Blogs from Calabria, Italy, Europe - page 9

We left Lorica today earlier than expected but we just need to adjust to changes in our intinerary. Lorica is high in the mountains and very green but also secluded. Like I said no Internet access. I wanted to mention the food at the hotel. Lorica is known for their mushrooms. They have an annual mushroom festival. Our spaghetti is just a tomatoe sause and we've added mushrooms for a change. They are wonderful. We've driven up and down the mountain several times and now realize it is no big deal to drive in the country. Our intentions were to have a picnic by the lake today but it was thundering and raining so that ruined the plans. In spite of this weather...we still didnt need a jacket and had the ac on in the car. ... read more

May 17 , 2008 Amantea, Italy We drove down from Sorrento to southern Italy and spent one night in a small beach town called Amantea on the south west coast. This is a very nice part of the country and is getting better known for the beaches and great weather. We had a nice hotel on the beach a little ways from the main town and enjoyed the peace and quiet and a beautiful sunset over the ocean. This would not be a hard place to come back to for a week or so. The drive is easy on very good roads ( a bit of construction but well managed ). You would not believe the number ( and length ) of the tunnels built through the mountains. It really is amazing and it really straightens ... read more

Morgan and i took six hours of trains to Rome the day before Dad and Eddie were to arrive. We arrived in the afternoon and walked to our hostel(10.90/night) hotel Lodi. it was a 20 minute walk from Termini Station. We should have taken a bus but it was a nice day. The owner, Fabrizio, greeted us and showed us around. He also made us coffee and gave us grapefruit from the hotel's garden. We spent the afternoon and evening in the garden of hotel lodi talking to our Israeli roommate Rhan. He lives in paris with his fiancée writing books. We had a late dinner with Rhan in the middle of Rome. After visiting a few bars and getting lost we headed back to the hotel on foot. A few hours later I awoke and ... read more

Finally reached Reggio where I surprised Auntie and Uncle and the rest of the family!!!!!! Was great to see them as always ...and realised how much i had missed them in 4 years... Enjoy the photos........ read more

The anticipation started weeks ago, encouraged by planning meetings at our local pub. Now we (Joe, Andrew and Gerry) were in Aquapessa, Calabria, Southern Italy for a long weekend. Fantastic value at £99 each for 4 days (including return flight, 3 star hotel, and hire car). Gerry remarked that when he first flew to Italy 23 years ago the flight cost £150! Who would have believed it would have gone down so much? The flight went very well until we started to make our descent through the clouds into Lamezia. With a sudden wrench the plane jolted and Andrew nearly jumped out of his seat! Several more lurches from side to side had us all sweating and reciting our individual mantras/prayers/confessions. Our collective pleadings secured us a safe landing and we proceeded to our little Fiat ... read more