Sorrento lemons are unlike the typical lemons you’ll find in American grocery stores…they are bigger, sweeter and the key ingredient in limoncello. And, right in the center of town, there is a whole city block filled with the lemon grove. You can smell the fragrant blossoms and sweet fruit long before you enter and once inside you can see the large lemons dangling heavy from the trees like balls of pure sunshine. In the heart of […]
Hands down Sorrento was my favorite city on our tour of the Amalfi Coast. I just couldn’t get enough of the main cobbled shopping area (Piazza Tasso) with the colorful laundry hanging overhead, the men sitting outside their shops talking the day away, the world famous Gelateria Davide, and of course, the Limoncello (which they claim to have produced first). One of the few places I would actually move to if I only could. Everyone […]
One of my favorite stops on our Ischia day tour was the colorful fishing village of Sant’Angelo with its characteristic boutiques, pastel buildings and locally made pottery. We spent about an hour there and, while I would have enjoyed a much longer stay, it was a perfect little stop for a coffee or gelato.
A short ferry ride from Naples is the colorful Ischia Porta. Gateway to the island of Ischia which was our home base for exploring the Amalfi Coast. A beautiful little island with much to offer but most famous for its thermal springs which are believed to have a therapeutic and healing effect. I cannot attest to this as we did not visit any of them but the island itself is very laid back and that was […]
This was well-worth the visit! The castle itself is about 2500 years old and has had numerous inhabitants including peasants, royalty, nuns, and prisoners, to name a few. It was an easy walk from our hotel with a great view of the castle from the beach and a nice walk across the bridge which connects it to the mainland. The views from the top of the castle are stunning and you can see 360* around providing […]
Once a thriving ancient Roman City, on the ill-fated day of August 24, 79 AD, Pompeii and about 2,000 of its residents were buried under tons of volcanic ash by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. While since then there have been a number of natural disasters with much higher death tolls, the enormity of this at that time was mind boggling. In fact, Pompeii is still an active excavation site where new artifacts are being uncovered to this […]
The Roman Forum was the central area of the city around which ancient Rome developed. Here was where commerce, business, prostitution, cult, religious activities, and the administration of justice took place. I found it to be a little disappointing. The buildings are a hodgepodge of old and new and, although it was part of our Colosseum tour, it was not that interesting to me.
The Colosseum was amazing to visit but I cannot even begin to comprehend what actually went on here back in the day. Originally named The Flavian Amphitheatre, it was once used to entertain the public with free games and could accommodate more than 55,000 spectators. Games were held for a whole day and started with comical acts and ended with fights to the death between animals and gladiators who were usually prisoners or slaves. Archaeologists believe […]