Alonissos, Greece - July 28, 2013

July 28, 2013 - we were up at 9:00 am (yes we were a bit surprised after being out late night) and had breakfast downstairs at the included buffet.  We then spent the day at the pool and had a short dip in the crystal clear waters of the ocean.  Had a nap in the afternoon and a drink at the pool bar in the early evening.  Then it was time for dinner around 9:45 pm.  Bessie and Kostas took us out for a dinner the way Greeks eat!  You start out by ordering Tsipouro (an ouzo like drink but better) and they will bring you food.  You order more Tsipouro and they bring more food.  We had baby squid, tuna salad (made with the best tuna in the world from Alonissos), anchovies, shrimp and cheese, prawns, a few kinds of fish, grilled octopus, baby crab and some other seafood.  We drank a lot of Tsipouro.  We then wandered down the row of bars on the waterfront and settled on the old people's bar when we could talk to and hear each other.  Had a couple of drinks there and ... holy smokes 3:45 am!  Bessie and Kostas have to work in the morning.  Yikes.  We felt bad.  Thanks to our hosts, Bessie and Kostas, for a great evening!

Greek Dinner with Bessie and Kostas

Jan with her fish - check out the teeth on the fish

Empty Tsipouro Bottles

Alonissos, Greece - July 27, 2013

July 27, 2013 - up at 5:30 am to catch a taxi to catch a bus departing at 7 am.  3 hour bus ride and then hopped on the ferry at Agios Konstantinos for 5 hours to get to Alonissos.  Alonissos is located in the Sporades Islands of Greece on the Aegean Sea (the Turkey side).  The Paradise Hotel minibus picked us up at the ferry and we arrived around 3 pm to be greeted by Bessie Kavgadoulis - we both went to high school with Bessie at Ross Shep in Edmonton.  Bessie met and fell in love with Kostas at university in Edmonton and they moved to Greece in the mid-80's.  This place is heaven.  We settled into our sea view room and then headed to the pool side bar for a drink with Bessie and to catch up.  We also met one of their daughters, Nicoletta.  Their other daughter, Margarita, is in Toronto working.  We then wandered into town for dinner and ate lamb and lemon potatoes and greek salad on the harbourfront.  We arrived back at the hotel around 9 pm and went to the bar for a drink.  Bessie poured me a Metaxa and Jan an ouzo with lemonade.  We sat down with her and her dad who is visiting for 4 months from Edmonton.  Bessie's dad is priceless - a bit politically incorrect (I told Bessie he has earned that), very well read and a great memory.  Jan is a bit afraid of him because he said he was going to quiz her today on their conversation.  At one point, Bessie told him to stop talking about religion and he asked Jan if he should stop - she replied YES.  She thought he asked if she understood which is funny in 2 ways.  We had a good laugh.  More drinks followed.  Kostas had been diving and arrived around 11:30 pm.  We ended up going to bed at 2:30 am!  Such wonderful people!  At least we could sleep, they had to get up to work in the morning.  We felt a little bad.

Our View from Paradise Hotel on Alonissos

Athens, Greece - July 21-26, 2013

July 21, 2013 - our flight left Rome at 12:40 and 2 hours later we were in Athens.  Another hour or so by taxi to our hotel, Athens Cypria, and we were set.  The hotel is near Syntagma (Constitution) Square and within walking distance of all major sights.  The hotel is older but the rooms are renovated nicely with necessary air conditioning and a king bed.  Quite funny, but we are so used to sleeping in small beds (even twin beds in Rome) that we didn't even use most of the bed the first night.  We got on our walking shoes and explored the area a little bit going from Syntagma Square to Cathedral Square.  Wea had a bite to eat at a forgettable touristy restaurant - I had gyros (donair) and Jan had a Greek salad.  Our first impression of Athens was one of graffiti everywhere and not very clean although we were warned of this.  This impression is certainly changed later - read on ...

July 22, 2013 - we started our day with included breakfast at the hotel and then off on a walking tour following Rick Steves around Athens.  He has a great app for the iphone which gives walking tours of various sites.  We started out with a city walk. We started at Cathedral Square and then walked up Agia Filotheis Street which is full of shops catering to the Orthodox clerics selling religious artifacts.  We then ended up on Adrianou Street which is in the centre of the Plaka neighborhood.  Mostly souvenir shops and a few restaurants.  At Lysikratous Street, we turn left and head towards the Arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Zeus.  Hadrian (or Adrianou) was a major benefactor to the city.  The temple of Zeus took almost 700 years to complete and had 104 columns (each 56 feet high) - only 15 stand today.  We then backtracked up Lysikratous Street and headed into the Anafiotika neighborhood in the shadow of the Acropolis.  This area feels like a small town with its narrow and winding walkways. We then descended from this area to the Roman Forum and the Tower of the Winds - remember Rome ruled this area for a length of time.  We walked through the Agora Square (the tourist centre of the Plaka) and the Library of Hadrian.  We ended up the Monastiraki Square - the other main square and entry to the old town.  We had lunch at Thanasis, one of three main "souvlaki" restaurants on "Souvlaki Row".  I had pork souvlaki, Jan had chicken souvlaki and we shared some tzatziki and pita.  Delicious!

Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch

Hadrian's Arch

Anafiotika Neighbourhood

Souvlaki Row

Then off to the Agora.  The Agora was the real heart of ancient Athens below the Acropolis.  It was the hub of all commercial, political and social life in Athens for 800 years until it was destroyed by the barbarians in 267 AD.  It even had 2 shopping malls (Stoa of Attalos and Middle Stoa) and theatre.  We wandered around for a couple of hours looking at the ruins and museum.  We then headed up Panathenaic Way (main street) to the Acropolis.

Agora - Stoa - Shopping Mall

Agora - Temple of Hephaistos

The Acropolis is the crown jewel of Athens.  Another Wow spot.  From the pictures, you can see that it is quite a hike straight up to the Acropolis.  Not sure of the wisdom of finishing our day hiking up, but oh well.  The Acropolis has been the heart of Athens since the beginning of recorded time.  There are four major monuments - Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaea and Temple of Athena Nike and all were built together as a coherent ensemble from 450-400 BC.  As you walk up the steps, all you can think is WOWWWWWWWWWWW!  Definitely one of the highlights of our trip.  The history here is unbelievable!  Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Bob and Jan Zechel all walked on these streets.  The Parthenon is the crown jewel of the Acropolis but the Erechtheion is very interesting in that it has 6 ladies holding up the south entrance - these are all replicas with 5 of the originals in the Acropolis Museum and 1 original in the British Museum - having been stolen (according to the Greeks) many years ago.  Amazing view of Athens from here.

Acropolis

Parthenon

Propylaea (Entrance) and Temple of Athena Nike

Erechtheon

View from Acropolis

We then descended down the south side of the Acropolis and back to Lysikratous Street where we decided to take a different route to try and find Monastiraki Square.  After about one half hour, Jan kept saying that certain shops looked familiar and we found ourselves back on Lysikratous Street at the exact same spot we started.  Really?  Of course this was at the end of our day and we were a bit weary. We followed Adrianou Street back up to Monastiraki Square for a beer and gyros.  Delicious.  Back to our hotel for a nap and then off to dinner at a small authentic Greek restaurant on a back street.  It was delicious and I know how Kate felt when she was in Crete last year.  Way too much great food.  Rolled into bed.

After our first full day in Athens, our impression changed.  We love it here.  It is full of life.  The Greeks are very animated even if we are not sure what they are saying.  It appears that they are arguing all the time and then - pow - a smile and a kiss and goodbye.  It's All Greek to Me ...

July 23, 2013 - This was our museum day.  We took a taxi to Alkyon Travel slightly north to book our bus and ferry to Alonissos - the Greek island where we will be ending our trip.  We then walked to the National Archeological Museum which has artifacts from the beginning of time or almost.  It was very interesting!  We then were going to take a taxi to Monastiraki Square and the taxi driver said about 15 Euros (it was 5 Euros to get to the museum) - we said nope and started to walk.  Next thing you know we were at the Central Market - a smorgasbord of fresh fruit, vegetables fish and meat.  We walked through the never ending hall of butchers and saw various animals in various states of butchering.  Interesting and disturbing all at the same time.  We then walked from there to Monastiraki Square for a souvlaki at Savas (one of the other Souvlaki Row vendors).  We liked Thanasis better.   Then off to the Acropolis Museum where they have many artifacts but most impressive is the indoor life size replica of the top of the Parthenon with original pieces intermixed.  Again, very interesting.  Back to our hotel for a nap and then to a backstreet cafe for a light dinner and drink.  Another Full day.  Maybe tomorrow will be more relaxing.

July 24, 2013 - Very late start this morning.  We saw the changing of the guard at the Parliament building and then went for a short walk through the National Garden.  They had the street closed off near the Parliament buildings for some reason.  They had red tape strung across the street with one police officer standing guard and a car parked sideways across the street but it was a 4 lane street.  It was like something from the movies - the police officer would be looking one way and a guy on a motorcycle would go under the tape and up the street.  He would be yelling at that guy and someone behind his back would do the same thing.  Cars were even doing this.  Only in Greece!  Back to our hotel for some sunscreen and then off to see the Theatre of Dionysis - an outdoor theatre below the Acropolis - it was included in our ticket price to the Acropolis so we thought why not.  On our way back we stopped at a backstreet Ouzerie called Scholarhio in the Plaka district and had our best Greek meal yet - dolmades, meatballs, greek salad, moussaka and tzatziki with wine and beer.  Too much to eat again.  We waddled back to our hotel for a nap. We had to organize ourselves for the next day - taking a cruise to see 3 Greek islands - Hydra, Poros and Aegina.

Changing of the Guard

July 25, 2013 - Up early to catch the tour bus at 7:30 am.  About an hour ride to some little port and then on a boat to visit Hydra, Poros and Aegina.  The scenery is amazing.  Our first stop after about 2 hours was Hydra, our favourite of te 3 islands we visited probably because it was the smallest and had a real homey feel.  We had about an hour to wander around.  It would be a great little place to return and stay.  Had an ice cream and back on the boat.  They served us a pretty good lunch on board.  Next stop was Poros and it was the next largest island and within a stone's throw of the mainland.  We only had about 30 minutes here, so we walked around and had an ice cream.  Our last stop was Aegina.  It was obviously quite a bit larger and they offered optional tours (a tour within a tour) which you could pay extra for.  We opted to walk around.  They had a nice swimming beach.  We had dinner of souvlaki and gyros and tzatziki and beer and wine (no ice cream).  Back on the boat they had a Greek dance show for us and Jan participated (dragged up really) - I avoided being dragged up by telling them I needed to take pictures.  Jan was a natural.  We arrived back at our hotel about 9 pm.  Long day.  Dropped into bed again.

Hydra

Hydra Donkey

Poros

Greek Dancing Jan Style

July 26, 2013 - This is our transition day.  Really busy day yesterday.  Long day tomorrow with a 3 hours bus ride and 5 hour ferry ride to get to Alonissos - a greek island in the Sporades where we will finish our trip with some relaxation.  Anyway, we had a late start today - about noon.  We walked and shopped and explored new territory in Athens - the Psiri area north of Monastiraki and the area northeast as well.  Had lunch at Thanasis - our favourite of the Souvlaki Row restaurants - and then walked and shopped our way back to our hotel for a nap.  Had a late dinner at a little restaurant on Romvis street and back to our hotel to pack and get ready for the voyage tomorrow to Alonissos - Can't wait!  Did I mention that we went to high school with the owner of the hotel we will be staying at on Alonissos and that Dean and Mary Michailides know her well from their Greek dancing days in Edmonton and put us in touch with her ...

SPQR aka Roma aka Rome, Italy - June 17-20, 2013

June 17, 2013 - We decided to leave our B&B in Sorrento at 9 am to catch a 9:15 bus.  We ended up on the road at 9:10 and Jan thought she saw the bus already go by.  No way - a bus early in Italy!  We waited and waited and waited and sure enough that must have been the bus because we waited on the roadside until 10:20 for the 10:10 bus - of course this one was late - and we had to connect to a 10:37 train.  Oh well, almost done our train travels.  We arrived at the train station at 10:36, bought our tickets and crammed on to the train - easily the worst trains we have been on.  No seats for us as we were late so we crammed into the entryway with our back packs - Jan was able to sit on hers but I didn't even have enough room for that.  Oh well, it was only 70 minutes to Naples on the stinky sweaty train - that was us and most of the other passengers.  Jan has always assumed that the stinky person is the person next to her (not me the other person), but is slowly coming to realize that she may be the culprit.  Sweat is her middle name these days.  We survived the sweat, stink, pickpockets and beggars and arrived in Naples.  We booked first class seats on the high speed train from Naples to Rome - we couldn't get there fast enough - it only took an hour and ten minutes and we sat with a couple from Toronto and a couple from Ottawa.  We arrived in Rome safe and sound only to have a rogue taxi driver with a super deal) tried to scam us - luckily Rick Steves (the ultimate Europe guide and expert) had warned us about this and we waited for the legit taxi.  This taxi brought us to our "hotel" - Casa Santa Maria Ferie Alle Fornaci - a convent near the Vatican which rents out rooms and provides breakfast all for 75 Euros a night.  Great place to stay although very basic and stark with twin beds - but I guess we should have twin beds, we are staying in a convent!  Had a quick spaghetti and lasagna at a forgettable restaurant near the convent and then headed off for a short walk.

It turned out to be about 5 hours.  We walked past St. Peter's Square and the Vatican (we will see that another day), up Corso Vittorio Emanuele to Sacra Argentina where we took a left and walked up a few blocks to the Pantheon.   The Pantheon was built 2000 years ago and served as the model for Michelangelo's dome of St. Peters.  The one piece granite columns are the biggest in Italy and were shipped from Egypt.  Raphael, the famous artist, is buried here.  Then it was off to the Trevi Fountain - the famous gathering place for tourists who throw coins in wishing for a return to Rome one day and teens on the prowl.  Then off to the Spanish Steps, the famous gathering place for those in love.  We sat on the steps and had a gelato with a thousand others and then grabbed a beer and had that with a thousand others (just like in Paris at the Sacre Coeur - it was now a tradition to drink beer on famous steps).  You would think that all these people would make it feel crowded but we actually felt very comfortable and romantic. I even surprised Jan with a smooch as we had asked someone to take a picture of us.  I am the ultimate romantic.  In Jan's eyes anyway.  Off to Piazza Venezia and then a cab back to the hotel.  We dropped into bed.  We had not done that much walking in a while.

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

June 18, 2013 - A bit of a lazy start today.  We had breakfast at the convent - nope, no nuns serving us - just regular people. Oh well.  At 10 am we were off to the Coliseum, Forum and Palantine Hill.  Thanks again to Rick Steves, we walked by the mile long ticket line at the Coliseum to Palantine Hill where we bought combo tickets to see all three sights.  It took us about 15 minutes to get tickets as opposed to a couple of hours.  The Palantine Hill is where the Emperors lived and there were several  palaces built here overlooking the Forum.  We get our word "palace" from this place.  Then off to the adjacent Forum.  The Forum was the heart and soul of Ancient Rome and the place where it all began.  It is arguably the most important piece of real estate in all of western civilization as this is where western civilization began.  Julius Caesar and Mark Antony actually walked on the same stones that we walked on today. Amazing history here!  Then off to the Coliseum where we bypassed the 2 hour wait ticket line and walked right in.  It was built in 80 AD (mostly by Jewish slaves) and held 50,000 people.  The real name is the Flavian Ampitheatre - they actually took two amphitheaters - most were semi-cirlcles - and put them together to form the Coliseum.  It was an arena for gladiators and other spectacles.  It took 200 ox-drawn wagons working every day for four years to bring the travertine stone from Tivoli.  Under the main floor, there was a labyrinth of tunnels for the gladiators, animals and others who were then raised to the arena floor by an "elevator".  A long day sightseeing in 31C heat, but worth every minute and streams of sweat.  I think we bought 4 bottles of 4 Euro coke along the way.  Hopped a cab back to St. Peter's Square, had a quick bit to eat and back to our convent for a nap.    Dinner consisted of a mixed salad, mushroom risotto and tiramisu for Jan and a caprese salad and spaghetti carbonera for me.  Back to the convent for a well earned sleep.  The Vatican is on tap for tomorrow ...

Coliseum

Coliseum

Forum

June 19, 2013 - Got an early start today - 9:30 am.  Wow we are getting terrible.  We got into the massive lineup at St. Peter's Basilica  and were inside within 15 minutes.  Pretty impressive.  The statues are huge and there are hundreds.  The altar, designed and built by Bernini, is over 7 stories high.  The dome is about 2 football fields high.  We touched the toe of St. Peter's bronze statue.  This is the most impressive church we have visited and according to many, the most impressive in the world.  Apparently the Pope is at his country house so we missed him.  The Pieta, Michelangelo's famous sculpture of Mary holding a dead Jesus in her arms is here too - also very impressive.  There are numerous mosaics here as well - you need to look so close to determine they are actually mosaics and not paintings.  Numerous Popes are here as well in the crypt.  All in all - very impressive.  Funny exchange outside the St. Peters:

Older Lady:  Can you take a picture of my husband and I?
Me: Sure
Older Lady:  Thanks.  Now we can prove we were here.
Me:  I think HE knows.
Older Lady:  I guess HE does.

We then went to the Vatican Museum - we were very lucky as there was no lineup outside for tickets.  OK, not so lucky, there was no lineup outside because every single person in rome must have been in that museum.  It was wall to wall people, which made the visit less than desirable.  The frescoes by Raphael were amazing but I must say that the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo was a bit underwhelming.  It was packed (this didn't help) and quite small - I guess we were expecting our jaws to drop, but they didn't.  Oh well.  As we were in the museum, big thunderclouds rolled in and it started to rain.  We ended up at a small restaurant for a while and had pizza, bruschetta and sparkling water.  Back to our room to pack up and do some laundry - pretty great deal - the lady at the laundromat will wash and dry your clothes for the same price that we would normally do our own laundry.  Back to the room for a nap.  2 hours later, we went back to pick up our laundry.  Dinner at a great little restaurant near our convent, Il San Pietrini, and off to bed.  Not sure what we are doing tomorrow yet, but I suspect sleeping in might be part of the equation ...

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica - Bernini Altar

St. Peter's Basilica - Pieta by Michelangelo

Vatican Museum - Raphael Frescoes

Vatican Swiss Guards

June 20, 2013 - Had a great day of wandering around Rome.  We walked to the Campo Fiori district and stumbled upon a market of everything from wine and olive oil to fruit and clothes.  We stopped for a beer at one restaurant on the square and then decided we had a mission - it was our last day and we have not had minestrone soup and we only had a calzone once.  Mission:  Find a restaurant with both!  the restaurants on the square all had people out front trying to convince you to come in - this is usually the first sign of a average to worse restaurant as we have found the places with no one out front and people inside usually don't need someone out front as they are busy anyway.  Oh well.  we walked by a young lady who wanted us to dine at her establishment.  I asked if they had calzone.  She replied: Of course they specialize in Napoli food and they had a calzone.  I then asked if they had minestrone.  She said not on the menu but let's ask the chef if he will make some.  I thought this was great initiative on her part.  We went in and the chef said he would make the minestrone soup.  We were set.  Oh yeah, there was no calzone on the menu either, but it really is just a pizza folded in half which is what we got.    The minestrone arrived as a bowl of vegetables in a chicken like broth (not tomato based as we were used to).  Both were average, but the initiative of this young lady was outstanding.  Went back to the convent for a nap.  Dinner at the same place as last night and it was very good again.  Had not had Grappa yet and since this was our last night in Italy - we both had some Grappa - we now know why we did not have any yet.  It is still burning.  We are off to Athens, Greece by plane tomorrow morning. Ciao Italia!

Sorrento, Italy - July 13-16, 2013

July 13, 2013 - We are off to the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy today.  We left Civita di Bagnoregio at 9 am by walking down the footbridge. We got to the bottom of the footbridge and asked about the shuttle to the other side of town at the ticket office. They told us to wait by the gelato stand just up the hill.  A lady and her 2 daughters from our B&B were also taking the shuttle and they starting hiking up the hill.  We blindly followed and missed the gelato shop.  Of course it felt like 30C hiking up the hill.  We were now in a hurry because we timed our hike to get to the bottom of the footbridge a few minutes before the shuttle arrived but if we had to hike up the hill, we would be late.  We got about half way up the hill and here comes the shuttle!  He picked us up on his way down - all 5 a sweating mess.  He dropped us at the bus stop for Orvieto and didn't even charge us the 0.70 Euros each for the shuttle because he felt sorry for us.  The bus ride to Orvieto was uneventful.  We then had to wait 1.5 hours for the train to Naples.  The train to Naples was 3.5 hours.  Then we got on a train to Sorrento for another 70 minutes.  On arrival, the taxi said he would charge us 35 Euros to take us to our B&B, so we waited for the bus instead.  We finally arrived at Casa Elena in the hills above Sorrento about 6:30 pm.  Long, long day.  We met Elena who was delightful.  Her English is spotty at best, but we had a great time trying to figure each other out - my Italian is growing stronger every day.  We got some tour suggestions and a recommendation for dinner about a 10 minute walk down the winding hill with no sidewalk or shoulders at Il Borgo.  We went for dinner about 7:30 and it was good.  We had a mixed salad, ravioli, veal scaloppine and pizza.  It was dark about 9:30 when we were leaving the they provided us with a ride home.  Hopped into bed - exhausted.  We decided that tomorrow would be a lazy day.

Sorrento

Casa Elena

Sunset in Sorrento

July 14, 2013 - Slept in until 10 am.  Must have been the long day yesterday.  Had a lazy morning and headed into Sorrento by bus  about 12:30.  We wandered through town, went to the port, bought some sandwiches and other groceries for dinner tonight and then had lunch.  Back on the bus at 5 pm for the ride back up to Casa Elena (it is about a 15 minute bus ride).  We sat on the deck to catch up on some reading and planning and Elena came to visit.  So sweet.  We had a great Italian/English conversation - she is teaching me some more Italian.  She took us into her lemon grove so we could pick some lemons to eat and told us to take as many as we wanted.  Fresh lemons from the tree!  Wow.  Just hanging out out on the deck overlooking the bay above Sorrento.  Nice and quiet (a big difference from the hustle and bustle of downtown Sorrento).  Had left over pizza, sandwiches and limoncello for dinner.  off to bed early as we have to be up early to go to Pompei.  Yup, the Pompei of legend buried by the volcano Vesuvius ...

Bob and Jan in Sorrento

Jan picking a lemon from Casa Elena Lemon Tree Grove

View from Casa Elena 

July 15, 2013 - up at 6:30 am, showered, fruit for breakfast and a short walk down the road to meet our tour bus at 7:40 am for our trip to Pompei.  We picked up others in town and on the road by 8:15.  Our guide told us we would arrive shortly after 9 am - Nope - major accident on the main highway shut down the highway for miles - traffic was backed up everywhere.  It was so backed up that at one point a lady on the bus asked if she could get off as we were by a coffee shop - she bought coffee and water for her family and was back on the bus before we moved 20 feet.  Our driver was finally able to find an alternate road and we arrived about 10:30 (only 1.5 hours late).

Pompei was a great place to visit.  About 75% of Pompei has been excavated and restored and sits on about 66 hectares of land.  Interesting to note that it was not the lava from the volcano which buried Pompei, rather, it was about 27 feet of volcanic ash.  This occurred on August 24, 79 AD.  The weight eventually collapsed the roofs of the buildings.  The ash was not extremely hot so everything was preserved.  There are original paintings on the walls and ceramic floors in tact.  There is a plaster cast of a door which they were able to recreate exactly as the wooden door had deteriorated over time leaving a hollow space within the compact ash.  The streets had these stones placed across them at intervals for people to cross the street without getting their feet dirty or wet - the streets were always dirty and wet (see picture below).  We saw some plaster casts of people who had died again preserved in the hollow of the ash after the body had deteriorated.  Great day in Pompei - the stuff of legend!

We stopped in Sorrento for some groceries and back to Casa Elena for the late afternoon and evening.  We had a nap and then Jan made a great Italian dinner of pasta with tomato and basil sauce, prosciutto, salami, bread, limoncello and wine.  It was nice to relax and have a quiet evening.  We chatted for a while with a couple from Mainz, Germany and then off to bed.  Tomorrow is a totally relaxing day at Casa Elena.

Pompei - original painting on walls

Pompei - Plaster cast of dead person

Pompei - Stepping stones

Pompei - Courtyard of house

July 16, 2013 - woke up at 10 am.  Had some breakfast of coffee, prosciutto, salami, yogurt and bread. Just relaxing on the terrace for the day.  Had lunch on the terrace. Had a nap.  Had dinner on the terrace.  Listened to Dean Martin all day today ... "In Napoli, when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amoreeeee ...", "Sott'er Celo de Roma - On an Evening in Roma"  Going to bed ... off to Roma tomorrow ...

Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy - July 12, 2103

3 buses, 1 train and about 5 hours (including about 40 minutes of hiking) brought us to Civita di Bagnoregio.  All I can say is unbelievable!  This is definitely the highlight of our trip so far in terms.  The pictures below say it all.  We arrived in Bagnoregio (a different town) about 1:30 pm and had to hike about 30 minutes from one side of town to the other to get to the base of Civita di Bagnoregio.  Then it was a 10 minute hike up (look at the pictures) to the town.  We arrived with our packs at our B&B and Restaurant and Franco Sala (the owner) took one look at us, told us to sit down and brought water and wine on the house.  We were one collective sweaty mess (did I mention 30C).  The town is small and we walked every street within an hour, but we wandered for more as this town is really a throwback to medieval times.  We had dinner at our B&B and retired for the evening with a view of the main square.  Probably the less said the better - have a look at the pictures ...

Siena, Italy - June 9-11, 2013

July 9, 2013 - After a short train ride from Florence (1.5 hours to go 35 miles), we arrived in Siena in the heart of Tuscany around noon.  We took a taxi to Hotel Bernini (another small 10 room old converted house) which is within walking distance of all the major sights although there are not a whole bunch of major sights here - it is more of a place to just relax and enjoy Tuscany.  Siena's population is about 60,000 and once fought with Florence to be the power centre of Italy - they lost and we can be grateful because it preserved this medieval city.  We had a lunch of a salami plate and pasta with wine and sparkling water - I don't think I have mentioned the sparkling water (you can get water with gas or without gas) before, it is fantastic and we can't have a meal without it.  Had a nap and then did the obligatory stroll down to the historic Piazza del Campo - could be the best square in all of Italy.  It is shaped like a bowl and people just lay and sit on the ground.  Twice a year on July 2 and August 16, they bring in dirt and have a horse race (Palio di Siena) where 10 of the 17 neighborhoods (each neighborhood is identified by an animal) compete for the title.  This race was first held in the 17th century.  The Duck neighborhood won last week and you can see their flags flying in Siena.  Had a gelato and skipped dinner because we had such a big lunch.  Off to bed ... some sightseeing tomorrow ...

Il Campo Square

View fromo Terrace at our hotel

Siena

July 10, 2013 - Had breakfast at the hotel (the big breakfast for 7.50 Euros included coffee, eggs, toast, yogurt, cereal, croissants, juice) and then off to explore.  We went to the weekly market which was a large flea market with mostly clothes.  We went to the Duomo Cathedral - pretty neat with its white and black marble columns.  There was an altar which Michelangelo had carved a small portion of.  We went to the Duomo museum (which houses some of the art which was once in the Duomo), the Crypt and the Baptistry.  Then off to the Church of San Domenico which is much more austere and open.  The interesting fact about this church is that there is a chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine (who played a part in convincing the Pope to return to Rome from Southern France - did you know the Pope resided there for a time?).  In the chapel, her actual head is on the altar since 1383.  Apparently her finger is in the museum behind the church, but we skipped that one.  Had a picturesque lunch overlooking the valley.  We went back to the hotel and Carlota helped us figure out some train and bus schedules for the next few days.  We then went to the train station at her suggestion to book our tickets.  We went for dinner at a little restaurant tucked away down a lane and around a corner.  It was delicious.

Duomo Cathedral

Duomo Cathedral

Michelangelo Sculpture at Duomo Cathedral

July 11, 2013 - we had a tour booked withe Roberto's tours of the Chianti Wine Region. It was outstanding.  Roberto's wit and knowledge made a great combination and we had the best day with Marlene and Rick - the only other participants on the tour.  We first stopped at Villa Montecchio vineyard and had a tour and tasting.  We tasted Chianti Classico, Chianti Reserve, Merlot and Cabernet.  It was great to learn about the wines.  The Classico and Reserve are regulated by a consortium and requires very stringent adherence to guidelines to get the seal of approval which is on each bottle.  We drove around the Chianti region.  We then stopped at an Etruscan tomb and Roberto gave us a wealth of knowledge.  We then had lunch and drove up to a small village in which there are only 25 inhabitants.   Great day and best tour!  Off to dinner and then to bed.  Tomorrow:  Civita di Bagnoregio - a small hill town fortress south of Siena.

Montevecchio Winery

Tuscany - Chianti Region

On the steps near the Duomo