A relaxing way of life

Just three days ago we left Sicily's blue skies, achingly bright sun and pushing 30 degrees heat and arrived in Switzerland to blue skies, temperatures of 18 degrees and thick snow covered mountains! It doesn't seem real.







Salerno, our first overnight stop, was a pretty little seaside town and we stayed in a gorgeous hotel. Sadly we saw little more than the restaurant and bedroom as we arrived at 6.30 pm on Saturday and left at 9.30 am on Sunday. Another long drive and we made Bologna. We had a great day exploring the town on Monday and buying shoes, lots of lovely shoes! The car is starting to look like a department store, full of big crisp carrier bags.













Bologna is the gastronomic capital of Italy and we dined on the most divine buttery yellow home-made tortellini stuffed with pumpkin, covered in bolognese sauce and nutty Parmesan shavings. My new slim-line figure seems to be going for a burton, too much pizza, pasta and wine methinks!

Our longest drive on Tuesday took us through northern Italy, past Milan - very slowly as every lorry in Italy seemed to be heading there, and finally across the border into Switzerland. It remained Italian as we admired Lake Maggiore at Locarno and Lugano. The temperature was warm and balmy and the skies were clear. We ploughed on up the Autostrada and realised that a calmness had descended, cars were being driven fast, but safely, drivers were polite, signalling thanks and using their indicators. We had left Italy far behind!

We came off the motorway at Wassen and began to ascend into the mountains. After about 6 miles snow appeared across the road along with rock falls. Another mile and it became apparent that the pass was closed.








Reluctantly we turned round, descended quickly back to Wassen and re-joined the motorway, heading this time for Interlaken.


Driving through Interlaken we headed up the valley, just spectacular - waterfalls, a crashing river alongside, huge mountains, green meadows, pretty chalets. Eventually we arrived in Grindelwald and cast our eyes on our home for the next seven days. Wow, it's beautiful, and only booked on Monday!!





From the balcony we overlook three mountains, the Wetterhorn, the Mettenberg and the Eiger, all dark, imposing, craggy, covered in snow and stunning.









We're here to walk so set off on Wednesday on a low level trail which took us over a gorge, along the river and up a few hundred metres. It got very hot but we felt better for stretching our legs after being cooped up in the car for so long over the weekend. Many high level trails and cable cars are closed because the snow is melting and avalanches occur daily. We can hear the rumble of the snow as it begins to slide and see it pouring over the edge of rocks high above us. It's fascinating to watch.



Jim commented on the woman Nordic walking - just as we were coming up to her! I know, it's mean!



Today we've been walking for about 5 hours, its been so hot. We went as high as the open trails go. Man, it's steep, I think I'm reasonably fit after all the exercise over these past 9 months but my heart was banging so hard in my neck it was painful.






We passed through gorgeous meadows, complete with flowers and cows with bells, into pine forests where the snow is thick on the ground, emerging above the tree line. Coming down was almost as painful, poor knees and toes!!













Tomorrow we're heading for the Lauterbrunnen Valley to walk up to some waterfalls, then hopefully, if it's open, taking a cable car to the top of the Schilthorn for great views.

Our thoughts, and discussions, keep turning to Great Ouseburn now - going home seems to be getting very close. We began talking about what we want to do in the house and garden. Maybe we're almost ready to sleep in our own bed again?! It'll certainly be a novelty.





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Location:Grindelweld, Jungfrau Region, Switzerland

Scorching Sicily

Whilst we were in the southern hemisphere we speculated whether there would be any visible signs of the economic situation in Europe. The only clue in France was the availability of accommodation and the willingness of people to reduce prices to secure a booking. Both Brigitte in Giverny and Sue in Nice commented on the reluctance of the French to book holidays at the moment.

Italy tells a different story. In Umbria the lack of road maintenance due to cuts in spending have caused even major routes to break up. On our way to Sorrento we passed the lovely hilltop town of Ravello, unfortunately the views of the Bay of Naples were ruined because of the rubbish dumped everywhere.

Again, arriving in Sicily we were immediately struck by the atmosphere. At every junction people are hustling, trying to sell trinkets and there are loads of men and boys cleaning windscreens. The streets in lots of the towns are littered with rubbish and there are piles of it festering next to roads. The woman in the Tourist Information place in Riposto told us Sicily is in the grasp of major economic difficulties and public services in some areas have been cut drastically. There are very few rubbish collections which has caused a public outcry obviously. She said it is very difficult to live in these conditions and we could see what she meant.





She said that Southern Italians and Sicilians resent the way that Northern Italy appears to receive the most funding and that the north-south divide is growing wider.

Sicily itself is beautiful, the eastern area is dominated by a snow-capped Etna which is constantly erupting, sometimes with more energy than others.
(Why doesn't the snow melt though when it is so hot, both below and above ground, I don't understand.) We have had a seriously lazy week, staying in an apartment in a gated community where most of the other apartments are families holiday homes. We lazed about on Sunday then explored the trendy town of Giarre, with it's little boutiques, on Monday and took a drive up the mountain to see the hill villages of Piedmont-Etneo, where that gorgeous crisp white wine is made, and Linguaglossa. Tuesday was the 1st May, happy 83rd birthday to my lovely mum-in-law, Eileen, and Labour Day, a bank holiday. Because it fell on a Tuesday the schools were closed on Monday aswell.

Italian bank holidays - wow! The car park at the apartments, which had held our car and two others previously, suddenly filled up until there were about 70 cars, then motorbikes, scooters and camper vans arrived. All the apartments were opened up, music cranked up, barbies stoked up, kids wound up. Whoa, talk about a cacophony of noise! It all kicked off at about 11.30 am, we soaked up the atmosphere from our terrace, joining in with the BBQ and wine - obviously. The Italians are so loud, they take no notice of each other, even in the next apartment, just shout louder. There was a real party atmosphere but no-one was drunk, there were as many soft drinks as wine bottles on display and at 11pm it finished, just as abruptly as it had begun. By 10 past 11 there was our car, and two more, in the car park. Surreal!

We drove to Syracuse on Wednesday, a picturesque little honey coloured gem, with a bustling market, Greek and Roman ruins and Baroque buildings.












The temperatures have been consistently in the high 20's since we got here and the heat is very dry, it smells gorgeous, you know that mediterranean smell of herbs, lemon and Jasmine. Mmmmm! On Thursday we went to Taormina, apparently Sicily's best known resort. It sits high on Mount Tauro and you reach it by the obligatory cable car. It is well worth the trip, another drop dead gorgeous place, the views are exceptional, the Greek Theatre sits on the hill with Etna smoking behind it and the blue bays wrapped round.











Bit of trauma round lunch time though, none of the ATMs would give Jim any money and we had about €7. He was starting to think there was something wrong with his card when one of mini banks paid up, phew! Of course he let me think none of them had worked for ages....

As I write this bit it is 6.50pm on Friday and we have just got back from walking on Etna and I mean serious stuff. Walking boots, trousers, etc. The temperature was about 10 degrees colder and there was loads of snow, covered in thick black ash.






The higher we got the bleaker it got, first we walked through birch forests which look pretty dramatic, white against the black.




Then we were climbing over big lumps of lava where a few fir trees grow.




Finally we scrambled up lava scree where nothing much grows. It was steep, slippy and very dusty.








We felt as if we were on top of the world sitting on a narrow lava path, eating biscuits. Coming down was an experience, much faster, slip sliding our way down the narrow paths trying not to look at the drop on each side.



The funny thing is just above our heads Etna is burping out thick smoke.

We're packing again now. Jim's just said he won't miss packing his suitcase, oh dear, I sense home is coming nearer! We do look like homeless people though, all our possessions in two suitcases, two backpacks - and countless carrier bags!

We're back on the ferry tomorrow, on the first leg of our journey to Switzerland, heading for Salerno for an overnight stop.

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- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Fondachello, Sicily

The beautiful Bay of Naples

The views from our hotel in the hills above Sorrento are pretty nice.







The only problem is that to get anywhere you have to drive through the centre of Sorrento which is a nightmare. One, it's a package tour destination and there are people of all nationalities strolling along and across the road at will and two, there are scooters everywhere! Those of you who are familiar with driving in an Italian city will know what I'm talking about. Scooters behind you, hugging your bumper, at each side of you clinging on to your wing mirrors and coming towards you - on your side of the road!

We really enjoyed our few days in Sorrento, it's vibrant, exciting and very pretty. The manager of one of the restaurants asked us where we came from, turns out he was the manager at Pinocchios in Harrogate, obviously before the fire!

We were up early on Wednesday, on the ferry to Capri. Oh man, was that sea choppy and me with my vomiting problem! The waves were high and the troughs were very deep. There were lots of white, and green, faces. Luckily mine wasn't one of them. Capri pays homage to everything designer. After a long, and very steep walk up to Piazza Umberto in Capri town (we decided to forgo the funicular on the grounds that we are fit, healthy, have two feet and aren't American) we were met by every designer shop you can think of. It reeks of money. The villas, owned by private individuals, are glamour epitomised. Taxis are white convertibles, with leather seats in pastel blue and pink. Very tasteful - not!


We found a path which took us away from the shops, Jim's idea of hell, to Faraglione Beach, a very steep path - is there any other. We spent a pleasant hour sitting on the rocks overlooking the rock formations watching the tourist boats.








After plodding back up the hill we took a bus to Anacapri, on the other side of the island. It is delightful, no designer shops just meandering little streets and real houses. We took the most charming chair lift up to Monte Solaro, it was so peaceful gliding above allotments, gardens, trees and wild flowers. The views were fabulous, and all you could hear were birds singing. Just perfect.








How do you beat that? You go to Pompeii, that's how.

It was hot, hot, hot. Temperatures topped 28 degrees. The site is enormous, really interesting though, loved the fish Market, the temperariums, or take-aways where people picked up ready meals to take home, the laundry, the baths and the grotesque plaster casts of people caught in the ash complete with terrified expressions on their faces. We wandered round for about 5 hours, ending up with the amphitheatre, then, saturated with information and very hot, we called it a draw, having only scraped the surface really.














Plans to spend the day in Naples on Friday were ditched, it was too hot to wander round another manic Italian city so we meandered round Sorrento, then spent the afternoon on a sun lounger!

Another day, another challenge, 6 hours on those Italian Autostradas where everyone thinks they're a racing driver, where they overtake you at 100 mph then immediately cut you up to take the next turn off. However, I am pleased to announce we have forgotten our natural British reserve and inherent politeness and begun to drive like an Italian. In fact James today bullied a couple of Italian drivers. I wasn't proud of him, but I was quietly impressed!!

We took the ferry to Sicily, we were loaded on in a somewhat organised manner but on arrival there was a free for all, four lanes of cars had to perform a U-turn to get down a single lane ramp to exit the boat. Because we were nearest to the ramp the only way Jim could perform the U-turn was to push through 3 lanes of cars which he duly did much to the consternation of others. We met the owner of the apartment we are staying in near some tolls and followed her through Giarre and out to Fondachello. A guy in a black estate car tried to push in front of us. Jim wouldn't let him so he blasted his horn at him. My husband simply retaliated, sounding the horn loudly back at him, followed by some sort of hand signal! Whoops, this doesn't bode well.




I just wanted to draw your attention to the black car park we are parked on, it is not gravel as I first thought but ash from the latest eruption from Mount Etna on Thursday!





This is Mount Etna, our Sicilian apartment is just outside a town called Riposto, on the east coast, overlooking the volcano. That is smoke coming from the top!

PS
There has just been a report on BBC World News about cyclists holding a protest in Rome about the number of serious accidents and fatalities involving bikes in Italy. WHAT SANE PERSON WOULD RIDE A BIKE ON THE ROAD IN ITALY




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Location:Fondachello, Sicily

Adorable Amalfi and posh Positano

Another few hours putting up with the madness which is Italian Autostradas and we drove over the mountain into the gorgeous little gem of Amalfi. Of course there are no cars allowed in the streets so we parked on the harbour and found our hotel, hidden away in the covered alleyways, up hundreds of steps.


The garage man went with Jim to retrieve the car and drive it up the narrow street thronging with people, tables, chairs, scooters, etc. The plan was he would then drive up the only street in Amalfi and park the car in the narrow garage under the hotel. All went according to plan until they reached the car and he got into the ......passenger seat! At this point Jim's nerve failed and he took the keys back off him and braved the street himself.



Out in the evening in Amalfi walking round the narrow alleyways, some covered, some open to the distant stars is very atmospheric. When you round a corner you half expect to see a medieval monk walking towards you. We came across a pizzeria in one of the alleys that produced pizzas to make Momma proud.

Amalfi, and the surrounding villages, grow lemons. There are lemon groves everywhere, perched high up on the mountain side, in the most precarious of places, where abseiling seems to be the only mode of transport. They then make numerous lemon products including the lovely limoncello.

We went on what was described on the tourist map as a stroll, on pathways up to the villages above. Several thousand steps and several hundred feet higher we reached the first village, a stroll? In places ropes and crampons would have helped. Still the views were amazing. After keeping a local shopkeeper entertained over an espresso we eventually found our way back to Amalfi. The 'stroll' had taken nigh on four hours.






After spending thirty minutes in an Italian post office, queueing to post a birthday card to Jim's mum, we will never complain about English Post offices and their queues again. They have a numbered system and separate queues for different functions. On entering we duly took our number for the letter queue and were pleased to see just three others before us. The look on the faces of those waiting, leaning against the wall, lolling on the seats, nipping outside for a cigarette, should have told us something. It took the man in front of us ten minutes to have a letter sent, by what appeared to be registered post. There were only two grumpy men serving and, at one point, 15 people waiting. Others kept coming in, and with a resigned look on their face, settled in for the duration, or disappeared, never to be seen again! The shelves behind the two blokes were stacked up precariously with all sorts of forms and each time a new customer was served they had to keep getting up and sorting through the shelves for the correct piece of paper, obviously having no idea where it was in their 'filing' system. There was not a computer in sight, well I fib a little, each man had, what appeared to be an old BBC on which he checked the cost of letters, parcels, etc. By the time we were actually served we were almost helpless with hysteria!

We left Amalfi on one of those perfect Italian days, blue skies, sparkling seas, birds singing and tackled the infamous Amalfi coast road, clinging on to sheer cliffs, amazing views but no time to stop, not with a powder blue Fiat clinging to our back bumper!








Our first sighting of Positano was pretty spectacular clinging as it does to the cliffside and dressed in different shades of ochre. Our parking was pretty spectacular too, we found a space just large enough for our car next to where two walls joined, one stepped out from the other by about 30 cm. I stood next to the wall making sure Jim didn't get too close as he reversed in. What a team, perfect parking. Then we realised I was trapped in the little triangular shaped space between the two walls! After 10 minutes and convoluted contortions I was out and we set off to explore. The buildings are piled up in a sort of pyramid and the main, steep street is very picturesque, lined with gorgeous restaurants, small boutiques and exclusive florists.









Another 30 minutes and we arrived at our next hotel, on a hill above Sorrento. No sooner checked in and, disaster..... I'd left my kindle at the hotel in Amalfi, only 36km away, but that road. I know what you're thinking, I don't have a lot of luck with kindles, this is my third. My husband said something like that too!!!!

Got back to Sorrento at 8ish!







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Location:Sorrento Peninsula, Italy