Med Trip - May 31

We left at 7:15 for what we thought was a half day tour of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. It was a beautiful, hot day. We were picked up by taxi at the end of our staired walkway and driven to the pick up location in Sorrento. Turned the tour was actually a full day tour. Not bad for 47 euros. We had a nice tour bus and first drove ip Mount Vesuvius, Vesuvio as it is known here. There was a long walk up to get from the parking lot to the rim of the crater at the top. (Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, covering the city of Pompeii in over 7 metres of ash. There was also a crater for Mt. Montezuma, which erupted some years later.). It was wonderful. There were great views of Napoli, Naples, and Sorrento across the water from Napoli. The crater was very large, and you could see vents with steam wafting out. Napoli residents living within 10 kilometres of the crater, a good chunk of Napoli, may receive 3 days warning if an eruption is expected. Unfortunately, the roads around this area are so narrow and slow, it is doubtful all the residents could get away within 3 days. After a few hours on the mountain, we drove down to Pompeii, at the base of the mountain, and had lunch. Though we had to pay ourselves, 14 euros, we had reserved seats, a selection of items to choose from, our choice of beverage, and ice cream. It was well organized and went smoothly. There were about 40 people on our tour. From the restaurant we walked a few blocks to the Pompeii excavation site and spent over two hours getting a tour of the site. The area is huge, over 60 acres. There were many, many blocks, complete with original old Roman streets. While entire structures were not found due to the destruction by the ash, there were partial walks and complete walls on most lots. There was a theatre, a street with shop stalls, several brothels, one with erotic scenes painted on the walls still visible, a forum area, etc. It was very impressive. Of course what everyone wanted to see were some plastercized people caught at the moment of their death. The ash fell and fleeing residents, and animals, were covered in the ash, suffocating from the gases, their remains preserved by the ash. A few hundred years ago, someone found a way of plastercizing the bodies to preserve them. There were 3 on display, others are in museums, etc. The tour was great. We returned to Sorrento at about 5:30, and we abandoned our plan to explore Sorrento and eat dinner there. We were all bagged and looking forward to getting back to Positano so we went right to the bus depot and were back in Positano at 7 PM. We stopped for dinner at a restaurant along our walk back, one we ate at a few days earlier. We ended a long day with showers and packing.


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Med Trip - May 30

Today was a quiet day. We needed a break from all the stairs, so we decided to just stay. Home all day. We had bought some paninis to warm up so we did not have to go out for lunch. The day was mostly spent working with photos on the ipad, playing games by some on their ipads, doing crosswords, and doing laundry. Laundry took from 10:30 to after we got home from dinner because the washing machine here takes 3 hours for a load. It was a beautiful, warm day, but then after 5 o'clock winds picked up and it cooled down substantially. I actually wore long pants in the evening. We still had to take the stairs to go for dinner and pick up a few groceries. We started to get more comfortable with the Italian menu, and Jo and I both ordered meatballs, 3 balls each prepared a different way. We also ordered a plate of fried veggies and an order of french fries to share.

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Med Trip May 28 - 29

May 28 was a quiet day. We had no plans so we had a leisurely breakfast, (3 pieces of miniature bread, two covered in a large boiled egg, and one with nutella, same as every other day here), and then descended our staired walkway to the road and then to the main hub of town. There, after pizza and a cold drink, we split up for several hours, the women going shopping and the men killing time. We found a little cave near the beach to get out of the sun and spent a few hours solving many problems. No one had the energy to have to walk our walkway any more than we had to, and it was too early for dinner, so we bought two pizzas to go so we could go home and stay there. I think all restaurants here have Italian food. Go figure, so pizzas and pastas are a steady part of our diet. We took the local bus home. It drives the loop around town on the only road every half hour. Italians are not as civilized as Canadians when it comes to buses. A crowd formed at the bus stop, and people would wander in and casually stand in front. Often the last people there were first on to the grumbling of my sister. However, here the area along the narrow street has very little room, so when the bus came, it slowly drove right into the crowd, and almost squished some people as it creeped to within inches of the side of the building. This scattering of people changed the order of boarding. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at home. We still needed to plan an excursion to Pompeii, so I found a guided tour out of Sorrento for May 31. I had seen on a website that times were 10AM and 10:15AM. While going through the booking procedure, time and location for pickup were never mentioned. After completing the purchase, I got an email confirming our tour commencing at 8:15AM at a hotel in Sorrento. The first bus from Positano to Sorrento could not be guaranteed to get us there on time. So, despite getting a great deal on the tour, we had to get a taxi, at 65 euros, to ensure we did not miss the tour. So much for last minute deals.

On May 29 we decided to go up the coast to the towns of Amalfi and Ravello. We could take a bus, which would cost only about 280 euros and take about an hour to do the 17 kilometres, or we could take a boat which cost 8 euros and take only 20 minutes. Our experience with buses had not been very positive and the road can get very slow and jammed, so we opted for the boat. It was a nice trip and probably gave much better views of the coast than a bus would, particularly if you don't get a window seat on the right side of the bus. In Amalfi, we had to get a bus for the 7 kilometres up the mountain yo the high altitude town. We had visions of the crappy buses in Capri, but were pleasantly surprised by the touring type bus with comfortable seats. There were people standing, but we got seats. The trip took 25 minutes. Ravello was beautiful and well worth the trip and extra 5 euros. We toured a garden which had spectacular views down the coast and the next town after Amalfi. The town had a lot of ceramics, plates, dinnerware and even very expensive garden tables. Lemoncello was also prominent everywhere. We spent over 3 hours exploring and eating. Then we buses back to Amalfi. It was also very beautiful, with a large cathedral, duomo, which we checked out. The town had one long, winding street with touristy shops on it. I was happy to find mango gelato! We returned home by boat and walked home, rather than the local bus, and ate at a pizzeria along the way. I did not have pizza but veal. Luckily I also ordered roasted potatoes because when you order something like veal, that's all you get, a plate of meat. Now I got some nice small potato balls. No other veggies though. Joanie had pasta, so that was not an issue, unless you have a large appetite. It was a wonderful day. The Amalfi coast setting is nothing short of spectacular.

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Med Trip May 27

It was a hot, sunny day. We walked to the beach to catch the boat to the Isle of Capri. It only took 30 minutes, but here the more important issue was how many stairs we needed to ascend or descend. 184 gets us down to the road, and then there were several long staircases to get to sea level. After a 30 minute boat ride, we arrived and immediately arranged a local boat tour around the island. It was beautiful, with high sheer cliffs with pockets of caves and a white, green and the famous blue grottos at water's edge. At the blue grotto, for 13 euros you transfer into a small rowboat, and get rowed through a small opening into a cave. You need to lie flat as the rower pulls the boat through the opening using a rope on the wall. You can only do this if the tide is not too high and the water not too rough. Inside the cave the light coming through the opening makes the water glow a beautiful blue colour. It was gorgeous. The many, many tour boats gather outside and wait their turn. We had to wait about 45 minutes for our boat's turn. After the tour we had lunch, with a Caprese theme, from Jo's caprese salad to my caprese salad pizza. Limoncello, a strong lemon liquor was big here and Jo and my sister were talked into a limoncello and strawberry drink that cost more than our food. Next on the agenda was taking the bus to Anacapri, another town nearby but high up with great views. That was an experience! The buses were like old metal boxes on wheels. They had 8 seats, and crammed another 15 to 20 people in as standees. The road was a narrow, lane like road with shoulders of about two feet on either side, except where trees encroached on the lane, that wound back and forth with tight switchbacks. When buses or larger vehicles passed they were often so close that anything thicker than one or two pieces of paper would not fit between them. On top of that, people sometimes walked along the side, vespas scooted in and out and sometimes some genius car driver would park along the side, reducing the width to exactly the with of our bus, but no more. Everyone drove with sideview mirrors turned in. How this could be a two way street is mind boggling. Fortunately, the hairy ride was only 20 minutes. We did enjoy great views from the town and decided to skip the chairlift ride to a higher point because of the lineups. We needed to get back for our sail back to Positano, so lined up to take the bus back. The first bus came almost full already, and we could not get on. However, we were now first in line. We continued to bake in the hot sun for another 15 minutes, and the next bus came, full! Only the four of us managed to cram on. Capri was beautiful and we had a wonderful day, but the bus experience was not so great. I did get a nice shot glass though. By now, perhaps the combination of standing in the hot sun as well as all the stairs we climb daily were taking a toll and we were all worn out. We found a place by the dock in Positano that began serving dinner at 6 PM, so we ate "early" for once. We took the local bus back to where our stairs began for our ascent to our house.

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Med Trip May 26

Okay, so I am trying a new way of preparing this blog.
Last night we had a great meal opposite our house along the narrow street. Positano, at least the part below the "highway", has only one narrow street that loops around. Of course, every excursion requires walking down and up 184 steps just to get to the street.
Today, May 26, we stayed around town. We walked the kilometre, about 400+ stairs, down to one of the little beaches and put our feet in the Mediterranean. Then we walked the path near the bottom until we got to the main beach, where we had lunch. We discovered that this area was a hub of activity, with many restaurants and shops. Rather than returning on foot, we took the local bus, for 1.3 euro, which loops around town. It gave us a good overview of the whole town. The narrow street is amazing. Cars pass within inches of parked cars, pedestrians, and maniacal vespas, and traffic comes to a halt when, on the highway, oncoming buses meet and manoeuvre around each other, mirrors missing each other by no more than three or four inches.
The weather has been quite good, sunny with some clouds and highs approaching the mid twenties. Dinner must be after seven o'clock and by then the evenings have cooled off to where you need a light jacket. Tonight we went to the closest restaurant, a pizzeria where the food was great but we had to beg for coffee and our bill, or we would still be there.
Highlight comments of the day was BIL commenting on a picture posted on Facebook by his daughter-in-law, saying she was wearing a topless dress. Jo noted that we call that a skirt. We also discovered that when we met the owner of our house yesterday, he introduced himself. His name was Giovani. Jo was quite impressed that he knew her name despite never have met her or corresponded with her. She mistook him saying his name as calling her Jo-annie.

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New Med Posts

Due to editing issues, future posts to Mediterranean blog will be a series of shorter posts.

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Mediterranean Travelin 2016

May 23, 2016
 After over a year of planning, our Mediterranean trip finally arrived.  We traveled with G&G, my sister and BIL.   Since we had to get up early for our 9AM departure from Vancouver, we tried to go to bed earlyish, 12:45 AM instead of 1AM, that is until I remembered at that time that I forgot to book in with Air Canada.  It didn't matter though. I am not sure how long I slept but is was probably longer than 30 minutes but less than one hour.  Soon after I finally got to sleep, I was awakened by Jo getting up to go to the bathroom.  I waited, thinking I might get back to sleep after she returned, until I checked the alarm and saw that it was 4:20, and the alarm was set for 4:30.  Everything went smoothly at the airport, and our three hour early arrival was perhaps a little overzealous.  Lots of time for breakfast though.
Our Boeing 777 to Toronto was very nice and we had seats near the back.  Ours was one of the few rows with no middle seat and there was plenty of space not only for legs but even for storing bags beside the seat.  We also had full entertainment unlike the American domestic flights in their rickety planes with no extras at all.  We also left on time.  Our 8h20min flight from Toronto to Rome left at 6:15PM, 3:15 Vancouver time, and arrived in Rome at 8:35AM, 11:35PM Vancouver time.  We had booked a window seat and an aisle seat, hoping the middle seat might remain unsold.  We were in luck.  Given our lack of sleep, and the extra room, you might think sleep would come easier, but finding a comfortable position was still impossible.  Sleep was reduced to a few short naps.
Our plan was to take the train to our hotel, but we were bombarded by shuttle bus drivers and decided the nominal extra cost was worth getting driven from door to door.  Driving in Rome was crazy because of aggressive driven on narrow streets, parked cars cramming in to ever available space, whether it was a parking spot or not, and motorcycles and vespas squeezing through the traffic from all sides, often only inches away.  Our hotel, the Capitoleum townhouse suites had only seven rooms on an old building, but was nice and clean.  It was blocks from the main train station but in a less
touristy part of the city.  We spent the afternoon visiting some nearby Roman baths and having a
much needed nap.  Restaurants generally do not open before seven at night because Italians do not dine until after eight PM.  We had our first pasta and turned in early.  A good first day for such a long commute.

May 25, Wednesday
Despite a relatively good sleep,I was still awake by 6:30.  After our free continental breakfast, we were off, walking our suitcases for six blocks to the Rome Termini train station.  We were early for our 11:06 train to Napoli (Naples) but relieved to be able to get our luggage to fit in the overhead compartment.  Other than the more expensive fast trains, the regular trains look crappy and many have graffiti on them.  The train was delayed and did not leave until 11:40.  We arrived in Napoli after 1:30PM and had to buy seperate tickets for the commuter train to Sorrento.  This looked more like a delapitated skytrain.  It was very crowded at the track and we were warned by some girls standing near by to be alert for pickpockets.  I already knew that Rome and Naples stations were
notorious for this, and we saw a suspicious fellow just wandering through the crowd.  Sure enough,
 when a train arrived, the crowd converged on the doors, and as he was being jostled, BIL felt a hand go into his pocket.  Fortunately he reacted quickly to see what was happening and the guy quickly disappeared out the door before it closed.  The only casualty of our Napoli experience was my suitcase, which decided to break its top handle.  We arrived in Sorrento after about 35 station stops.  Some stations looked like ghettos, with graffiti everywhere.  Even some station names were obliterated by graffiti.  From Sorrento we caught a bus to Positano, arriving at about 5:15.  Traffic was absolutely nuts!  The streets of both Sorrento and Positano were very narrow, and generally lined with parked cars.  Traffic crawled at a snails pace and vespas darted in and out, driving mostly on the white line on in the face of oncoming traffic, and shooting between tiny gaps.  I can not understand why the roads are not littered with the bodies of dead vespa and motorcycle riders.  The drive along the coast was gorgeous.  We were let off at the top of Positano.  From there one narrow road switchbacked down the mountain, through the town towards the sea.  To get to our accommodation, we had to walk down this road between parked cars and traffic only inches away and then up 185
steps.  Our view was great though.