February « 2009 « YappingDog

Rome…last days

February 24, 2009

Well, the end of our holiday is nigh. Rome has been one of the best places we’ve visited so it’s a fitting conclusion. The weather has been so lovely, warm sunny days; the food, as we’ve mentioned in Italy, continues to be great and the sights have been super fun. The Colosseum, Palatino and Roman Foro, the Trevi Fountain, Villa Borghese, The Spanish Stairs, Piazza Navona, The Sistene Chapel, The Pantheon and we even saw Eggs Benedict at Vatican City. There we were wandering aimlessly about the Vatican when all of a sudden the bells ring and who appears at the window? The very man himself. He gave us a little sermon before wishing us a good week and closing his window. Some pics.

The Colosseum

Russell Crowe in retirement

Roman Foro/Palatino

Roman Foro, from the other side

Trevi Fountain

One of the locals 'hard at work'

Inside of the Pantheon

Piazza Navona

St Peter's Square, Vatican City

Vatican City

St Peter's Square from the Cupola

Vatican City

Inside St Peter's

Pieta, one of Michelangelo's finest

The Tiber

Castel St Angelo

Villa Borghese

The over crowded Spanish Steps

Pope Benedict at the window

Hercules inside the Vatican museum

One of the many tapestries inside the Vatican

A Raphael frescoe at the Vatican

The Sistene Chapel

As this will be our last entry, here’s some final stats and other stuff regarding our trip to finish up:

Total number of photos taken (not incl. Dubai) = 6534
Total number of hotels stayed in (incl. Dubai) = 52
Total number of hostels stayed in = 0
Total number of times we slept in the car = 0
Total number of times we went to McDonalds (not incl. toilet stops) = 1 (it was raining, it was late and we were hungry, ok?)
Total number of countries ( & Republics) traveled = 14
Total holiday time =23.5 weeks or 163 days
Total number of car days = 86
Total number of km’s driven = 11,230
Avg speed overall (incl. Naples) = 47km/ph
Cheapest fuel = Spain (€.86c/litre)
Most expensive fuel = France (€1.14/litre)
Best mode of transport = Peugeot 207
Best mode of public transport = Eurostar
Lowest Temperature = -5 in Turin, Italy
Highest Temperature = 27 in Sicily, Italy (Dubai will be warmer)
Biggest rip-offs = Parking in Nice, France & Gelato in Florence, Italy
Best deal = €2.75 for breakfast in Paris because the waitress couldn’t count the change correctly
Best tourist attraction: Mont St Michel, France & Sagrada Family, Spain & The Vatican, Italy
Favourite countries in order: France, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, England, Spain, Italy…they were all great, this is a tough list

So tomorrow we fly for Dubai where, because we haven’t gone over budget, we’ll be spending a few days shopping before returning home. So thanks to all the readers & commentators who followed our trip, we’ve had a ball. See you in Australia. Over and out.

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Posted by yappingdog

From Sicily into Calabria & then Rome…

February 19, 2009

Wow, what a week and a bit we’ve had. Unrelenting. After checking out of our Agrigento accommodation we hit the road for the small Sicilian town of Ragusa, SW of Siracuse. Our prime reason for stopping in at this little gem is that we heard via the grapevine that much of the Montalbano series is filmed here, but Ragusa offered so much more. The town is split in two due to an earthquake a few centuries back but was all rebuilt in the original Baroque style. Pretty corbell detail on balconies, lovely little laneways lovingly restored. It was a real gem of a place to leisurely wander through and get a genuine feel for Il Commisario’s adventurous tales.

Turkish Stairs at Agrigento

Main square in pretty Ragusa

Balcony corbells

Dove sei Commisario Montalbano?

The next day we headed on to Siracuse, town of the Greeks! Well Ortigia was where the Greeks first landed when they invaded Sicily. We walked the island; Fonte Artusa, Duomo and the relics of Apollo’s Temple. It’s worth mentioning that on the drive into Siracuse we stopped in at the Archaelogical Park which features a Roman and Greek theatre as well as Dionysus’ Ear a cave named by Caravaggio because he believed that Dionysus could hear all the Roman strategies against him through the echoes. Anyway.

Greek Theatre at the Archaelogical Park, Siracuse

The JB in Dionysus' ear

Couple of locals at Fonte Artusa, Ortigia

Ortigian coastline

Duomo, Ortigia

Relics of Apollo's Temple, Ortigia

On the way up the Eastern coast of Sicily we had planned to stop in at Mt Etna for a peek, but as we ascended the weather turned on us and we detoured, heading directly for Taormina, which surprisingly afforded some great views of the Northern side of the crater. Whilst at Taormina we also checked out the relics of their Greek theatre that overlooks the Ionian Sea, with Etna in the background. The theatre is still used in the summer so it’s in great condition.

Mt Etna from Taormina's Greek Theatre

Greek Theatre, Taormina

Up the Messina Straits from Taormina

Our last day in Sicily we headed up the coast to the ferry port and crossed back into ‘the mainland’, but not before indulging in a couple of traditional arancini on our way across the Messina Straits.

Our next stop was in at the JB’s relos in Calabria. We had planned to stay there for only a few nights, but during our stay were once again snowed in to about 30cm and with the all the food on offer, why leave? So after eating, eating and eating, we ate some more before having a snack on our way out. It was four weeks in one, even the JB had sore gums from all the food and talk. Every day we lunched/dinnered with different families, dropping in on cousins for coffees, arancini and chocolate! By the time we left yesterday we were knackered. So because we weren’t feeling tired enough, we decided to drive for eight hours to the outer suburbs of Rome. We literally ate and collapsed into a deep slumber.

San Francesco di Paola, Calabria

Sterling silver altar, Paola

Frescoes depicting the life of San Francesco, Paola

One of the many murals decorating the streets of Diamante, Calabria

The JB with cousins Roberto & Fabio (aka Carl Williams) in the snow, Calabria

Elisa's work in the kitchen...

After they were cooked...

La Sila, Calabria

Our farewell cake, Calabria (Elisa again!)

The JB & his Gramps, a classic act

This morning we returned the car; having driven some 11,230 kms in 86 days through countless locations. What a great experience this has been. The car-leg of the trip was by far better than waiting for buses and trains; it opened up more opportunity to visit places off the beaten track and kept us cosy and warm during snowy & wintery drives. The best way to see Europe.

So tonight we find ourselves in Roma. We plan to have a rest before hitting the touristy spots tomorrow. So much to do in so little time… Until we next post, do as the Romans do, whatever that is.

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Naples to Sicily

February 6, 2009

It’s difficult to describe the pure madness that Naples is. Crazy drivers, agressive scooters, polluted cobblestoned laneways, pot-holed roads that change from two lanes to four without notice, people just everywhere. A day in this city feels like three. Having said that, it’s a total buzz. Definitely a city that can only be done in small doses, particularly for relaxed, easygoing folk like the JB and I. By the way great pizza and fantastic gelato.

San Gennaro Cathedral in Naples

Interior of San Gennaro, Naples

The JB outside one of Fonz's favourite 'gelaterias'

The JB about to rob one of Fonz's favourite 'gelaterias'

Pozzuoli, pretty little seaside town outside Naples

After taking 2 hours hours to cross the 7km perimeter of Naples city, we arrived in Pompeii. Amazing. We wandered through the ruins of this absorbing city, imagining life as it were for those before the eruption. For those who haven’t already read Pompeii by Robert Harris, suggest you do so. The site is extensive and there’s much to mention, but I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Pompeii plaster casts

Pompeii relics

Teatro at Pompeii

Apollo's Temple at Pompeii (Vesuvius in the background)

Pompeii street

Pompeii

Cathedral remains, Pompeii

Pompeii

Next stop was Sorrento on the Costeria Amalfitara. Our room directly looked over the island of Capri – a beautiful sight to watch the sunset and sunrise over each day. We drove the along the beautiful coastline, taking in gems like Positano (the only city in the world built on a vertical axis), Amalfi, Ravello and Salerno.

Sunset over Capri as viewed from our room

Positano on the Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coastline

Amalfi Coast, near Smereldo caves

Ravello

Amalfi Coast

Our next leg was probably the most exhausting day of the entire trip thus far. We drove from Sorrento all the way to Messina. About 600 kms taking into account diversions we had to take. Heavy rain over the winter months has caused major landslides blocking the major freeway at Cosenza. We boarded the ferry (to cross the Messina Straits) and before the JB could polish off his second arancini we had to disembark.

Sicily has been amazing so far. I know many ’Australian Italians’ will find this an outlandish statement, but we have been the beneficiaries of the best hospitality, most delicious arancini (one of Sicily’s most famed delicacies), the warmest weather (it’s been between 16 and 25 degrees each day), amazing beaches and coastline views, and I honestly cannot find a negative word to say about this place – probably because the Greeks were here before the Romans.

Cefalu village and Cathedral towers (b/w Messina & Palermo)

Monreale Cathedral

Chiostro at Monreale Cathedral

Teatro at Segesta

Our guide at Segesta

Temple at Segesta

Segesta Temple

We arrived in Agrigento this afternoon, via Segesta and Valley of the Temples. Tomorrow we go looking for Montalbano…well Andrea Camilleri who wrote the original novels based his fictional towns of Vigata and Montelusa on Agrigento and Ragusa.