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Italian Adventure Sep 2023
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Italian Adventure Sep 2023

Travelling to Italy with a group of friends for 3 weeks, then five days in England to visit Joanna & Asher in Surrey. Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 16, 2023
  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    First Flight

    September 16, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    About to take off. Vietnam Airlines 2.15 pm flight to Hanoi. Should take about 10 hours. Arrive close to midnight. Then on to Paris. Steve and Sandy are also on the flight.

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Paris

    September 17, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Our stopover in Hanoi was smooth. It was about 3 hours and I managed to find myself in a business lounge for about an hour of that time, which was pleasant, although Asian spicy food at 2am is never fantastic.
    The second flight on Vietnam Air was 12 hours long and I slept spasmodically.
    On arriving in Paris it was efficient through immigration and customs and then onto the RER train to Gare de Nord. From there we changed to the metro to catch a train to Richard Lenoir station, near where we
    had booked an Airbnb.
    Steve, Sandy and I dropped our bags at a Nannybag where we could leave them till we could get into our accommodation.
    Then we walked through the neighbourhood to the Bastille markets, which are a magic outdoor markets full of quality French food and other things. We bought some pastries, baguettes and dips and enjoyed a little picnic in the market.
    We then walked past the Bastille monument and towards the Marais district.
    We explored a 400 year old church within throwing distance of the Bastille, admired some patisseries, and then walked through the picturesque Place de Vosges, with its art galleries, restaurants, historic buildings and beautiful garden. Victor Hugo’s house is also a museum in the unique aristocratic neighbourhood.
    We then walked through the Jewish neighbourhood and visited some Jewish shops, and bought some Yiddish traditional food, including a vegetable borek.
    We visited the Museum Carnevalet which is a museum about the history of Paris which has only been recently opened after a renovation lasting at least five years. It is located in a beautiful building built be Louise IV and a real feature of Paris. The museum was free entry and well worth visiting.
    Afterwords we went just across the road into an exhibit of design in an old library which was worth visiting just for its historical maps and books.
    It was great just wandering through the neighbourhoods of Paris on a quiet Sunday morning.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Paris afternoon

    September 17, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We visited Notre Dame to view the progress of the reconstruction project that is underway after the destructive fire of 15 April 2019. The project is huge and will take years. The displays all around the site provide information about the fire and the work done since. The is also an amazing display in the square in front of the cathedral that exhibits the various kind of work involved in building a cathedral. There a builders working with massive oak logs with authentic medieval tools. There are stone masons carving stone details designers working on the gargoyle designs and arch features for the stone masons to work on. There were stained glass masons putting together stained glass for the project. All of these are on display in a village which has been erected for the purpose in the Notre Dame forecourt. An amazing place to visit.
    We then found our way to a French creperie to enjoy a crepe for lunch.
    Then we caught a train to the Eiffel Tower and then to buy tickets for a Seine cruise.
    Sandy nearly crushed a small Chinese lady who broke her fall when she tripped over a speed hump on the way to the ticket booth.
    The cruise on the Seine was a very pleasant way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon and a great way to get a sense of some of the city’s landmarks.
    After the cruise, we caught the train back to our Airbnb and checked in. After going out to buy some food for dinner, we got a relatively early night to try to make up for the 48 hours of travelling and the jet lag we were all feeling.
    A memorable day in Paris.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Paris to Rome

    September 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    This morning we found a Boulanger that had fresh baguettes and pastries for breakfast. A delicious selection of French delights. We had a relaxing morning before checking out at 11.00 and commencing our journey to Rome.
    We caught two trains and a bus to Orly airport, south of Paris. Then a Vueling plane to Rome airport, taking off at 3pm and landing at 5pm.
    We caught the Leonardo express from Fuicimi Airport to Rome Termini Station and then walked the 10 minutes to our hotel, Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi. It is right across the road from an grand old church Basilica Papale de Santa Maria Maggiore, which dates from the 5th century.
    We checked in at about 7.00pm and then went out for dinner to a local restaurant where we sat outside al fresco in the warm balmy Roman autumn weather and enjoyed our first taste of Italian food for our trip. It included pizza, carbonara pasta, bruschetta and arancini. Delicious.
    After dinner we went for a walk to see the Colosseum by night, with all the arches and antique carvings lit up against the night sky. We walked past two red Ferraris double parked in front of a restaurant where the owners were casually having dinner while everyone gawked at their cars out the front.
    On our way back to the hotel we enjoyed our first gelato. We walked to the square in front of the old basilica near our hotel, finished our gelato and marveled at the magnificent aroma architecture all around us in the piazza.
    It was a day waking up in Paris and going to sleep in Rome.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    The oldest church in Rome

    September 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We started the day with breakfast at the hotel, catching up with Peter and Grace, and Paul and Janine. Janine had nearly lost her phone to a beggar thief the night before but Paul had chased the beggar and recovered her phone, and tow additional phones of others at the restaurant. He was the hero of the hour.
    We then caught a bus to the Basilica of St John in Lateran, a church established first in 324ad just 12 years after Constantine had legalised Christianity in the Roman Empire. It is a huge church, alongside a palace occupied by the pope for hundreds of years until the Middle Ages. And outside the church is a huge obelisk taken from the temple of Karnak in Egypt where it had been placed in 1400BC. The first place it occupied in Rome was at the centre of the circus maximus, until it was relocated to this significant church.
    The twin obelisk from the Temple of Karnak was placed by Constantine in the hippodrome in Istanbul where it can still be seen today.
    The interior of the church was very impressive and it is one of the four major basilicas in Rome.
    We stopped for coffee and refreshments at a small cafe across the road from the church before catching a bus back to the hotel.
    We then explored the church across the road from our hotel which is also one of the four significant basilicas in Rome - the Basilica of Saint Mary Maggiore. This church was founded in about 450AD on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, not far from the Termini Railway station today, it is an impressive church and the hotel we are staying in was built 600 years ago as a palace to house the cardinals who were candidates in the election for Pope.
    Lots of amazing history. Then we went to the Mercato adjacent to the station for lunch. It is a high quality food market. The pizzas are some of the best in Rome.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Tour of ancient Rome

    September 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    At 2.30pm our Roman guide, a lovely lady named Verena, met us at our hotel and took us on a guided walking tour of some of the highlights of Ancient Rome. We went to the Mamertine Prison, where Peter and Paul were probably incarcerated prior to their executions, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palestine Hill. These were all enlightened by our guide’s relentless instruction and dry sense of humour. The tour went all afternoon, and I the evening we shared a dinner al fresco in the common Roman style in the balmy Autumn evening.Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Tour of the Vatican

    September 20, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We were up early this morning to embark on a tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Cathedral and square.
    Our guide did a great job getting us early access to the Vatican museum and taking us through its most important rooms and explaining the most significant exhibits. It is an extraordinary collection of exhibits and it would take a full month to view each item in each room. What a place and what an overview of history. The Sistine Chapel is an amazing experience, seeing the work of Michelangelo in several of his artistic periods. Raphael is also an artist whose work is well represented in the significant rooms that were once the papal apartments before the museum took them over in the 1700s.
    After the museum was explored, along with the other 30,000 people there, we went into the Cathedral to marvel at the size and scale of the largest church in the world by a significant margin. It is huge and opulent. And the sculptures and artworks by Michelangelo and Bernini were incredible. It is a humbling thing to see something so old and on such a grand scale.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Walking tour through Rome

    September 20, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After the tour of the Vatican was complete and we had shared lunch, we embarked on a walking tour of Rome to visit some of its most beautiful sites. These included the Castel de Anglos, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. There were several stops at gelato shops and a specialty coffee outlet. And there was the shared experience of the group walking through one of the most amazing cities in the world.
    The layers of history make it a very special place.
    We had dinner on our last night in Rome in the Central Mercato near to the main Termini Station. The food is amazing.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler
    1

    Naples

    September 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We gathered at the Rome Termini Station at 9.30am in order to catch our morning train to Naples. We boarded at 10.15am and the train set off about ten minutes later. Every seat is ticketed like an airplane and you have to sit in the assigned seat. The train journey is smooth and comfortable. The train got up to speeds of 298km per hour. The screens in the carriage keep passengers updated with information about speed and weather.
    When we arrived at Naples Central Train Station, we met our guide for the rest of the trip, Danelle. She walked with us to our hotel where we dropped our bags and began a walking tour with our local guide, Licia.
    We explored the old city of Naples, visiting famous old churches, eating pizza, drinking coffee and gelato. We walked down to the city square near the modern palace and the coffee shop Gambrinus.
    We then left the guide and went for a walk along the Naples waterfront and then had dinner at Sorbillos on the waterfront. There was a blackout so we had to pay cash because no electrical appliances were working.
    After dinner, we caught the 8.30pm bus 151 from the waterfront back to our hotel for the night. An exciting afternoon in Naples.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Pompeii

    September 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We left the hotel at 9.00am to catch our bus to Pompeii. Our driver, Giuseppe, and our guide, Danielle, accompanied us on our journey. It took about 30 minutes.
    We met our local guide, Vernina, at the gates of the archaeological park of Pompeii and began a tour of the extensive excavations of the old city of Pompeii, which was buried in ash and lava in August AD 79.
    We marvelled and the preserved buildings and streets of this 1st century city, frozen in time by the disaster that befell them.
    After our tour of Pompeii, we returned to our hotel in Naples for a free afternoon.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Afternoon in Naples

    September 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    After arriving back at the hotel, everyone enjoyed some relaxing time and I went for a walk in the old city.
    At 4pm we caught a train and then a fenicular up the hill to the Castel San Elmo which overlooks the whole city of Naples and with a view of Vesuvius and the entire Bay of Naples. The fenicular is a train that travels up a hill but is stepped in the carriages so everyone is on a level platform while the vehicle travels at a steep angle.
    The castle is an amazing medieval fortress which is well worth a visit on its own merits, but the fact of it’s amazing views of Naples means it is a must visit location.
    After returning back to city level, we walked along Spaccanapoli and stopped for dinner and gelato in turn, and then back to the hotel at 10pm to turn in for the night, and to write this blog.
    A great day in Pompeii and Napoli.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Island of Capri

    September 23, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    After breakfast in our Naples hotel at 7.30am, we boarded our cute 20 seater bus for the short journey to the Naples ferry port. From there we boarded a ferry bound for the island of Capri, despite the ominous clouds and choppy seas. We sat inside the ferry as the rain started to fall and enjoyed the ferry trip across the gulf of Naples to the Marina Grande on the eastern shores of Capri. As we were sitting on the ferry, Rob Crawford was handed a phone by an older man who sent a message using Google Translate as the man could not speak English. The message said, Would you mind speaking a little more quietly. He definitely settled down after that, so it shows he can be more quiet for a sustained period when he tries really hard. Although, it has to be said, that on the ferry from Capri to Sorrento at 4.30pm, Rob got all the passengers to sing Happy Birthday to Steve Carroll whose birthday it is today.
    After arriving in Capri, we caught a little bus up the precarious road to Anacapri, which is the higher of the two villages on the island. We spent some time there but is was pouring with rain so it was not ideal weather for exploring. A beautiful place though, even in the rain.
    We then caught the bus to the township of Capri and spent three hours exploring. It was a lot of fun. It truly is a magestic island. We saw famous three rocks but it was too wet and the waters too rough to go by boat to the grotto.
    Capri is a place we all want to return to on a sunny day.
    The evening was spent in Sorrento having dinner at a restaurant with a view over the Gulf of Naples.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Amalfi Coast

    September 24, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After breakfast in the hotel at 8.00am, the bus departed full of excited Australians keen to explore the Amalfi Coast. Danielle, our guide, explained the history of the area as we marveled at the scenery from the bus and at the various stops along the way to take photos. It must be at the top of the list of the most amazing coastal drives in the world. We were blessed with sunny weather today so the coast looked its best.
    We stopped for photos at Positano, but spent most of our time in the township of Amalfi. We all met in the town square, but then went off to do our own thing. Some of us walked up high in the hills behind the town to explore the spectacular countryside and the waterfalls that supply the town with prodigious amounts of water.
    I also went to the single working paper mill and museum still operas with machines used for traditional paper making. If ever someone finds themselves in Amalfi, this museum is highly recommended. I actually got the chance to make paper from cotton distributed on water. Amalfi used to be the best paper manufacturer in the western world, and there were over 20 paper mills in the Main Street of Amalfi, all powered by the river running down the centre of town. Today there is only one paper mill and it operates as a museum as well as keeping the traditional paper making methods alive for visitors.
    I also visited the shipping museum. Amalfi was one of the four maritime powers of Italy, the others being Pisa, Genoa and Venice, and their ships were famous for the products they traded around the world. The museum has a galleon of the kind they moved goods around the Mediterranean during the heights of their maritime power. It was also interesting to see the towers from which they watched for pirates and warned the population from when pirates approached the shoreline.
    After spending the afternoon in Amalfi, which for many included a swim in the Mediterranean, we caught a ferry from Amalfi to Salerno and then the bus back to Sorrento. The views of the Amalfi Coast from the ferry were amazing, particularly with the dark clouds as a backdrop and rain on the seaward horizon.
    On the bus ride home, we watched the sun sink into the Mediterranean in the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvius lit up and golden in the diminishing daylight.
    Upon our return to Sorrento, we briefly stopped into our hotel before heading out for dinner in the township of Sorrento, our last evening in this beautiful town so famous for its coastline, its seafood and plentiful citrus and lemoncello.
    We had dinner at Restaurant Fuoro located on Via Fuoro which was spectacular. I had spaghetti carbonara, which is made with strong pancetta, and a lemon mousse dessert that was shaped like a lemon and had three layers, each as tasty as the next. A tasty way to end the stay in Sorrento. Tomorrow morning we arise early to travel to Siena.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Sorrento to Siena

    September 25, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After an early breakfast in the Sorrento hotel, we walked to our bus to commence the lengthy journey to Siena, our destination for today. The total trip was about 7 hours plus stops. Several stops were made for various nibbles, at morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, each for about 30 minutes.
    The really interesting stop was made between Naples and Rome, at the monastery of Montecassino, the first order of monks in the history of Christianity, established in this monastery in 529AD by Benedict, who became a saint and whose order is known as the Benedictine Order. The Abbey was originally built in 550ad but it was destroyed at various times by invading armies, the last of which was the allies in WW2 who bombed the building to smithereens in the battle in this place, believing that the Germans had substantial munitions stored in the monastery. The allies won the battle at greatcoat of lives, and after the war, the whole monastery was rebuilt, including the most ornate cathedral imaginable. The graves of St Benedict and his twin sister are still venerated in the crypt below the altar.
    After we had spent a fascinating hour at the abbey, perched as it is at the top of a very high mountain with a view over the whole valley between Naples and Rome, we boarded the bus to continue our journey towards Siena.
    It was 7pm we we arrived at Siena. We spent nearly an hour settling into our hotel and then caught a bit up to the old city of Siena, walked to the famous Piazza del Campo, where there is a famous horse race called the Palio held twice a year, and we chose a restaurant and shared a delicious dinner in the famous piazza in the shadow of the huge tower under the light of the moon. I had the tigniatelli with beef Ragu for dinner.
    Finally, after marveling again at the famous medieval piazza, we walked the 3.5km back to our hotel by 11pm, ready for bed in our Tuscan hotel.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Under the Tuscan Sun

    September 26, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After breakfast in the hotel, we set off in the bus on a tour of the Chianti region of Tuscany, on a beautiful sunny Tuscan morning. We stopped first at a quaint town called Grieve, and spent an hour there in the old centre. I met a man, named Francesco, driving a 1965 Vesper through the town who stopped and parked outside a coffee shop that turned out to be the best in town. Francesco was happy to offer me his Vesper for 5000 euros, but I was not keen on trying to fit it into my luggage. He introduced me to his American wife, Jennifer, who had travelled to Greve 30 years ago for uni and had met Francesco on her first day. That was that.
    After Greve, with its coffee and pastries, we boarded the bus for a winery and olive farm named San Stefano, something that the two Steves on the trip made a bit of a fuss about. We were taken on an enjoyable tour of the wine-making and olive oil- making facilities and learned a great deal about their methods, which reflect some of the centuries-old traditions in the Chianti region.
    The tour was followed by a long-table lunch under the shadow of the vines and olive trees, and with breathtaking views of the nearby regions of Chianti. We periodically pinched ourselves to check we were really in the moment.
    It was a very special experience shared with special friends.
    The bus trip back to Siena was over in a quick time, back by 3pm. We then held a unique memorial meeting in the local Tuscan park, sharing emblems and readings.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Evening in Siena

    September 26, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today was David and Annabelle’s 31st wedding anniversary, which was very special. David celebrated by joining us in catching the 4.19pm bus into Sienna and leaving Annie behind at the hotel without a room key. I think, judging from Annie’s subtle body language in evidence when she later caught up with Dave in the old city of Siena, was something that might have been better thought through by Dave. However, it must be acknowledged in Dave’s defence, one can’t expect to have everything together after only 31 years of marriage. These things take time.
    We explored the old city of Sienna, and visited the piazza and the Duomo. We also had dinner in a delightful little restaurant in a side alley in the old city.
    Just in case you were wondering, the repeated representations of the wolf and two baby boys on many major city landmarks are a reference to the fact that Sienna was purportedly founded by the son of Remus; the same Remus who was killed by his brother Romulus, the father of Rome.
    Just after dinner, the winning horse in the most recent Palio race was being paraded through the old city, accompanied by drums, banners and Sienese people dressed up in the colours of their contrata, or neighbourhood.
    We caught the bus back to our hotel to ensure we had a reasonable night’s sleep before leaving Siena for Florence tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    First day in Florence

    September 27, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We left Siena by bus on Wednesday morning, bright and early, bound for Florence, to which we arrived at about 10.30am and checked our bags into our hotel before embarking on an informal walking tour of the city.
    We saw the Ponte Vecchio, Pitti Palace, then a coffee, the secret Vasali elevated passageway built for the Medicis, the Uffizzi, the Palazzo Vechio, the magnificent cathedral, baptistery, bell tower, and then the St Lorenzo Cathedral, leather market and the Mercato Centrale. The last named place is a food market that is hundreds of years old, and a couple of us who were brave had the Panini Lambredotto, which is a bread roll with lamb’s stomach on it with some chilli and pesto sauce. It is a local delicacy which needs to be tried by everyone. I bought two cans of Coke Zero which offended one local Italian man who scooped up both cans and threw them in the bin, all the while exclaiming loudly that it is not the time and place to drink coke but I should instead drink a glass of wine with my panini. He was very passionate and demonstrative.
    After lunch there was free time for wandering around Florence.
    For dinner we shared a Florentine bostecca, an aged steak which is a specialty of the region, and then a gelato before bedtime. Another amazing day.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Walking Tour of Florence

    September 28, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    This morning we had breakfast in the hotel, before setting off on a walking tour of Florence with a very informative local guide, a young woman named Irene, who was a bit late due to a small accident with her four year old son before she came. But all was well.
    Irene was very passionate and knowledgeable about the history of Florence which made for a great experience over the three hours we wandered the medieval and renaissance streets with her in the lead, and our radios on tuned to channel 10.
    She told us about the extent of original Roman town in the times of Julius Caesar, the tower homes during the dark ages when it was quite unsafe and also unhygienic to walk the streets. She told us about the emergence of the Medici family who took up banking and transformed the financial system of Italy and Europe. The Medicis became wealthy and influential, even providing four popes during their 300 years of rule, up until the 1730s.
    The Medicis were largely responsible for the renaissance due to their patronage of the geniuses and artists that Florence has become famous for, including Donatello, Brunolesci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Galileo, just to name a few.
    The piazzas of Florence were the places where the bonfires of the vanities took place when a conservative monk named Savonarola ruled the city for about four years and convinced the Florentines to burn all their books, artworks, clothes and other decorations in their homes. When the Medicis again took power, the renaissance continued unabated.
    We walked past the copy of the statue David by Michelangelo, noting it’s anatomical accuracy, and then walked to the street outside the Uffizzi where, in 1993, the Sicilian mafia exploded a car bomb, killing five and injuring more, and letting the Florentine magistrates know that the investigation into the mafia, and the relevant witnesses who were then about to testify, were on borrowed time.
    The tour ended in the main civic square where for five years after unification, Florence operated as the Italian capital until Rome was declared Capital in about 1871.
    The afternoon was free and I visited a luthier shop where a group of three artisans were making violins, violas and guitars. I then went for a walk up to Michelangelo Piazza on the hill that overlooks Florence from the other side of the Arno. A beautiful scenic spot for a panoramic vista of the magical city.
    Dinner was pizza and there was an evening concert in the main city piazza, before gelato and bedtime.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Porto Venere

    September 29, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This morning we drove from Florence to La Spezia, dropped our bags at the hotel, walked to the Marina to catch a ferry bound for Porto Venere, on the tip of the peninsula between La Spezia and Cinque Terre. The ferry ride was delightful in the early afternoon sun and we sat upstairs on the open deck to take in the panoramic views, which included a close view of Steven Spielberg’s new 109m long cruise ship that he just bought new for 250 million.
    Porto Venere is a picturesque village on the Mediterranean with an island close to the shore, making a narrow waterway which makes the town even more beautiful.
    We walked through the village and up to the church and castle and marveled at the views.
    We also tasted the delicious local pesto for which the region is famous. In fact, so good did it taste, I bought a jar of pesto to eat with crusty bread later.
    We caught the ferry back to La
    Spezia, settled into the hotel and then went out for dinner to taste the pasta with pesto. Delicious.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Cinque Terre

    September 30, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We left the hotel early so we could catch the 8.15am train to Monterosso al Mare before the crowds arrived. We went to the Focaccia bakeries to get an early warm slice of freshly baked local delicacy.
    We then went for a swim before wandering through the old city and then caught a train to Vernazza. I climbed up high to get a high vantage point over the picturesque city on the high hills of the coast.
    We traveled again by train to Manarolo and it was in the i in which we spent a couple of hours swimming in the most amazing azure waters from which the steep mountains fell precipitously into the Mediterranean from a huge height, mountains on which houses are stacked up on each other and are made more beautiful by the iconic wall colours and contrasting shutters on the windows.
    The last village we visited was Riomaggiore and we swam in two places in this village. We stayed until the sun was sinking into the west and then we boarded the train with wet swimmers to travel back to La Spezia, where, after a shower and a change of clothes, we ventured forth to enjoy dinner for the last night in amongst the myriad of pizza and pasta restaurants that line the cobbled streets.
    Geoff York took the record for the most swims of the day. He swam in seven separate beach locations in the villages we visited during an amazing day. Weather perfect, scenery even better, swimming in the aquamarine water of the Mediterranean was the best.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Como

    October 1, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We walked to the bus from the La Spezia hotel, setting off for Como via the outskirts of Milan. It was about a four hour trip and we arrived at our hotel at lunchtime. We dropped our bags and set off for a walk around the old city of
    Como, spending an hour enjoying lunch in the old city. We spent some time in a street market full of antiques, some of which seemed very old and potentially quite valuable. We had a look through the magnificent old cathedral that is located in the location of the old Roman city ruins, the street level of which is three metres lower than the current level. Como has been sinking for the last 2000 years because it was built on marshlands.
    We caught the funicular up to the town on the high hill above Como in order to enjoy the panoramic views, although it was a bit hazy which limited what we could see. The humidity accounted for the haze, which hung around for our entire stay in the region.
    We enjoyed dinner in town, celebrating Eliza Yorks birthday at the same time, and grabbing a gelato for dessert on our walk back to the hotel. Another great day, this time in northern Italy.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Bellagio

    October 2, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This morning the bus left the hotel at 8.00am and drove us the 60 minutes to Bellano, a town on the eastern side of Lake Como, from which we caught a ferry to the famous and beautiful town of Bellagio, right at the geographical centre of lake Como. The town, like most in this area, is built on the shores of Lake Como, the surrounding hills of which plummet spectacularly from about 800m above the lake into the water. The mountains seem further back from the lake are up to 2500m above sea level. The lake is said to have been carved out by a glacier over many years.
    Bellagio is a famous town on the lake and we spent several hours wandering through its streets and to the peninsula which reaches right out into the middle of the lake and from which the are almost 300 degrees views.
    We ate a pasta lunch overlooking the lake.
    After lunch we caught another ferry to the western side of the lake to visit Villa Carlotta, a famous large villa built in the early 19th century for an aristocratic Italian family. The villa has been a museum for many years, and is an insight into how the upper class maintained large stately homes in this region hundreds of years ago. The gardens are also extensive and well maintained. There were a large number of huge trees in the garden the must be at least 200 years old, including an impressive cedar of Lebanon which is huge in height and girth.
    We caught a ferry back to Bellano, then the bus back to Como, admiring the amazing tunnels through the mountains that must have taken years and millions of dollars to build. We also respected the skills of the bus driver on the switchback turns climbing the mountain out of Bellano.
    We had a late dinner in Como before heading off to bed after a big day beside the glistening freshwater of Lake Como.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Como to Milan

    October 3, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Leaving the hotel after breakfast, we boarded the bus at 8.15am to travel to Milan en route to Venice. We arrived in Milan at about 10.00am and then went for a walking tour through some of the older and magnificent features of the old city.
    We walked through the Sforza Castle, dating from the Middle Ages.
    We walked to the central piazza of Milan and marveled at the facade of the famous Milan cathedral. I booked a ticket to enter the cathedral and explore the architecture and unique features of the building.
    I then found a nice place for lunch on the 7th floor of the Rinascentre.
    We caught the fast train to Venice at
    2.15pm, scheduled to arrive at 5.12pm.    Read more

  • Travel AdventuresItalian Adventure Sep 2023Traveler

    Arriving in Venice

    October 3, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We arrived in Venice by train at 5.15pm and the boarded a vaporeto ferry along the Grand Canal to St Marks Square. It was the golden hour of the day so the light was beautiful against the old buildings lining the canal. Great for photos. We walked through the magnificent square to our hotel and checked in. Then we went out for dinner before a few of us walked to a concert of Vivaldi in an old church. It was a fantastic concert; the quality of the musicians was very high. The Four Seasons was performed, as well as Dance Macabre by Saint Seans and then an encore by Corelli. A wonderful way to spend the first evening in Venice.Read more

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