Friday, June 28, 2013
Athens, our final destination
The 4 hr ferry trip from Milo's to Athens (Pireaus Port) was not as bad as Mick had expected, the yelping dog 3 rows behind had not been expected. We made our way to the Pireaus Metro station and were on our way to Athens hotel. As we were passing through Pireaus and other suburbs, Mick remembered Steve Guthries advice "one day in Athens is plenty...it's a shithole!" (definitely the case with the port town of Piraeus!) The suburbs on the way to the city were pretty grim, and as we got closer to central Athens, the metro started filling up - and Mick's grip on his luggage tightened. We wondered why we had planned our trip this way, leaving the serenity of the Greek Isles for the hustle and bustle of a major
city.
As we walked from the metro to the city we saw so many police on the streets. As we approached the street that our hotel was on, we counted over 10 police waiting of the corner. Mick then remembered seeing a protest of some sort on the news (on the ferry over) but had no idea where or what it was about as it was all spoken in Greek (funnily enough). Mick also remembered that our hotel was just around the corner from the Greek Parliament... At check in, Mick asked the hotel manager if there was a protest on. The hotel manager looked rather confused; he went on to explain that given the hotel is next door to the Ministry of Economics, there are constant protests and continual police presence.
The evening was spent wandering the old streets of Plaka, and we had dinner at a restaurant that was at the foot of the Acropolis. As we ate we could look up and see the walls of the Acropolis towering above us. Damian ordered lamb souvlaki and said it was the best souvlaki in all of Greece. This gave Mick serious food envy.
The following day we got up early to see the Acropolis. While in Santorini, an American tourist gave us a tip, which was to arrive at the Acropolis at 7:30am before the ticket office opened. Given we had seen the massive crowds at Italian tourist attractions, we heeded his advice and made sure we were there at 7:30. This was fantastic advice, we were first ones in the Acropolis which meant that we could take many photos without a tourist in sight ruining our pictures. We wandered around and saw the remains of the Parthenon (temple of Athena), the Karyatids (columns in the shape of women) and the temple of Athena Nike (the goddess of victory and running shoes ;) and many other bits of really old marble. It really is amazing to think these structures were created over 2,500 years ago and are still standing; and it was surreal being there. By 9am we were all done being amazed and inspired, our one touristy thing to do in Athens was done (and most of Greece was still asleep).
As we were leaving the Acropolis, we walked passed the Acropolis Museum. Mick thought our Acropolis tickets would get us access, and given it was still 9am, we thought we might as well go in. To Mick's disappointment, this wasn't free, but we paid the €5 each in order to enjoy the air conditioning (and to have our 2nd breakfast of the day). Apart from the air conditioning and the breakfast, this place was well worth the euros. The museum is on top of an archeological dig site, and has glass floors so you can walk on top of the ruins. The top level of the museum is a space which is the same size as the Parthenon and houses the original and replica statutes that surrounded the Parthenon's structure (in their proper sequence), all within site of the original structure only 500m away. Again, it was amazing.
We finished up around noon and didn't know what to do with ourselves, so we had a quick lunch and then went back to the hotel for a nap (we had been up since 6am). It was a lazy afternoon finished off with dinner back at the restaurant we went to the previous night. Mick was not missing out on that fantastic lamb souvlaki!
We ate dinner and reminisced on our month long vacation. We have seen a lot, travelled many thousands of kms, eaten WAY too much gelato and carbohydrates and have not had an alcohol free day the entire trip. We are contemplating Dry July and are wondering if there is an equivalent for potatoes, bread and pasta!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Milos
We caught a large ferry to our final Greek Island destination, Milos. Mick got a little bit sea sick on this boat, and is now dreading the 4 hr trip back to Athens on what we think will be a smaller ferry!
We liked Santorini but were glad to be leaving all those steps behind us. Where we are staying in Milos (Adamas, the port town) is quite flat. We were done with the steps! At check in our hotel manager told us that he had a surprise, we were upgraded to the "penthouse". This is probably the only penthouse in the world that does not have an elevator. So, every time we leave our room, we need to climb 60 steps. It is especially tiring when the sun is out in full force. (The hotel manager also noted that the surprise isn't that good when you have massive suitcases like we do.)
We decided to spend our only full day in Milos on a yacht named Mamma Maria. At breakfast, Mick logged onto smh.com.au and saw that Rudd was making a move on Gillard. He was devastated that he was going to miss the action as he was going to be on a boat.
With 14 other passengers we sailed The Aegean sea looking at the marvelous coast line and swimming in the crystal clear blue water. The majority of our time we were anchored at Kleftiko. Kleftiko is where pirates used to come and trade their stolen goods (the name comes from the term kleptomania). Kleftiko has massive limestone cliffs and caves, and our captain took us in a dingy into the caves. We also got to snorkel through some of the caves. The lack of fish was disappointing, but it was definitely memorable swimming among the caves. Surprisingly, the boat had wifi, so Mick was able to keep up to date with all the political developments (and the result) in Australia while watching the Milos coastline pass by.
Our final day in Milos sees us checking out at 12 noon. Plenty of time to get up early and see the main town of Milos, Plaka. However, we thought we had seen enough cobblestone streets and white buildings and opted for a lazy morning consisting of breakfast and blog-writing while sitting in the penthouse terrace.
Mick has taken his travel sickness tablets and is set for our 4 hr trip to our final destination, Athens!
Santorini - 2 days of sun and relaxation
We spent the next 2 days in Santorini doing almost nothing! Time was spent in the pool, spa/jacuzzi, eating and drinking. We ventured out to Kamari beach for dinner one night. The 20min bus ride was enough excitement (for 2 days). Kamari beach is similar to other European beaches; black pebbles and lots of sun beds and umbrellas. However at night it looked really pretty as the restaurants that line the corso had their lights on. It was quite odd to find ourselves saying the beach looked better in the dark!
As we are coming to the end of our long trip, our eagerness to do touristy things and see tourist attractions is dwindling. Next stop, Milos.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Red Beach, a tragedy in two parts.
We rose early with a view to getting out to see Red Beach before it got too hot. We had been told that Red Beach was a beautiful, peaceful beach, located on the southern side of the main island, so we were keen to have a look, and see it for ourselves.
Unfortunately our early start did not last as the scheduled bus to take us into the main square, to change for a bus to Akrotiri, did not arrive. In the sweltering hot 11:00am heat we waited and waited for the bus from Oia to show up. It didn't. So we had to catch the next bus that appeared. As we waited my skin began to burn, despite the sunscreen, and standing in what little shade there was.
Thankfully the next bus arrived. This bus was rammed with people so we had to stand. No problem, it wasn't far 'til we would get off and change for a bus where we might get a seat.
When we got off at Thira square our bus to Akrotiri was just pulling away. Luckily the driver stopped and let us on. This bus was even more crammed than the one we had previously caught so we held on to what little hand holds there were as the bus sped off down the winding road over the crest of the island and down to the coast.
The bus was full because people who want to go to Red Beach have to catch the same bus that people use to go and see the ruins at Akrotiri - from here we would have to walk and climb over rocks to reach the beach. As we alighted at Akrotiri I thought I saw a tumble weed roll by along the dusty road. If possible it was even hotter and more inhospitable here than in Thira. Despite my misgivings and a strong urge to jump back on board the bus back to civilisation, we plunged on along the road towards a large red rock formation which we would have to climb around before emerging to discover the beach on the other side.
There was a small cluster of vendors and shops just before the climb, and I should have taken their desperate stares as a sign of what was to come - even they didn't want to be there... But it was too late to turn back now. We climbed the dusty path with the other innocents, slipping over the dust and sharp volcanic stone. We were looking forward to a dip and some shade when we reached the beach, even if we had to pay 10 euros for an umbrella and beach chairs.
As we walked over the rise and looked down to Red Beach my heart sank. There, nestled in a scar in the red volcanic outcrop was the beach. A barren, shadeless stretch of red and black pebbles around 300 metres long and 5 metres deep. There were 3 narrow patches of shade from the overhanging rock that were all consumed with the towels of beach goers that had gotten there earlier. There was no shade for any newcomers. This did not bode well. We made our descent to the beach over the same sharp volcanic rock that presumably made up the shingle.
Admittedly the beach pebbles were somewhat smoother than the ones we had climbed but the prospect of lying on them in the biting sun was not an inviting one. There was also a great deal of sawdust on the beach. We were unsure as the whether this was a move by the locals to make the beach surface a little softer for visitors, or if it was because people had used the beach as a rubbish dump and needed to cover the refuse. I suspected the latter.
I crouched in about 40cm of shade as Mick went to investigate if there were any umbrellas we could hire. This was when I was attacked by a horsefly the size of a sparrow that nearly took my foot off at the ankle. I swatted at the abomination, and was surprised that the bite did not draw blood. More insects started to fly around my ankles and legs and I began a crazed dance to try and fend off the predators while remaining in the shade so that my skin didn't immediately desiccate and fall off my bones.
What kind of god forsaken place was this? Was this a cruel joke? It was possible the worst beach I have ever encountered in my life. To my surprise more and more tourists kept arriving, laying down their towels to bake in the sun. I suspected that they were probably either fool hardy Russians, or from some land locked country where they had never had the chance to see a real beach before, and simply accepted that this was what a seaside experience was supposed to be.
Mick returned over the hard pebbles, feet chafed to bleeding, saying that there were umbrellas and beach beds for hire, but I informed him that we couldn't stay in this kind of environment and expect to survive with all limbs intact. We both decided that this had been an experience, but one that we didn't need to prolong any further. So we went down to the shore to dip our feet in the water and then head back to the bus stop and find a cafe to have a cold beer before getting on the next bus out of there. Even the cool water was unpleasant at it was a soup of sea water, sharp stones and sawdust that clung to your skin on contact.
We made the ascent and were back on the road to the bus stop in no time. We stopped at a taverna called "Glaros" and had a cold Mythos beer. It was the best feeling in the world, being away from that hell enjoying a simple comfort. We ate and drank before trekking back to the bus stop and waiting for a blessedly air-conditioned bus to take us back to Thira.
Feeling deflated we thought we would get some wine and sit by the pool for the rest of the day. To our delight, the spa that is right outside our room was now open (previously closed), so while I had an afternoon nap, Mick sat in the spa, overlooking the coast line of Santorini sipping wine (guzzling may be a better description as by the time I joined Mick in the spa, there was only 1 glass left). Mick was in heaven and had totally forgiven Santorini for the Red Beach experience.
Dinner was at a little "traditional" restaurant in our town square. Mick declared this the best meal of the whole trip. He had beer battered feta balls (which was like eating a potato scollop, but had cheesy goodness inside instead of potatoey goodness) and a main which was the dish of the day. It was lamb with potatoes, lemon and "other special ingredients" which the chef won't reveal. We are sure olive oil was one of the secret ingredients. It was amazing, and Mick termed it the "dish of the year". We had planned to go back to the restaurant for dinner the following night to re-live the lamb experience, but the waiter said the lamb won't be the special. It was a one-off. Mick asked what the name of the dish was so he could look out for it, and the waiter said it had no name as it was the Crazy Chef's own creation. We retired for the night very full and content, even after the bad morning experience.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Thira and sunset at Oia
We woke to a beautiful morning with the shade of the caldera casting a blue light over the white terraced houses and villas, the cool of the morning being a nice change from the scorching heat of the day.
We began the day with exploring Thira, the capital of Santorini. Our villa is in a suburb north of Thira, called Firastefani and is about 20 minutes walk into town. There are two avenues into town, the "main road" which is about 5 metres across at it's widest, or the cliff hugging cobblestone coastal path filled with cafés, shops and galleries. We chose the latter and ambled our way down the side of the mountain towards the main square.
Thira roads are similar to Mykonos apart from the fact that they are a little wider and comprise a lot of steps. As the city clings to a cliff face it is hard to go anywhere without encountering steps - which is fine on the downward journey, but we were a bit worried about the homeward trip. In any case we window shopped and photographed our way down until we decided we needed lunch and some respite from the heat. We stopped at a rooftop taverna and had a great lunch of Greek salad, and chicken souvlaki before heading off again on our way home, as we wanted get back so that we could catch a bus to see the sunset from the northern most tip of the island.
We soon got lost as we tried to take a shortcut, and had to back track and find our way again. We were very hot, sweaty and tired by the time we got back to our villa. We rested and changed (each day needs a morning and an afternoon outfit in this heat) before leaving to catch a bus to Oia (pronounced Eeyah) the village at the northern tip of the island which is famous for its sunsets and high concentration of blue domed churches.
We crammed inside the bus with a load of other tourists, and made our winding way along the narrow chicanes, (at a fair pace I might add!) and before long we were in the sunset capital of Santorini. It was 6:30 and we had a good 2 hours to wait before the sun went down, so we wandered along to find a good vantage point. We stopped for a beer and some local appetisers before heading off towards the north of the village.
There were so many many tourists cramming the high points it was crazy, you certainly wouldn't want to live in Oia during summer, you would never be able to get in or out of your house come sunset. Every narrow terrace and spare bit of space had someone facing the west, waiting for the sun to dip. One high point, an ancient landmark of some kind was crawling with camera laden spectators jostling for the best position. We found our own space, and waited and waited. Eventually the sky started to redden as the sun fell towards the horizon.
After taking a heap of photos we watched as the sun fell behind a distant island, to waves of applause from the tourists (maybe they were just relieved that they could now go and get on with their lives, for another 24 hours at least; or maybe it was the locals glad that they could soon dust down their doorsteps, window ledges and roof tops from the dusty footsteps!)
We hurried away to get a table at a recommended Oia restaurant before the bulk of the tourists, and ate a meal of beef with orzo pasta, and lamb with lemon sauce before jumping on board another crammed bus to make our way back to the villa.
Arriving at Santorini
Our day started with a lazy morning checking out of our room at 11am and lounging by the pool until 2pm where we got a bus to the "new port" to catch our high speed catamaran. The "new port" is so new it's construction still isn't finished! At the new port, the sea marshall had an important job keeping all the tourists away from any bits of shade, so we sweltered in the heat for a while waiting for the catamaran to arrive. After boarding with hundreds of other travelers we relaxed with a beer, as we stopped first at Paros and then Ios. After the 2.5 hour trip we arrived at Santorini, gazing at the lunar landscape of layered, weathered cliffs as we entered the port. We disembarked and waited for our hotel transfer to arrive. We waited, and waited some more before calling the hotel. We think they forgot about us, as they said it will be there in 10mins time. So we waited, and waited, and waited, and 30mins later we had our hotel transfer.
Our hotel is actually a set of villas which are perched on the Caldera (inner rim of an ancient volcano crater) cliff face, facing out to the ocean filled center of the crater, and some other small islands and the rim on the opposite side. It is truly a spectacular view. Our room resembles a cave, the walls are curved, and the ceilings low. There is even a smaller cave in the bedroom which Mick refers to as our "pizza oven", probably a cupboard of some kind.
We were going to walk into town (1km away) but Mick was very hungry, bordering on getting "hungry and angry" so we stopped at one of the closest restaurants to our villa. We watched the sunset and had a nice meal and retired for the night. It was an exhausting day, even though we didn't do anything!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Mykonos - Super Paradise Beach and Greek Night
We took a 30min boat ride to Super Paradise beach which is apparently a beach frequented by celebrities and paparazzi (after that infamous shot). We didn't see any such celebrities. Super Paradise was just like Paradise beach, but more super! We think the reduced number of skinny young kids made it better.
We spent the day soaking up the rays and admiring the crystal blue water and patches of sand amongst the pebbles. This time we were not in the family area of the beach, which meant Mick didn't have to walk along the beach to see nude people, he could do it from the comfort of the sun bed without risking burnt feet. As we were leaving Super Paradise, Damian stubbed his toe on the boat's ladder. He now has a dark purple toe, which makes it difficult to walk, and dance apparently!
That evening we went to Greek Night which was put on by a restaurant affiliated with out hotel. The very nice young girl who served us breakfast, Mihaela, was part of the entertainment and recommended that we go. We went, we ate way too much (who knew there was a limit to the amount of baklava someone could eat in one sitting!) and had a bit of a dance at Mihaela's request. Actually, Mick did all the dancing as Damian had a purple toe as evidence of his not being able to dance. At one point Mihaela stopped to watch Mick dance to work out why he was getting it so wrong. After a little bit of coaching, Mick changed his foot work, but still totally stuffed it. Mihaela stopped trying at that point and just let Mick continue doing his own style of Greek dancing. We left the restaurant at 11:30 and were glad when our heads hit the pillows.
Mykonos- Paraga Beach and Paradise Beach Party
We took a short stroll to Paraga beach and set up camp for most of the day. We just sat on the beach eating and drinking and watching people come and go. During the day Mick thought he noticed a naked person walking in the horizon, so he went off to investigate. It turns out that Paraga is the first of the southern beaches (as you make your way along the coast) that nude bathing is acceptable. It turns out that we were at the family friendly end of the beach. It was amazing how many times Mick had to go stretch his legs and go for a stroll along the beach (Mick was clothed in case you were wondering). Damian didn't want any part of it and thought Mick looked like (or maybe we should say "is") a pervert. To avoid appearing as a pervert, Mick decided to change his walking route. However he burnt his feet on the sand, Mick took that as a sign that his perving ways should stop. Mick informed Damian that people watching when they are completely naked is so much more interesting! Damian still wasn't interested.
We had heard that Paradise Beach turns into a big party in the afternoon so we made our way there at around 6pm. When we turned up all the beaches and beach bars were deserted apart from one, Tropicana Cafe. It was pumping, there were so many young drunk (and high) kids dancing away in their swimming costumes. For two sober 30 year olds who just turned up, it was quite the spectacle. After watching all these young, good looking bodies, we spoke about how old and fat we felt. After that, we went and order a pizza EACH for dinner...after dinner we were slightly less sober and ready to get amongst the kiddies at Tropicana. Unfortunately most people had left and it was like we had arrived very very late to a party that was in the dying stages. We had a little dance and then made our way back to our hotel
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Italy to Mykonos
On our final day in Italy we checked out of Amalfi , and caught the ferry to Salerno and then the super fast train to Rome. We ate at a great little trattoria called Mama Angela's just around the corner from our hotel.
We stayed the night at the Royal Court hotel, not far from the Rome Termini (central station). Despite Mick thinking we were in the red light district - there was a shop called the 'Sexy Shop' not far from the hotel - the hotel was nice, our first 4 star hotel so far. The decor was over the top with gold wallpaper and paintings of cherubs at every turn, but the room was spacious with a nice bathroom.
We had to get up very early to catch the train to the airport, as our flight to Athens was scheduled for 11am and we needed to be there 3 hours beforehand. We caught the express train and were soon checking in for our flight, which was uneventful. We transfered at Athens for our connecting flight to Mykonos, and after a 2 hour wait we were onboard a 747 flying out over the Aegean.
The main thing we noticed when arriving at Athens was how dry and arid the landscape is compared to Italy. This was even more evident when we landed in Mykonos, with its brown and dusty hillsides studded with white cube buildings. The sun was still warm even at 5pm as we waited for a taxi to take us to our hotel, but it didn't seem to be as ferocious as the Italian heat. We checked in to the Nissaki Boutique, at Platis Gialos, and then went for a walk down to the beach to suss it out, and have a drink. The beaches are full of beach lounges, belonging to the restaurants / bars that line the back of the beach, and they charge you to use them for anywhere between 10 to 15€ for the day.
We decided to head to Mykonos Town for dinner, so we hopped on the packed bus (we are the first stop on the way from the beach to the town and it gets very full very quickly). We trundled along stopping nearly every 500 metres to pick someone up or drop them off, and eventually we arrived at the centre of town.
Mykonos Town is a maze of whitewash buildings and narrow stone alleys, none of which seem to be sign posted at all. Needless to say we were lost in no time at all. We managed to find the harbour and we walked around till we came to the waterfront, with its many restaurants and bars. We settled into a restaurant over looking the water (and blaring, beautiful sunset) and had saganaki, souvlaki and risotto as the sun dipped into the sea.
With our exploration of Mykonos Town finished we went back to the bus stop (getting lost again in the process) and crammed into the bus to make our way back to Plates Gialos, and a welcome bed.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Amalfi Coast - our last full day
Our day started extremely early at 12:30 am, so that we could Skype Mick's nephew Liam for his 4th birthday. It was great seeing family, even if it was only through a small iPhone screen. We quickly went straight to sleep after hanging up and were woken by the cathedral bells at 7am. Poor Damian was feeling much worse than the night before, (fever, cough and headaches) so we decided not to go to Maiori for a day trip as planned (we drove through it on the way to Amalfi, and thought that was enough to say we had been there). Damian tried to rest but found it difficult with the cathedral bells going of every 15 minutes. Mick went to the terrace of the hotel and got to catch up on some reading.
There are 2 key tourist attractions in the town of Amalfi, one a paper museum and the other the Cathedral of St Andrew. We walked past the paper museum on the first day without going inside (it was closed in any case) and we thought today we would go and at least see the cathedral given its so popular and right on our door step. That plan was short lived as when we got to the Cathedral there was a €3 entry fee each. We had seen enough churches this trip without having to pay for the privilege of seeing another - Mick thinks God would be ashamed that there is an entrance fee to go inside a Church!
We had drinks and lunch overlooking a "beach". Mick got adventurous and had pasta with cream and lemon sauce. It was a very strange combination, and whilst edible and bordering on being described as pleasant, it did feel like he was eating a dessert.
Damian was feeling better so we spent the afternoon at the beach resting and people watching; people watching when the people are essentially undressed (i.e. in bathers) is all the more interesting and humorous.
The following day will be spent checking out of Amalfi and heading back to Rome via train. The following morning we will then be flying to Athens and then on to Mykonos.
Amalfi Coast - Ravello
We went to bed late and got up early to catch the SITA bus to Ravello. There was a bus strike on so the busses were limited to 6-9am and then returning back from 2-4pm, and as we were going to meet our guide at 10:30am this meant we were going to have some time it kill. We were both very tired as we stumbled out of the hotel and to the beachside bus stop. We caught the 8:30 bus and were on our way spiralling up the mountainside that looms over the small town of Amalfi.
There were even more hairpin turns, tight corners and steep inclines on this medieval road, and at one point the road was one way, alternating with traffic coming the other way based on a single antiquated traffic light. Unfortunately for us a tourist who was driving a small car down the mountain must not have seen the light, and came down as we were going up. This caused a bit of a standstill but as everyone in Italy knows, the larger the vehicle the larger their right of way. So the driver basically forced the tourist to reverse back to a point where there was enough road to get past. We're sure he was bricking himself as we inched past.
Eventually we arrived at Ravello, an ancient hillside town with strong Byzantine and Romanesque influences. As we had some time before our guide arrived we had a coffee, and checked out the main piazza with a the small cathedral, as well as a narrow shopping road.
Rosie, our guide arrived promptly and began our tour with the cathedral we had just visited. The cathedral, let's call it a church, has two pulpits, the small original built in 1068 with a mosaic of Jonah and the Whale; and the newer, larger one which rises on mosaiced spiral columns from the backs of 6 marble lions. Built in the 13th century it is over double the size of it's counterpart, and is fantastically covered in mosaics which are distinctly Moorish in style. The cathedral is also home to St Pantaleon's relic from 303 AD, which is a big glass ball of his blood mixed with earth from when he was martyred. Apparently a miracle happens every year on 27th July, the anniversary of Pantaleone's beheading, the blood and dirt separate. The separation lasts til mid-September. Mick thought this was a miracle - Damian is sure its got more to do with the heat of the Italian summer!
We then headed off to a narrow lane way to look at the "Black Magician's" tower, a part of the Villa Rufolo. The tower features in Wagner's opera 'Parsifal' as the lair of the evil Klingsor. Wagner wrote the opera while staying at the Villa Rufolo as a guest of the owning family.
We then went up a stepped alleyway to look at a church, and some old buildings that used to be the homes of nobles, and are now luxury hotels costing over $1300 per night! Feeling a little dejected we went back past these decadent hotels and visited another church founded by St Francis, and then on to the Villa Cimbrone. Our guide stopped here, we had to enter the Villa by ourselves (and pay €6 for the privilege). The Villa has beautiful gardens and buildings, and an amazing view from Salerno all the way across the coast to Praiano, just before Positano. The "Infintessimal Terrace" as it is known looks down 300m to the sea, and the horizon blurs with the ocean to make an amazing vista. We wandered back through the gardens in the heat of the day before stopping to grab a bite to eat and some refreshment in a shaded cafe.
After a little souvenir shopping we made our way back to get the bus. We piled into the bus, but then had to get off as any standing passengers were dangerous on these steep and winding roads, luckily we jumped onto another bus quickly, and were rewarded with blessed air conditioning (not evident on the first bus).
When we got back to Amalfi after another skillfully executed mountain drive, Damian had to rest as his cough and sore throat was back in full force. Mick relaxed on the terrace with wine, while Damian hacked and spluttered while trying to get some rest.
We finished the day with dinner at a nice restaurant in a small side square to the main piazza.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Amalfi Coast - Positano
Our first day trip from Amalfi was to Positano, which is known as one of the more picturesque towns along the Amalfi Coast. It is also a more expensive town to visit (hence why we stayed in Amalfi and took an €8 ferry ride there). The €8 was definitely money well spent, the scenery from the ferry was awesome, and the 30 minutes flew by as we happily took many photos along the way - we will post some pictures next.
Once in Positano we climbed up their main road, browsing at shoe shops and souvenir shops along the way. Apparently when Mick wore Damian's shoes for 3hrs in Rome he stretched them so much that Damian had to by another pair (obviously Mick is writing this blog)! In one of the shoe shops Damian spent quite a bit of time trying on different styles and sizes. Since the shop is on a cliff face the poor sales assistants (yes, he had more than one going) had to climb up and down so many stairs to get to their store room. To their extreme disappointment, none of their shoes fit properly, and Damian left without any shoes - at least they got their daily exercise in.
We had lunch at a secluded restaurant and both ordered their 'pasta of the day', which was similar to gnocchi but skinnier, green in colour and came with sausage and broccoli - it was so nice that Damian rated it his favourite pasta dish of the trip! We also had a number of drinks as it was very hot, the Venetian Aperol Spritz is becoming a popular choice on this trip.
Post lunch we went to the Positano beach for some R&R. Drifting in the water and looking at town clambering up the cliff face was truly memorable. The black sand and stones that made up the beach were also memorable but for all the wrong reasons. As any good European beach has, there were quite a few topless sun-bakers. We decided that there should be an age limit on topless sun-baking, because we saw some saggy 50+ yr old norks that should have remained covered. There were some perky 'white pointers' on the beach too, unfortunately they were Mick's... all that gelato has seen the dreaded emergence of man boobs - watch out Greece, they are coming your way!
Dinner was back at Amalfi at a 'home cooking' style restaurant. The meal was amazing and we couldn't believe how many extra lemon dishes this one had compared to the previous nights. However the waiter was a complete TWAT! He was really pleasant during first and second courses, but then we had to wait and wait and wait and still had not been offered dolci. So we politely said "Scusa, dolci menu" - whatever we said must have gotten lost in the pronunciation because he gave us attitude from then on. He dropped the menu on our table, and then went and cleaned glasses at the bar in front of our table. He continued to clean glasses, and we continued to wait for over 15 mins. He did not come and ask us what we wanted for dessert or if we wanted the bill. So we go up, paid and left. The complaint email is still being drafted...he messed with the wrong person (we all know how Mick loves a good complaint letter)! It was a disappointing end to a great day; the gelato down the road did improve our feelings and Mick's cup size.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Amalfi Coast
We farewelled Rome and boarded a train to the Amalfi Coast. It was a 2 hr train trip to Salerno (with one stop at Naples). Once we got to Naples the train emptied and Damo and Mick were left on the train with 3 other travelers. We started to think that we were on the wrong train. We were even more concerned when the train number decided to change at Naples. Thankfully Mick's prayers were answered and our train arrived at the intended destination. We then boarded a SITA bus to travel the 75mins to get to Amalfi. The SITA bus is essentially a greyhound bus full of tourists, however all luggage must be taken on board with you.
As with all greyhound buses, the only storage space inside is over the top of the seats. This posed a huge problem for Mick and other tourists who could not squeeze their fat bags into the over head compartments. After much pushing and shoving, Mick was able to wedge the suitcase between his seat and the lady in front. The only problem was there was no room for his legs. So Mick had to sit with his feet on the bag and his knees above his ears! The 75 min bus ride provided many photo opportunities of the beautiful Amalfi coastline. It also provided many death defying opportunities as our bus took many blind corners and hair pin turns rather quickly, tooting his horn in order to warn approaching cars. Most of the cars along the Amalfi coastline were small smart cars or similar, so our bus would win in most contests.
We checked into our hotel, which used to be a convent, which is kind of cool. What isn't so cool is that because it used to be a convent, it is a stone's throw (less than 50 metres) away from the Cathedral of Santa Andrea and the cathedral's massive bell tower that bellows on the hour, 1/4 past the hour, 1/2 past the hour and 3/4 past the hour between 7am and 10pm!!! Maybe we will get used to it...(as we write this blog entry, the bell tower has gone off non stop for almost 1 hr, maybe there is a trainee learning the ropes).
The other benefit of being so close to the Cathedral is that we got to hear the choir singing at about 5pm, just as we were trying to have our afternoon nap.
That being said, our room is great and the hotel staff are all so lovely and friendly. The girl on the front desk during the morning/afternoon greets us with the warmest hello every time we walk past her, Mick actually thinks we are the highlight of her day she is so happy to see us (and it's genuine, not put on). The guy that mans the desk at night is also really friendly, but slightly peculiar in a Basil Fawlty meets Dracula kind of way.
Amalfi is known for its lemons (apart from the spectacular coast line). With our dinner this first night, 3 of our 5 dishes featured lemons (this included first, second and dolci)! I think the novelty will wear off soon.
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