Pat Anderson
New member
Well, really!! "Now they have automobiles" is what they call in boxing leading with your jaw!!
Trip of a lifetime...
- Thread starter rogerbum
- Start date
Pat Anderson
New member
Roger - when you go to Amalfi, be sure to get some limoncello crema in Sorrento!! I wish I had the U.S. franchise for that stuff (Patty - no comment here, please!)
Not too many hashmarks! Decided to get a job after 37 years...
Really enjoyed Italy. Germany not so much fun in 1946/7, but have been back since and enjoyed Munich. When they make beer as good as Pat and David I'll go back. :wink: :wink:
And I don't worry about Pat jerking my chain once in a while... Patty is my buddy, and she'll pop him up 'longside the head if he gets too far out. And I gotta be careful -- lose my place at the head of the line when we break out the barrel.
Dusty
Really enjoyed Italy. Germany not so much fun in 1946/7, but have been back since and enjoyed Munich. When they make beer as good as Pat and David I'll go back. :wink: :wink:
And I don't worry about Pat jerking my chain once in a while... Patty is my buddy, and she'll pop him up 'longside the head if he gets too far out. And I gotta be careful -- lose my place at the head of the line when we break out the barrel.
Dusty
Pat Anderson
New member
Dusty - you are always at the head of the line with us, you can count on it!
Well, we're in Frankfurt on an overnight stop over before returning home today. So here's the rest of the story. Unfortunately, my camera died in Florence, so I don't have photos of the last day.
Day 14 (Sat.): We took a passenger ferry from Napoli to Amalfi. There was a little weather system in the mediteranian so the water for 3' swells with 1-2' of wind waves on top. A little bit of a bumpy ride in the twin jet catamaran ferry but not too bad. We had a nice ride over in sunny weather with several stops along the way to pick-up/drop off passengers - Seiano-Vico Equense, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi. The water was too rough to land in Positano so we jsut saw it on the way past. Got into Amalfi around 10:30AM and after some brief reconnaissance, it was quickly realized we didn't want to walk up the 1/2 mile hill on the narrow road with all the luggage in tow and we took a taxi to the hotel - hotel Miramalfi. What a place! It's located on a cliff about 1km out of the main town. On the way down the cliff side is a salt water pool, a restaurant and at the very bottom access to the mediteranian from a small patio with beach chairs and a ladder into the water. All the rooms have balconies looking over the mediteranian. From our balcony it was maybe 100' down and 30' out to the water. If it wasn't for the railing (and the fact that the fall might kill me), a good run from the door and a leap, and I would land in the water.
Here's a picture from the balcony looking to the West
and here's an evening shot of Joyce on the balcony looking to the east towards town.
.
This area is absolutely the prettiest populated place I have ever been to (I've seen some prettier places in the wilderness).
Took a swim in the salt water pool, walked into town and visited the church and bought a nice bottle of Antinori Marchese Chianti, some cheese, crackers and prosciutto. That was our dinner which we had on the balcony as the sun was setting to our right. Just wonderful.
Day 15 (Sunday). Walked into town and arrange for a scooter rental. It was about 65 euros for 24 hours including insurance (but I couldn't really read the contract in Italian so who knows).... It certainly was a risk to rent a scooter and drive the coast line with all the crazy italian drivers there but WTH, you only live once and there is no better way to see the coast. As an aside, we also looked into boat rental which was also reasonably priced and readily available but that would be more fun for me than Joyce and the scooter was a real adventure.
We spent the day zooming up and down the coast on our 125cc Piaggio "Liberty Scooter". We stopped at the "Emerald Grotto" about 5 miles outside of Amalfi. This is a limestone cave with an underwater opening to the Mediteranian. Sunlight floods in from the opening creating an emerald color to the water. You take an elevator down the cliff and a boatman rows you around the inside of the maybe 150' diameter cave. Lots of stalagtites, very pretty, a bit of hokey commentary but fun none-the-less.
From there we ran down to Positano and had a brief visit and then came bac through Praino where we stopped for lunch. After a fabulous 1.5 hour italian lunch, we returned to the hotel for an afternoon swim and (you guessed it) a brief nap. We then took the scooter up to Ravello. Ravello is a hill side town that is exceedingly pretty. Lot's of old villas/palaces with gardens that you can tour, a few nice churches and very pretty views of many of the coastal town. It was a tough ride going up with lots of switchbacks, blind corners etc but we made it with one little incident - no accident, injury or anything but did cross into the oncoming lane when I didn't intend to and wound up taking a breather on the opposite shoulder. We went more slowly after that. But as I said, you only live once and the scooter was FUN!!! Here's a shot of the two of us on the scooter.
We returned the scooter around 9PM on Sat evening and had a nice pizza for dinner.
Day 16 (Mon). Got up early to catch our tour bus to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. You really haven't seen quality driving until you see a guy take a bus of 42 people down the Amalfi coast. Many of the corners are blind and tight and the buas needs all of both lane to make the turns. A few honks on the horn and around we'd go. If cars we're coming in the other direction, they'd darn well better be ready to get out of the way - even if that meant back up a 100 yards. At times, we passed opposing trafic with only 1" to spare. There's no way I could have driven a car on that road, much less a bus. The bus drivers are really talented. Anyway, we took a guided tour through Pompeii. It was fairly hot and the tour was brief (only about 2.5 hours in Pompeii itself) but it was a place I had always wanted to see.
We saw a few of the plaster casts of people who were buried by ash in the 79AD eruption. With the amount of population that currently lives very close to this still very active volcano, I commented to Joyce that some people might as well make their own plaster casts now.... It's amazing that people have built houses surrounding Pompeii (and other areas at the base of the volcano) when the evidence of what a big eruption can do is so nearby, so "fresh", so graphic and so terrifying. After a terrible, tourist trap, tour picked lunch, the tour bus drove to Mt Vesuvius and took us up to near the top. Then it was a 3/4 mile walk uphill to the crater and a walkway around the crater's edge. Very pretty views of the coast, Napoli, Sorrento, Capri etc. from there. Returned in the late afternoon and had a fabulous dinner at the hotel.
Day 17 (Tues). Took the early AM (6:30 departure) bus from Amalfi to Salerno where we caught the train to Florence. The train was delayed a bit along the way but we made it to Florence (Firenze in Italian) but mid afternoon. We found our hotel, check in and cooled down a bit. I booked Hotel Brunneleschi which is about 2-3 blocks from the main duomo or church in Florence. Brunneschi is the name of the architect/artist who built the dome at the church. It's amazing the kind of construction they were able to do 100's of years ago. This dome is 42 meters (about 138') wide at it's base and was constructed entirely of bricks between 1420 and 1436. It's a really amazing construction.
We climbed the 414 steps up the adjacent bell tower and also visited the adjacent baptistry. The baptistry is an octagonal building with a beautiful dome that is covered in frescoes. A huge image of christ occupies 1/8 of the fresco with one hand (his right) welcoming the blessed into heaven (another 1/8 of the ceiling) and the other casting the damned into hell (another 1/8 of the ceiling). The remaining portions of the fresco recount a history of the earth from creation (with Adam and eve) to about 1400AD. Very pretty. Unfortunately, my camera died while we were up in the bell tower so I have limited pictures from Florence. Oh well, I needed an excuse to buy a new one anyway.
Day 18 (Wed). This was one of the better days of the trip as I had arranged to go on a small group tour to wineries in the Chianti region. We met our guide and 6 other people (one couple and one family of 4) at 10AM and headed off. The van had a flat so after a brief delay to change the tire, we arrived in the Florentine hills subregion of the Chianti and visited a winery in a castle (Trebiano) formerly owned by the Pazzi family. This is the family that in concert with the pope, plotted to kill Lorenzo Medici and his brother at easter mass in 1478. They only got the brother and the castel was taken over by the Medici and later handed over to the church as part of plan by Lorenzo to win the pope over (reducing the likelihood of future attempts on his life). It's now owned by a small family that runs the winery and produces local olive oil. We tasted a few Chianti's a white blend and some fabulous olive oil. I purchased a number of bottles to take home.
Then it was on to another small winery (Selvapiana) in the Rufina sub region of Chianti. We had a fabulous lunch, visited the vines and the olive trees and tasted 2 chianti's, a super Tuscan and a dessert wine. Of course, I left with more bottles. We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon and, as I had planned prior to leaving Seattle, purchased a cheap hard sided suitacase to take the wine home (all total 6 -0.75l bottles, 3 375ml bottles and one bottle of olive oil. Got things packed up and had a nice dinner at Gusta Vino, a small enoteca in florence. We both had gespacho that was to die for and Florentine steaks with a nice chianti to accompany the meal.
Day 19 (Thurs). This was just a long travel day. Train from Florence to Milano (again the train was delayed by about 1.5 hours). Then a bus from downtown Milano to Malpensa airport, then a flight to Frankfurt. Weather delayed that flight so we got into Frakfurt about 8PM instead of 6. Checked into a swanky hotel ("The Pure"), and am here now (Day 20, Fri) in the AM awaiting the 9:30 taxi ride back to the airport for the return to Seattle. It's been a great trip and thanks for allowing me to share it with you all.
(Pat - I didn't bring you any crema limoncello but I do have a recipe to make some at home - I'll try it out and when I perfect it, I'll bottle some up for you).
Day 14 (Sat.): We took a passenger ferry from Napoli to Amalfi. There was a little weather system in the mediteranian so the water for 3' swells with 1-2' of wind waves on top. A little bit of a bumpy ride in the twin jet catamaran ferry but not too bad. We had a nice ride over in sunny weather with several stops along the way to pick-up/drop off passengers - Seiano-Vico Equense, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi. The water was too rough to land in Positano so we jsut saw it on the way past. Got into Amalfi around 10:30AM and after some brief reconnaissance, it was quickly realized we didn't want to walk up the 1/2 mile hill on the narrow road with all the luggage in tow and we took a taxi to the hotel - hotel Miramalfi. What a place! It's located on a cliff about 1km out of the main town. On the way down the cliff side is a salt water pool, a restaurant and at the very bottom access to the mediteranian from a small patio with beach chairs and a ladder into the water. All the rooms have balconies looking over the mediteranian. From our balcony it was maybe 100' down and 30' out to the water. If it wasn't for the railing (and the fact that the fall might kill me), a good run from the door and a leap, and I would land in the water.
Here's a picture from the balcony looking to the West
and here's an evening shot of Joyce on the balcony looking to the east towards town.
.This area is absolutely the prettiest populated place I have ever been to (I've seen some prettier places in the wilderness).
Took a swim in the salt water pool, walked into town and visited the church and bought a nice bottle of Antinori Marchese Chianti, some cheese, crackers and prosciutto. That was our dinner which we had on the balcony as the sun was setting to our right. Just wonderful.
Day 15 (Sunday). Walked into town and arrange for a scooter rental. It was about 65 euros for 24 hours including insurance (but I couldn't really read the contract in Italian so who knows).... It certainly was a risk to rent a scooter and drive the coast line with all the crazy italian drivers there but WTH, you only live once and there is no better way to see the coast. As an aside, we also looked into boat rental which was also reasonably priced and readily available but that would be more fun for me than Joyce and the scooter was a real adventure.
We spent the day zooming up and down the coast on our 125cc Piaggio "Liberty Scooter". We stopped at the "Emerald Grotto" about 5 miles outside of Amalfi. This is a limestone cave with an underwater opening to the Mediteranian. Sunlight floods in from the opening creating an emerald color to the water. You take an elevator down the cliff and a boatman rows you around the inside of the maybe 150' diameter cave. Lots of stalagtites, very pretty, a bit of hokey commentary but fun none-the-less.
From there we ran down to Positano and had a brief visit and then came bac through Praino where we stopped for lunch. After a fabulous 1.5 hour italian lunch, we returned to the hotel for an afternoon swim and (you guessed it) a brief nap. We then took the scooter up to Ravello. Ravello is a hill side town that is exceedingly pretty. Lot's of old villas/palaces with gardens that you can tour, a few nice churches and very pretty views of many of the coastal town. It was a tough ride going up with lots of switchbacks, blind corners etc but we made it with one little incident - no accident, injury or anything but did cross into the oncoming lane when I didn't intend to and wound up taking a breather on the opposite shoulder. We went more slowly after that. But as I said, you only live once and the scooter was FUN!!! Here's a shot of the two of us on the scooter.
We returned the scooter around 9PM on Sat evening and had a nice pizza for dinner.
Day 16 (Mon). Got up early to catch our tour bus to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. You really haven't seen quality driving until you see a guy take a bus of 42 people down the Amalfi coast. Many of the corners are blind and tight and the buas needs all of both lane to make the turns. A few honks on the horn and around we'd go. If cars we're coming in the other direction, they'd darn well better be ready to get out of the way - even if that meant back up a 100 yards. At times, we passed opposing trafic with only 1" to spare. There's no way I could have driven a car on that road, much less a bus. The bus drivers are really talented. Anyway, we took a guided tour through Pompeii. It was fairly hot and the tour was brief (only about 2.5 hours in Pompeii itself) but it was a place I had always wanted to see.
We saw a few of the plaster casts of people who were buried by ash in the 79AD eruption. With the amount of population that currently lives very close to this still very active volcano, I commented to Joyce that some people might as well make their own plaster casts now.... It's amazing that people have built houses surrounding Pompeii (and other areas at the base of the volcano) when the evidence of what a big eruption can do is so nearby, so "fresh", so graphic and so terrifying. After a terrible, tourist trap, tour picked lunch, the tour bus drove to Mt Vesuvius and took us up to near the top. Then it was a 3/4 mile walk uphill to the crater and a walkway around the crater's edge. Very pretty views of the coast, Napoli, Sorrento, Capri etc. from there. Returned in the late afternoon and had a fabulous dinner at the hotel.
Day 17 (Tues). Took the early AM (6:30 departure) bus from Amalfi to Salerno where we caught the train to Florence. The train was delayed a bit along the way but we made it to Florence (Firenze in Italian) but mid afternoon. We found our hotel, check in and cooled down a bit. I booked Hotel Brunneleschi which is about 2-3 blocks from the main duomo or church in Florence. Brunneschi is the name of the architect/artist who built the dome at the church. It's amazing the kind of construction they were able to do 100's of years ago. This dome is 42 meters (about 138') wide at it's base and was constructed entirely of bricks between 1420 and 1436. It's a really amazing construction.
We climbed the 414 steps up the adjacent bell tower and also visited the adjacent baptistry. The baptistry is an octagonal building with a beautiful dome that is covered in frescoes. A huge image of christ occupies 1/8 of the fresco with one hand (his right) welcoming the blessed into heaven (another 1/8 of the ceiling) and the other casting the damned into hell (another 1/8 of the ceiling). The remaining portions of the fresco recount a history of the earth from creation (with Adam and eve) to about 1400AD. Very pretty. Unfortunately, my camera died while we were up in the bell tower so I have limited pictures from Florence. Oh well, I needed an excuse to buy a new one anyway.
Day 18 (Wed). This was one of the better days of the trip as I had arranged to go on a small group tour to wineries in the Chianti region. We met our guide and 6 other people (one couple and one family of 4) at 10AM and headed off. The van had a flat so after a brief delay to change the tire, we arrived in the Florentine hills subregion of the Chianti and visited a winery in a castle (Trebiano) formerly owned by the Pazzi family. This is the family that in concert with the pope, plotted to kill Lorenzo Medici and his brother at easter mass in 1478. They only got the brother and the castel was taken over by the Medici and later handed over to the church as part of plan by Lorenzo to win the pope over (reducing the likelihood of future attempts on his life). It's now owned by a small family that runs the winery and produces local olive oil. We tasted a few Chianti's a white blend and some fabulous olive oil. I purchased a number of bottles to take home.
Then it was on to another small winery (Selvapiana) in the Rufina sub region of Chianti. We had a fabulous lunch, visited the vines and the olive trees and tasted 2 chianti's, a super Tuscan and a dessert wine. Of course, I left with more bottles. We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon and, as I had planned prior to leaving Seattle, purchased a cheap hard sided suitacase to take the wine home (all total 6 -0.75l bottles, 3 375ml bottles and one bottle of olive oil. Got things packed up and had a nice dinner at Gusta Vino, a small enoteca in florence. We both had gespacho that was to die for and Florentine steaks with a nice chianti to accompany the meal.
Day 19 (Thurs). This was just a long travel day. Train from Florence to Milano (again the train was delayed by about 1.5 hours). Then a bus from downtown Milano to Malpensa airport, then a flight to Frankfurt. Weather delayed that flight so we got into Frakfurt about 8PM instead of 6. Checked into a swanky hotel ("The Pure"), and am here now (Day 20, Fri) in the AM awaiting the 9:30 taxi ride back to the airport for the return to Seattle. It's been a great trip and thanks for allowing me to share it with you all.
(Pat - I didn't bring you any crema limoncello but I do have a recipe to make some at home - I'll try it out and when I perfect it, I'll bottle some up for you).