Thanks for Traveling With Us!

Hi All, We are safely back at home and trying to recover from the jet lag! Ugh! Tucson's nice at 2:30 a.m.! Anyway, we will attempt to get pictures added to our blog entries in about 2 weeks. Have to attend to some family matters first and then you can relive the adventure all over again with a pictorial review. Looking forward to some comments. It was more than we had hoped and truly the trip of a lifetime! Ciao for now!

Nibble Nibble!

It was our last full day, and we decided to head to the beach! Sun was blazing and the water was calm though a little chilly. This time we headed to the public beach which is near downtown Tropea. A perfect choice. As we waded in, schools of small wrasse nibbled at our legs. The water was crystal clear. A diver's or snorkeler's dream. Wished we had our masks and snorkels. Oh well. The water was as blue as we've seen it the whole time we've been here. Just a perfect finale to our relaxing week in Tropea. Headed back to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, then a little shopping before picking up a pizza to have later for dinner and grabbing a gelato. Home to pack so we could read and just soak in the beauty on the balcony one last evening. Tomorrow we're off to Lamezia Terme (another driving adventure) to catch our flight to Munich. We'll overnight there and then head to London and finally Phoenix. It truly has been the trip of a lifetime. Can't wait for the next one. P.S. Just figured out today how to put pics on the blog! Once we're back in Tucson, I'll add them and you can review all the posts with picture. Thanks for following along with us on our journey. Arrivederci, Italy! We will miss you!

Anchors Away!

Our next adventure was Sicily! We headed out after breakfast on Wednesday and drove down to catch the Villa San Giovanni car ferry to Messina. Our route there was interrupted when a landslide had closed the road, so Gypsy (our GPS) rerouted us through some harrowingly skinny "streets" barely wide enough for the Panda to squeak by. Thank goodness no one came the other way when we were going through. Finally made to San Giovanni only to find John and Barbara on the same car ferry, two lanes over! Too funny! After a short ride across the straight, we drove off to try to find the Autostrada to head down the coastline of the Ionio Sea of Sicily. The water at Taormina was quite chilly and had a very strong undertoe, so we did not swim. The red flag was out and the clouds were moving in, and we didn't feel like freezing. We put our toes in, got the goosebumps, snapped a few pictures, and headed toward Etna. By the time we got to Etna's turnoff, the drops were pecking the windshield and Etna was shrouded in clouds and sheets of rain. Our timing couldn't have been worse, but we decided not to risk getting caught in the storm. So we headed on to Sigonella where we planned to stay the night. After going to the wrong gate, we finally found NAS1 and checked in at the Gateway Inn. Had a fantastic steak dinner at the Sig Inn and called it a day. Did some exploration and headed back to the ferry. There was so much road work on the Autostrata, and we were worried about getting back before dark through the skinny "streets," so we didn't make any side trips. Caught the car ferry back and the rerouting went like clockwork, so we were home in time for pizza and gelato and some shopping in Tropea. Saw a beautiful sunset tonight over Stromboli (the volcano we can see in the distance from our balcony). Lots of pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows. Can't believe we only have two days left in Tropea. Ciao!

Cheers!

Met some lovely people from Australia at breakfast, John and Barbara. We shared the shuttle to town and then went our separate ways only to meet up later at the gelato shop! The Episcopal church in Tropea is very sparse but had beautiful altars. The water was as blue as it was yesterday! John and Barbara turned out to be our balcony mates as their villa is right next door to ours! They invited us over for drinks and snacks before dinner. We toasted (multiple times!) with local Italian wines and Prosecco - yum! It's true, the local wines are fabulous! One didn't even have a label, just "2.50 Euro" written on the bottle with a grease pencil! The local cheese was also delightful: light and delicate taste. We retired to our own patio and let the drinks take effect, giving us a better night of sleep than we've had in a few days! Tomorrow's the beach! Ciao!

Cuckoo for Cocoa Cocoa Puffs

Needed a low-key, relaxation day today. Went to colazione (breakfast) here at the resort and what should we find among the treats but Cocoa Cocoa Puffs! Only they are 1000x better than ours and actually taste like good dark chocolate! Sooooo good. Took the resort shuttle down to town and window shopped and wondered through the town. Had great pizza for lunch that sent a little smoke out our ears, but it hit the spot and was perfect for us. Came back and relaxed on our patio while watching an incredible lighntning and thunderstorm that moved in more quickly than we've ever seen. Posted a video on Facebook if you have that. Turned in early to be rested for tomorrow. Ciao!

Chugga Chugga Chugga Chugga!

Due to the reduced cost, we opted for the regional train to head south. From Rome Termini to Lamezia Termini, a total of 6 hours, we made our way south through mountains and farmland and really impressively long tunnels. Once to the train station on the other end, we caught the local bus to the airport to get our next Fiat Panda. First one was silver, second one was a God-awful blue, and this one is black with red interior! Anyway, hit the coastal road and oooohed and awwwwwed over the beauty of the Tyrrhenian shoreline. Finally made it to the resort just after dark after calling for GPS coordinates since our Zumo couldn't find the name of the hotel, the address we had, or anything associated with it. Our villa is spectacular! Top level with a balcony that has a view to die for! At least 160 degrees of our view is of the sea -- the deep blue sea. Let the relaxation week begin!

Our Life in Ruins

The last day of our week in the middle section took us to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Naples. We decided to drive instead of taking the train so that we could fit in as much as possible. As we drove down, the wind buffeted the car a lot, and when we got to the pier in Naples to go to Capri, we were sadly informed that the Blue Grotto was unavailable due to high seas. We opted to head to Pompeii and work our way back just in case the situation changed. Surrounded in large part by umbrella pines at the perimeter, we entered expecting to spend maybe 2 hours, but we were so captivated that our visit turned into a 5-hour excursion! We were mesmerized by the frescoes, the tilework, the layout, the structures themselves. We couldn't believe how ingenious the crosswalks were -- three large stones placed across the roadway so people could walk across without stepping in horse excrement or fluids that often ran through the streets from rainfall and sewage. The molds of the people and animals found during excavation brought tears to our eyes and a sadness so deep in our hearts for a town that was caught so unaware. The Theater is in almost perfect condition. That they have been able to dig this town out is a wonder. Just stunning. After realizing it was almost 3 pm, we quickly left for Herculaneum which is maybe 30 minutes away. Much smaller but better preserved since it was covered mostly by mud instead of lava. The frescoes are much more intact as are the walls and town in general. Multi-story buildings were plentiful whereas in Pompeii very few walls even reached a second story, much less having a floor for it. Unfortunately, Naples got shortchanged. We rushed back to check out the seas and were told that the Blue Grotto boats never did run today. But we stopped in and had a pizza in Naples before hitting the Autostrada and heading back to our place near Rome to pack for the train trip/drive to the south. Ciao!