Sorrento for Alistair's birthday

Last year Alistair and I enjoyed reading Robert Harris' "Pompeii and this year we went to visit the historical sites of Pompiei and Herculaneum.  We were based in a pleasant hotel in Sorrento and could explore the town easily on foot.  Our first walk took us down to the harbour.

Lovely and hot down by the fishing harbour.

We watched a fishing boat come in.........

                       ........... and the catch was sold immediately on landing  - presumably to one of the may sardine restaurants down on the beach.   
Having walked down a steep path to the harbour we left up a steep climb on the other side which gave us a view of the fisherman's church cupola.

I took a lot of shots to try and get Vesuvius without clouds.  Plenty of cloud in this shot.

Of course, after all this walking, we had worked up quite an appetite so we enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch.

We wandered back through the maze of narrow streets full of shops.  I liked the vegetable store at roof level!

Herculaneum

The main purpose of this holiday for me was to visit the historic sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum.  First we went to Herculaneum where the excavated site was small enough to comprehend and cover in one visit.

It was fascinating to walk round and then look up at the modern town all around and know that underneath those buildings there was so much more undiscovered history.

Given their age some of the wall murals are in an amazing state of preservation.  Graham I took a photo of this door especially for you.

Pompeii

Later in the week we visited the excavations at Pompeii which were so much more extensive that we only had time to visit some of the highlights.  There were also lots of people and it felt much more of a tourist attraction than the feel of ancient history we got at Herculaneum.  

Seeing the casts of the bodies of the people caught up this ancient disaster was interesting for the historical context but felt intrusive at the same time.

Here we have the Roman versions of a pedestrian crossing and a fast food outlet.

                                       

It was particularly hot on this visit and spots of shade were very welcome.

Whilst we were on holiday it was Alistair’s birthday so we went to Musical folklore show after dinner in the Theatro Tasso.  Here we have Alistair earlier in the day with the poster….the show did not begin until 9pm after nibbles and champagne in the Theatre bar….all very Italian.

Amalfi Coast

The day was dull and comparatively cool for our trip along the beautiful Amalfi coast as you can see by the jacket. 

Then the coach came to a grinding halt on the narrow road overlooking a sheer drop.  Time to get to know our fellow passengers and indulge in British black humour.

I loved this poster (reminiscent of a Chagall exhibition I went to in the Eighties!) and spent some time trying to buy a copy but the festival was over and there were none to be had in Ravello.   I could see the beauty of Ravello but there was a biting wind so we ignored the pretty square and went indoors for coffee and cake.

The Isle of Capri

Fortunately the weather was beautiful for our trip to Capri.  We did leave very early and caught one of the first boats over.  This turned out to be a good move as when we returned to the centre after a walking tour it was very, very crowded.  This is the view from the Phoenician Steps looking back down to where we landed on the island.

Here we have Alistair overlooking that part of the coast where Gracie Fields had her villa and hotel. 

Of course after the Bull in New York, the cows in Saltzburg Castle, the life size cow with a Man U scarf in Crakehall, Yorkshire I just  had to have my photo taken with this Italian cow outside the most expensive and beautiful hotel on Capri.

We ended our visit to the island with a boat ride round the coast of Amalfi. 

Here we are approaching the rock

And here we are going through the gap.

Our boatman was a little too keen on showing off his skill at controlling his boat and did a sharp turn round to go back that resulted in one man falling off his seat and receiving a nasty sprain to his wrist and the four of us sitting at the back got a nasty surprise as cold sea water splashed up our rear ends!!

Whilst I had been looking forward to the visits to the historical sites Alistair had been looking forward to our planned walk up to the summit of Vesuvius on our last full day in the area.  The day was bright and clear so we were hoping to get some good views.  We drove up to the National Park entrance but that was as far as we were to go as some of the workers in the park had been made redundant and they were blocking the only road up to Vesuvius very effectively.  The police turned everyone back down the approach road and the protest went on all day.  Most disappointing.  

On our last day we went for a last walk round Sorrento before leaving for the airport and spotted this young lady out for a walk with her rabbit.