Monday 8th August Licodia On Monday, Giuseppe took us to a pretty place 45 minutes away called Noto in the town of Syracuse. There was a tiny theatre that sat less than 400 people and was named after Vittorio Emanuele, the first leader of a united Italy. There have been monuments dedicated to him everywhere. All around the theatre were busts of famous artist, politicians, and musicians. The guide spoke enough English for Kurt and the kids to understand. We sat in the balcony seats and had photos taken like aristocrats. Later we went to visit Palazzo Ducezio with its Sala [View Full Entry]

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Saturday 6th September Nova Siri - Licodia Eubea Today was going to be a big day with a long 6 hour drive through the region of Calabria and across the water to Sicily. The roads were fantastic and I couldn’t believe how big Calabria was!! When we approached a toll booth and there was no person or section to drop the money, we were all on alert for a ticket!!! We found the ticket, thank god!!! As we approached the ferry, the GPS (a complete god sent!) sent us straight to the ticket booth. The guy at the counter spoke English [View Full Entry]

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Friday 5th September Nova Siri…….Castro Bolito Today was a lazy day!! I love those days!! We had some food stuff that we wanted to use up, so before heading off to the beach we cooked some sauce for lunch and a casserole for dinner. As part of the price for the accommodation, we were given a lounge chair, a beach chair and umbrella. The kids went canoeing, first with us and then on their own. Since they had their own lifejackets I wasn’t overly concerned. Actually Kurt was supervising them from a distance of 20 metres in his own canoe. [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 2nd September Naples...take two! Salerno, Positano We started out again for Naples and used the resident’s tickets we’d been advised to buy. There was a conductor on the bus and as soon as he looked at our cards, we knew we were in trouble. We’d agreed if there was any trouble, we’d avoid talking Italian and act the part of typical tourists. The most amusing part of this situation was that my parents and I were able to understand what was being said of us and had to keep a straight face. The conductor said he felt sorry for us [View Full Entry]

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Sunday 31st August Naples…..well not really….Pompeii & Herculaneum We started our day early with the daily 1km walk to catch our bus. I know 1 km doesn’t seem long but at the end of a tiring day, that uphill winding 1 km stretch seems like a 10km marathon. Anyway, we were walking to the bus stop when Kurt turned and gave me that look! Family members recognise that look as why am I surrounded by idiots? He had been studying the bus times table and noticed that buses to Naples on Sunday only ran 3 times, 5.00am, 6.40am and 11.45am……it was [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 3rd September Lazy day!! This was our last day in Amalfi and we spent it relaxing. In the morning we packed our clothes and tried to cull our food stuff. The packing took so long that we ended up going to the beach in the afternoon, actually in must have been late in the afternoon because but the time we got down to the beach in Castiglione, there was no sun on the beach. We walked on to the beach at Altrani. Even then, there was very little sun. Kurt and the kids got into the water but it was [View Full Entry]

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Thursday 28thAugust Rome - Napoli - Amalfi Coast Early Thursday morning we were all up and ready to go at 7.00am - one problem we couldn’t pick up the car till 8.00am. So we all rechecked under our beds, in the bathroom, in our bags to make sure the checking we done 15 minutes earlier hadn’t miraculously changed!! Finally Kurt, my Dad and Joshua left to collect our car. My Mum, Katelyn and I were responsible for taking the suitcases and everything else!!!downstairs via a tiny elevator that we were soooooo grateful to have. Our luggage had amazingly expanded to a [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 26th August Rome-Vatican Museum We started out early for the Vatican Museum because Claudette (Kurt’s sister) who been at the Vatican a few weeks ago, had said there was a 3 hour wait! The museum opened at 8.45am and we arrived at 8.15am after a very brisk walk and already a queue was forming. Thank god we didn’t delay or stop to buy postcards, because within 10 minutes of arriving the queue doubled! The entrance for the Museum is virtually around the block from the Vatican, so if you got to the Vatican and thought you were early - bad [View Full Entry]

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Friday 23rd August Rome - Piazza Navona and Trevi Fountain Friday was supposed to be a “lazy” day and my idea of a lazy day includes window shopping and cups of tea! But we decided to go for a little walk to the Trevi Fountain……Oh My God!! It turned out to be a mammoth marathon!! As we got off the bus near the Tiber River, we decided to take a few backstreet to Piazza Navona instead of following the main roads. It turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Every little side street we took led to [View Full Entry]

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ROME........ Wednesday 20th Rome Introduction to Rome I am completely in love with Rome!! I know that it’s expensive, the people are rude and the queues are long. But I love the streets, the Ruins; the people that are rude, the different taste of food, the fact that I’m speaking my version of Italian to Romans and my children and Kurt are saying “Bene Grazie” and slowly gaining the confidence to also speak a little. From the moment I arrived I have loved everything!! Our apartment on Via Gregorio VII Settimo no 242, is amazing. Actually t [View Full Entry]

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