johnandcheryl

How sad to say it is our last day in Rome. John has done his shoulder in, so we are going to take it easy, in the hope that he is then in less pain on the flight home. Of course it would be the fault of my suitcase which he pulled along the cobbled road/footpath for 1km to our hotel. (he has been pulling my bigger one, and I his only slightly smaller one) Yesterday we had some showers through the morning, but still managed to walk all day from 9.30am - 9.30 pm, with some short stints on the hop on hop off buses. Mostly although we have bought a 2 day pass, the stops are sometimes a distance in the opposite direction, then you have 15-25 mins, so it is often easier just ... read more

Today was a day of travel, and missed connections by two minutes! We had to catch a taxi on Capri to the Ferry port, missing the ferry by about 2 mins, we were actually sure it was still there, but the ticket office is a mile away and we didn't know which number/boat to run to, so had an hour to pass then at the port. From Sorrento we then had to catch a bus to the train station. John ended up at the back of the bus, and I was in the middle with the bags. Four wheelers are great for walking, but terrible on buses and trains as they just roll around, so for most of the trip up a windy road, I had one foot on the ground, one foot trying to stop ... read more

We finally made it to Capri, an island off the Amalfi Coast which we had been looking forward to returning to for many years. Tomorrow we will hire a small boat and explore the island from the water, and it's many caves (grotto's) - blue, white and green, named for the colour of the water (blue & green) or the rock (white one). I think the green or white grotto we can swim into, but the blue grotto has a tiny cave entry and every has to anchor and climb into small boats with experienced guides. They time the entry with the tide/swell receding and everyone lays back on top of each other in order to get through the small gap. Of course you have to tip extra if you want them to sing while in ... read more

Well it has been a few day since our last confession, oops, I mean blog! We have visited so many churches I am confused! We have moved on from Tuscany to Sorrento, back on the coast but more south than we were earlier in the trip, and back to seafood on the menus, yippee. I have never been so excited to see broccoli, as I was last night. After four weeks of the only sides on offer being chips, or occasionally actually roast potatoes, very bland salad (can’t get a caeser or greek, just mixed green salad with no dressing), and mixed grilled veges (eggplant, zucchini & capsicum usually). Broccoli in garlic was just the thing, with a beautiful steak. (one of only two good steaks that we have had – rarely do they have any ... read more

(A note from CB - John sent this email to a friend, so I thought it was worthy of adding to the blog, as you can just hear him when you read it!) You'd be proud of me mate - I did something stupid. I went on a 35 km bike ride with an organized bike tour fella, through the Tuscan hills. Well I hadn't being on a bike for 5 years, how hard could it be? It started with a wine tasting and tour of local castle, included lunch half way and there were 25 of us. Also there was a back up vehicle for any problems. I felt like a real professional in my stubbies while everyone else wore professional attire. I must say, I don't know how any of us didn't get run ... read more

Well after half a day we are ready to give up and give the car back to the rental hire people! After nearly not getting it, as our credit card, although it had enough credit, was refused, and they don't take debit card or cash, I remembered I had brought a second one as a desperate backstop and stored it in a different location in case luggage was stolen or went missing. Many an argument was had at the Hertz counter today. We had booked a GPS and resigned ourselves first to the cost of 78 Euro, then had an email saying it was an extra 50E for the GPS being returned to a different area, and after our mad unsuccessful dash to purchase a Europe card for our own one, we booked the GPS at ... read more