ITALY 27/06/10 - 07/07/10

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ITALY

27/06/10

VENICE

Today we crossed the boarder into Italy and drove through the Dolomites. We planned to spend a night in the Dolomites, however they were basically more of the same, mountains, green valleys and small villages. We drove around, looked at some villages, had a picnic, and then drove to to Venice. We found a campground just before the causeway, with a bus stop outside that went straight to city centre.
28/06/10
We caught a bus this morning to the city centre. Brought a 12 hour transport card include bus and ferry for 16 euro. Took the ferry to Piazza San Marco, where we could see the 15th century belltower (Torre dell 'orologio and the Basilica di san Marco) We went inside the lavish Palazzo Ducale, unfortunately no photos allowed inside. The Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) was the official residence of the doges from the 9th century and was the the seat of the Republic of Venice's government. Also housed Venice's prisons. The Ponte dei Saspiri (Bridge of Sighs) connects the palace to an additional wing of the city dungeons. It is named after the sighs of prisoners, including Giacomo Casanova, emitted enroute from court to cell. Then we walked to the Rialto Bridge. Then took a 15 minute ferry ride to Lido, a thin strip of an island which boasts Venices best beach, suprisingly its a good beach too, large and sandy. Venice eas very hot and humid. We had dinner at a bar on the beach. Took a ferry back to Venice proper, wandered around then took the bus back to the campsite.

29/06/10

VERONA

Today we drove to Verona (home of Shakespheares Romeo and Juliet) It was once an important roman centre, known as picola roma (little Rome) and enjoyed a golden age in the 13th and 14th centuries under the Della Scala (aka Scaligari Family) a period noted for the savage family feuding in which Shakesphere based his tragedy. First we visited the 1st century amphitheatre, known as the Arena and is the 3rd largest roman amphitheatre in existance with a capacity of 20,000 and is now used as a Summer Opera House. We then visited Museo di Castelveccho which is a large fortified castle built on the river, with moat and drawbridge, inside was a museum with art etc. Then we walked to Casa di Giulietta (Juliets House) and saw the balcony and Juliets statue (rubbing her right breast will bring you a new lover) We were able to go inside Juliets house and I was able to stand on the balcony and get a photo. We planned to drive from Verona to Milan, we decided instead to stop at a campgound on the shores of Lake Garda. We stayed at a lovely campground with three large pools overlooking the lake, and its own jetty to swim off. We went for a swim in the pool then the lake because it was so hot, even though it was 7pm. The lake was so warm even Mike went for a swim!

30/06/10

FLORENCE

Today we headed to Florence. On the way we stopped in Mantua to see its castle, which is best known as the place where Shakespheare exiled Romeo. It was for centuries the stronghold of the Gonzaga Family, one of Italys most powerful Renaissance dynasties. The castle and town are surrounded by artificial lakes and you need to cross a causeway and drawbridge to get to them. We had a picnic near the lake then drove to the Ferrari museum in Maranello and saw some 'well' Ferraris. I discovered that there was a Lambogini museum 1/2 hour away in Modena, it was 5pm and I have never seen Mike move so fast. We got there at 5.30pm and it closed at 5pm but they let us take some photos with the cars in the display room.
When we arrived in Florence we found Camping Michelangelo, which was 5mins walk from the city and great city views.

01/07/10

Our first stop today was Piazzale Michelangelo, which affords fantastic views of Florence and a cooper version of David. We walked down the hill and crossed the famous Ponte Vecchio, one of three bridges in the world occupied by shops, it used to have buthchers and blacksmiths but now has goldsmiths. We passed the Pitti Palace and visited Santa Croce Church which contains the tombs of Gaileo, Michelangelo, Macchiavelli, Dante and other legendary artists
Then we visited Santa Maria Del Fiore Cathedral, the worlds 4th largest cathedral. Construction began in 1296, an audacious design with a dome whose size had not been attempted since the Pantheon. We climbed the 463 steps to the top of the dome, we were able to walk around the top of the inside of the dome and look at the beautifully painted roof up close and look down into the cathedral. Then we were able to up to the outside top of the dome and look out over Florence. It was such a hot day I actually enjoyed the climb up the 463 steps because the stairwell was cool!
After this we headed to Academia Gallery, an ugly building that contains the original David, sculpted by Michelangelo in 1501 from a single piece of marble. We queued for 1 hr. David was impressive and massive, larger then I imagined, unfortunately like alot of museums in Europe we werent allowed to take photos.
For dinner I tried a local Florentine beef steak, basically a massive T-bone.

02/07/10

CIRQUE TERRE

Today we drove up the coast to the Cirque Terre National Park. Named after its five tiny villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernassa anf Monterosso) and encompasses some of Italys most picturesque and environmentally sensitive coastline. The villages are linked by the 12km Blue Trail (Sentiero Azzurro). We drove to Riomaggiore and started the trail there. The trail started flat but got quite steep and difficult near the end. The old towns were neat. All brightly coloured and built into the rocks with sheer cliff faces and little clear blue bays below. We got to Corniglia after 3hrs and decided not to carry on because it was too hot and we were exhausted. We went for a swim then caught the train back to Riomaggiore. We camped in Avenza between Cirque Terre and Pisa.
03/07/10
Today we headed to Rome via the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Campanile). It sure had a mean lean. It amazed us that Italy can make millions of dollars and attract millions of tourists because somebody screwed up. It was actually quite a nice tower though. Bonanno Pisano began building in 1173, but almost immediately his plans became a cropper in a layer of shifting soil, which continued at a rate of 1mm a year until it was stabilised in 1998.
We arrive at Flaminio Village Camping and Bungalow Park at 1930

04/07/10

ROME
We brought a Roma Pass for 25 euro from the campground. It allowed us to go to 2 monuments/museums of our choice for free, free transport, discounts on further tickets and last but not least, to jump the que. It was fantastic! First we went to the Colosseum, there was a massive que which we bypassed and took 5 mins to get inside. The Colosseum was great because it was still in its original form in the majority of places. The Colosseum is massive and once sat 50,000 to 70,000 people. Was started by Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and finished by his son Titus in AD 80. Tiered seats encircled and sand-covered arena built over underground chambers where animals were caged. We then walked past Palatine Hill to the Pantheon, a 2000yr old temple now church, with a massive dome and is Romes best preserved monument. We then walked to the 1732 Trevi Fountain which depicts Neptunes chariot being led by Tritons. The custom is to throw a coin over your shoulder thus ensuring your return to Rome. On an average day 3000 euro is thrown away. Then we walked to the 1725 Spanish steps, named after the Spanish Embassy and built to link the piazza with the homes above. Basically just alot of steps. We then caught the metro to Castel St Angelo, basically another castle with a museum. Then we trained back to the campground.

05/07/10

VATICAN CITY

Today we visited the Vatican Museum, again with prebooked tickets. Inside it was packed and again much the same with religious paintings, frescoes, sculptures and decorative ceilings. We got to see inside the Systine Chapel with all its paintings, the roof was painted by Michaelangelo, as well as the front wall which is dedicated to Judgement Day. The building itself is a simple box shape. We then walked around to St Peters Square and looked at St Peters Basilica.
We then drove to Pomeii and stayed in a bungalow. The gas cooker wouldnt work so we had no dinner.

06/07/10

POMPEII - AMALFI COAST

This morning we visited Pompeii (alot bigger than we thought) A 2000 yr old, 44 hectare old city that was buried in ash when Mt Versuvius erupted on 24 Aug AD 79 and killed over 2000 people. The ash kept the city perfectly preserved. There are body casts and a 5000 seat amphitheatre.
We then carred on to the Amalfi Coast which was packed with people and cars. Crazy drivers and people parked in crazy places. Mike ended up smashing someones wing mirror with our wing mirror. Our wing mirror was fine though, until Mike took a alley way that was too narrow and he smashed that same wing mirror and the side of the car trying to reverse out. After that we decided to get the hell out of there do started driving towards Bari, therefore we didnt quite make it to Santoreno. We made it as far as a highway hotel in Mirabello.

07/07/10

BARI
We made it to Bari about midday and had some sandwhiches and a swim at a beach up the road. The ferri left at 2000. We booked airline seats for this voyage to Patras in Greece, they were more roomy than real airline seats but it still made for a long nigh. We spent the evening in the bar and watched the Spain vs Germany semi finals. We had a very excitable Spainyard next to us so that was entertaining.

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