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Italy 2018

August 2018
A 16-day adventure by The Travels of Paula Read more
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  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 2

    Heading to Italy

    August 11, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Day 1 - Travel Day and Arrival in Sorrento

    ‍‍‍I packed my suitcase last night and helped John by rolling up his shirts and pants.  I also walked to grocery store to get a couple things for John.  The Washington Flyer picked us up at 2pm and we were at the airport by 2:30pm. Our Global Entry status got us Tsa Pre so getting through security was relatively easy. 

    We arrived at Naples pretty much on time. The luggage of one person in our pickup group was lost so while we waited for them I got money. Then we headed for our hotel in Sorrento.

    Once we got settled in our room, we showered and changed, got appetizers for dinner & went to the pier for a sunset boat ride around the Bay of Naples.  Our sailor & guide did a great job. We learned a lot about the area around Sorrento. We tried Lemoncello (not my favorite) and then prosecco (Riondo) and chips & pretcels as we watched the sun set. A nice first day in Italy.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 3

    Day 2 - Trip to Ercolano

    August 12, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Day 2 - Trip to Ercolano

    ‍I started the day with the hotel's breakfast buffet while John slept in.  At 10 am we headed for the Train Station. We purchased tickets and figured out which train took us to Ercolano.  The train was about 10 minutes late arriving. I wasn't paying attention at the 1st stop, but the next stop was not on the schedule nor were the next few. It turns out the schedule doesn't list all the steps. But there is a diagram near the doors that shows all the steps. After the initial fear that we were on the wrong train, I was able to relax  and enjoy the train ride.  At Ercolano it was a straight shot to the Herculaneum Excavations.  Our guide, Felicia, met us at the ticket office and gave us a little overview, before we headed in.  Herculaneum was destroyed in the same volcano erruption as Pompei, but was covered with a type of lava that preserved skeletans, furniture and other artifacts.  Felicia, who is also an Art Historian & Restorer was excellent. We spent about 2 hours at Herculaneum then we got lunch and headed back to the train. We got back to the heal at about 4:30 to discover that the Welcome Reception was moved up from 6pm to 5:30pm, so we had to rush to get ready.  There are 26 people in our group including 2 teenagers. The two teenagers are very mature. I guess I am going to have to reassess my opinion of teenagers.  Each member of the group (or a member of traveling companions) introduced themselves and told 1) where they were from 2) how many Tauck tours they had been on before and 3) why they had chosen this tour.  After the intros and some info from our Tour Director, we headed on foot to the restaurant for dinner. The food was wonderful and we enjoyed the wine.  We sat with a couple (Bretna and Lonie) who had been picked up at the airport with us. I enjoyed getting to know them better.  After dinner we all headed back to the hotel since we had to get up early (breakfast at 6:45am and on the road at 7:30am).  It was a good first day.Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 4

    Day 3 - The Amalfi Coast

    August 13, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Day 3 - The Amalfi Coast

    ‍Today we left the hotel at 7:30 am.  We drove along the Amalfi Coast. We made a stop to visit a church along the way. After the tour, we all went to a gelato store.  I got Pistacheo gelato and John got lemon cream gelato.  Then we drove on to Ravello. We had lunch in a small restaurant near the center of the town. The food was good, but there were problem for the owner and staff getting the special meals for those of us with allergies.   The meal was 3 courses - pasta with meat sauce & pasta with red sauce; chicken caccatore with green beans and potatoes; lemon sorbet in a lemon shell.  It was a lot of food for a lunch.

    After lunch we took a tour of an area where a stage overhangs a mountainside.  Then we climbed a 200 stair tower that overlooked the valley below.  After that we headed to the meeting spot and did a bit of window shopping.  There was a shop there called Wine and Drugs that we couldn't resist looking in.  The store also sold signs/plaques.  My favorite was "Alcohol won't solve all your problems, but neither will milk or water."

    We didn't get back to the hotel until after 6:30 pm.  We showered and John look for a pizzaria.  We found one a short walk from the hotel. The pizza was good and we finished with gelato.  The restaurant provided a free shot of Lemoncello for each of us.  I gave mine to John.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 5

    Day 4 - Pompei

    August 14, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    ‍‍Today our bags were picked up from our room at 7am. I had already headed down to breakfast while John got dressed (we were to meet in the lobby at 7:50 am).  At 7.30, I returned to the room to discover John was getting readyg the flashlight on his phone.  Right after the luggage was picked up, the power to the room was turned off. So I ran downstairs to tell the Front Desk that the power was off and let Florence, our tour director know our situation.  The hotel sent someone up, but he could not resolve the problem. So John finished up in the dark and our group got on the bus.

    Pompei was impressive. To ensure that we could go into some othe more impressive houses that limited group size, our group was divided into two smaller groups.  Our guide was good.  What makes Pompei so impressive is the size of the town.  We spent about 2 hours there.  We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant.  The food was delicious and plentiful (and included wine). I have started taking pictures of the wines I like in hopes I can get them ahen I get home.

    We got to our hotel in Rome around 4:30, but our luggage didn't get to our room for another 30 minutes.  Once we got our luggage, we showered and dressed and met up with the group to walk to the restaurant.  The wine was good, but the service was very slow and many of the meals were not good. We each could choose 3 courses. I chose a pasta (fettuccine with truffles), a beef entree and canoli for dessert.  my dishes were all good.  John was disappointed in his.  He thought the meat was not a very good quality.  one guy at our table, Larry, ordered a pork dish that was all fat.  Then the recommended dessert which was supposed to be a chocolate tort with chocolate sauce and blueberries that almost everyone but me ordered came with no chocolate sauce or berries and was evidently very dry.

    We barely finished our dinner when it was time to head for our little vans to take us on a Rome by Night tour.  14 of us were supposed to go, but a backed out, so only 12 of us went - 8 in one van and 4 in our van. We first went to the Trivoli Fountain. It was still pretty crowded at around 9.30 pm.  Then we drove around the Colossium.  There was no one there.  Our guide, Antonio was very good. He told us a lot of information about Rome as we drove us around.   We also crossed the Tiberius River and saw some of Rome on that side.  Our final stop was St. Peter's Basilica.  The four of us from our van were able to walk around with no one else around and take pictures.  That tour was well worth the extra cost.  When we got back to the hotel at after 11 pm it was time to relax before heading to bed.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 6

    Day 5 - First Day in Rome

    August 15, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    ‍‍‍‍‍‍Today we got to "sleep in".   We had free time until 2:15 pm.  Of course, John didn't want to start out until around 10 am.  Today is a holiday, so we had been warned that some sights might be closed.  But the upside was fewer crowds.  Our first idea was to see if we could schedule a Segway Tour, but the the tours were 3.5 hours and started too late for us.   So we decided to visit the Capitolini Museum. The Museum includes an impressive collection of statues and bronzes and a collection of Roman art.  The Museum is housed on 2 floors and is not very large, but it allowed us sufficient time to view all the exhibits.  Afterwards we headed for the top floor so John could get lunch (I was still full from lunch.

    We returned to the hotel and then met the group for our two scheduled tours to the Pantheon and the Colosseum. We debated on whether to bring an unbrella, but decided not to since 1) the forecast was for no rain until evening and 2) the sky was clear & blue. 

    We met our local guide, Ricardo, and then walked the very short distance to the Pantheon.  However, because of the holiday, the Pantheon was closed.  We were told we could see the Pantheon on Thursday.   Ricardo still told us a lot about the Pantheon before we got on the bus to travel to the Colosseum.  Just before heading to the Colosseum we stopped for a group picture.  At the Colosseum we got our tickets and headed for the entrance. Before we could ge,t to the entrance, the skies opened and it started to pour.  It was definitely a major storm with thunder, lightening, wind and rain.  Only one of us had an umbrella and one person had a rain jacket and there was no place to get out of the rain.  Finally, we got in and huddled in an area where we were somewhat protected.   Our tour director, Florence, went out to purchase umbrellas or ponchos for us. John & I and a few others decided to brave the rain (since we were already soaked) to see the Colosseum.   Then we were told we should head for the exit where Florence had ponchos for everyone. 

    Once we all donned our ponchos we headed to the bus.  Once back on the bus we returned to the hotel.  But our adventure was not over.  There was water on the floor in our bedroom.  I called housekeeping and eventually a technician came to try to figure out where the water came from. The mystery was not solved, but the floor & wall were cleand up and we  showered and changed.  The rain stopped for our walk to dinner.  Despite the rain we were all in good spirits (helped along with prosecco, wine, good food and gelato).      Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 7

    Day 6 - Second Day in Rome

    August 16, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    ‍‍‍We headed for St. Peter's Basilica at 8:30 am.  Our "skip the line" tickets, along with the early hour meant that the crowds were not too bad.  The Pieta was still impressive even though behind glass. 

    Ricardo pointed out an optical illusion where the distance from the front of the Basilica to the altar looks farther away when you are at the rear of the Basilica looking toward the the altar than the distance from the altar looking toward the entrance to the Basilica.  I didn't have the heart to tell him the distances looked roughly the same.

    After the tour of the Basilica, we had some free time.  I ended up purchasing two necklaces.  Then we went out to take a few pictures. The crowdshad gottenlarger. While we stood taking. pictures, several people tried to sell up" skip the line" tickets.  I wished I had a sign that said. "Already been there and done that."

    When were returned fromSt. Peter's we walked to a nearby restaurant and had pizza  and then walked to the Divinci Museum.  It was an enjoyable hands on museum.   On the way back to the hotel we stopped for gelato and then looked into the church next to the hotel.  Then we got ready for a private after hours tour of the Sistine Chapel Museum.  I had not realized that a museum was also housed in the building of the Sistene Chapel. The Museum includes tapestries, paintings, articles from popes and some archaeological artefacts.  We also saw some of the rooms painted by Rafael.  Ricardo described the rivalry between Rafael and Michael Angelo as well as Michael Angelo's fustration with being "commanded" by the Pope to paint the story of Creation on the Sistene Chapel ceiling.  The ceiling was more impressive than I imagined.  When I think of the ceiling I always think of the fresco of the Creation of Man.  I didn't realize how many other frescos make up the ceiling.  I also learned that the fresco of the Last Judgement was painted later and Michael Angelo completed it, a lesser known painter was brought in to cover the naked parts below the waist of the men.

    When we finished the tour, we had a surprise light dinner in the courtyard with prosecco and wine. What a special treat.  Then it was back to the hotel to pack to leave tomorrow for Umbria.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 8

    Day 7 - Orvieto and Umbria

    August 17, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    ‍‍‍‍‍We left the hotel and headed for Orvieto.  We toured the Cathedral there.  The Cathedral was beautiful inside and out. We were told to plan to take a picture when we met up to head back to the bus around 3 pm.  At that time the sun striking the gold mosaic pieces would make the church glitter. 

    After the tour of the church, John & I toured the Etruscan Museum. The cost was 10 Euros per person. I asked if there was a Senior Rate.  There was a senior rate and it was 3 Euros per person (a savings of 14 Euros).  It does pray to ask.  The Museum was nice, but there was no English translations for the posted explanations.  But, that was not a big deal since most of the artifacts were obvious and I used the Google Translate photo feature to translate what I couldn't figure out.  I was moving faster through the museum than John, so when I finished the museum, I headed to the restaurant and John followed when he finished.  Lunch was another"light" meal with a 1st course of 2 pastas; 2nd course of beef stew, cooked eggplant and zucchini, and potatoes; and for dessert chocolate mousse. 

    At 3 pm, it was cloudy, so the church did not glitter.  So we returned to our bus and headed for the country villa we would be staying at.  After we got our luggage we changed clothes and returned downstairs for a history of the manor followed by a musical recital (very nice).  There it was time to head to the dining room for dinner.  I had a warm mushroom salad; followed by a grilled pork meal with arrugala; for dessert I had a crepe filled with gelato; and, of course prosecco andred and white wine. 

    It had been a long day, so after a shower, I went to bed.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 9

    Day 8 - Assisi

    August 18, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    ‍‍‍Breakfast at this hotel was self service.  Without eggs to order, there were fewer choices.  But they had yogurt, honey and nuts so I was fine.  And being able to get coffee without waiting was was an added benefit.  There was a bowl of brown eggs that I had assumed were hard boiled eggs, but when I read the sign next to the eggs, I realized that the eggs were raw and you had to use the appliance near the eggs that was evidently an egg cooker.  I was so glad I read the sign before I cracked the egg. 

    We left the hotel at 9 am and headed for Assisi.  On the ride to Assisi we learned a lot about Francis of Assisi.  We meet or guides when we got of the bus.  Our first stop was the Basilica of St. Francis. The Basilica is actually a cathedral and a tomb for St. Francis and his four friends who became monks with St. Francis.  The tomb also includes a simple church.  The art work was beautiful.  Once we finished touring the Basilica, we returned to the bus Android drive a short distance to Historic Assisi.  We drive because the walk from the Basilica to Assisi was extremely steep.  After a short tour we had free time.  Our first order of business was to get some lunch.  Porcuetta (sliced cooked ham) was recommended.  John and I each ordered a panini with flat bread.  The sandwiches were so large we could have easily done with a single sandwich.  In fact, I only ended up eating about 2/3 of mine.  After that we toured a small archaeological museum.  It was very interesting.  It contains the ruins below the temple that was turned into a church.  After touring the museum, John got a soda and finished his porcuetta panini and I got a scoop of pastachio and a scoop of strudel gelato. Then it was time to return to the hotel.

    Six of us had chosen an optional tour of Perugia.  So, after a quick break we returned to the bus and headed for Perugia.  The town was a mixture of the original Perugian buildings of the Middle Ages most of which now house commercial businesses and shopes.  Although the architecture was different it reminded me of Bath, England.  At the end of the tour, we opted to return to the bus because it was beginning to look like rain.

    When we returned, I showered and changed and headed to the optional wine tasting.  John opted for a short nap.  We were given tips on how to evaluate wines and some tips on food and wine pairing.  Then we a all went to the dining room for dinner.  John was waiting for us there.  Tonight I chose the fettuccini and truffle pasta, veal rump with potatoes and dessert with pastachio angel food cake and white chocolate.

    After dinner we walked around the grounds again.  The two teens from Canada showed us address of the hotel grounds we had missed the night before including a small crypt. 

    Then we returned to our rooms to pack up and head to bed.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 10

    Day 9 - Tuscan Countryside & Viareggio

    August 19, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    ‍‍‍I went to breakfast at 7 am.  I had pain yogurt with honey and pumpkin seeds.  We boarded the bus at 8:30 am. We drive through the Tuscan Countryside.  We took a detour so that we could get a picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

    At around noon we stopped at an Italian Manor house. We were greeted with prosecco; Parmesan cheese (with honey); brocheta Witness chicken liver pate; brocheta with mushroom pate; olives and prochetta. Then we went to the table where we had smelt pasta with bougenaise sauce.  And wine, of course.

    Then we returned to the bus and arrived in Viareggio at around 4 pm.  We were welcomed to the hotel with a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade.  Instead of waiting for our luggage to be brought up to the room, we went across the street to the beach.  I walked to the end of the beach, took off my shoes and walked in the water for a few minutes so I could say I had been in the Adriatic Sea.  Then I cleaned my feet, put on my shoes and John and I walked down the beach avenue.  Then we returned to the hotel showered, changed and headed down to dinner. 

    The restaurant staff recommended that I avoid any dishes on the menu that had not been made in house.  I ended up selecting the shrimp ”cocktail” which was actually shrimp on a bed of shredded cabbage and drizzled with a mayonnaise and spice sauce.  For my second course I chose the Minestrone soup. For my third course I selected the grilled salmon with a side of artichoke mousse and a side of grilled potatoes.  For dessert I had Panna Cotta. Muy entire meal was delicious.   And, of course, we had wine.  I have been photographing all bottles of the wines we have been drinking since I can get many of them in the States.  John has liked all whites we have had so far.

    After dinner we headed up to our room to pack for luggage pickup at 7:30 am.  Then, after reading a bit, I headed to bed.    Read more

  • The Travels of PaulaItaly 2018
    Day 11

    Day 10 - Cinque Terre and Florence

    August 20, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    ‍Today we left the hotel at 8:30 am and headed to Cinque Terre and then on to Florence.   We took the tour bus to La Spezia.  Then we got on a boat and sailed to Vernazza the 4th City of Cinque Terre.  We had a guide on the boat who told us all about Cinque Terre and he also gave us a short introductory your of Vernazza.  John and I decided to climb the tower  (150 steps) to get some good pictures of the city.  Then we found a little restaurant and bought pizza and lemon sodas. While we were eating I saw people stopping over a rope into an area with a No Trespassing sign. When I finished eating, I went to see where everyone was going.  It turned out the area lead to a beach area.  When we finished lunch, we scouted out the location of recommended Gelato shop.  John got lemon and strawberry and I got pistachio and cinnamon.  Cinnamon is now my new favorite.

    For the let of the trip from Cinque Terre to Florence we took the train. When we arrived in Florence, we got on a bus that took us to our tour bus and the tour bus took us close to the hotel.  Near the hotel, we said goodbye to our driver Daniele.  We got our room keys and were taken to our room.  Our luggage was waiting on our room.  We had a connecting room and one of the couples (Deb & Pete) had the other room that connected to ours.  We discovered that the connecting does were not locked and if we tried to close either door it opened the other for.  Pete called the front desk and they sent someone up to lock both doors.  Then we showered and for ready for dinner.

    We walked the 5 minutes to the restaurant, Il Caminetto.   Our reservation was for about 7:45 pm. We could select the courses.  I selected pasta stuffed with ricotta and spinach, the filet in chianti wine sauce and for chocolate candies and Sherry.   John chose the filet in chianti wine sauce, roasted potatoes and Pana Cotta.  Florence recommended we ask for our steaks medium or they would come out too rare.    She was correct, mine was cooked perfectly.  The filet was high (almost twice the size of a filet in the States).  And of course we had all the wine we wanted.  Whoever told me they had small plates in Italy hasn't been here recently.  We headed back to the hotel at about 10:20 pm.  We relaxed for a bit then headed to bed.    Read more

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