Tag Archives: traveller

November 29, 2012 · 7:20 pm

Day 17 – Roma!

15th June 2012

Fishing Maiori style

I had a wander around the town and down to the water for a last few photos this morning before we left. There weren’t many fishermen around but the one I did see was eye-catching, I don’t think he could get any closer to the edge if he tried!

We’ll be in Rome tonight, yay! Our driver and guide look very suave in their suits this morning. Maybe you don’t notice or appreciate little things after a while but it made the day seem special to me. Also the fact that they’ve genuinely been so nice and helpful to everyone gives you a good feeling. Anyhow, enough of the warm fuzzies for now..

For some reason lots of people seemed on edge this morning while we were on the coast road, even the tour guide seemed quite watchful. Me, I was still craning my neck to see everything and hopefully get some photos without reflections from the windows, and I thought Andrea did a wonderful job again. It took longer than I expected to reach Rome but when we arrived on the outskirts we picked up another guide, had a driving tour around and saw heaps of the famous sights. It was a pretty surreal way to first see places like the Colosseum, the Forum and Vatican but was a great introduction and orientation.

First glimpse ever of the Colosseum

I can’t wait to start exploring on my own tomorrow although I’m not sure where to start first there’s so much I want to see. One of the couples in the group have lent me a great little book called Walking Tours of Rome so I’ve been studying that the last few days and my list grows longer all the time.

We had our farewell dinner tonight at a restaurant just across the road from the Teatro dell’Opera, only a short walk from our hotel. We had a very authentic menu with about 6 courses I think, I keep losing count. Every dish and the wines were delicious, the waiters were lovely and the company was unbeatable, we had an absolute ball.

: Roman wall

: Using every square inch

: Not sure I’d be standing there

: Looks like the wall has a few battle scars

: Clinging to the cliff

: Bus & bridge

: There is a road there – somewhere

: from Amalfi coast road

: Interesting sign at Maiori jetty

Day 16 – Amalfi Coast

14th June 2012

Maiori port, Italy

I love walking to the little port in Maiori from our hotel. We pass some charming cafe’s on the way and once we arrive there’s all the pretty boats and old men sitting repairing fishing nets. Today we’re off to Amalfi first and then Positano. We were early to Amalfi so it wasn’t crowded and didn’t feel terribly touristy.

Paper Museum, Amalfi Italy

I was keen to have a look around the paper museum so headed off in the general direction and ended up there with Rita, Tony, Jenny and Dorian. The young man who took us around was a real treat. He had some curious twists to his English that took a little understanding but was an absolute treasure trove of information. We made a piece of paper in the mill using the same setup that’s been there for hundreds of years. It was wonderful to see the original hammers, vats and water wheel still in place and working.

Positano Italy

Another short ferry ride and we were at Positano which was far busier but just as gorgeous I think. There seemed to be good shopping but I only bought a couple of postcards, I figure there’s too much to see to spend all my time inside shops. A few of us had lunch and a couple of wines together up in the back streets before heading down to the port for our journey home to Maiori.

Good old Jenny helped relieve the boredom on the ferry ride back. I have photos of her trying to pole dance and do the Titanic pose at the same time – Gilberto is in the background looking at the pair of us as if we’re idiots. He could be right, but it kept us awake and laughing and that’s got to be a good thing I say.

Limoncello tasting this afternoon in Maiori – all I have to say is YUM!! I bought a couple of little bottles to take home for the kids to try – or maybe for me to enjoy between now and when I go home, whichever!!

It’s almost the end of our tour, tomorrow will be our last day on the bus. If I think about it I start to feel sad so I’ll just not think about it yet. Off to dinner now and then the dreaded packing again, thank goodness we’ve had stays of more than one night everywhere.

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Filed under Italy, Mid-life travel, Travel

Tagged as Amalfi, female, older, Positano, traveller

November 23, 2012 · 10:13 pm

Day 15 – Isle of Capri

13th June 2012

On the way up to Anacapri

We were entertained last night at the hotel while we had welcome drinks by our tour guide and the maitre’de singing up a storm. They had good voices but the maitre’de looked like someone out of a mafia movie with his white suit coat and bow tie and our tour guide was hamming it up big time so it really was quite comical. Some of us then adjourned to the rooftop terrace after dinner where we demolished quite a few bottles of wine and talked and laughed until the wee hours. It was a terrific end to a truly great day – another one!!

The boat trip to the Isle of Capri was a bit of an adventure at times. Jan & I were sitting out the front of the boat having a good old chat to another small group of people and we almost all got blown away when we got up to speed. Everyone was hanging to to hats, bags, sunnies and each other for dear life and then the water started spraying in as well – we were absolutely soaked but laughing fit to split. We got some lovely pics of the two of us, all windswept and gorgeous – not really, we looked like a pair of drowned rats – but it was great fun and we dried quickly once the spray stopped.

View from Mt Solaro

The views on the road up to Anacapri, at the top of the island, were simply breathtaking and the village itself was lovely but so crowded it was uncomfortable at times just walking along the streets because of the crush of people. I didn’t have a lot of time in the town as I took the chairlift up Mount Solaro with some of the others. I thought the views earlier were amazing but it just got better and they kept coming. I only walked a short way from the chairlift station and I was at the edge of the lookout, speechless again – it’s all so beautiful. There were also intriguing sights beneath us on the chairlift, I saw some of the wackiest garden ornaments ever, obviously a few people with a quirky sense of humour around.

Back down the hairpin bendy road to Capri where I had a quick window shop at a few boutiques but I’m a bit over shopping at the moment. Jenny, Dorian and I had lunch together at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea and we then sat with Margaret and Ron people watching until it was time to leave. We must be showing our age I think, being happy to sit and talk instead of running around like mad things shopping and sightseeing. I’ve had so much fun with everyone on the tour it’s going to be hard leaving the group when we get to Rome. Best not to think about that though, we’ve got a few more days yet.

Gardens beneath the chairlift

It was a much more sedate ride back this afternoon, I had my first nanna nap of the trip – all that fresh sea air must have tuckered me out. I could get used to the siesta thing though, I was full of beans again when we got back to Maiori and had a nice wander around this evening. It seems a less touristy place than most others we’ve stayed at, with more Italian families holidaying here than foreigners. All the oldies were out for their afternoon session sitting around together chatting and laughing – I’d love to know what theytalk about every day – but they sure do make great photos.

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Filed under Italy, Mid-life travel, Travel

Tagged as female, Isle of Capri, older, traveller

November 21, 2012 · 2:39 pm

Day 14 – Pompeii!!

Pompeii ruins

12th June 2012

Today we’re heading to Maiori on the Amalfi Coast but first we get to explore the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Now this is one place I’ve been looking forward to visiting for a VERY long time. I first read about Pompeii when I was about ten or eleven and have been fascinated ever since. I dragged my two daughters down to the Melbourne Museum to see “A day in Pompeii” a few years ago, well, maybe not quite dragged as there was shopping involved too. They were keen to see the exibition but couldn’t believe how long I stayed inside. I happily missed a few extra hours shopping in exchange for more time soaking it all in and anyone who knows me would agree that happily missing out on shopping is highly unusual.

Oranges and Lemons – fresh lemonade at Pompeii

We had a great guide today, both knowledgeable and entertaining, I am definitely coming back one day to visit the museum in Naples. Apart from actually being at Pompeii at long last the next best thing there was the freshly made lemonade from the stalls just outside the site – really hit the spot being such a hot day.

I don’t know why but I just can’t find the words to describe today’s visit like every other day, for me it was just special. I felt terribly silly, but on the way there I was almost in tears a few times because I was so happy. Suffice to say – it was excellent.

Oops! On the Amalfi Coast road

And then – the road along the Amalfi Coast – amazing! Just driving on this road is an experience not to be missed. I’ve been on some pretty narrow, windy roads but this one was particularly crazy. As usual, Andrea was superb, calm and relaxed, which is more than could be said for some of my fellow passengers. There were a few clenched hands on the seats and anxious faces at times, but I was too enthralled by everything we saw along the way to be worried.

The funniest thing was that when we reached a normal road again the tour guide thanked and congratulated Andrea on his performance and informed us – it was the first time he had ever driven it – wow!!