Sicily - Syracuse

Needing a lunch stop between Taormina and Modica, we choose Syracuse, not realising that a few hours is just a taster of what was once one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world.
The 2700 year old city of Syracuse played a key role in ancient times, it rivaled Athens as the most important city of the Greek world, it was a centre of Greek, Byzantine and Judaic civilization.
Syracuse was the birthplace of Archimedes and home to Plato for several years.

We only managed a wander around the small island of island Ortygia, the older residential quarter.
In the centre of Ortygia was the yellow stone pedestrian square , the Piazza del Duomo. The cathedral there is built on the remains of the Temple of Athena, the original Doric columns are incorporated into the present Cathedrals main structure. Here we enjoyed Gelato while listening to a man playing his guitar.
Our further wanders took us to the church of Santa Lucia, the town's patron Saint and finally the remains of the 7th century temple of Apollo.

Ortygia Island.

Piazza del Duomo

Cathedral of Syracuse.

Gelato and Parrot, happy Jarvis!

Ruins of Temple of Apollo

Sicily - Taormina

20-23rd May 2015

Ravello to Taormina 6:52hr (but took a lot longer)

I had a bit of a last minute panic trying to find us somewhere to stay in Taormina, Sicily, after I received a last minute cancellation from the apartment I had booked. Tano, our host in Ravello, suggested a B&B would be a good experience for us. I had always been a little reluctant to book a B&B because of the 'storm' we create - 3 loud boys, but decided to give it a try and booked us into B&B Casa Margherita.
It was a huge drive from Ravello to Taormina. We kicked off early, driving along the otherworldly Amalfi coast by 9am in an unreasonably large and overloaded car.  Chris did an amazing job navigating through the treacherously narrow and twisted coastal roads. The sights I experienced as a passenger were unforgettable.

Ferry souvenir shop

Later, roadworks on the motorway forced us onto a 45 min hair-raising deviation. We finally crossed over on the car ferry to Messina(Sicily). The first godfather signs were in the form of T-shirts on the ferry, no discretion. My discussions with the boys to not mention the 'G' word in Sicily seemed a little over dramatic now.
A little further drive south down the coast we reached Taormina, Sicily's most popular summer destination.

Our host 'Laura' had agreed to be called and meet us, to then lead us to her home. She arrived looking very 'Sicilian', kisses and compliments for us all. Her eyes brightened with the sight of the boys - "I didn't know you had three children she said, I love children, my daughter 'Julia', will be so pleased". And so our journey into Laura's home began, full of initially almost overwhelming hospitality, later to be realized as sincere generosity of spirit. This is what I had read, that the Sicilian people have an enormous hospitality - it was something truly wonderful to experience.
"My home is your home", Laura said as we entered her house - what I really didn't realize at that time is that she truly meant it. I am so guarded by comparison.
Over the next three nights it was a pleasure to feel like we were part of her family. On our last night we had asked Laura if we could cook her dinner. We waited for an opportunity, her kitchen was full of chatting Italian women and we felt a little intimidated to enter. We eventually built up the courage only to find that these women were Laura's family waiting for us. Her cousin, aunty and her 75 year old mother who had driven 90 minutes by car to come and visit us. Like that picture of Italian mamas in my head, we were happily smothered with hugs and kisses, the "bel bambino", "bellissimo tre" boys like cheek-pinching beckons. It warmed my heart, so much affection.

A backtrack to our first night out involved a venture into Taormina town, only a 20 minute walk from the B&B. Ollie walked in ahead with Giulia, Laura's daughter. I was quite impressed with this, my little boy seemed so grown up and confident, he didn't seem to mind that he couldn't speak any Italian at all and Giulia just a little English. A little later Laura drove us in where we meet up with Ollie for dinner.

We revisited the next morning after a very generous, sweet silician breakfast on the balcony with views of Etna in the distance. Chocolate filled croissants, cake, fruit and coffee.  During the daytime you could easily make out the glamour of Taormina. It's difference to most chic resorts probably being it's elevation and sweeping views over the gulf of Naxos.  It's main street is ridiculously touristy, but it is combined with a stunning Greek theatre above and dotted with medieval churches.

Taormina Lanes.

Taormina Lanes. Lachlan in the pushchair

Window displays of Marzipan fruits.

We took the funicular down from Taormina's main street to the coast, about 250m. Our mission was a walk around Isola Bella, a private property until 1990.

We had a rather awkward pram verses steps descent down to the pebbly beaches which led to a narrow strip connecting the mainland beach to the Island of Isola Bella, 'Ìsula Bedda'. It was a little miserable not being able to walk along the waterfront due to the cafe's private beach strips.
A couple of reasons prevented Chris(a hard thing to do) and the boys from swimming. Firstly the very clear water was surprisingly freezing and secondly it was visibly full of jellyfish bobbing around. We picnic-ed on the small rocky beach which seemed surprising popular with sunbathers despite it not being very hot. 

Navigational difficulties: Pram vs steps to the beach.

Jellyfish everywhere, too visible in the crystal clear waters.

Back in Taormina's centre we enjoyed our first Aranci meal. Quite unlike the little balls of rice with cheese in the middle I had previously eaten, these where large pyramid like shaped rice parcels filled with all sorts of delicious tings, quite an art form, awards and all.

The next day, Laura called a favor from a friend to guide us around Mt Etna. Laura told us how Etna had erupted only a few days before our arrival, she and her guest had sat and watched it from the balcony.
We headed off in the morning to pickup Brigetta, a Swedish women who came to Sicily and fell in love with both Mt Etna and a man whom she had now married and lived in Naxos for 20 years with. As we loaded Brigetta into the car at Taormina's station car park, struggling to get the seatbelt to work, we spotted Laura zooming into the car park. She had come rushing after us, worried we were leaving without the pram that we might need . It was so comical as she jumped out of her car in the middle of 'Glam' Taormina in her PJs to dash a pram across the car park to us - so absolutely lovely, Sicilian hospitality again.
Brigetta was a fount of knowledge. We had great conversation on the trip to Etna, about 1:15hr. We stopped on the way to visit a very popular honey shop with generous tastings and store keepers who were surprised at the popularity of olives, pickled garlic and honey with our boys. We drove up and over streets made from Lava. We narrowly avoided a parked car that had rolled back into another in front of us - no handbrake on.
We arrived at the south side to see the two craters formed from the 'perfect' 2002 eruption. Jarvis and Chris took on the challenge of scaling up the steepest side of the crater.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, it's first eruption taking place around 500,000 years ago. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe. More than 25% of Sicily's population live on Etna's slopes. It's rich volcanic soils provide income from agriculture as does it's tourism.
 In June 2013 it was added to the UNESCO world heritage list.
There was quite an exciting mythology associated with Etna, with which to try and entice the boys imagination. One legend was that 'Typhon', a 100 headed monster, was trapped by Zeus under the mountain. He has been spitting out flames ever since. The Greeks believed that 'Vulcan', the God of fire and metalwork had his workshop here. They also believed that the one-eyed Cyclops, 'Polyphemus', lived in a cave on it's slopes.

Jarvis conquering the crater!

The Buried House (2002 eruption).

Snowy North Side.

Exploring the tunnels formed from the lava flows.
Tunnel Entrance.

Inside the tunnels. Snow used to be stored here.

I'm not quite sure what possessed us to do pasta for an Italian family on our final night, probably the ingredients at hand in the supermarkets. Laura was very polite when she commented that it was 'nice' and different. When asked what type of pasta she normally cooked she responded "Pasta della Nonna", a typical Sicilian pasta dish with eggplant and tomato.

Laura, Giulia and 'Us' at Laura's home.

We ended the evening with Giulia and Jarvis playing the piano and Ollie on his electric guitar.
Laura's comment to Ollie remains memorable, she said it with her hand placed over her heart "You are a good boy, I can see it in your eyes, the window to your soul"

This time with Laura an Giulia  provided some wonderful memories of hospitality and generosity. We still correspond in broken English(I sadly cannot contribute in Italian), I hope we always will.

Lots of smiles.

Italy - Ravello

14-may-2015 to 19-may-2015

Rome to Ravello: 3:08hr

Driving the route we had driven before, we were on the lookout for were we had previously stayed. It had been an odd stay some 16 years ago. We had arrived in the evening asking for two rooms, the place was quite empty, elevated and remote, a little 'Hitchcock like'. The non-English speaking maitre d' seemed to find four New Zealanders somewhat curious. He followed us around offering gifts of wine and hotel souvenirs, really I think he was a little 'puppy-dog-like' mesmerized by my mother's beauty.
Sadly he was no longer there when we arrived again, but we were still eager to enjoy lunch overlooking the wonderful view of Mt Vesuvius.  It was still slightly odd, a little empty but in good condition, we were not prepared for quite such a gastronomic lunch. Answering 'Yes' to whether we would like to start with some tomato and Mozzarella, we were presented with a large ball of buffalo mozzarella each! It must have been the best I had ever eaten. I wondered how a tomato could taste like this too, so intense, not like I know.
We didn't really need anything else but out came the pastas we had ordered. Simple but delicious. I know now that I overcook pasta. Al Dente in Italy is much more firm to the bite. I was beginning to realise that Italian food was really really good!

One of my most favourite foods and
probably the best one I have had.

As expected it was a pretty wyndy drive up and over the hills to Ravello, but once there things went smoothly. We dropped our car with a valet attendant and ventured into the pedestrianized area with Tano, our host.

I couldn't quite believe the location of our apartment.  Tano lead us into the main square and then down a lane, through an entrance gate into the gardens of the apartment, located just behind the main square of Ravello.






We stood on a plateau of land perched 365 metres above the Amalfi Coast and the Tyrrhenoan sea, 'closer to the heavens then the sea' as they say.
The view was picture postcard, quite stupendous, quite otherworldly.  I was a little taken back.

Apartment Garden. How fabulous is this? Dream-like!

I had taken a bit of a gamble on our accommodation. It was a place that looked great on the internet but was surprisingly affordable(not much of Ravello is in NZD terms) and it had no reviews. I ended up writing their first review, completely glowing and probably now out-pricing me from returning. Like the expression, it was an unexpected gem.

Slightly faded-grandeur, but serene and magical.

Night lights at Villa Rufolo.

Chris and I laughed over an early evening drink on the terrace that come nightfall we would probably be eaten by Vampires (reminiscent of the movie ‘Dusk to Dawn’, all too perfect).

That night we fortunately remained uneaten but went to bed listening to the orchestral music of the Villa Rufolo’s light show just behind us. This was impressively ambient, but only for the first night!

 I eagerly headed off for supplies with Ollie and was somewhat distracted by the 'Wine and Drugs' (what does this really mean?) sign hanging outside a small boutique wine shop. Three quarters of an hour later Ollie and I emerged feeling a lot happier after several very generous tastings, mine been generous not Ollies. With hopes of purchasing, I was brave enough to ask to test something a little more affordable only to be told there wasn't anything more affordable.
She then proceeded to give me impressively large tastings of very fancy wines indeed! I can't say that I have ever had such a generous wine tasting experience anywhere, but then generosity seems to be the Italian way.

The Office.

The following day Ravello's main square provided a lovely spot for drinks. Particularly on a beautiful sunny day, not too hot and pre-tourist peak time. Chris had set up his office here as unfortunately we unexpectedly had no internet access at the property.

It was clear from a walk around Ravello, that it was originally developed as a 'refined' resort. Now it seemed to be a resort with more 'restrained glamour' and one very popular for weddings.  Ravello has a long list of credentials. Here DH Lawerence, Virgina Woolf and Wagner all spent time. Greta Garbo, Jacqueline Kennedy and Tennessee Williams all holidayed here too.

It is known for it's fabulous gardens and views, the best in the world according to famous former residents?

Apartment terrace: Office No 2.

A bar drink with Chris and much needed internet access.

The following morning Ollie, Jarvis and I headed off on the fantastic walk from Ravello down to Amalfi. It was like something out of an old romantic movie except that it was being lead by Ollie and Jarvis and my ‘romantic’ husband and 'invalided' Lachlan were somewhere on a bus heading towards Amalfi to met us . The 45-60min cliff walk down was very steep and dramatic. The sights and senses were overwhelming beautiful in a rustic faded grandeur sort of way. So serene and peaceful. At the most we passed six other people as we moved amongst the rustic trellised terraces and pergolas loaded with lemons, and vines. Wild flowers and broken stone steps all played their part in the enormous charms.

The boys ventured ahead looking like adventurous boys in heaven, with the hill to one side and the sea to the other , surrounded by cliffs full of intrigue. I pondered, what was going on within all these houses perched on cliffs or bedded into them with their secret gardens and the only access being 100s of goat-like steps. We ventured around another corner to see a huge drop of stars leading to no-where, off Ollie and Jarvis went! I was left in the dust trying to take the photo impossible to capture. 

Vertigo inducing glimpses.

Very glad to be going down.

Then around another bend we see the magnificent tower of a church way below us, looking as if it is rising from the sea. The boys can’t understand why I keep stopping, quite mesmerized by it all.

No need for cutlery when I'm this cute?

Dramatically set on the coast, Amalfi was once the seat of a powerful maritime republic. Most of the old city and it's 70,000 slid into the sea during an earthquake in 1343. The Arab-Norman Cathedral at the heart of the town has survived from this era.

It's striped Byzantine facade, an 1800s approximation of the original,  stands atop 62 steps. It's crypt inside is the heart of Amalfi because here are preserved the “head and the other bones” of Saint Andrew, Jesus's first disciple. Saint Andrew's relics are said to exude a miraculous  liquid called 'St Andrew's Manna'.

'Cloister of Paradise'

Wedding Confetti

A fancier option than the public bus I went home in!

With the temptations of incredible hills and views, Chris was fortunate enough to have been able to borrow a bike from Tano, our host. Tano had recently had a baby so was out of action. He had also provided us with a nurse for Lachlan's bandage changes which meant we didn't have to drive for 2hrs on the nerve racking coastal road to Sorrento. We were very grateful for Tano's hospitality.
Chris had biked up and down the steep cliff-like hill from Ravello to the coast passing young children doing the same. He reported that it was no fluke that the Italians are so good at cycling.

The next day Chris did the famous route along the Amalfi coast to Positano and back. When he returned he drove it too. 
Driving there I was rather surprised at the distance Chris had covered.   What an amazing drive although tricky stuff with the narrow windy roads , steep cliff on one side and a long drop to the ocean on the other. Lots of driving etiquette was required, watching the blind spot mirrors on the corners, listening for oncoming 'beeps' around bends that only fit one vehicle.

Positano itself seemed quite unreal, a vertical town quite hard to comprehend.

There was a fair bit more action going on here compared with Ravello. It had the bustle and benefit of the beach but was less heavenly than Ravello perched in the sky.

Positano: Houses tumbling down into the sea.

Back in Ravello I left Lachlan with Chris and took Ollie and Jarvis for a walk to Villa Cimbrone.
Another enchanting walk along the cliffs, past churches, gardens, past the 'Monastero di S.Chiara' where we stopped to sample products, alongside dramatic drops overlooking wild flowers to terraces and sea. All of it like a walk in an old romantic movie, somehow frozen in time, Ollie and Jarvis charged ahead not having the same appreciation.

I'm certainly not a gardener, but it isn't hard to appreciate a garden such as Villa Cimbrones. For me it was more so it's location, completely awe inspiring, than it's formal Italian precision and beautiful planting.
The view from the Belvedere (the terrace of infinity) has been claimed as the best in the world. Standing there it was hard to dispute it, looking downwards was quite hair-raising, the boys mocked me.

 Belvedere the Terrazzo dell'lnfinito (the Terrace of Infinity), an awe-inspiring terrace lined with statues.

On the route back from Villa Cimbrone I noted a lovely looking Pizzeria, 'Mimi' which on our later visit served us probably our best pizza experience ever (we've had a few). At only 7 euro the 'Calzone ricotta, prosciutto cotto, pepe e mozzarella' - (ricotta, ham, pepper and mozzarella), was amazing. Slightly cool ricotta in the middle with a blistered charred pizza exterior. The 'Bufala pomodoro San Marzano, mozzarella di bufala e basilico'  - (Tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil), at 8 euro was just as delicious.

Ravello main square.

Path to our apartment

Path to our apartment

Path to our apartment

Scala

Chris and I seized a chance to take a catch up walk to sleepy Scala on the opposite side of the Valle del Dragone, the oldest town on the Amalfi coast.


After growing a little weary of listening each evening to the 'light show' coming from Villa Rufolo (dates from 1200 AD) , we finally decided to all visit it on our final night. It was quite a strange event. Every 20 minutes the same fully automated show was repeated. Clever lighting effects displayed characters and scenes upon the ruined building walls which depicted the history of the villa. This unique and creative mixture of  music and lighting effects all played out in the dark was completely unexpected and very well done.

Evening Fog

Thumbs up despite still being on one foot.

I felt a little sad leaving Ravello, but optimistically hoped I will return again one day.