Italian Holiday :: Day 8 :: Naples (Cruise)

This morning, we had a lovely lazy sleep-in with breakfast in bed.  We had ordered our Australian newspaper to be delivered each morning, when we first arrived on board, although for some reason we couldn't get the Herald Sun, only The Age.  So, we sat in bed eating croissants and drinking cuppas whilst catching up on a bit of news from home.

At 11:15, the ship docked in Naples and we met Shane & Zoe in the Sports Bar, where we joined about ten other people to go on a bus trip through Naples, past Mt Vesuvius to Pompeii and then to Sorrento.

Shane is on the right and Zoe next to him, talking with our guide.

Pompeii was amazing!  A whole city of 20,000 which was covered by a 5m layer of ash in one day when the Mt Vesuvius volcano erupted in 79AD.  Most of the inhabitants had a day's warning and evacuated, but some chose not to for some reason and about 2,000 were killed by the toxic cloud in 1-1/2 to 2 minutes, before they were covered in the ash.

The archeologists who uncovered the city were able to recover the bodies by filling the cavity where the ash had hardened around them with liquid plaster and making a mold of their shape.

There were models of a man ...

Thus, rather than remains of skeletons, there are models of the full bodies of the victims on display.

... a pregnant woman ...

... and a young boy (approximately 16 yo),
who died in a fetal position with
his hands covering his nose and mouth. 

... the temple of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun and music,
where there is a sun dial (on top of the white pillar) ...

We also saw lots of different buildings of this ancient city, which has been preserved by the layer of ash over the centuries ...

... some of the streets were for one-way traffic only as they were
not wide enough to handle two chariots and the direction
of traffic was indicated by a picture of a goat on the wall,
with its head pointing which way to drive ...

... a bath house with rooms for cool, warm and hot baths,
which the patrons would process through in order,
and then return to the cool bath before leaving ...

... a bakery with oven and flour mills ...

... water fountains in the streets with
different pictures on them, to help
the inhabitants locate themselves
in the city (I think the tap may have
been added later!) ...

... and a brothel with a sign of a penis.

After a couple of hours of winding through this fantastic archeological site, we went to a nearby restaurant for lunch and met with a lovely couple of ladies on our tour - Brenda & Mary - who were from the Isle of Man, near England.  They were able to tell us all about the major motorcycle grand prix which is held every May on their island, which was extremely interesting, especially for Shane & Wayne.  They, and many other residents on the island, let their homes as B&Bs to guests during the time, as there are over 20,000 visitors during the two weeks of the race.



After lunch, we reboarded our bus and travelled to the seaside town of Sorrento, where we had an hour or so of free time to explore and shop.

Zoe & I bought some gorgeous leather bags, and we saw some beautiful inlaid wood pieces, clocks, tables, musical boxes and much more.  We looked through clothes shops and ate delicious ice cream cones and had a really fun time.


Just after 5:00pm, we gathered again and climbed on the bus for our trip back to the ship.  I had a light tea in the Yacht Club buffet, while Wayne and I checked our emails and uploaded our photos to the computer, then we met Zoe & Shane for a drink in the Manhattan Bar for a drink.

At 9:00, I went off to bed while the others went to dinner.  I was way too exhausted for that!

Italian Holiday :: Day 7 :: Genoa (Cruise)

The alarm sounded at 3:30am as planned and I showered first.  We finished off the crisp breads, cheese and fruit that we had in our fridge and then finalised the packing of our cases.  The porter arrived on time at 4:30 and we made our way down to the car.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that the hotel had packed a breakfast to take with us - beautiful fresh chocolate croissants, little bottles of pear juice, yoghurt and fruit.  What a nice touch!!  We have been so very happy with our stay at the Villa Belvedere and would easily recommend it to anyone wishing to holiday in Taormina!

We took the motorway south to Catania airport and arrived just before 5:30, dropped the car off in the car hire park and checked-in for our 7:00am flight to Rome.  It was disappointing to discover that, although the combined weight of my suitcase and toiletries bag was well under the required 23kg, there was a charge for having more than one piece of luggage.  We hadn't expected this as, in Australia and on the Emirates flights through Singapore and Dubai, it didn't matter how many pieces we had, so long as they didn't exceed the weight limit.  We were charged €63 (about $80) for that little bag and I has very upset about that, as the zip had broken the night before and I had fiddled with it for a long while before I could shut it.  During the "fiddling" we had discussed whether or not to bother taking it and to just pack everything into the suitcase and throw the toiletries bag out (it was about five years old and had seen a lot of duty!).  Now, of course, I wish we had done that!

The flight to Rome was a quick one, about one hour, and there was a brief transfer onto the next flight at 9:30am to Genoa.  We landed, collected our luggage and took a taxi through Genoa to the port, where our beautiful cruise liner awaited us.


A couple of days ago, Wayne had received an email from MSC, the cruise company, to say that we had received an upgrade and when we arrived, we were delighted to find that we were now members of the exclusive first class "Yacht Club"!


We were attended to by a young man who introduced himself to us as his "butler" and we were whisked past the long queues of guests waiting to embark and up to a special lounge where we were served champaign and hors d'oeuvres whilst our butler dealt with all the details of checking-in for us.

Then, we were escorted up to the fifteenth floor at the front of the ship, to an exclusive place only for Yacht Club members and shown to our cabin.






It was very beautiful with a lovely balcony and there was a platter of fruit and a bottle of champaign awaiting us.







Our butler gave us a quick tour of the Yacht Club area, including our own exclusive restaurant and pool, which had not one, but TWO jacuzzis, and then he bade farewell and we were left to settle-in.




After we had unpacked, we went back up to the pool, where there was a bar which catered for lunch and we stayed there for an hour or so, chatting with a German couple called Klaus and Heidi.




They were veterans of the cruise world, this being their 79th cruise!!  They had begun cruising about ten years ago and admitted to being addicted to it.  They took on average 8-10 cruises a year!   As we chatted, we discovered that he was a doctor who owned six different GP clinics in Germany.

There were many different bars ...

After lunch, I went back to the cabin for a little nap and Wayne went exploring the ship.

... and lounges ...

... and bars ...

... and lounges.

We had been advised when we were embarking that there would be an emergency drill for everyone on the ship just after 4:00pm, so we were ready in the cabin with our life jackets for that.

We had to go down to the 7th floor to our Assembly Point, where we had to hand-in a little card to prove we had attended the drill and we were shown how to put on our life jackets.



Then everyone could return to whatever they were doing beforehand.  We took our life jackets back to the cabin and then went to find our good friends Shane & Zoe, who had initiated our whole trip by inviting us to join them on this cruise, way back last year.

Shane & Zoe left Melbourne earlier than us, in early September and had already travelled through Greece, Turkey and Croatia on various tours, ending up with a cruise of the Greek Isles and eastern Italy, disembarking this morning in Venice.  It was the same cruise company (MSC) that we were taking this cruise with and they provided them (and some other guests) with a connecting bus from Venice, across the top of Italy to Genoa (which was a 5-1/2 hour winding ride through the alps) and they arrived at about 3:30, just in time for the emergency drill.

So, when we knocked on their cabin door, they were still unpacking their cases and settling into their cabin.  We went together down to the buffet on the 6th floor to have some late lunch and drinks and to chat about our travels over the past week(s).  Zoe & Shane had not been as fortunate as us and had not received the same upgrade, which was a shame because we had asked earlier and had been told we could not invite guests up to the Yacht Club.  It was an easy decision to make to stay with them in the main section of the ship for our dinner that evening.

At 5:30 we went to a presentation about all the shore excursions that were available at the various ports during our cruise and then Zoe & I went shopping in the duty free shops.  I didn't see anything I wanted, but Zoe bought some nice flat shoes that would be comfortable for walking in during our shore excursions.  She had already worn out the walking shoes she had brought with her from Melbourne!

Then we met up again with Wayne & Shane at the theatre to view a musical performance called "Made in Italy", which was quite good, after which we made our way to the booking desk to arrange our excursion in Naples for tomorrow.



Once our booking was completed, we went to the "Red Velvet" restaurant for dinner.  There was an Italian theme, this evening and on the menu was an amazing amount of food - all included in our initial cost so we didn't have to pay.  We could have all or any of the following: calamari, minestrone, insalade (salad), tagliatone, osso bucco, eggplant parmigiana, a cheese platter and rum baba for dessert.  We each had a small selection from this huge offering and some lovely Italian wine.  Some actors came around, dressed up as typical Italian waiters and we had our photos taken with them.  The rum baba was processed in by the waiters while we all cheered and waved our red, white & green napkins in the air and sang classic Italian songs.

Then it was time to return to our cabins and fall into bed!

Italian Holiday :: Day 6 :: Resting by the Pool

Today, we decided to have a rest day with no excursion, but just to relax and rest.  Wayne went down to breakfast at about 9:00am, but I slept-in until about 10:00 and just had some fruit and yoghurt in the hotel room with a cup of tea.  It was good to not have to do anything or be anywhere important and to just "cogitate" as my Mum calls it.  It gave me an opportunity to write up my blog for yesterday, which was a big one, and to give my body a break from all the activity of the past few days.

Wayne still wanted to look around the town of Taormina a little, so he went walking in the morning and then we met at the hotel pool in the afternoon.

The pool bar offered snacks, so we just lay in the warm sunshine, shaded by the beautiful olive trees that surrounded the pool, for the whole afternoon.

We chatted with other guests and shared our different stories of touring and watched the boats coming in and out of the bay, which is called Giardini Naxos.  It was a beautiful way to finish this leg of our journey!



As the sun began to set, we gathered up our belongings and made our way back to our room.  We would be departing Taormina very early tomorrow morning, so Wayne took some final photos of the room from outside, looking up at me on the top (4th) floor balcony, and of our little hired Fiat.





















Then we went inside to pack our cases and prepare for our early departure the next morning.  Wayne went down to the Reception to check-out, pick up the car key and to ensure that the Fiat would be positioned for easy exit in the morning, as we thought that, at 4:30am, there would be no staff available and that we would just load our cases into the car and leave.  However, he was advised by the Receptionist that they were quite used to guests having to leave at that time and the night porter would not only be available to assist with the car, but would come to our room at 4:30 to take our luggage for us.

We had a light tea of crisp breads, soft cheese, wine and fruit and went to bed early at about 9:00pm, setting the alarm for 3:30 the next morning.

Italian Holiday :: Day 5 :: Mt Etna, Sicily

Thank goodness ... an unbroken night's sleep at last!  I think I have finally overcome jet lag.  We woke at a reasonably early time of 6:30am and went down for breakfast at 7:30.  At 8:30, we were picked up by our tour guide for the day, Egidio Ferraro, who took us on an amazing excursion to Mt Etna.

First, we drove up the mountainside and through Egidio's home town of Linguaglossa.  There were lots of orchards there, growing oranges, lemons, limes, grapes, olives and prickly pear (which has a delicious fruit, if you can get to the flesh!).

Egidio explained that during the last great eruption of the volcano in October 2002, lava flowed to within 20 metres of the closest house in this town.

While we were there, Egidio bought us each a confectionary which is a speciality of this town - Pasta di Nicciola.  It was like a hazlenut macaroon - scrumptious!!

We drove higher up the north face of Mt Etna and as the temperature dropped, the landscape and vegetation began to change.  We saw oak trees (three different types), chestnuts, pines, ferns, Scotch broom and birch (which is unique in this area and found nowhere else in Southern Italy).

Then we stopped to explore some caves which had been formed by lava flows.  These caves were very old and were called "Robbers Caves" because legend has it that robbers would hide in them when they were being pursued by the law.

We had to wear hard hats because the ceilings of the caves were very low and were covered with stalactites which were quite sharp.  It was very dark and cool down there and water dripped from the stalactites onto the stone floor, making a plop, plop sound - quite eerie!

The caves were quite deep, but luckily there had been some steps carved into some of them, making it a little easier to enter and exit.

While the lava was flowing underground, forming the caves, there would sometimes be a build-up of steam which would explode up through the earth to the surface, forming long thin chimneys.

After we had explored the caves for a while, we headed further up the mountain to about 1750m high and stopped in at a place called Rifugio Citelli, where we stopped for a cuppa.  We were at the base of the Sud Est Crater and the view of the lava flow was incredible!

The manager there was named Riccardo and he was extremely friendly.  We told him our son's name was the English version of his - Richard.

Riccardo was very proud to show us his display of gourmet preserves, jams and jellies by a local company called Terre Nere and we were delighted when he offered us a tasting!

There were the most wonderful pots of things like Arance Sanguinello con Miele di Zagara e Pistacchi (sounds fantastic, doesn't it?), which is a marmalade of Sanguinello oranges with orange blossom honey and pistachios, and Marsala con Miele Millefiori e Cioccolato Fondente (I just kept asking him what they were called, because I liked hearing the sound of them!), which is a wine jelly of Marsala with wild flower honey and dark chocolate.

We eventually bought two yummy little pots:  Amarene con Miele di Zagara e Nero d'Avola (black cherries with orange blossom honey and Nero d'Avola wine) and Crema di Castagne con Miele di Zagara Cannella e Caffe (chestnut cream with orange blossom honey cinnamon and coffee) - Wayne's choice, but absolutely delicious!  I could have eaten the whole pot with a spoon!

Riccardo gave us a brochure which explained about these jams, jellies and conserves.  We read that Terre Nere sourced its ingredients only from small, local producers on Mt Etna and respected the natural rhythm of the seasons, never using frozen or green housed, but only freshly-picked fruit.  They also use only natural preservatives and sweeteners, like sugar, honey and freshly-squeezed lemon juice.  We're always happy to support the small, local farmers!!

These are both images from Google ...

Then, it was onward and upward!!  We passed a place where the 2002 lava flow destroyed a whole village called Piano Provenzana (luckily the residents had enough warning to evacuate and no one was killed!) ...

... we didn't actually take them (of course)!

We took this one, though - this is all that's left of the village!

... and stopped at the base of a large crater called Frumento delle Concazze.

Huff, puff ... must go back to the gym when we get home!

Here we hopped out and trekked up the side of one of the seventy small craters that have formed on the mountain.  This one had lava from an eruption in 1865 and Egidio explained that sometimes the magma explosions would go up to 2km into the air!

Even though there was barely any vegetation this high up, apart from pine trees (which Egidio explained were used not only for their timber, but also for their resin), we discovered goats high up on these craters.




I thought at first they were wild goats, but Egidio pointed out their collars and bells and explained that they were owned by local dairy farmers who made various delicious goats cheeses.

When we reached the top of this crater, the view was spectacular and it was so beautifully quiet and tranquil!  There was almost absolute silence, apart from the gentle whistling of the wind through the pines, the distant twittering of some little birds, the bleating of the goats and the gentle clanging of their brass collar bells.

The atmosphere was incredible and as the breeze was warm (being early Autumn in southern Italy), I could have stayed there for hours!

But, after about 15 minutes of standing and absorbing this superb atmosphere, Egidio said there was more to see and we must move on.  So we returned to the car and headed off, further up the mountain and stopped at the base of the chair lift, where there are some cafes and tourist-type shops which had been rebuilt since 2002.

From here, Wayne and I had the opportunity to take the chairlift even further up the mountain ...

... where we were able to see at even closer-hand the incredible destructive force of the eruption and lava flows.

Again, we were struck by the silence of the place, as we drifted upwards on the cable ...







... the seat swinging gently in the warm breeze ...

... and I contemplated how wonderful life is and important it is to appreciate it fully and get the most out of it while we can, as it can all be swept away in an instant.

Mariella & Jessica demonstrating how to eat sausage.

Once we had returned to the bottom of the chair lift, we rejoined Egidio in the cafe for lunch.  I had a toasted cheese foccacia and Egidio and Wayne sampled a locally made pork sausage salsiccia al ceppo, cooked especially for them by Mariella and Jessica in the cafe.  Egidio explained that Mariella and Jessica were his cousins and for some reason that I was incapable of comprehending, it was necessary for these young girls to demonstrate how to eat the sausage while Wayne and Egidio stood and watched.

Edigio and Veronica.

After lunch, we went next door to visit Veronica (apparently another cousin of Egidio's - I think I'm perceiving a pattern here!), to enjoy a tasting of locally produced wines, liqueurs and conserves.  They were delicious and we purchased a lovely pot of Crema Spalmabile al Pistacchio - which tasted like a better, creamier Nuttella - and a bottle of Fichera Crema di Pistacchio - a liqueur made from pistachio nuts which was absolutely magnificent - like a rich nutty Baileys!!

Veronica was a really lovely person and I enjoyed her showing us her wares, which included a surprising collection of trinkets, souvenirs and jewellery made from the lava itself!  I fell in love with a gorgeous lava & pearl necklace with matching earrings and bracelet - so unique and a special memento of our day on Mt Etna (the lava) and our seaside holiday in Taormina (the pearls).  The contrast between the cool, shiny pearls and the warm, slightly rough lava which seems to absorb light is most stunning!  Whenever I wear this jewellery, I will be reminded of the wonderful time we had here.

Then is was time to head off back down the mountain, but not before popping in to visit yet another of Egidio's cousins, Salvo and his lovely donkeys who would have taken us on a donkey trek of the mountain, had we wished.

Apparently, the wearing of flat caps is a requirement when taking photos with Salvo's donkeys.

So, off down the mountain road we went, taking in more amazing views of lava flows as well as some medieval villages like Castiglione di Sicilia, which is built into the side of the mountain out of calcary stone and has 2,500 inhabitants.





We stopped on the way home to take in the Alcantara Gorge, another feature of the landscape which was forged by the lava flows ...








... and then we were dropped back to our hotel at 4:00pm - just in time to put our feet up and appreciate the day with a hot cuppa!













Egidio Ferraro was a wonderful host to us today and he is a lovely young man.  Even though he has taken ten lessons already, his English is not yet fluent, but he was able to give us all the information we required to really understand the experiences we were taking in.  He was generous enough to share with us information about his own life and his lovely young family and he and Wayne also compared the ownership of a small business in Australia and Italy.  I would have to say that having Egidio as our guide was an enriching experience.

Egidio's business is called Alternative Etna and he offers not only guided tours of Mt Etna, but also airport transfers and other more energetic experiences on the mountain like mountain-bike riding and cross-country skiing in the Winter.  I would have no hesitation in recommending him, should you find yourself in the Catania region (www.alternativetna.com).

Later in the evening, Wayne popped out to one of the local providori and picked up some lovely local crisp breads, cheeses, olives, proscuito, wine and fruit and we had a picnic on our bed.  The balcony doors were open and the curtains were drifting lazily in the warm breeze.  All of a sudden, the sounds of Beethoven and Mozart came booming through the doors and we wondered what on earth was happening.  We went out onto the balcony to see a fireworks display down on the bay, accompanied by classical music which was bouncing against the hills like a natural amphitheatre and coming straight into our room.  We stood there, wine glasses in hand, thoroughly enjoying this unexpected performance which finished off our amazing day just perfectly!