceres, as well as the ruins of a complete harbor city that covers over 60 acres. The waters of the Med have drawn back about a mile since the time of this city, but that has been pretty common. The sun stayed with us through the morning, and now it looks like it will last the day, so we are off to find a campground in Rome and wait for "Auntie" Ann, who arrives on Thursday
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| October 11, 2005 08:30 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| PASTE-ooommm |  | 8 October '05, Saturday.
We feel we are done with Naples and all the sites around it. It has been great, but the weather has done it's toll on us. We have lost some of the enthusiasm we had towards the last, and it was totally because of the rain. There is more rain expected, but moving on, we will hope for a little sun to brighten our day. This morning we headed further south. Paestum is a tiny community on the coast, about 30 minutes driving time from Salerno, or about an hour and a half from our campground in Pompei. Half of our trip this morning was riding just off the coast, and the rest was around the back-side of some of the mountains. You no sooner pull into Paestum (PASTE-oom), and in a field beside the road you see one of the best collections of Greek temples found anywhere. We kind of played it cool, and drove right by, because our first project for the day was finding a campgound. The one thing we found out, we had a lot of campgrounds to chose from. We had heard about one in particular, so now all we had to do was search it out. I hate to put this in writting, but I think we have finally learned how to find the campground we are looking for. Anyway, we did find the one we wanted and after checking in, we went for a walk on the beach. This campground is located right on the shores of the Med, and has some wonderful fine sand as far out as you can walk. We didn't get into the water today, but there were quite a few swimming. The sun was doing a good job of keeping the rain off of us most of the time, but every time we started to feel a little comfortable, a cloud threw a shower at us. Tomorrow is shown to be a mostly sunny day, so we will go to the Greek temple site in the morning and then... travel onto Rome.
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| October 11, 2005 08:28 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| What, No Slow Boat ??? |  | 7 October '05, Friday.
The drizzle is still with us, but we headed off to see the island of Capri...the famous vacation hideaway of the Roman emperours Augustus and Tiberius...The "Island of Dreams"...and described as "overrun with tacky low-grade group tourism ast it's worst"... That's OK, we were off to see it anyway. Just around the corner of the campground is the trainstation to Sorrento, so that was step one. Arriving in Sorrento we decided to have lunch, because we had heard how totally un-real the prices were in Capri. Enjoying a split pizza, we headed down to the dock to catch our boat. Arriving at the ticket counter we found that they no longer ran the "slow" boat to Capri, so we had to take the "fast" boat if we wanted to go. The difference in price...$15.00 Euro for the slow boat, and $25.50 ea for the fast... well, with the weather the way it is "RAINING !!! ", we opted to just enjoy a short afternoon in Sorrento and catch the train back. Right now we have lightning and thunder crashing all around us...it's time for a goodl book and maybe a movie on the computer. Tomorrow...sun I hope...
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| October 07, 2005 07:43 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Mt Vesuvius... |  | 6 October '05, Thursday.
I must say, we have had a few nice days, very few great days, and way too many wet days since we arrive here19 months ago. Italy this time of year, we knew could be a little wet, and wet it has and continues to be. We have to force our way out once in awhile, but most of the time we just take it as, "it could be worse..". This morning we started out with a few clouds, with some of them off in the distance being pretty dark, but we still had to do a load of whites, come hell or high-water. By the time we washed and had them hanging on the line, we realized that we were in for a shower. Off the line the clothes came, to the office for a dryer coin, and start the drying process in a machine. By 1 in the afternoon we had the wash done, folded, and put away. Seeing as how we could see the top of Mt Vesuvius from the campground, we decided to grab one of the city buses that would take us up to the trail. The ride up was just about as good as the ride along the Almalfi Coast. About 2/3rds the way up and just out of the tree line, we came to the point were the hiking trail takes off for the summit. You have to get a "Guide Pass" to go up the trail, and I thought it ment that we had a guide that would take us...wrong. I guess the $6 Euro charge is to help maintain the trail...anyway, it was OK. They hand us a walking stick as we walk through the gate and start the accent. The trail was about 4 feet wide and made up of the rock and dirt from the volcano. The rate of climb got your heart rate up pretty quick, but you could make it to the top with out trouble. There was a high cloud cover, but it didn't hurt our view into the crater or down the slopes to the cities and towns circling the mountain. The last eruption was in 1944, and the lava flow was very visable. Inside the crater there were a few steem vents that were active, but that was all. The trail took us up to, and then about halfway around the craters edge. There is no OSHA around here. The punny litte fence, now only was missing in a few places, it was pushed over in a few others. After about 2 hours of hiking and sightseeing at the crater, we headed back down to catch our next bus back home. I mentioned that the ride up was just about as good as the Almafi Coast ride, well the biggest difference was, this time we were climbing or decending a mountain. On the way down, our bus driver was doing what any good Italians bus driver who is driving and honking his horn at every 180° corner would be doing...TALKING ON HIS CELL PHONE !!! It rang 3 separate times, and he answered it 3 separate times...fact is after the first time, the bus passengers started laughing when it rang next. The only thing he was lacking while talking, was the usual Italian waving of his hands. He made up for that with his animated conversation and facial expressions. He also was quite vocal to pedestrians as he wheeled this big bus around them before they jumped away in fright. What a day...there is always something to experience, and this was just one of those special days. Tomorrow...Capri PS. Please remember that I don't have spell check on this French computer and I need a lot of understanding...
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| October 07, 2005 07:42 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Sorry For This... |  | 5 October '05, Wednesday.
8:30 am, "What do you have for a plan today?" "Welllll, nothing, let's just stay around home?" "Sounds good to me"....So we just hung out. The only constructed thing I did, was catch up on my journal and post it. Oh yes, we did walk about a mile to a grocery store (as you see, I'm trying to fill a little space.) Tomorrow...haven't talked about it yet...
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| October 07, 2005 07:41 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| White Knuckles... |  | 4 October '05, Tuesday.
I've just added more pictures to the Italy Photo Gallery if you would like to see them.
Another train ride south to Sorrento, then jump off quick to beat everyone that is heading across the street to the Amalfi bus. What a game we play... The famous bus ride along the Amalfi coast is done on a public transit bus, so you are mixing the aggressive tourist wanting to find 2 seats on the right side and the aggressive local that has had to fight to get on "their" bus to get home. I'm sure this ritual has gone on daily for a long time. Louise and I weren't the first in line, but for a short while, the last... Each bus holds 49 people...ya right...that's not counting the 59 more standing. We of course missed the first bus, but that put us within 6 or 8 from the front of the line for the next one. Funny thing happened when the next bus arrived...it stopped about half way back and opened it's doors. Of course we just stood by and let everyone get on...WRONG... the fellow behind us (from Portland) and I went scampering back to put a plug into the doorway stopping the flow of line jumpers. I must say, we were quite successful (my new big umbrella helped). At least John and I were able to get on and get our "rightful" seats at the front and on the right hand side for "the" best views. A little later, the ladies found their way up the stairs and into the wonderful seats that their brave husbands had fought hand to hand for. I forgot to mention, we are still taking the trains, boats and buses on that same 3 day pass, and we are really getting our moneys worth. On this bus ride we are going to see some stunning scenery and a few historic ruins. But, the big draw is the "white knuckle" bus ride that takes you on a very narrow, twisting, treacherous, absolutely beautiful drive along the coast for about one and a half hours. The bus has a horn that would make any man proud to own, and it is constantly blowing as you approach the next corner. You wonder how the driver has enough hands to hit his horn and handle the steering wheel at the same time. There were many times when we had to come to a complete stop and then inch along as we passed on-coming traffic. Twice we had to back up. The loadest horn wins the right-a-way. All along the Amalfi Coast we came upon small villages hanging onto their little piece of very steep cliff. Way down the cliff from the roadway you could see a wonderful little beach that was only accessed by stairs that seemed to appear out of thin air. Most of the beaches are private, and for those that own these very expensive homes or one of the hotels along the way. It was fun to see the Mediterranean twinkle from 500 feet above this great swimming pool, or look back across to the last turn you had just made and see this little village plunging down the hill to meet the beach below. Every once in a while, you would see the village of 10 to 15 homes, their fishing boats pulled up across the sand, waiting for the next tide. It was worth the fight to get "our" seats, but I wish there was some way that the locals could get their lives back, I feel a little guilty... Arriving in Amalfi, the end of the line, we wondered up the hill to find a lite lunch, window shop, and take a few photos before finding the boat ride back to Sorrento. Again using our wonderful ticket, we boarded our boat, headed straight up the stairs to the upper deck, found our "perfect" seats and settled back to see the Amalfi Coast from another perspective. The weather held and the ride both ways was excellent. Back to the train station, train waiting, and head back to "Bumble Bee". Tomorrow...No plans yet...
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| October 05, 2005 08:49 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Dirty, Dirty, Dirty |  | 3 October '05, Monday.
Herculaneum, smaller, less ruined, lacks the "grandeur, and is less famous than Pompeii, but it came out of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in much better shape. As I mentioned in yesterdays journal, Herculaneum was destroyed in the same eruption of Mt Vesuvius as Pompeii. The major difference was that Herculaneum was completely covered by a red-hot avalanche, or pyroclastic flow, that sped down the mountain at over 100 miles an hour. In about 4 minutes it completely over-took Herculaneum and buried it in nearly 60 feet of hot mud. In cooling, it turned almost to stone, and froze the moment in time. Again, like Pompeii, Herculaneum was a small seaport, but now the sea has recessed about 1/2 mile out. Because of the type of covering and the speed of it, there are more buildings that are intact, with a lot of detail, just as they were in 79AD and before. As we looked down into the base of the mud wall and the revived site, we could see the arched areas that were the boat houses. From that point, it was all rising up the hill from the shore. Some of the buildings were single story, and many others were as much as 3. A funny thing that Louise pointed out to me, was "if you look at the "ruins" and then follow upward into the town of Ercolano it is hard to tell where Herculaneum ends and Erolano starts". From the style, color, and feel, it is like they are still "one". As Herculaneum is much smaller, it only took us about an hour and a half and we were heading to the train again. This time we were heading into Naples. First, I've just got to say, "this is the dirtiest cities we have been in" !!! Not only the city of Naples, but all the surounding areas as well...trash of ALL types, graffiti everywhere, smells, "old", ... Now having said that, when we arrived in the city center we found nothing has changed from what I have just pointed out, but it came "alive". This is the most "Italian" city we have or probably will enter. Everything is "Italian", and that is wonderful !!! They wear their lives on the sleeves. You always know where you stand, and it is mostly just where you want to be. There is no doubt, they do have areas where you don't want to be on a dark night and by yourself, but they also have some of the most colorful and delightful "streets" (I would call them skinny alley's). The trains are very plain, dirty, painted with every color and design of graffiti, noisey as hell, shakes like it is going off the tracks, and harbors every type of individual you can imagine on each car...yet, they have a feeling of "your safe"... Now I do know that they have a lot of people out there looking for the "easy pick", but if you keep your self "aware", chances are you will be just fine. Arriving in Naples by train, riding the esculators up for ever, walking in corradors that have half the lamps burned out, and finally finding yourself outside and every car, vespa, and bus trying to run you down...hell, aint it great !!! You learn to addapt real quick. Red lights mean nothing to those that want to go, and that is just about everyone in a vehicle and vespa. Crossing a street reminds us of Cairo...it takes guts and street smarts... otherwise, make sure that you have a "local" on the on-coming side as you keep pace with them as they cross. That way, if someone gets hit, it unfortunately, will be them first. We pulled out a "walking tour" in one of Rick Steves books and headed out. Unfortunately we were wondering through Naples in the rain. We were dressed for it, but it would have been nice to not have the rain. We walked our legs off, and had a good time doing it. I was not really looking forward to seeing another "big" city, but I'm glad we did. We saw some incredible buildings, most from the very early to late 1800's . The Piazza Principe Umbrerto, the Galleria Umbrerto II, the Palace, and the Castle Nuovo are some of the most interesting stuctures I have ever seen...absolutely wonderful !!! We also found one of R.S.'s favorite haunts for "special treats"...it's called Gambrinus. They have some very fancy delicasies of which I had to try two...all I can say is THANKS R.S. !!! It's getting dark and we've got to catch our pumkin back to Pompei. It is amazing how when you just seem to be getting the hang of things, they turn right around and kick you in the butt. We "thought" we caught the right train, but we didn't...it fortunately went in the right direction for about 6 or 7 stops, and then it stopped...we still had a long way to go, and it stops??? Well another train came along, so we jumped on...things are good...wait a minute, it just felt like we took a turn to the left and we should be going straight...hell, we've got to get off. A half hour later, we were heading back to the last station and looking for a train to carry us to Pompei. Making a shorter story of this, about an hour and a half later and we finally were walking down the path towards our campground...and dead tired !!! Tomorrow...The bus ride along the Amalfi Coast
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| October 05, 2005 08:48 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Pompeii |  | 2 October '05, Sunday.
Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, and stopped all life in Pompeii, and Herculaneum. With the re-discovery of both Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1748 the archaeologists were able to put together the best look at what life must have been like in Rome 2,000 years ago. When we camped here last January, and with the Pompeii site right across the street, we really felt that we would like to return. What we saw today was a complete city, well preserved, and worth the 3 1/2 hours we took to explore it. Pompeii was first caught in the gray-white ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, that accumulated so fast that it started collapsing roofs and floors. Just a very short time into that, the gases from the eruption came and finally took 2,000 of the town's 20,000 residents. Those that were killed were buried under eight feet of the white power. Walking the streets of Pompaii was like stepping back in to time. Yes, they have recreated some of the garden areas of the individual homes, and rebuilt a few roofs. This was done so that you could really get a feel of how they lived. There were a lot of shops, restaurants, and some very small to some very large homes. The Tyrrhenian Sea used to come right up to the city, but now the water is a couple of long miles back. As might be expected, the "bounty" of these two cities was all put together and taken to the National Museum in Naples, but for just the right look, they may have put a copy or two of a statue in the ruins. We were able to see a lot of the tile mosaics on the floors, and some frescoes on the walls and ceilings of a few homes and businesses. We even saw a couple of homes that had an opening in the ceiling to collect light into the atriums, just like the skylights of today. One even had drain spouts that let the water drop into a pool in the middle of the entry area. Built into the pool was a drain that lead out to the street for the over-flow. Of course like all the major areas that the Romans lived, there was a forum and a large and small ampitheater. The ash was so hot, that when it covered a body, it vaporized it. This left a shell in fhe form of the person, in which the archaeologists filled with plaster to recreate the image. For some reason, Pompeii had by far more sexually exotic frescoes and carvings than any archaeologal site yet. There is even a "special" room for this material at the museum. There was one fresco (painting on a wall) that showed a man with a very large erection. This is not pornography, but a way of showing wealth and fertility. The penis and the sack of money balance each other on the goldsmith's scale above a fine bowl of fruit. The meaning, only with a balance of fertility and money can you have abundance. There was a lot to tell you about, but it will have to wait until we get home. After a bite to eat, we grabbed the train and headed for a short visit to Sorrento. We had taken the advice of Rick Steves again and purchased a 3 day ticket that would get us into 2 major sites, all the train, bus, and boat rides we could put into 3 days, and 50% off the other sites we wanted to visit. So now we have visited one major and taken 2 train rides...all in the first 6 hours. We didn't spend too much time in Sorrento today, but we will be back. Sorrento looks really great, but diffenately will take more time. Tomorrow....Herculaneum...the "other" city
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| October 05, 2005 08:47 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| October Has Arrived... |  | 1 October '05, Saturday.
This morning we drove out of our campground north of Lido and decided to "go the coast road". Yesterday we drove it most of the afternoon and everything went very well. Today was even better. We have also noticed that a lot of the campgrounds are begining to close. Yesterday we pulled into 2 that were closed and saw at least 4 or 5 others that were too. Winter has arrived, campgrounds are going to become more challenging to find. October is diffenately here. We also made a dry run into the Rome airport just to check it out, seeing as "Aunty Ann" will be arriving there in a couple of weeks. From there we were just a couple of tourists checking out all the beach towns as we went through. Every once in a while we encountered heavy traffic right in the middle of the larger towns, but with "Bumble Bee", they just move aside and let us through. It is kind of funny though, the Italians have picked up some of the habits of Turkey, where they pull up and double park at the drop of the hat. At one point there was a double parked car about every third spot and with the incoming street already coming down from 3 lanes to 2, this made it really a single. On top of that, there was 2 other main arteries coming into the same "main" street. Add a couple of buses, a small delivery truck or two, and us,... let the show begin... I love this kind of challenge,,,Louise is all white knuckles. We have had some off shore wind the last couple of days that has cleaned the air, and the mountains have come alive... You can see for a "hundred miles"...the sky is a wonderful light blue and the fresh air is great !!! Pulling into the Sparticus Campground in Pompei about 5, we went to the grocery store down the street, made and ate dinner, and now will head to bed after a little catch up on some reading materials. In the morning we will go across the street and visit the ruins of "Pompei". Mount Vesuvi is just in back of us, sitting there looking so wonderfully peaceful. One of the days while we are here, we will take a hike to the crater of Vesuvi, just to see what is there. But, tomorrow...Pompei
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| October 02, 2005 10:01 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Happy Birthday Louise |  | 30 September '05, Friday.
This morning we left the Cinque Terre and headed south. Fact is, we finally found a campground just outside of Rome. Luckily we didn't take the same route out of from Levanto as we did going in. Todays trip was long, but comfortable. About 3, we started looking for a campground to spend the night, but the first 2 we stopped at were closed for the season. Now, the question comes to our mind, is this going to be a big problem...are we going to find a place to stay tonight??? Another hours driving along the coast and getting right to the door step of Rome, we find a open campground. We are the only campers here, but not the only people staying here. Apparently they rent a lot of caravans out, because there is a large number of Turks and other nationalities renting here. Lots of young families...kids everywhere, all having a good time. Seeing as it is Lou's birthday, we walked into the little village just around the corner, to see if we could find a nice dinner. HaHa, not a chance...it is a small village, and right on the beach, but nothing but one small pizza place that looked like it hadn't had any business for a while. Sorry Lou, but we will have to Barbeque something tonight... By the way, I know that we have written about the different toilets we have encountered, but let's recap a little. We had a new one at the last campground... first we have the standard toilet with a standard toilet seat...second, we have the standard without a toilet seat, then the what looks like the standard, but has a seat that rotates after you flush and completely sanitizes the seat as it goes around, the one we have heard so much about when everyone heard we were going to Europe, the European "squat" toilet...(the toughest part with one of these is your thigh muscles start to burn if your there for a while, and if there isn't any toilet paper, what do you do with the roll you brought with you while holding your pants up and out of the way, and what is that hose hanging from the wall going to do for you...you squirt it where ???...and make sure that you get ready to jump when you flush, because of the power of the flush...), finally the last one...standard toilet with seat, but the seat is raised when you walk in. The instructions that are stuck on the wall tell you that you should lower the seat, sit, and then when done, the seat will raise automatically while squirting a disinfectant. Let me tell you now, you had better get away from the toilet quickly, or else it will disinfect something else besides the air with a sweet smell...Stay tuned for any additional important information on toilets... Tomorrow...Pompei...
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| October 02, 2005 10:00 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Pizza Pasta... |  | 29 September '05, Thursday.
Boy is it good to find some more peanut butter !!! We were out of it for better than 2 weeks, and it was just about getting to us. About every 3rd morning or so we like to have toast with peanut butter (and jelly for me...) and coffee to start our day. You understand, a full nutritious start for our day... Anyway, we found a small jar in the camp grocery store for $4 Euros ($5.00 US) and we are eating well. I mention this because this was our breakfast this morning before heading back to the train station. We also had to say goodbye to a couple of Aussie's that we met here. Zack was going to Antibes to see if he could find a sail boat to crew with, that he hoped would sail to some exotic areas, and Jane had to head back to Australia. For us, it was Monterosso al Mare, our last stop in the Cinque Terre. The other 4 villages now behind us, we just couldn't leave without seeing Monterosso. Out of the 5, Monterosso is the only one that has vehicles and vespa's on their roads. The train dropped us off right between the old town and the new, and right on the beach with a great boardwalk. Well, do we go right, or do we go left? Left won, so down the boardwalk we went looking like the average tourist...shorts, backpack, umbrella (looked like it could rain), and a copy of Rick Steves "Italy 2005". Once we got to the end of the boardwalk (about 100 yards), we had to go into a tunnel that took us under the train tracks and into the old town. Wouldn't you know it, they had a "Farmers Market" going on. Not needing anything, we took a tour through it, checking out many items that we just knew we would buy if we had a larger motorhome. It is great fun to just look,think you could use it, and still walk away with out spending... Done with the market, our first stop was a 13th century church, and then we went next door and went to...church (another one next door), and then found the "yellow brick roadway" (really they were terracotta bricks, Rick called them yellow), and climbed many many steps to the top of a hill were we found another church (part of an old convent, but now the convent is a guest house). A little further up hill ???, we found an old castle where the interior was turned into a cemetary back in the late 1800's. It is still in "new" use today...not only that, but there were fresh flowers throughout, making it very attractive and fresh. We were thinking of the processions that must have taken place many years ago, where all the mourners had to climb that hill for the grave side service. Tough people... Well you know what comes next don't you ???... Lunch... In reading Rick's book, I had 2 places out of 5 in his book that I had to choose from. Finally I made my choice, "Miky".. It was the "Pizza Pasta" that did it. The choice we (I) made was ravioloi stuffed with sea bass in a "pink sauce", baked with a very thin pizza crust draped across the top of the croc, and then they cook this concoction in a wood fired oven. Boy can I choose them...it was better than good. Seeing as how Louise is having her 29th Birthday tomorrow, we had a special bottle of "Cinque Terre Blanc" wine, and a very unusual Tiramasu. We'll wait for that diet program a while longer. Not wanting to walk any more hills and stairs following that lunch, we headed back to the train and "Bumble Bee".. This has been a good stop. The rain has held off (except for a couple of drops on and off), the sun has made it's self known, and just when you might need a little shade, the clouds have come in. Tomorrow...South
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| October 02, 2005 09:58 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| The Cinque Terre | | 28 September '05, Wednesday.
After finishing an American breakfast of sausage and eggs, we headed out to catch the train. For $2.75 we bought train tickets that would take both of us to visit the 5 Cinque Terre villages and return, as long as it would take less than 6 hours...for today, it did. We will have to go back to the last village tomorrow, as we just wore ourselves out doing the first 4. Levanto sits north of the Cinque Terre, so we decided to catch the train and ride it to the furthest village of Riomaggiore and make our way back. Most of the train ride was inside a tunnel, so it wasn't the view that you ride this train for. Arriving in Riomaggiore, we immediately climbed the hill to reach the center of the village and then work our way down to the sea. I'm glad we are making this trip to the Cinque Terre in the off season. There is enough tourist traffic as it is, once you get into the village. These villages really don't offer the tourist anything but a chance to kick back and do nothing but relax, pester the fishermen, walk the hills that surround the towns, or walk between the villages through the trail system that the state has put together. We did a little bit of it all in Riomaggiore and then headed out on the hike around the hill to the next village, Manarola...about 30-40 minutes walking the trail above the crashing waves of the Mediterranean. It was like walking down the sidewalk of any street in any town in America, except for the view and the fresh air. Arriving at Manaroloa was again like before, very picturesque and a joy to walk the streets. A little people watching, having lunch at one of the outdoor waterfront restaurants, and testing our leg musles by walking the stairs that are at every corner (why is they all go up higher than they go down???). Having settled our minds that we had taken in just about every little nook and cranny, we found the next leg of our hike and headed out to Corniglia. This trail wasn't quite as "polished" as the last one, but besides being 15 to 20 minutes longer, it was a wonderful walk...that was until we got to the end of the trail and then we had 400 stairs waiting for us to walk up to see Corniglia...OUCH !!! We did have another option beside walking the stairs, like taking a shuttle bus to the top..."Who Us???" That wasn't a picnic in the park, but we took it like the "Champions We Are"... Once we got to the top, we felt we had earned a treat, so we found the gelloto shop and had a double scoop on a cone...well, we are deserving once in a while... Besides, we had to walk a lot more stairs once we got into Corniglia...these people must be stair climbing champions at an early age. These staircases that they have to travel day in and day out are not only very steep, but extremely narrow. Impressed as we were with the locals, and ourselves, we headed back down the 400 steps that we climbed in the beginning and went to meet the train for the next leg of our village tour...Vernazza. We had read that Vernazza was the most picturesque of the villages, and it really is. Located right at the waters edge, and then climbing directly up the side of the mountain, it just seemed to have all the photo opts a person might want...It was very nice. A beautiful little harbor, a nitch formed between the mountains coming down to the sea, the village built to follow the slight twist upward, a small castle on the top of one of the crags coming right out of the sea, multi colored buildings with laundry hanging from the lines or from their windows, the hidden steps going here and sometimes no-where, a little door left open a jar lets us peek and see the grapes that have been cut from the vine and hung from the ceiling of these rooms to dry for another 2 more months...they are for a special desert wine called Sciacchetra. 10 kelos of the grapes only make up 1 liter of Sciacchetra where the same 10 kelos of fresh grapes will make up 7 liters of local wine. We found a place that sold Sciacchetra, and it sold between $38 and $85 Euros a bottle...but no tastings... Disheartend, we left...we left for the train to take us home ("Bumble Bee"). We still have another day to be here, so maybe, possibly, we will find a tasting somewhere. Back home, we still have one more Cinque Terre village to see...Monterossa al Mare, and that will be our first stop on the train tomorrow...
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| September 29, 2005 08:22 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| The Little Roads Of Course... |  | 27 September '05, Tuesday.
"What do you think, should we take the autostrada or the smaller roads(while leaving Florence to the Cinque Terra)?"... (me) "Let's take the back roads, that way we will see more sites"... I don't think I will ever say that again !!! We only had about 1 1/2 hours drive at most if we had taken the autostrada, but taking the "back roads, well it took us about 7 hours and a heck of a lot more fuel. Not only more time and fuel, it took just about every ounce of energy out of me. The roads were so slow because of the tremendous amount of towns and villages, and the slow traffic. I doubt of we actually got higher than 15 miles an hour average for the whole day. Then once we got to the last of the days driving, it turned out to be the most winding and twisting up and down roads we have experienced anywhere. I wasn't good company in the front seat of "Bumble Bee". Once we found our campground in Levanto and had a short breather, I settled down into the stream of things...it was a TOUGH day !!! Just prior to dinner we walked down into the village just to see where we are. Levanto is really quite a beautiful little town. We were delightfully surprised. I'll give you more on this later. It was time to head back and fire up the barbie...salmon tonight... Tomorrow...The Cinque Terra villages
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| September 29, 2005 08:20 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| What, No David ??? |  | 26 September, '05, Monday.
Catching the bus into Florence was easy, but understanding just where you were going on it was the challenge. We knew that it would take us to the trainstation (our destination), but the ride getting there was something else. We could have walked the distance in about 35 to 40 minutes, but it took the bus close to an hour and 15 minutes...talk about the long route... I know, I should just sit back and enjoy the ride, especially since it only cost one Euro...Finally arriving at the trainstation, we started our walking tour of the sights and sounds of Firenze (Florence). As you can see by the date on the top of this page, it is a Monday, and in Italy, there are a lot of sites that the "tourist" would like to see, but will just have to come back too. Most of the churches are open and a few of the museums as well, but those with the top draw items are closed. We did get into one church/convent that was only opened one Monday a month between 1 and 3 in the afternoon, and we just happened to walk up to the door on the right Monday and time. It was very plain compared to a lot of churches we have seen, but they did have quite a number of frescoes from the 13th century that we could enjoy. Over all we enjoyed 4 churches of different styles that were full of 13th to 17th century art by some of the outstanding masters of christian paintings. Then we stood in line for a short time to enter Florence's Gothic Santa Croce. Fortunately we were able to get handsets to give us all the information we might want as we walked throughout this cathedral. It has the tombs of some of the most recognized names in Italian history inside it's walls...like Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante, Machiavelli, Rossini and others... It was quite a walk through history. One of the sites we wanted to see was the Uffizi Gallery. This is the gallery where the original "David" is shown, but being a Monday...CLOSED !!! We did see a copy up by the campground. There is a large over-look next door to the campground that has the David copy standing tall and proad, so I took a picture to kind of keep in mind what we missed... It was another full day outing, and included a very good lunch break at the large "Farmers Market". This is a large permant structure that has had the market there since the 16th century. With the day finally coming to a close and we had walked our way through the "old town" and finally ending at the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge. This bridge is the one where the lovers take their "locket key" to the center of the bridge and with a small ceremony, toss the key into the Arno River below indicating love for ever. Tomorrow...Cinque Terre
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| September 29, 2005 08:18 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Hey Look Who's Here... |  | 25 September '05, Sunday.
By 10:30am we were underway. Heading south from Venice to Bologna was flat, flat...then we hit the mountains. In the flat areas the farmlands were either being plowed for the next crop, or in a lot of the cases, the grape vines were being picked for the crushing. We even saw a small family doing their own picking and thought as we went by, we should stop and see if we could help...I know, some help we would be... The sun was out bright, and seeing as how it was Sunday, the traffic was light. There must be a law in some of the European countries that the "lorries", the big trucks, can't travel the roads on Sundays because we saw very few of them. Just after we passed Bologna we were into the foot hills and then steadily climbing to the higher peaks. I really don't remember just what the grades are in the states, but we are constantly finding them at 10 Plus degrees in just about every pass. Some of them go as high as 25 degrees...poor "Bumble Bee" has to go into 1st gear a lot when it gets that high. Another thing, the tunnels. I know we don't have the quanity of tunnels that we have found in Europe. This is a big thing here...tunnel after tunnel after tunnel...from the short one to some running miles. Arriving in Firenze (Florence) about 3, we set up and headed out for a look see of the town. We are close enough to walk into town quite easily, because it is all down hill from the campground. Now saying that, let's remember that what goes down has to come back up...and a steep up... Well, we did both quite easily (we're trying to get in shape for Rome), but for tomorrow we will grab the city bus for a Euro each. This will give us the opportunity to see some things we most likely wouldn't see by walking. We spent a couple of hours walking around and then it was time to head back. We had no sooner opened the door to "Bumble Bee" and I saw OB and Kris (one of the American couples we met in Antebes France)walking towards us. They left France the same day we did, but headed south into Italy while we headed north and east. They still have about 2 weeks with their motor home, and then they will be continuing their trip by flying the rest of the way around the world and back to Denver. It sounded like they had a good time on their venture south, so we picked up some tips. While catching up with the last 2 weeks, they shared a couple of glasses of an Italian lemon liqueur...2 very small glasses was plenty...very tasty, but potent. They had also just finished 2 days here in Florence, and in the morning are heading out to Venice. Just we separated with plans to see each other off in the morning. Tomorrow (for us), Firenze (Florence)...
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| September 29, 2005 08:15 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Finally St. Mark's Basilica |  | 24 September '05, Saturday.
New Picture Gallery Added...Italy...
The only "must see" sight that was left was the prime goal for this morning...St. Mark's Basilica. It was built in the 11th century ro replace an earlier church. Built in Eastern Byzantine style, which is the reason it looked to familiar to us as we walked in. It has some of the same characteristics of a Muslem Mosque and Christian Church built as one. In 830AD, the bones of St. Mark were moved to this site and are still interned here. The whole church is covered with some 43,000 square feet of Byzantine mosaic tiles. Now, these tiles are small, I mean SMALL... The pictures that they have made with these tiles are unbelieveable. No wonder the lines are so long to get in to see them... What a masterpiece this whole building is. It kind of glows gold...a little dirty now, but still gold. Where they have used the tiles to make a figure, they have even sculptured the base material so that the tiles are given a shape of say, the face. The different shades, shapes, and sizes of the tiles all to make a small...eye for example...incredible !!! 43,000 square feet of mosaic tiles... incredible !!! Now also in this basilica, is a large "booty". This was brought in by sea captains that were on long voyages, from their "trophy chests". After reaching the galleria, we found the well traveled bronze horses that were made in the days of Alexander the Great (4th Century BC). They were once in Rome when Nero was there, and then went to Constantinople with Constantine, to Venice with the Crusaders, to Paris by Napoleon and then back to Venice for good when Nepoleon fell. Speaking of falling...lunch time...it kind of sounds like we eat all the time doesn't it? Ya, I know...I think we do sometimes. Well, we did it, we hit all the "Big" sites, and a lot of the small ones too. One that we hadn't given much thought of seeing, was the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, but off we went. It was a collection of 20th century popular art. The building was one of her personal homes, and right on the Grand Canal. The art, well, it was interesting...the house...Frank Lloyd Wright, but with a touch of Venice Italian, and fantastic. It's been a full 3 days and 3 nights of none stop Venice, and it has come to an end...That's all folks...Tomorrow...onto Firenze (Florence) | |
| September 26, 2005 03:22 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| What's A "Doge"...??? |  | 23 September '05, Friday.
Another FULL day in Venice...this place is going to wear me out !!! Not only is this city beautiful to look at, but challenging to find your way around (even when you have a map in your hand). Rick Steves says in his guide book to "Soak all day in this puddle of elegant decay..". The first day here, we saw many places that we could have "soaked" in, but it was because of the rain and high tide levels...water was at the surface and bubbling at the man-hole covers. It was interesting to find stacked through-out the city, portable raised sidewalks that could be put together in just a minutes notice. We saw a few of these made up and being used to enter the basilica. It is amazing that this town was born over 1500 years ago right out of a lagoon. They were fleeing from the barbarians. Today, they aren't fleeing from anything but the possibility of high water getting too high. They have a MAJOR project going on now right at the opening of the lagoon from the Adriatic. It's not the usual breakwater, but one that has gates built in to control the height of the water levels. When it is completed sometime in the next couple years, it will be something the world will have to look at for the possibly to solve their rising water problems. The population of Venice has been dropping for a number of years, but the tourists have been coming in larger groups to off set that decline. The population has dropped from around 200,000 at it's peak, to less than 45,000 now, for the island of Venice...want to buy some property cheap??? One of the problems that they have, is the decaying of the buildings. Now it isn't easy to get a permit to fix the buildings, no matter how little or how much you are willing to spend on the repairs. The exterior of the buildings MUST look just as it does now after the "repair" has been completed...not an easy thing to do. Well, we planned our day around seeing the "Doge's Palace". This was the seat of the ruling government of Venice. It was also the residence of the Doge. The palace was built to show off the huge wealth and power of the Doge and his republic. We picked up tickets to explore all the incredible rooms and grounds of the palace. The art work through out was unbelieveable. From the paintings, frescos, woodcarvings, flooring, and all, it was absolutely extravagent, but wonderful to have the opportunity to see. We have been in palaces, castles, and other wonderful buildings on this trip, but this one had the largest rooms and the most true, fine art than any we have seen yet. We then had walk across the bridge of "Sighs", which connects the palace with the prison. When justice was dealt, it was dealt swiftly and cruelly. This was another 2 plus hour tour, and by the time we were through, we were through...we had to find lunch or... Finding another Italian lunch spot, we ordered another "picnic" lunch and then found a bench along side the Grand Canal to enjoy it in style. We are not doing a good job of hiding from those "no picnicing cops". Not wanting to get too much culture mixed into one day, we grabbed another one of the vaporatto's and went sightseeing on the water once more. This time we headed across to one of the islands that stands by it's self. A little exploring of a church and some of the shops and we were back on another vaporatto and heading to one of the cities that is tied to the mainland and has cars on it...Lido. Lido kind of reminded us of a small town in Hawaii...nice shops, great beach, and lots of tourists... Sun beginning to set, so back to camp and dinner...tomorrow we'll take in more of Venice | |
| September 26, 2005 03:20 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Hotel PAGANELLI.... |  | 22 September '05, Thursday.
If we've said it once, we said a thousand times to each other..."we just can't do it all, now matter how much time we have..."..and this time it is seeing Venice. Today was our first full day in Venice, and I do mean a full day. Now, getting everything in line, we didn't leave the campground until just after 10am, but then we didn't get back until after 9pm either. The ferry ride into town is about 45 minutes long, and then when you jump off, you have but a small idea of where you are. Our ferry docks at the San Marco landing, which I took to mean we were right in front of the Piazza San Marco...Nooo, not quite. It turned out to be about 2 bridges away. Something we have learned, is just about everything is measured in "how many bridges" you may be away from your destination. Let me also say, there is a very large American identity in tourists here. Just as we stepped off the ferry, we ran into a couple that have been in Italy for 3 weeks and this is going to be there last stop before heading home. Anyway, in talking with them we just happened to take a couple of turns we hadn't expected to take, so we ended up in front of a church in a small piazza, and we also found a hotel that really caught our attention...Hotel Paganelli... Of course a couple of pictures, asking for a brochure and price list and we were off again. This time on our own, and back looking for the Piazza San Marco. Before we found the Piazza San Marco, we found a little bakery that sold soft drinks and sandwiches. Rick Steves said in his book, that "picknicing just isn't done in Venice, so if you should want to picnic, do it on the sly". Remembering this, we went looking for a dark alley. Well we didn't find a dark alley, but we did find a small piazza with about 7 or 8 benches in it and all were taken with "picnicers"... We quit looking over our shoulders for the "Picnic Cop"... Finally, just around a couple more corners and a bridge of two and we were right in the middle of Piazza San Marco. Boy, we weren't the only tourists there, there were hundreds of us and thousands of hungry pigions looking for their handout. Now's the time to settle down, so we went into one of the museums. The Correr Museum houses mostly Venetian history and art. It gave us a great over-view of both, and was well worth the time. I have no idea why, but there was hardly anyone there. We gave a quick thought of going through the Basilica San Marco after finishing the museum, but one look at the line and we changed our minds. This morning we purchased 72 hour tickets for the boats, so we decided to put our tickets in use. We had already ridden the big ferry into town and now we were going to try out these "vaporetto's". The vaporetto is what you use to ride from one side of the "Grand Canal" to the other, or from one end to the other and one island to the other. Some stop at every stop and others are express...all are CROWDED !!! The challenge is to get a seat and the best of challenges is to get a seat in the front...highly sought after. Our first vaporetto ride took us to the end of the line, which was a stop beyond the trainstation (the only modern building in Venice). We saw all the "Palaces" that line the Grand Canal, and the other important buildings that are called out as "must see". I think we all know that over the centuries, Venice has been sinking. They tell us that all that has stopped, but the buildings that have sunk are still in and out of the water. It is amazing to see doorways with the water about 3 inches higher than the bottom of the door...it diffinately has a wet floor. Another interesting thing is the high-end hotels on the Grand Canal. To see them from the outside they leave a lot to be desired, but from what we have heard, they are incredible on the inside. Some are just as fine as they were in the "Golden Times", and much more expensive to stay a night. The Grand Canal has only 3 bridges that cross over it, and the best known is the "Rialto Bridge", and the others are Scalzi Bridge and the Accademia Gallery Bridge. After going all the way one way, and then turning right around and going back, we finally jumped off at the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto Bridge is a beautiful structure that has a series of stores all across it on both sides of the main walkway. Then on the waterside of the stores there is another walkway (for 3 different walkways on the bridge). After walking the bridge a couple of times, we wondered around lost in a maze of sidestreets and little bridges for another 2 or 3 hours, just having fun. Now I don't know who said it, but you can get real tired by just "having fun"...it was time to head home, besides, it is dark !!! Tomorrow...more Venice | |
| September 26, 2005 03:18 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| First Day In Venice |  | 21 September '05, Wednesday.
Even though Padua was only a few miles east of Venice, it took us about 3 hours to get there. We had heard over and over that the best campgrounds for easy access to Venice was out on the end of the Cavallino peninsula. Well, to get to this campground we had to continue on the highway past Venice by another 20 miles and then make an about turn and head back down this peninsula for another 15 miles. The drive was very nice, and the roadway was holding us down to 40km an hour, but we still were enjoying the trip knowing that once we got there we were in for a special treat...Venice. The campground was also a wonderful surprise, as it was only rated 2 stars out of 5 possible, we found it to be more than we had hoped by a long ways...it was great. The boat that we will have to catch to Venice is about 1/2 mile down the road, so that will really be nice. Instead of running right out to explore Venice, we decided to take another day off to finish our laundry. The sun was out and we had a nice wind that will help us dry the clothes very quickly. So after finishing with the wash and getting it all hung out, we went out the gate and walked the beach and the surrounding area to get a feel of where we were. Just down the road a little to the south, is the beaches of the Adriatic Sea and right in front of the campground is their private beach that fronts on the "Laguna di Venezia". Back at "home", we got the barbeque out and got dinner started. We had earlier picked up some hamburger steaks and baker potatoes...it was really just what the doctor ordered... Next a good nights sleep and...in the morning, Venice | |
| September 26, 2005 03:17 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Sicky Poooo...Lou... |  | 20 September '05, Tuesday.
This day started out with something that we haven't experienced yet...being very sick... For some reason Louise went to bed lastnight with a headache, but when early morning arrived, she had more than a headache. Very bad headache, shivers and hot at the same time, up-set stomach, and everything else you can imagine with it all. Not good... I thought we might have to go see the doctor, but she fought me on that, at least for a while. After getting sick a few times, she settled down on the back seat and kind of slept off and on until noon. I made some tea which she tried. Finally things started looking better. Tonight she is finally doing something that is more toward "normal", playing games on the computer. I'm pretty sure we will be on our way to Venice tomorrow, but getting sick kind of wakes you up to some of the possibilities that could come our way. Hell, let's not even think about it...
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| September 21, 2005 11:27 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Padua....Very Nice... |  | 19 September '05, Monday.
What a day...we arrived in Padua just before noon and after setting up we were underway to find a bus into town. Our campground is quite a way out from Padua, so it took a little time before we finally got a chance to see the sites. Wait a minute, I guess I should get back to yesterday because I didn't have a journal done for Sunday... All night Saturday and all day Sunday it rained, so we decided we should do some washing. The campground in Vicenza has a large covered area in the same area as the washer, so Louise decided that rain or no rain, the wash would probably dry anyway...wrong...it hung all day and throughout the night and it was drier, but still not dry enough to pack away. Yesterday we also met a great couple from Great Britain...Rob and Loes. Rob came by about 5 and said that they were thinking of pizza for dinner and wanted us to join them. That did sound good, so of course we accepted. Not only was the pizza good, but their company was also very enjoyable, but unfortunately much too short. They pulled out this morning and headed out toward Pisa. We'll try to get them over to see the northwest after we get back. Ok, back to today, after packing "Bumble Bee" (including the very damp wash) we were underway to Padua as I wrote earlier. With Rick Steves book in hand, we started out to enjoy some great sites that Padua has to offer. Now it's not that we did everything right, because we didn't, we got lost again trying to follow his map (I think we would have gotten lost using anyones map). The problem was, they change the street names constantly. When there is a major intersection, that seems to give them (the Italians) the idea that now they can change the name to keep those damn tourists confused...it works !!! Thank god Padua isn't too large, so we were able to finally get to the spot we were looking for. Rick Steves tells us in his Italy 2005 guide book that we will NEED to book reservations to see the Cappella degli Scrovegni (Scrovegni Chapel). This chapel has over 40 frescoes that were painted by Giotto from 1303 to 1305. These are large paintings that are painted on the walls and ceiling of the chapel. These scenes are depicting the lives of Jesus and Mary. It's said that Giotto "placed real people into real scenes, expressing real human emotions". Some of them were like looking at 3-D, they were so good. We thought we would drop by and see if it were possible to either get right in, or possibly set up a time for early tomorrow. They will only allow 25 people into see the chapel at a time, and then only for 15 minutes. This is because they want to control the humidity inside the chapel to protect the paintings and the rest of the interior from decaying. When we walked up to the ticket window, I asked for 2 tickets and was blown away when she told us we would be in the next group. Not only were we excited with getting right in, but we were in a group of only 6 people (small is good...), the group in front of us was 24, and the group behind us, 25...go figure.. Anyway, this was really an exciting opportunity, and we both walked out feeling we had had the opportunity to see some important works of art, and fortunately someone has taken the responsiblity to do something to preserve it. Leaving there, we walked casually through the rest of the town just soaking in the atmosphere of Padua, and it does have atmosphere... Finally at the other end of Padua, we came across the next "Must See" while we are here..."THE" Basilica of St. Anthony... It is "The", because it is where Friar Anthony of Padua, "St. Anthony" is buried (1195-1231. This Basilica is not one that you would call small, it is large..very large...and very impressive to say the least... In the last 18+ months, we have seen a few churches, chapels, DOMS, Basilicas, and on, but this one is something special...no doubt about it and it's been here for over 800 years. The Basilica also has an outstanding collection of fine art and sculptures. About half of these were done in the 13th century and a large balance in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a lot more to say about today, but that will just have to wait for now. It was getting late, and we had a bus to catch. The traffic was at a stand-still for more than half the way back, and seeing as it was totally dark, we missed our bus stop. Thanks to Louise, we were only one stop away, but that seemed like a mile. The walk back in the dark was interesting, but mostly uneventful. Tomorrow....Venezia (Venice)
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| September 21, 2005 11:25 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Now This I Like... |  | 17 September '05, Saturday.
What I didn't see in Verona, I've found in Vicenza...what a beautiful town. When I mention town, I mean the "old town" area. We normally don't get a chance to visit the "newer" areas of the places we visit, as we are like most other tourists...interested in the past historys. We had about an hours drive from Verona to Vicenza and we went directly to the town. I don't know how we found our parking lot, but did. It was not crowded, and it wasn't too far out of the main areas we wanted to see, and we will take every break we can get. Everytime we drive under one of the towns gates, I kind of duck my head in hopes that "Bumble Bee" will make it through without loosing her top...so far, only once did we make contact, and we were able to back out without too much of a headache. Now this was a "photographers delight". A number of things about Vicenza make it unique, but one is being the home of Palladio... Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, or better known as "Palladio" was the 16th century Renaissance architect who gave us the Palladian style architecture we have seen throughout Europe and the states. "Palladio" was a one man construction team. He designed and built more than 20 major buildings here in Vicenza, and all are spectacular. Fact is Thomas Jefferson was so taken with his work that he was inspired to build Jefferson's Monticello from the design taken from Villa la Rotonda here in Vicenza. We also took in the Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theater) which again was built and designed by Palladio. This happened to be his last and some say his greatest. It was and still is a "preforming" theatre. He started construction in 1580 but, unfortunately he didn't see it completed because of his death. The "movable" scenes on the stage depict 5 streets that were idealized from the city of Thebes. These scenes are still being used today in the gala opening of Oedipus Rex, that has been protrayed each and every season since. Other classical plays are staged throughout the year, but unfortunately again, we have just missed one by a day and the next wont start until next week. We will have to come back... We also had a chance to visit the Church of the Holy Crown (Santa Corona). This 13th century church was built to house a thorn, supposedly from Jesus' crown of thorns. Today was a lot of looking up and looking through the buildings of Palladio. It was also a day of some very fine art in some beautiful churches, and as always, window shopping...you really see some very different clothing designs here in Italy...is this the designs we will see coming to the states? We'll just have to wait and see... Tomorrow...Padua
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| September 21, 2005 11:22 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| The "Can Signore".... |  | 16 September '05, Friday.
Pulling into the campground about 2:30 we ran to the bus stop to catch the 3:11 bus to Verona. After waiting another 40 minutes for the bus to arrive, we finally were on our way. Unfortunately the bus was tied up behind an accident. Arriving in the middle of town, we headed off to the "old town" area. Following a small map from the campground and one we had in Rick Steves guide book we entered through one of the city gates and directly into the Piazza Bra (one of the plaza's). Directly in front of us stood the Roman Arena, which dates back to the 1st century. The Romans used this arena to seat and entertain over 25000 spectators to Roman gladiator battles, medieval executions, and modern plays. Today, the "spectators" are entertained by a popular opera festival and other music preformances throughout the year. Unfortunately we just missed being able to enjoy one of the operas. The season for the festival ended at the first of the month. What we were able to do, is enjoy splitting a pizza and salad while sitting across the plaza from the arena. Verona has a lot to see, but we are just going to have to be content with Rick Steves "walking tour", and even with that, it is going to be shortened. One of the highlites of having a snack or meal at one of the sidewalk cafes is watching the people. The closer we get to evening time, the towns people come out for their evening "stroll", and they are dressed to kill...this is a passion with the Italians. I do have to say, that I just don't understand the young ladies wanting to wear their 3 and 4 inch high healed shoes...ouch !!! Then onto the Piazza Erbe, which has been described as "the photographers delight". Ok, but I guess I just didn't see it that way. It was nice with all the old architecture and the beautifully painted buildings, but we have seen so much of that same quality in and out of Italy. I guess I just didn't get the feel for Verona as most others seem to get, so I'm going to leave it to their stories which you will have to search for. We did get to the Piazza dei Signori where there is a whale's rib hanging over the passageway. The story, is if you have never told a lie, then the whale's rib will fall from the chain onto your head as you walk under. Obviously it didn't work... Oh yes, there is another story that comes from here...I think it comes from the 15th century...this area including Verona was ruled by the Scaligeri family. The Scaligeri family were to Verona as the Medici family were to Florence. The story goes that the Scaligeri family got rich making ladders, but money can't buy culture. When Marco Polo returned from Asia boasting of the wealthy Kublai Khan, the Scaligeris wanted to be associated with this powerful Khan by name. But misunderstanding "Kan" as "Cane" (Dog), one Scaligeri changed his name to Can Grande (Big Dog) and another to Can Signore (Lord Dog). We did see their tombs, and the dog's heads peer over the family shields which have a ladder in the center of the shield. My feet were getting tired and I've had enough for the day, so back to catch the 2nd to last bus back to the campground and call it a day. Tomorrow...Vicenza
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| September 21, 2005 11:16 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| "Otzi" And The Dolomites |  | 15 September '05, Thursday.
You know there are days when I feel like I'm getting a little older...then, I meet someone (well, not exactly meet) that has really been around for a long time...like 5,200 years. What a story, there were these men that were hiking a glacier here in Nothern Italy, and then all of a sudden they thought they had come across another "mountainier" that had come to his death by falling into a galcier. Little did they know, until they discovered an ice axe and some of the clothes from this fallen man, that he was really someone from long ago. They had practically finished removing him from the ice when they came across those items and then they know they had discovered someone special. They only thought he was someone who had died an unfortunate death while hiking not hunting. This morning we had mixed feelings about leaving the Lake Garda area, but we have a lot of Italy to see yet. After reading about "Otzi the 5,200 year old Ice Man", and finding that he was just a few more miles north, we knew we just had to make the trip. Our distination was Bolzano to see "Otzi", visit the town, have lunch, and then move into the mountains to Castelrotto. We found "Otzi" laying there behind glass, completely naked, and still frozen, his clothes, hunting equipment, and a couple of baskets also in refregerated glass containers...5,200 years old...hard to believe...the way his clothing and boots were stitched together...all made out of skins with the fur still there. His boots were something like a sock with lots of straw for insulation, all tied together with strips of hide, and then covered with a "slipper type" of over cover that was also stitched with hide. His leggings were attached to a "belt" with a strip of hide. He also wore a "loin cloth", that could be easily removed for washing...this is amazing to me, thinking of the "thought process" that it took to make all of this and survive in that atmosphere... Well, "Bumble Bee" had her work cut out for her on the trip going up to Castelroto. I don't know what the grade was, but we didn't get out of 2nd gear but twice, and then we had to move into 1st gear. I know we weren't able to go any faster than 25km the whole 12 km ( 6 miles ) climb. I've mentioned many times about the winding and twisting of roads, but this one was in the top 1 percent of twists, and they were all very steep. Saying all that, she came through without a hitch. As we pulled into Castelrotto, we decided to continue a little further...Mount Mikeal...then a U turn and we headed back to Castelrotto. Our new campground is there and we were ready to settle down for the night. We are right in the middle of the Dolomites, and are visiting the highest alpine meadow in Europe. From there, the rock croppings jut straight up into the air, leaving the trees and brush way behind. What a sight... In setting up our table and chairs for our "Tea Time"...we are over-looking the valleys below and the Dolomites above...great campsite. Early tomorrow morning we plan to take the cable car to the top of some of those Dolomite peaks. Then catch the "Friday Market" in Castelrotto before heading south to Verona. | |
| September 17, 2005 05:46 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| "Let's Walk On Down...." |  | 14 September '05, Wednesday.
Toes pushed to the end of our shoes ("I hope I don't lose my toe-nails"), calf and thigh musles burning, and we are only halfway down... We started this day with a great American breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee all served at the table on the "patio". Then after dishes were washed, we walked up the hill to the cable car. We are heading to the top of the mountain. This cable car is unique to anything that we have ever been in before. They each hold about 70 people and make the trip up and down while the car is "rotating". This gives everybody a different view as it goes to the top. When we arrived we found a long line ahead of us. Today wasn't quite as clear as yesterday, but the sun was out, so the whole world got up and wanted to make this trip with us. I guess we waited about 45 minutes before we were on the 30 minute ride ourselves. One thing we had to wait for was the mountain bikers...there must have been 40 of them, all dressed for the down-hill and carrying and pushing their fine tuned bikes ahead of us in line. It took 2 cars to leave before all of them had found their way toward the top. By the time we got there, they were all gone. Then there was the tour groups of students from Germany, or was it Austria... Oh well, we got there and we had a good time. The views were as we expected, fantastic. The Italian Alps were just stretched out in front of us and with Lake Garda below...WOW!!! We walked some of the trails for an hour and then grabbed the car back down to the "first" level. We got off there, because there was a restaurant that I wanted to visit. We both had wonderful salads, and then went looking for the hiking trail that would take us the rest of the way down the mountain. The walk was to take us about an hour, so off we went. First of all, it did take us an hour, but that was only because we couldn't hold ourselves back...it was down hill all the way, and I mean DOWN HILL !!! The path was laid with rocks, kind of like "river rocks". They weren't the easiest to walk on and diffinately the toughest to walk down on a steep grade like we were on. When we reached "Bumble Bee", we were happy puppies (and so were our feet)... The only time we actually moved once we got back, was to walk to the top of the driveway and get 2 chicken quarters to barbeque for tonights dinner. We've been wanting a little hike here lately, and I think we accomplished that task today... Tomorrow..."Otzi" the 5,300 year-old man...still in ice... | |
| September 17, 2005 05:41 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Checking Out Our Sea Legs.... |  | 13 September '05, Tuesday.
Yesterday was a kick, and our time here in Malcesine is well spent. Even this morning, after grabbing a bite to eat, we ventured back to see if and when Louise could get a haircut. While she was getting a haircut, I was to get some internet work done. I found that both internet locations were closed, so I just ventured around town until Louise had all her hair cut off. Seeing as how it was a bright and sunny day (which we hadn't seen much of lately...), we decided to jump on one of the ferries. The ferry system here is great. Round trip, which covers 6 stops (3 each trip), gives you about 3 hours of a boat ride, and introduces you to 3 other towns along the way. I think I mentioned that Lake Gorda is about 60 miles long. We are just about 2/3rds the way from the top of the lake, so what we saw today was the last 1/3. The Italian Alps line the sides and extend well beyond the end to make this lake very special. The towns and villages that line the lake, all sit right at the edge and the slope of the mountains. We didn't get off the ferry at all the stops, but we did step on ground when we got to Riba del Garda. Riba is right at the very end and is almost swallowed up by the Alps. The architecture is all Italian (like all the villages along the lake), and with the warm colors of the lake and the buildings...something special. We arrived in Riba just in time to hear the bells of the clock tower that was built in 1200. Not only was it built in 1200, it was striking 12 noon...lunch time if you ask me... It must have been the breeze and fresh air off of the lake that made us both hungry. We checked out 6 to 8 sidewalk cafes before deciding on one that we could enjoy ITALIAN PASTA with clams and in my case clams and mussels. Riba is about 3 times larger than Malcesine, but along the water front, it still has the charm of the 1200-1600 period. Of course I just had to see what I could find for internet access, so off to find the TI. I was able to find the best internet access I have ever found, and there was only one computer and it was in a stationary/comuter store...good equipment and FAST !!! I was not only able to up-load my journal, but a lot of my pictures that we had just taken in France...what a joy. Walking the pedestrian streets and alley ways and then the boardwalk just as the sun was going down behind the mountains was quite a treat. Now for the boat ride back..."This is quite a life"... | |
| September 17, 2005 05:39 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Gelatto, Castle, Malcesine.... |  | 12 September '05, Monday.
After our stay at the "Palacio", we drove into the village of Desenzano del Garda. Finding a parking place, we ventured through the streets and alley ways just to get a feel for the place. Other than that, we went looking for the usual TI and internet. Finding the TI and then heading up the street we found, with good instructions, the internet. We are always excited to find the emails from home, and this was no exception. Opening each and everyone is always a "family affair". After reading all the great news, and answering most, I got to work to up-load to the web. Now I've got a problem... It turns out that the program that I am using to write my journals on this new "French" computer isn't recognized with the one that I am trying to use here at the internet cafe (in this case, the Western Union office). I was fit to be tied... After trying every possible way I and the young lady who was in charge could imagine, I had to leave rejected. Now I've got more work cut out for me... How in the hell am I going to make all this work on this silly "French" computer??? Well I couldn't set right down then and get things all settled, as we were on our way to the next site that we wanted to see this morning. About 20 miles up the lake is the village of Sirmione. Now at the very end of a long peninsula sits the walled village with the Sirmione Castle. This was what we had come for this morning...it was closed...what do you mean..."closed"? I wont go through all the details, but it was and we just decided that that was just "hunky dorry" with us as well. We did get a chance to leave some money behind in the village...you know, things like an "GELATTO" (great ice cream cones) and parking... It wasn't at all negative, as we really did have a good time, even with out getting into "another" castle. Two hours spent there and we were underway again. This time we are continuing our route along the coastline of Lake Garda, all the way to Malcesine. Now Malcesine is about an another hour up the coast. We had been told about this "wonderful" campground that is real close to the village of Malcesine, so we could have an easy walk right into town. As we entered the town our eyes are jumping from one sign to the next, looking for our campground sign. Just as we entered the heart of the town, Louise called out "there it is"..."No, it couldn't be, it's too close" (I couldn't see it.). With a good point of the finger in my face, I saw that I was going to have to make a quick turn and down a very steep drive. Yep, here it is..."not bad, fact is, really good"..."I'll bet it's expensive"..."I don't care" (she says..). All checked in and we are "happy campers". It wasn't even expensive...$18 Euros (expensive is when it gets above $25). Seeing as how we are parked right in town, we immediately headed out just to see what this "village" had to offer. Right away it started to show us that this was something "special". Within 25 yards and we were passing under a low and long rock gate that lead us into the "village". No traffic (except those of us on foot) and all the "streets were cobbled with rocks from the lake...a white stone with a black stone accent. All the buildings date back to the 15-16th century and there is even a little castle that overlooks the whole thing. Everything is on a hillside that slopes to the lake...winding from right to left and angles beyond that...everything towards the lake. I was a happy camper with all the photo opportunities, and there are lots. After about an hour walking and 30 minutes people watching while we had a glass of wine at the marina, we headed back to the van for dinner. Just before we were to exit through the "gate", we came across an interesting pastry. Apparently it is exclusive to this area and comes from as far back as the 15th century. It's about the size of a baseball. It looks like they take pastry strips that have different fillings (like chocolate, champagne, etc.), then roll them into the ball. After baking, they put a coating of flavoring on the top. Actually it was pretty good, and something that you would enjoy, but not all the time. We took it home for our dinner desert. Later when it got dark, we headed back to see just what was lit up for another picture op. This little Italian village is wonderful, and we diffinately will have more to see tomorrow... | |
| September 17, 2005 05:30 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Temper ???...My Temper ???? |  | 11 September '05, Sunday.
We didn't make it to Torino yesterday. Boy it was a tough day, one wroung turn after another. I'm afraid that I even let my temper show a little... I don't have any idea just how many kilometers we traveled all day, but it wasn't much. Finally we pulled into Biella in search of a campground. Now Biella is a town of fair size, so we hoped that we would find a campground there. Being a Saturday, the traffic wasn't too bad. Driving through the town wasn't too much trouble either. Once we saw our first sign for the Information Center we just kept looking for the second. After a while we found the largest congregation of people and cars and there in the middle was the TI. Seeing as about half of the cars were double parked, I didn't see any reason for us not to find a parking place in a bus stop. Running, no, walking to the TI and getting our information asked and answered didn't take too long, as we only had one question to ask and we only got one answer: "Can you tell us where we might find a campground?"..."The only campgrounds are about 30 kilometers back from where you've come"... They didn't have one...It just seemed to fit the pattern of our day. There was one redeeming grace...the cars and the people that were all around this area had come for "the best ice cream cones in the city", says our host at the TI...Well after trying a big double, we agreed, they were vvveerrryyy good... Back tracking we finally found our campsite for the night. We parked right on the bank of a beautiful lake. For dinner, we decided that we just couldn't cook for ourselves, so we went into the restaurant at the campground. Dining at waters edge took some of the "edge" off of us. We needed something like that to end this day. About 4:30am I woke to hear a lot of thunder in the distance, so I got myself out of bed and went out to cover our "storage tent" with tarps, just in case it started to rain as it had in Antibes. Boy, it was a good thing that I had. About 10 minutes later, all hell broke loose. Just like Antibes, it was one hell of a storm. About 11:30 it let up enough so we could pack up and move on. Our destination was Desenzada d Garda on the shores of Lake Garda After yesterday we weren't taking any chances of getting messed up on these roads that all of a sudden change road numbers on you. We were taking no chances, we headed straight for the "pay roads" and took them all the way...damn the cost !!! Just as we were hitting Milano, we caught up with the storm that apparently had hit us earlier. Boy, once some of the cars hit the heavy rain, they either stopped completely on the side of the road, or slowed down to a crawl. This is something I didn't think I would ever see an Italian driver do...they aren't normally timid on the road...then after 8 to 10 miles of heavy rain they all got back to the "heavy foot" and "making it" down the roadway. Our campground tonight is located right on the banks of Lake Garda. After doing the normal check-in, we followed this young lady to our pitch. After we wandered around several corners filled with permanent campers and bungalows we finally we guided through a very narrow arch. We finally found ourselves in the garden area of a very old "Palacio" with the water of the lake right at our sliding door. Most of the "Palacio" has been let go, especially the garden area where we are parked, but it is absolutely beautiful...we can only imagine what it must have been in it's day. Tomorrow we will explore a little around this area of the lake and then move onto Malcesine, which is about half way up the otherside. Lake Garda is a 60 mile long lake with lots of wonderful little villages all along the banks. It would be nice to have a whole summer just to explore this lake by its self. That would be another time for us...
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| September 13, 2005 06:55 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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| Out of France...Onto Italy... |  | L/R= Bob and Mary, OB and Kris
9 September '05, Friday
Last night the rain stopped just before we all had to put pontoons on our vehicles. It did rain, but then again, it was surprising just how fast most of the water soaked into the ground. When the "coast looked clear", we all kind of poked our heads out to see just how long this lull might last. It had possiblities, so Bob and Mary gathered OB, Kris, and us over to enjoy a glass of wine and some great eats. A little while into the evening and we had 2 couples from Great Britain join us. We all had a good time...just ask those who were there how they felt this morning. One thing the we did do this morning was to gather everything together, pack up, and move on down the road. Bob and Mary were headed towards Spain, OB and Kris were heading to Italy like us. The rock slide over the roadway to Italy has traffic still deverted around it for at least a couple of towns. I know for us, we were delayed for over 2 hours before we broke free. We decided to take the coast road from Monaco to our turn off to Torino. We followed the coast to Imperia before we turned north. This small road was a kick, or should I say a twist...one after another and we were climbing a 11% grade up and beyond the cloud cover. The coast ride was as always just beautiful. The water was mostly that green/blue, but with all the rain we have had, there was a lot of mud that had flowed down into it in a number or areas making it a light brown. When we got into the mountains, they were covered with the darkest green leaved trees we have seen. It was dense and it was beautiful. It seemed like we were following a canyon all the way, because of the steep road and hillsides around us. Like we saw on our first trip through Italy, the Italians build tunnels...boy do they have tunnels !!! By the time we found a campground, my butt was getting numb from sitting too long. We finally called it a day when we pulled into Cuneo. Louise had purchased some incredible large shrimp. So, add a side of pasta and some bubbly, and you have a great meal to end the day. Tomorrow we will continue to Torino.
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| September 13, 2005 06:53 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Italy
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