FUN-photos: Rimini to Palermo, Italy
November 11, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Rimini to Palermo, Italy
We arrived in Rimini the afternoon of October 15th. We were there for the TTG Incontri Travel & Tourism Industry Show where Susan spoke. On the morning of the 19th we picked up another car and headed south with our first stop in San Marino and then on to Sorrento for 3 days where we visited Capri, the Blue Grotto, Pompeii & Herculaneum. We continued south along the Amalfi Coast with stops in Positano & Amalfi and spent the night in Tropea. We drove to Villa San Giovanni where we picked up the ferry to Sicily. Our first stop there was Taormina for 2 days, then off to Ragusa for 2 days with stops on the way in Giardini-Naxos, Siracusa & Noto. Our last 2 nights were spent in Terrasini, a small seaside town next to the airport since we had a very early flight out on the 29th. We stopped and saw the Greek ruins in Agrigento & Segesta as well as seeing the fabulous church in Monreale on the outskirts of Palermo.
If you click on the first picture it will allow you to create a slide show. And it turns out they are in ascending order (in other words, the first is actually the last) So if you click the back arrow you will see them in order. Enjoy!
FUN-travel: Sorrento, Italy – Full Day 2
October 28, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Sorrento, Italy – Full Day 2
Day 36 – Monday, October 21 – Sorrento, Italy – Day 2 – full sun – high 75 – low 59
Hall of the Augustals – Herculaneum
What I LIKE
Herculaneum
- 7:15 – try macchiato & much better!
- 9:30 – breakfast & to go sandwich
- I ask directions for driving out of garage – WWIT!
- Elisabetta @ front desk is the best
- BI – assumes we’re taking train to Herculaneum & Pompeii
- *10:37 – train on time
- only costs $2.20 pp one way
- faster & no traffic nightmare
- 11:25 – arrive Erculano station
- not sure where it is so just follow the crowd down hill
- 11:35 – get tickets – $10 Euro for 1 site or $20 Euro for all 5 sites
- only going to Pompeii – but hey, save $2 Euro
- **free booklet describes the ruins
- lovely Brit gives me his map – says no need to pay for audio – booklet has same info
- 12:00 – start walk down – area approx 4 big blocks by 4 big blocks – just some of the things we saw:
- Barrel Arches – vaulted rooms – port warehouses – discovered in 1980 w/300 skeletons
- House of Relief of Telephus – 2nd largest – between columns hang plaster casts of marble to ward off evil
- Taberna – public dining w/marble covered counter held large jars inserted w/hot food
- House of Neptune & Amphitrite – glass paste wall mosaic of Neptune & Amphitrite
- Hall of the Augustals – frescos depict Hercules
House of Neptune & Amphitrite
Barrel Arches
- ***1:30 – finish
- +1:50 – arrive train station
- chat with lovely couple from Perth while waiting
- 2:37 – take train to Pompeii
- 2:57 – arrive & entrance is right there
- I was here 15 years ago – Chris’ 1st time
- wander streets – amazing how big city was!
- 4:00 – overwhelmed & done
- beer break – Heineken 22 oz – $5 Euro
- stations very well marked for tourists & they announce sites
- ++4:25 – get a seat
- 4:55 – arrive
- 5:15 – see couple eating pizza & ask how good – they say driver recommended it (next couple to sit down after us says same thing)
- nothing fancy – 3 high top tables on narrow sidewalk
- Pizzeria Franco – diavola & caprese salad – more homegrown tomatoes –2005 Vigna Piano d’Angelo – the BEST so far! $53 Euro
Taberna
- 6:30 – back to hotel
- pack & get ready for next big adventure
- +++10:15 night night
BI (brilliant idea!)
WWIT (What Was I Thinking!)
House of Relief of Telephus
What I DON’T LIKE
- *SRO & packed like sardines
- **have to buy audio guide to get map
- ***some things I want to see closed for renovation
- +ask for directions & miss 1:53 train – have to wait for next one
- ++4:17 – train late
- +++twinkle no longer dancing in distance
Pompeii
FUN-fact –Unlike Pompeii, which was buried under a layer of ash and lapilli 6 to 7 meters deep, Herculaneum was submerged by a mud and lava flow measuring up to 25 meters deep. It is the mud that preserved everything it came in contact with, effectively sealing it and petrifying it.
More FF – Herculaneum was a very affluent community with large villas filled with rich collections of art and sculptures.
More FF – Herculaneum and Pompeii became a UNESCO site in 1997.