Nice - Dinner Time

Nice

Pictures from our hotel and nearby.

Villefrance

Wandered around the Nicé flower and fruit market. Everything much cheaper than at home. We then caught the bus to Villefranche and had morning tea on the harbour front. More beautiful yachts and many colourful fishing boats. Got back on the bus and just stayed on whilst it did a loop around the waterfront down to Saint -Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Started to rain when we were nearly back to Nice.

Cannes and St Paul de Vence

St Paul was very beautiful and uncrowded as we beat all the other tourists. It is set on top of a hill and is an old village containing lots of galleries.
Cannes is a bit like Surfers Paradise for millionaires and tourists looking at the millionaires. We happened to be in town for a yachting regatta that included the huge J Class yachts. Checked out the location of the red carpet then train back to Nice.

Monaco

Caught bus to Monaco and explored the harbour which was very busy because of the Monaco boat show.  Walked up to the casino, had a drink outside and watched the cavalcade of expensive cars pass by. Checked out the casino which was not that exciting. Palaus Princier was our next stop them a very crowded bus home.

Nice

Train to Ventimiglia where I got on the train to Nice but the doors were shutting and Kathy ended up on the platform with the door shut. I almost escaped. Kathy spotted a button on the outside of the carriage which opened the door and allowed her on. Arrived Nice and walked to hotel. Once again we scored an upgrade, this time to a garden suite with outdoor terrace. Water view rooms in the hotel La Perouse start at 1100 euro but we didn't get one of these!
The old section of Nice is beautiful. Full of narrow winding streets and shops.

Cinque Terra - Day 3

Rest Day. Walk around town and a swim.

Cinque Terra - Day 2

Today we walked for about  4.5 hours. We started at Monterosso and climbed steps and walked along narrow paths that followed the coastline to Vernazza.  The walk was never flat and required lots of rests along the way. It is a lovely little town squashed into a narrow valley with a quaint little harbour. Lunch and drink and headed off to Corniglia about another 2 hours walk. This time not so many stairs but more sun. Corniglia is set on top of a rock jutting out into the sea. At this point we decided to continue our trip by train. The station is 377 steps down from the town so we were glad we had not arrived by train. The train took us to Riomaggiore which is another town set into the steep hills. Ferry back to Monterosso and a swim.

Cinque Terre

Caught train at 12.10 bound for Monterosso which is about 3 hours. Dumped our bags in the hotel and went for a swim at the free beach. Had dinner in the old part of town which is accessed through a tunnel.

Milan

Back in Milan at around midday. Wandered around and sorted out where our train left from the next day. Went to a grocery store where we discovered we had to weigh and price your fruit and veggies before going to the checkout.

Lake Maggiore Day 2

Whole day trip to Lake Como and into Switzerland to spend some time in Lugarno. Did a boat trip on Lake Como. Kathy was very excited to see George Clooney's house. Madonna  and Sylvester Stallone also have houses on the lake.  Back to Hotel Dino in Stressa. Drinks by the lake and dinner in the restaurant.

Venice - Lake Maggiore

Visited Verona and saw Romeo and Juliet's balcony and watched an amazing mime artist. Next stop was Lake Majjorie a beautiful lake north of Milan. The hotel we stayed in was very impressive in appearance and right on the water. Unfortunately the service did not match its appearance. Hotel Dino charged 10 euro just to open the mini bar fridge. We were told this was because people put their own drinks in the fridge!

Florence - Venice

Arrived Venice before lunch and transferred to ferry to get near our hotel. Our luggage came on another barge direct to the back of the hotel. To get to our hotel we had to walk through St Marks square (Piazza San Marco) and the pigeons. Checked into our hotel and were amazed to see we had a suite complete with walk in wardrobe and separate lounge room. Walked up to Rialto bridge and then wandered the streets. After dinner we shared a gondola with Louise and Angela and were taken on a 40 min paddle around some of the back canals and then the grand canal. Went back to the plaza and listen to some orchestras play

Rome - Florence

Walked around town square where Kathy bought another bag and I bought another gelato. Florence is a beautiful city full of statues and narrow cobbled lanes. Saw some gypsies that looked like they were up to no good. We walked around till quite late at night and got very lost. The hotel we stayed in was in a great location and we had a beautiful room.

Rome day 2

The Vatican was our first stop where we did a tour of St Peter's Basilica which is the most impressive church  we have seen. After the mandatory shop stop we did a drive by past the Colosseum then on to the Trevi Fountain. From there we walked back to the Colosseum for a 3 hour guided tour. The guide we had was very informative and told us all about ancient Rome and the forum. By the end of the day both our feet and brains were very tired. We caught a taxi back to piazza Navona for a sit and drink.

Amalfi - Roma

Caught a taxi from Amalfi to Rome it took about 3 1/2 hours and at times we were doing 150 km an hour. We were glad we weren't paying for it. The initial part was very windy and narrow.
Arrived in Rome and gradually the weather turned to rain. In the end we walked around in the rain just wandering the back streets. For dinner we found a little pizza place.

Amalfi - Day 2

Caught a ferry down the coast to Minori and Maiora. Maiora is another touristy place but more for Italian tourists. As it is not Italian holidays it was very quiet with only the locals around. There was a wedding in the main street heralded by  a large explosion. Caught the bus back to Amalfi.

Amalfi

Have moved a few kilometres down the coast to Amalfi. Even though it is only a few kilometres it is such a windy slow trip it took a couple of hours. The four of us in the taxi all started to feel sick. As we approached the Hotel Excelsior it looked pretty ordinary but once we got to our room the view was unbelievable. We opened our shutters and their stretched in front of us was the Mediterranean Sea. Our room is accessed by taking the lift down to the bottom of the hotel, walking along a terrace, taking another lift down inside the cliff, exiting through a tunnel and walking along another path.
We used the hotel shuttle bus to take us to town where we watched a few mega yachts being berthed. One is flying the Australian flag and is named RAM.
Amalfi is very like Positano. Lots of shops near the quay side which gradually give way to hotels and private houses. Had dinner on the hotel terrace overlooking the sea. Maître de is interesting he minces around the dining room sucking up to all the long staying English tourists. 

Positano

Caught a ferry again but this time to Positano. Took about 45 minutes on the ferry but the whole way we had beautiful views of the coastline. Positano is a beautiful town located on the side of a hill. The roads and lanes are so narrow that cars and buses can not get into the lower part of it. Lunch on the foreshore overlooking the grey sand of the beach out towards the deep blue sea. I can imagine staying here for a week relaxing. We walked up the hill to the bus passing all the shops on the way. Kathy bought a top on the way.  Caught the bus back to Sorrento along the Amalfi coast. The road was very narrow and was carved out of the cliff face.

Isle of Capri

Caught the ferry from Sorrento to Isle of Capri for the day. After arriving we took a small boat tour around the coastline to some big rocks that I can't remember the name of. The Blue Grotto was closed due to bad conditions. Took a mini bus up to Anacàpri at the top of the island then down to Capri where we shopped and had lunch. Capri is very crowded and full of tourists like us. Capri has beautiful views and we took lots of pictures.

Rome - Pompeii - Sorrento

After an early start we headed to Pompeii for a tour. We wandered around for a couple of hours but if time permitted we could have spent much longer. There was lots to see and it was quite amazing. It did seem to be eroding away and I got the feeling it won't be there in another 100 years if they don't start preserving what they have uncovered. Lunch at Pompeii.
On the way to our next stop at Sorrento we travelled through Naples. The dirtiest most crowded place we have seen. Rubbish in the streets and cars parked 2 deep along the side of the road.
Arrived Sorrento late afternoon and attempted to walk into town but the lack of footpaths and narrow roads frightened us off.

Siena - Assisi - Rome

Spent an hour visiting the Basilica of St-Francis which houses the tomb  of St- Francis of Assisi and lots of frescos. Raining. Lunch at roadside cafe.
Arrived in Rome at around 3 pm, dropped bags and started our big walk around Rome. Walked first to Spanish Steps then down to the river where we had brushetta, birra and chips. Piazza Navona was our next stop and probably our favourite place so far. In the piazza we saw many beautiful buildings fountains and statues. The plaza is surrounded by restaurants where we ate dinner with a South African couple. We then walked to the Pantheon and on to the Trevi Fountain.  The fountain was very crowded but we managed to find a spot on the edge and took many pictures. The fountain was much bigger than I expected. Taxi back to Hotel Beverly Hills.

Sienna - San Gimignano

Bus ride over hills of Chianti to San Gimignano a mediaeval town. Kathy bought a handbag and we wandered  the streets for 2 hours.
Had lunch in a winery and drank the white wine and ice wine.
Back to Sienna and did a walking tour of city to admire the Duomo and a beautiful sloping square known as IL Campo. IL Campo is the location of Palio horse race. Worth a look on YouTube.

Milan Siena

Lunch in Milan. Lots of driving in the bus 5+ hours. Arrived Siena at 7 pm and went for a walk around near our Hotel the NH Excellsior. Visited the ... then out to dinner in the cellars below a medieval building. Siena is  very beautiful with narrow cobbled  streets. Picture is the view from our window.

Milan Day 2

Early start to catch train to see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. We booked the ticket's before leaving home. Train was easy way to get to church. After leaving the church we walked through the Parco Sempione gardens then to the Duomo. After walking round the Duomo we caught a lift to the roof which has great views of the city. Next we walked the high fashion alleys of Milan and back to our hotel.