Taormina, Naples and Orvieto

Messina was the first stop on our cruise after leaving Venice, but it was a Sunday and the town was closed up tighter than a drum. As our guide explained, Sunday was for family dinners, after Church, that lasted well into the evening. I have no doubt she wanted to get our short tour to Taormina over and get to her family. As she told us of the dishes her grandmother was making, I wished we could have gotten the tour over as well, as long as we could have joined her.

The distance between Messina and the most southern coast of Italy is surprisingly small and you can easily see across to the mainland. The harbor is pretty, but there is not much of note except a monument to the Virgin Mary, who is the Patron Saint of Mesina, because of a letter she wrote blessing the city that was delivered by passing travelers all the way from Ephesus. Our meager offerings paled in comparison.

Off we went through the picturesque countryside to the ancient town of Taormina. Mount Etna didn't cooperate on the trip and kept itself shrouded in clouds. It also didn't erupt, which was a positive.

Taormina has been around seemingly since recorded time began. Most, if not all, of the ancient seafaring peoples either occupied or traded with the Taorminans. The oldest structure in the town dates back from the third century BC and is a theatre built by the Greeks. It is in surprisingly good shape and is still used today although the bleacher seats don't look to comfortable.

 

 

It is a really pretty town with stunning vistas out to the mountains and the sea. The streets are narrow and lined with interesting shops, restaurants and churches. On this Sunday, however, they were also densely packed with tourists and local families enjoying the beautiful day. We did manage to find some space for photography and had, arguably, the best cannoli we have ever had, but it was a chore getting around and not as pleasurable as it might have been on a Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

As we left, the local Vespa Club arrived in mass and occupied the main square. It was fun seeing so many vintage Vespas.

As our ship left the harbor, we bid arrevadercia to Scilly and looked forward to arriving in Naples, where we would eschew the popular destinations such as Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast and explore Napoli on foot in search of the perfect pizza.

Naples is a not a city most people want to spend anymore time in than is necessary for a slice of their famous pizza. It is a vertical city that starts rising up within blocks of the scant flat in front of the sea. It is city of high rises, chaotic traffic, narrow, steeply rising streets, where little light reaches the pavement, and churches in varying states of repair are almost every where one looks. It can be intimidating, as it is dark and groups of men seem to be loitering on most street corners and in the many squares, but also illuminating as one observes the residents going about their daily chores oblivious to the tourist in their midst, happy to be living amongst friends and family. It is not a clean city, but not dirty either. Messy may best describe it. I found it very alive; Kathy not so much.

 

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Unfortunately, it is also a city under construction near the port. After negotiating numerous detours trying to get to the main shopping street, we gave up, hailed a cab and headed off for a pizza at Sobilla's which is heralded as one of Naples best. We arrived just as they were opening for lunch and fifteen minutes after we sat down, there was a long line out of the door.

It was very simple inside with tables crowded together. There was no wasted motion amongst the staff. Once you ordered, your drinks and pizza arrived in minutes. Piping hot, with the freshest ingredients one could imagine, and a crust unlike any in the States,( it had a yeasty taste) it is knife and fork pizza heaven. Everyone had their own pie from the thinnest young girls to the largest men and everyone ate with gusto. Once the last piece was eaten, your check arrived, you paid and you were out on the pavement. No deserts were on this menu nor anything else but pizza. It was wonderful.

 

Unfortunately all of the walking we had been doing was starting to take toll on Kathy's knee. So after the pizza we headed back to the ship where she boarded and I headed off to explore more of the streets of Naples. Three hours later I returned, exhausted, but happy that I got to explore many of the nooks and crannies of Napoli.

The next day we docked in Civitavecchia and instead of following the herd to Rome, we headed off into the Italian countryside to see the town of Orvieto and it's famous Duomo. This city has been in existence from before the Etruscans and sits high on a hill overlooking a verdant valley. It is closed to most traffic and that meant a mile walk up an upward slope over a cobblestone street. Picturesque yes, but not good for someone recovering from knee surgery. Kathy toughed it out and we were rewarded with some great scenery and then with a view of the magnificent Duomo as we walked into the square.

 

 

 

As magnificent as the front of the Church is, the sides are truly unique. Unfortunately no photography was allowed on the inside.

 

We had ample time to stroll around the town, but aside from photo ops, we didn't find the town too exciting. It really is all about the Duomo, which when one thinks of it, is such an incredible structure to have in such a small town. We finished off our day with a wonderful lunch is a small restaurant off of the square. The folks we sat with didn't drink wine, so Kathy and I had two bottles of a nice Orvieto all to ourselfs. The white went perfectly with her pasta and chicken and the red did the same with my rabbit and polenta. Sometimes Bacchus smiles on you.

 

 

Next it was back to the ship to head for France and to see our friends, but as you already know, weather kept us from doing that. We had a great time in Italy, but all of the walking was beginning to take its toll.

 

 

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Rod Gilman

 

This morning Kathy and I learned of the loss of a person very special to us. We are deeply saddened by the loss and the fact that we will not be able to attend his final services. Rod Gilman has been a fixture in our lives for almost forty years and we loved him dearly. That we are traveling will take a bit of the sting away because Rod was the consummate traveler and was the person we always wanted to emulate when we started our globe trotting ways. At some point in every trip we took, we would always talk about how Rod was there before us and that he probably had a black and white slide of what we were looking at.

Rod impacted us in so many ways. Whether it was refining our love for food and finding little, out of the way, ethnic places in Chicago; listening to jazz, especially the old greats on scratchy recordings; running in the Chicago Marathon and Indy 500 Half-Marathon; spending many hours at Denny's Den listening to Greek Music and drinking ouzo, bringing Carol into his life and ours, and most importantly, witnessing the true meaning of friendship. I have never known anyone who embraced people so readily and kept them embraced through thick, thin and time than Rod.

Rod loved to keep lists on yellow pads and he would never cease to amaze us when he showed us how far they went back. Our own list of in how many ways he was special to us and the memories we made together would be of considerable length. The most enduring and important one, however, can be summed up in one word: friend.

Rod we love you and will miss you, but we will never forget you.

 

 

 

 

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A forced day at sea

What up to today has been a marvelous, albeit, intense trip, turned quickly into a day of total disappointment when our timid Captain decided not to venture into the Port of Toulon because of rough seas and high winds. Calling the seas we are in rough is about like complaining that a natural sea sponge has a coarse spot or that the wind may ruffle ones hair a bit. We have been in far rougher conditions with little disruption to our plans, but not with Captain Milktoast at the helm. As the following picture will show, it will be hard to have confidence in Captain ICan't if he can't pilot a ship into a harbor in these conditions.

Kathy keeps telling me to get over it, but what our Chicken of the Sea Captain caused was us missing seeing and spending the day with our good friends Keith and Annick. To say we have been looking forward to a day in Provence with them would be a gross understatement. I guess it just means we will have to fly back and spend even more time in France and Provence to get over our disappointment. Oh, the tortures of travel when someone else is in control.

Venice, back in our hearts

We lost our love for Venice the last time we visited in September of 2011. Not only were the temperatures in the 90's, the sun blazing and the humidity high, there were nine cruise ships docked when we arrived making it ten. The throngs of humanity shuffling along the main passageways carried one along like floatsam in a stream. The Accademia Bridge was so covered with people it looked like ants clamoring over a pile of sugar. We fled across the island to a little square we knew and lamented the Venice we used to know over a refreshing Spritz.

The next three days didn't bring us much relief as we noticed a large number of shop keepers were no longer Italian, the prices in places we used to love had skyrocketed, and the throngs seemed endless. We felt sorry for the first time visitor who would no longer see the charms of this magnificent, historic city, but crowds of people pushing and shoving to get their pictures taken in front of a historic place they would never enter because the lines we so long.

So for three years we rued going back to be disappointed again. As you know from my first post, our trip to the hotel, our room with a view and dinner the first night, had considerably softened our hardened hearts. I ventured out in the morning half expecting to be jilted again, but found that at least on this day I could find the Venice we love

The Plaza San Marco was busy, but not unreasonably so. It was relatively empty when I first arrived and on my way back to the hotel, more tour groups were being lead by umbrella waving guides, but one could actually gaze onto the plaza and see it, not thousands of people.

The Cafe Florian was it's usual peaceful, historic, beautiful place, but one would have to think that Bryon, Shelly and Keats, would blanch at the price of a cappuccino and pastry. On the other hand, how does one put a price on sitting where so many historic figures sat and enjoyed a similar experience? Although 27 Euros does seem a little excessive.

They have been doing major restoration work on the Cathedral and it's mosaics look beautiful.

The entire square just looked really good in the bright fall sunlight.

Venice has so much to offer everyone who visits no matter what they are looking for, be it art, architecture, music, history, food, romance or intrigue, that one can lose sight of the everyday vignettes that go on dispite the tourist crush. Here are a few of everyday Venetians going on with their lives in the midst of this historical curiosity.

Then there are the fantastic scenes one seems to run into around every corner. Venice is any photographers dream.

Before we left the hotel, we conferred with the Concierge about two nearby restaurants we had frequented on other trips. He said that sadly one had gone "international" and at the other the owner had died, but that his son ran another that was truly Venetian, off the tourist path, and in a quaint little square. Even with a map, our challenge was to find it.

With me leading the way, we ended up in front of the Opera House which was no where near the restaurant. I was ready to end the quest and eat at one of the fine places nearby, but Kathy took the map, studied it, and after a ten minute walk lead us right into the square and the restaurant. Thank goodness she did because it was white truffle season and when the waiter ceremoniously held a napkin under our noses and with a flourish opened it to give us a glimpse, and more importantly a whiff, of the giant white truffle hidden within, we were hooked. Dam the price, it was to be linguini with shaved white truffles for lunch, with beef carpaccio with shaved black truffles for an antipasti, washed down with a beautiful Sangiovese. Life is good. Venice we love you.

Sadly, after lunch, we had to return to the hotel, collect our things, board our water taxi and embark the ship for our cruise. Venice had recaptured our hearts, at least for thirty-six hours and we were a very happy couple as we headed toward the ship.

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Return to Venice

After a pretty hectic time of running through large airports (delayed flights wreck havoc with tight connections) to get to Venice, we arrived and had to do the long walk to the Water Taxi to get to our hotel. Suffice it to say that this was not a good start for Kathy, but then safely ensconced in our speed boat, the stress of travel began to melt away as we sped toward Venice through the slight fog and mist. It was a delightful and slightly mysterious trip as we watched for sights of La Serenissima.

Soon the the magical city appeared and a sense of being home settled in. This is our sixth time in Venice and familar places started to pass by as we traveled across the island on one of the canals. Anticipation built as we as entered the Lagoon and headed toward the mouth of the Grand Canal, past the Bridge of Sighs toward our hotel.

We've stayed at the Bauer IL Palazzo before and thoroughly love the place for it's charm, service and location. Much to our surprise and delight, they welcomed us back with an upgrade to a suite with a balcony overlooking the Grand Canal. We couldn't believe our good fortune.

The balcony, although only large enough to fit two chairs, looked directly onto the Grand Canal and there was a small canal next to it where singing gondoliers floated by serenading tourists. It was a nearly perfect location to relax after the three connection flight, enjoy a prosecco and watch the world float by.

We were pretty tired and the prosecco added to it. We had dinner scheduled at the restaurant on the veranda that our balcony overlooked. After a refreshing shower, we went down to dinner and our good luck continued with a secluded table for two right on the canal. A bottle of La Spinetta Pin, a wonderful three course dinner, and the best tiramisu we have ever had ended our extended day. Since arriving in Venice, everything was perfect and we still had a day to explore before embarking on the Regal Princess. We retired full of anticipation as to what the coming days would bring.

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