Pete and Chon's Euro Vacation: October 2012

Sorrento

Amalfi

After an overnight ferry from Dubrovnik, we landed in Bari, Italy, early in the morning then spent the better part of a day on trains and buses to get to Sorrento. The last train from Naples to Sorrento was what we imagine a train in India to be. We were all stuffed in there shoulder to shoulder on a warm day for an one hour trip and no one even pinched my arse.

We spent the first full day exploring the picturesque towns along the amalfi coast and the next day visiting the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. On the way to Herculaneum, on a 50 year old, graffiti covered train, we accidentally got of at an early train station as the older train didn't have the stop on its route map and the train station name was blocked out with graffiti. We spent a nervous 20 minutes in a slummy part of Italy before the next train arrived.

Sitting on the side of the cliff road that snakes along the coast

More of the coast

Madonna rock formation holding flowers

The Amalfi coast was the highlight seeing the colourful buildings built high up on the cliff face with terraced gardens filled with lemon and citrus trees or grape vines and vegetables. Seeing the Pompeii site was a childhood dream for me and Chon was happy to tag along until she realised just how big the site was. She let me drag her all over the place and surprisingly agreed to also visit the smaller site of Herculaneum which was buried by lava instead of ash like Pompeii was.

Cruising along the coast

Amalfi cathedral

Small village up in the hills

Plaster casts at Pompeii. The ash that fell around them compacted and left a hollow space with only their bones left in the hollow spaces

Chon in the large theater at Pompeii

Chon in a familiar place ... an old kitchen ... where she belongs ... ;)

Herculaneum

Chon looking thrilled about the height of the lava that covered the town (the bridge at the bottom is going over the ancient shore line)

They had everything in Italy ... the 2009 Chianti laced with heroin was a particularly nice drop

Roma (Rome)

Rome was not the cleanest city we have visited in Europe, like what we had seen further south in Naples and Sorrento, but the history and old buildings were amazing. We were never sure if the locals were arguing or just very passionate when they talked but what ever they were saying it must have been very dear to their hearts as they spoke with such passion and volume that I was always expecting a punch up in the streets. We also noticed that they do not seem to want to assist you in shops and restaurants and when they do, if you do not buy anything from them, they would rant on a little (passionately) in Italian ... one shoe store guy even threw a box of shoes on the ground when Chon told him they were not comfortable. We were expecting to eat the best Pizza and Pasta we had ever tasted, in Rome, and Italy in general, but unless you talk to the locals or leave the tourist areas, their food was custard. We did manage to find a great place near the Pantheon that was overflowing with locals (called Pizza Zaza) and the coffee place next to it was also very good. We also got to see the making of a film called Third Person and the actor Adrien Brody near the Pantheon.

Trevi fountain

Watching one of the demonstrations in Rome whilst we were there (health professionals, so not a good day to have an accident)

Adrien Brody in a scene in Rome for the upcoming film called Third Person

We had a brilliant tour in Rome which focused on the Colosseum and the neighbouring archeological site (Palatino Hill). We found a company that has special access to the basement, the reconstructed arena surface and the upper levels almost exclusively to us and the other 12 people in the group. We also visited the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Piazza Navona and the Nazionale Museum.

The Colosseum

From the reconstructed stage area

In the basement

View from the top

The archaeological site next to the Colosseum (Palatino hill area)

Another view of it

We also made the decision to see the Pope for Sunday mass at the Vatican City. After getting off the train, we came across a long line which I mistook for the line to see the Pope. It was in fact the line for the Vatican musuem and when we found out, we changed our plans to go and see the museum instead. What we didn't know was that it was free that Sunday being the last Sunday of the month, hence the extra long queue to get in. It wasn't the first time we accidentally aligned our trip and visits to major attractions where we got free entry into popular attractions (the louvre being the first in Paris). I have attributed it to the inner Dutch in me and I am starting to think that it was all subconsciously organised, for which I have decided to call it Dutchery. The down side to not seeing the Pope for Sunday mass is that I am no closer to discovering how to answer the question "Does the Pope shit in the woods?".

Art work at the Vatican museum

Pull my finger ... Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel

Inside St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City

Two clowns guarding the Vatican

Piazza Navona - Fountain of the Four Rivers

Castle St Angelo

Chon's arty farty shots around the city

I felt vulnerable in that room

Posted with Blogsy

Split

Bell Tower in old Split town

Leaving Kotor, Montenegro by bus to drive into Dubrovnik, Croatia and then catching another bus to Split also in Croatia gave our passports a thorough work out. The Dubrovnik - Split leg required a passport check 4 times simply because of the unusual boarder arrangement between Croatia and Bosnia. Croatia is similar to Montenegro in terms of the coastline and and the mountains but not as stunning. The towns and cities are also similar with walled old cities containing medieval and roman architecture with a fortress and tiny narrow alley ways filled with tourist shops.

Some Croatian scenery

Split was a lot larger than we were expecting. We stayed in the beautiful coastal town for three nights and despite the weather forecast for rain and thunderstorms, we still experienced some blue sky and warm weather. After seeing that the roads are a lot better than Montenegro's, we decided to hire a car for a day. We soon realized that we probably should have hired a car somewhere a little quieter, or smaller, first to get used to driving on the right, having the indicator and wind screen wipers on the opposite sides, the road rules like give way to the left at intersections and so on. After an initially tense and stressful start navigating through Split and getting the occasional beep directed at me, I soon got used to it but we both appreciated Eva being our chauffeur in previous countries. We drove to two beautiful towns called Trogir and Sibenik (both UNESCO heritage sites like the old town of Split) before heading to the national park at Krka with its stunning water falls and scenery.

Walking track at Krka falls

Krka Falls

Chon near the Hydro Electric plant at the falls

The Krka falls again

The clever Croations diverted the water at the falls to run their mills for grinding wheat and corn into flour

Old grinding wheels and the infrastructure they built

Grinding wheel driven by a hidden shaft powered by diverted water underneath

Fortress at Trogir

Trogir streets

Sibenik church

Old garden in Sibenik

Split itself was another beautiful town in Europe which we both enjoyed hanging out in. We went on a walking tour of the old town which was good to gain a little history both old and newish. One observation we have made about the people in this part of the world is that track suits and ugg boots (they also have these weird hybrid ugg/horse riding boot) are the standard, every occasion, apparel. Matching track suits (top and bottom) is the dressed up version and purple velvet or pink track suits are only worn by the elite.

Arch in old Split town

Old split town palace for a retired Roman Emperor

Streets of Split

Palace wall remains

She is in her Sunday best but he prefers the casual trackies

Both of us looking very cool at the falls but the only thing missing was our purple velvet jump suits

Hvar Island

Hvar town

We enjoyed Hvar town on Hvar Island just outside the peak season (like many of our destinations throughout Europe) but still experienced warm 27 degree days. An added bonus to the lack of people was that we got a great deal on a beautiful hotel room that was upgraded for free to a sea view with a balcony. We decided to have a drink on our balcony on the first afternoon, which was spectacular apart from seeing an old couple on a balcony at the other end of the hotel doing the same thing but in their birthday suits. After emailing family on the balcony, we noticed a small swarm of mosquitos hanging around and not wanting to have them inside the room I shut the sliding doors. It wasn't until half an hour later when I realized that I locked us out of the room with my phone inside the room. We really didn't want to yell out to Mrs Sandbags and Mr Meat and Potatoes that we were locked outside so I was forced to email the hotel with an SOS message to help us out. They came fairly promptly and made me feel better saying that it happens all the time.

View from the hotel

The hotel

Streets of old Hvar town

Where we spent the better part of a day chilling out by the water

Hvar town from just above the towns outer limits

Three nights in Hvar and we really took it easy, enjoying the beautiful weather, the small town and the crystal clear waters of Hvar Island. Whilst there was still a few tourist operators open for business we had no desire to go on any day trips to the neighboring islands but we did walk up to yet another fortress on top of a hill (which was a fairly easy climb in the end compared to the fortress in Kotor, Montenegro). The only downside to the quiet season was that I couldn't find anywhere to hire a pair of snorkel and goggle sets to really appreciate the crystal clear water.

Chon at the fortress

After taking the previous photo of Chon, she asked me to pose ... and I didn't disappoint her even after she called me a d..k

Then she got in on the act ...

More of the fortress

Chon joining this guy but I think she was praying that we never have to leave this place

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik from the wall

Our laid back pace on Hvar Island soon changed to doing as much as possible in a very short time frame. After checking out the old walled city of Dubrovnik, we found a tour operator who was taking small groups kayaking around the front of the wall and around the cursed island near by (7 km trip). They told us the story behind the curse but we found out that the curse was that after going around it you wake up with sore arm muscles the next day. That evening we also went on a calamari fishing trip, however, we were not lucky but it was great just to be out on the water.

Some of what we paddled past (the last photo is where we had lunch and went snorkeling)

Main gates of old town Dubrovnik

Enjoying a beer in the old town after kayaking

Failed attempt of calamari fishing but still enjoying some wine an nibbles at sunset

Sunset in Croatia

To even out the pain, we hopped on a bike tour the following day which covered about 25 km through the amazing country side (some of which was off road) followed by wine tasting at a winery. We topped off the day with a city wall walk (2 km)which was a great way to see the old city from above. Like many places we have been to, we could have easily spent longer in Dubrovnik however we had pre-booked an overnight ferry to Bari, Italy and we had to leave.