Rush hour in the ruins

Lovely dinner in Oriveto

With some trepidation we get back in the car and drive away from the Amalfi coast. Its like being in a xbox game, travelling along the cliff edge going around the corners and avoiding all the cars. We had one spot where we had to back up to let a bus go around, and a motor bike squeezed in front of us and got a finger wag from the bus driver. Once onto the autostrada it was plain sailing. A three lane highway.

Gina the GPS lead us off at the right exit and we arrive at Pompei. It’s a balmy 38 degrees as we enter. OMG, we are actually at the best preserved Roman site ever, this is much better than an episode of Time Team. There are columns, walls, frescos and mosaics all uncovered by intrepid archeologists so intrepid tourists can enjoy. Jane and I are beside ourselves with excitement as we take in the sites and cover as much ground as we can in the heat. We dodge around the groups of school kids doing their exercises in the shade. We found the shops, with the bakers, butchers and candlestick makers, trust us to find the shopping street. 

Then we are back on the autostrada and stop for a late lunch at a road side service station.  We are the only non Italian travelers here and need to use all our Italian to order lunch. Its exactly the same as a truck stop at Goulburn except instead of the big merino there is an archeological site. I like it.

Now onto our final destination for the day, Oriveto a tiny town sitting right on the top of cliffs with massive walls and ancient buildings. The town is about 1,000 years old so they did not cater to well for 3 girls driving an Opal Astra. We wind our way around and around getting more and more lost. Eventually we find a spot to park and Jane and I set off to find our home for the night on foot. We go up and down paved streets, down alley ways, there are stray cats everywhere and it all looks so old and interesting. Its like being in the Da Vinci Code and trying to find the clues, via Paradiso, Corso Camilliera Benso Conte di Cavour, its all a big puzzle. With a few wrong turns and a few giggles we finally find the place. Its very nice and we go back and get Sue and all is well.

There are still hours of light left in the day so we set off to explore the town. Lots of unusual shops and ancient houses, we see a grey church and I think that must be the cathedral but Jane wants to go on. Ok then. On for about another 500 metres and then there are glimpses of gold in the sun. Time to stand back and be amazed by the dazzling façade of the Oriveto Cathedral.  

Gardens of Ravello

Jane at Villa Rufolo

Tower at Villa Rufolo

View from Villa Rufolo

Villa Cimbrone

Villa Cimbrone

Crypt at Amalfi Dumo

Today we head up the hill to explore the gardens and spectacular views of Ravello. All the towns along the Amalfi coast where initially selected for their defensive positions and are perched high on the rocks.

It’s a pleasant 6km bus ride to the top with all the Italian nonna’s doing their business and lots of tourists. First we start with Villa Ruffolo, built in 11^th century by a very wealthy family and restored by a botanist from Scotland in the early 20^th century. The building is a fusion of moor and Norman architecture. It is just stunning to walk around and enjoy the layout of the paths, steps and views. Sue learns about just how many photos Jane and I can take when in a frenzy and gets into tourist mode as well.

Its very, very hot by the time we finish, but like the intrepid tourists we are on we go to the next attraction. Thankfully there are lovely shops to distract us as we climb up and down steps.

Villa Cimbrone was the hangout place for lots of interesting people. You can just imagine everyone hanging out here being important and creative. We walk in the footsteps of E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill, Greta Garbo and even Vita Sackville-West from the gardens we saw at Sissinghurst in Kent. As we walk down under the cool trees along the Avenue of Immensity we wonder what is at the end. Finally we reach a statue and then the Terrace of Infinity is there to admire with heads of gods and infinite views across the blue of the Mediterranean. A restorative gelato under the trees, hazelnut is so far my favorite and now off to explore more of this amazing garden.

We are so tired from the heat its time for a late lunch at Villa Maria. We sit right in the corner and have amazing views from the roof top terrace being serenaded by Italian music and pinching ourselves to think this is all real. It seems like a dream to me. We share a Lemon delight for desert, Amalfi special and it is a delight just like all of the Amalfi coast.

Time to find the bus and head down the hill. This is more like it a packed bus with standing room only for me. The bus driver is a true Italian, a cigarette in his mouth, honking the horn and generally causing havoc on the road. Quite good fun when someone else is responsible for the driving.

Back to Sharon House for a short siesta in air conditioning. We all gather for the next event, a tour of Amalfi, with a bit of tooing and froing we find the designated starting place. Our guides name is Michelangelo, within 2 minutes his voice is so boring, I am bored. He knows his facts but it is dull and interesting, we should all make a runner. But we soldier on hoping it will get better. He tells us about Flavio from Amalfi who invented the marine compass and this is actually not true. Unimpressed. We do get see inside the beautiful cathedral and the ladies even have to delay rosary for the evening whilst we do our tourist thing. This goes down in history as the most boring tour ever.

Its 9pm and time to have our last dinner together as Jodi and Phil head to Prauge early tomorrow morning. It seems perfectly normal now to eat dinner after my usual bed time, the days are so long. Farewell Amalfi, tomorrow we move onto Oriveto.

Exploring the Amalfi Coast

Jane, Catherine, Phil, Jodie and Sue

Emerald Grotto

First swim

Amalfi Dumo

Vesper and me

Amalfi

Our first full day of exploring we walk down to the ferries and start off with a ferry trip to. We hop on a boat with no idea where they are really taking us, its seems to be the Italian way. The cliffs are dazzling in the morning sun. Massive yachts are moored off shore, we should take one of those next time and avoid the road.

We arrive at Emerald Grotto and are ushered to hurry up and wait. For just another 5 euros we get lead 20m into a cave and then put into a little boat and rowed around in a 10m circle. It’s a total tourist trap, but so funny, the guide sings songs in Italian, makes jokes in Italian to the others about the aussies and splashes the other boat with his oar, all worth it for the experience.

The next ferry takes us to Positano a nearby town, it has lots of unique clothes shops and lots of touristy shops. We spend a pleasant few hours exploring and shopping. Back to Amalfi for some more exploring, there are Maltese crosses everywhere, so the Maltese theme on the holiday keeps happening. We eventually discover that the Knights of Malta, originally hailed from Jerusalem, liked the Amalfi Cross used it for their emblem and then settled in Malta to continue their good work building hospitals and helping the sick. The next most common place to see the Amalfi/Maltese cross is on the Queensland coat of arms, which is kind of funny as we have three banana benders on this trip.

It’s so hot that Sue and I go for my first Mediterranean swim. The beach is black, the bikini’s on 60 year old women don’t look too good but the water is so cool and refreshing.

Tonight is party night so its back to the room to doll up and don the  famous red and white dress. First we do reenactments from a photo of Sue, Jane and I taken 18 years ago, then we do all kinds of silly photos all over Amalfi. Phil is the photographer and does a great job of capturing every silly pose we can think of.

We pick another new restaurant and enjoy a perfect meal, followed by tiramisu.

Who decided to drive?

Sue, our exhausted and talented driver

Amalfi

After dinner shot

Once outside our cavern a nice calm Rome morning greets us, priests are in the streets walking to work at the Vatican. Our booked car arrives to take us out to car hire place at airport. During the drive we finally meet our other travel buddies properly, Phillip (the beautiful – as named the previous day after a Pope) and Jodi (the pelican whisper – as named from a funny story), they hail from Gin Gin in Queensland. The driver gives us some advice on driving in Italy, “there are no rules”. Then the fun begins. Our driver Sue is tired and emotional before she even gets behind the wheel of the car that drives on the wrong side of the road and is a manual. We set off on freeways, with a combination of luck and good sign reading we make it the first few hundred kilometers.

Then the fun really starts, by now we have given up on the google maps and are relying on Gina our GPS to navigate us through the hills to Ravello. The road is very narrow, there are big trucks, super fast motorbikes and the odd bus to contend with. It’s hair raising to say the least. Sue keeps repeating one word, a lot and loudly. We get over the top of the mountain and our first glimpses of the Mediterranean greet us, a great big blanket of blue. The scenery is breathtaking but we can’t really take it in with the team work and concentration it takes to will the car around the bends.

Finally we enter Amalfi, then the last 500m are up a very narrow street full of pedestrians and with a one way section. The shops are so close you can do your shopping as you drive. We stop at the first traffic light on the whole journey and the man from the gelato shop tells us to “calm down you are in Italy” and it works. We are here. All thanks to Sue’s expert driving. Not sure I am ever going to get in a car again, that road made Jenolan Caves look like a major freeway.

After a siesta, drinks on the roof terrace are just what we need. There are towering cliffs, houses perched on edges and a towering byzantine bell tower to admire. Out into the town we go and explore and a find a lovely fish restaurant for dinner. Back in the room and typing this blog to a symphony of snoring from my room mates.

The day we walked to Malta

Pantheon

My first Italian gelato

Colosseum

Through the keyhole
(Source: http://romevespatour.com)

Looking through keyhole from Malta
 to Italy and Vatican

Mouth of Truth

London to Rome takes a few hours and was an adventure in itself but there are more important things to share today.

We arrive in downtown Rome, and Sue is waiting for us. it’s hot, its humid, there are people everywhere. I like the pace, everyone is strolling. Start off with a lunch in a nearby café. Figure out how to order sparkling water, aqua gas and think we are legends. Jane is serenaded by a kid on a harmonica and tells him to bugger off. It’s all very Italian.

Now its time to set off in a random path through the throngs of tourists and explore Rome. We see start off in little lanes weaving our way in between old buildings with no set agenda. The first major destination we discover is the Pantheon, a temple to the ancient gods of Rome. There is lots of street art to discover the best one so far is an angel on a no entry sign.

Moving on we reach the Tiber river and are enjoy walking in the shade out of the 32 degree heat. We make it to the base of the Aventine Hill, I am totally excited walking in the footsteps of so much history as we make our way up to the top. What a view, all of Rome laid out in front of us with St Peter’s dome smack bang in the middle.

Its so hot but we soldier on in our walk to Malta. Finally we make it to the end of the hill and arrive at the home of the knights of Malta who where granted land here in 1834. The land has Maltese sovereignty. From here we look through the keyhole and can see St Peter’s perfectly aligned down an avenue of trees. It’s a magic site. We are on Maltese ground and can see two other countries, Italy and the Vatican. Now time for a sit down and some water.

Time to head down back the hill and find the most important artifact in Rome, originally it may have been a man hole cover but the significance is the scene from the movie Roman Holiday, when Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck do a magical dalliance with each other over who is lying the most. Jane and I are the last ones in before they lock the gates behind us for closing. The photo frenzy is intense and we capture the moment on all the electronic devices available.

Now Jane has been to Rome before and has an idea there is something big ahead, well that was an understatement we turn a corner and she asks me,  ‘can I see anything’. I am like confused, take a few more steps and it is all clear above the top of the other tourists and cars is the gates of something and the colosseum. Ok that’s another ‘big’ thing and looks amazing in the afternoon light. We even see a gladiator, alas he is crossing the road to catch a bus home.

More walking our objective now is this grand looking white building with horses mounted on top we have been seeing all day. We finally reach the destination and do the obligatory photo frenzy, swap cameras with a lovely Scottish couple who have been to Australia and call us ‘sheilas’. This is a monument to the first king of Rome and dazzling white, it stands out from all the other buildings in Rome.

Finally time to find some food. Walk into a lovely restaurant with red and white checked tablecloths and the whole family working together. Now for the final km home, neither of us have our glasses and can't read the small writing on the map, with a mixture of technology and Jane’s intuition we make it back to base. Overall impressions, everything is so big, there is just so much to see, we will be back.

Fly past at Shoreditch

Miniature street art

Flypast for Queens Birthday

Me and another Banksy (HMV)

Having a domestic moment washing plates and listening to the boppy songs on the radio. 8am strikes and the BBC2 announcer wishes the Queen a happy birthday and plays “God save the Queen’. It makes me giggle, should I be standing to attention?

It’s time to head Shoreditch an area renowned for street art. We are joining Peter again for a tour, he promises to show us more than street art. We start off with a wall with locks and messages of love, Peter comes prepared with a lock for a couple on the tour as part of their hen/stag party.

We travel along back streets, main streets, one way streets and arrive at Arnold Circus this area was a massive slum that was turned into the first social housing in the world.  Overall Shoreditch looks very ugly and not a place you would want to visit, however as you start to see more it gets better and better. There is a big tussle between the high end design shops moving in and the traditional occupants.

We arrive at Shorditch Church and get lucky as Reverend Turk is there and the church is open this is the oldest continuous Christian church in Britain. Reverend Turk is on a BBC show and knows how to tell a story. He has us enthralled with the history of the church location starting with the first encampment of Roman soldiers here in the 4^th century, right through to a bell ringing demonstration that deafens us.

We move onto the first electrical generator ever, generated by garbage waste, a fake Banksy, one of seven painted on April Fools Day this year and the sites of the first playhouses managed by Burbage before they literally packed up and moved to Southwark.

The tour ends just as the fly past starts to celebrate the Queens birthday. Off to box park for a mash and pie lunch. Then it buckets down and we escape to Spitalfields markets for some retail therapy. Much better than Notting Hill, less touristy and more unique. Jane buys two lovely prints of ladies and we meet the artist, Charlotte.

Finally home via a long and windy bus route. Perfect sitting on the top deck at the front watching all the world go by and seeing another part of London.

Tomorrow morning at 4am we depart for Italy, blogging will be dependant on wi-fi and time. Ciao.

Henry VIII was at home

A cranky Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII

Hampton Court Palace

Knot Garden

After a good nights sleep I am reading a book about Nelson’s great battles as Jane heads off for her last day at work. Time to get moving and go find some squirrels on the way to the station. Today’s main event is Hampton Court Palace, mainly built in the Tudor era, Henry VIII and many other royals lived there.

Its another train ride from Waterloo station, then a short walk across the river and I am there with the hundred or so other tourists who disgorged from the train. Lady Catherine races up to meet me and asks if I have seen the King? Then Anne Boleyn starts screaming out the window she is waiting for the King. The school kids running around don’t understand what is going on and I am not sure half the adults do either. After a while the King wanders through talking to Thomas Boleyn and ignores everyone. Then we are lead up to the waiting room to petition the King and then he and Anne have a huge fight about the Pope, getting married and the dirty laundry.  It’s a pretty amazing display and the actors do a wonderful job of bringing history alive.

Now its time to head off and explore the rest of the palace. Hmm, this is pretty dusty and boring, try another room, hmmm, all the same. Ok, cross to the other side and try William III’s apartments, then the kitchen. I don’t know if its just me but the directions and map are hard to follow, the audio guide is boring and difficult to use, nothing flows. I suppose after Windsor Castle on Monday anything would pale in comparison.

Let’s go and try the gardens. Now this is much nicer, the Knot and Pond Gardens are laid out so well. Beautifully tendered all green and lush and so well proportioned. The map for the garden is much better so I head for the maze. I have always wanted to try a maze. Its starts out a bit so so, then I get lost. Then I back track then I get more lost. I truly have no idea how to get out. There are six year old boys racing around having the time of their lives. Eventually I ask one of them which way to get out and they excitedly show me, yelling, Miss, Miss, this way and lead me round and round. They are most disappointed when I will not run with them. We eventually escape the Maze, it was quite good fun. But I am never going in a maze again solo. Time to head back to London.

Covent Garden beckons, the sun is shining, the tourists are smiling, all is well in the world. Time for some retail therapy.