All at seaHome - Profile - Archives - Friends |
|
- Posted at 2:48 AM on 20/4/2008 by S P ITALY Our tours in Italy were excellent. From Naples we had a full day tour to the Amalfi Coast and Pompei (spelt with only one ‘i’ there). Naples was founded in 800 BC although the first settlement was 3,500 years ago. Mount Vesuvius is 1,277 metres high and an adjoining mountain slightly lower. Originally they were one mountain over 2,000 metres high. The sides of the roads and walls of the cuttings are lava and the volcanic soil is wonderful for growing the lemons, oranges, olives and grapes that the area is renowned for. There are also many gum trees along the coast and wisteria grows profusely all along the side of the road. The Amalfi Coast scenery is spectacular, with sheer drops down to the ocean where houses tumble down the cliffs to the sea and bricked terraces are covered with fruit, vegetables and flowers that cover every inch of spare land from the water to the top of the cliffs high above the road. There are many rocky inlets and beaches between the towns and watch towers are dotted along the coast on headlands, built many years ago for protection from pirates. Along the way we stopped at a factory where they were making inlaid furniture, a speciality of the area. We were given demonstrations of inlay work and a coffee, tea or orange juice and a sponge finger which was very welcome along the winding road. From Sorrento we crossed the mountains to Positano, considered the gem of the Amalfi Coast, a town with extremely narrow streets that were built for donkeys, and famous for ceramics and cameos. We spent an hour wandering round the delightful town of Amalfi where we bought some Limoncello, the liqueur made from the local lemons. The cathedral is especially magnificent and we spent some time in the cloisters, Basilica that is now a museum, and the elaborately decorated crypt that has superb paintings all over the ceilings. Then it was on to Minori for a superb lunch. We were given a bottle of red wine for the two of us and also a flute of their delicious local brew. It was nice to have waiter service instead of a buffet. We started with small cannelloni stuffed with ricotta and spinach, followed by chicken and mozzarella cheese with potatoes and finally a lemon cake. Some people were given chocolate cake and the waiter brought me a serving of that too. We walked through the narrow streets back to the buses and continued along the coast to Vietri sul Mare where we turned inland and drove through acres of market gardens alongside the freeway to Pompei. Potatoes, artichokes, broad beans, peas, lettuces, fennel and strawberries all grow well in the fertile volcanic soil. The Vesuvius eruption in AD 79 destroyed Pompei and left it covered with 25 ft of ash and pumice. They are still uncovering parts of the old town and we saw petrified bodies, covered with lava, in contorted positions. Most of the 2,000 inhabitants perished. We spent 1 ½ hours being taken by our guide round a quarter of the ancient town, the ruins of the houses, shops, theatres and arenas. It was, surprisingly, discovered only in the 18th Century. The streets are made of enormous cobble stones with large stepping stones at intervals across the streets. There are raised pavements and grooves where there were sliding doors. It gives a great insight into life long ago. Back in the town we were given free tastings of limoncello, local sweets made with lemon and chocolate and bread dipped in various olive oils. News had filtered through that there had been an accident that had closed the freeway, so we had to return to the ship the long way round. We had been due back at 6.45pm, ready to sail at 7pm, and we eventually got back at 8pm. Passengers and crew out on the decks clapped and cheered us and after we had made our way up the only remaining gangway, the Captain announced “Welcome back and welcome home” and we finally sailed more than an hour late. The following morning we docked in Civitavecchia, the port of Rome. Having been to Rome a few times before, we chose to go to the countryside and visit a farmhouse. We could have been in England, driving through the rolling hills of the province of Viterbo. We were given a talk on olive growing by the owner and a magnificent spread of lettuce, tomatoes, prosciutto, parma ham, olives, artichokes, cheeses and bruschetta with lashings of different flavoured olive oils, and a glass of red wine. A bit early at 10.30am! The other bus visited there last which would have been better but we did it justice all the same! After that we visited the medieval town of Tuscania where our guide gave a short talk on the history and various buildings in the town and then we had time on our own to wander round the cobbled streets. We visited the Cathedral and enjoyed a coffee outdoors in the piazza. Very pleasant. After leaving Civitavecchia we had a medium sea with waves 5-7 metres and were rolling around quite a bit - the roughest day of the voyage, Force 8. We have experienced much worse in the past and everything was as normal except some of the outside decks were closed and the water in the swimming was splashing up out of it. The sun was shining when we passed between Corsica and Sardinia. We had a lazy day, recovering from the exertions of the previous two days before reaching Barcelona. Post Comment
|
| Last Page :: Next Page |