http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/inspire-and-shine/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from inspire and shine en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:44:20 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:44:20 +0000 07 Oct 2008Caught the train in from the Pompei Scavi Villa Dei Misteri stop. The train had lots of stops and about 45 minutes later we arrived at Piazza Garibaldi. There we found the 201 bus to take to the National Archeological Museum. The Arte Card kit has a set of bus route maps which came in very handy. We hopped off at the Piazza Cavour which happens to be a train subway station and fo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-335050.html 03 Oct 2008The SS124 from Taormina to Giardini Naxos is incredibly narrow and windy. It still managed to fit us a car going the other way and a scooter with the occasional bus thrown in though. Giardini Naxos was pleasant to drive through and we followed signs out along more windy roads up the valley to the Galle Dell Alcantara Alcantara Gorge. As a side note I've decided at this point that http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-334658.html 04 Oct 2008With a bit of forehand experience of the A19 and other roads our trip across to Palermo was quicker and easier than the drive out. Kylie's sense of direction worked pretty well even in the traffic madness in the older part of Palermo that we had to traverse to get into the port area possibly almost as bad as Naples. At the port thanks to the magic words Maggiore rental we got pa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Palermo/blog-334661.html 06 Oct 2008We got up early today well relatively early I suppose and into the Pompeii Ruins after 9am. Pompeii is surprisingly large. One has impressions from photos and descriptions that its a few buildings clustered together like a hilltop italian village but Pompeii is extensive. We spent three hours traversing it and then only looked into 4 buildings. First we headed for the Villa De Mist http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-334664.html 05 Oct 2008First a taxi to the train station where I again made the mistake of not agreeing a price before we left. I've found taxi transport very disheartening in Italy any drivers who don't use their meters create a level of mistrust in Italians. Once at the train station we had the simple task of checking the departures board for our train. Yep platform binario 1PG. Only there was no 1 i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-334662.html 02 Oct 2008We headed back to see the archeological area of Syracuse and maybe the catacombs and to check out another beach. Today was again set to be a lucky day all day we dodged the rain. First we visited the archeological area. Although most towns have greek or roman ruins of one type or another this is probably the first real ruins as opposed to existing structures outside of Rome that http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Siracusa/blog-334657.html 30 Sept 2008Ky and Liam opted for a quiet day at the apartment while Joseph and I headed for Mount Etna. We'd thought Liam wouldn't like the climbing but as it turned out he could have come along.Following some fairly easy signposting even through a labyrinth of little streets in a number of small towns Joseph and I were soon driving up the side of the mountain. We really were in luck today t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Mount-Etna/blog-332660.html 01 Oct 2008The aim today was a drive to Syracuse to see the sights there and at the island of Origia. We decided first however to visit a beach the Fontane Bianche that was recommended in Frommer's. The exit off the A that we needed for FB was closed so we ended up at a place called Avola with long yellowy sandy beaches. The waves were enormous and Joseph Liam and I had a ball romping aroun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Siracusa/blog-334633.html 28 Sept 2008Fortune was with us today the ferry docked and at reception I asked where the Maggiore rental car company depot was. The man informed me right there pointing off the side of the boat. I looked out the starboard window and sure enough there was a building right there with the sign in plain view. Just a short wait for the office to open at 730 and then we were off in a VW Passat. I http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-332659.html 29 Sept 2008 these blogs being uploaded from Letojanni have to do pics laterAnother sunny day awaits us breakfast was excellent. The residence provided fresh croissants normal cornflakes chocolate cornflakes coffees fruit juice and jams. I imagine the jam was for toast but didn't see anyone having toast. We asked for bowls for the cornflakes you can guess what flavour the boys chose b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-330144.html 27 Sept 2008 these blogs being uploaded from Letojanni have to do pics laterWith our sites set firmly on Naples we checked out at around 930 found the autostrade and zoomed down. Relatively uneventful and after passing the Rome turnoff the traffic was light. Naples was interesting first we made a wrong turn early on while still on the autostrade and ended up going right around the city a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-330143.html 26 Sept 2008With a bit more familiarity of Florence today's trip was much easier. We brought along our Fun In Florence books that we'd bought for the kids and forgot on Sunday. They turned out to be excellent choices. Complete with colouring in sections information about the places the books guide you through the main areas of Florence and have activities for the kids to do. First Liam and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-327940.html 24 Sept 2008And today was my day Both Kylie's and my tour were booked through expedia. She took the Gucci and Prada Shopping Tour and I took the Florence Through the Lens tour. I met my guide Marco at the SS Anunziata square. As it turned out I was the only one for the morning so we managed to cover quite a bit of ground. Marco was an excellent guide. He explained various aspects of the city http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-327938.html 23 Sept 2008Today was Kylie's day of freedom in Florence plus a shopping tour. She headed off early caught the train in and shopped around for a while. Then caught the complete disappointment for an afternoon of driving to two places and seeing nothing interesting. I'll leave Ky to tell you the full story.The boys and I alternated between the heated pool games room playground and a gelati http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-327937.html 22 Sept 2008With all the walking from yesterday we definitely needed some sitting driving time so today it was off to Pisa with possible stops at Montecatini Terme Collodi's Pinocchio Park Lucca and maybe Carrara. The Pinocchio park was easy enough to find again following the helpful blue signs for Collodi and then the brown signs for the park. E72 with combined tickets for the nearby gar http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Pisa/blog-327935.html 21 Sept 2008We decided to skip the hassles of driving and this time took the train in. First we had to work out which platform binari and what time because the normal timetable was only for the weekdays. We hadn't noticed the helpful monitor by the ticket office so ended up fretting for half an hour hoping there actually would be a train. Well of course there was so 25 minutes later we were http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-327934.html 20 Sept 2008Today we drove to Figline Valdarno a little town south of Florence for our next stay. The trip was uneventful taking just over 2.5 hours and we arrived just after noon.The Norcenni Girasole Club is extensive. Our Bungalow is right near 3 restaurants 3 bars 3 large swimming pools with slides the games room gym two large shops and a gelateria. So we've been having a bit of fun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-327933.html 25 Sept 2008A quiet day today at the camp for Doug to recover from the excitement of yesterday. Played in the pool lots of yahtzee and pingpong. Doug managed some exercise in the gym and the boys found friends to play with after dinner. so a relaxing day all round. I must say that I'm getting a bit tired of looking at ornate churches. A few days ago the boys asked why we went to so many churches http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-327939.html 19 Sept 2008With our last day in the area we decided to have a look a the Castell Estense in Ferrara. After the usual nightmare of finding a park which in this instance would have been easier with Ferrara's directions for carparks if only they hadn't been full we walked in to the castle. Complete with a moat cannon balls dungeons and a tower to climb it was great for the kids apart from the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Emilia-Romagna/Ferrara/blog-326022.html 18 Sept 2008After our not so enthralling visit to Bologna where we just didn't seem to get the combination right we were at odds as to what to do today. We didn't want to spend all day at the campground because Ky and I would soon get bored and the day was not looking amazing even though it was a little warmer. So shortly after lunch we drove out with the aim of going to Rimini south of Raven http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/San-Marino/San-Marino/blog-326020.html