Jun 25, 2005 - Amalfi Coast

I felt like I should have been Sofia Loren and Squat boy should have been Paul Newman....... The Amalfi Coast is something out of a movie or picture postcard (or both...) You still get the Napolitano drivers nipping at your heels around every turn but the drive along the coast is breathtaking! Positano was possibly the favourite. We took a ferry from Amalfi to the little town which has more stairs than streets! We had a little wander up and down these stairs peeking into the quaint shops selling the most outrageous clothing. Apparently the...

Jun 24, 2005 - Capri and Anacapri

We were up bright and early to the sounds of the Roosters and the clock tower. We have picked up a few choice bug bites in the night due to leaving the window open to cool the room. The room has a private bath, running water, electricity and a bed. That is about it. This could be a really nice resort. The pool area is quite impressive and the cottages on the outside are fine. They need SCREENS, television, Air Conditioning and a fresh coat of paint. The needs have been magnified since we are here for two days due to the train strike and not...

Jun 23, 2005 - Pompeii & Naples

We managed to get ourselves out of one hairy driving city and into another region that is renowned for it's drivers! Pompeii was our first stop and we set up camp just below the old city ruins. The Pompeii ruins are amazing and give an unbelievable insight into life that dated back to 300 BC! The plaster casts of people they found whilst doing the excavations are incredible, everything is so immaculately preserved, both of us are extremely glad we got to see Pompeii; and it was hot baby! Naples - what can be said......the drivers are in a...

Jun 23, 2005 - Naples & Disembarkation due to Train Strike

Well today was an adventure, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. Neither of us slept well last night. Kim was worried about the arrangements and the dogs and I was worried about the arrangements. I told myself how could I forgotten to print out the hotel reservation for Sorrento and it was also not in my calendar or computer. It was just on Blue Cloak at home which is several thousand miles away. After some reflection, I thought that maybe I had put it on the travel website so that anyone could see where we were and reach us in...

Jun 9, 2005 - Ilha de Capri

Acordamos hoje muito cedo novamente (Isso esta se tornando uma rotina em nossa viagem), nao tomamos cafe da manha e fomos em direçao ao porto comercial para pegar uma barcaça que leva ate a ilha. A barcaça saiu às 8:10 e demorou quase 3 horas para chegar, mas o legal que o caminho ate Capri passa por toda a costa Amalfitana, entao avistamos do mar as cidades de Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, Napoles e ao fundo o vulcao Vesuvio. A vista è maravilhosa, pois sao casas pequenas, amontoadas e coloridas que ficam nos penhascos com vista para o mar....

Jun 3, 2005 - Positano, Italy

May 28 to June 1 After 2 days of travel from Greece, a changed ferry port because of a visit by the Pope, a wrong turn in Sorrento, we finally made it to Positano. The town is far nicer than anything we could have imagined, it looks like we are in a movie. Our hotel looked a little scary from the outside but was beautiful inside and the view well see the picture! We walked around town one day and walked from two small villages up in the hills down to Positano beach. Had some excellent food and even better Gelato while we were there. We went...

Jun 1, 2005 - Amalfi Coast - Italy

Am currently in Positano - which is a town situated on a steep slope overlooking the sea along the Amalfi Coast. Will write more about this place on another entry though - as have only just arrived tonight - and haven't seen enough to really comment (although first impressions are fairly good!). Just had a huge amount of text I had typed in get wiped with 1 accidental keystroke - so am not overly thrilled with this whole thing at the moment - but - will try again anyway! Had a classic travel moment again in Siracusa when I was leaving to go...

May 27, 2005 - Naples, naples, naples

Well I really wonàt miss the greek ferries after another all night trip across to Italy I am finally here, I grabbed a train after a 4 hour wait for naples and then the metro (subway) to get to my hostel. This city is amazing, the traffic is incredible just wall to wall cars and bikes getting around the Canadian way with a big ass back pack on is harder than you would think. At this point I have blisters on both heals then they go away only to come back again. Today we went to POMPEI, you know the city that was cover in ash from a volcano...

May 20, 2005 - Sorrento

We awoke this morning to find out that bus drivers and other public transportation would be on strike at various hours of the day. We made it on the 10:05 train to Naples just before they decided to stop running the buses. For some reason all of the trains continued to run. Transportation strikes are somewhat more common in Italy, this was the second thus far in May. Nothing you can do but make the most of it and enjoy where you are at. In order to transfer to Sorrento we transfered to a smaller train in Naples. It's known to be a haven for...

May 16, 2005 - Day trip to Pompei

We went to Pompei this morning, after sleeping in again. It was hot and dusty and hard to navigate, but it turns out that this is some special cultural week, so it was free! That’s a nice little reprieve. The ruins were much bigger than we expected, and also had more bits which were crumbled or closed-off than we had thought. Unfortunately the house of the Vetti and the Lupenarium were closed, so we didn’t get to go inside the few buildings with remaining roofs (though you could look through the bars to see the Priapus mosaic with the giant...

May 15, 2005 - Day trip down the Amalfi Coast

Ah, so tired this morning- we slept in until almost 9:30, although I was awake since early that morning and had slept poorly once again.. I wish my body would just adjust already! We decided to go to Amalfi today, after taking a while to decipher the bus schedule. The trip was AMAZING- I can’t fathom how those driver do it- definitely a “keep your hands and arms inside the bus at all times” ride. At certain points we were mere inches from stone walls, and at other times the bus was practically teetering off a precipice over the...

May 14, 2005 - Early Train to Napoli & the Amalfi Coast

So now we know why people hate American tourists- the people behind us on the train to Napoli are so damn obnoxious! Complaining about the train, “It’s filthy!” and constantly whining about how the ticket seller “screwed” them by not selling them four tickets with seats all together. (our seats aren’t right either, just deal with it!) But anyway, Italian hotel breakfasts appear to be better than US hotel breakfasts by far! Naples and Pompeii, here we come! The cities here are so dense and crowded, but it’s amazing once you get a few miles...