March Break

We are now back in Lanciano after a two week March break.  We had the opportunity of travelling to Sorrento, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Capri, Matera, Alberobello in Italy with one of our daughters Diane.  Then George and I spent a few days in Monaco with day trips to Nice, Cannes and Antibes, France.  Throughout the whole trip we enjoyed good company, good food, good wine and lots of walking and touring.  

Toby spent his March Break vacation with Maria & Tonino, a local couple who love dogs and love taking care of Toby and spoiling him.  I think Toby put on 10 lbs, so he is now on a strict diet.  We are so fortunate for Maria and Tonino to look after Toby while we travel.  

After picking up Diane at the airport we spent four nights in Sorrento.  Our hotel was located at the top of Sorrento with a great view of the Mediterranean Sea.  We used the hotel shuttle to take us back and forth from Sorrento.  The hotel driver looked like Robert DeNiro.  

On our first full day in Sorrento our plan was to take the train to Pompeii in the morning and then return to Sorrento and spend the afternoon touring the area. When we got to the train station we learned that the trains were on strike and no trains would be running that day.  Instead we decided to take the local bus to the Amalfi Coast taking in Revello and Positano.  We had a great lunch in Revello which consisted of fagoli (bean) soup. The woman who does the cooking is your Italian mama. She comes out with her apron on and her ankle socks and takes your order and kept trying to push food on us, wanting to make sure that when we leave we have full bellies. After lunch we went to our favorite ceramic store and introduced Diane to the owner.  He remembered us from our frequent visits before and gave us a discount on our purchases.  We then headed to Positano and wandered the streets before heading back to Sorrento. 

Having a cappucino at the start of our day

Amalfi Coast

The next day in the morning we set our for Pompeii.  We headed to the train station only to find out that the trains were not running again as there was another strike, but only for the morning.  We spent the morning touring and shopping in Sorrento. We then took the afternoon train to Pompeii. This is an ancient Roman city near Naples.  In 79AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted destroying and burying the town in 6 meters of pumice and ash.  It was discovered in the 16th century when excavation began in 1748.  Apparently volcanos are known to erupt every 2000 years and Mount Vesuvius is overdue.  As a consequence of learning this, Diane kept a watchful eye on Mount Vesuvius during our visit.

Mount Vesuvius

On our final day in Sorrento our plan was to go to Capri by ferry.  We took the shuttle bus down from the hotel when half way down the bus broke down.  We abandoned the van and then were taken down to the boat to Capri in the hotel owner’s car. 

While in Capri we went to Anacapri where we took in the Blue Grotto, the chairlift to the top for a magnificent view spoiled somewhat by fast moving fog rolling in.  

Heading into the Blue Grotto

Inside the Blue Grotto

Tile floor inside a church in Anacapri

Capri

The next morning we left Sorrento and headed to the heel of Italy and stayed three nights in Matera, an Unesco World Heritage Site.  We stayed in Matera’s ancient town called the Sassi.  The Sassi originate from a prehistoric settlement and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy.  The Sassi are houses dug into the rock, in otherwords caves.   Our hotel room was a cave.  Matera is where the movie The Passion of Christ with Mel Gibson was filmed.  We enjoyed our time hiking through the many valleys and exploring the caves in the area.

Sassi

Diane & George standing outside our cave hotel

Diane in a cave

Relaxing outside of our hotel cave room

Looking up at the bottom of the valley

On our last day we took a day trip to a town called Alberobello, also a Unesco World Heritage site.  This area is known for trulli houses.  Trulli houses are circular buildings with conical roofs.  The walls and openings are usually white washed and the stoned roofs have religious, pagan or magical symbols painted on them.

Trulli Houses

Trulli Houses

It was then time for Diane to head back to Toronto and get back to reality.  George and I then flew to Monaco for a few days.  How can I describe Monaco?  Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lotus, MacLaren, Lamborghini, Mercedes everywhere you turned, private yachts galore, fashionable people at the Casino.  There is a outdoor cafe by the casino, you can get a hamburger for 27 euros.  We went to the Monaco Cathedral and the Palace.  Monaco is a beautiful country.  We also took day trips to Nice, and Antibes and Cannes. Each of them are charming in their own way. 

George's wannabe

Speechless

This yacht is from Nova Scotia, Canada

Monaco's cathedral

The Casino

Monaco

Breakfast one morning - cost us 6 euros each

In Cannes

Cannes

Antibes

We are now back in Lanciano, and feel so fortunate that we have travelled to many places in Europe in such close proximity...and our travelling days aren’t over!