Page 12 of coasties Travel Blog Posts


Europe » Italy » Campania » Pompei April 20th 2011

While sad to leave Rome it was time to head further south to Pompei via Cassino to fulfill a promise to Pam’s dad to visit Bill Inglis grave in the war Cemetery. Bill was one of the many that gave their live in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944 so that we now may live in freedom and peace. It was quite moving being there and until you see the huge amount of NZ and other allies’ headstones it is difficult to conceive just how many lost their lives. The cemetery is kept in beautiful condition, with the grounds maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A register is kept in the south shelter available for the public to use. The register contains an accurate record of those interred at the cemetery, and their location. ... read more
Cassino War Cemetery
Cassino War Cemetery
Cassino War Cemetery

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome April 19th 2011

Off to the Vatican today on a guided tour, we thought that would be the best, no queues and someone to tell us about the various things there. Well I have to say that from here on forward all churches, abbeys and so forth are likely to pale in comparison with the sights we saw today. Saint Peters Cathedral is the largest church in the world and is a quite emphatically, stunning, with a size that defies belief when you understand that one of 4 decorations at the base of the Basilica’s dome measures some 27 feet in diameter, and that is just a decoration. Old Michelangelo had his work cut our for him designing that puppy, he never saw it completed and the whole church took 176 years to build and complete. The Sistine Chapel ... read more
Statue of Pope Pius XI
One Of Many Statues In The Vatican
Vatican Painted Ceiling

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome April 18th 2011

A day off today, you know washing and cleaning and sitting by the pool and all that boring stuff. The weather here has been very good, fine, sunny and around 21 degrees, just perfect for walking around. Unfortunately Pam has to work today and put in around 14 hours, the internet connections over here are pathetic and so slow it takes an hour to do a task that usually takes 10 minutes.... read more

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome April 17th 2011

I was so excited to be really heading into Rome, it has held a fascination for me for most of my life, thinking about Roman warriors and the life of the people of ancient Rome has made me want to come here. Well I have to say Rome is all I had dreamt about, the Coliseum and the Roman Forum in particular were just mind blowing, seeing remnants of a past 2000 and more years ago is just, well mind blowing for me. We saw the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps and churches and old ruins by the dozen; I can’t get enough of them. We did not go into the Coliseum as the crowds were just too much to bare, it was enough to see the fine structure. The poor writer that I am ... read more
Victor Emmanuel Monument
Forum Ruins
Colosseum

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome April 16th 2011

Rising early it was off to find the bus up to Assisi, over time we have come to work out bus timetables in Italian so it was full steam ahead. Arriving in Assisi we were amazed at the richness of the colour of the stone work and the amazing Castle high on the hill above, while a bit of a walk it was well worth the effort. Again dating back to 1200 AD it served as protection for the abbey for centuries and was the site of many blood thirsty battles and sieges, never taken by force. The Franciscan Abbey, Saint Francis of Assisi is amazing with a grand basilica and contains the tomb of the saint himself. A very steep town it is s tough walk but could entertain you for hours. Wandering downwards we ... read more
Rocca Maggiore
Assisi Chapel
The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assis

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi April 15th 2011

Leaving our lovely campsite on the shores of the lake it was off to Perugia another old city dating back to around 1200ad. Arriving there we found camping car stop some 4km uphill from the historic, N 43° 09789 E 012° 38449 Deciding against the walk we found a bus, after some time and various hand gestures with a couple from a neighbouring camper van it was off to explore Perugia. We were vary glad about the bus decision as the walk would have been an absolute killer, arriving at our stop at the top of the hill we wandered the streets of Perugia for a while, not overly impressed they did have a bizarre complex of escalators for getting around from the top part of the old city to the lower levels of the new ... read more
Yellow Fields
Assisi Steps
Assisi

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Castiglione del Lago April 14th 2011

Deciding not to bother with seeing Siena we headed off again in search of those rolling Tuscany hills we wanted so much to see, well not more than 15kms out of Siena we found them. The weather had turned a little with a cool 8 degrees and a stiff cold wind but that did not for one moment detract from the beauty of Tuscany, it really is a special part of Italy and to be frank the best we had seen so far. Slowly driving down narrow lanes and just soaking up the beauty was just great. Winding our way to a little old town called Cartona, reputed be over 3000 years old we found a typical hilltop village that was difficult to get to but worth the effort. Finally scoring a car park just by ... read more
Tuscan Hills
Tuscany
Tuscan Hills

Europe April 13th 2011

Deciding to head first for the Chianti region known for its wine growing we had also hoped to pass some of the lovely Tuscan hills the area in so famous for. We found the Chianti area very easily and spent some time driving through there arriving in a little town called Radda, a cute village with some very nice old buildings and streets. Leaving this town the landscape changed dramatically with no lovely hills or vineyards just old scrubby hills and not a lot else, where are the lovely Tuscan hills we had seen in the photos and on TV, well not in this area anyway. Driving a little further towards Lake Trasimeno we thought was the right way but alas not a hill to be seen. As it was getting a little late we headed ... read more
Chianti Region
Chianti Region
iPhone Photo Of View Out The Camper Door At Our Lunch Stop - Chianti Region

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence April 12th 2011

We have planned 3 nights in Florence as we had heard it was just fantastic, no rush then and we headed off to the town center around 8.30am. The campsite is perfectly located for visiting Florence, only a 20min walk down and an easy bus ride back as the walk is very steep, ok going down but murder coming back up again. We got a good start and there were not too many tourists on the streets, first stop was the Ponte Vecchio with all the gold shops going across, it is only one of 3 bridges in the world with shops on them, very cool and very old dating back pre 1500ad. Next stop was the Vecchio Palace and the Saint Maria Cathedral, all were just fantastic to see with the fresco's on the cathedral ... read more
Restaurants - Florence
Palazzo Vecchio - Florence
Palazzo Vecchio - Florence

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence April 11th 2011

Rising early we decided to head straight to Florence via Pisa, a drive of around 150kms and having had enough of the narrow roads for a while we decided to use the Autostrade to Pisa at least, again very mountainous country and an uneventful drive. Finding parking in Pisa we headed off to the tower for the usual photos, great to see but not overly awe inspiring. Heading off to Florence early as Pam had to work for a while we found our camp ground with little trouble. I must take a moment out now to explain a few things about driving in cities in Italy, ANYTHING GOES, MIGHT IS RIGHT, INDICATORS ARE FOR WIMPS AND SCOOTERS THINK THEY HAVE RIGHT OF WAY. Oh by the way a pedestrian crossing only makes you a target, they ... read more
Small Chianti Bottles - Pisa Market
Pisa
Pisa




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