Monday October 31, 2011

Monday 31

Happy Halloween everyone! Another picture perfect day! We went to Stabia today. It is on a hill overlooking the Bay of Naples. It was a resort area for Roman politicians and rich merchants. A number of them built huge summer villas here. They were discovered in the mid-1700’s while digging a well. Unfortunately many of the frescoes were stolen to decorate manor houses of the time and are now in a museum, but it was great to see what was left. We went into one of the villas, San Marco, and were able to see mosaic tiled floors, original paint on the walls and some of the original frescoes that had not been taken (see photo). The part that has been excavated is awe inspiring, but there is still much more of the villa to be discovered under neighboring farms. Our guide to the villa was a young archaeologist named Maria. She was quite witty and we really enjoyed her talk. The villa had large private baths – cold, tepid, and hot – and a reflecting pool with a colonnade on two sides. Before viewing the villa we saw a short film on what the villa might have looked like before its destruction in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The whole experience was quite delightful. Coming home on the bus was another story. We got stuck in a lot of traffic – besides the normal two lanes, the motor scooters use the space between to travel. It becomes very interesting when they are weaving in and out and passing each other with inches to spare! We had a few minutes when we got back to our hotel to regroup and then get into vans for our ride to a home-hosted lunch. Our group went to visit Anna who owns a farm on a hill high over the city of Sorrento. Our driver drove like a bat out of hell on narrow roads hardly wider than the bus, but meant for two-way traffic. It was like being on a thrill ride at an amusement park! We felt a little better when we got there and found that he was Anna’s son and he drives that road every day. We were lucky our gang of six plus the two couples from Wisconsin were with Manuela. She went with us to interpret, as our hostess did not speak English. She has a 22-acre farm where she raises cows, chickens, pigs and "oysters". When Manuela told us that she raises oysters, I had visions of salt water tanks, but then she went on to say that they were mean tempered, had long necks and could bite. We laughed when we discovered that we were thinking of two different things! She knew it was something that started with an “o”. It turned out that Anna had two ostriches! There are also lemon, walnut and olive trees on the property. The harvest season for the olives is happening now and they catch the ripe ones in nets that get emptied each day (see photo). The lunch was delicious: pasta, beef, steamed chicory, salad, tiramisu. There was also homemade wine and for after dinner a liqueur that was made with chestnuts. She seemed pleased with all of her gifts that we had brought with us to thank her for her hospitality. At 5 PM we had a lecture, “My home away from home”, by an American woman who married an Italian man and the changes that she encountered being an American living in Italy. It was quite fascinating and she touched on a number of topics including education, medicine, salaries, home buying, cooking, and unemployment. We thoroughly enjoyed her talk. We went out for a light supper, as we were all still full from lunch. Dave and I had Caprese salads (sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella in olive oil and herbs. We then took a walk around town and enjoyed watching the children “Trick or Treat” the merchants. Manuela says that this is a recent phenomenon (the last 5 or 6 years). Most of the girls were dressed as witches (perhaps a Harry Potter influence). The boys seemed to prefer monsters or devils. We saw silly string (which I haven’t thought of in years) and much confetti being thrown. Unfortunately, I saw one older boy with a container of raw eggs! Tomorrow we are going to Capri on the fast ferry. My internet time may expire before we return so there may be a gap in the blog until we get to Rome on Thursday evening.

Sunday October 30, 2011

We skipped the walk today, as we knew we had an early bus ride down the Amalfi Coast. What a lovely ride. They have changed the rules since we were here last. Cars are allowed to travel both ways on the scenic road, but busses are only allowed to travel down (South). The day was perfect! Sunny and warm with fantastic views of villages carved into the huge cliffs. It seems as if the houses are built on top of each other like a pile of a child’s blocks (see photo). We stopped at a large ceramic shop for a bathroom break and also so that we could exchange seats side to side in order that everyone could enjoy the majestic views. Our first official stop was in the town of Amalfi. Most of us elected to take a 45-minute boat ride along the coast. We had wonderful views of some lovely houses that were not visible from the road overhead. We passed the house that Sophia Loren used to own and also a very excusive hotel where the Jacqueline Kennedy and Michael Jackson were guests (not at the same time!). The captain also pointed out Gore Vidal’s home. Back on land, we had an hour to walk around the town of Amalfi. I finally found a few postcards to send to the last of the grandchildren. I could make a mint designing appropriate postcards – ah, well, another life! We then went on a bit and stopped for lunch in a lovely restaurant with fantastic views of the mountains and the sea (see photo). Unfortunately, I was not crazy about either of the menu choices and the dessert was soaked in liquor so I am quite hungry now as I write and wait to go out to dinner. I had a salad, a few fried potatoes and an apple. Oh well, I have to start to lose the pounds from eating all this pasta at some point! We did get to sing Happy Birthday to one of our fellow travelers. Larry turned 66 today. Our next stop was to the garden of a villa in Rufolo. The town is known for music and they have a huge, but ugly new amphitheater for concerts. Wagner stayed here and composed some of his music while looking at the fantastic scenery. The villa gardens were lovely. They was set on top of a hill and you could look down onto the Mediterranean Sea (see photo). Because the weather is mild, there were many flowers still in blooms. Our autumn was late this year, but we are enjoying the colors of Italy. Some of the trees turn yellow and orange and the grape vines and other vines turn bright red (see photo). We had a long bus ride home. Our bus was smaller than the normal one which is a good thing for the width of the road going down the coast, but not so good for one’s legs – it was quite cramped. We arrived back at 5 PM and will go out to dinner with Susanne. Lana, John and Kelly are going to a dinner theater to see the Tarantella show.

Saturday October 29, 2011

Today the walking trio made it down to the waterfront on the small pier where the fishermen come in with their catch. We made it back in time for breakfast. Kelly is going on the optional tour of Pompeii and to the Museum of Naples. The rest of us decided to go just to Pompeii. We caught the 8:30 train and made it to Pompeii just after it opened. In fact, we saw Kelly and the rest of the group just after we entered the site. We wandered around and saw some of the same things we had seen last time we were here, but also discovered a few new places such as the botanical garden. The first photo is of a piece of original wall art in a house in Pompeii. The other is a part of the ruins with Mount Vesuvius in the background. We walked for three and a helf hours and then declared that it was time for lunch. We ate panini across from the entrance to the site and then walked a short way to the train station. We chatted with a young couple from Fort Lauderdale, Florida who are here on their honeymoon. When we came back to town, it was siesta time so we decided to rest until 4 when the shops open again. We did a little shopping and then came back to the hotel before going out again for dinner. On the way back, we ran into Kelly who had just returned from her tour. She loved Pompeii and the Museum of Naples, but agreed with us that Naples itself is a sleazy city. We may go back to the Foreigner’s Club again for dinner as Lana and John have not eaten there yet. Maybe there will be another wedding!

No wedding tonight, but a university graduation. We finished dinner just as the guests were arriving so we didn’t get to share the entertainment, but we did do a survey on what the young people were wearing. We paid particular attention to the shoes – very high heels, 5 to 6 inches, whether she was wearing a very short dress (seems to be in again) or tight jeans. We had to turn our clocks back an hour as they observe daylight savings time here also. Tomorrow we will take a ride down the Amalfi Coast.

Friday October 28, 2011

John, Dave and I walked this morning before breakfast. We walked down to the square (see photo) and on the way passed the small hotel we had stayed in previously. After breakfast, Manuela took us for an orientation walk around town (see Manuela holding an Imperial lemon - huge!). We then split off and went shopping in the old part of the city. We tried to find the little shop that Lana remembered from our last trip, but they were no longer in the same spot. We stopped to have a pizza lunch bear St. Antonio square and were serenaded by a group of men – they were playing and singing a combination of Italian, Spanish and American songs. We went back to the hotel to put our feet up for an hour and then Kelly, Susanne and I went out again (Dave had had enough of shopping – Lana and John had gone on an optional tour to made pizza). We returned after an hour or so and picked up Dave to go to dinner. We decided to go to the Foreigner’s Club, which is located on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with Mount Vesuvius in the background. There was a small wedding taking place at the Club, but since the side of the room was open to the dining room, we were able to see what was going on. The entertainment was a troupe of Tarantella dancers – it was quite lively. At one point we heard Taps being played, but it segued into a lively tune so we knew the wedding wasn’t over as we first thought. We heard the wedding march and that prompted the entrance of the wedding cake on a rolling table. Kelly was aghast as we saw one young lady wearing a black dress, black stockings, and white shoes! Most everyo9ne was very well dressed, but we did see one young man in a tee shirt and hoodie! The dinner was very nice, but we certainly enjoyed the unexpected entertainment.

Thursday October 27, 2011

Sorry for the delay in the blog. We have to pay for internet service in Sorrento so I wanted to wait a couple of days so that I can get a few blogs on before we run out of minutes.

We had a lovely time at the farewell dinner last night. The food was excellent although, again, there was too much of it, and we had entertainment in the form of a man and woman who sang and played the trumpet. Dave and I danced to a waltz before heading up to bed.

We got our big bags out to the hall by 6:45 AM and then had breakfast before getting on the bus. We are headed to Sorrento. We stopped for a brief visit to Orvietto, a hill town that is reached by funicular and a small bus. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy this morning so we did not get the great views that you might get on a sunny day.
We walked around and took photos of narrow alleyways (see how foggy it is?) and unusual benches (see photo) scattered around town. We continued our trip and stopped for a quick lunch at a roadside café. It was a bit confusing here until we discovered that you had to pay in advance and then order what you wanted from the counter. While we were waiting to board the bus, we chatted with some high school students who were here on a field trip from a small fishing village in Northern Ireland. We said that we had been to Giant’s Causeway and one of the girls said she had never been there despite it being practically in her backyard. We arrived in Sorrento a little after 3 and very soon thereafter headed to the Laundromat. We were getting tired on stomping on our dirty clothes in the shower, rinsing and then hanging them around the room to dry. We had dinner in the hotel as a group.

Wednesday October 26, 2011

No walk this morning – it was raining and quite soggy out. After breakfast, we went to the old part of Chianciano to visit the Etruscan Archeological Museum. The Etruscans of this area were from as early as the seventh to the fifth century BC. Most of the objects that have been excavated were found in underground funeral sites. Since this is a volcanic area, there is much tufa (a soft chalky type of earth that is easy to dig). Many of the objects that were discovered were funerary urns (see photo - note that the head lifts off to insert ashes or bones). A larger funerary urn was in the form of a mother and child (see photo). It is not known whether this was to honor a mother who had died in childbirth or a princely boy who is shown in his mother’s arms. It seems to be a precursor to the Madonna and Child. We left our town and headed to Cortona, another Etruscan hill town. Unfortunately, it was still raining (hard at times) so we didn’t get to explore as thoroughly as we might have on a sunny day. We walked along the Via Nazionale, which is the only level street in the town. At various points along the street there were narrow flights of stairs going downhill (see photo). We ate lunch and then headed back to the hotel. By the time we got back the sun was out and things were beginning to dry up. Tonight we will have a goodbye dinner at the hotel with music and dancing.

Tuesday October 25, 2011

After breakfast today we headed to Assisi, which is in another district, Umbria. We met a local guide, Marco, who was a wonderful guide for the Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of St. Francis). He was passionate about his subject and very theatrical! We went through the lower church first, which was covered in frescoes. He explained that these were early frescoes and pointed out that the people were not painted life-like, but were rather stilted. We then went down to the crypt where we could see the tomb of St. Francis. The upper church was much brighter of course and filled with frescoes which were much more life-like. There were many panels depicting the life of St. Francis. Many of these wall decorations were attributed to famous artists such as Giotto, Lorenzetti, and Martini. We saw a large number of Franciscan monks and nuns as well as other people of the church from other orders. There was much going on in the churchyard as the Pope is coming here on Thursday. In fact we were quite lucky, as the church will be closed tomorrow at 3 PM so that a security check of the church can be made before the arrival of the Pope. According to Marco, there are only 2000 people who live in the old town of Assisi and 1400 of them are religious figures. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos in the church so I can only say that the frescoes were quite beautiful, but cannot show you any of them. The upper church was damaged in the earthquake of 1997, but most of the damage has been repaired. The photo above is of the huge basilica. Note that the arches are the lower church and the main building is on top. We then had our free time and walked around the medieval streets, poking our heads into a number of shops. We ended up at the base of the hill on which the Basilica sits at the Hotel Windsor Savoie. The photo of the wall sconce is from the dining room. It is made of Venetian glass – quite beautiful. The dining rooms here were huge and it was obvious that they catered to tour groups. By the time we were eating our lunch, two of the enormous rooms were full with various groups from many countries. I could distinguish French, Italian, German, and English being spoken – a modern-day Babel. Lunch was wonderful – a choice of minestrone soup or lasagna, chicken with salad and profiterole for dessert (sort of like a cream puff with chocolate sauce). We then drove down the hill and visited St. Mary of the Angels church (see the golden statue of St. Mary), which has a beautiful 11th century chapel inside of it – quite unusual. St. Mary’s was built over the chapel and is located in the nave. Just outside the chapel is where St. Francis died. The Pope will also visit this site. On our way back to Chianciano Terme, we passed by Perugia (of Amanda Knox fame). Our guide said she was in Perugia with a different group when the ruling of her release was announced. She said the square in front of the Hall of Justice was packed and a bit rowdy. Apparently, many Italians thought that she was released under pressure from the United States and are not convinced of her innocence. We also made a stop to see Lake Trasimeno (see photo), the fourth largest lake in Italy. Ducks along the shore serenaded us as we admired the view. We came back to town and Lana, Kelly, and I meandered around the plaza area and did a bit of window shopping. Some of the items for sale were lovely, but the prices were also quite lovely so we returned to the hotel empty handed. We went across the street to a small café and had sandwiches or salads. The movie tonight was “Tea with Mussolini”. It had some wonderful actresses – Lily Tomlin, Maggie Smith, Cher, and Judy Dench. I ended up watching the whole thing – it was quite good and took place in Florence for the most part so it was fun to recognize many of the places we had been.