Nov 29, 2020 - Next leg towards leaving the Med....

Thoughts from next passage Cagliari - Portugal Got into Cagliari at 04:45 after a 110 hour passage of which nearly 60% was under sail. Spent 5 days in Sardinia, 3 in the marina (del Sole) where we completed some vital provisioning / projects / cleaning and buying spares. Two days were at anchor (one being at a beautiful anchorage 30mile west of Cagliari and the other off Carloforte). Underway we had strong winds and pretty short sharp swell. Lots of nose diving for a while. Thankfully we had the bemini up which helped keep us relatively...

Mar 27, 2020 - Florence

Florence is known as an open-air museum, home to the de'Medicis, Michaelangeo, Bottecelli and da Vinci. I was anxious to get out to experience Florence in all its glory, knowing I only had 3 days to see everything I wanted to see. I found a charming and inexpensive pension in the old section of town near the famous Duomo and then set out to explore on foot. Florence has the feeling of small medieval town with narrow, winding cobblestone streets and fabulous Renaissance buildings. It is surprisingly busy given that this is a pretty small...

Mar 22, 2020 - Train to Milan

From Madrid to Barcelona and then on past the French Riviera, my Special Reclining Class train seat has left me with a numb bum! The Spanish Renfe train system is efficient and comfortable and seems to be keeping more or less on schedule. The scenery has been gorgeous and the activity on the train amusing, so the time has passed relatively quickly. I've finished my first book and several magazines but have actually found myself staring out of the windows for extended periods of time, reflecting on life at home and wondering about my...

Feb 1, 2020 - Rome & Pompeii, Italy

Two days of traveling we finally arrived in Rome. We spent almost an hour walking from the plane, through security (and I don’t know why) and to the baggage claim area. Nothing was posted as to which carousel we were suppose to search for, so we just followed the crowd. I finally determined that "the crowd" just landed from Paris and that our bags are not/should not be on that plane. There were only three carousels in sight and only two were working so you would think “this is a no brainer”, but noooo. I finally gave up looking and went to...

Nov 1, 2019 - Napoli

My new friend and Chateau Chaparral neighbor, Kimberly, decided to do an 8-week backpacking tour of Europe. Via email we came up with a plan to meet for three days before I left Italy. Kimberly would fly from Denver to London on Tuesday, then into Naples the next morning and I would meet her at the Naples airport. Together we would take a taxi to the AirBnB I found which was affordable and within walking distance to the Museo Archeologico Nationale di Napoli and Museo Capodimonte. I can be a bit of a worrier so I arranged and prepaid for a...

Oct 30, 2019 - Grottaminarda

The morning of October 19, a beautiful black Mercedes pulled up in front of Hotel Il Nido to whisk me away from Sorrento to a town over two hours away. It was a big extravangance by my standards, but this old lady did not want to schlep her one carry-on and one personal item onto the train and then the bus, which would take several hours and.......okay, I am a wimp but it was close enough to my birthday that I decided to give myself this gift, and I am so glad I did. Giuseppe and I had a lively, sometimes confusing, conversation with his...

Oct 21, 2019 - O Sola Mia!

Okay. Where did I leave off? Of course, Matera. It was amazing! We had a very special dinner our last night there at Dedalus which was such a beautiful restaurant. Before leaving we had a last look at Matera from the other side of the ravine, then a long drive south to see the Greek ruins in Pasteum. One of the three temples is considered the best preserved Greek temple anywhere. When the Romans came along they built around the temples instead of destroying them as they admired the Greeks. Then we drove on to Il Nido, a sweet little hotel...

Oct 15, 2019 - Rome, Italy

Our first day in Rome, John and I went to the Colosseum while the others did the hop-on, hop-off bus tour. Despite our getting there early, it still took us well over an hour to get in to the Colosseum. What annoyed me were all the tour groups that got preferential entry. And there were busloads of them. The Colosseo was gigantic and it is amazing that it was built around 80 AD. It was built on the same lot of land that Nero’s house of gold was built to eradicate the last memories of a hated emporer. The colosseum was for the people and was...

Oct 14, 2019 - Syracusa, Sicily and Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Today we travelled across the center of Sicily from Palermo to Syracuse. The interior of Sicily shows that Sicily is the breadbasket of Italy. Lots of citrus orchards, olive orchards, tomatoes, mixed veggies, and some vineyards. Lots of Eucalyptus and surprisingly Norfolk Pines. Arriving in Syracuse, we have a modern 3 bedroom apartment a short walk from the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Our sleep that night was not that great though. The lion roars kept us awake. Lions? Yep. We have a circus with a big top about 300 meters away...

Oct 13, 2019 - Sicily 1

We are now into the deep south of Italy on our way to Sicily. The topography has changed from hilly to mountainous and in some areas we are quite high but the temperature is still warm. The agriculture has also changed from vineyards to olive trees, orange trees and pastureland. The vegetation is now all deciduous - primarily poplar but also eucalyptus. There is also a lot of bamboo growing along the roadsides and pear cactus. The car has been running fine as long as we disconnect the battery anytime we are parked for more than an hour....

Oct 10, 2019 - Bella Italia!

Buongiorno! This may be short because typing on an iPhone SE is tricky. On Oct 4 I flew from Denver to Newark, then on to Naples, arriving at 8:00 am on Oct 5. Suzan Rozypal, owner of Italy with Friends, picked me up four hours later in a VW Caravelle van and we headed east to the Bari area. By 6:00 pm I could not stay awake and I slept for 12 hours straight. Heaven! The next morning the other tour members arrived: Larry and Peggy from Chicago, Patti and Frank from Austin and Chris and Merrilyn from Phoenix. We have been touring Puglia with...

Oct 9, 2019 - Day 19 Sorrento to Rome via Napoli - Disney shop in Rome

The trip is coming to a close. Mixed feelings all round as we will be happy to see everyone at home however its almost the end of a lovely holiday. Joe just about at the buffet breakfast out of supplies....had about 5 courses. Then it was time to finish packing, check out and walk to the train station. We decided to train rather than ferry to Napples as it would involve less bag dragging. The train takes us direct to Napoli Centrale where we catch the train to Rome. We arrived in time to catch the 11.30 train to Rome and arrived at Termini...