Final Week 3-Fast Cars and Relatives

Well, our adventure is winding down and we say goodbye to two of our travelling companions who head for home at the end of week two.  My sister and I and our friend carry on alone to visit the land of the fast, beautiful cars-Marinello, home of Ferrari, and Modena, home of Mazarati.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  These cars are engineering beauties with style, sex appeal, and roaring engines that anyone can appreciate!

We were thrilled to view the museum with the curator explaining the various models.  We were then treated to a tour of the restoration portion of the Ferrari factory where teams work on a single car for two years, restoring it to the original condition (no photos allowed in the factory).

It was a dream day of fast cars, good food and even better company!

Modena, the land of the Mazerati (beautiful cars but not as known or popular as the Ferrari) was next.  Originally, we were to travel via train to a small town near Pisa that is home of the motorbike, Vespa but our plans changed as there was a one day train strike!  Did i mention that Italy is challenging and chaotic but oh so worth the trip as long as one remembers to sit back, savour the cappuccino, and go with the flow!

Now back to Modena and the beautiful Mazerati cars:

Gorgeous cars, dream machines!

Modena was a quaint, most liveable town with cobbled lanes and lots of bike trails.  I could see myself spending a week there exploring the land of the balsamic vinegar (yes, the food was marvellous as always on this trip).

Now my sister and I travelled a little north and east to Congegliano to visit our cousins and my sole surviving aunt (my dad's sister).  We left our friend in Marinello as he was not done with the fast cars (he went on to visit the Lamborghini factory!).

Farm yard kittens

My sister with my cousin's Lamborghini tractor

Typical plot of land for vegetable garden at my cousin's house

He has ducks and chickens too!

 We had a wonderful stay with our cousins, full of good fun, good food and lots of laughter.  Although it has been seven long years since I saw them last, it seemed like we never left as the love and warmth they gave us touched our hearts.  It was so good to see my aunt (now 86 and not in the best heath) and I do hope that I will be able to see her again!  Arriving in my birth town, hearing my Italian dialect, walking the flat roads of the Po valley, drinking a ombretta (glass of wine) and a grappa, visiting cousins and friends warms my heart and will last in my memory for a lifetime!

Amalfi Coast - Week 2 Continues

On our last full day in Sorrento, we decided to take a guided minibus tour of the stunning Amalfi Coast.  The ride alone the coast was all it promised to be-breathtaking, leaving our mouth's open and our camera shooting the memories.  We gained respect for the Italian engineers who built the roads and even more respect for the Italian drivers who navigate the winding, narrow roads!

Expensive hotel perched on the cliff side

Ceramic factories dot the roads

View from the mini bus as we travelled

We spent the day going from Amalfi town, Positano and Ravello (three towns that dot this coast).

Roman fountain and model of town made by locals

Locals take pride in building replicas of their town complete with figures depicting traditional life.

Every model has the traditional nativity scence.

After a fun filled day of strolling the Amalfi coast towns, we head back to our base in Sorrento- viewing the sunset on our marvellous day!

Sorrento and Amalfi Coast-Week 2

Italy intensifies as you plunge deeper!  We travelled south from Rome, left the guided tour and explored Sorrento and the gorgeous Amalfi coast on week two of our adventure.

Sorrento lies a hour north of Naples and we picked this idealic spot for our stay. It sits on a ledge under the mountains and over the blue Mediterranean, dotted with lemon and olive groves. We used the service of airbnb to book our apartment from Canada and were well pleased with the accommodations (three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two balconies, kitchen, dining room all on main drag of Sorrento).

View of the dining/living room

Dining in our own apartment

Balcony in our apartment

We decided to take it easy on our second week and enjoy the "dolce vita" by relaxing here in Sorrento.  Sorrento itself has no world class sights but is a fine base for visiting the glorious Amalfi Coast and historic Pompeii and the chaotic Naples (we decided not to brave Naples on this trip)!

Sorrento is a picturesque summer resort town that has 20,000 inhabitants and relies over 90% on tourism (a good place to shop, relax and enjoy the good life).

Walk down to one of the two ports, so beautiful!

We took time to stroll through the streets of Sorrento, enjoying the shops, the cafes, the people, and taking in the beauty of the surroundings.

View of the deep gorge

View from the large port

Of course we visited the lemon grove and drank Limoncello!

Next we took in a little culture and visited Pompeii. This town was stopped in its tracks by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in  A.D. 79.  Up until then, it was a thriving commercial port of 20,000.  The eruption buried the city of Pompeii under 30 feet of hot volcanic ash.  Excavations began in 1748 and was a treasure for archaeologists teaching them volumes about daily Roman life two thousand years ago!

Every day, streets were flooded to clean.  These stepping stones allowed carts to travel and water to flow down the streets.  The sidewalks were paved with bits of broken white marble to help people get around after dark.

 Pompeii was a typical Roman town with the same layout and components of any Roman city-main square, basilica, temples markets, bakery and mill, and theatre.

Entrance to grand house

Theatre

Main square and commercial marketplace

View from theatre steps

Incredibal marble tiled floor with mosaic insert

Bakery and Mill

Fresco in Brothel

Glass cases hold casts of inhabitants eerily captured in their last moments

The bodies were encased in volcanic debris and there were hollow spaces under the bodies when they decomposed.  By gently filling the holes with plaster, archaeologists were able to create holds of the Pompeiians.

Italian Adventures-Rome

Well we finally returned to the land of my ancestors and the land of my birth-Italy.  My sister had a milestone birthday this year and to celebrate, five of us left Canada and braved air travel to visit Italy (Rome, Sorrento and Amalfi Coast, and Venice).

Was it worth the hassle, the jet lag, the worry of missing a flight?  Yes, yes, yes!  We loved every minute of our adventure and we braced the travel with a sense of fun, wonder, and friendship.  Would I travel every year to a foreign land-no.  Would I travel to a foreign, or not so foreign land in a few years?  Yes, yes, yes!

Our adventure started in Rome, the eternal city, the showcase of Western civilization, the magnificent and the brutal all in one.  Is Rome chaotic, yes!  Is is beautiful and awesome, yes!  This was my first time on a Rick Steves' guided tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves to travel at a comfortable pace, rest in a cozy hotel, and seek companionship with fellow like-minded travellers.

Here are a few photos of one of the greatest European cities-Rome, land of the "dolce vita"  Rome is a cacophony of ancient empire, cats, traffic, and 3.4 million Romans all living and working surrounded by stupendous sights.  Highlights include the Colosseum, Roman Forum, St Peter's (seeing the pope), Borghese Gallery, Campo die Fiori, and the romantic Spanish steps.

Roman Forum where Caesar was murdered

The majesty and horror of the Colesseum, we could see it from the balcony of our hotel room as well!

Two thousand year old temple in the Roman forum

The iconic umbrella pines that say Roma

The Pantheon-beauty of symmetry

Pope Francis greeting his people

The magnificence of the Pantheon's ceiling

Campo dei Fiori (Fresh flowers in abundance Monday through Friday)

Enchanting fountain in Roman neighbourhood

Inside St. Peter's, the Pieta by Michelangelo

Bernini's sculpture inside Borghese Gallery

Details, can you believe this is marble?

At the top of Victor Emmanuel monument

The view of the eternal city from the top of the monument

 We enjoyed our week in Rome immensely.  We loved the sights, the "beautiful chaos", the people watching and did I mention the food!  Next, on to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast!