Have List, Will Travel

Italy Trip

August/September 2017

"One of the great joys of traveling through Italy is discovering first hand that it is,indeed, a dream destination."
Debra Levinson

Today it is Tuesday the 29th of August; it is 9:50 PM local which means that it is 12:50 AM San Diego time.  We have been awake since 3:30 AM on Monday.  But this is the start of George and Laura’s Most Excellent 50th Anniversary Trip. 

We left San Diego with no problems and flew for 4 hours to reach the Motor City – Detroit.  The flight was uneventful with the exception of two children seated two rows in front of us.  When one tired of screaming they started a tag team event and the other would pick up the action.  I don’t know what it is; with our advancing years you would think that we would be more tolerant of children and their behaviors or at least with our lower auditory function, we would not be able to hear them as well.  But it doesn’t seem to work.

It was a several hour layover in Detroit and then we boarded the flight to Paris.  That flight was nice and quiet.  But neither of us was able to get to sleep during the 7 ½ flight.  We were not rushed and easily boarded our connecting flight to Milan.  When we arrived in Milan at 11:30 AM, we were one of the first off the plane from the economy section.  So we beat most everyone to the baggage claim area.  Then we sat there and watched while everyone else located their luggage but ours did not appear.  The staff member at the Baggage Claim area directed us to go to the Lost Luggage Office which was a hike across the area.  We stood in line with a handful of others with the same problem.  When we got to the front of the line, the clerk very cheerfully told us that our luggage was still in Paris.  Even though we were delayed for 20 or more minutes before we could start boarding, they could not get our bags on the plane.  She then told us that they would deliver it to our hotel but it would not get there until sometime on Wednesday.  Our other option was to wait for the 3 PM flight from Paris and then take it to catch our train to Varenna.  

So we picked out the most comfortable seats we could find and we waited.  Sure enough they did show up, we dashed through the terminal to catch the bus to take us to the Milan Metro Train Station.  I forgot how confusing train stations can be in Italy.  We did find where to buy the tickets and they told us to take our luggage upstairs to the trains.  When we got up there, the departure board did not have Varenna listed.  Laura asked a gentleman where the train might be and he said it normally comes in on tracks 5 or 6.  We stood between Tracks 5 and 6 and after a while standing there, asked another man if he knew which train was going to Varenna.  He told us that the train on Track 7 was going there.  We boarded the train and confirmed with one of the other passengers that we were on the correct train and that Varenna was the third stop the train would make.

We disembarked and made our way downhill 150 feet to the hotel Beretta.  It is a nice old hotel.  Nothing fancy but clean and our room has a view of the lake.  That is if you stand on the balcony and peer through the flags.  After getting our bags sorted and the necessary items out, we headed down to the lake front to absorb the atmosphere and to find a place for dinner.

Vareenna on Lake Como

We wandered down to one plaza and then along the shoreline until we came to a second plaza.  Laura spotted one of the restaurants that she had wanted to try based on their Trip Advisor reports.   I had a beer but did not get a beer glass for my collection.  Laura had the Tortellini with butter and herbs while I had Spaghetti Carbonara.  Both were very good.  After dinner we stopped on the way back to the hotel for a cone of gelato.  That was the one thing from our previous trip that we really remember about Italy.  They make very tasty gelato. 

After finishing off the gelato, we returned to the hotel and started to prepare for bed.  We were on our last legs by this time.  As I stated in the start of the trip report, we had not been to sleep for over 33 hours.  We were beat.

Wednesday, 30 August.

We woke up to a cloudy morning but the air was still and it was still warm.  We went down for breakfast and the couple seated next to us was from North Carolina so we had a nice visit talking about our different trips and such.  After breakfast, we headed down to the ferry landing to purchase tickets to ride the various ferries and shuttle boats for the day.

Belagio

Bellagio - an old church - now an artist

studio and home

We first rode the ferry across the lake to the town of Bellagio.  We wandered a bit through part of the town near the ferry landing and then struck off up some stairs to another level and followed the street up the hill until we decided that we really didn’t know where this was going so we turned around and retraced our steps back to the ferry landing.  When we got back to the ferry landing, we saw a tourist tram that toured the town.  So we climbed aboard and paid our 5 Euros apiece and took the tour.  It was nice and gave us a good overview of the area.

Menaggio

When we returned to the ferry landing, we did a little more window shopping before we caught a shuttle boat to the town of Menaggio.  We wandered along the lake front until we found one of the plazas.  There we found another tourist tram so we climbed aboard thinking that it might be another good way to have a quick tour of the area.  We sat there awhile as other tourists got on board; we then noticed that it was a one way tour and it would not be leaving for another 30 minutes, so we got off.  We crossed over to the plaza and found a restaurant to have a cool drink.  We found an empty table and while we were waiting noticed the people at a nearby table were drinking a bright orange drink.  When the waitress arrived, we asked what that drink was.  We were told that it was an Aperol Spritz so we decided to be adventurous and try one.

Aperol Spritz

After our cool drink, we wandered up through the plaza and then back to the ferry landing.  We arrived there just in time to catch the ferry to Cadenabbia.  We got off the ferry and started to walk into the town when we realized that it was not a place with much to see from a tourist standpoint so we returned to the ferry landing  with the plan of heading back to Varenna .  The ferry went from Cadenabbia to Bellagio back to Cadenabbia then back to Bellagio before finally reaching Varenna.  We knew that the trip was going to be redundent but at least on the ferry we had a place to sit and a breeze.  When we finally reached Varenna, we returned to the hotel to rest for awhile before we go out to dinner. 
After a brief rest, we ventured out for dinner.  We stopped in the first plaza on the lake front and went into the other resturant that Laura had wanted to try.  Laura ordered the Risotto with white fish plus a tossed salad and I ordered a 3 course sampler meal.  It started with a plate of antipasto of meats and cheeses, followed by a plate of gnocchi and ending with a plate of skewered beef wrapped in bacon.  Big mistake, there was just too much food to eat.  Even with Laura taking a few bites, I could not finish the dinner.  For dessert, Laura had a dish of panna cote and I had a latte.  We returned to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Thursday, 31 August

Lecco on Lake Como, kids feeding the birds

Much to our surprise, we learned that Italy has car alarms that go off at 5:30 in the morning.  That ended Laura’s sleep for the night while I was able to drift in and out of sleep until it was time to get up and go have breakfast.  After breakfast, we walked up to the train station to confirm our departure time for tomorrow and to see about riding the train to Lecco which is at the south end of the lake.  We walked down through a shopping district to the lake front.  It was a modern town on the lake, with lots of shopping, but not a lot of tourist attractions.  We walked for several hours and decided that there was nothing else that we wanted to see, so we got back on the train to head towards Varenna. 

River in Fiumelatte

We stopped in Fiumelatte which was about 2 miles south of Varenna to see if we could find what was described as one of the shortest rivers in the world.  The water bubbles up out of the ground and runs into Lake Como.  We got off the train and searched for a way down to the town.  We finally found an overgrown path heading downhill which we followed to the lake shore.  We could not find much to call a town center, but we did ask a gardener about the short river.  He took us to a water torrent that was coming down from the mountain.  He said to see where it came out of the ground we would have to climb up the very steep mountain.  We started walking towards Varenna but decieded to have a café call us a taxi.  So we returned to the hotel in style.

Church in Varenna

After a brief rest in the hotel, we wandered out to the upper part of the town.  When the taxi had brought us back to the hotel it had passed a church and little square, so we walked up to the church and saw that there was at least 6 different wedding parties in front of the church.  We watched them for awhile and then wandered through the square and down the alleys heading eventually to the lake shore.  We stopped to admire some of the artwork and crafts that were being offered for sale. 

Because the weather forecast called for thunderstorms and lighting, we decided that we would eat on this side of the lake rather than taking a shuttle boat and venturing across the lake.  We found an empty table at Il Molo where we could watch the tourists walk past and look out onto the lake.  Laura had a plate of Tagiatelle with ham and white sauce.  I ate simple, I had a bowl of Pasta Fagolia.  We also shared a starter plate of ham, articoke and mushrooms. 

After dinner, we headed back towards the hotel along the lake shore.  But we did have to stop at the #2 Gelato shop to see if #2 really tries harder.  Hard to decide which shop had the best gelato because both were delicious. 

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was starting to sprinkle and by the time we got to our room, thunder roared and sheet lighting brightened the sky.  It was good to be warm and safe in our room.

Friday, 1 September

The rain was pouring when we got up this morning.  After breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we called for a taxi rather than trying to walk the 150 yards up hill on slippery cobblestones with our suitcases.  Guess who didn’t bring an umbrella or raincoats?  You would think that we would have learned by now to cover all bases. 

Our hotel inVenice

We took the local train to Milan and then caught the express train to Venice.  From there we caught a boat that took us to Saint Mark’s Square.  The problem was that when we got there, we could not get off before they took off again.  The boat was packed and people were not cooperating to let us off.  We went to the next stop, got off and caught a boat going back to St. Mark’s.  We got directions and threaded our way to our hotel which was about a 5 minute walk from St. Mark’s Square.  So the journey that started at 8:00 am was now complete by 3:30 pm.  After getting cooled off and cleaned up, we venture out into the neighborhood for dinner and to see the sights.

We wandered around until we reached the famous Rialto Bridge.  We walked across it looking in all the shops when dark clouds rolled in, it got colder and fat rain drops started to fall.  We looked around and spotted a resturant across the bridge.  We made a beeline for it and just as we arrived the rain came pouring down.  We had a nice leisurely dinner while waiting for the rain to stop.  I did have a local beer and was able to convince the waiters to sell me the beer glass for my collection. 
They must have thought “What crazy Americans.” When we were finished, we had a pleasant walk back to the hotel only getting lost one or two times.

Our view of the rain and theRialto Bridge during dinner, and our walk back to the hotel

Saturday, 2 September

We arose late, it was nice to sleep in and catch up on some of the sleep that the jet lag made us lose.  After breakfast, we stopped at reception desk to ask some questions and ended up going on a “free” boat trip to the island of Murano which is famous for its glassblowing and production of the Murano glass.  It was a great tour.  So many beautiful pieces of glass art.

After walking through the island looking at various shops, we hopped on another water taxi and went to the island of Burano which is not only famous for it’s lace work but is reported to be one of the most picturesque island with its many varied colored buildings.

Afterwards we rode the water taxi back to St. Mark’s Square, returned to our hotel, rushed to change clothes for dinner and then headed out to catch yet another water taxi to get to where we were meeting a tour guide for a Wine and Dine Walking Tour.  It was a rush but we made it only a few minutes late.  Fortunately, we were not the last ones to arrive,  We walked over the area and visited 4 small resturants, drank their wine and ate a small bite.  There were 12 Americans in the group and by the time we had finished our tour, we were all the best of friends.  We then walked back to our hotel, only getting lost once.  We are improving.

Venice

Sunday, 3 September

Bridge of Sighs

We were out on the byways of Venice fairly early this morning.  Alright, it was 10 AM.  But in our defense nothing opens until after 10.  We started off by walking to Saint Mark’s Square.  The plan was to ride to the top of the Bell Tower but there was a sign posted that it was closed because the elevator was broken.  We then moved onto the #2 idea for the day.  We went and bought our tickets for the Doge’s Palace.  We walked up the Golden Staircase and then through the administrative rooms, the Armory, the prison cells, the Bridge of Sighs and out past the gift shop.  I think they learned from Disney or maybe Sea World how to set up the visitor’s route.

Looking through the windows from inside the  Bridge of Sighs

After the Doge’s Palace, we headed out to find a mask shop that we had stumbled upon last night.

My mask being touched up

Laura found a mask that she wanted; she had the artist touch up some of the gold leaf that had flaked off.  He then wrapped it up and we were on our way back to the hotel.  After a brief rest, we ventured out to St. Mark’s Square to catch a water taxi to take us to the Rialto Bridge.  We wandered around there window shopping.  We went into a new, very exclusive and therefore very expensive shopping mall.  We took the elevator up to the fifth floor to go out onto the terrace to look out over the city.  It was a wait but the view was superb.  The downside was that they chased you off after you had been there 5 minutes so they could let another group of tourists come up to the terrace.

View from the top of the Shopping Center

Afterwards we wandered back to St. Mark’s Square with a plan to watch the Regatta but it appeared that we had missed most of the action at that location and what we saw was not that exciting.  We noticed that there was a line for the Bell Tower; the elevator had been fixed; so we joined the line.

View from the top of the Bell Tower

When we came down, we crossed the square and went to St. Mark’s Basilica to take a walk through the church.  It was a dark church compared to some of the other churches we have visited in Europe.  But no picture taking was allowed so you will have to take our word for it.  Afterwards we returned to the hotel to freshen up and then went out to hire a gondola to take a ride on the canals.    We waited for about 25 minutes and the gondola returned to let off his passengers.  He told us it was $100 Euro but he was quitting for the day and if we walked over one street, his friend could take us.  We walked over one street and found ourselves back on the Grand Canal.  All the gondolas were covered up and no one was around.  So we guessed that we were not meant for a gondola trip this vacation. 

It was a good thing because a few minutes later, we felt rain drops on our heads.  Guess who left the umbrella in the hotel room because the weather forecast said clear skies tonight.  We ducked into a restaurant that we had passed many times and had stopped many times to ask directions to get back to the hotel.  We had a nice dinner, nothing fancy.  As we were almost finished a drunken Spaniard and his girlfriend came into the restaurant and he thought it would be great fun to sing to everyone in the area.  His singing was enthusiastic but not very much on key.  The rain finally did stop and we hustled back to the hotel to pack for the continuation of our journey tomorrow.

Monday, 4 September

Verona Arena

Arose this morning, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel and headed for the water taxis.  Rode over to the train station and caught the train for Verona.  We arrived at our hotel in Verona about 1 PM; we dropped our bags and headed out exploring.  Our hotel is right next to the Roman Arena which is very picturesque but more about that later. We had a sandwich at a little café in the shadow of the Arena. 

Afterwards we walked down the street into a pedestrian shopping mall which led us to Romeo and Juliet’s balcony. On the way there we passed a street performer who squeaked a noise maker which caused Laura to jump.  We then walked towards the river to see one of the famous bridges.  It was warm so we stopped for the requisite gelato.  A day in Italy without gelato is wasted.  We then caught a taxi back to the hotel.  Laura went up to the roof thinking there was a swimming pool.  Instead she found a Jacuzzi which was filled with cool water.  She stayed for a while I stayed in the room surfing the internet. 

Ponte Pintra Bridge over the Adige River  - Verona

Later that evening we went out for dinner along the plaza surrounding the Arena.  We found a restaurant and I ordered a frittata and Laura ordered Pasta Faggioli as her main course.  She learned that all Pasta Faggioli is not equal.  Hers, she said, “was like watered down refried beans with a few flat noodles in it.”

We then walked a little, looking at the shop windows and watching the people on the street.  It is a busy night because there is a concert in the Arena.  When we returned to the hotel, we found that we could hear the bass sounds very clearly in our room.  I hope the concert does not run too late.

Tuesday, 5 September

Today, we ventured out of the city to visit the town of Garda located about a 2 hour city bus ride from Verona.  We wandered along the shore and through part of the town before we caught the ferry to Sirmione to see the castle located there.  We do not have many pictures of Garda because after Laura had taken a few pictures, the camera said “Battery Deleted”.  Laura then realized that her spare batteries were in her purse in the hotel room two hours away.  We tried to buy a fresh battery but no shops had batteries for Nikon digital camera.  So she turned the camera off and we saved pictures in our minds.  It is a little hard to share those. Words do not describe what a picture can.

Lake Garda

Anyway we arrived in Sirmione.  It was a neat old castle but way too many steps for us to climb so we limited our visit to the lower levels of the castle.  We found that the camera battery had refreshed itself so we were able to take a few more pictures. 

Sirmione Castel

We then returned to Verona via the local bus and arrived there in time for dinner.  We called it an early evening because we were on the road again tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, 6 September

Milan Duomo

Us on the rooftop

Up, had a quick breakfast and we headed for the train station.  It was back to Milan where we had a six hour layover.  Laura had planned for that.  We checked our suitcases into Left Baggage and found the Metro Station that we rode to the Duomo.  We walked around inside and then took the elevator to walk around on the roof.  It was interesting looking out over the city.  Like most of our trips, one section of the terrace was covered in plywood and plastic over the scaffolding where they were doing some restoration work.    

We then got a quick lunch in a little café in the shopping area next door before heading back on the Metro to the train station.  Our next leg of the trip is to the Cinque Terre which is a collection of five hamlets on the west coast of the Riviera which are built on the cliff face.  We are staying in the largest of the five called Monterosso.  It was a three hour train ride so we read and talked with a couple from Australia and a couple from New Zealand who were seated across from us.  We arrived in Monterosso at dinner time so we hailed a taxi, got our bags into the hotel and went out to find dinner. 

Thursday, 7 September

 We arose this morning, ate breakfast and headed down to the ferry landing with the intention of riding the ferry to the last of the 5 hamlets of the Cinque Terre.  It was a pleasant boat ride along the coast, wind in your air and occasionally a little salt spray in the face.  We arrived at Porto Venere which technically is not part of the Cinque Terre but is a beautiful little village.  We did learn quickly that being built on a cliff side; there are a lot of stairs and inclined ramps.  Between being uneven, paved with cobblestones and crowded with tourists, they were sometimes a challenge.

Arriving in Porto Venere

So many interesting storefronts, different products for sale and things to look at, Laura would like to buy all the pasta that they are offering but we would need another suitcase to bring all our purchases home.  As it is we are filling up our suitcases quickly.  I wonder if the airlines would really mind if I got on the plane wearing five layers of clothing. 

The town of Porto Venere

We boarded the boat and headed back towards Monterosso with our next stop in Riomaggiore.  We again wandered through the town, looking in the shops and exploring the town.

Riomaggiore

We stopped next in the hamlet of Vernazza.  It was refreshing after a long, warm day of hiking about.

Vernazza

Near restaurant in Monterosso

We went into the local church.  On the ground in front was a stone that said 1201.  It was an old church, very plain but beautiful nevertheless.  We caught the last boat back to Monterosso.  We rested in the hotel room for a bit and then went out for dinner. 

We went to the resturant that the hotel had recommended the first night we arrived but was not open that night.  As we were walking down to it, we found a window looking into the kitchen.  There were large vats of seafood and a large sword fish waiting to be cooked for someones dinner.  Dinner was good, Laura had a fried fish platter of squid rings, octopus, & anchovies while I had spagetti with pesto.  They make a very good pesto here.

Friday, 8 September

Monterosso, - through the tunnel to the newer town

Today is a lazy day.  We walked from our hotel in Old Town through the tunnel to New Town.  When we returned to the hotel after our stroll; Laura got into her swimsuit and headed for the beach while I chose to remain at the hotel working on the trip report before going down to the patio to have a beer and read my book.  Life is good.

The remainder of the day was relaxed also.  We walked down to the beach and watched the remaining swimmers play on the beach.  We stopped in a little place along the street and drank an Aperol spritz before we headed off for dinner. 

Monterosso, the Older part of town

and the beach where Laura spent the day

Saturday, 9 September

Up with the chickens, packed and breakfasted, it was off to the train station to catch the 9:05 to Pisa.  It was only about an hour ride until we reached the station in Pisa.  We stored our luggage at the Left Baggage room and hailed a taxi.  25 years ago, we had visited the Leaning Tower and Laura wanted to try to duplicate the picture.

Laura was feeling a little devilish afterwards.  Most people try to hold up the Leaning Tower, she was trying to push it over.  Then we found the fallen angel.  I wonder what is next.  One of the main differences from 25 years ago was that people were not allowed on the grass.  25 years ago the lawn was covered with people, now the street is elbow to elbow with tourists trying to get their “best” picture of the tower.  We did not visit the other buildings in the complex but returned to the area of the train station for a light lunch.

Fountain near Pantheon

We then returned to the train station to catch the 2:50 train to Rome.  It was a 4 hour train ride so we read a little and napped a little.  When we arrived in Rome, we wound our way through the train station and found the taxi line.  There were lots of people waiting for taxis but they moved out very quickly.  We got in a taxi and off we went on a ride that might have been patterned after Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Disneyland.  Our driver was zipping in and out of traffic, had his radio up loud and was talking to us in broken English.  When he finally stopped he told us that he could not go any further and that we would have to walk 100 yards to the Colonna Palace Hotel.  This was because the hotel is located on a plaza surrounded by government buildings and security is very strict.  There is no vehicular traffic allowed and there were a large number of armed military and police in the area.  The hotel told us that when we come back after dinner, we might be questioned as to why we were in the area and to just show them the hotel card.

Restaurant where we had dinner

After unpacking at the hotel, we headed out to look at the sights and to have dinner.  We walked over to the Pantheon in the Piazza Della Rotunda.  We saw a protest group urging people not to eat meat.  There were horse driven carriages waiting for passengers and a multitude of young men hawking their wares.  We found a restaurant that looked like it might be a good choice for dinner.  We were correct.  Dinner was delicious.  Laura had a risotto dish with zucchini flowers and I had fettuccine with asparagus and crispy bacon. We also had a salad with fennel, oranges and olives. It was washed down with a very dry white wine.  It was so dry, that Laura’s glass evaporated. We had to get it refilled.  While we were eating a group started playing songs by Queen in the Piazza.

After dinner we walked over to the Piazza Navona to admire the fountain and to look at the art work to recreate our first night in Rome 25 years ago.

It was a good evening and it brought back many fond memories.  I can say one good thing about the police presence; it was very easy to get directions so we could find our way back to the hotel.

Sunday, 10 September
We awoke to very gray skies and by the time we finished breakfast, it was raining very hard.  So for the time being we are holed up in the hotel room listening to the rain and a car alarm that has been going off continuously for the last 30 minutes. 

Trevi Fountain

Finally at 1:30 PM, the rain stopped but the car alarm has not.  We ventured forth looking for the bus stop for the Hop on – Hop off bus.  We wandered around until we located the Trevi Fountain; Laura threw a coin in the fountain which means we will be back to Rome in the future.  While we were there it started to rain again so we hustled to the bus stop and rode the bus for its 1 ½ hour trip.  After we rode the complete circuit, we stayed on until we reached the stop for the Colosseum.   We got off and walked over to the Colosseum; since it was Sunday it was not open.  We thought we would walk up to the Forum, it was closed also.  We thought we would walk around the Forum to get to the other side but found that the street was a dead end.  So we walked back down to the Colosseum, caught the bus and rode it for a couple more stops to the Piazza Venezia where there was a store that had a café on the roof which would overlook the city.  But you guessed it, it was closed because it was Sunday, so we walked around the area for a while until we found a group of restaurants.  We stopped for dinner even though it was still early.  After dinner we noticed that we were only about 5 blocks from our hotel, so we headed down the street looking in the various shops and stores along the way.

The Colosseum

When we are travelling Laura always looks for different architectural features to photograph.  I don’t know which is more frightening – the brass door pull or the photo of me eating a cone of gelato.

Then it was back to the hotel and to be tucked away for the night.

Monday, 11 September

We awoke to gray and ugly skies, when we went up for breakfast, it started raining again.  So we are back in the hotel room waiting for it to stop raining before we venture out.  By 10:30, it had stopped raining, so we headed out for the Piazza Venezia to visit the National Monument for Vittorio Emanuele II which is also called the wedding cake.  But we got sidetracked and stopped to visit the former home of Pope Innocent X – the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj.  It was quite a collection of artwork and statuary. 
Pope Innocent X had written into his will that the family could never sell any of the art work so unlike many collections of Roman art, this one is intact.

After our visit we caught the Hop on – Hop off bus to ride over to where we were supposed to meet our boat for a ride on the Tiber River.  We got off the bus at the stop and climbed down the stairs to the boat landing.  After a while, we started wondering if the boat was going to ever come pick us up.  So we climbed back up to the street and found one of the tourist guides.  He told us that the boats were not running because of the rain.  We were disappointed but we got back on the next bus and returned to our starting point.  We found the area with the Spanish Steps and then we stopped and had a quick lunch of pizza and beer before heading out again.

We continued with our original plan to visit the Piazza Venezia to visit the National Monument for Vittorio Emanuele II .  Laura had heard that there was a café on the upper level and you could take an elevator to the top.  When we got there we found that the café was closed and you have to climb 6 or 7 staircases before you get to the level where the elevator is located.  We did make the climb and rode up to the top.  The views of Rome where worth the effort.

National Monument for Vittorio Emanuel II

 From the top we could see all over Rome, and the Forum was just below us, so we had a wonderful view of it.

Roman Forum

After the visit we hailed a cab to take us to the area to meet up for our walking foodie tour.  We were early so we stopped in a little café and had an Aperol Spritz before taking the food tour. 

In the Jewish Ghetto section

Places we visited on
food tour

There were 12 people in the tour and we visited 6 different establishments getting small bites of cheese, meats, pizza, pasta and fried zucchini blossoms topped off with our daily allotment of gelato. Much of the tour was through what was the Jewish ghetto and the Travestere area, which is the working class of Rome’s residential area.

It was a good day, it had sprinkled from time to time during the day not enough to make it miserable and the Romans were very happy because these two days of rain was the first they had in 5 months.

Tuesday, 12 September

We arose to bright sunshiny skies.  After breakfast we walked up to the Trevi Fountain to get a better picture of Laura to compare with the one taken 25 years ago.  Afterwards we were planning on returning to the Piazza Narvona because the photos we took previously were somehow deleted.  We did not make it there but did stop and go into the Pantheon to see the tomb of one of the Ninja Turtles - Raphael.  While we were wandering about we came across a shop that specialized in wood carving and they had quite a few examples of Pinocchio.

Pantheon and the inside looking up at the hole in the top

Pinocchio Store

We then hurried back to the hotel to check out, catch a taxi to the train station to get our train to Naples where we switched to a regional train to come to Sorrento.  The regional train was an experience.  Our ride was a little over and hour in length during which time we made 23 stops.  Now the Italians really like sardines and they pack their buses and trains like them.  We arrived in Sorrento at about 3:30 PM.  We took a taxi to the hotel and Laura went for a swim to refresh herself while I got the trip report up to date.  When we walked into the main plaza we noticed a very weird sculpture. 

Statue in Sorrento

We had planned on going to the L’Antica Trattoria for dinner.  It was a resturant that we discovered when we were here 25 years ago and had eaten at it twice because it was so good.  Unfortunately when the hotel called to book a reservation, they did not have any until 10 PM and we felt that was just too late for dinner.  So we went scouting and found a place that looked like it might have a good menu.  The food was good but what made the night was splitting a bottle of Falanghina, a white wine, that we had on our first night in Sorrento 25 years ago.  This is afterall a trip down memory lane.  Now sharing a bottle of wine made it a little difficult navigating our way back to the hotel.  We tacked back and forth across the sidewalk. 

Wednesday, 13 September

Our drive down the Amalfi Coast

We had a quick breakfast and then met our driver who drove us down the Amalfi coast to Ravello which is a hill top town which can only be reached by bus or car.  We beat the tourist buses so we had an enjoyable walk around the town and visit to the main plaza. It was a very pretty little town especially nice with families visiting in the plaza and children playing.

Church in the town square of Ravello

Mosaic inside the church

From there we took the bus down to Almafi which was Laura’s favorite of the little towns we visited even though it was very busy because of all the tourists.  We sat in a resturant across from the entrance to the church and had a light lunch.  We listened to opera singers doing an example to promote the production that was going to start at 9 PM and then a group of strolling musicians played a selection of songs in the square. 

We found the boat that they use in the Regetta and found a little shop making wood block prints. We thought the old cast iron press was very pretty.
 

We then went to the ferry landing and caught the ferry to Positano which is a very small town consisting of multiple winding staircases up the hillside between the buildings.  We explored it for awhile and then caught the ferry to Sorrento.

Positano

The white hotel on the side of the cliff is where

we stayed 25 yrs. ago. With the

elevator down to the beach.

The trip back to Sorrento went smoothly.  As we were coming into the bay, we started looking for the hotel where we stayed 25 years ago.  Remember this is a trip down memory lane.  Sure enough we spotted the elevator shaft that ran from the hotel next door down to sea level.  Laura had gone down there then and swam in the Med but she did not recreate that moment on this trip.

We got back to our hotel and changed for dinner.  We had reservations tonight for the L’Antica Trattoria which we were really looking forward to dining at once again.  In our wanderings last night we had found it and it had not changed much in the past years.  When we spoke to the head waiter, he said the only thing different was that they had added tables outside on the street. 

So after resting up from our adventures down the coast, we got dressed up and we went to L’Antica Trattoria for dinner.  It was very good.  It was even better than we remembered.  They first brought out an appetizer and a small glass of champagne.  We ordered the Symphony dinner which was included a starter of either battered deep fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with cheese or battered and deep fried calamari, it was followed by a pasta dish, Laura chose the spaghetti with shrimp and caviar in a hollowed out lemon. The main course was pork medallions which I chose or baked cod which Laura chose.  We then were directed to choose a dessert from the menu.  Laura had Lingott, a hazel nut confection.  I had the Black Mousse. We also had a glass of white wine and several glasses of water.  When our desert arrived, the head waiter, our waiter and a mandolin player showed up with a plate with several small pastries and two candles and the mandolin player played the wedding march and they all congratulated us on our anniversary.  Everyone in the dining area applauded and several as they were leaving came over to congratulate us. 
The head waiter even brought Laura a red rose bud.   It was a very good evening.

Thursday, 14 September
Today’s adventure was a high speed ferry ride to Capri.  We landed in Capri and took the funicular up to the main level.  From there we took a bus up to Ana Capri.  Sometimes it is better to have your memories of a place rather than trying to go back and relive them.  Capri was overrun with tourists.  You spend as much time waiting in lines to get somewhere as you do seeing the sights.  There were too many tourist shops selling the same things none of the originality or uniqueness that we remembered.  Of course you cannot tell there are many people because Laura does not like to have people in her pictures so she will wait and wait and wait until she gets the picture she wants.

We did have a nice walk out to the lookout point where you can see the 3 Sirens but even that was tainted in that trees have grown up and have obstructed the view.

One of the 3 Sirens, the others are hidden behind the trees.

We got back to Sorrento at about 5 PM, we returned to the hotel to rest for a little while before changing for dinner.  Tonight we stopped at a sidewalk café off the main square.  We thought that was the place where we had Limoncello for the first time.  It was a good meal, we sat and watched the people drive, ride and walk past our table.  Afterwards they gave us a little glass of Limoncello crème which was very good.  Then it was off to the hotel to pack for tomorrow is a travel day.  Talk about crazy Italians, who in their right mind would have a fireworks display lasting 30 minutes that started about 11:15 PM.  I was just getting to sleep when it started.

Friday, 15 September

We left the hotel by 9 AM, caught a taxi to the bus station.  Our bus was a 10:50 so we had a wait sitting there on a stone wall under the olive trees.  The bus took us to the airport in Naples where we had to wait until 3:15 to board the plane.  The flight landed in Catania, Sicily at 4:45.  We had a long wait for our luggage and then caught a taxi to take us to our B&B where we are spending one night.  The B&B was very pleasant.  After we unpacked, we walked out into the area of Old Town where it was located looking for a place to have dinner.

The streets of Catania

Catania is a port city.  Our first impression of the city was that it was a lot grittier than any of the other cities we have visited.  There was graffiti on almost every wall.  There were groups of young people sitting on steps outside buildings smoking, drinking and visiting with each other.  We did not feel threatened but the area was a bit rough.  We made it down to the Duomo Square where we saw a Cinderella coach being driven out of the square.  Off to the right of the Duomo was the Fish Market where we had dinner. Laura had a half lobster with spaghetti while I had swordfish with penne pasta.  It was a very good meal.  They had a young lady there who sang during the dinner.  She was very good.  I was also able to obtain 2 beer mugs to add to my collection.  Then it was back to the B&B to turn in for the night.   
                
Saturday, 16 September

Statue in the public gardens next to our hotel

This morning after breakfast in the B&B, we caught a taxi to the bus station to go to Taormina.  It was a pleasant 65 minute ride along the coast under the shadow of Mount Etna.  We could see smoke coming off the top of the mountain. We have three nights in this hotel.  After unpacking, we walked uphill to visit part of the town that was near us.  Remember every place in Italy is uphill.  On the way we visited the public gardens that are next to our hotel.  Then we found a little café and stopped for a cool drink and split a sandwich.  We had a little excitement while we were sitting there in the café.  A car came up the street and the café was at the top of a 90 degree turn.  The driver was riding his clutch and inching forward through the pedestrians.  Café employees had to go out and move chairs and tables so he could get through.  I don’t know what he was thinking about when he chose to drive up that narrow street and the employees were shaking their heads also.

We wandered a little further uphill until we found a main shopping street.  We walked along looking at the different shops.  Laura saw some little clay ceramic puppets that were really cute.  We waited until the store opened; she found out that they were $75 Euros.  She decided that they were not that cute.

We found the Messina gate and walked back into the shopping area.  We were searching for a road that went downhill to the area of our hotel when we came to the Teatro Antico which was an ancient Greek theatre.  Tonight they are having an opera so the area is still in use.  Laura went in to take pictures while I stood outside.  While in the theatre Laura saw a black snake winding its way through the stones.  Afterwards we got some vague directions to a stairway to take us back to the hotel.  We found the stairway and with only a few missed turns found the street where our hotel is located. 

Teatro Antico

After we returned to the hotel, Laura chose to go for a swim to cool off and I took a nap.  We cleaned up for dinner and walked a short distance, again uphill, to a restaurant that the front desk had recommended.  We had another excellent dinner.  When we returned to the hotel, we found that there was going to be a wedding party on the patio below our room.  We saw the bride and groom in the lobby.  We wished them well as we headed for our room.

Sunday, 17 September

Isola Bella - where we spent the day. 

Today is our 50th Anniversary.  With that in mind, we decided to have a little more relaxing day.  Laura thought it would be fun to go down to the Isola Bella Beach and spend the late morning and early afternoon there.  We walked downhill for a little ways and then uphill to find the cable car that would take us down to near the beach. 

The Villa on the island

You still have to climb down about 100 steps to reach the beach from the cable car station.  We headed down and when we arrived found out we were at the wrong beach, so it was back up the stairs then up the road maybe 100 yards and then down the 100 steps again.  We did finally reach the beach and paid the $20 Euro entrance fee which gave us two lounge chairs with umbrellas.  Laura went for a swim and found it very refreshing.  But she found it difficult to walk on the pebble beach.  Not only did they shift under your feet, they were hot.  I sat under my umbrella and watched all the tourists covered in oil.  It was a good day.

About 2 PM, we decided that we had enough fun and we should head back up hill to the hotel to get ready for our dinner reservations at 8PM on the top of the mountain.  We got to the cable car station and there was a line out the door.  We found out the cable cars had stopped operations due to helicopter activity near the cables.  We waited about a half hour in the hot sun and decided that was for the birds.  Even if they started the cable cars soon, there were more people there than could fit in a trip and they only made trips every 15 minutes.  We left and went to a nearby café and ordered a light lunch and something cool to drink.  Then we hailed a taxi to take us back up the hill.

We got cleaned up, went to the public park next to the hotel and on edge of the cliff restated our love for each other.  It was a touching moment; we both had a problem with leaky eyes.  We then returned to the hotel and called for a taxi to take us up the mountain to Al Saraceno Restaurant.  The taxi could not take us all the way to the restaurant because there was a religious festival being held in the church just the other side of the restaurant so we walked about 100 yards through vendors selling nuts, candy, toys, fried meats and anything else you could ask for.  When we got to the restaurant, the manager met us and seated us on the terrace above the street.  We had a great view to the countryside below us and the bay in the distance.   

The manager suggested a wine which was very good.  It was locally produced so there is no chance of having it again back home.  We ordered dinner, Laura wanted a lamb dish and the manager said he would order for her.  I ordered a grilled chicken breast and he told me that I could have chicken when I got back home and that I should have the special beef steak that he would make special for me.  I asked him if in his spare time if he was a used car salesman.  He laughed.  As it turned out, our dinners were magnificent.  He chose very well for us. 

About half way through our dinner, they had a band playing and they started a procession from the church down the hill carrying the Madonna and the faithful following along behind with candles.  After they left it was fairly quiet and then the fireworks started.  It was like the 4^th of July.  The manager came over and told use that he had arranged the fireworks especially just for us.  We didn’t believe him but thanked him anyway.  It had been a lovely evening.
Monday, 18 September
Today we had our big bus adventure, after breakfast we had to walk up to the bus terminal to meet our excursion bus at 8:30 AM to take us to Mount Etna.  It was a little over 2 hours on the bus to get to the parking lot on Mount Etna.  I am certainly glad that I am not driving because it was amazing how the driver got that two decker bus through the narrow streets and around some of those corners.  We had a little wait while the tour guide got our tickets for the cable car which would take us further us the volcano.  After the cable car, they loaded us on large jeep bus to take us further up the volcano.  Then we got to walk us to the top of one of the craters.

There was a guide to escort the groups up to the various craters.  It was difficult walking on the trails because of the small bits of lava rock and volcanic cinders made footing difficult.  Also the wind was blowing hard enough that at times it would rock you back.  We did not keep up with the group and after a while listened to another guide talk, then headed back down to the trail to the pickup point.  It was not really cold although they were renting jackets for 3 Euros each.  We then had a lunch while we waiting for the bus to pick us up at 2:30 for the return to Taormina.  We did not reach the top of the volcano but we did make it to an elevation of 2920 meters or 9580 feet. 

I can’t say much about the trip back to Taormina because both of us fell asleep on the bus.  When the bus arrived at the station, we chose to walk up hill towards the Messina Gate and the central part of town.  This time we walked the entire length of the old town and out to another ancient gate and a plaza overlooking the bay.  We stopped and had small beer and split a pizza.  A roving band of musicians came by and serenaded everyone in the little street café.  Afterwards we were going to take a taxi back to the hotel because our feet hurt from all the walking but we found that we would have had to walk further to find a taxi than it was to walk to the hotel.  So we hobbled down and called it a night.

Tuesday, 19 September

Missimo Theatre

It was another travel day so we arose, packed up and had a quick breakfast before heading down to the train station.  Our original plans were to have a private car drive us to Palermo with stops along the way to see various things.  It had been quoted at $300 Euros which was expensive but when we asked about it; the price had jumped to over $700 Euros which was outrageous.  So our plans changed.  We took a regional train to Messina which was an hour ride, had a `1/2 hour wait for our connecting train to Palermo.  We arrived in Palermo at about 4 PM and took a taxi to the hotel.  We did not even unpack but immediately headed out to see some of the local sights.  Our hotel is right across the plaza from the Massimo Theatre.  We could see the theatregoers walking up the red carpet to enter the theatre.  Many stopped to pose on the red carpet for photos.   We stopped for a cool drink and then Laura lost me when I stopped to look in a shop and she had continued down the street and turned into a church plaza to take pictures.

We walked down the pedestrian street dodging bicycles and motorbikes.  There were lots of stores with fashionable clothing.  Our hotel had recommended a restaurant which we located.  The food was very good but the service was very slow even by Italian standards.  Then it was late and we headed off for a good night’s sleep.  We will have a little time tomorrow to do some more exploring of Palermo since our flight to Rome is not until 7:20 PM

Wednesday, 20 September

Inside the Massimo Theatre

Breakfast served in our room, which was a change from the normal routine.  The down side was no refill on juice or coffee but we will survive.  We decided to take the tour of the Massimo Theatre before doing anything else.  It was a good choice, the tour was only 20 minutes in length but we were able to see the main parts of the theatre including the royal box.  We learned that Al Pacino was filmed in the theatre for scenes in the movie “The Godfather”.  That film made a hit in Sicily as many of the tourist souvenirs are related to the movie.

The stage was set for their current production of “A Mid-Summer’s Night Dream”.  It was interesting that the glass panels in the ceiling could rotate out of place to allow the hot air to exit the theatre.  We also passed a rehearsal room where dancers were practicing.  It was a good tour and for the first time we got a “senior” discount.

After the tour we headed out to visit two of the old street markets in town; the Ballaro market & the Capo market.     

Capo Market and the streets near it.

There were so many things to see.  We found several areas with statuary and even found a few door knockers.  Before returning to the hotel to wait for our taxi to the airport, we had arrancine, which is a deep fried rice ball with a filling, for lunch at a little sidewalk café.

About 4PM we headed back to our hotel and got the taxi to the airport.  Our flight to Rome uneventful, we had a good night’s sleep at the Hilton on the airport property. 

Thursday, 21 September

It was a bit of a rush in the morning to catch our flight but we made it with no problems.  That is when the “fun” began.  We were delayed on the tarmac for an hour while they did fuel/weight calculations.  I did not have a problem with that because I certainly did not want to run out of fuel half way across the Atlantic.  We finally took off and the flight was smooth.  Laura had gotten us seats in the front of economy class so we had plenty of legroom.  We had another passenger in between us.  The flight was 13 hours in length so we were happy to land in Atlanta even if we were an hour late.

That hour we lost and the delays getting our luggage, processing through immigration and customs, rechecking luggage for our connecting flight and finally going through the infamous TSA security checkpoint caused us to miss our connecting flight. 

To add insult to injury while in the TSA process, Laura’s hand carry luggage was pulled aside for further inspection because she had purchased a bottle of Aperol at the duty free shop and TSA said they had to confirm that it was alcohol.  I asked her if they had opened the sealed package and opened the bottle to taste test to insure it was alcohol but she said that they put the bottle in a machine and did not open it. 

Anyway, we rushed to our plane to find that it had left 15 minutes before we got there.  We found the Help desk and got rebooked on a flight at 9PM but there was another flight at 6:11 PM that we could try to catch on the standby list.  As it turned out, they did have 2 empty seats on the flight so we were on our way home. 

We arrived in San Diego at 7:45PM, we waited for our luggage and it did not show up.  We checked with the Baggage Office and learned that the luggage had not made the 6:11 flight but would be on the 9 PM flight which got to San Diego at 11:05PM.  We were not happy campers.  We went home and awaited a call from the baggage office to let us know if they had contacted a driver who would deliver them to the house.  Finally they called at 11 PM and a driver would be delivering them by no later than 3:30 AM.  Thanks a lot.  As it turned out we got them at 12:30 AM.  We quickly unpacked what we needed for the night and went to bed.  We had been up for 28 hours and did not get any sleep on the plane so we were beat.

Friday, 22 September
Four loads of laundry later, sorting through about 5 pounds of mail and sorting out all the purchases we had made during the trip, we are finally settled.  Life is good.  Baxter was glad to see us and happy that we were home also.

Saturday, 23 September

Kim and James have arranged a surprise for our anniversary.  They set us up in a beach cottage in Oceanside for the weekend.  When we arrived there Saturday morning we learned that they had invited as many of our friends that they could contact to join us for a celebration.  It was a wonderful surprise and we had an enjoyable afternoon visiting with family and friends. 

After the party was over and everyone had left, we read all the cards and notes that our friends had left.  Later, Baxter and the two of us, took a walk up the beach towards the Oceanside pier.  For dinner, we drove out to the 101 Café as Laura was craving a good American Hamburger. 
After thoughts of the trip:

Everything in Italy is uphill.   Italians love sardines and packs passengers into their busses and trains like they are sardines.

I was surprised at the level of security in Rome and Palermo.  There were military vehicles and soldiers at every plaza or important building.  If the military was not there then multiple police cars and policemen were.  The hotel front desk said it was in response to the terrorist attacks in Barcelona, Spain.  Other places we visited we did not see the heightened level of security. 

I was surprised by the amount of graffiti in the area of the Vatican.  25 years ago, I remember or at least I think remember there was not any there previously. 

Loved the Lake Como area, I could have spent the entire time just hanging out in the little towns on the lake.

Coffee – Italian coffee is thick, dark and good.  Starbucks can’t match it.  Although at the hotel in Taormina the hotel’s coffee was terrible.  I didn’t ask for Americano coffee but it was like dark dishwater. 

Gelato is good.  Lemon gelato is wonderful although Laura could argue that, since she had several other flavors that she loved. 

We have the greatest friends, family, daughter and son in law in the world.

Hope you have enjoyed our trip as much as we did.  Stand by for our next adventure – Poland.