May 15 to 22 - Sicily

Took the Autostrada for a change to get some kms under our belt. Drove to Vibo Valentia through long tunnels & across valleys on huge bridges travelling at 110 to 120 kph & being regularly passed.

Mountains near Cosenza

Vibo Valentia

Visited Castello Normanno Svevo in Vibo (another great hilltop castle), then onto winding seaside roads through olive groves, massive solar arrays, forests & farmland to Tropea (home of the red onion). Stayed the night in a nice little hotel overlooking the sea & with a view to volcanic Stromboli. Enjoyed sword fish & tagliatelle with mussels & clams & a glass of wine for dinner in the lovely Piazza.

Tropea

From Tropea we continued along the coast road including a visit to Castello Ruffo in Scilla which provided magnificent views of the rugged coast & mountains. Then to Villa san Giovanni for a rough ferry ride across to Siciy. Will stay 4 nights in a cabin at a lovely camp site at the top of cliffs overlooking the sea. The waves are crashing into the cliffs as I write.

Ferry crossing

After a rest day yesterday we headed to Mt Etna – got a little lost on the way (thought it would be simple to find such a big mountain) but finally found the right road. What an amazing place – significant eruptions have occurred as recently as 2002 but smaller eruptions as recently as last month.  We drove to the car park then took the cable car to 2,500 metres then walked to about 3,000 metres (just 350 metres short of the top! – we missed the guided walk to the top by just 5 minutes). There are multiple craters & we explored several with steam puffing from the ground. The scree slopes & lava flows extend well down the mountain between the houses and across roads. The roads were really good (a nice change) obviously just rebuild the houses & roads after each eruption.

An Etna crater

Rob & Anne on Etna

Went for a lovely drive today to Parco di Nebrodi & a short walk through the oak & pine forests. The scenery in this part of Sicily is beautiful – green pastures, cows & sheep, orchards of pistachio’s (the pistachio gelato was great again), olives, views of Mt Etna from every angle, more cliffs & precariously placed towns, a beautiful gorge & then back for a rest & a glass of wine. We’ve also been enjoying the cherries, apricots, tomatoes, salami, cheeses, bread, local snags etc etc.

Off to Catania this morning & immediately got lost. Finally gave up trying to find the UNESCO listed Piazza in the narrow one way streets & headed for Siracusa where we visited the old cemetery – some amazing family crypts. Then to the lovely town of Noto with its baroque style buildings made of lime stone. Then to Riserva Naturale Orientata – a nature reserve on the coast with several lakes & swamp areas – a haven for birds especially in the winter months. Had a pleasant walk & saw many birds & lizards & some reasonably nice beaches. Tonight – home cooked pasta, roast meat with local vegies including beautiful pickled eggplant & local wine at our B&B.

Noto

Off to Modica where we wandered the streets to see yet more churches, narrow laneways etc & also tasted & purchased some of their special chocolate (crunchy/grainy texture due to processing – yum). Then to Scicli for yet more of these beautiful towns together with an arancini & coffee. Then down along the south coast of Sicily before heading to Ragusa – we concentrated on the Ibla section of town which is in a gorge between cliffs – simply stunning. Finally we drove back to Catania via Comiso, Grammichele & a long series of pastures, miles of frames & shade houses with tomatoes, grapes, vegies, orange & lemon groves etc – a green wonderland.

From Ragusa

Ragusa

High-tailed it from Sicily to Sibari (in the instep section of the mainland). The drive was through farmland & mountains – very beautiful though hard to appreciate at 120kph. The road tunnels & bridges continue to amaze. Stayed in a hotel overlooking a nice little Marina.

May 12-14 – Salerno, Herculaneum, Pompei, Paestum & Pertosa

Left the lovely Praiano & headed along the Amalfi coast for Salerno via Amalfi, Ravello, Minori & Maiori. The incredible road continues to carve its way through cliff faces & hang over precipices & the locals drive where they want. The detour to Ravello was fantastic with two beautiful & colourful gardens at Villa Rufolo & Villa Cimbrone covering huge areas & with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside (terraced gardens everywhere) & sea.

From Ravello

Salerno is a major port & large city. Our accommodation is at a small hotel in the hills nearby – we enjoyed dinner to the sounds of a church service & singing from the hill above us.

Monday is a day of archaeological ruins. We first visited Herculaneum (or Ercolano) a town entombed in hot mud when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. Some of the ruins are well preserved & the extent is quite surprising as they continue to excavate in the middle of the busy town. There were well preserved shops, bath houses & a great statue of a hydra. Then off to Pompei which was buried with rocks & ash in the same eruption. Here many people’s bodies were preserved in the ash. The highlights here were the Anfiteatro (Amphitheatre), the two theatres - Teatro Grande & Odeion, the bath house & not to mention the Lupanare – a brothel full of suggestive murals & statues.

A great day but I’m over old stuff for a while.

Mt Vesuvius from Pompei

Cobblestone road at Pompei

Take away food shop Herculaneum

Well, not quite over it yet. Today we headed to Paestum, more ruins, but this time they were Greek ruins in Italy. Some very impressive buildings from around 500BC & a fantastic museum – quite different to yesterday and most enjoyable.

Temple of Neptune at Paestum

Then we headed east across the mountains of the Parco del Cilento to Pertosa and Le Grotte dell’Angelo. We travelled through farm land, steep mountain passes with cliffs and beautiful forests with waterfalls, fountains, goats & cows on the road wearing bells – just marvellous. The Grotte was a huge cave – we went the first 200 metres by small barge then walked a further kilometre through winding caves – from narrow low passages requiring us to stoop to the grand hall with a 40 metre ceiling. There were more than 3 kms of passages in total – a huge complex & well worth the visit.

Cute cows

Passo d Sentinella

May 11 - Isle of Capri

This morning headed to the Isle of Capri from the Praiano Marina. With 12 on board our boat we headed out to sea in smooth conditions past Praiano & Positano & the Li Galli (the island home of the Sirens of Ulysses). We passed below massive cliffs & into several grottos (caves) – the boat went right into some. The Faraglioni rocks were an amazing site & again the houses were perched on cliff tops all round with steep winding roads or paths cut into the rock face from the sea. Then to the famous Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto) where we take a tiny row boat & need to lie down to fit through the low & narrow entrance into the dark interior with a blue glow from the diffused light through the water.

Then off to the Marina Grande for a walk along the islands streets. Again, narrow lanes, lovely shops & a really nice feel to the place. We meandered around until we found a magnificent natural arch – then enjoyed lunch at a restaurant overlooking the cliffs to the sea – paradise.

Back to the boat for a rougher trip back to Praiano.

Faraglioni

Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto)

A "typical"Italian road on Capri

Capri

May 6 – 10 - We Head South

We leave Rome & head south through Frascati (had a walk through the narrow cobble stone streets & a coffee in the Piazza), Grottaferrata, Rocca di Papa (a fantastic looking town perched on a hill but bucketing with rain so drove on) to Castel Gandolfo on the banks of Lago Albano with beautiful views from our little terrace. Dinner at a little Pizzeria in a quaint little lane near the hotel.

Woods near Tusculum

Castel Gandolfo

We have been lost a few times in the narrow winding streets with lots of one-ways & dead ends. Even the GPS gets confused. All part of the fun?

Off to Lago di Nemi home of fragole (strawberries) where Anne enjoyed a gelati. What a beautiful area – a little like the Dandenongs without gum trees - but it bucketed with rain - then to Rocca Priora for another walk through the narrow streets. Then off to our B&B in the hills overlooking Formia & the sea. A lovely B&B with our hosts Franco & Sarah & their dogs & cats looking after us magnificently.

Anne on Terrace at B&B

Breakfast on the terrace admiring the view & practicing our Italian with Sarah. Into the chaos of Naples for a walking tour of the city – another amazing place. Then a very chaotic drive through the streets & suburbs of Naples before reaching the amazing winding roads (Great Ocean Road on steroids) leading to Positano & then Praiano where we will stay for 4 nights. Our terrace overlooks the Mediterranean towards Amalfi – just stunning.

View from Naples Port towards Mt Vesuvius

Positano to Praiano road.

After a rest day yesterday we are taking the bus to Positano & Sorrento for a better look at each – needed a break from driving. Sorrento is one of the most popular holiday destinations for the Brits – they were everywhere. Whilst being known as a beach resort, the beaches are pretty ordinary compared to Aus beaches – grey sand over river pebbles. Though to be fair the water was crystal clear. The town had a lovely relaxed feel & many & varied shops in the quaint little alleys & Piazza’s.

Positano is stunning – from the road in which is cut into the cliff face or hovering over space – to the buildings on the cliff faces, steep roads & stairways, grey pebble beach, shops, restaurants – it was vibrant yet relaxed. Dinner overlooking the beach & back to Praiano.

Positano from 'beach'.

Beach track at Positano

Overlooking Positano from roadside.

 

May 3 – 5 – Rome



Train to Villa Borghese -  beautiful & extensive gardens surround the Villa. The Villa (home to members of the Borghese family from 1615 to 1902 when taken over by the State) is a beautiful old building but the inside is beyond belief – every room is full of sculptures & paintings from famous artists & the décor is simply over the top with every ceiling containing intricate paintings & ornate features on walls & mosaics on the floors. Simply stunning but no photos allowed.

Villa Borghese

We then meandered around the streets of Rome – via Veneto & via Condotti with beautiful little cafes & restaurants & all the top shops – Gucci, Prado, Armani, D&G etc side by side. Then to the Spanish Steps in flower & St Peters Square (along with millions of others) before strolling back to the station. Another great day.

Self guided walk to see some of the great sites of the city. What an amazing place with fantastic historical buildings & cathedrals & Roman ruins around every corner & more shops (though none seem to sell the tent we want). We then joined a guided tour of the Flavian Amphitheatre (Collosseum) and the surrounding ruins of the Roman Forum, Palatino etc. Our guide, Vincenzo, was excellent with great knowledge on Italy’s history & these magnificent sights. We went into the underground sectionbelow the stage where the performers & animals were prepared for there acts, as well as level 3 which is above the general public area & afforded fantastic views across the Amphitheatre & Roma.

Capitoline

Collosseum

April 29 – May 2 – Marrakech & Casablanca

Monday 29 – started with a walk to the port. Watched a large fishing boat docking – a complex process as the boats are parked 4 deep and bow to stern. They push & shove the boats to create a gap then slowly nudge the returning boat into the gap. Many men jumping from boat to boat tugging on huge ropes & yelling to each other. It took nearly ¾ hour to get the boat berthed. Then they started scooping the millions of sardines into plastic boxes by hand to be lifted onto the dock & carried to the nearby market on big barrows or loaded onto trucks.

We then purchased some fresh fish for lunch – barracouda, tuna & sardines plus tomatoes, onions & green capsicum with crusty bread. All taken to a restaurant that specialises in cooking your food for you. They cooked the fish over hot coals & served with grilled vegies & chilli olives. Magnificent.

After lunch we took a public bus to Marrakech. Another vibrant city but looks a little more modern with lots of green areas. Dinner in the main city square. This square is converted to a massive food court plus entertainers every evening then returned to a city square in the morning. There was a seething mass of humanity plus many food stalls (we ate at stall no 41), music, dancing, snake charmers, story tellers, street vendors & traffic (yes – cars motor bikes, horse carts, donkeys, barrows & push bikes vie for space in the square). An amazing site – “Melbourne Food Festival on steroids” (and it happens every night???). Our dinner was a great variety of salads, dips, calamari, cous cous, crusty bread, meat skewers, juice or soft drink (no alcohol allowed in the square). Could have eaten cow tongue, goat head (or cheek) and other exotic feasts but resisted temptation. A great feast & terrific night.



Fish for dinner

Our sardines cooking

Part of city square at night

Tuesday 30 – a self-guided tour of the sites of the city – included an ornate tomb, a fantastic gallery of old photos, the Ben Youssef Medersa Koran School where students memorized the Koran by rote the school had incredibly detailed tiling, wood carving, arches etc, a fascinating museum. We got lost several times in the Souk but finally found our way out of the maze of lanes and alleyways. Our last dinner together – rabbit tagine & lamb tangia – delicious. A night cap at our hotel before bed – Moroccan wine is OK.

Ben Youseff School dormitory

Ben Youseff School courtyard

Wednesday 1 May – a short walk to Cyber Park (a lovely little park near the hotel) then a lazy morning getting organised for the next stage of the trip then back to Casablanca by train.

Thursday 2 May – goodbye to Morocco. What an experience – magnificent & colourful palaces, mosques, tombs, scenery (farmland, mountains & desert) & people – crazy traffic, mazes of alleys & laneways in the kasbahs, souks & medinas – confronting poverty & difficult lads showing us the way out of the Kasbah (for a fee) & via their shop. A taxi to the airport – the driver wanted us to give him some $US in exchange for Moroccan Dirhams?? He then pulled over at an intersection & hopped out of the cab & another driver jumped in for the rest of the journey – only in Morocco??

Arrived Rome, picked up our car & drove ‘on the wrong side of the road’ to our cabin for the next 4 nights. Compared to Morocco the traffic was tame.