We're on the beautiful Amalfi coast today, stopping in Sorrento after taking the ferry to Amalfi this morning. We saw the beautiful cathedral there (photos later - the computer isn't finding the drive). Lots of tourists and crowds there, though, so we hightailed it over the hill on a path through the town and along the cliffs to the next town, Atrani. There as a pretty cove where we swam looking up the cliffs at the houses that climb up and up. While we were in the water, someone on the breakwater let loose a bunch of LOUD fireworks that echoed off the canyon walls and set off car alarms and made all the church bells chime like crazy. We picked up a couple of panini and headed back to Amalfi for the return trip to Sorrento.
Yesterday we laned in Messina on the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina. There isn't a lot of there there so we decided that instead of fighting the crowds to scenic Taormina in Mt. Etna's shadow, we would do a trip across the straits to Reggio di Calabria, which sits at the tip of Italy's boot. What a nice city! I had expected it to be just a tranpost spot, but it's a lively place with a long pedetrian boulevard lined with tony shops and a lovely lido.
Our first stop was the museum to see the Riace bronzes, two 5th century BC bronze statues that were recovered form the bottom of the sea nearby and are some of the finest examples of statues of that era and very rare. They wre most impressive warriors. Then we did a little window shopping on the boulevard, sampling the arancini along the way - tasty fried rice balls. We hit the beach for a couple of hours, managing to avoind the jellyfish that were floating around. We did see one poor girl who was very sad because she had gotten stung. Wah. Tere was lots of beach glass for collecting, too. Then we found some yummy panini and gelato and took the ferry back and visited the duomo in Messina before heading out.
We passed Stromboli around 9 pm, and I got to go with Dennis on the bridge as he narrated the sailby. The volcano cooperated and blew two lava plumes in the air as we went by. So cool against the night sky.
Tomorrow we land in Corsica, birthplace of Napoleon. Hard to believe we're on the back side of the trip already.
2 comments:
So are you all tired yet? Time for a sea day? Sounds like you all are packing it in but getting some yummy treats along the way. can't wait to see pictures and hear lots of stories!! Have fun! More adventures await!
Pictures! Yea! We love pictures! We did it, yesterday both girls say we broke the fun meter at the OC Fair! Glad to see you are having fun too!
Post a Comment