Italy February Trip
The plan was to go by train from Palermo, stay in Taormina and then cross the sea on the train and travel up the Cantabrian coast stopping at Tropea, Maratea, Ercolano and then catching the fast train to Rome where we would meet up with Paul, Maria, John and Kate. Hopefully spending a couple of nice days in Rome before carrying on North to Sienna and Montepulciano. Bryan and Karen were to return to Rome for a family get together with Rhonda and I going our own way for a couple more days.
Next stop was Tropea, Its known for its clifftop historic centre and prized red onions!
TAORMINA
MARATEA
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Then it was onto Ercolano for the ruins, Rome for the rugby and to reunite with Bryan, finally Sienna and Montepulciano. After Montepulciano we said goodbye to Bryan and Karen and then went on to Lucca and finally Genoa and home. The train service was pretty good considering how many trains we caught.
Ercolano or "Herculaneum" was very nice. Like Pompeii it is a microcosm of what Roman life was like. The building we stayed looked as old as the ruins outside but was all bijou inside.
ROME
Next stop Sienna, a city in central Italy’s Tuscany region, is distinguished by its medieval brick buildings. The fan-shaped central square, Piazza del Campo, is the site of the Palazzo Pubblico, the Gothic town hall, and Torre del Mangia, a slender 14th-century tower with sweeping views from its distinctive white crown. Best known for its appearance in the James bond movie.
Our next town was Montepulciano. This is a medieval hilltop town in Tuscany, Italy. Surrounded by vineyards, it’s known for its vino nobile red wine. The Torre di Pulcinella is a clock tower topped by a figure of the Pulcinella, a commedia dell’arte character. It certainly was a steep climb up to the top. Bryan had found a room right by the main square. Also famous for being the film set for the New Moon series. Went to a great wine tasting as well as a super restaurant.
Lucca was our next stop,it is a city on the Serchio river in Italy’s Tuscany region. It’s known for the well-preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city centre and its cobblestone streets. The walls were great to walk round, an ideal jogging route. Found a great craft beer bar and ate in some great restaurants
Our last stop before flying home was Genoa. It's a port town, originally built on a steep slope. It has expanded over time with tunnels and lift to get to the higher ground. One lift travels vertically before rising vertically, Some really narrow alleys in the old town with some great restaurants. The port has been gentrified to within a inch of its life. Genoa is great town, still with a bit of edginess in its narrow streets. Well worth a visit.
