Bob and I have completed our quick tour of part of Italy. Our last hike was in the hills above lovely Positano before we headed to Naples for 2 nights where we walked part of that bustling city and took a ferry to Capri to explore the island. We spent our last full day in Italy traveling from Naples to Rome by train (about 3 hours) and then picking up a local bus to Fiumicino (the suburb near the airport), so we could make our Saturday morning American Airlines flight back to the States.
We can’t believe this European adventure is already over. When we completed our customs and immigration form yesterday, we got to claim the most countries visited ever (for us) since we left the US — Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, and Italy.
Climbing out of Positano for our last hikeView of Positano looking up from the beachLooking at the sun setting over Praiano from the beach at PositanoThe Dante Plaza in NaplesSome of the old city that can still be seen in NaplesAnother plaza near a lovely church along a pedestrian-only street in Naples.We stopped for some pre-dinner cocktails. As per usual in Europe, you must be given some free munchies with your drinks. This place went a little crazy with that idea. All of this food was free.A view of the port in Capri where we landed as we started the uphill walk to the town centerOne corner of the small town center square of CapriA view of some of the homes along the hillside from the town center plazaLooking down on a unique home along the coast of Capri — on the opposite side of the island from where we landedMore of the beautiful Capri coastlineOne of many grottos along the coastOne of the beautiful walkways around the islandLooking down towards the coast from the Augustan GardensLooking towards the former monastery of San Giacomo and then to other homes, etc. among the hillsOne view of the Augustan GardensBlue and green showing off — amazing how clear the water was!
We are still loving life, as we hike and eat our way through Italy. Our hikes have been about 10-12k, and we have both sun and rain. See sample photos below of walks from Amalfi to Praiano, around Praiano, and from Praiano to Positano (where Bob may have gotten in touch with his catholic school upbringing along the Walk of the Gods which hugs the hills above the town’s with often nothing between you and some sharp drop-offs.
All of the town’s we have been in have had fun artwork. This was in a little town we walked through between Amalfi and Praiano. Looking way down on Furure, a fishing village that we would have hiked into except for some recent landslides making that impossible.Just another beautiful scene along the Amalfi coast — coming into Praiano On our hike out of Praiano into the hills above we came across a local walking his herd(?) of goatsA picturesque (and tiled!) piazza One of the many interesting stone formations along the coastEach hike seems to end with hundreds of steep steps downSan Luca church in Praiano
Of all the random photos, the lovely surf side restaurant we ate at in Praiano, next to our hotel, had a photo with the proprietors and. . . Dr. Ben Carson!More fun tile work
Artwork along the steps up to the San Domenico monastery on our walk from Praiano to Positano
Walking under a limestone cliff on the way into PositanoA view of Positano walking in from abovePositano and it’s beautiful beach
Today it is raining pretty heavily in Amalfi with a threat of severe storms, so we are inside hoping to catch up on blogging and some much-needed planning. Yesterday, however, was perfectly awesome from our 5 hour hike to a lovely dinner at a local restaurant.
Yesterday’s hike had us heading out of the town center and into the hills through a lovely section of lime and lemon (limoncello, anyone?) trees, near the ruins of old paper mills, and then into the little villages of Potone, Ravello, and Artrani. Along the way, we hiked out to a great view(s) of the coastline, sea, and an old tower. All gorgeous, and we were hugely impressed with the paved, stone walkways that hug the hills and which the locals were sweeping clean as we walked by.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
The coastline of Amalfi taken after our arrival Wed afternoon In the foreground are the lovely Duomo and bell tower in Amalfi. Our hotel is located across the plaza from the church. In the background on the hill is the Tower of Zirro which we climbed above and looked down on yesterday (Thursday). The start of our climb out of Amalfi yesterday. The citrus trees are covered with the green netting. One of the ruins of the paper mills and associated aqueducts in the hills above Amalfi. Amalfi had the first paper mills in Europe. Be still my book-loving heart — I knew I loved this place! View of Atrani (village just east of Amalfi) from view over Tower of Zirro.Looking down on Tower of Zirro from overlook outside of Pontone. Central plaza in Ravello, a village in the hills above Amalfi, perhaps best known for being the home of writer Gore Vidal in the years before he died. One “must see” in Ravello is the beautiful buildings and gardens (and coastal views) of the Villa Rufolo. It has some fun artwork as well.One of the many amazing views from the VillaAnother amazing view (and how about the scenery too –lol!), the paperwork in the plastic binder are our instructions for our self-guided hikes.One of the Villa’s many beautiful gardens — note figure in fountain.Close-up of figure in fountain — praying that he never has to leave this place. One of the more decoratively paved walkways along the hillsides. This one leads to another villa in Ravello.Trying to capture part of our steep descent back into Atrani and Amalfi. This captures the deck of a restaurant overlooking the sea.The main church in Atrani
A few more happy photos —
Bob and I have wrapped up the European portion of our house sitting adventure (at least for now). We had a quick transition with our Brussels home owners on Sunday after their return. It was another lovely house sit, and we again feel blessed to have met a new set of friends across the pond.
We are currently in the Campagna region of Italy for a self-guided hike along the Amalfi coast. We landed in Naples on Monday after a 2 hour flight from Brussels. The Brussels portion of the trip was a bit bizarre as the airport was having computer issues so very few of the gate assignments were getting posted. We finally found a Belgian Airlines agent to ask who seemed unaware that gates weren’t up on the screen. Other than that it was an easy flight with lots of scanning of electronic tickets and no checking of passports anywhere. We grabbed a bus to Salerno upon our arrival and spent a day and a half their before a seriously twisting bus ride to Amalfi this afternoon. I’m not sure what bus drivers make here, but it’s not enough.
The following are some photos from Salerno.
Our room at the 3-room Mary’s House B&B. We had the place to ourselves, but were served breakfast each morning by Cynthia, the host, or her daughter Hillary. Our view of Salerno and the Arechi Castle from our room. Walking around the beautiful Minerva Gardens, the oldest botanical gardens associated with a medical school.Another view of the Minerva Gardens, much more attractive than a big Pharma lab! We had a good uphill walk to the castle. This is one view from our walk around the castle grounds.Bob by one of the walls around the castle with views of Salerno and the Mediterranean in the background View 1 along the coastline — tiered wooden seating and some beachfront.View 2 of the city and waterfrontOne of three penguin gatherings along the waterfront Holiday lights are on here already!More holiday lights at nightA daytime view of their city park transformed into a fairytale enchanted garden for the holidays. A fun display of cannoli and other pastriesThe statue of Pinocchio at Pinocchio Park. Unfortunately, graffiti is a popular art form here.
While we have enjoyed walking around Brussels, we decided to take a day trip out to explore another city. The last time we were in Brussels we had visited Antwerp and Bruge, so this time we decided to visit Ghent. We really enjoyed it! It is almost as charming as Bruge, but seems much bigger and a bit more varied. It is a university town, but also caters to tourists with good walking maps as well as signage to city center and various landmarks. As with Brussels, you could eat yourself silly here.
View 1 of canals in GhentWalking into the old townView 2 of canals in GhentNot sure what these creatures are, but they had them around town. This appeared to be a USA version.Bob finally getting his frites fix. They serve them with a selection of sauces. Bob chose a tartar sauce.The belfry that we climbed for some great views of GhentView 1 from atop the belfryView of St. Bavo’s Cathedral from BelfryView of St. Nicholas’ Church from the BelfrySome of the many beautiful flowers around town
Based on recommendations from our homeowner and our own interests, Bob and I have explored various area of Brussels during our few days here. We poked around the Sabon area and perused the many awesome Belgian chocolate shops. We have browsed a few markets — the Saturday Flagey market, the Sunday Midi market, and the Wednesday afternoon/night market at the Place du Chatelain. We had a great self-guided tour of the Parliamentarium on the European Parliament Brussels campus. (There are also European Union offices in Strasbourg and Luxembourg.). We continue to be impressed by the 8,000 hectares (approximately 19,800 acres!!!!) of green space in Brussels. Some random photos below.
The Musical Instruments Museum — great museum which we toured on our last visit. It holds over 8,000 instruments. This time we just admired the Old England Department store building in which it is housed. Built in the art nouveau style — more on that later.Embassy of Thailand with mourning bunting for the recent death of their long-reigning King.The building housing the Museum of Brussels, one of many ornate former guild halls that surround The Grand Place, Brussels central square.Another of the ornate buildings around The Grand PlaceThere are a number of sites, buildings, and green space to explore on the European Parliament campus. This is part of the Solidarity Esplanade honoring the values and achievements of the Polish Solidarity Trade Union.A statue on the European Parliament campusThe EU flag on the front of one of the buildings. We saw a photo of a girl with a sign reading “You broke my star” following the UK vote to leave the union.We found this to be a good quote though not all would agree. Note the date — we were surprised to learn that European efforts to form a union started much earlier than we were aware.We loved the Gaudiesque look of the wooden fence in one of the parks.Bob and I on a ferry over to a restaurant in one of the parks that can only be accessed via ferry. We had a drink and some nibbles.A view of the afternoon/night market. It had lots of fun produce — including a wide array of mushrooms and other items that we weren’t as familiar with.
Peckish Travels 