We had a leisurely departure from our Roman apartment – too leisurely in fact. A misread of the train timetable meant we missed the train. Fortunately we managed to be on one just an hour later and then we headed for Naples. At Naples we changed trains – oops – a bit of misadvice from the Station Guide had us heading for the wrong station in Pompei. Then somebody misread the GPS twice (I mention no male names for each of these events) and we saw a lot of Pompei on foot. It wasn’t the bit we wanted to see but eventually we made it to Allegro Pace – a really good little hotel not terribly far from the entry to the ruins.
Pompei was having a festival so there was lots of music in the streets and a really bouncy feel. Lots of pilgrims visit the local church and religious bric a brac is everywhere. We sat for ages as the sun was going down, enjoying a drink, eating olives and then having dinner. There were police everywhere but we didn’t spot a bit of bad behaviour. We went to sleep listening to a very pleasant female voice singing at the stage just up the street.
The ruins themselves were fantastic. We arrived early before the crowds and left at 6 pm. We walked a very long way and covered much of the site in our almost 9 hours of exploration. The next morning we headed back down the street to catch the bus to Vesuvius. It didn’t show for a while and I was beginning to fear that this bit of the expedition was going to be a failure. The streets were closed, pilgrims were everywhere, street sales were booming! Then a funny little bus appeared and we headed for the mountain. The bus had wooden slat seats and we bounced through the traffic – then along the autostrada – then up a very steep and windy hill. All out and walk to the top. People say, “See Naples and die”. I think they are referring to seeing Naples from the top of Vesuvius. But Wowee!!!!!! Loved the crater, the rocks, the view. Going down was a bit like a ride at Luna Park and there was lots of laughter as people slid around and our little bus continually blew its horn to warn people going up. There was barely room to pass in many places.
I could have stayed longer in Pompei as I loved both the old and the new but time waits for no travellers. Off to Assisi.
As we left our hotel the rain bucketed down and we were soaked. We were still wet after several hours of travel and on arriving in Assisi we caught our first taxi – thank goodness. It would have been a long and steep uphill walk with little in the way of path. The sun was fortunately out and it didn’t take long to reach our new domicile. Our hotel is ideally situated and after we arrived we explored part of the town including the Basilica di Santa Chiara. Here we saw some amazing things including the tomb of St Clare, some of the clothing of both St Clare and St Frances and many other relics. The stained glass and the art works were tremendous. I left this place feeling absolutely overwhelmed. Then nearby we spotted The Cattedrale di San Rufino so in we went. I was somewhat stunned to see the font where both St Clare and St Frances were baptised.
We wandered down the hill and enjoyed a drink and samples of local produce before we had a pleasant meal in a local trattoria. Today we climbed to the top of Rocca Maggiore, the ancient fort on top of the Assisi hill. It was quite a walk to the fort and then quite a few steps up and down in the fort. This is another of those views that simply deserves many superlatives. During the afternoon we visited an art gallery and the remains of the Roman Forum which is under another magnificent Church. This Church is built behind the façade of an old Roman temple built in Greek style. What a mixture. Then the finale – a trip to the Basilica di S Francesco E Sacro Convento – 2 churches built on top of one another. The lower one dates from 1228-1230 and houses St Frances’ tomb and more sacred relics. The inside of the upper church in particular is colourful and covered in painting including many by Giotto. What a day!
A multichange trip using the variable efficiencies of Italian trains saw us transfer ourselves successfully from Assisi to Monterosso in The Cinque Terra. We were guided by a lady delivering oil to our hotel and then we settled into the Anita, owned and run by who else but Anita. I am a bit sick and tired of people who write stupid things on Trip Advisor and absolutely get stuck into places without real reason. I had been dreading this one as I read some nasty reviews after we had booked. People knocked the rude Italian speaking man at the desk because he wouldn’t speak English, the bathroom, the breakfast etc. Except for a somewhat unprepossessing exterior it was fine (all the fittings were brand new as were the curtains) and the breakfast was excellent – particularly the coffee. The man at the desk was friendly and carried our bags and he did speak Italian – but that shouldn’t surprise anyone as it is actually Italy. We decided to extend by a day but they were full so Anita organised us a room in her Mamma’s Hotel and this morning when we transferred Mamma was there to pick us up and moved us over in a taxi.
We have climbed more mountains – the Cinque Terra is full of them. We have done all the lower walks that are open (1 is closed due to storm damage) and we have climbed about a million steps. As well we have had several train trips, walked through olive groves and vineyards, eaten some rather delicious food, drunk some pretty good vino, seen some spectacular scenery and enjoyed a pleasant ferry trip along the coast.
It has been hard to get WiFi and today we will upload sitting in the street(no room in the shop) as they are not allowed to put up aerials (it is a UNESCO World Heritage site) so the availability away from the computer shop is very limited.
