Great pics again thanks
Lord and Lady Snooty's European Wanders in a MB SLK
- Thread starter Lord Snooty
- Start date
Sorry for the radio silence all. We've been in an Airbn in Sorrento for the last three nights and whilst i was able to connect my phone to the WiFi for some reason the laptop just would not play ball. We are just north of Florence now and tomorrow we are Rive Del Garda for two days so I hope to post an update and pics then, particularly of our visit to Pompeii ruins which is just beyond words.
Thank goodness for that....we were wondering what had happened to you and where were Look forward to more .
This has been great to follow, the journey, characters, write up and photos, just the tonic for a cold February here 
Thanks
Thanks
Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Pompeii
Picking up the thread, the last update was when we stopped at Lagonegro (Black Lake) for a one night stopover after leaving Sicily. It was a very good hotel actually very modern, there were no light switches in the rooms, it was all hi-tech touch panels. The distance to cover that day was only 109 miles to Piano Dei Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. The plan was to come off the Autostrada at Salerno and follow the famed Amalfi coast line, from leaving the highway to our AirBnB was only 28 miles but it proved to be slow and tricky.
The road is marked as a green scenic route, for good reason as you are travelling for the most part on high mountain roads with ocean views on the left. However, this is a very tricky road to drive, it consists of bend after bend after bend, most of them very tight and blind, being sat on the right hand side of the car did not help with forward views into the corners. i immediately was wishing to be on a bike with the advantage of positioning to improve view. This became one of the most challenging drives of the trip with large vehicles coming towards us straddling the white lines, locals tight on the rear bumper and seemingly hundreds of suicidal riders on scooters and bigger bikes who revel in overtaking in the corners. As you approach a corner a vehicle is coming towards you and on his outside is a biker, it is clearly local practice as they expect the oncoming car to take necessary avoiding action. A relaxing drive it was not and Her Ladyship was on the edge of a nervo constantly and it was not doing my slightly high blood pressure any good either. It was slow going, on many stretches the speed limit was 19mph, not that the locals bother with such inconveniences.
After about 45 minutes we both needed a break; we descended down to sea level into a town and looked for a cafe and parking - just nothing, busy everywhere. At the next town we pulled off to the left into a car park, it was full, I had to reverse back onto the main road to get out - this was not going well. This was meant to be enjoyable
Eventually further up the mountain the road suddenly opened up and there was a parking area on the right by two shops that specialised in ceramics. The parking area was a viewpoint and there were signs for a Saints Grotto hence the fact that there were quite a few people milling around, obviously a bit of a tourist trap. With relieve we pulled in and had a much needed pee break and a coffee as the ceramics shops both had cafes. Clearly brightly coloured ceramics is a local art form and the goods on display were quite exceptional, if you like that very bright multi-coloured type of thing. We were 15 miles from the digs, I sent a message to the owner telling her our ETA would be about an hour given our progress so far and the fact that we needed a decent time out of the car.
Eventually what had become a mission ended as we found the town.
Thoughts on the Amalfi Coast; I've done it but I would not relish doing it again on four wheels, on two, definitely! Is the scenery all it is cracked up to be, I couldn't tell you as I did not dare take my focus on the traffic, the roads and the two wheelers overtaking me in stupid situations. Just one more thing to put a tick alongside I guess.
We found the place in Piano Dei Sorrento without any problems, at least the roads were proper size and tarmac not medieval cobbles and flagstones. The parking at the apartment block was tight but I managed to reverse the car into a corner slot with plenty of space either side. Stefania and her husband Roberto arrived a few minutes later on a scooter, what else? The apartment was large, bright and roomy, two bedrooms, a decent kitchen, lounge, a balcony with a sea view and most importantly a washing machine - hurrah! Our washing pile had been growing and needed attention. Stefania promised to return later with some washing tabs which she did and also left a bag of home grown lemons. Very kind.
It was still early afternoon so after a bit of a break we decided to go for a walk to the coast and on return pop into a supermarket to buy some scoff for the evening. Google maps showed the coast to about 2ks away, not too bad, so off we went. Sadly, PDS turned out to be disappointing as a town; it was very busy with traffic, the pavements are in some places non-existent or barely wide enough for two people and I have added another rule for driving in Italy. When approaching a Zebra crossing, if there is somebody on the crossing but not yet on your side of the road then accelerate to avoid the necessity of maybe having to stop and let them cross safely.
PDS has nothing of any merit that we could see; nothing historical or architecturally interesting, no prominent buildings, no photo ops. After about 1.5ks of taking our life into our hands we decided that we were not enjoying this so turned back, did the shopping including some alcohol and went back to the apartment. It had been a trying day and we were knackered.
The main virtue of staying in PDS was that it put us in easy reach of Pompeii which we planned to do on the morrow. Something we have wanted to do for many years and we were both excited and looking forward to it immensely. i will cover that in my next post but in the meantime I will give you a flavour of Pompeii with a few photos.
Also, the Scotland v France game is just about to start.
Picking up the thread, the last update was when we stopped at Lagonegro (Black Lake) for a one night stopover after leaving Sicily. It was a very good hotel actually very modern, there were no light switches in the rooms, it was all hi-tech touch panels. The distance to cover that day was only 109 miles to Piano Dei Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast. The plan was to come off the Autostrada at Salerno and follow the famed Amalfi coast line, from leaving the highway to our AirBnB was only 28 miles but it proved to be slow and tricky.
The road is marked as a green scenic route, for good reason as you are travelling for the most part on high mountain roads with ocean views on the left. However, this is a very tricky road to drive, it consists of bend after bend after bend, most of them very tight and blind, being sat on the right hand side of the car did not help with forward views into the corners. i immediately was wishing to be on a bike with the advantage of positioning to improve view. This became one of the most challenging drives of the trip with large vehicles coming towards us straddling the white lines, locals tight on the rear bumper and seemingly hundreds of suicidal riders on scooters and bigger bikes who revel in overtaking in the corners. As you approach a corner a vehicle is coming towards you and on his outside is a biker, it is clearly local practice as they expect the oncoming car to take necessary avoiding action. A relaxing drive it was not and Her Ladyship was on the edge of a nervo constantly and it was not doing my slightly high blood pressure any good either. It was slow going, on many stretches the speed limit was 19mph, not that the locals bother with such inconveniences.
After about 45 minutes we both needed a break; we descended down to sea level into a town and looked for a cafe and parking - just nothing, busy everywhere. At the next town we pulled off to the left into a car park, it was full, I had to reverse back onto the main road to get out - this was not going well. This was meant to be enjoyable
Eventually further up the mountain the road suddenly opened up and there was a parking area on the right by two shops that specialised in ceramics. The parking area was a viewpoint and there were signs for a Saints Grotto hence the fact that there were quite a few people milling around, obviously a bit of a tourist trap. With relieve we pulled in and had a much needed pee break and a coffee as the ceramics shops both had cafes. Clearly brightly coloured ceramics is a local art form and the goods on display were quite exceptional, if you like that very bright multi-coloured type of thing. We were 15 miles from the digs, I sent a message to the owner telling her our ETA would be about an hour given our progress so far and the fact that we needed a decent time out of the car.Eventually what had become a mission ended as we found the town.
Thoughts on the Amalfi Coast; I've done it but I would not relish doing it again on four wheels, on two, definitely! Is the scenery all it is cracked up to be, I couldn't tell you as I did not dare take my focus on the traffic, the roads and the two wheelers overtaking me in stupid situations. Just one more thing to put a tick alongside I guess.
We found the place in Piano Dei Sorrento without any problems, at least the roads were proper size and tarmac not medieval cobbles and flagstones. The parking at the apartment block was tight but I managed to reverse the car into a corner slot with plenty of space either side. Stefania and her husband Roberto arrived a few minutes later on a scooter, what else? The apartment was large, bright and roomy, two bedrooms, a decent kitchen, lounge, a balcony with a sea view and most importantly a washing machine - hurrah! Our washing pile had been growing and needed attention. Stefania promised to return later with some washing tabs which she did and also left a bag of home grown lemons. Very kind.
It was still early afternoon so after a bit of a break we decided to go for a walk to the coast and on return pop into a supermarket to buy some scoff for the evening. Google maps showed the coast to about 2ks away, not too bad, so off we went. Sadly, PDS turned out to be disappointing as a town; it was very busy with traffic, the pavements are in some places non-existent or barely wide enough for two people and I have added another rule for driving in Italy. When approaching a Zebra crossing, if there is somebody on the crossing but not yet on your side of the road then accelerate to avoid the necessity of maybe having to stop and let them cross safely.
PDS has nothing of any merit that we could see; nothing historical or architecturally interesting, no prominent buildings, no photo ops. After about 1.5ks of taking our life into our hands we decided that we were not enjoying this so turned back, did the shopping including some alcohol and went back to the apartment. It had been a trying day and we were knackered.
The main virtue of staying in PDS was that it put us in easy reach of Pompeii which we planned to do on the morrow. Something we have wanted to do for many years and we were both excited and looking forward to it immensely. i will cover that in my next post but in the meantime I will give you a flavour of Pompeii with a few photos.
Also, the Scotland v France game is just about to start.
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Myke Rocks
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When you get to Pompeii, be sure to visit "The house of the Vecchi".
This is not on the route a guide will take you on.
It is stunning.
This is not on the route a guide will take you on.
It is stunning.
Hi Myke, we did Pompeii a couple of days ago, now on Lake Garda, will post another update tomorrow.
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Fantastic...as usual
Hi Myke, we did Pompeii a couple of days ago, now on Lake Garda, will post another update today.
If I'd known, I'd have advised to go to Herculaneum instead. Much more compact and less busy than Pompeii. Maybe not so bad at this time of year right enough!
Pompeii
We put aside our second day in Piano Dei Sorrento to go to the ruins at Pompeii, this has been on my bucket list for a long time and it was with a heightened sense of anticipation that we set off for the 13 mile drive northwards up and around the mountain. I had set the Garmin to take us to a place called Zeus parking, a bit of research on Tripadvisor showed that it was the most convenient if not a little expensive at €3 per hour, still you pay for convenience. Zeus parking is also a camping.caravan site and it is about 100 metres from the site entrance. As we walk towards the main entrance there are ticket offices on the right so we go in and cough up €40 for two tickets and we get given a map. They encourage you to go on a guided tour, for more cash natcho, we refuse, we would much rather just wander and explore for ourselves rather than be tied to a group, besides, there are so many guided tours on the site that all you have to do is latch on to the back of one and earwig and then move on.
We arrive at the main entrance to find out that if we had paid here the cost is €18 per head - DOH! So if you plan to visit, pay at the main entrance. The day is warm, about 15C so we have left the jackets in the car, the temp picks up to 17C during our visit and I end up in shirt sleeves. Whatever your preconceptions about Pompeii from programmes you may have seen nothing really prepares you for just how breathtaking it is. The site is huge and covers, I think, 8 sq ks, we are in for a lot of walking. The second you are through the first gated archway walking up the ancient Roman road your jaw starts to drop, the biggest problem you have is where to point the camera next. As you walk on roads past walls, columns and buildings that were built over two millennium ago.
I will let the photos speak for themselves. It is staggering to think that this city was submerged beneath 6 metres of ash, the sheer task of removing that much debris must have been colossal. In the large open forum you are still walking on the black volcanic ash that caused this cities demise in 79AD. There are archaeologists still on site as we see an area sealed off behind covers where work continues, it will surely be decades if not hundreds of years before this place reveals all of its secrets.
The kerbs are very high, probably 18 inches and I notice that at various points there are large stepping stones across the road to enable the residents to cross the road without stepping down the deep kerbs. The very first example of pedestrian crossings perhaps. The stone have gaps which I assume are the width of a standard Roman cart axle to enable them access also, I did wonder how they trained the horses to step over the stones though. On some roads you can see where the wheels have worn and rutted the road surface. Along some of the roads the buildings appear to be of a single room frontage, some with smaller storage at the back, I suspect that these were shops and these streets are the equivalent of modern town high streets with people selling all sorts of products. Many of them have a counter at the front with sunken amphorae, apparently these were for selling street food, so fast food was invented by the Romans more than 2000 years ago. These were particularly numerous on the road to the ampitheatre. You can imagine the scene on "sports" day when the spectators are walking down the road on the way to see some gladiators do combat and all the fast food sellers hollering to sell you whatever delicacies were considered take away food in those days. No different to walking to a stadium in modern times to watch a footie or rugby match.
Not all of the houses are open to explore but many of the larger ones that were clearly owned by the wealthy of the city are and the state of preservation of the painted murals inside are astonishing. You can see that the plastering/rendering on the stone walls is about 2 inches thick and then painted with everyday scenes, images from legends and gods. Being an interior decorator in those days consisted of a bit more than slapping on some emulsion or paper hanging. The "council" houses did not have such imagery and seemed to make do with the grey stone walling. A feature of the large houses is that you enter into a mini courtyard which is open to the sky and in the centre is a pool into which the rainwater is collected and channelled, the pool has drain holes so the water can drain into a cistern built underneath therefore preserving the fresh water.
On our wanders we find a house with an embossed phallus in a stone outside, possibly a brothel. In another we find the casts of the bodies of the family that were found there, kept behind glass and their twisted poses give some indication of their agony they suffered as they died in the pyroclastic storm that overwhelmed them. We find one of the bakeries with the apparatus for grinding the wheat into flour still in place, the information states that it was a wholesale bakery as there is no roadside counter for selling to the public. We find what was a laundry, counters with bowls sunk into them but a space underneath for a fire to heat the water.
The early floor mosaics consist of geometric shapes but as the mosaic artists evolved their craft they moved onto animals and figures and depicting scenes from ancient Roman and Greek mythology; like the interior decorators these floor layers were much sought after craftsmen of the day.
We wander into the ampitheatre which of course is famous for the Pink Floyd concert in the 70s where they played Echoes to an empty house.
The time was now just after 4pm, we had been walking for hours and had covered several ks and my feet, legs and dodgy left knee knew about it, the place closes at 5pm so we started walking back towards our exit. There are several exits so if you visit make sure you head for the correct one where you are parked, The main entrance/exit is called Porto di Marina so off we went.
Back at Zeus I paid the parking using the machine and Alena waited at the barrier to insert the card and off we went. Unfortunately, the return drive did not go as well as the outward trip as I made an incorrect turn in a town, feck knows the name of the town, and after the recalculation was done we found ourselves in one of those nightmare scenarios, it was rush hour, busy, and it was one of those town centres with narrow almost impassable roads laid with cobbles and flagstones. Moving out for parked cars is a nightmare as we are buzzed by psycho scooterists in our blind spots, I need eyes in the back of my head. Okay, blood pressure off you go and do your thing! After negotiating some unbelievably crazy roads we finally made it out onto a main road, okay release the pressure valve now!
Down the mountain we went and arrived at PDS without any further drama and a much needed cold beer. To be honest I'm getting just a bit done with these types of streets, so far we have been incredibly lucky not to have had the car dented, scratched or pranged. Time to move on before our luck runs out.
Final thoughts on Pompeii - it is easily the most impressive, wonderful and extraordinary experience. If you find yourselves in this part of the world then go there, do not deny yourself the pleasure in absorbing yourself in the incredible history of this place.
Anyway, here are the pics, enjoy!
We put aside our second day in Piano Dei Sorrento to go to the ruins at Pompeii, this has been on my bucket list for a long time and it was with a heightened sense of anticipation that we set off for the 13 mile drive northwards up and around the mountain. I had set the Garmin to take us to a place called Zeus parking, a bit of research on Tripadvisor showed that it was the most convenient if not a little expensive at €3 per hour, still you pay for convenience. Zeus parking is also a camping.caravan site and it is about 100 metres from the site entrance. As we walk towards the main entrance there are ticket offices on the right so we go in and cough up €40 for two tickets and we get given a map. They encourage you to go on a guided tour, for more cash natcho, we refuse, we would much rather just wander and explore for ourselves rather than be tied to a group, besides, there are so many guided tours on the site that all you have to do is latch on to the back of one and earwig and then move on.
We arrive at the main entrance to find out that if we had paid here the cost is €18 per head - DOH! So if you plan to visit, pay at the main entrance. The day is warm, about 15C so we have left the jackets in the car, the temp picks up to 17C during our visit and I end up in shirt sleeves. Whatever your preconceptions about Pompeii from programmes you may have seen nothing really prepares you for just how breathtaking it is. The site is huge and covers, I think, 8 sq ks, we are in for a lot of walking. The second you are through the first gated archway walking up the ancient Roman road your jaw starts to drop, the biggest problem you have is where to point the camera next. As you walk on roads past walls, columns and buildings that were built over two millennium ago.
I will let the photos speak for themselves. It is staggering to think that this city was submerged beneath 6 metres of ash, the sheer task of removing that much debris must have been colossal. In the large open forum you are still walking on the black volcanic ash that caused this cities demise in 79AD. There are archaeologists still on site as we see an area sealed off behind covers where work continues, it will surely be decades if not hundreds of years before this place reveals all of its secrets.
The kerbs are very high, probably 18 inches and I notice that at various points there are large stepping stones across the road to enable the residents to cross the road without stepping down the deep kerbs. The very first example of pedestrian crossings perhaps. The stone have gaps which I assume are the width of a standard Roman cart axle to enable them access also, I did wonder how they trained the horses to step over the stones though. On some roads you can see where the wheels have worn and rutted the road surface. Along some of the roads the buildings appear to be of a single room frontage, some with smaller storage at the back, I suspect that these were shops and these streets are the equivalent of modern town high streets with people selling all sorts of products. Many of them have a counter at the front with sunken amphorae, apparently these were for selling street food, so fast food was invented by the Romans more than 2000 years ago. These were particularly numerous on the road to the ampitheatre. You can imagine the scene on "sports" day when the spectators are walking down the road on the way to see some gladiators do combat and all the fast food sellers hollering to sell you whatever delicacies were considered take away food in those days. No different to walking to a stadium in modern times to watch a footie or rugby match.
Not all of the houses are open to explore but many of the larger ones that were clearly owned by the wealthy of the city are and the state of preservation of the painted murals inside are astonishing. You can see that the plastering/rendering on the stone walls is about 2 inches thick and then painted with everyday scenes, images from legends and gods. Being an interior decorator in those days consisted of a bit more than slapping on some emulsion or paper hanging. The "council" houses did not have such imagery and seemed to make do with the grey stone walling. A feature of the large houses is that you enter into a mini courtyard which is open to the sky and in the centre is a pool into which the rainwater is collected and channelled, the pool has drain holes so the water can drain into a cistern built underneath therefore preserving the fresh water.
On our wanders we find a house with an embossed phallus in a stone outside, possibly a brothel. In another we find the casts of the bodies of the family that were found there, kept behind glass and their twisted poses give some indication of their agony they suffered as they died in the pyroclastic storm that overwhelmed them. We find one of the bakeries with the apparatus for grinding the wheat into flour still in place, the information states that it was a wholesale bakery as there is no roadside counter for selling to the public. We find what was a laundry, counters with bowls sunk into them but a space underneath for a fire to heat the water.
The early floor mosaics consist of geometric shapes but as the mosaic artists evolved their craft they moved onto animals and figures and depicting scenes from ancient Roman and Greek mythology; like the interior decorators these floor layers were much sought after craftsmen of the day.
We wander into the ampitheatre which of course is famous for the Pink Floyd concert in the 70s where they played Echoes to an empty house.
The time was now just after 4pm, we had been walking for hours and had covered several ks and my feet, legs and dodgy left knee knew about it, the place closes at 5pm so we started walking back towards our exit. There are several exits so if you visit make sure you head for the correct one where you are parked, The main entrance/exit is called Porto di Marina so off we went.
Back at Zeus I paid the parking using the machine and Alena waited at the barrier to insert the card and off we went. Unfortunately, the return drive did not go as well as the outward trip as I made an incorrect turn in a town, feck knows the name of the town, and after the recalculation was done we found ourselves in one of those nightmare scenarios, it was rush hour, busy, and it was one of those town centres with narrow almost impassable roads laid with cobbles and flagstones. Moving out for parked cars is a nightmare as we are buzzed by psycho scooterists in our blind spots, I need eyes in the back of my head. Okay, blood pressure off you go and do your thing! After negotiating some unbelievably crazy roads we finally made it out onto a main road, okay release the pressure valve now!
Down the mountain we went and arrived at PDS without any further drama and a much needed cold beer. To be honest I'm getting just a bit done with these types of streets, so far we have been incredibly lucky not to have had the car dented, scratched or pranged. Time to move on before our luck runs out.Final thoughts on Pompeii - it is easily the most impressive, wonderful and extraordinary experience. If you find yourselves in this part of the world then go there, do not deny yourself the pleasure in absorbing yourself in the incredible history of this place.
Anyway, here are the pics, enjoy!
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