Europe and Beyond

Sunday 15th of June and we spent the first few hours talking to the kids on Skype, catching up on Laurens trip to Cambodia and organising our next few nights of accommodation.  We hadn't had internet for a few days so had nothing organised for when we left Monterosso.  Once organised we got a lift from our host up the hill behind Monterosso to the start of a walking trail.  The trail took us along the top of the mountain ridge and provided brilliant views of Monterosso.  In fact we could see all along The Cinque Terre and pick out each of the five towns we had visited previously.  One of the best things about this walk was that the trail would cross the ridge so that we had views of  Levanto on the other side along with a few other little villages scattered throughout the nearby hills and valleys.  The walk took an hour and a half and finished at an old derelict church overlooking Monterosso and the ocean. Levanto From here we continued on a dif...

We needed an early start from Rome as we had a reservation at midday to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa, 3 and ½ hours away.  We left the apartment at 7:45am and battled through peak hour traffic before getting to the Tollway.  26 Euros and several hundred kilometres later we reached Pisa with about 30 minutes to spare, found a free parking spot and made our way to the tower.  Unfortunately due to a wrong turn we ended up having to run the last few hundred metres because they are apparently sticklers for time.  As it was approaching 36 degrees it wasn’t an ideal way to get there. Despite expecting a ‘leaning’ tower I was still quite surprised at just how far it leans.  It looks quite strange, especially with other buildings around to compare to.  Walking into the tower immediately feels weird because the floor is on an angle.  Climbing the stairs didn’t seem too bad, we think because the steps had been worn in a way that made you walk vertically....

Day two in Rome and we started at the Spanish Steps.  They were a real disappointment as both the church at the top and the fountain at the bottom were covered in scaffolding, with no water in the fountain.  We stayed briefly, just walking up the steps, then headed to Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, a church founded by the Capuchin Monks.  The museum there spoke of their faith and the minimalist life they spend adhering to that faith, including chalices worn on the body to inflict pain as a reminder.  The main reason for the visit though was to view the crypt.  We have been to other crypts in Paris and Hallstatt, where skeletons have been arranged in various ways to save space and in Hallstatt decorated.  This crypt however was on a completely different scale, with the bones being arranged as artwork.  There were chandeliers made from vertebrae, many bones arranged in patterns on the ceiling and walls and numerous skeletons standing, lying...

After some gorgeous high 20's days in Positano we sadly left and headed to Pompeii, where it was expected to be mid 30's. Pompeii had a population of about 20,000 at the time of the eruption and the number of buildings that have been uncovered is quite phenomenal.  We spent about 5 1/2 hours walking around finding shade whenever we could but also taking in the sights.  Some of the frescoes that have been uncovered are still in very good condition and of course there are quite a few human and animal bodies that have been preserved in the ash. It is surprising how much detail they know about daily life in Pompeii before the eruption and we were able to view bakeries, large expensive homes, communal baths and a brothel..  It was all very interesting, especially with Vesuvius easily visible in the background.  The heat was getting to us by the end, but as with many Italian cities, there were water fountains in the street for us to refill our water bottles. ...

Forgot to mention in the last post that the boat trip took us into a couple of caves and underneath a natural arch.  The caves were beautiful with stalactites and lovely clear water. Friday we caught the bus to Amalfi and Ravello, two more towns along the Amalfi Coast.  The drive was interesting to say the least as the road is skinny and windy and there are places where both a car and a bus won't fit, so plenty of sudden stops and occasionally either the bus or the approaching vehicle would need to reverse to make room. Once we arrived (safely) in Amalfi we swapped to a different smaller bus for the 15 minute drive to Ravello, which is higher in the mountains and set back a little from the coast.  Ravello was different with lots of lemon trees growing on terraces around the village.  They make Limoncello here, which is about 26% alcohol. We had a tasting and it was very good. There were also many ceramic shops - as there are in Positano.  Trace bought a handpa...

Leaving Florence we had a 500km drive ahead so decided to use toll ways.  Without them a 6 hour drive became at least 9 - and we had some stops planned. The first stop was at San Gimignano in the Tuscany region, which we walked around for about an hour.  It is another mediaeval walled city and we found the baths where people used to go along with churches and the well.  We were lucky that we were there early (9:30) before most of the crowds arrived so Trace could get photos without people in them. From here we drove to Siena, but the traffic was so bad we decided to continue without having a good look around.  So 5 hours, 400kms  and 25 Euros in tolls later we arrived in Positano.  Italian drivers are a different breed and the drive through Naples in particular had been a little hairy.  There was actually a sign saying that we should give way to overtaking traffic.  So in other words if somebody is on the wrong side of the road, you should s...

Florence is a wonderful, historical and romantic city. There is the usual array of churches and historical buildings and many of Michelangelo's works are here including the statue of David. There are lots of other statues dotted around the city and in one spot, Pallazzo dell' Vecchio, there are more than a dozen statues dating back to the 1500's. There is a copy of the statue of David here, but we also chose to visit the Galleria dell Academia where the original one is.  He is quite impressive, being over 5 metres tall (17 feet) and incredibly detailed, including veins on the forearms and triceps.  Unfortunately you couldn't take pictures of the real thing. We spent a lot of time around 'The Duomo',  where we went into the church  itself, up the Bell Tower and also onto the roof of the Duomo.  The views from above were incredible-as was the climb to get up there. We were in the queue to do this for 2 hours so were relieved that it was worthwhile.  At l...