Today was basically a rest day. We slept late, ate breakfast in the sun on one of our 2 patios then Peter walked to the grocery store while I worked for a while. I’ve been finishing up a client project while in Italy and I’m almost done. Once that was crossed off my list, I started working on our itinerary for the next week or so. We’ve got everything planned out and actually have reservations for the next week. If you’ve been following us, you know how unusual that is, but we found some nice places and I wanted to get them booked while they were still available. Now I can just relax about the logistics for the next week.
Then we headed to the town of Gela, only about a 30-minute drive from here. It was one of the places the Allies landed on Sicily in the spring of 43 and there is a memorial to the 82nd Airborne that Peter wanted to see. We managed to find our way to Tourist Information, but she had no idea where the monument is located, and we couldn’t find an address. So, instead of wandering aimlessly, we decided to go to the beach instead.
Since I can’t sit in the sun and I hate the sand, we rented an umbrella and a couple of chairs. It was very windy and a little cool in the shade, but the sun felt wonderful.
Beach at GelaThis is the only way I sit on the beach. Out of the sand and sun.
Peter, on the other hand, gave swimming another try. If you saw our post from Favignana, he tried but the water was freezing. Actually, he told me I should put my right ankle in the water, and it would have served as an ice pack. But he’s a game-day player so he gave it another try today. Here are a few videos of his latest effort.
Actually, he said the water was wonderful, cold but much warmer than the other day. We only stayed at the beach long enough for his swim and to eat our sandwiches then we headed back to Licata.
Once back in Licata, we tried to drive to the castle, but Gracie (our GPS) kept trying to get me to turn right at a street that was one-way only…. the other way. After a couple of tries we gave up and settled for a long-distance photo instead.
Castle on top of the hill
Then we decided to head back to La Dolce Vita a short walk away to have more gelato. Seriously, I’ve had a lot of gelatos all over Europe and this is the creamiest I’ve ever tasted. It was wonderful but has totally spoiled me for all other gelatos.
Then we strolled through town, which didn’t take very long. Of course, there were several churches and a large piazza where we stopped for coffee.
Piazza Sant Angelo, Licata
On our way back we stopped into a tourist info to ask about mailing a few post cards. Drop boxes are hard to find and we’d been carrying the cards around since Palermo, so the young women in the office said she’d mail them for us. It turns out that the tourist office is also a small museum about the Allied landing in 1943. Peter was thrilled and while he walked around, I chatted with Laura. She is a delightful young woman who is studying languages in school and was thrilled to get a chance to practice her English. She was actually very proficient and helped us with our Italian. We spent about 30 minutes there and she didn’t want us to leave. I don’t think there’s a lot of foreign visitors here, so she spends most of her day by herself.
WWII Museum in the Licata Tourist Information Office
We just finished a delicious dinner of chicken and potatoes. Peter does almost all the cooking while I either work on the blog, work on work, make travel arrangements or pack/unpack.
Lighthouse near our flat
Tomorrow we’re going to the base at Sigonella (my old stomping grounds) for laundry and while we’re there we’ll mail home stuff we bought and don’t want to drag around with us anymore. We’ll also check out the mini mart for American car snacks (you don’t even want to think about eating the Italian version of cheese puffs) and whatever else we can find. Then it’s two nights in a hotel in Catania before heading back up the eastern coast for Messina and the ferry back to the mainland.
Can’t believe we’re more than halfway through our trip. The time is going by so fast but there are still plenty of cool things to see and adventures to have. Hope you join us.
Followed the Med most of the day; it was so beautiful.
We spent most of our day either driving or visiting ancient Greek ruins but now Peter has seen all the major Greek archeological sites in Sicily. Of course, there are many more but Segesta, Selinute and Agrigento are not only the most famous, but also the best preserved.
We discovered Saturday (I think it was Saturday; very hard to keep the days straight) that with Peter’s handicap car placard and his ID that says he’s over 65, we can get into these sites for free. I had to pay at Segesta but we both got in free at Selinute and Agrigento. Very cool. That means we saved over 40 euro at the 3 sites. We never tried it at Ostia and Paestum but now that we know we’ll give it a shot everywhere we go.
Our first stop today was the Archeological Park of Selinute which was one of the most important Greek colonies in Sicily and dates back to 656BC. Most of these temples don’t have names, just letters. We only saw four as the park was very large and we didn’t feel like walking that far.
Reconstructed Temple EThe pile of ruins just behind Peter is Temple F; Temple G is behind that and is partially standing.The Acropolis
Then we drove 90 minutes to the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. This is probably the most famous, and the most popular, of the archeological sites in Sicily. I visited there quite a few times when I lived here but it’s much more developed now with restaurants and, more importantly, bathrooms.
Temple of Concordia built in the 5th century BCCan’t remember the name of this oneTemple of JunoPart of the Necropolis
We didn’t get to see the Temple of Castir and Pollack as it was a very long walk, and we didn’t have the energy. I showed Peter a picture of it from when I was here before.
It was after 3pm when we finally got back to our car and headed to Lucati where we’re spending the next two days. After getting settled into our 2BR flat, we took a stroll for some delicious gelato. It had been 3 whole days and our gelato blood levels are dropped dangerously low. We had a nice home cooked dinner and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.
Tomorrow we’re going to spend the day relaxing even more and enjoying the nice weather. Can’t wait.
The Isole di Egadi are 5 mountainous islands just off the coast of Sicily. They are more of a spot for Sicilians rather than a tourist destination. In fact, I think we were one of only a handful of tourists on the trip.
Before leaving Trapani; nice and warm on the top deck but that was about to change.
We met two very nice couples who were on a day trip from Palermo. In fact, many of the people on the ferry were came with this group. Neither of these couples spoke a word of English but between Peter’s fairly good conversational Italian, my decent tourist Italian, sign language and Google translator for the hard words, we did fine. In fact, they complimented us on our Italian. They were very nice, and we kept running into them as we toured the islands.
The ferry is bigger than it looks.
Our first stop was Favignana. We walked around the tourist part of town a little, stopping for a mid-morning pastry snack. Here are a couple of pictures and videos from that stop. Peter really wanted to swim in the Med so we brought suits and towels. I had no intention of getting wet but he’s a game day player, so he gave it a shot.
Castle Santa CaterinaShrine to Virgin Mary in the middle of townOne of the municiple buildingsJust before he went swimming.
We spent about 2 hours on Favignana then got back on the ferry heading for our lunch spot. While the weather on the islands was beautiful, very sunny and warm, the ferry ride was cold on the upper deck. We were a little chilly on the first leg of the trip, but for this one we were freezing. We were also getting sprayed with water from the ferry so that didn’t help. Once we stopped for lunch, we warmed up a bit as it wasn’t as windy, and we weren’t getting wet.
Lunch was delicious, starting with antipasti followed by prima patti of wonderful pasta. We finished the meal with fresh fruit. Of course, it wouldn’t be an authentic Italian meal without wine and bread, so we had plenty of that as well.
Our lunch spot; the water was absolutely beautiful.
Then we were off to our last stop, the Island of Levanzo. We only stayed 90 minutes which was fine as there wasn’t much to do. We walked around the hilly streets for a bit, checked out a few shops, and while resting, ran into one of the couples from Palermo we had sat with on the first leg of the trip. So, we practiced our Italian for a few more minutes while we chatted with them.
The town was very pretty; it really had the look of a small Mediterranean town. Here are a few pictures from that portion of our day. This time Peter took a pass on the swimming.
Island of LevanzoResting before waking back down the hill to the ferry.
For the last leg of the trip, we stayed inside and had a much more comfortable ride for the 45-minute trip back to Trapani. We only live about 15 minutes from the port, so it was an easy walk home.
After a light dinner, we went to the nearby park where the locals were celebrating Republic Day which is the Italian version of our 4th of July. Festa della Repubblica, as it is called here, celebrates the 1946 vote that decided the form of government Italy would have after the fall of Facism. People voted for a Republic rather than a monarchy, so the remaining male members of the House of Savoy went into exile. The celebration here was pretty simple but in Rome there is a big military parade.
Here are several videos I took of some of the things that were going one in Trapani. As you can see it was a pretty simple celebration, but it was fun to watch.
Tomorrow we leave Trapani and make our way to the southern coast of Sicily. We’re staying in the beach town of Licata for two nights. We’ve been moving quite a bit for the last week so we’re ready for a rest day. The weather is supposed to be beautiful too. Who knows, maybe Peter will trying the water again.
Since our B&B didn’t start serving breakfast until 8:30, we had a leisurely morning before starting our short drive (only about an hour) to our first stop of the day.
Our B&B in Mondello.
The construction of the Temple of Segesta dates back to the late 5th century BC and is in pretty good condition considering it’s over 2500 years old. The columns are so cool. You can see how they used circular pieces of stone, progressively getting smaller as the column got taller.
Temple of SegestaLook closely and you can see the circular stones piled on each other.
There was also an amphitheater at the site, but we took a pass on that. We saw a great looking one in Paestum and didn’t want to walk the 1.2km to get there.
After Segesta we headed to Trapani, where we caught the cable car up to Erice. We could have driven but thought the cable car would be easier. The town is located 2,460 feet above sea level on the top of Mount Erice. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day in Trapani, so we left our coats in the car. By the time we got to the top of the mountain, though, it was a bit chilly. The sun kept hiding behind the clouds which really made it cold.
We walked around for several hours before having lunch. We both had Pasta alla Norma, a pasta dish made with tomatoes, basil, eggplant and olive oil. It was delicious. After doing a little window shopping, we headed back to the cable car for the 15-minute ride back down the mountain where it was warm and sunny once again.
Cute little restaurant where we had the most delicious pasta lunch.
While we were only 10 minutes from our flat it took about 30 minutes to get there. The booking site said it had free parking on site, so I was expecting something a little outside of town, but the GPS took us to the town center where the streets are just barely wide enough for even our little car. To make matters worse, it kept telling me to turn the wrong way down one-way streets. It was very frustrating! We finally found the street where our host was waiting for us. It turns out that not only is there no free parking on site, but there is also no free parking at all in the old town during peak tourist season which began today. So, after we got our stuff out of the car, we moved the car to a lot that only cost 10 cents/hour. We don’t have to feed the meter again until 10:30 pm on Sunday.
Once that trauma was over, we went out for a walk to explore. We found a tourist information where we planned to buy tickets for the ferry to one of the Aegadian Islands just off the coast. You can actually see them from Trapani. The guy at the tourist office told us about a tour we could take that gave us the ferry ride, a visit to two islands and lunch. The round-trip ferry ticket to one island cost 20 euro each and this tour was 40 euro. But we get to see 2 islands and have an authentic Sicilian lunch and open bar. We thought that was a pretty good deal, so we decided to go for it. It’s supposed to be another nice day so we’re looking forward to it. We’ll let you know what happens.
Today’s adventure started in Termini, then went to Palermo, Monreale and finally our B&B in Mondello
May 31
I think we set a new record today….5 churches in one day; two of them Cathedrals and one of those considered to be the most beautiful church in all of Sicily.
But before we get to that, let me back up just a bit with a picture from our Termini hotel balcony. There were just a few clouds that made the mountain even more beautiful than it looked earlier without the clouds.
Mountain view from hotel in Termini
After researching for about an hour on how to find birth certificates in Termini, he decided that searching for Grandpa’s documentation would be a big waste of time. He thought it would be cool to have it and at one time he thought about trying to get dual citizenship but given that he couldn’t find anything about how to get the birth certificate and didn’t even know if Grandpa had one, he decided not to deal with it. So, instead of spending time doing that this morning, we headed straight for Palermo.
The first part of the drive was super easy as we were on the autostrada all the way. Once we got off in Palermo, though, it was an entirely different trip. I’ve been doing all the driving since we got here as I’m more used to the crazy Sicilian drivers but even for me it was challenging. You really need about 4 pairs of eyes to watch the road as cars, bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians are coming at the car from all directions. Seriously, if someone sees a square foot of empty road, he’s heading right for it. Motorcycles weave in and out of traffic at insane speeds. It took about 25 minutes to get to Palermo and another 25 minutes going into the city center. I was very glad to park the car when we finally made it to the parking lot.
BTW. We discovered something new about our car. After one full week of trying to be a contortionist, folding myself in half to reach things in the back seat from the front seat, this morning Peter suggested that we try OPENING THE BACK DOOR instead. Seriously, we’ve had the car for a week and neither one of us knew that we even had a back door. In our defense, the handle is built into the window and not in the least bit obvious. Here’s the picture. Can you see a handle? Yeah, we didn’t either. We laughed about it for about 10 minutes, but it’s much easier to reach stuff in the back now that we know it’s there.
Where’s theback door handle???
While we were waiting for tourist information to open in Palermo, we visited our first church of the day…Sant’Ignazio del’Olivella. It was just a couple of blocks away and was a pretty little church.
Sant’Ignazio all’Olivella in the background.Main altar
Then we headed back to Tourist Information in the Teatro Massimo. This is a beautiful building with the Tourist office well hidden inside.
Teatro MassimoStatue of Verdi outside Teatro Massimo
Once we had our map and a plan of action, we headed down the pedestrian street. I’m using that term loosely. It was a pedestrian street if you don’t count the bicycles, motorcycles, cars and delivery vans that were on it. We walked several blocks before coming to City Hall (where I once more asked if Peter wanted to try to get Grandpa’s birth certificate…. nope) which had a beautiful fountain in the Piazza.
Fountain outside City Hall
Our next church was on this corner as well. The Chiesa di S. Giuseppe dei Teatini. Mass was underway so we didn’t go too far into the church and didn’t stay for long. It was built in the early 17th century and is considered one of the finest examples of Sicilian Baroque style.
Chiesa di S. Giuseppe dei TeatiniSide Altar
On our way to our next church, we stopped to take a picture of a beautiful courtyard. While there I spotted a ceramic shop and I’m so glad I did. I wanted to pick up a serving bowl and plate to go with my new dishes, but I couldn’t find anything I really liked. Most everything was mass produced and could be seen in just about every shop. When I went into Angela’s store, I found some beautiful items. She designs them all and every piece is made by hand. She told me that she has pieces in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. How cool is that! I found a couple of items that I love that will go perfectly with my dishes. We plan to mail a box home from the base in Sigonella, so we only have to keep the packages safe for a few more days.
Me and AngelaAngela’s store is on the right.
Next stop was another Baroque church, this one the Church of San Salvatore. The first monastery was built in 1071 but was totally destroyed in the bombing of 1943. The current church was built in the middle of the 16th century but is only used now for special occasions.
Church of San SalvatoreOne of the many marble pillars.
On our walk we also found the public library…
Public Library building
and the Piazzi Bologni that had been the site of the original city of Palermo.
Piazza Bologni
We finally made it to the Duomo, which had been our main objective. In case you’ve lost count, this is church #4. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and was first built in the late 12th century but has a long history of additions and restorations until the 18th century.
Cathedral of PalermoCeiling at Palermo CathedralSide altar at Palermo CathedralSide altar at Palermo Cathedral dedicated to slain priest Pino Puglisi. Was assassinated by the Mafia on his 56th birthday for speaking out against the Mob. In 2012 he was deemed a martyr and was beatified in 2013. Holy water font Palermo Cathedral
After touring the Cathedral, we headed to the Royal Palace, stopping in the park for lunch.
Lunch stop
I decided to take a pass at touring the Royal Palace. Two palaces in one week is my limit but Peter wanted to see it so I stayed in the park while he visited the inside. He only stayed about an hour and said that compared to the ones we saw at Caserta and Naples, this one was very underwhelming. So, I was even more glad I hung out in the park.
Royal PalaceStatue outside Royal Palace Side Altar of the Chapel in the Royal Palace, so technically, Peter was in 6 churches today.Palermo from Monreale
After retrieving our car, we headed 12km (just over 7 miles) to the Cathedral of Monreale. Driving through Palermo to get there took 35 minutes, but it didn’t seem as bad as the morning drive.
The Monreale Cathedral is one of the best examples of Norman architecture and was started in 1174. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a national monument of Italy. The highlight of this church are the 22 carat gold mosaics. Everything that looks like a paint is actually mosaic. It was amazing.
Before we left Monreale we stopped for our first gelato since Sunday. My blood levels of gelato were seriously low, so I needed to get them up quickly. It was so good.
One scoop of strawberry and one scoop of strawberry cheesecake in an edible cup.
We got back in the car for one more trip, this time to Mondello a beach resort where we’re spending the night, this time in a B & B. We haven’t used Airbnb at all yet because we’re making last minute decisions as to where we want to stay. I thought of this plan while Peter was touring the Palace.
Once again it was only about 20 km (12 miles) but it took another 30 minutes in Palermo traffic. The B & B is lovely and only 1km from the beach. Of course, it took us 20 minutes to walk but it was a beautiful day, so it was quite enjoyable.
After walking the beach for a while, we had panini for dinner and then tried to get a taxi back home. My ankle was quite sore from walking in the sand, and I didn’t want to put anymore strain on it. Unfortunately, it was going to take an hour for the cab to come, but just as we were about to leave for the hike back, one of the guys in the sandwich shop offered to drive us home. We were very appreciative of the lift.
Tomorrow we’re heading southwest to spend a couple of nights in Trapani. We’re hoping we can find a place where we can just relax on the beach for a while. Keep you posted.
After a relaxing breakfast at our hotel in Messina, we headed for the Sanctuary of Tindari famous for the Black Madonna. The carving of the Madonna and the baby Jesus dates from 800AD. Legend has it that it was on a Turkish ship which ran into bad weather and dumped cargo to lighten their load. One of the things thrown overboard was the statue. It eventually made its way to shore where it was found by Sicilian peasants, and it has been worshiped ever since. The Basilica is new, only being finished in 1953 but it is beautiful. Mass was just about to start as we arrived, so we didn’t stay long as we didn’t want to disturb the service.
Basilica high on the hillBasilica of TindariThe Black Madonna; The words inscribed are, “I am black, but I am beautiful.”Inside the BasilicaView from the Basilica; beach were the peasants supposedly found the statue.
After leaving the Basilica, we headed to Cefalu for lunch. We found a restaurant right on the water where we had delicious pasta. It was a leisurely lunch (as are most meals in Italy) and we very much enjoyed the rest.
La Tavernette; CefaluEnjoying bruschetta and an adult beverage.Short walk from restaurant.
After lunch we headed to Termini where we are spending the night. Peter’s grandfather was born here and tomorrow morning we’re going to try and find out how to get his birth certificate. We thought tourist information was in Piazza Duomo but when we asked someone he laughed, gestured around the Piazza and said, “This is all there is.” So, there is no tourist information to get help with finding City Hall (or the Italian equivalent) and the hotel clerk speaks no English. Maybe we’ll have better luck in the morning with the clerk who checks us out, otherwise we’ll just have to figure it out. We’re getting pretty good at it. Thanks for following and we’ll chat again tomorrow.
Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) in TerminiCoast from Termini
I was too tired to deal with the blog yesterday. We didn’t get settled into the hotel in Messina until after 6pm then we went to get dinner, which of course doesn’t start until 7:30pm. So, we sat outside and had a drink. But then we couldn’t find the restaurant the hotel recommended so we went back to the hotel for better directions. This time we found the restaurant only to discover that it was closed for a week while the owners were on holiday. Now, we had to find another restaurant, which we did but by this time it was after 8pm. Dinner was good, even if it wasn’t what we ordered. Peter ordered lasagna and got a ham and mushroom pizza, and my calzone was wrong. But we were too tired to do anything but eat what the waiter brought. We finally got back to the hotel at 9:30 and were exhausted. We had walked almost 23,000 steps yesterday (which is over 9 1/2 miles) and we spent 6 1/2 hours in the car!! We barely had the energy to shower and fall into bed. But, as always, I’m awake before Peter this morning (Thursday 5/30) so I thought I’d post before we start our day.
May 29: Lots of time in the car but lots of steps too.
Anyway, we left our beautiful flat in Caserta yesterday morning heading for the ancient Greek ruins of Paestum, about 1 hour and 40 minutes south along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is famous for the well-preserved remains of three temples dating back to 550 to 450 BC. The town was quite large (accounting for almost 7500 of our steps) so we spent about 2 hours roaming the ruins.
Temple of AthenaArch into the amphitheaterRemains of the amphitheaterTemple of Neptune (based on 18th century scholars) or the Temple of Apollo (based on later scholars). Can see Temple of Hera in background.These giant pillars have to be at least 6 feet across at the base.To give some perspective as to how big these are, Peter is nearly 6 feet tall.Temple of Hera (wife of Zeus)Temple of Hera
In addition to the large temples there was also the remains of other buildings, just not as complete.
This is the forum, or meeting place. About 10 minutes after this was taken the place was crawling with kids. They were doing some type of Greek Olympics. Luckily the kids stayed in this area so we weren’t tripping over them as we walked through the rest of the ruins.
After walking through the ruins, we visited the museum which housed the artifacts found during the excavation of the site. The building was massive and after about an hour our brains were saturated with ancient Greeks and our feet were screaming so we headed back to the car.
Statue of Hera found in her Temple.A painted burial crypt.Classic Greek Vase
Our original plan had been to head back to Salerno (about 30 minutes north) and take the ferry to Positano on the Amalfi Coast for the afternoon. We drove the famous coast the last time we were in Italy, but we thought it would be fun to see it from the Salerno ferry. But the weather was just too bad. While sunny in Paestum, we had driven through dark clouds and intermittent heavy rain in the Salerno area, so we decided to take a pass on a ferry ride in the rain and headed straight to Sicily.
It was about a 5-hour ride from Paestum to the ferry at Reggio Calabrio with a couple of stops along the way. The ride was quite pretty and since Peter wanted to watch the view, I drove. While this tiny car sometimes comes in handy (see photo below), it has absolutely no pickup which is a problem on the autostrada (highway). It’s like the little engine that could as it’s trying to merge onto the road. Once it’s up to speed it’s fine but getting there takes a while.
We got to the ferry just as it was finished loading but the guys managed to squeeze our car on. I mean they literally squeezed it on between a truck and the tailgate of the ship.
The yellow behind the car is the tailgate of the ship. There was just enough room to walk behind the car. A very tight squeeze. The only way it fit was to park on a slight angle. On the ferry to Messina; looking towards Sicily.
We decided to stay at a hotel in Messina that we found on booking.com and after driving for about 5 minutes, I remembered all the rules of the road for driving in Sicily.
Rule 1: Yellow lights are nothing more than pretty colors.
Rule 2: Stop signs and red lights are just a suggestion.
Rule 3: Right/left turn only lanes mean nothing; if you want to go straight instead that’s okay.
Rule 4: You can park anywhere you want as long as your car fits in the empty space.
None of these cars is actually in a real parking spot.
After driving here for over 2 years while I was in the Navy, I had to relearn how to drive when I got home. I think I might be doing most of the driving while we’re in Sicily, especially in the towns.
Enjoying vino before dinner
Today we’re heading west along the northern coast of Sicily, probably spending the night in Termini, where Peter’s grandfather was born…very cool.
Peter is up so it’s time to get dressed and have some breakfast. Talk with you later.
We came back to the base this afternoon to pick up a few things before we leave Caserta tomorrow, so I thought as long as we have a good internet connection, I’ll upload pics from yesterday and post today’s blog.
So, first here are some pictures from yesterday.
Overview of the excavation; you can see the modern town just beyond.Tavern; there were several of these scattered through the town. The marble tiles on top are original. The roof on the building on right is the original roof; it survived the blast.Some of the frescos were in amazingly good shape.These columns did pretty well, too.The sun actually came out enough to need sunglasses. Didn’t stay out very long, though.
Okay, so that was yesterday. Today we headed back into Naples, this time on an express train that went straight to the Central Station. If we had waited 10 minutes longer yesterday, we could have taken this train and avoided the mess we had trying to find the ruins. But that’s why we call these trips adventures.
Today, though, we actually needed to be at the Garibaldi Station so we could catch the metro, so it was quite a walk from our suburban train to the line we needed. But it was early, and we had fresh feet, so it wasn’t too bad. Our destination today was the Palace of Naples, home of the Kings of Naples. Like the other palaces we’ve seen on all of our travels in Europe, it was beautiful but over the top ostentatious. Maybe it’s the Democrat in me but if rulers had spent half as much helping the people of their countries as they did on their palaces, they might have stayed in power and Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette may have kept their heads a little longer.
Anyway, here are some pictures of that.
Top of the grand staircasePalace TheaterThrone RoomCeiling in Anteroom; was absolutely gorgeous.Don’t remember what this room was used for but it was filled with paintings and tapestries.Main altar of the Royal ChapelNativity CribPeter at the GuardhouseScary looking dude on outside of Palace. Wouldn’t want to mess with him.
After the Palace we walked across the street to the Galleria for a bit of a snack and to get Peter his coffee.
Peter got his coffee; I got Prosecco.
Our last stop was the Castel Nuovo or New Castle, which is a hoot as it was built in the late 13th century. The castle is actually a museum, which we weren’t interested in, but Peter wanted to get some pictures.
It’s right on the sea so it would be rather imposing to an enemy.Inside courtyard
After this we headed back to the Metro which was just across the street from the Castle. We actually only spent about 3 hours in town, but we had seen what we wanted to see so we headed home.
After a quick lunch at home, we came here to the base. It’s after 5pm so we’ll be heading back to the flat soon to have dinner. Then it’s pack up the house and get ready for tomorrow when we head to Paestrum, just south of Salerno. There is a Greek ruin that Peter wants to see. After that, who knows. It depends on the weather. We’ll let you know what we end up doing. Ciao for now.
NOTE: Bad internet connect made it impossible to upload pictures, but I’ll get them up as soon as I can.
Ok, so if you got on a train that said the destination was
the Naples Central Station, which of the following do you think is true:
The last stop would be the Naples Central Station
One of the stops would announce that it was the Naples Central Station
Either 1 or 2 is correct
Both 1 and 2 are correct
None of the above
If you answered 1, 2, 3 or 4 you would be wrong….and so were we. We got on the 8:36 train at the Caserta Station for Naples and heard that exact announcement. So, we waited to either hear that we’d arrived at the Naples Central Station (where we wanted to transfer to a train for Ercolino) or that the sign on the wall would say it was the Naples Central Station.
Once we started getting out of central Naples, we thought something was wrong. The last stop was nowhere near the Naples Central Train Station. The bad news was that we’d overshot the central station by about 5 stops. We should have gotten off at the Garibaldi station and walked to the Central Station but I’m not sure how we were supposed to know.
The good news is that we could get on a train heading to Salerno that stopped in Ercolino, so all was not lost. Why did we want to go there at all, you ask? Because that’s where the ruins of the ancient town of Herculaneum are found. More on that later. So, anyway, now we’re on the correct train heading in the correct direction. We get off in Ercolino at 11:00 but by this time it was starting to rain. The forecast had said a 10% change in the early morning decreasing to 0% chance later in the day. Well, I guess we got caught in the 10% because it was raining pretty hard. We ducked into a bar so Peter could have coffee (can’t figure out how the coffee machine in our flat works) while waiting for the rain to let up a bit. It did but as we continued to walk, it really started to pour. So, we waited under a storefront canopy till it slowed a little and continued the 40-minute walk to the excavation site.
At about noon (3 hours and 25 minutes after leaving Caserta)
we finally arrived! We were wet and already tired, but we made it and the rain
stopped. So, now a little about Herculaneum or Scarvi di Ercolino in Italian. Like
Pompeii, it was buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Unlike
Pompeii, though, Herculaneum was hit with a pyroclastic blast which preserved
organic material such a food, wood, baskets, etc. We saw at least one house
that had a perfectly preserved wooden roof. Most of the residents left in
advance of the blast, but 1980 about 400 well-preserved skeletons were found
near the sea wall where they tried to hide.
Unlike Pompeii which has been totally excavated, Herculaneum
is only partially uncovered. But since the rest of it is under the modern city,
they are focusing on preserving what they’ve already uncovered. It really was fascinating,
and we were glad we made the trip, even if it was quite an ordeal.
After visiting the site for a few hours, we headed back into Naples for lunch. We wanted to go to the famous Da Michele Pizzeria but there was crazy long line to get in. Since it was already almost 3:00 and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast we decided to eat somewhere else. The last time we were in Naples we ate at the DaMichele restaurant in the suburbs so we already knew what the pizza was like so we were okay with going somewhere not as crowded.
After lunch we headed to the “Nativity Street” which is famous for the nativity cribs. I included a picture of one from our visit to the Palace at Caserta. That one was gigantic and, while there are some large ones available for purchase, certainly nothing like that. I regretted not buying something the last time we were here, so I was determined to get something, but it had to be small as we don’t have a lot of room in our trunk. So, I got a small manger scene with just the Holy Family. I’ll put that out for Christmas. But then I also got a small pizzeria scene that’s motorized. It’s totally cute so I’ll find someplace in our living room for it.
Our last stop was to see the sculpture the Veiled Christ. But when we got there, we found out it wasn’t in a church like we thought but a museum. By this time, we were incredibly tired and had no desire to pay 7 euro each and walk around a museum just to see one statue. So, we took a pass and headed to the metro for a train back to Garibaldi Station where we walked to the Central Station for the 45-minute trip home.
It was about 7pm when we walked in the door, so it had been an 11-hour day. The total tally on steps was 21,000 which, according to the app, is almost 9 miles. Let me tell you, my feet (especially the right) and Peter’s ankle feel every one of those steps. But, by morning we’ll be good to go. We’re heading back into Naples to for a little while so it should be an easier day.
Today is a very rainy day so we decided to head to the Naples Navy base to pick up a few things and do laundry. There’s nothing to post from today but luckily there is an internet connection, so I thought I’d upload pictures from the last couple of days while we wait for laundry.
Friday 24 May: Gaeta
View from our hotelOn our walk along the seaPizzaria Calpurnio; had dinner here; delicious pizza and lovely Italian ambianceGaeta at night; it was a beautiful evening
Saturday 25 May: Monte Cassino
One of the inner courtyardsFrom courtyard looking down the mountainInside the BasilicaNativity by Sandro BotticelliChoir book from mid-16th centuryAbbey after the bombing May 1944And in 2019
Polish Cemetery
Palace of Caserta
Front of Palace; so big couldn’t fit it all in pictureOne of the reception roomsNativity crib; this is just one side; it was huge. Naples is famous for them. We’re going to look for something small when we go into Naples. They are so beautiful!In the gardenPalace from the top of the garden; way too far to walk so we took shuttle busCan’t believe I ate the whole thing! At least everything but the crust.
Our Caserta flat; it’s small but beautiful and convenient to the train station.
