Sorrento Revisited

Sorrento has to win the award for posing for the prettiest photos, doesn't it?
I did find a spot in the town where you could sit and look down at the sea. How pretty is that water? It was just crystal clear. I was standing up quite a ways and I could see right down into the water. Today is just some of my favorite shots from this quaint town. For some reason, the shopping area reminded me of an alpine village. Now, I've never been to an alpine village, but that thought kept coming into my mind.



This shot was looking right from where I was sitting. Actually, I just sat there for a while and pondered things. Read a book, watched the very few people that walked by, marveled at the beauty of life in general. It was a pondering group of moments.

This was the view looking to my right. How cool is that? Doesn't it just look very old and medieval? I found myself wishing I was some sort of professional photographer with various lenses and a tripod. This town seems to just pose for pictures. To be there in various lighting would be cool. I'm guess it looks totally different throughout the year.

The last photo may just become my favorite Italy picture of this trip. Not only did I get in my laundry shot, but colorful vegetables, a great colored building, and Christmas decorations. What more could you want from a Italy poster shot?

Wandering aimlessly around Trastevere has become my favorite pastime here. It is such a lovely, old part of Rome. It has become touristy, but is still so authentic a neighborhood that it feels like home. Doesn't the term "wander aimlessly" sound so much better than "being lost"? I don't have to worry exactly where I am because I'm on vacation, right?

Sunday is flea market day at Porta Portese, which is just a couple of tram stops from me. You can, quite literally, walk for 2 hours and not come to the end of it. Clothes, shoes, household goods, antiques, etc., etc. The photos I took are from the sidelines because you can see nothing if you actually get in the thick of it.

My favorite part is this: there are tables here and there with piles of clothes for 1€. That's about $1.50. Too fun. The next time I come I will bring only one change of clothes and hit the market for all the things I will need for my stay. Seriously! It's too fun. Crazy, but fun. Some things are new and some are used. You can get heavy coats for 3€ or 5€. I got a really cool pair of dress shoes (used) for 3€. I am going to have to be really creative when I pack to return home because, though I have plenty of room, my luggage was close to the weight limit when I came. Hmmmm. My carryon backpack is going to be mighty heavy.

I got cussed out in italian for the first time today. I'm not exactly sure what he said, but it was clearly dramatic. I was walking between two tables and knocked over 2 shoe boxes. I was picking them up and this older gentleman came screaming at me and motioning for me to just leave. Now, I was totally boxed in and would have been happy to leave, but couldn't get past people. I just smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I don't speak italian. I don't understand what you're saying." He was not happy. I also got to briefly (pun intended) meet my upstairs neighbor when I knocked on her door to return her panties that had fallen from her clothesline onto my porch. She was sweet.... just laughed and said thank you, thank you.

Look at this picture of one of the many, many pastry shops I have to walk past every day. It's just not fair. Everything looks so good and, trust me, it tastes even better. Between pizza, gelato, and pastry every block, I may have to be one of those fliers that has to purchase an extra seat due to the fact that I won't fit in just one. Goodness.

As I was walking tonight I happened upon this cool group of kids playing in a piazza. There is always someone painting, playing accordian, singing, playing guitar, etc., on various spots in exchange for coins. There are also beggers at every church, on the trains, some busses, etc. This group was very good....... talented, colorful, energetic. Their instrument case was filling up quite rapidly as there was always a crowd around watching them. I enjoyed them. When I walked back toward home about one and a half hours later they were still going at it. Dancing, clapping, singing, and playing. I loved it.

Vacation Day

I took a vacation from my vacation today, so I've posted a few photos that didn't make the previous blog pages due to lack of space. I simply walked around today without direction or camera. I just absorbed. I did accomplish one thing; I went to the Termini and made reservations for the rest of my train excursions. This is what's in store for the next week: Monday - train to Sorrento for a return day trip.
Wednesday - early morning train to Milan where I'll meet up with my brother, Michael.
Thursday - Michael and I head off to Venice.
Friday - I train back to Rome alone in the evening.
Sunday - early train to Florence for a full day of museums with Michael. Home late that night.
Michael arrives in Rome on Wednesday, the 24th for a few days with me before we head off home to Florida.
Enjoy the photographs. And, in case you didn't know, you can always click on a picture to enlarge it.

Napoli: no, no. Sorrento: si, si.

Today was a loooong, but wonderful day. I found that, for me, Naples isn't somewhere I am comfortable. It's the first time in 18 months, since I've been traveling alone, that I have felt uncomfortable. Being a woman alone, I have to trust my senses. Rome is a quiet city compared to the confusion, crowdedness, and unpleasantness I found in Naples. There was, however, only one motorcycle driving on the sidewalk, so I guess sidewalks are relatively safe. The city is filled with the constant (and I do mean constant) sound of horns blowing. Being from the states, I just found it rude beyond rude. The people I encountered in the city were unfriendly and somber. I'm sure there is beauty there, I just couldn't find it. I walked to the port (about 45 minutes) and decided the ferry to Capri was more than I wanted to spend, so I headed back to the train station. I decided to give it another shot and, since I had a walking tour with map from Rick Steves, I began that, but quickly decided that I simply wasn't comfortable in the city, so I headed back to the train station and got a ticket to Sorrento. Thanks to Carrie Baker for suggesting that I see Sorrento, or I would have missed it.
The only pictures I took in Naples were of run down buildings along my walk. I couldn't find anything interesting to shoot. As I was on the train (after being on two, yes two, wrong trains) the scenery began to change.... thankfully. I did find some nice women on my second wrong train who overheard the english speaking employee of the train station guide me once again to the wrong train. After the second or third stop, a lady approached me and told me that the train didn't go to Sorrento and that I would have to change trains. Another woman worked with her to decide which stop would be the easiest for me to board the correct train. Thankfully, the change was an easy one.

This picture is at a bus stop in Sorrento. How would you like for that to be your bus stop? It was along the coast and I found the walk out of the city to be refreshing and fun. The town of Sorrento itself is beautiful and is already decked for the holidays. I didn't include any photos of it here because it's similar to other quaint towns that I've included in the blog. I do, however, have some lovely photos of the town. One thing I did notice, however, is that, although the town is so near the sea, you can't see the water while in the town because large hotels front the ocean and have tall walls that hinder the view. Seriously..... you can't see any water from the town. But a short walk outside the city and your senses are overloaded by the beauty all around.

I was above the town and looked down to see the boats harbored below. The colors of the buildings looked nice against the color of the sea. The water was very blue and calm. There are amazing cliffs on which the town sits. I found a little park along the sea that had this sweet set of steps. I know, I love concrete steps. They seem natural and inviting to me. These were under some great trees and it was cool, quiet, and peaceful sitting amongst that setting. I wish I had brought a book along to read for an hour or so.

In the main part of the town I found this communal garden loaded with fruit trees. It was just hidden above the main street, but, because there were great concrete steps leading to it, I had to check it out. I was so surprised to find this place! How special it must be to be a part of this. I'm ending the blog with my favorite picture of the day. I took quite a few pictures of the cliffs hoping to get one that somewhat captured how awesome this place is. I think this picture begins to do that. After figuring the days I have planned to travel by train, I have one train day left on my pass and I'm trying to decide whether to return to Sorrento (which I would love to do) or spend an extra day in Florence. Having not been to Florence yet, I'm not sure which I will choose. Because I began the day by spending over 2 hours in Naples, my time in Sorrento was shorter than I would have liked so I look forward to being able to more thoroughly explore this town in the Umbria region of Italy.

Spoleto

Before I headed to Spoleto, I ventured into a church on the way to the train station at the Piazza della Repubblica. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a display of information and works by and about Galileo. It was beyond interesting and I will definitely go back there when I have more time. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed indoors. Then, it was off to Spoleto.

Spoleto is a medieval hill town in the Umbria region of Italy. It is a walled town build on a hillside whose most famous site is Ponte delle Torri or Bridge of Towers. It took one and a half hours by regional train to reach it. The rain was finished by the time I arrived. The first photo

shows where I headed off to from the train station. As usual, the direction to the city was uphill. It took almost 2 hours to reach the bridge, though it was mostly a gentle climb with beautiful sights to keep me company. As I walked, I went through the quaint center of town on narrow roads that were just fabulous. The second photo is of the rooftops of the lower city as I made my way up.

I had to take a picture of clothes hanging on the line because I am always drawn to that view. It just screams "old Italy" to me and causes

me to visualize times past. I've learned that electricity is quite expensive here and that's why most people don't own dryers. It's simply less costly to let them air dry. I actually was thrilled when I got home tonight to notice that my neighbors had hung their laundry today so, in the morning's light, I'll have to snap a picture of my "local" laundry.

The bridge was truly a spectacular sight because it crossed a deep gorge. The sun was high in the sky so it was difficult to get good scenic photographs that captured the immensity of the view, but you'll just have to take my word for it.


The Duomo (or main church) is being refurbished, but the inside was intact. I had to wait for a bit for it to open, but was kept company by two young boys who made very good use of the long span of gentle steps with their skateboards. When I first saw them walking with their boards, I thought it would be a shame to not take advantage of the cobblestone steps --- they didn't disappoint. As well as laundry hanging between buildings, I just love all the rosette shaped windows on the churches here. I have more photos of them than a person should. This is a short post because I am very tired and tomorrow is an early day because I'm planning to head for Naples. I'm unsure of what that day will be like because I want to see Naples and I want to see Capri (which is about an hour from Naples by ferry) and I want to see Sorrento (which is about an hour by train). I don't know how to squeeze it all in during one day. If I enjoy the day at all, I'll have to add another day to Naples on my schedule. I've heard that it is a very busy, chaotic city so I'm going to take it one day at a time.

Thanks for checking in. I'll see you soon.

Exploring Rome

The morning began warm, sunny, and clear. It was a nice change. I actually had to go back into my apartment and get my sunglasses because I hadn't expected the sun to pop his head out today. I have gotten into the habit of checking the weather forecast each day, so I was prepared when the thunderstorm began late morning. I walked along on my way to St. Peter's once again because I wanted to take the "tour" I have on podcast with Rick Steves. As I walked along, I


took a couple of photos. The first one is castle S. Angelo, which I plan to learn more about and see inside one of these days. When Julie was here she joked that, because it was round, if she didn't get a chance to see the colosseum, she would just tell everyone that was it. Thankfully, she was able to get photos of the real thing.


I took a picture of St. Peter's from quite a ways down the street and, across from where I was standing, I saw a church, S. Maria Del Carmelo. I ventured inside and was, as always, amazed by the beautiful artwork inside. I enjoy just sitting in these churches and taking it all in. It quiets my soul. Just sitting there amidst all the beauty and, though my personal beliefs are somewhat different from those that are presented here, it is still the same Lord and I am always curious about different ways people approach Him. I have been told that only a small percentage of Roman's attend church regularly. I don't know if that is accurate. Unfortunately, I think like all things in life, when we are surrounded by something we tend to overlook it day to day.

Here are guards standing in front of the entrance to the pope's residence. I didn't think they would let me in - besides the pope isn't home right now. They are quite solemn and seem to stand without moving for long periods of time. Not even a nose scratch. Hmmm, with my allergies, it certainly wouldn't be the job for me.

The last photo is of a rainy street. I actually took this specific picture so I could find a shoe store again because I found a pair of boots I wanted to buy and had to go home for money, but wasn't sure I could find the place again. You will be happy to know that I was successful and can now cross one thing off of my "to-do" list. I bought a pair of italian boots. Very difficult because most stores carry sizes that begin with 36 and, just like in the states, I wear a smaller size than they carry. I did find a discount store that had the boots I like in 35. Yea! The good thing about my small feet is that I cannot find too may pairs that I could buy even if I had unlimited resources to do so.

Tomorrow is back on the train headed to Spoleto, which is about one and a half hours by train. Friday I am planning to finally go to Naples. All of this is pending on checking the weather each day. Check back later to see if I actually make it.

Train-Ing Day

I spent most of today on a train traveling from Rome to Terni and then to L'Aquila. Terni is north of Rome and L'Aquila is to the east in the Abruzzo region of Italy where it is the capital.

I enjoyed train journey, which is good because it took most of the day. L'Aquila was hit by an earthquake in April of 2009 and is in the midst of rebuilding, so there wasn't much to see except scaffolding and walls that were braced. Though the day was overcast, blustery, and rainy the view was spectacular with the colors becoming more vibrant as the trained climbed into the moutain region. I had an hour layover in Terni during the morning so I found a local bar and had a breakfast of cappuccino and danish as seems to be the custom here.

While I was in L'Aquila I found a restaurant and had my first sit down, 90 minute lunch. The restaurant was new and decorated in grey, black, and white. It was quite stunning and a comforting respite from the cold and windy rain. I've included a picture of a church that I walked past which gives you an idea of how the town looks right now. They have a lot of rebuilding to do. One account I read pointed out that L'Aquila translates in english to "the eagle" and they are determined that the eagle will fly once again. I am sure they're right.