Monday

My original thought to add a post yesterday afternoon just didn't have any oomph come yesterday afternoon.  You guys must be tired of reading a travelogue anyway.

The jetlag hasn't been awful.  Yet.  I kept waiting for exhaustion to kick in yesterday afternoon, and it just never did.  I eventually went to bed pretty early, and slept decently, but was wide awake at 0430.  So today is off to an early start.  But not so much so compared to those early rides from earlier this month with @bcbison when I was getting up at 0501.  Maybe my normal early morning ways will mitigate my body's readaptation to the Central time zone.  #GladGame.

My Hertz receipt shows that we put 1,381 kilometers on our car during our trip, which translates to a little over 850 miles.  I think my gas costs were in the $200 (converted from Euro), which would suggest that my cost of operation was somewhere in the .24 per mile range.

The receipt also  calls the vehicle a Antara 2.2 CDTI.  OK, if you say so.  I never could determine what it was from any of the symbols or markings on the car (inside or out).  It was about the size of a Ford Escape.  The bike box fit easily  in the back (with the seats down).  I had purposely chosen the size to be a little bigger than the Focus wagon so that we wouldn't have to worry about bike storage space.  Another good choice.

One of my recurring thoughts over the last couple of days has been the fact that very little went wrong on this trip.  I had the thought the last couple of days of the trip as well, but I was reluctant to express any such observation before getting home.  Murphy lives.  In a trip that involved so many pieces, and so many miles across the continents, I feel very fortunate to be sitting here now with this realization.

I am reminded of the voice-over that Tom Hanks does at the end of Apollo 13 when he comments how their return was the result of the efforts of thousands of people who contributed to the complex goal of getting them safely back home.  We didn't necessarily have a multitude of folks working for us on our trip, but on the flip side of that thought, we did have thousands of people who either did their jobs, or stayed out of our way, to make this adventure work.  For this, I am very thankful.

Weather was another positive aspect of the trip.  It was generally pleasant temperature-wise.  No real heat to deal with, although Thursday at the temples in Agrigento and Friday on the walking tour of downtown Palermo, we would look for shade when it was convenient.  The only rain we saw was on the drive home from Chicago on Saturday evening.  Most evenings, a light jacket or long sleeves made things comfortable.  Thus, I think that you would have to say that it was close to a home run for us on the weather front.

We never turned a TV on in our rooms.  I think I can get used to a life without a need for this form of entertainment.  Maybe a little more writing to complete those projects, eh?

The NYT crossword puzzle book that I took with me has me on overload on that past time.  I did mostly "Moderate" puzzles which were all Thursday-type puzzles with some kind of a trick to them.  I didn't exactly star on those.  During the last portion of the flight home, I worked several "Challenging" puzzles, which would have been of the Friday-Saturday variety.  And at best, I'll get a Saturday puzzle done by Sunday night.  You have to think too hard...which isn't exactly mindless enjoyment.  So I'm off puzzling for a while.

Real World 101 starts now as I have two weeks to get LOTS done.  Turkey Trot training starts this evening as well.  The next 90 days will just evaporate.  Scary. 

Make it a great week in your neighborhood.

BCOT

Sunday - Way Too Early!

I certainly hadn't planned to do this little task at Oh-Dark-Hundred today, but even though it was almost a 22-hour day getting home, I was wide awake at 0400 CST this morning.  Did laundry, sorted through the luggage remains, and came to the office to see the stack of mail.  What a way to start your first day back in the Real World!

This really isn't a blog entry.  I'll do that later today.  I just wanted to get these pic's up for a little lite reading for the Peanut Gallery.  Here ya' go. 

Susan at Etna.

LtPC at Pompeii

Salerno beach front.

Temples in Agrigento.

Dinner...someplace!

Temples in Agrigento.

Isle of Capri.  We REALLY needed the camera on the iPad...Not!

More Temples.

Exactly where the flock am I?  Lost in Pompeii, I guess.

Lots more photos to review, but this is a good sample.

More here later today.

BCOT

Saturday Night....In The 52722

Made it all the way home...with all luggage!  Under bet on the bike was a loser.

Will report details of final segment tomorrow.

Props to Patrick for the offer.

Loving it back on Maplecrest.

BCOT

Btw...New Home Page pic is in the middle of the Sraits of Messina.  So cool!!

Saturday - The long Way Home - From Dee Plane, Dee Plane.

I'm using some of this 9 and a half hour flight (!!) from Rome to Chicago to draft today's entry, knowing that I'll not likely be in the writing mood once I get to Maplecrest.

The trip to the airport in Palermo was actually pretty easy. There was virtually no traffic on the streets at 0530 local, and we had no problems with directions getting there. I dropped 2 off at the terminal with all of our gear, and I took the car to the rental lot. There was no one manning the Hertz lot at that hour, so I dropped the keys in the night box and did the 8-minute walk back to the terminal.

The fun started then. The bike, of course. After having spent 40 minutes in a maze-line, the counter agent had me go back to a separate desk to pay for the bike. The gal at that desk took over 20 minutes trying to find the right tariff for the bike, and finally just assessed $65. By that time, we were getting close to departure and 2, who had gone back to start our place in line again, was getting nervous. Me too.

We hustled through check-in, leaving the bike to be taken through baggage by the staff. I wonder.... The plane actually departed close to on-time. And we arrived in Rome on-time. For more fun.

They had not ticketed us all the way through to Chicago at the Palermo airport. Nothing to do with the bike. It was just the way they handled the airline switch...AlItalia to American in Rome. I mentioned in a post last week that I had had a wine-moment when I bought the tickets in May and had not selected a seat for myself on any of the flights. So when we get to the gate in Rome this morning, we're informed that the flight is over-sold and I don't have a seat assignment. Suite.

But we were also told that I definitely WILL get on the plane. And I obviously did. But not without some stress. The bike? Who knows? I do have a claim check for it.

A couple of additional bumps in our road came before departure. First, the gate agents had tried to be accommodating and change some seats around so that 2 and I could sit together. That made it look like 2 would be going from an aisle seat to a middle seat. Bummer. But that move was OK because our seats were in a two-seat row on the side of the plane. Bonus. For about a minute.

One of the gate agents who had processed us after I got my ticket came to our seats and said that we had to move to two other seats in the three-seat, middle-of-the-plane row as our seats had been pre-assigned to others. Of course they were.

And our new middle-row seats were right adjacent to the young couple with the infant-in-arms. Why wouldn't they be?

I took the middle-seat of the middle-row since I was the perpetrator of the missed-selecting-the-seats oversight. My bad.

Once the plane was loaded and ready to go, the pilot came on and informed us that we (our plane!) had lost our place in line and would have to wait to get an opening for take-off. Which came about 40 minutes later.

So it's been an interesting day already.

I know that I will have air-pressure warnings on at least two tires on the Buick. I hope that that's the worst of my issues at ORD.

Some other observations...

A. While 2 and I were seated awaiting Group 4's boarding call (is anyone ever NOT in group 4?), I overheard a couple of older retirees talking near us. They were the ones who had given up their seats, since they didn't have any pressing need to get home, and the payment-voucher deal was going to give them another day in Rome as well as a fly-anywhere ticket. One of the gals said that she and her husband would do it again tomorrow if the same deal was offered. Is that a scam, or just creative? 2 commented to me that NO deal was worth keeping her on the road another day/night.

B. Italian airport security is quite a bit more relaxed than back in the US of A. Then again, they just may be openly profiling people by appearance. The guys checking passports at one stoping point just looked at 2 and I and motioned us through without even bothering to look at the passports. The TSA-like agents doing pat-downs didn't even look our way.

C. Most of these airports use the old shuttle-bus concept of moving passengers to and from the planes. This leg now is the only one on the European side of our trip where we boarded through a standard jet-way from a concourse gate. The contractors who run the buses are busy people. And the Tarmac's are busy places. I wonder how many hits, scrapes and other incidents occur each day? With all these vehicles and people going here, nether and yon, there's bound to be some problems.

D. 4 might find it amusing that I finally did run smack into one of those face-level No Parking (or similar) signs in Siracusa a few days ago. (No smacking the sign with your open hand to scare your walking companion. This one was real!) And I have a cut right between my eyes to show for it. I hit it HARD, and was lucky that I didn't fracture my Oakley's in the process. 2 showed very little sympathy.

OK. We're down to about only six hours left in the flight. This is all I have for now.

BCOT






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Friday

So this is the last entry from Italia. We've enjoyed our last day in Palermo and are now headed to bed for an early wake-up for our departure flight. No definitive pics to add tonight either.

Palermo is a gritty city. Lots of old buildings in the downtown area. Lots of traffic. Tourists. But many modern shopping places and a vibrant feel to the area. Our book will give more details.

Both 2 and I are ready for some Iowa culture. And we're tired. Personally, I'd like a glass of the Jack London Cabernet, just to reset my palet to an American taste sensation, regardless of the Italian wine history. And we'd like our own bathrooms and other daily conveniences.

Here's a quick hit-list of our best experiences on the trip:

1. The passage across the straits of Messina.
2. Aetna
3. Pompeii
4. Siracusa
5. The Temples in Agrigento.
6. The seaside landscape in Agrigento.
7. The landscape on the drive to Palermo.
8. Our dinner in Siracusa.
9. The ferry ride to Isle of Capri.
10. The seaside day in Salerno.

I want to give props to 2 as Daughter of the Day. Who wants to spend 10 days, most every waking hour, on the road in strange places, with decisions required constantly, with anyone? Let alone your Old Man? You've been a wonderful traveling companion, Kiddo. Thanks for the memories!



The schedule tomorrow is brutal. Early departure from the hotel. 0800 local flight to Rome. (Guess what time we get up? And then translate the 7 hour time difference to your time.) Our connection to Chicago is an eleven hour flight! Yikes!! Then a three hour drive to the QCA. Coffee may not even cause a stir on Sunday AM.

We've done a pretty good job on our journals. The promised book will definitely get done. Lots of pics to bore our readers!

Thanks for reading. Twitter updates from the road tomorrow.

Ciao...for a last time!

BCOT

Thursday

So this is our second-to-last night on the road. We are safely ensconced in our hotel in downtown Palermo, the capital city of Sicily. It's been a good day for the Home Team.




Here's where we are on the map. Agrigento, where we started this morning, is located below Palermo, on the other side of the island. Our drive today took us West along the coast for 40-50 miles, and then North...all on two-lane roads. The drive actually reminded me of driving on Old Highway 63 in Iowa...lots of turns and hills.

The report on the Greek temples in Agrigento is a favorable one. We spent close to three hours or so on the grounds of the temples, and in the separate museum. We jointly promise not to bore any of our family and friends with the dozens of pictures that we took of all these sights. But there are some really good shots. This is not necessarily one of them.




The countryside in Sicily is hilly, rocky and not densely populated. I wonder about the amount of rain that the region receives, and what grows in these grainy soils. We certainly didn't see many ( read...none!) corn fields. Lots of olive groves. And they look to be tilling on the sides of some pretty steep hills...a farming activity that I don't think the Scott County Iowa Conservation Service would allow.




There were remnants in several locations of old, stone aqueducts, not unlike the ones shown in this picture. I'm guessing that they've been trying to solve their water problems on this island forever.




2 did a great job reading the details in Google Maps to bring us to our Palermo destination with nominal problems. A word to the foolish: don't even THINK about a driving vacation in Europe without a GPS device. The options at round-a-bouts hit so fast that a driver is helpless without a navigator calling out the turns. And even then, you'll miss some.

Dinner tonight was at a Sicily-tour-book-recommendation place not far from our hotel. 2 had a mushroom pasta...that was ok, but couldn't compare the the mushroom appetizer that we had two nights back in Siacusa.




Mine was a fish combination plate that was again, good but not great.




Our wine was one that I thought was going to be a Sangiovese-Cabernet blend according to the menu. And it was, but the bottle read Chianti Classico. I asked the head waiter about the mis-connect, but he insisted it was the correct wine. When we got home, I did some checking, and the winery does present it as a Chianti Classico. Made with Sangiovese and Cabernet grapes.

The restaurant probably should call the bottle a Chianti on the menu rather than present it as something else. Of course, a better solution would be for LtPC to ask some better questions about the wine he is ordering. Which I might have done if I had any concept of the Italian language.

Moving on...

Sadly, my 2013 cycling season is done. Our itinerary these last few days has just not allowed for rides. I actually took some time before dinner this evening and broke down the bike and boxed it up for air travel on Saturday. This task had been a little stress in the back of my mind because I knew I had to get the peddles off for packing, a job I had the bike shop in Bettendorf perform for the outbound segment. But I had oiled the peddle joints Tuesday in Saracusa, thinking about the future like a good Boy Scout, and the peddles came off without too much trouble. And only a minor abrasion to my wrist.

The plan tomorrow is to do a walking tour of the Old Town of Sicily and enjoy our last day of what has been a great vacation. We'll do some twittering as opportunities are presented.

All for now. Thanks again to all of you in the Peanut Gallery for checking in.

Ciao!!!

BCOT
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Wednesday

This wasn't the most exciting of days for the trip. The gist of things is that we wrapped-up our stay in Siracusa this AM, and drove to Argrigento, a historical town on the Southwest coast. Showing some signs of wear, we elected to laze the afternoon rather than chase more ruins for viewing. Not the worst choice. We found a couple of places not shut down for the afternoon, and had wine while checking out the Mediterranean.


This is a shot from a point not far from our hotel (B&B). Lots of these views from the Old Town where we are staying.

We had spent the morning in Siracusa, checking out a little before 1100 local. Beforehand, 2 walked over to one of the historical sites that had both Greek and Roman ruins to view. I did the manly thing...laundry! But let's be perfectly clear...my needs had been communicated in advance, and the proprietor of the establishment basically took my stuff, my 5€, and told me to come back in 75 minutes. Which I did, and the stuff was done. I did fold and put it in my bag. He wouldn't take a tip. Perfect Neighbor in Siracusa, eh?

While the laundry service was in motion, I strolled down to the local market and observed the town's commerce in action.





Kinda cool watching and listening to the activity. I bought a couple of peaches for my breakfast. And a bunch of grapes that are still in tow. 1.5€ total.

We decided to haul our luggage with us to our parking place (at least a half mile away) as the access to the B&B for a car was so poor. No problems, just a long walk. Exit out of town was relatively easy, with just nominal corrections required. Google Maps works.

The drive to Agrigento was half just fine, and half a pain in the putooskey. With no direct route from Siracusa, we went back North toward Etna, and then West toward Palermo, all on Interstate-like roads. But once we had to turn South, we ran into your basic two-lane road with lots of construction. For around 50 kilometers. That's why we elected to do wine rather than tour upon arrival.

After some minor walking around town, and a short siesta in our room, it was off to dinner at a near-by place recommended by our host. It wasn't too bad of an experience, but not up to the standard set last night in Siracusa.

Our first courses: sorry about the lighting, but we just didn't have our act together. 2's was a sausage and egg plant pasta, and mine was some pesto pasta whatever. Both were good, not great.


The main courses: 2's was a meat combo that was average, and mine was swordfish that was equally average. We may also have eaten too much in the earlier courses, but neither of us could finish our meals.


The wine was a Sicilian Cabernet Neo Aviola or something to that affect. It also was good, not great. One of those bottles that you say, "Yeah, not too bad", but don't make a mental note to buy a couple of bottles for the Maplecrest driveway.


Here's a Top Ten list of random observations from the trip thus far:

1. Graffiti defaces almost every surface in the Italian public domain, including the historical sites.
2. Motor-bike traffic has NO rules.
3. The ocean water at the pier in Siracusa was Tahoe-clear.
4. Shopkeepers, wait-staff and other tourist contacts are all very courteous and helpful. (Maybe, ALMOST all.)
5. Diesel gas runs around 1.70 - 1.90€ per liter. When I fill up the car, which I have done twice, it costs more than a night's stay at our hotels.
6. Restrooms at the public sites (Isle of Capri, Etna) charge .50-.60€ for use.
7. In Sicily, they still dig everywhere. Between roads and ruins, this place has got to be a gold mine for Caterpillar and Deere.
8. Many, many English-speaking tourists at almost every site/restaurant. We're hard to miss!
9. The Internet makes the world a very small place. Amazing that we can communicate while being so far away. That FaceTime with Harvest Path last weekend was amazing.
10. We miss many of the little conveniences of home. We can do without them, but like for me, ice, an Americano MY WAY, and pop cycles are things that make home, home. So I'm a spoiled American! I can live with that.

OK. Obviously no literature award for this entry, but that was our day. We'll do the temples here in the morning, and then go over to Palermo tomorrow afternoon. We both have doubts about Palermo, it being a big city and all. We like simple. Think positive thoughts for us.

Thanks for reading. Ciao!!

BCOT

Tuesday

This was actually our only full day in Siracusa, but we spent a majority of the day on a trip to and from Mt. Etna to the North. If you're on Sicily, how can you NOT go to Etna?

I did a morning ride around Siracusa for an hour and a half or so, and 2 did a bit of a walking tour of the old city. My impression of the "new" town was not too high. Lots of apartment buildings and indirect streets. Little sense to it all. (I did receive a couple of gratis nectarines from a fruit stand, but I think that the generosity was driven by the gal's lack of change for my 10€ bill.)

Our drive to Etna required almost 90 minutes back up the coast on the freeway. The mountain became visible almost from the start. Funny how one hill can dominate a skyline. We had difficult traffic once we got off the freeway and into the city of Catania that we had to traverse to access the climb. It was just short of 20 kilometers to the tourist station once we got out of the city.

From the tourist station, we took a ski lift to the next staging point. We guessed that that the lift was maybe 3/4 of a mile or so in further distance up the mountain. The lift ticket was 28.50€ each. You could have upgraded to a jeep/excursion vehicle trip further up the mountain for another 20€ each, but we declined the privilege.




Here's a pic of 2 on the cable car to the mid-mountain station. We'll have some other photo's to add to the travelogue at a later time.

I felt like the mid-mountain point was very similar to Squaw Valley's upper lodge area in concept. They had a restaurant and souvenir place, and some other options, but mostly, there was more "up" if you were willing to walk or pay for the experience. We elected to take the tram back down the hill.




This pic is one from down the hill on our return drive that I may need to doctor-up to get the contrast. What I was trying to show is the outline of the island in the distance. You could see the shape and contour of the shore for miles from high on the mountain. Maybe another case of you having to be there to appreciate it.

After getting back to Siracusa, we did the obligatory wine sampling in anticipation of a higher-end dinner at a place just down the way from our B&B. We had purchased a bottle from a wine shop up the street last night, and it was not a bottle that we were going to hold for 10 years to properly age. It was worthy of an earlier usage.

Dinner was a home run. Period. Antipasti. Wine. Main course. Service. Atmosphere. Less than 130€ all tips included. Pics to follow. 2 went with the veal and I had tuna. The hit of the evening was a mushroom pasta pre- main course dish that was over the top delish. The head waiter was a star. These folks have served Yankees before.




We ended the evening with a glass of house wine in one of the piazza restaurants not far from our B&B.




So really a great day for the tourists.

A couple of other points. Our B&B is basically in an alley off of one of the streets in the Old Town. I would NEVER have found it. Leave it to 2 to locate us close to the action. But it's a nice room with our own bathroom/shower. Breakfast included. Parking is on the street as we did yesterday, or in the town public lot which we are in tonight. About 5€ per day. Not so bad.

Lots of tourists in Saracusa. Most on group/guided tours. Many nationalities. They all have phones. There was a gal at the top of Etna yelling in a phone!!! And there are countless motor bikes, the drivers of which follow no rules. They will pass on either side of your car, and will wind their way down the middle of lanes with abandon. Madness on wheels!

So I'm going to post this and then add a couple more photos from today. I apologize in advance of the appearance of the blog as this app just doesn't help me out much. Thanks for reading. Really. Sometimes I feel like my ruminations are just whispers in the breeze. Kinda like Kierkegaard. Does that tree really make a sound in the forest when it falls when no one is there?




Tomorrow is a combo-day. We're here in the AM, and then travel to Agrigento for the evening. Greek temples, I think. There will be additional Sicilian wine in the equation.

More then.

BCOT

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Monday

Another travel day for the Dynamic Duo, but not your ordinary day. After about a two-hour drive South from Salerno, we hopped aboard a HUGE ferry and crossed over to Sicily. It was actually a bit surreal to me.

I need to first admit that we did near-zero investigation into this part of the trip. I mean, taking a trip to Sicily via mainland Italy, why should you worry about how you actually got to Sicily? So I finally did pull up some information last night about the names of carriers and the costs associated with the trip across the Straits of Messina. In this case, the Internet came through.








The ferry boat was much bigger than I expected. I mean, they had a couple dozen semi's on our trip! And dozens of cars. A truly well oiled machine. We bought our ticket shortly after we exited the freeway and got in line. (This is where LtPC messed up on the directions and we had a tour of the local area.). It was maybe a 15-20 minute wait, and then they directed everyone onto the ferry. These guys had their act together. We were underway in less than 10 minutes once we were parked.

I was a little surprised that there were no chains, locks or other security devices for the cars and trucks. They didn't even tell you to us your emergency brake. (Which was good because we still haven't located the emergency brake on our car.) I'm thinking that in the USA, you'd have TSA agents all over each vehicle with a flag to denote that it was safely secured.

When we docked in Messina, they were putting on cars heading to Italy as we exited the boat. We decided that they likely had 3 boats in service as the schedule had ferries leaving Italy every 40 minutes, and the trip took around a half hour. They might have been able to get by with two vessels, but a third made sense. Our one-way fee was 38.50€. Plus a 2€ tip to the hawker who who directed me to the ticket counter and gave me the directions that I blotched.

It was another 90 minutes on the road from Messina to Siracusa. Interstate-like road with few construction spots and not all that many exits.

Google Maps got us into town and to our near-City Central B&B. We did a once-around town after check-in, and finally found a street-side cafe with a decent bottle of wine.




Without asking, the wine came with the antipasti shown. Very cool. And the wine was a Sicilian Merlot that was quite good. 18€.

We ended up with a walk on the seaside at sunset. Again, very cool. I'll try to add a pic of the sunset from my iPhone that didn't make it over to the cloud.




Now headed out to din-din.




2 at dinner. end of a great day

Thanks for reading. Ciao!!

BCOT

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Sunday

Not a lot to add today. It was check-out day from our place in Salerno, and then a 3+ hour drive to our interim stop here in Cosenza. Sunday is a good day to travel since almost everything is closed in Italy. That would be a fixed piece of advice I'd offer for anyone looking to visit Italy.



So this gives you an idea of where we are on the map. We could have driven further, but the plan had been to make sure that I had time to take a bike ride today, so this became the stopping-off town. It's very blue-collar-ish, with lots of 6-8 story high-rise apartment buildings. From my bike ride and our subsequent drive around town, there's little to distinguish the place.

There's an Old Town section that I rode through and where 2 and I went back to have a glass of wine, but it is really just OLD.


This is not my pic, but it easily could have been. (I had my mini-digi, not my iPhone, so my pic's are not up-load able today.) Anyway, the Old Town has pretty well got away from the locals. It's a slum, at best. Even the church at the top of the hill (out of this photo) is rundown.

The drive from Salerno was on the A-3, this region's equivalent to an Interstate. I've never traveled on a road with as many tunnels. Much more mountain-y down this way than what I had expected. Several large valley's. The A-3 had several sections under serious re-building. The normal flow was two lanes per side, but there were multiple times where it was one lane each way using just one side of the road. Just like I-80.


An interesting factoid that I surmised from the day's trip...they seem to NAME their bridges in Italy. Each one with a proper name. Not a number.

We're staying in a very conventional, Western-style hotel of 7-8 floors that 2 says was once a Holiday Inn. Since we're just here for the convenience, and are not expecting a lot of culture, this hotel works just fine. They even speak Inglese' at the front desk!



My bike ride around town was un-eventful. I mostly wanted to get in a ride and checkout the surroundings. Virtually all of the shops and eating establishments in town were closed. Very little traffic. The Italians make an effort to lay out their streets in a non-grid pattern...to great success. With many one-way streets and few direct cut-throughs, getting from here to there is a bit of a science. Add in round-abouts and narrowness, and you have an adventure!

One other small point that 2 and I put through the LtPC over-analytical wringer was my thought from the Isle of Capri day that I wasn't sure if I had ever been on a true geographical island before Capri. It's still a fuzzy topic, although I think I was probably on a small island in Canada those 20 years ago when I was on that Guy Trip for fishing North of the border. I've never been to Hawaii. Nor any of the Caribbean resort islands. (Cabo is not an island.) But I may have landed in Tokyo when going to/from Korea in the USAF. Whatever. Unlike Kenny Chesney, I am NOT an island guy.


So rather than bore the Peanut Gallery with more minutiae, from a rather ordinary day, I'll sign off for now. The schedule tomorrow is our further drive South...ferry across the strait at Messina...and head to our two-day stay on the Southeast tip of Sicily in Syracuse.

Thanks for reading. Ciao!!!

BCOT

Saturday....UPDATED

So we have elected to make this a "relax" day in Salerno. We had talked last night about a drive over to Amalfi to do more sightseeing, but our host at the B&B told us that today was a big day for a town celebration in Salerno. She said that vehicle traffic this afternoon would be a mess, so we have opted to hangout, watch the parade and fireworks, and generally take in the city. After two days of walking...a lot...a day sitting seems like a good choice.




This is a shot from our park bench looking out into the bay.




And here is 2 reading her book. We're definitely not over-doing it today.
2 pointed out to me last night that the restaurant fare is more seafood oriented here than in our stays in Verona and Turin. Geography related as obviously, we are on the ocean here, whereas the Northern cities have more pasta on the menu. Hadn't put that math together myself. Anyway, I. Had a seafood combo last night, and she went with the only pure pasta entree on the menu. She rated here's as average, while mine was definitely above average.

The highlight (lowlight actually) of the IofC trip yesterday was a waiter trying to scam us out of €24 at our small lunch, 2 not being able to finish a questionable-looking pannini not with standing. Anyway, I tried to pay with a credit card, and the guy came back with an obviously troubled-looking computer tape, saying that the machine wasn't working. So I paid him in cash. But before we could leave, the Mama-san (Korean-speak for the head gal of the place) came over and said for me to wait, motioning for me to come to the pay station. Long story short, the machine DID work, she had me sign a very clearly-readable tape, and had the waiter pay me back my cash. I wonder how many times that that waiter had used the "broken machine" schtick to scam a tourist? Thank you, Mama-san.

We ended up sitting with our hosts for at least half an hour for breakfast this AM. Coffee, fruit, quiche and home-made croissants. The 30-year old daughter is the communicator...pretty good English. Mother is the operator, but has little English. And there is a Spanish maid who does much of the house-keeping work. They rent out a total of just 3 rooms. In the account of this trip that 2 and I vow we will put together about this trip, I'll describe a little more about their operation and some of the facts we learned about their lives.

So just to spark-up this travelogue, here's a Top Ten list of factoids since our departure from the QCA Tuesday morning:

1. The Google Maps app has been an adequate GPS alternative. We got right to our hotel in Salerno, and to Pompeii without any trouble.
2. Tourist shops at Pompeii and IofC are carbon copies of shops at every mega attraction in the world. Lemoncello on IofC compared to holy water at Lourdes or Lincoln heads in Springfield.
3. Italian street markings still rate a Worst in my ratings system.
4. Smart phones have taken over the world. And people can rudely talk loudly on them in public places in Italian/German/Pick-em.
5. The promenade here in Salerno is heavily saturated with shoes/bags/make-up/lingerie/apparel shops for women. I think the guys show up to girl-watch and carry bags. Like at the mall in the USA.
6. Seems like 3 days is the number for my jet lag reversal. Today seems like a normal day.
7. Biaggi's in Davenport does an excellent imitation of authentic Italian Margarita pizza.
8. Every place we go, they know we're tourists when we walk in.
9. We haven't turned the TV on in our room since arrival. Pretty sure I could live without one on Maplecrest.
10. Great to have Twitter to stay up with the fam. PLD and CJ are stars!!!

OK. 2 tells me it is time for lunch. If we see anything worth reporting later, I'll add some pics.

Have a great Saturday in your part of the world!

BCOT

Evening pic's.

This first one is just looking up the street at the parade around 6:30 PM local. This was kinda at the start of things. Big crowds throughout the downtown area.




Now we have walked about a mile, ahead of the parade, to a restaurant district that we visited a couple of nights ago. We just chose this place because there was at least one other couple at a table. None of the other adjacent places had anyone sitting at their tables. We wondered if it was bad form or something to dine while the parade was still in progress. I snapped this pic to illustrate an empty dining area with literally a throng of people stood just a few feet away.












Dinner. Both very good.




This pic just doesn't do justice in representing the thousands of people out and about as we made our way home at 8:00PM local. Streets were still blocked off for the parade that had started over two hours previously. All ages were represented. We both celebrated that we weren't in a car in this mess!!! It was a cluster!!!!

All for tonight.

BCOT

Friday - Pic's Only

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2-hour boat ride to get to the Isle of Capri from Salerno. Round-trip for two €89. I had said last night that it would likely be €50 each. Not so far off, eh? Huge number of tourists. Kinda like Times Square. Lots of little shops half way up the hill from the beach. 2 Americano's and two croissants for €15. Just like the airport or the ballpark. Suite.

Still looking around the corner for a Bond girl from the 70's.

Will be doing a long lunch here and then back to the beach/harbor for the return trip at 4:30 local...which is 0930 back in the QCA.

I'll try to add more here once we get back to our hotel. We're both tired...didn't sleep well...#jetlagstill.

Ciao!!

BCOT

Thursday

I'm not entirely sure of my time and place in the world as I sit down to post this entry. As my closest of associates will know, I don't re-set my Ironman wrist watch when I travel...and it tells me 10:55. Add 7 hours and we're at 5:55 local...which is what the iPad is showing at the top of my screen. So those of you in the New Country are not quite past mid-day on your Thursday. OK...my mind is now on point.

I did get out on my bike for a little over an hour this AM on the walk-way along the beach in downtown Salerno. Nothing special about the ride, although I need to do so oiling of my break lines before going out tomorrow. Kind of surreal to be riding seven time zones away from my last ride. On the same bike.

2 and I both slept like 12 hours once we hit the bed last night. That over-night flight is a beach. I don't sleep on planes. The lay-over in Dusselforf was just long. Then it was the time to rent the car, and the drive to Salerno. The autostrade is just like an Interstate, but with less land on the sides or in the medium. It even had a couple of points of construction to make it seem more like home.




Our room is very basic. We do have our on bathroom and shower. We are close enough to walk downtown...and to the ocean-front. Salerno is an old town...and we are past the Summer beach season. Classic European narrow streets, small cars...and lots of motor scooters. We have a hotel parking spot a couple of blocks from our location.

The trip over to Pompeii today was a success. The archeological dig is several dozen acres and a person could spend days there if they we really into that sort of thing. We were there for 2+ hours and that was enough. It's a huge tourist attraction and there were many guided groups with leaders speaking several different languages. It was about a 30- minute trip from here back towards Naples to get to Pompeii. Vesuvius is the big hill above the town that caused the problem.

I had serious doubts about finding the parking entrance upon our return. But after a couple of mis-hits, we made the right turn and got there. Lucky. If there was a lottery ticket place available, I'd be buying tonight.

And the bottle of wine that we picked-up on the walk to our hotel from the parking place is one that we used to drink at Biaggi's!! A barbera that is ok, but not great. Funny that we go a world away and find a bottle of wine that we drink in Bettendorf!


This one was a screw-top. 2 noted that I paid $8.50 Euro...which is about the price that the Hy Vee on 53rd charges for the same bottle. She said that we could use it as our wine-currency reference data-point for the trip. Not a bad idea!




I guess 2 gets to be Daughter of the Day...for getting us to and from Pompeii!!! You're a long way from home, Baby.

So that's all for today. If you were looking for deep thoughts, sorry.

Will try to post another entry tomorrow.

BCOT


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