Greece Pics

Ian napping on the ferry between Athens and Crete.

The Hania 'Old Harbor' Taken from the lighthouse.

A little street in Hania near the water.

Lighthouse on the harbor in Hania.

A minaret in the Turkish quarter.

What?? Tell me seriously, did I just snap this shot? Yeah I did.

Arrival in Greece

Although sooner than expected, we decided it was time to head to Greece. While visiting Herculaneum, we had met a British couple (Chris and Cliff Jones) who told us about their recent visit to Crete. That was enough to make it our next destination.

After flying into Athens we took a 7 hour ferry from Piraeus on a really nice Greek ferry boat and reached Hania at 11 PM. Our taxi driver took us to the small pedestrian street where we had reserved a studio. These moments are always interesting – we are never entirely sure about where we’ve chosen to stay, the kind of trek we’ll have to take to reach it, how far it really is from sights, etc. Lucky for us (again…and knock on wood) we found another wonderful place to stay. The Greek girl greeted us and provided two rooms to choose from. While both were fine, we asked to see more rooms (we found it’s always a good idea in these places to do that). The next room was it! Our place in Hania couldn’t be any more perfect…it’s beautifully decorated with a balcony overlooking a gorgeous little pedestrian street.

Although we were tired and it was late, we decided to take a short walk…that’s when we came across the ‘Old Venetian Harbor’. It was then that my jaw dropped in amazement. This place was enchanting – absolutely beautiful and almost too picturesque to be real. The Venetian buildings lining the harbor look like a beautiful façade instead of an incredible slice of Greco-Venetian life from a few hundred years ago. Since seeing the harbor for the first time we've learned that the Venetians acquired Crete (along with other parts of Greece) and held it for around 400 years until the Ottoman Empire took it over late in the 1600’s. As is the same in much of Greece, there is a strong Turkish influence on the culture here as a result of hundreds of year’s Ottoman control after the Venetians. It was pretty interesting to see the minarets from old mosques and also some Muslims at prayer inside their homes as we walked through the Turkish quarter.

Anyway, this post on Greece is definitely “to be continued…” because I haven’t even touched on the scrumptious Greek food and copious amounts of “Raki” that the restaurants give you free after your meal.... yum!

Last day in Sorrento

On our last day in Sorrento, we decided to travel to Naples. We had heard that the city was a mad house, but were curious to see it for ourselves. The truth is that Naples was a pretty wild place and didn’t leave the best of impressions on us (although I should mention we were only in the city for a few hours and may not be qualified to judge).

Ian describes it as a scene from a futuristic movie where a nuclear explosion had thrust a city into chaos. The city is having a huge garbage problem – the landfills are full and the garbage company stopped collecting the trash. Try to imagine the large piles of trash on the streets spilling over sidewalks and filling the air with a less than desirable smell. Add to that a few choice people picking through the garbage and behind the piles a very long row of illegal street sellers waiting like hungry vultures to make a sale (and we were the dead meat!). Ok, then add to that the bustle and chaos of cars, vespa’s, buses, and taxis all whizzing around each other seemingly ignoring traffic signs and each other. Our taxi purposely went down the “wrong way” of a street in order to avoid having to make a more circuitous trip.

Despite all this, however, our visit was worthwhile in that we had a chance to walk through the National Archeological Museum where many of the original frescoes and findings from Pompeii are housed. We also entered the ‘Secret Room’, which is the Museum’s collection of phallic art found in ancient ruins…it turns out that pornography has been a part of life from the beginning of time!

Capri

These three destinations (Capri, Positano, Amalfi) were part of our day trips from our homebase in Sorrento. I’ve been meaning to blog about our experiences at each, but the last days in Italy were busy and with little internet access.

Capri was as beautiful as we had heard it would be. A town perched hundreds of feet above the sea where every house and street is immaculately kept. There were flowers decorating walls and balconies, views of the ocean that were breath taking, and expensive boutiques for window shopping. Ian and I decided we would take the bus to AnaCapri (Capri’s sister town) in order to visit the Blue Grotto. The ride up the mountains was thrilling – a small bus packed with people taking sharp turns on roads with railings no more than 2 feet high. I couldn’t stand to watch the cliffs below as the weight of the bus would shift from side to side! The Blue Grotto was a nice experience – To enter the grotto you must ride a tiny boat in which you lay completely flat. There is a chain that the gondolier pulls on to get our little boat through a small opening in the rocks. Inside the grotto, the water seems an electric blue color – a natural wonder created by the reflection of the sunlight on the sand and water. In Capri we also saw the Arco Naturale and completed a 1.5 hour hike around the island before taking our ferry back to Sorrento.

Amalfi Pics

Amalfi (the day after Positano)

The next day we both dreaded the idea of riding the bus again – this time for an additional 45 minutes beyond the Positano stop. We forced ourselves out of bed (I’m embarrassed to say that it was probably around 11 a.m.) and made our way to the bus stop. Luckily the sky was clear and sunny, although the cold did not cease. The Amalfi Coast was breath taking – we were so happy that we went. The Amalfi Coast is famous for its paper and we had a chance to visit an ancient paper mill where we learned how the paper was made using actual cotton cloth. We also visited the town’s Cathedral where the remains of St. Andrew, the town’s patron, are kept. In 1544, the Saraceen fleet commanded by the ‘Red Beard’ approached the Amalfi Coast. The town invoked the protection of St. Andrew and it is said that an unforeseen storm wrecked the pirate ships. A piece of one of the pirate ships is on display in the town’s Cathedral. After nightfall, we decided to be the first at the bus stop in order to avoid a standing ride back into town. As it turns out, we were the only 2 on the bus most of the way and had a chance to chat in Italian with the driver…we were pretty proud of our Italian skills!

Positano

Positano was a bit of a disappointment – and that is just me being completely spoiled! The ferries from Sorrento stopped running in mid-October, so we were forced to take the bus (Ian was dreading the idea…we had heard the drive to the Amalfi coast was one of the most scenic and terrifying ever!). The bus ride took approximately 45 minutes – most of which was on winding roads with the mountain one side and amazing views of the ocean on the other. On that day, the sky was grey and the air was cold…not the right combination for a small beach town. After a couple of hours of wandering around a slightly deserted town (I’m sure it is amazing in the summer months…as shown in The Talented Mr. Ripley), we decided to head back home. The ride back was exponentially worse than the ride there. The bus was completely packed and we made the 45 minute journey standing in the isle of the bus – by the time we reached Sorrento we were both motion sick. It’s a good thing we didn’t celebrate Ian’s birthday this way!

An Italian birthday…

We celebrated Ian’s birthday last weekend.We had intended to spend the day in Positano, but in true Ian & Valen fashion we overslept and missed the ferry (which turned out being alright since we had been looking at the outdated ferry schedule anyway!). We decided instead to spend the day in Sorrento walking around the many tiny streets with shops and enjoying the amazing views of the ocean. The day was really cold and windy although still sunny and as we made our way around town we realized how familiar it all felt. Even though we are thousands of miles away from ‘home’, this place still feels right.

Our apartment in Sorrento has been great– We look forward to our quick exchanges with Rosa, our walk down into town, and even our walk back uphill. All this walking has made it easy to justify all the good food we’ve had! Our stay here, though, is coming to an end in just a few more days and as we made plans to leave Sorrento for Greece, I began to feel a bit sad about leaving Italy behind. It makes you realize how easily one can adapt to new circumstances. Our adventures in Greece, however, are sure to be filled with new and exciting lessons.

Mt. Vesuvius Pics

We're a long way up.

Vesuvius smoking and grumbling a bit.

At the top of the crater.

The chair in question.

A climb to Mt. Vesuvius...

We decided to climb to the crater of Mt. Vesuvius by taking a shuttle from Herculaneumo to the base of the volcano. Our shuttle had room for 9 passengers, including the driver. After we had all piled in another couple arrived and paid for tickets. I figured they would have to wait for the next shuttle until I saw the Italian come out of the sales booth with a small cracked wooden chair which he placed in an open space in the van. The girl was squeezed in between the three of us in the back seat; her husband sat in the unstable wooden chair. The drive to the base of Mt. Vesuvius took about 35 minutes in a winding road with numerous sharp turns. I watched the wooden chair slide slightly with every turn - the poor guy on it holding tightly to the sides of the van.
We arrived at the entrance and began the trek up the mountain to reach the 4000 ft summit. It took us approximately 30 minutes of walking uphill to reach the crater. What a view! We walked as far as we could around the crater trying to find the best angle until we heard a slight rumble and saw steam come up from the rocks inside the crater! It was truly amazing. From the top you could see all the nearby towns and we are pretty sure we spotted the island of Capri. In the distance you could also see Naples.
It was time to meet our driver again and to claim your seat inside the van (I didn’t want to ride the chair!). As the original group took their spot in the van, we noticed the driver was giving tickets to an additional couple. Now, clearly...they would certainly have to wait for another shuttle. Wrong again! The driver opened the back door of the passenger van pointing to the space in the back meant for carrying baggage. We couldn’t see what happened next but assumed the couple refused the trunk space. We even joked about it in the shuttle as we made our way back into town…only to find the couple emerge from the cramped space when we reached the parking lot of the Herculaneum train station! The silly things you do when you are a tourist!

Pompeii Pics...

Vesuvius and a small portion of Pompeii

A little inspiration at the brothel never hurt anyone (not immediately that is).

A temple with Vesuvius in the background.

Plaster cast...

Pompeii

Wow, I’ve never been so excited that a volcano erupted! Pompeii was truly a gem. It differs from Rome in that the ruins are MUCH better preserved and offer a wide slice of ancient Roman life. In Pompeii, over what seemed like a huge amount of space there were a few bakeries, pubs, tons of homes, small theatres, a huge ampitheatre (though much smaller than the coliseum in Rome), public baths, temples, food markets, and brothels.
The reason for the great preservation apparently is that the ash from the volcano covered the city a few meters deep, the city remained abandoned, and excavations didn’t begin until the 1700’s. While Rome continued to build the city around and on top of itself, Pompeii stayed untouched for close to 2000 years.
The ancient Roman homes in Pompeii were beautifully decorated with many of them having fully frescoed walls and beautifully tiled floors. The brothels were a highlight. They were complete with suggested positions painting on the walls and ancient graffiti written in Latin by the patrons and the prostitutes. I’m pretty sure that one I saw translated to: “Marc Anthony and Cleopatra 4EVA”.
Lastly, the plaster casts of human remains were incredible. Apparently over 2,000 years a body will decompose (I know, weird). But amazingly, if it was buried in the ash then an empty space or cavity will be left after it decomposes. So when the archeologists first came across a cavity of space in their digging, they noticed human bones at the bottom of the cavity. The bones were removed and the plaster was poured into the space. After it hardened, they remove the ash from outside of it and voila! The detail is quite shocking. You can see the expressions on their faces, their teeth, the folds of their clothing, footwear they were possibly wearing.Pompeii was a truly amazing site. There were a few things that I didn’t understand about some of the ruins, but when I get back I’ll have to ask Haitham. No, he’s not an archeologist, but he’s quite a knowledgeable dude.

More pics from Rome then Sorrento

A much needed haircut for Ian


From the top of Castel Sant'Angelo

When in Rome... Water fresh from an aqueduct

Relaxing at the villa in Sorrento

The villa

Sorrento's main square

Igualito a su papa (Just like his father)

To say that Ian comes from a security conscious family would be an understatement. I don't complain, though, as I know he will have thought about the many ways to stab a stray dog if it messed with us (really, he did that at least once on this trip). It is certainly true that couples become more like each other with time -- and in our case, we definitely have a way of supporting and encouraging each other craziness.
Upon arriving in Florence I learned that Ian had brought his knife with him (yes, this blog is out of sequence, but it deserved to be published). His knife isn't the small pocket kind that most men carry on their keychains for moments when you may need a small blade or, perhaps, a screwdriver. His knife is the camping/survival kind. He bought it for our first camping trip with our best friends and after watching many an episode of Bear Grills. I probably would have thought it crazy at some point many years ago...but (and this is where you encourage the madness in each other) I actually thought it a great idea this time. Somehow I felt safe walking the dark streets of Florence at all times of the night -- Ian had a camping knife in his pocket which he could swing open with a flick of the wrist.

Then came a Friday afternoon when I had made reservations at the Ufizzi museum. We are in line and about to approach the security point when Ian suddenly realizes he has a large knife in his pants. He turns and asks me what to do, but being that I'm 'igualita a mi mama' I freak out and tell him to throw it away quickly while no one is looking. He agreed (being 'igualito a su papa) and discreetly tossed the large knife in the last garbage bucket just steps away from the security guards. As the knife hits the bottom of the garbage making a loud thump, we were both relieved not to be incriminated with a weapon on us. Then, we see the sign: "Knives, lighters, etc will be returned at the end of the visit." At that point, Ian thought it would definitely be incriminating if he was fishing around the garbage to pull out his knife - plus, it was his turn to put his bag in the security belt. I looked back at the garbage thinking maybe I could stick my hand in it, but the knife had made its way all the way to the bottom of a lot of trash.

We boths presented our tickets and sat down at the first bench we could find. Clearly he had made the right choice -- you don't want to mess with armed guards in a foreign country and try to explain why you had a camping knife in your pocket. Either way, we both knew what this meant...we'd have to find another knife for protection during the rest of our trip.

Inizio della strada (spelling?)...

...This is just a quickie and would probably not classify as a reason to blog, but I couldn't keep it to ourselves...
We've piled the garbage in our beautiful Sorrentine kitchen and wondered where Rosa would want us to put it. We tried asking in Italian...but this was one time Marcello would not have been proud of us. Ian ran inside and brought out the garbage bag to which Rosa responded something, something, something, something else inizio della strada. Clearly she meant we should put it somewhere in the street. Every other city has had very accessible street dumpsters, so we must have just missed this one. It's 8 o'clock in Sorrento and we decide to walk into town. The walk there is a little spooky because it's so dark but we have our 1985 Polaroid flashlight which we bought at a Kodak shop and seems to be the last one left in this town. Surely, the dumpster is just outside the home. Surely, it's up that other street we never walked up. Surely, it's just around the bend where we never paid attention to it. Finally, we found the dumpster...at the beginning of the street just like Rosa had mentioned. The main street into town!!! It may not seem like reason to blog, but it's a small example of the daily things that are still all so new!

Our homebase in Sorrento

We met Marco, a young bald Italian guy on a grey scooter, at the train station. He escorted us to our new apartment at Casale Nunziatina. The walk up to our new apartment reminded me of our experience in Riomaggiore (except this time with luggage). We walked up an old Roman road where there is barely room for a tiny Smart car. The owner of the 1700s Villa, Rosa, greeted us very kindly showing us around our new place. The apartment is amazing! The villa was recently remodeled and everything seems new. Our apartment, Gardenia, is absolutely wonderful. Our kitchen is large and has a beautiful arched door that faces the lemon grove gardens. The walk into the main road of town takes us about 10 minutes downhill (it’s the walk back that feels like a trek).

Sorrento is a lovely little place – it’s much bigger than the Cinque Terre towns by far. From here we plan to visit Capri, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mt.Vesuvius, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast. We’ve taken it easy on these first four days here by mostly enjoying the villa and strolling through town. Tomorrow we’ll start our day trips.

Headed to Sorrento (or Sarno?)

We left Rome on a Monday morning on the express train to Naples. From Naples we took a local train to Sorrento (well, not exactly). As soon as the train took off, we had strong suspicions that we had rushed onto the wrong one. There were about 10 other people headed to Sorrento or Pompeii on this train, too – and they didn’t seem concerned by the fact that this train departed seven minutes earlier than our scheduled train. We had a plan to exit the train quickly (as the doors barely gave any time to pull one’s luggage out) if the next stop did not read Pompeii Scavi. It did not…and as soon as the doors opened, we grabbed our bags and ran off the train as we mumbled something about being on the wrong train. A group of about 6 more completely confused by what we were doing also jumped off. It was totally a scene from the Amazing Race. Luckily, we were right about being wrong… so, the 8 of us stood with our luggage in a small desolate station waiting for the right train!

A little more on Rome...

We visited St. Peter’s on two occasions. One time was mostly dedicated to admiring the Pieta – Michelangelo’s work. The details are incredible, the fingers, the veins running under the skin, the expression on the faces – how could this be made of stone? The second visit to St. Peter’s was also incredibly memorable. We visited the Papal tombs and saw the tomb of St. Peter underneath the main altar and the tomb of Pope John Paul II. There is so much more I’d like to say regarding St. Peter’s…so many thoughts and emotions that it evoked, but perhaps another time.

The Vatican museum was also grand. One can easily experience a certain type of exhaustion caused by the large quantities of art available here. I’m sure that may be due to my own art ignorance! The Sistine Chapel, however, was the highlight of that visit – we were fortunate to find a place on one of the side benches were we sat and stared at the walls and ceilings for a long time without being shuffled out. Trying to describe it would be too big of a writer’s challenge!

Our days in Rome were hectic, although not rushed. The Italian food was not very memorable when compared to Florence’s. However, we did find an Argentinian restaurant with a mean churrasco that we absolutely loved…and a Chinese place with a serious fixed price menu right behind the Pantheon.

A look back at Rome...

Rome was a magnificent city and so much bigger than Florence. Our apartment in Rome was about 15 minutes by metro from the city center in an area where we were probably the only two tourists. The apartment was spacious – especially when compared to our Florence studio.
On our first night there we took the bus into town in our hunt for the Trevi Fountains. The fountain is a spectacular sight – how did such a huge fountain end up in such crammed quarters? Although it’s supposed to be ‘shoulder’ traveling season, the large quantities of visitors crammed into the Trevi Fountain never really allowed for a very comfortable or enjoyable stroll around it.
On our second or third day we took a walking tour of Ancient Rome. Our tour guide, a Roman archaeologist named Valentina, was really fantastic. We (re)learned interesting facts about the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. It’s difficult to explain with words the impressions that such places make. We walked on the Via Sacra which is about 2000 years old and was the main road of the Roman Forum. We climbed to the top of the Palatine Hill to see the ‘birthplace’ of Rome. I can’t bother with the historical details and would do no justice in attempting to share them with you – I’ll leave Ian with that task.

Hello Rome (5 pics)

The colosseum at night from "via de fori imperiali"

St Peter's from across the Tiber.

At the Pantheon at night. Inscription reads (basically): Marcus Agrippa built this.

On our first night in Rome at the Fontana di Trevi

The Roman Forum at night

Good-bye Florence Part 2 (6 pics)

After the temperature drop in Florence!


Valentina with street seller from Bangladesh.

Santa Croce - we live down that street on the left.

Valentina and the Senegalese dudes.

Going into our apartment.

A restaurant in Piazza Santa Croce

A proper farewell...

I couldn't leave Florence without a proper goodbye. It's surprising how quickly a place can become a home. The smells (good and bad) and sounds slowly become more familiar; the streets and people more 'one's own'. Yet a personal goal in this adventure was learning to let go (especially hard when one begins to conform to a place).

Our last days in Florence were memorable. We visited San Gimignano on a cold and rainy day. Our first bus there was the tall two level type with fancy seats and eager tourists. The second was a local bus (which we were only 50% sure was the correct one) filled with kids getting out of school (btw, all teens across the world seem to be a little stinky, oily, and loud). The town was surrounded by a fortress wall and contained several 'skyscrapers' of its time. It looked like the setting of a fairy tale with its stone walls, cobble streets, and tiny passageways.

The last night in florence was truly special. We wandered on our nightly walk and decided to buy a 'whirly light wheel' from an Indian street seller in exchange for some good conversation. I offered him 'due euro' for it and he reluctantly lowered his price from the original 'cinque'. We talked for a while. He told us he was from Bangladesh and had been in Florence for only 5 months. He had been told he could come to Italy and find work, but quickly realized that he couldn't find the jobs he had been promised due to his immigration status. He held a bachelors and masters degree from India where he worked for an American company 12 hours a day. He eagerly showed us his 'Lenny Fashions' ID with a slight smile. He told us he barely made any money there despite the long work hours and couldn't support his mother, father, and sister. In Italy, he lived with several other Indian men paying 150 euro for a place to sleep and 100 for food per month. There was a sense of honesty in his face; a melancholy that filled his eyes. We walked away and turned to pay him the full 5 euro for the toy we had just bought at discount. He refused the money...we insisted.

An exciting new friendship was around the corner (literally). We sat on a bench to watch the African street sellers with their knock off purses. One of them approched me offering a real Prada, which I could smell for proof of the authentic leather. I told him I had bought one the day before (not exactly true) and he walked away. He later returned for small talk so we exchanged names and nationalities. He was from Senegal and spoke a very small amount of English. We communicated in broken Italian, broken English, and hand gestures. He told us of his 'moglie' back in Senegal which he will see in 2008. We learned he came by plane and not by taking the treacherous water route many of them do. He had a bambino. He had lived in Valencia for a couple of weeks and in Florence for a year. Our conversation went on for a while interrupted by his need to attend to potential customers and the ocassional police look out. We met his 'fratello', Samba, who spoke better English. After some time, we decided to give him some cash as a parting gift. The gratitude was shining right through his eyes. He didn't know how to express it but we understood each other. He gave us his phone number so we could call him next time in Florence. Since, Cherk has texted us to see how we are doing.

We're out of time at this internet cafe, but will soon write about the wonders of Rome...so grand!

In Rome...

...but without internet access. We'll post pictures every now and then when we can find a signal in our apt.
Stay tuned, though...
Having a great time in Roma.
Ciao!