Day #268 - Assisi, Spoleto, Perugia, Italy

Streets of Spoleto

Spoleto

Nativity - in front of St. Francis Basilica

St. Francis Basilica

Streets of Assisi

Tuesday, December 7th

I've spent my time in Italy to date by seeing the big tourist attractions. It's been excellent. Because I have a few days, I wanted to branch out and visit some of the smaller towns and get a flavor of real-life Italy -- away from the congestion and crowds.

I'm writing this from the town of Assisi, Italy (actually on the hotel computer because their Wi-Fi doesn't work. If you want to drive yourself crazy, try typing on a keyboard where all the keys are different than standard US versions.)

I visited 3 towns today: Spoleto, Perugia, and Assisi.

Spoleto was my first stop out of Rome. Great little town. Hilly. I felt like I walked straight up a hill for a couple miles into the city center. The city is known for the Spoleto Festival - a 3-week, world-class music, art, drama, and dance festival held at the beginning of June. I could see where this place gets going in the summertime. Their main pedestrian street is very narrow and greatly sloped. I don't doubt this has led to a few accidents when the beverages get flowing.

Perugia was my second stop. This is not such a small town. It was signficantly larger than the other two I visited today. Because of the size, I didn't get to see everything. Again, very hilly. My readings say that there is a vibrant international student population here. It has 2 well known universities. The heart of Perugia is the Piazza IV Novembre. This is a large, open square where all the locals congregate in the late afternoon to discuss the day's events.

Assisi was my final stop of the day, and is also the location I'll be staying the next 2 nights. This was my favoritie place of the 3 visited today. The entire city is located on a bluff - a couple miles up from the train station. Excellent. Great views, great streets. St. Francis of Assisi - you've heard the name. This is HIS town. Go to Youtube and play Montgomery Gentry - "My Town". It's appropriate. Everything here is all about St. Francis. The massive Basilica located on the far west of the town was built in his honor in the 13th century. He's buried there. It has an upper and lower Basilica - unusual - but interesting. I went for a run tonight when I got into town, I toured the Basilica with my sweat gear on (whatever it takes). The streets here are narrow and filled with Christmas lights and small shops. Again, very hilly. This is the theme today for sure. My legs would say as much.

I had dinner at one of the great restaurants very near my place. All in all, a very nice day. Tomorrow I'll continue to tour some of the smaller areas in Tuscany. Good night from Assisi.

Day #267 - Sorrento to Rome

Main street in Sorrento

Central Square

Awesome buildings

Christmas in Sorrento

Monday, December 6th

Today was an odd day. Things didn't work out so well with the trains - so I ended up spending alot of time sitting around.

I took the train out of Sorrento to Naples - arriving around noon. All was well. I was then set to connect into Rome - arriving at 3pm. My 12:30pm train showed a delay of 10 minutes. No worries. I waited, waited -- it was now 12:50pm. Then, the board showed a 25 minute delay. I waited, waited -- it was 1:05. Then, the board showed a 40 minute delay. At this point, they did put up a Platform number. I decided to go sit on the train and wait in comfort.

I was sitting in this car with an older Italian couple. They were fiercely arguing with each other. It was entertaining. I couldn't understand a word - but I enjoyed it. After about 45 minutes of sitting around, everyone on the train was looking around trying to figure out our scenario. I got off the train and noticed that all the connections into Rome where on a delay. This was really odd. If it was all locations - there could be something up with the weather, etc. This was not the case. If it was a single line - maybe something happened on that rail. This was not the case either. I still don't know what went down in Rome which forced such delays.

All I know - I finally departed the Naples station at 3:45pm. This was 4 hours after my arrival. I ended up getting into Rome near 7pm. I walked around the streets by the station until I found a hotel that met my pricing conditions. I'm here now - planning a strategy for tomorrow.

Here's to 'no delays' tomorrow. Posting more pictures of Sorrento to set a Christmas tone. Most towns in Italy formerly unleash the decorations either on Dec. 6th (St. Nick's Day) or Dec. 8th (Immaculate Conception).

Day #266 - Amalfi Coast, Italy

Amalfi

Amalfi - near sunset

Atop cliffs of Ravello

Reading a book with this view

Amalfi

Sunday, December 5th

Well, I didn't jump to conclusions -- this place is as good as advertised.

Today I took a bus ride along the Amalfi Coast. I left Sorrento around 10am. I visited the towns of Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. The bus trip alone was worth the journey. We were on these extremely narrow roads hanging off steep cliffs which ascended above the Mediterranean Sea. Good thing the brakes worked. The road had these small guard rails - not so sure they would have kept us from plummeting into the sea. (It took a little while to be OK with this)

Great day trip. I spent the most time in the town of Ravello. Peaceful. I walked around and then read for a while on a bench overlooking the ocean below. (see picture).

The towns were interesting - but today was all about the views. They really have a great bus/rail system in this area. Several buses provided options for travel throughout the day. I was surprised to see this in the off season. And, I was just as surprised to see the number of tourists. It's an easy to reach destination from Naples - and I think that's the draw.

When I got back into Sorrento, the town was booming. The main street was packed with people. It was awesome. This town appears like it was made for Christmas. Throw some snow on the streets - it could be Bedford Falls.

It's late here - about 1:30am. I've been working the past 5 hours on my finances and spreadsheets. I was dreading this - as I had fallen behind somewhat. All good now. In addition to the blog, I'm keeping this record of all the hotels I've been to on a daily basis. I have the name of the hotel, the city/country, and the nightly price.

I'm still working with my 2 credit cards and 1 ATM card. In recent weeks, I'm glad I had a backup as 2 of my cards were temporarily placed on hold. This was done as precaution because I had been to areas like Israel and Egypt. I contacted all my companies before the trip and filled them in on my plan. I guess the movements I had made recently were not so typical and in sketchier areas. I certainly appreciate somebody looking out for me.

I found out how to make phone calls on Skype - real ones. I bought $10 worth of credit and now I can call people when needed. The other day I went to use an ATM machine. Everything seemed fine and the money came out of the slot. I went to grab it - and the machine sucked it back in. I had never seen that before - I was in Belgrade, Serbia. I decided to call my bank and discuss it with them. I was on Skype 15 minutes later, talking to my bank in the US. They told me they would cancel the transaction if it showed on my statement. Not having a phone this year has been great - but under certain situations, it would be nice to have. Skype has eliminated this need.

Tomorrow I head north. Not sure where my final destination will be. I plan to wing it - based on the train schedule out of Rome. Unitl then - keep the faith!

Day #265 - Pompeii & Sorrento, Italy

Christmas season - Sorrento, Italy

View from cliffs of Sorrento

Huge Christmas Tree - Streets of Sorrento

Pompeii - notes on 79AD Eruption

Ruins of Pompeii

Mt. Vesuvius - through Archway

Cast of human body found in the ashes

Saturday, December 4th

Great day today! I got out of Rome early. I took a 7:27am train down to Naples - arrivng at 9:30am. I then took a connector train south for 30 minutes to Pompeii, Italy.

Pompeii --- On the 24th of August in 79AD, Mt. Vesuvius erupted to bury the city of Pompeii under 20ft of ash. It was rediscovered in the 16th century, but exploration did not begin until 1748 under King of Naples Charles III of Bourbon. Excavation, restoration, and enhancement of the ancient city has continued through today - where it is still an active archeological site.

Much of the items found in Pompeii have been relocated to the Archeological Museum in Naples. However, the ancient city is still a very impressive place to visit. Located only a couple hundred meters from the train station, Pompeii extends for approximately 66 ha. - of which roughly 45 ha. has been excavated.

The big deal with Pompeii - it's ancient. The origins of the city are uncertain; however, the oldest reports date from the end of the 7th century BC. As I explored the area, there were cages filled with old pottery, they had made casts of human bodies that were found under the ash, there was a theatre, a colisseum, many homes, baths, etc. I walked around the site for 2 hours. I was given an informational booklet with my entrance fee (11 euro). This was satisfactory to tell me everything I needed to know. I got this great picture (see above), looking at Mt. Vesuvius through one of the arches in the city. Great spot to visit.

I had some lunch and then continued south to the city of Sorrento, Italy. Sorrento is located on the Amalfi Coast. I'll be spending the next 2 nights here as I explore the coastline further. I don't want to get too crazy just yet, as I've only been here for 1/2 day, but this place is EXCEPTIONAL! This might be one of my favorite spots in Italy. The town is pristine and scenic. Once out of the train station, it's a 50 meter walk to the main street - which stretches maybe a mile through the city. It's lined with small shops, cafes, and outdoor heated restaurants. In the middle of town, in the central square, is this huge Christmas tree. The entire street is lined with Christmas lights and decorations. Everything is in its place - neat, organized.

I took a short detour off the main drag, to find the oceanfront. There are several areas where you can look out over the water. Whoa! This was great. Atmosphere - atmoshpere --- this place has it - for sure.

I've got the trip for you next year at this time. If you have a week's vacation, get a flight into Rome. See the culture and unbelievable sites of this city - with no heat and no lines. Make sure you're there on Wednesday if you have a desire to see the Pope. Sleep in - no need to get to St. Peter's Square too early - you'll have the place to yourself. Then, take the train to Naples (don't go into the city) and connect to Pompeii - then down to Sorrento. Spend a couple days on the Amalfi Coast - Christmas shopping, taking day breaks with hot tea/pastries, and spending the nights strolling the streets after a couple glasses of wine. If you're heading to Florence, Tuscany, or northern Italy - I'd book this trip mid October or earlier. Rome and southern Italy -- I think this time works just fine. With the money you can save on cheaper hotels -- buy more presents.

Tomorrow I'll explore more of the coast. I'll see if I jumped the gun on my feelings about this place. Goodnight from the southern Italy.

Day #264 - Rome, Italy

Spanish Steps

Area by Spanish Steps

Last pic at Trevi Fountain

Gelato - all good

Orange trees lined the streets

Friday, November 3rd

Today Kay and I did some early morning walking around Rome. She had a little shopping to finish before her return to the states (plus, we needed to eat another gelato by the Trevi Fountain)

We ended up passing through some sections of the city we had yet to visit. I'm really glad we found these areas. These included a couple great streets near the Spanish Steps. We worked our way to the northern part of the city, passed through a park, and then went south to the Republicca. The area just north of the Republicca is high rent. Excellent area - orange trees lined some of the streets (maybe not a place for dining or lodging due to the cost however)

Kay grabbed all her gear and we headed over to the train station to catch her 1:22pm train to the Rome Airport. She'll be going Rome to London, London to Chicago, Chicago to Minneapolis. There's currently a big snow storm going across Europe. Gatwick Airport in London has been closed the past 2 days. Luckily, she's flying through Heathrow. Hopefully all goes well and it's a smooth return.

We really had a great time. As with any brothers and sisters - there were some ups and downs - but overall, it was excellent. I hope she feels the same. I'm truly lucky to have had so many visits from family and friends along my journey this year. I'm not sure if I could have made it without these pick-me-ups along the way. Thank You.

After saying farewell to Kay, I worked out some details for the next couple days. It was nearing 3 pm when I grabbed some food. I've spent the remaining portion of the day inside.

Tomorrow - I start the home stretch. Crazy. Feeling strange right now. I return to the states on December 23rd out of London. I want to be in Paris by the 19th and in London by the 21st. I have 16 days between today and the 19th. During that time, I plan to visit a few more areas in Italy and then work my way up into Germany and then over into France. Along this path, my goals are: 1) Christmas shop 2) Complete my picture/music video 3) Wrap up my blog and picture site 4) Finish Stieg Larsson's Trilogy 5) Get my finances lined out, and 6) Maybe find a job and a place to live.

Here's to bringing it home strong!!!!

Day #263 - Naples, Italy

Great sites from Naples Port

Naples Shipping Port

Impressive shopping center

Archeological Museum

Nativity sets

Thursday, December 2nd

Today we took an 8:22am train south to Naples, Italy - arriving at 10:45am. This was an 'adder city' for Kay & I - as we had effectively seen the major sites in Rome -- so we decided to integrate another area in the mix before her departure on Friday.

Well, the positives of the day: 1) The weather was great and 2) I got my bag back after leaving it at an information booth and walking away for 10 minutes.

On the flip side, Naples has some things to consider before booking a trip. Naples is a very dirty city - trashbags, debris, papers, graffiti. It is also very crowded and chaotic. I was surprised to see that it ranks as the 3rd most populated city in Italy (Rome #1, Milan #2). It's also considered dangerous - many lists rank Naples as the most dangerous city in Italy.

Research ------
I just looked up the 'most dangerous' city list in Europe per the website: the-top-tens.com. The list includes: 1) Moscow, Russia 2) Tirana, Albania 3) Bucharest, Romania 4) Nottingham, UK 5) Belgrade, Serbia 6) Sofia, Romania 7) Sarajevo, Bosnia 8) Madrid, Spain 9) Lisbon, Portuagal 10) Chisineu, Moldova. This is the first time I've done any research on this subject - other than word of mouth. Wow - my days spent between Israel and Italy mean alot more to me right now. When I decided to head to the water -- maybe that was a good idea.

Throughout my trip in Europe, I've talked with many people about Italy. I've been told to be careful in Naples. I generally store this information and then draw my own conclusions. After today, I didn't necessarily feel that it was 'dangerous' - but I didn't get a warm, fuzzy feeling either. After Kay's departure, I plan to spend a couple days below Naples along some of the coastal islands: Pompeii, Sorrento, etc. I've been told that these areas are real highlights.

Kay and I walked the streets for a few hours. We ventured up to the Archeological Museum. Impressive place. We didn't pay to get in - but looked through some literature in the shop area. We also walked some really neat streets. Naples is known for it's 'Nativity Street' - where you can buy all kinds of nativity figures. Interesting.

We then walked down to the waterfront. Best views of the day - by far. Naples has a huge shipping port. We saw 2 cruise ships. We also visited a castle that sits near the ocean. We then took a long stroll back through the city and made our way to a highly recommended pizza place. Naples is often said to have the best pizza in Italy. It was good -- but not 'Chicago-good'.

We left the city with mixed emotions around 4:30pm. We returned to Rome at 7:30pm. We're currently enjoying some hot tea as Kay spends her last night in Italy. All-good here.

Day #262 - Rome & Vatican City

Wednesday General Audience - Pope's Blessing

Pantheon - hole in ceiling of Dome

Pantheon

Pope's Blessing

Pope Benedict XVI - 83 years old

Pope - on arrival into the Hall

Wednesday, December 1st

This morning we got to do something pretty special. We took the metro back over to the Vatican - arriving right at 9am. On Wednesdays, the Pope comes out and gives a blessing to the people at 10:30am. Generally, this is held in St. Peter's Square during the peak season. The Square accomodates the large numbers of people. Today, because of the rainy weather, the general audience was moved indoors to the Hall of Pope Paul IV (located to the left of St. Peter's Basilica - as you face the Basilica from the Square).

We had to get a ticket on-site to enter the Hall. We were lucky and met no line as we obtained our ticket. We entered the Hall around 9:30am. The crowd starting gathering inside - but the Hall was only 1/2 filled when the Pope entered.

A number of Cardinals were seated on the stage in anticipation of the Pope's arrival. (There's currently 199 Cardinals in the Catholic Church). The Pope entered and was seated in the middle of the stage. The ceremony was 1 hour in length. It involved the Pope reading prayers and speeches in a number of different languages. (The current Pope speaks 10 languages). The main languages being English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portugese, and Polish.

After each reading, one of the cardinals (or archibishops, etc) would read through the list of group attendees from the specific areas where these languages would be spoken. After announcing a group, the group would stand and cheer. Often times, they would wave their country flag. A few times, they even had a prepared song that they sang to the Pope. This was slightly bizarre - it was almost like a pep rally at a big football game. The Pope would acknowledge the group and clap after the singing when appropriate.

At the conclusion of the audience, the Pope offered a blessing for everyone in attendence. I could only understand about 5 minutes of his talks today while he spoke English - but very interesting to see nonetheless. A couple things I noticed in the hour ceremony: The Pope looked very weak and frail. I guess I haven't really kept up with him -- he is 83 years old. He was the 5th oldest person to be elected Pope. (You must be under the age of 80 to be elected.) Also, it was amazing to see him speak all the different languages. Impressive to switch gears that quickly. I read his biography - pretty impressive fella.

After we left the Vatican, we walked over to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is the most preserved monument in the Roman world. It was built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome. It was first built in 27 BC by Augustus and then restored in 130 AC by Adrian. In 609, the Byzantine Emporer Foca donated Pantheon to Pope Bonifacio IV, who dedicated it to the Virgin Mary and all Martyrs, giving it the name of Basilica of S. Maria ad Martyers. It stands as a Basilica today, an impressive building with a huge dome - with a circular opening to the outdoors.

We next walked around more of the streets of Rome - taking in some of the side areas we had yet to visit. We again ended the day late afternoon back at our hotel. I got in a quick run (the first one in a month), and then we had a nice dinner around the corner. Back now, reading the 2nd volume of the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson - "The Girl who Played with Fire".

Onward to Naples tomorrow - good night from Rome.