One destination we were really looking forward to in Italia... and we had a pretty full on itinerary! With a few days to spare prior to the much anticipated arrival of Mom & Dad Brick (which we were thrilled at as it had been over a year since we had seen each other), we started in Naples.
Why you ask? Naples is, well, to put it nicely... a hole. But the pizza was amazing! Lucky were there for all of one night, sleeping at ‘6 small rooms’ (located in a dingy alley way), enough time to gobble down a pizza at ‘Pizzeria Di Matteo’ and catch some z’s before our Italy experience really got started.
Despite some minor confusion on the train, resulting in us missing our stop and having to back track, we found our accommodation just outside of Sorrento. We had such a lovely walk in to the city centre, and although touristy we knew we were on a good thing. With a few hours to spare in the afternoon (but with very little time in the scheme of things), we hopped on bus to Positano, in order to get a small taste of the Amalfi Coast. What a lovely little town, boy were we camera happy with snaps of the view, the ocean, the view, the buildings, the view.... you get the point! Very much looking forward to coming back and exploring more of what the Amalfi Coast has to offer.
Next on the itinerary – the charming island of Capri. It was decided we would spend our only full day exploring this beautiful island, and what brilliant weather for it! After the ferry over, we had the water bottles and walking shoes ready... luck because the amount of steps just to get the Capri town from the Port is enough to make anyone’s butt outshine that of Pippa Middleton....
Capri must’s:
• Walk to the ruins of Villa Jovis, high on a cliff overlooking the ocean
• Wander the tiny, winding streets of Anacapri
• Treat yourself to lemonade ice-cream, sooo good!
• Wander up and down the via Krupp, a steep, snaking path that gets the heart rate moving!
• Take a costal walk to see the Faraglioni and the Arc Naturale... very beautiful!
Although we had little time, and decided against the Blue Grotto, an attraction Capri is so famous for, Capri was definitely one of our Italian highlights...
Welcome to J&J Brick and welcome to Rome! After meeting the travellers and starting the gasbagging over a kebab, we thought we should also start the sightseeing. And where would any true tourist begin? The Colosseum. And I must say, I am not sure if the phenomenal structure itself is more impressive, or the fact that the city is so built up so closely around it. Nonetheless we joined the crowds in the heat, strolled around, happy snapped and even tackled the Roman Forum straight afterwards. It is fair to say that the pasta and wine back at our apartment were well earned that night!
The following day, in true tourist form, we made a ‘bee’-line (or is it v-line) to the Vatican. There is not much to be said about how amazing and over the top and extravagant the whole interior is, and that is even before entering the Sistine Chapel. Wow-factor. Wow. And a heap of people.... A tough life we lead, taking in only a small percentage of the many imposing sights of Rome; the Trevi Fountain, Sant Angelo bridge, St.Peter’s Basilica (probably the best Bee had even seen, sorry Gerard!), Piazza Navona – the list goes on... Oh how could we forget the small Church of “Immacolata Concezione” with its 3000 monk bones and skulls, used to make decorative patterns in its rooms. Very interesting... Rome = 7/10.
An afternoon and evening in Florence was spend strolling the beautiful streets (as opposed to waiting in line to see the statue of David – next time Michelangelo). The massive Duomo and unique Ponte Viichio bridge clear stand outs. And the gelato, now a staple in the diet, naturally.
Cinque Terre – wow. We had heard such amazing things about the villages of Cinque Terre and we were not the least bit disappointed. Which was great, as so far Italy had been good, but not breathtaking. The four if us stayed in a town just outside of La Spezia, the largest town south of the Cinque Terre region. Trains were very easily accessible between the villages, as was a pretty challenging walking track (any walking would be challenging in 30C heat, sun bearing down on Gerard’s forehead!). Oh, Riomaggiore and Manarola would have to be our favourites, if we had to pick!
Let us sum it up for you in a few words: endless sea views, winding streets, colourful buildings, cliff top walking, tasty gelato, swimming of the rocks, pizza at sunset. What more could you ask for?
So coming of such a high for a couple of days, we were back on the train via Florence and headed direction Venice, our last Italy stop. Obviously Venice is one of the most talked about cities in the world we were finally about to see what all the fuss was about. First word that comes to mind – Enchanting.
Now we could go on about the endless canals (some so small you could not even imagine a gondola squeezing through), the endless bridges (the Rio Alto bridge is worth mentioning, very impressive) and the endless masks (wow).... but we won’t. It was just so user friendly, jumping on and off the water taxi’s, strolling around the footpaths and over canals and just taking in the beautiful city. A trip out to the glass blowing island and purchasing fresh salmon from the market ticked off both souvenirs and dinner, not to mention getting lost in the maze of canals and streets in the evening time which led us to find a funky bar (sorry, can’t tell you where it is!)
Our Venetian adventure rounded off our whole Italian experience and also meant it was time to sadly say ‘see you in two months’ to J&J, as were going our separate ways. Paris for them, Morocco for us... Bring it on!
