All posts tagged: Rome

a quick reminisce before the next trip…

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Before we head off again next week to see some of Spain, Portugal & France…here are a few photos from our last trip. Hopefully with another two years practise, and some fancier gear, the shots will be better, and will tell the story of our time away.      Notre Dame will be visited again, and I’m pretty sure we’ll see another of France’s iconic vehicles!               The cafe scene in Paris, to the stunning light show in Reims. One of the highlights, ballooning over Burgundy. Pompeii was breathtaking, a must visit if you’re anywhere near.       There’s quite the art to walking on the beach in Amalfi, and a lot of walking in Rome.                     A strategically placed Vespa in Assisi, and a misplaced Boar in Chianti. In one of the most wicked “butchers/deli’s ever!!     The rugged splendour of the Cinque Terre, and the majestic beauty of Lake Como.      Venice, before the madness …

St Francis of Assisi ( patron saint of animals )

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Assisi, Italy Up early for a run before brekky and a quick macchiato before catching a cab to our hire car and heading off to Assisi. Hugh was a true expert at the wheel, he has got this driving caper down pat. The drive was simple enough, managed to avoid the tolls and arrived in Assisi around 2.30pm. Disappointing news upon arrival, Beerock was 6kms from where we were staying which meant someone had to drive, so the idea was quickly ditched and Assisi it was for the night. Views of this beautiful town from afar looked amazing and we were not disappointed upon arrival. Managed to find a park near the Hotel, quickly grabbed our 20kg luggage before the rain clouds closed in and a heavy downpour ensued. The welcome relief from the heat was greatly appreciated, it was a strange feeling to actually feel coolness instead of stifling heat. Once the rain had passed after half an hour we headed out to explore Assisi. We took in the Basilica of St Clare, which …

Gnocchi, gnocchi, gnocchi

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Rome, Italy Our last full day in Rome, so we needed to push on and see as much as possible. Another hot and humid day awaited, so yesterday’s extravaganza that was the laundry Nonna, will be put to the test. We had pre-booked tickets to the Galleria Borghese, and trudged up the steps and through the beautiful gardens of villa Borghese to the museum. There goes a litre of sweat! The Galleria only allows 200 people per two hour time slot so as not to overcrowd the experience, and it worked well. The sculptures, especially by Bernini, were absolutely awesome. I never thought I’d like marble statues as much as I did…the detail was amazing. Two hours went by pretty quickly and we headed back down the hill to our studio, past the trinket sellers, and the umbrella Sellers, and the water sellers….till we got to the end of the gardens, with a lovely view over Piazza Popolo. The view was great, but not nearly as wonderful as the stirring rendition of a famous Bob …

More walking in Rome

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Rome, Italy Up early for a run around Villa Borghese before the heat set in, quick brekky then Hugh needed to write yesterday’s Blog as we were too tired last night. Decided on a coffee overlooking the Piazza Del Popolo and Whack!!! $15 dollars later we had consumed 2 Cappuccinos and were still only a quarter through the Blog. I made the call for Hugh to return to our room and finish the Blog whilst I walked to the Villa Borghese Museum to purchase tickets for tomorrow. An hour later, one wrong turn added an extra 25 minutes to my walk. Arrghh, Hugh was pacing the Piazza waiting for me whilst being absconded by 15 Pakistani salesman wanting to sell him hats, sunglasses, roses, trinkets, you name they had it.   Blog still not finished we returned to the room, finished the Blog and set about starting our day. But not before we addressed the issue of clothes washing. We were directed to a Laundromat around the corner from our Hotel who charged €20 for …

“Private tour of Rome”

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Rome, Italy It’s an early start today, as we have booked a private guide for the day, starting at the Colosseum. As is per our want we walked from our apartment as the owner, Adriano said it was only 1km down the road. 45 minutes later we arrived, already hot and sweaty, to meet our guide for the day, Sara. Thanks Adriano, me thinks more like 3km! First stop, The Colosseum. Impressively large, with a capacity in its day of about 70,000. The crowds build quickly and early, so we are soon jostling the tour groups for the better vantage points and camera opportunities….thank God I’m tall. Spent about an hour looking around this outstanding stadium, imagining Russell Crowe all the while. Actually the film Gladiator definitely helped image life in this cruel place. Next stop, the Roman Forum, the ruins of the houses of the ruling parties. It’s also where the cremation site of Julius Caesar is, behind a large stone sculpture wall. It’s a plain dirt pile only distinguished by some old flowers …

Goodbye Amalfi, Hello Rome

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Rome, Italy Our last day in Amalfi was pretty relaxed with brekky, a coffee at our favourite cafe, a couple of photos before finalising our packing and walking the 77 steps down to our awaiting driver. All going to plan so far!! The drive back to Napoli was very relaxing as our driver took us the back route through the lovely countryside, accompanied by some lovely Italian music, interspersed with the latest Top 40 songs and a couple of pop songs in Italian, quite the repertoire of music. It took us 45 minutes to get from Amalfi to Napoli and 20 minutes to get from the Napoli freeway exit to the train station, which was only 5kms, the traffic in this city is unbelievable. Dog eat dog when driving. Our train was on time so we made the journey along the platform to coach number 2, of 15 carriages, so we were the second last carriage, and proceeded to board the train, but not before a gentleman offered to lift our bags onto the train …