Caserta

We stayed in Caserta as a base when we visited Sorrento, Pompeii and Naples. It has what is probably the biggest palace in the world. The grounds to the front of it were scruffy.

Last day in Italy - Monday Sept 18th 2017

Writing at 8am Italian clock time:
As our plane does not leave until 7.30pm this evening, we are having a late breakfast and a lazy day. Check-out from our hotel is at 12 noon, so we can have a shower and freshen up just before then. If our flight is not delayed, we should be home very late tonight.

Written next day:
We arrived home from Gatwick very late with Saga's included  taxi service. It poured with rain much of the way. We shared the car with a couple going to Newark. Getting through Gatwick (customs and baggage) was very quick and much faster than Stansted.

Naples

This afternoon we briefly visited Naples, but spent much our short time there in a café on a quiet pedestrianised street. The Mafia allegedly is big in Naples.

Pompeii (Pompei in Italian)

Until Vesuvius erupted in AD79, Pompeii was a busy port town with 20000 inhabitants. Streets were busy with shops, houses (and brothels). Really, life was not so different from now. The first and second photos show typical streets with original paving.

We visited Pompei today. It is amazing place. What "gets you" is just how much like us things were. It is hard to think this place just disappeared to be rediscovered centuries later. Quite humbling.

Sorrento

Today we visited Sorrento on the Bay of Naples. On the way, we passed Vesuvius as well as many scruffy buildings in towns on the way. Sorrento was very busy with tourists. The views across the Bay of Naples are spectacular.

Nearly the whole coast from Naples south to Sorrento is built-up.  There were motor bikes everywhere in Sorrento. It is clearly a tourist trap these days, with products related to lemons important. The road from Naples to Sorrento has several tunnels including one 5km long as well as several bends on the twisty roads with sheer drops.

Vesuvius last erupted in 1944. Flames were seen from the crater last year although this may have been a hoax to make people panic. At some point it will erupt again.

Monte Cassino

On our way to Caserta today we visited the abbey at Monte Cassino. This was destroyed in WW2 as it was believed to be occupied by Nazi forces blocking the allied assault on Rome and Northern Italy. It is perched high up above the town of Cassino. It was very old and totally rebuilt after the war ended. It took 20 years of rebuilding. 50000 people died before the allied forces took it in 1944. It occupies a very strategic point.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caserta
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Cassino

Rome

Today, we visited Rome which we last visited in 1974. We saw most of the famous sites, but they were all very busy and heavily guarded by police and troops armed with rifles.

Colosseum

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevi_Fountain

Agritourism

In the afternoon we visited a working farm for lunch. All food and drink  (meats, cheese, wine) were locally produced. There was no shortage of everything.  It was interesting to see pomegranates growing on trees.

Agritourism is big in Italy.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agritourism

Anagni

Today we visited the hill town of Anagni, which was once where popes went in summer to escape the intense heat of Rome. It was market day and the main medieval streets had plenty of market stalls. Our cups of coffee were 1 euro each! We liked the place.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anagni .

Fiuggi Citta'

We are staying in Fiuggi for a few nights at a very good hotel. Today we visited the medieval town on top of the hill. There were lots of steps, which we avoided.

This afternoon we visited the spa in Fiuggi. Most shops (and the spa) were closed until 3.30pm. I guess the Italians like a long siesta!

Day 4 - on to Fiuggi

Apart from a visit to Siena on the way, most of today was travelling to our new hotel in Lazio district in the town of Fiuggi. On the way we passed many ancient hilltop villages.

When we arrived panic set in: I could not find my wallet anywhere. It contained all my credit cards and most of my money. Thankfully we found it.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiuggi .

Arezzo

This was the city we visited today. It is in Tuscany on a hilltop. Thankfully, there was an escalator to the city from the coach park. It is quite unspoilt.

Actually we visited Arezzo first, then Florence on the next day, but this isn't clear from the blog.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arezzo.

Florence

We last visited Florence in 1974, when it was a lot less busy. Security was tight and everywhere was heaving. The queue for the Uffizi was enormous.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

See http://www.uffizi.org/
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio

First Day

We flew from Gatwick to Pisa (at one point we got in a queue on the M11 and feared we would miss the plane) and then went by coach to Citta di Castello arriving at our Hotel Tiferno after dark. It was disappointing we did not do a detour to see the leaning tower at Pisa, although we had seen it before.

On the way we stopped for a "comfort break" and saw this pizza and sushi made from sweets.