9 October - Home !!!!

We arrived home in Traralgon at 2:45 after some 48 hours of travel. After leaving Pompeii, we had to drive our hire car some 200 km back to Rome to drop it off at the Hertz rental place at the airport. Despite a one hour delay due to a crashed truck on the airport highway we arrived almost exactly at the agreed time of 6pm. From then on it was just the usual airport grind involving dragging our laden suitcases to the appropriate terminal etc and to endure the endless security procedures. The trip home involved three flights - Rome - Dubai, Dubai - Sydney and Sydney - Melbourne. All were uneventful and the sheer boredom of the journey was off-set only by the thought of getting home and catching up with the family.

All our travel arrangements went off without a single hitch. Over the next couple of days, when we've had a chance to reflect on what we experienced I'll make some comment about our activities, the accommodation and travel decisions we made etc. But for now it's time to hit the sack.

7 October - A1 Motorway, Italy

We are enroute to Rome airport. We left Praiano at 7:15 this morning. The man at the Maresca Hotel got up early this morning to make sure we had some breakfast and then we were off to the Pompeii excavation site. Pompeii of course was Roman town totally destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Everyone perished almost immediately and the whole town was covered in 6 to 10 meters of volcanic ash. There it lay, totally buried for 1,500 years, to be discovered some time in the 1700's. Over the past couple of hundred of years the site has been progressively excavated and a whole city with houses, shops and public buildings has started to emerge.

This photo shows one of the excavated streets with Mt Vesuvius in the background.

The unfortunate inhabitants of Pompeii were caught so unaware that many of them died where they stood, sat or lay totally embedded in the volcanic ash. The bodies of course decayed over the years but left cavities in the ash. Archaeologists have filled some of these cavities with plaster to recreate the shape of the bodies. One of the most moving aspects of Pompeii is that we are able to view the plaster casts of these poor victims at the moment of their death.

We are now about 50km out of Rome, having a bit of a break before we drive to Rome airport to return our car and get ready for the flight home.

6 October - Amalfi Coast, Italy

Our last day here on the Amalfi Coast, and once again the weather is perfect. We've been away for more than seven weeks, and in that time we've really only had one day where a bit of rain hindered our movements. How lucky is that?
We're using today to repack all our luggage, to resistribute some weight to make sure we're OK at the airport tomorrow.
Tomorrow at 07:00 we drive from Praiano to Pompeii to look at the archaeological remains of this ancient city which was destroyed by volcanic eruption from Mt Vesuvius nearly two thousand years ago. Once we are finished there, we have a very leisurely drive to Rome airport to drop of our car and then start the endless process of waiting, checking in, security checks and more waiting. Our flight (Emirates EK96) leaves Rome at 10:00 pm tomorrow night our time. We change planes in Dubai and then at 09:40 Dubai time we depart for Sydney  on Qantas QF2. Finally at 09:00 Aust time we fly from Sydney to Melbourne on QF419 to Melbourne arriving at 10:35. Then it's the Skybus to Southern Cross and the train home to Traralgon. Our holiday will be over - it's hard to believe. We've done so much and enjoyed it all. If I get chance I will post a few photos from Pompeii from the airport tomorrow.

Now we've reached this point we're all looking forward to getting home, and catching up with family.

5 October - Praiano, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Woke up to another perfect day here on the Amalfi Coast. The plan for today was to catch a bus to Amalfi. Then, after checking out Amalfi to catch the ferry to Positano, and from Positano another bus back to Praiano. A bus ride along this coastal road is way more exciting than a ride on Lethal Weapon at Movie world. The road is narrow, barely two cars wide, and on one side is a sheer drop off to the ocean of 500 to 1000 feet. Oh! did I mention hairpin bends - it's hairpin bends all the way. Fortunately it's all over in 20 minutes or so. The ferry ride from Amalfi to Positano takes you right along the Amalfi coast. The water was calm, the sun was shining so lots of great photos and video.

Back in our rooms by 2:30 for afternoon drinks and siesta. We'll probably have takeaway pizza tonight and then tomorrow is our last day here in this part of the world. On Tuesday we drive from here to Pompeii and after a visit there we'll drive the 200 or so km to Rome airport where we return the hire car and finally catch our plane(s) home.
This evening we decided on pizza for dinner. Our host recommended the Open Gate Restaurant and Ristorrante just up the road. Had excellent pizzas, a litre of the local red and excellent coffees.

Back to our hotel (Hotel Maresca) for liqueurs before turning in for the night.

4 October - Praiano, Amalfi Coast, Italy

We decided to have a quiet day taking in the views of our incredible location here on the Amalfi Coast. After walking down a steep cliff side track we found a little restaurant right down at water level and booked a table for dinner tonight. Apart from that I'll let the photos do the talking.

 This is the restaurant we are going too tonight - right on the water.

Tomorrow we take the bus to Amalfi.

3 October, Praiano, Amalfi Coast, Italy

We left San Gimignano (reluctantly) this morning just before 9 am, for the 550km trip to our next destination which is Praiano on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. If you've not heard of the Amalfi Coast, it is some of the most spectacular scenery any of us have ever seen located near Naples and Sorrento. All the towns here are hugging a huge cliff plunging straight down to the sea. I haven't had a chance to take any photos yet because the light was already starting to fade as we arrived. To give you some ideas of where we are I've borrowed this photo which is taken less than a kilometre of where we are.

I'll post some of my own photos tomorrow. The trip from Tuscany was uneventful until we got down here. As you can imagine from this picture, roads here are winding, very narrow and very busy, so the 20km trip to Praiano was full of excitement. We are planning to spend the next four days here enjoying the local sites and then on the last day, when we return to Rome airport, we will visit Pompeii. From there it is straight to the airport and then home. Much as we've enjoyed ourselves we are also looking forward to getting home.

2 October - Pisa, Italy

Today we decided to make a day trip to Pisa, of Leaning Tower fame. It's about a 70km trip and the TomTom decided to provide us with the most scenic route ever. Driving around the Tuscan countryside really is a spectacular experience. Today Pisa is a large and somewhat messy city, but in the center the old walled city of Pisa is preserved. The first glance as you approach through the gate in the city wall is simply breathtaking - a huge grassed area featuring a number of old buildings dating back over 900 years including the leaning tower of Pisa, or as the Italians call it the Torre Pedente. If you point a camera in the general direction it is impossible to take a bad picture.

It's not till you get close to the base of the tower that you realise how much it is actually leaning.

Once again an unbelievable day, one of many we've experience in the past few weeks. Tomorrow we leave Tuscany to travel to Amalfi our last destination of the holiday. After a four days there we head for Rome and the ride home to Australia.

1 October, San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy

Our second day in Tuscany. Looking out of the windows this morning it is still hard to believe how beautiful the countryside is. It is easy to see why Tuscany has inspired generations of artists and writers

Our first stop today was the walled village of San Gimignano. It is a hilltop village which was first mentioned in the records in the year 923. In the above photo San Gimignano can be seen at the top of the hill.

To walk along streets and buildings which are over a thousand years old is a remarkable experience. Finished the morning off with a visit to a Gelateria which claimed that it made the best ice cream in the world. Tried it and it is true!

After that and a great Cafe Americano (long black) we were back in our minibus and off to Siena. Once again Siena is a typical Tuscan hill top city dating back many centuries. By now it had started to drizzle a bit but we were undeterred. Had to park the car out of town and walk about 1 Km up a pretty big hill but it was definitely worth it.

Despite a bit of rain we had a wonderful day. Tomorrow we will probably head off to Pisa to have a look at the Leaning Tower.

30 September - San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy

What a day we had today. I'll try to recreate it. Up at 7:30 for breakfast and last minute packing. Walk our suitcases the 500m to the local water bus (Vaporetto) station, wait for Vaporetto. Take Vaporetto and cruise down the Grand Canal to St Lucia railway station in Venice. Catch train from Santa Lucia to Mestre station on mainland. Find Herz rental car office in Mestre. Staff looking very worried - do they actually have a car for us? - lots of agitated conversation in Italian. We're eventually offered a 9 seater Opel minibus with tons of luggage space - hooray! Switch on John's Tom Tom and figure out how to get out of Venice and on to the Autostrada. Then a nice 300km trip through numerous tunnels as we cross Italy's central mountain range as I get used to driving a fairly large, manual shift vehicle on the right side of the road. Eventually reach the region of Florence as we emerge into the Tuscan landscape. It is just as dramatic as it looks in photographs. In every direction there is an incredible view. Hard to concentrate on driving. The GPS only takes us so far - then we have to rely on the quaint instructions provided by our host. This takes us on winding little roads through the village of San Gimignano which appears to be hundreds of years old, and then finally up a dirt road and as we round a bend it's like we are driving into a painting. A very friendly young woman, with very good English greets us like long lost friends and shows us our fantastic apartment complete with antique Italian furniture. We decide to drive to a local supermarket to buy supplies to dine in. What a pleasant surprise to find fantastic wines, fresh food and bread at fantastic prices so that we can dine in true Tuscan fashion.

No matter which window we look out of, the view looks like something hanging in an art gallery.

At this stage our main aim for the next few days is too explore this wonderful part of the world, especially the ancient city of Sienna. After three days here we drive down to the Amalfi Coast for four days before we finally drive to Rome and then home sweet home.

29 September - Venice, Italy

Another perfect day in Venice. After a leisurely breakfast we strolled through the local streets for a bit more shopping and to buy some nice crusty bread for lunch back at the apartment. After lunch, it was time to once again join the great tourist throng for another look the area around the Rialto Bridge.

As we walked along the banks of the Grand Canal we noticed a cluster of Paparazzi hanging around with still and video cameras trained on the other side. According to some passers by they were waiting for the appearance of George Clooney who was married here yesterday,

The Grand Canal was beautiful as ever and very busy. It's like watching a watery freeway.

Eventually it was time to head home for the cocktail hour but not before pulling into an excellent patisseria for some goodies for dessert. The pastry shops here are outstanding and the quality of the ice creams is unbelievable. It would be very difficult not to get fat here. So now the plan is for an evening stroll and dinner, coffee and goodies at home and then repacking for the trip tomorrow which involves making our way by water bus to the Santa Lucia station, where we catch a short train ride to Mestre to pick up our hire car for out trip to Tuscany and Amalfi.

28 September - Venice, Italy

Woke this morning to our second day in beautiful Venice. We decided to walk to St Mark's Square which is not far as the crow flies but involves navigating dozens of little streets and crossing many canals. It takes ages to make any progress because every few meters you need to stop to take photos.

 

On our way to St Mark's we passed the Rialto Bridge, probably one of the most famous structures in the world, so, lots more photos.

By now the place was getting quite crowded. There are some incredible shops and markets around the bridge which draw all the tourists. Then finally after lots of little streets we suddenly emerged into St Mark's Square surrounded by many buildings we are all familiar with from books and films.

It is quite an overwhelming experience to suddenly stand in front of scenes you've 'known' all your life but not actually seen. Once again the good weather has persisted, and after a leisurely stroll home we bought fresh bread, cheese and ham on the way home and had a great lunch at our 'apartment'.