Back Home

Well, we are now back in Greensboro. The flight went off without a hitch, even though we weren't able to check in ahead of time. We arrived in Charlotte on time at 4:00, and we were driving home in the rental car by 5:00. By 7:00, we were having burgers and beers at a local watering hole. This was a great trip with no real hiccups. We couldn't have asked for more. Until next time, this is Wayne and Sue, signing out.

Last Day in Rome

Well, today is our last day in Rome. We started out the day touring an Italian Pallazzo. Very neat to see how the wealthy Italians lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. Next, we found a lovely little Sicilian bakery with the best chocalate croissant we have ever had. Then we bought some limoncello to take home and headed to another Italian Palazzo. Then, lunch at the little bar near where we stayed the first time we came to Rome. Finally, we went back to Piazza Navona, our favorite spot in Rome and got someone to take our picture in front of the fountain. Tonight will have a nice dinner and tomorrow we head to the airport for the flight back. US Airways won't let us check in online, so maybe we"ll be stuck here. We can think of worse things that could happen. I'll try to post an entry before we fly out tomorrow to let you know if we make our flight.

Shopping in Rome

Today was a day without any real museums or tourist attractions. We stopped in some churches when they interested us, and of course did a lot of walking, but the day was mostly about just being in Rome. We did a little shopping, but nothing really monumental to report. 

Biking the Appian Way

Today was a great day. We started out by heading to the Porta Portese flea market. On the way, an Italian couple stopped us and asked for directions to a church, which I gave the in Italian. Thank you Rosetta Stone. In the afternoon, we biked the Appian Way. This was a tour that included the Appian Way, the Aqueducts, and wine and cheese at a sheep farm, followed by a nighttime ride back into Rome. It was really cool to ride on the cobblestones of the Appian Way, realizing the chariots drove this same route 2500 years ago. We stopped at the catacombs along the way, seeing where the early Christians were buried. Then it was on to Aqueduct Park and the best preserved aqueducts in Rome. Finally we stopped at a sheep farm for wine and cheese, where Sue got her dog fix watching the dogs, who sort of looked like Sophie, herd the sheep. After that, we rode back into Rome, seeing the arch of Constantine and the Colosseo at night. Sue did a great job riding, even with all the traffic. That's it for the pre-planned itinerary, now we have two days to just be in Rome. That's all for now.

Ancient Rome

Today was mostly a repeat of what we did four years ago except this time we ha a guide. We started out climbing the Aventine hill to go to the Keyhole of Malta. This is an actual keyhole that is perfectly placed so that you get a view of St. Peter's cathedral through a grove of trees. The view is absolutely magical. Next we saw the Mouth of Truth, although we didn't have time to wait in line to put our hands in the mouth to see if we were truthful. I'm kind of relieves because I'm pretty sure I would have lost my hand if I had put it in there. After that we went for our tour of Ancient Rome. In this case, the tour makes all the difference. Touring an archeological site with an actual archeologist is great. She really borough what we were seeing to life, and gave us a much greater appreciation of the sites. Having done this both with and without a guide, I highly recommend a guide to explain what you are seeing and give it some historical context.  That's all for now.

Arrival in Rome

Today we returned to Rome. We are staying in a lovely little B&B in the heart of Trastevere, across the river from the main sites, but with a charm all it's own. After arriving, we stopped for lunch at a lrestaurant we ate at 4 years ago. Still as good now as it was then. After lunch we walked around Trastevere, stopping in a couple of churches. We then went up Giancolo hill for fabulous views of Rome as well as the back of St. Peter's Cathedral. Took some great pictures, but can't get the from the camera to the iPad. That's all for now.

The Path of the Gods

It will be hard to describe this day without going on a bit so I will apologize in advance. The day started with overcast skies and a bus ride to the town of Praino, on the Amalfi Coast. Once we arrived in Praino, we got provisions at the local store. Approximately 1700 steps later we arrived at a old monastery, where we were served fresh figs and orange juice. We had a bit of a hitch at this point because we couldn't figure out where the trail went. I left Sue at the monastery and went ahead, eventually figuring out how to proceed not the trail when a guy ran by (yes, ran by!) with his dog. Sue and I then continued on the trail until we reached Nocello, approximately 4 miles later. We stopped in a lovely restaurant in Nocello and the headed down the stairs to Positano. By the time we got to Positano, it was just starting to rain. We looked around Positano, purchased some lovely plates to remember our tripped, and headed back to Sorrento on the most packed bus we have ever been on. It was a great day.

Naples

Well today we went to Naples. It was pouring when we left but by the time we arrived in Naples it had stopped, and by the time we finished touring the Arceological Museum the sun was out. Naples is a big city with a lot going on, but it is layed out in a very logical fashion so we never got lost, even though the only map we had was in our Rick Steve's guidebook. The Archeological Museum was really cool, we saw a lot of sculptures from Ancient Rome and Pompeii. The museum also had a room dedicated to all of the erotic art from Pompeii, pictures of which are too racy for this blog. We then ate lunch at the second oldest pizza restaurant in Naples (the oldest and most well known had an our wait when we arrived at about 3, the one we ate at -- no wait). We decided it wasn't worth the wait just to be able to say we ate at the same restaurant Julia Roberts did. The pizza was great by the way. The rest of the day we just spent walking the city to the water, stopping to look at some neat churches along the way. Tomorrow we hope to walk the Path of the Gods, provided the weather cooperates.

Pompeii

Yesterday we took the train to Pompeii to see the ruins from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The eruption was not like a typical eruption in that it was lava but tons of hot rock and ash that rained down on Pompeii for two days, essentially burying the city.  We took a tour of the ruins which was quite interesting, our guide explaining much of the history of the place and little details about what we were looking at. The pictures are of the forum with Vesuvius in the background and one of me standing on what would have been the courthouse steps. The last picture is of the marina where we had dinner last night. Today as I write this entry it's pouring down rain. No complaints as it's the first rain we seen since we arrived in Italy. Today we are going to Naples. More later.

Sorrento

Today we arrived in Sorrento. Not much to report today as we spent the first half of the day traveling from Sicily, and the a couple hours once we arrived doing laundry. We finally made it out to start walking around 6. Ended up in a very touristy restaurant for dinner, which would have been a total wash absent the free limoncello. Tomorrow we go to Pompeii. 

Taormina

Today was our last day with the tour. The tour part was seeing a Greek theatre with Mount Etna in the backdrop. When then did what any reasonable people would do on a Sunday afternoon -- we went to the beach. Specifically, Isola Bella. We hung out there for three hours. The water was great, getting to the water was very difficult because it was a pebble (big) beach. Then we walked around town a little before stopping for an appertif. I now understand how Italians can eat dinner at 9 or 10, it's because the appertif at 5 or 6 includes little snacks that hold you until dinner time. What a civilized way to live. Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow we fly to Naples and take a bus to Sorrento. Now we'll see if my planning is equal to the tour guides.

Mount Etna

Today we drove back to the east coast of Sicily to Mount Etna. It was amazing to see all of the remnants of a volcanic eruption and realize that the last major eruption was only about 13 years ago. For those of you who know us, you knew there was going to be a climb somewhere along this trip. As you will see from the pictures, we did not disappoint you. We climbed to the to of a crater, which was really neat, although a somewhat difficult climb considering that the starting elevation was over 6000 feet. After our hike, we went to a lvely winery for lunch and a wine tasting. We are now in the resort town of Taormina, where we stay for the next two nights. This has been a fabulous trip and a fabulous tour that I would strongly recommend to anyone. There is no way we could have done all we have done on our own. That's all for now; we'll report on Taormina tomorrow. By the way, we climbed from the shop to the top of this picture.

Montreale and Cefalu

Today we started the day with a walk through the market in Palermo. Lots of really neat food on sale. Next, we went to the Cathedral of Montreale, which was similar to the Cathedral we saw yesterday, but even bigger with more mosaics. The coordination it must have taken between the architect and the artists is amazing. Then we went to the beach town of Cefalu, where we walked around and had lunch. Cefalu has the biggest truly sand beach I've seen anywhere in Italy. We didn't have time to go swimming, but it was neat to look at. After we left Cefalu, we went to our hotel, which is a converted Abbey, now home to a winery. Tonight it's dinner and a wine tasting. Tomorrow -- Mount Etna.

Palermo

Today we spent the day in Palermo. Our guide has spent a lot of time talking about the mafia and how terrible it was/is, but I can't help thinking that in another life I might have worked for them. Today we spent a lot of time talking about the Norman influences that are all around this place. We saw several old churches with really great mosaics and then spent a good bit of time looking at some of the churches and piazza's. After lunch, Sue and I walked on our own down to the sea, taking in several interesting sights. We did a good job navigating the old part of the city without getting lost. Tonight it's dinner on our own in a nice piazza near our hotel. I'll post pictures as soon as I get to a place that doesn't have password protected wifi.

Erice and Segesta

Today we saw the mountaintop town of Erice and the Greek temple in Segesta, before driving into Palerno. Palermo is the first big city we've been in Sicily, and right now it seems a little intimidating. I'm sure we'll be fine after spending the morning walking around with our guide. 

Erice was a beautiful city at the top of a mountain. I had a Temple to Venus at its highest point and the views from the top were amazing. We got pastries at a world famous pastry shop as we walked through the town.

Then we went to Segesta and saw an intact Greek temple that was built over 2500 years ago. It was amazing to see the size and workmanship and marvel out how they built it with only the simple tools they had.

That's all for now, I will try and post some pictures later.

Selenunte

Today we went to the old Greek city of Selenunte, where we saw more Greek ruins. What was great about today is that we got to actually walk around in the same areas that the Greeks developed over 2500 years ago. It was neat to see the placement of the city near the coast and why it was such a bad idea from the standpoint of defending their position. We then had a nice lunch on the beach, followed by a tour of a winery where the make Marsala wine. Then off to our hotel where we had a nice dinner and got a chance to get to know some of the members of our group. This has been a great tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone that was interested. Below is a picture of the temple.

Villa Romana del Casale and Agrigento

Today was a long day of touring. We started out at 8:30 after breakfast to Villa Romano, an ancient Roman villa with beautiful mosaics throughout the structure. The level of workmanship was amazing -- I wish I had a tile guy that good. From there it was a light lunch (only four courses) and a wine tasting at a winery far off the beaten path. Then it was on to Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples. I got lots of great pictures, but I can't get the wifi on the camera to work today, so I will have to post them later. I think I took close to a hundred pictures today. We ended the day with a nice dinner with three of the ladies we are taking the tour with. They are all well traveled and great to talk to.

Well, that's all for now. I'm sure there will be more news tomorrow.