Cefalu, Erice and Selinunte.. Sicily.

To the left is me within the Selinunte Ruins looking out to sea which was just soo tempting given the heat in and around the dusy ruins.




And below another view of Selinunte Beach from the top of the hill.. about 2 minutes before I dived in to cool off.



Coraleen at Selinunte ruins.. one day (Maybe) I will be able to furnish more information about exactly what the ruins were all about..



and another of me with the Craggy Rock at Cefalu in the background.





Right is Coraleen with the Craggy rock overseeing Cefalu in the background just to show just how larger than life it really is.








Below is a view of the beach at Cefalu which is right in the middle of town with gorgeous white sand.













These little religious things which seem to be all over the place took my fancy I dont think they have any particular meaning











A picture of Coraleen sitting on the outside wall of the hilltop town of Erice.. just after she thought she was to be abducted as a sex slave by a gun weilding Italian who actuallyturned out to be one of the friendliest Italians we met. Remember it was 47 degrees at this stage and our tempers were beginning to fray.

A view of the ruins at Selinunte from our Hotel balcony . Below is me in one of the bautiful Sicilian churches.. unfortunately my standard of dress in insufficient to be allowed inside so I had to don one of their 'skirts'.







The symbolic belltowers of Cefalu.. they were absolutely stunning in real life. And a view of the belltowers from the main street.



































Driving from East to West along the north coast of Sicily is absolutely amazing, for 100 of the 130k consisted of viaducts and tunnels, some viaducts were more than 1km in the air and the tunnels ranging from 177m to 4,500m. And not just one.. there were two of these.. one in each direction and both two lanes. I guess the Mafia down here make sure the transport is up to scratch for their underground activities although the NZ$11 tolls helps as well of course. I have never experienced anything like this in my life.. sometimes terrifyingly high despite the amazing views below and out to sea the long tunnels certainly made the journey more pleasant not the least being the cooler temperatures in the long, sometimes dark, tunnels.



Cefalu itself is an(other) ancient village dating back to 1131 and sits underneath a large craggy rock (with much of it built into the side of the rock) on the seaside with the most beautiful clear blue and green water you have ever seen. Once again, its another beautiful little village with cobbled streets, old churches and views to die for.





We left the beautiful Cefalu travelling West to Trapani in 47 degree heat! Yes for some reason (probably because we are here) the temperatures are unusually high.. in the high 40s some days ... only to find the Campground had closed and there weren't any. Not to be defeated we visited Erice.. another beautiful hilltop town at the top of about 10kms of very windy roads (not sure how one differentiates windy as in too much wind or windy as in roads that go around and around!!).



And you guessed it.. we got lost again.. bloody women navigators!! We stopped somewhere where parking wasn't allowed and a stranger, in a uniform, with a gun approached us. Coraleen had us locked up as sex slaves for the rest of our lives in a flash.. however we managed to convey the fact we were lost and showed him our map.. he asked us to follow him. And he was actually extremely helpful.. obviously going home for lunch or something.. and directed us to the correct road. A helpful Italian at last.. and a rareity in our travels I must say.
As the temperature rose to 48 with the humidity this beautiful hilltown was lost on us.. all we wanted was to find a campground and some shade. Unfortunately neither was forthcoming.



Travelling further along down the Coast to Selinunte (the Lonely Planet listed it as one of the Top 10 Destinations in Italy) it just seemed to get hotter and hotter! And another closed campground. Tempers were volatile.. the heat repressive .. and with no end in sight we booked into a hotel and not one with a pool as there is no such thing is this small town. I went straight to the beach and stayed in the water for an hour while Coraleen enjoyed the peace and quiet of an airconditioned room!



Selinunte was beautiful with its sandy beach, the only bad thing being it was inhabited by 100,000 Italians with little spare space for a towel. The following morning we visited the oldest Greek Ruins in Italy.. looked just like the Acropolis and by 9am the temperature was, once again, back up to 48.

Lamborgini Police Car

A quick photo Coraleen managed to get at the Lamborgini whizzed past us with its lights flashing..


Our picnic at the side of the motorway on the way down to Pizzo.. cheapskates that we are


The 'beach' at Pharo on Capri.. see the hoardes of people all cramped together in such a tiny space!

Southern Italy and Pizzo

Leaving Sorrento was fun as I had imagined.. the temperatures were in the 40's, the traffic horrendous and the Italian drivers erratic and dangerous to say the least.

We did have a bit of fun with the Italian truck drivers, just to make the day interesting. Given we have a normal right hand drive vehicle and they are all left hand drive they look right down into our vehicle when we overtake them (on the downhill of course) and they started tooting.. so we started waving back.. between Naples and Pizzo we must have had at least 30 truckdrivers waving to us... and of course we played up to it.. just a bit of fun to pass the time on a 5 hour drive!

Pizzo has a population of 8700 according to the guidebooks and an amazing underground church/cave which we spent a while finding. In fact in the process of finding it I found myself driving through the middle of an outdoor restaurant.. feeling a bit like Moses where the seas parted the rows of tables seemed to part. I was assured it was permissable and even totally acceptable.. not that OSH would have allowed it of that I am sure. In fact most of the towns are like this late in the day.. people sitting outside ON the road on tables passing the time of day. I must confess its a bit scary at times wondering whether you are meant to drive through but apparently you are.. its all very kosha!

The Caves were amazing. It was really simplistic . way back in BC times the cave had been formed by the vicious surf (it would have given Piha a run for its money I tell you!) and religious sculptures had been carved into the stone walls of the cave.. there was a little colour left but in the main they were straight rock.

Also.. while we were in Sorrento we say a very unusual Police Car.. a three wheeler like Only Fools and Horses (sorry once again I guess many of you wont even remember that either!!) and Coraleen made the comment it was hard to have respect for anyone driving something like that.. actually we saw a few of them. I guess its good transportation for local produce etc on the very narrow streets. If I remember correctly they don't have a reverse and on more than one occasion we say people reverse them by hand.. but perhaps this could have been because they were parking in tiny weny spaces. Anyway I digress.. I was talking about Police Cars. Well, while on the road south a police care roared up behind us, blue lights flashing.. and then overtook us.. and guess what? It was a friggn Lamborghini! Honest.. see we even took a photo to proove it.

Italy and the Amalfi Coast

I guess this one needs no notation.. its Coraleen at Pompei1 and to the right is Coraleen with a view of Positano in the background.



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Below is me in the Gardens where Gina Lollibrigida and Humphrey Bogart made the 1953 film Beat the Devil.

Above is Coraleen with the Olive and Lemon groves in the background on our walk back from Ravello down to Amalfi which took over an hour and at all times we were in 45 degree heat and full sun.

Above is me of course.. one with the view from Sorrento main street looking down towards the Port.. a mere 400+ steps and to the right a view over Positano and the beach with all the beach umbrellas and sunshades set out and almost full.

Above left is Coraleen and I with Amalfi in the background.. the same day as our walk from Amalfi in 45+ degree heat anb above is our little house in Sorrento. It was in the campground but beautiful all the same.

And to the left.. the infamous Blue Grotto and the water is really this blue and the hole is really that small.. even smaller when a wave hits.

Pompeii was first on the list.. and guess what? It hasn't changed since the last time I was here in 2005.. but I guess if it hasn't changed since 600AD it was hardly surprising.

Yesterday we caught the bus from Sorrento to Positano and that was so beautiful.. again hasn't changed much since 2005 although they have done some definite improvements on the Port with a whole additional concrete area available for passengers.

The bus took about an hour and for those who don't know its one helluva road. Hairpin bends, cars and busses backing up to let others through and general chaos, definitely one I wouldn't be driving on myself. We sauntered around Positano in 35 degree heat absolutely melting so after lunch decided to pay for a bed and umbrella and lay on the beach. Euro14 for two sunbeds.. daylight robbery is what I call it. Our trip home was so much better on the ferry. We opted for the water rather than the road and just out of Positano the Captain announced how hpy it was and he was putting down anchor for those who wanted a swim.. honest he did and on a regular service too!! He promised there were no sharks.. and I for one can confirm the water was as warm as a bath and there were no sharks. Once back on board he turned up the Italian music and it was just like a charter boat.. cruising along the mediteranean admiring the huge rugged cliffs jutting out of the sea like gargantum creatures from a sci fi movie.. amazing does not justify the peaceful scenery and beautiful music.. and thats without the 35 degree temperatures and beautiful sun. The trip took about 1.5 hours and was just .. well out of this world.. and it was a Euro7 boat ride "home". My partner in crime, aka known as Coraleen, decided it wasn't for her.. too hot and too boring as she isn't really a boat person and the road was better... .. hence the second day we came home via the road.

Now the road is a whole nother story. The Amalfi Coast road is infamous for its hairpin bends, traffic jams and crazy Italian drivers! I couldn't count the number of times either our bus driver or another driver had to reverse to allow the bus to pass. All along the 50 odd kms there were people on duty (I am sure they weren't traffic police.. but they were there) holding up traffic one way or the other to allow bigger vehicles to pass. We spoke to an American couple in Amalfi who said on their tour they had to come early as the road was too dangerous later in the day. Anyway that life threatening journey took about an hour in almost 40 degree heat.

While in Amalfi we took the bus up to Ravello.. an amazing small village right on the top of the Cliffs with amazing views. The 1953 movie (yes, I know most of you weren't even thought of then) Beat The Devil with Gina Lollabridida and Humphrey Bogart was filmed here. We then took the scenic route down.. walking.. I kid you not!! 8 kms in 38 degree heat.. but we didn't quite get the scenic route and ended up walking the last couple of kms on the road and yes you guessed it.. some crazy Italian driver came so close to me he actually hit me. I am totally unscathed although my TVNZ backback took a bit of knock!!

Capri was wonderful .. I enjoyed it when I was there in 2005 but this time the weather was better and we managed to go out to the Blue Grotto which is a 'small' cave in a rock just off the coast line. You buy your tickets at the port and go out in smallish motorboats carrying about 12 (they would not be allowed at home due to OSH regulations... mind you one could say that about most things in Italy!) and then transfer into little rowing boats. You have to sit right down low in the boat while a man rows you into the cave.. he too has to duck right down just to get in. The water is so blue its hard to imagine and it stays blue even though are right inside the dar cave.. amazing! The washing in of the waves totally covers the entrance at times but even in complete darkness the water stays a beautiful bright blue.

Travelling from there to AnaCapri with the crowds.. and believe me there were hundreds an hundreds of people.. like the Auckland Santa Parade... someone said 60,000 visitors a day flow into Capri and I could believe it. Given the 40 degree temperatures today we soon opted for a beach and found ourselves at the other side of the Island at Faro Beach. Now I use the term 'beach' very loosley.. it was more of a swimming hole. There was no sand.. no beach.. just rocks meeting the water however the water was tepid and once again hundreds of people with their towels spread on the only piece of flat concrete. Children were jumping in off rocks while I chose the swimming pool type steps.. yes at some stage someone had actually had the nouse to build a few things.. like a bar and restaurant.. poured a slap of concrete down and fixed in some steps.

Waiting an hour for the damn bus back to the Port for the boat home we got chatting to some very nice English people (yes there really are some!) who asked us to join them for a few drinks in the Foreigners Club that night for drinks. It was our first night out in ages and really nice to talk to someone, other than each other, who speak English.

Wednesday afternoon was spent in a Bar with English Sky TV watching NZ winning the 3rd Race of the Americas Cup.. the very best way to enjoy success I must confess. It was so bloody hot I had to ask for ice for my red wine as it was almost burning my mouth.. that is the honest truth!! In saying that they don't actually keep wine, red or white, in the fridge but at 'room' temperature on the bar so perhaps the ice wasn't too balmy after all.

Alas our week on the Amalfi Coast ended and we are now off to Sicily driving South through Calabria and Basilcata before catching a ferry in San Giovanni for Messina in Sicily... and the temperatures are still rising!! I am definitely having a few wines tonight as it's my driving day and negotiating Molly from Sorrento out around the Bay of Naples, through the outskirts of Naples and out onto the Southern autostrada is rather overwhelming.

And one more bit of useless information.. we were reading in the English Daily Mail today there is a heatwave over here.. apparently in Romania its 40 degrees plus with Athens expected to reach 40 over the next day or so.. while here its a mild 38! In the photos I have hair stuck to my face and head.. sweat running down my face.. but the scenery is amazing so they are staying!

VillaNova and Barcelona

To the left is me at the Christopher Columbus statue in Las Ramblas, central Barcelona.

Below.. our campside in VillaNova from where we caught a bus then train into the hectic Barcelona central!



Below is the most famous Gaudi sculpture, La Sagrada Famigla which has taken 200 years to date .. and is still incomplete

Above right.. me with a Matador in Las Ramblas.. he looked so amazing we gave him a Euro and had a picture took! lol

Above.. another building with Gaudi's signature.. and another on the right as well. Well you have to see lots of Gaudi.. he's the essence of Barcelona.


Coraleen and I just across from the Olympic Village with a view looking down across the City.

Having left our R and R behind us in Tarragona we moved North to Barcelona. Being the scardy cats we are after having read about petty thieves and pickpockets in Barcelona and already experiencing it in Valencia we opted to stay just south of Barcelona and get the Train in each day.
Villa Nova was the most amazing camp ground I have ever seen in my life. It would have been about 100ha, three huge swimming pools (of which one was inside), a supermarket which would put Greenlane Foodtown to shame, wifi throughout the camp, facilities with individual sink, mirrors and blowwave areas, full bar and restaurant, takeaway restaurant, disco.. you get the picture!! Unfortunately we couldnt take advantage of most of it as our days were spend getting up early and catching the train to Barcelona to see the sights.

On the Friday night there was a Disco advertised as starting at 10 .. so we trotted off. What a disappointment. The average age was 12!! Obviously this is where a lot of the school trips go and there were just hundreds of intermediate school age kids.. and as you know I am not particularly child friendly .. so we didnt stay long.. this was repeated on the Saturday and Sunday nights too and not a single suitable aged single adult in sight!!

Those of you with European dishwahers will know about the salt in the water.. the light flashes for more salt in the water.. well ALL the water has salt in it.. the shower, toilets, handbasin, laundry etc and of course we went to fill the jug for tea and coffee and a woman was trying to tell us we couldnt drink it. And it goes without saying we knew better as we were boiling it so it would be safe. Have you ever drunk tea and coffee made with salt water... BEWARE of this little trick.. I was a wee bit sick for a while!!

Barcelona was huge. We opted for the Barcelona Touristic Bus and took the 2 day option which allowed us to ride around for 6 hours on three different routes the first day and decide what we would like to see more of and then go back the following morning and get on and off at the various stops. At one stage the dialogue said .. the population of Barcelona is 1.5m .. and I thought.. thats not big.. and about three stops later they announced.. looking in the distance are the suburbs where 3.5m people live.. why the hell they didnt say a population of 5m I dont know but I guess thats the tourism industry for you. We now consider ourselves experts on Gaudi (who by the way had a huge influence on Barcelonas architecture) and Coraleen frequently said.. look at that you can see Gaudi did that.. quite impressed with our little bit of knowledge we were.. could even be a tour guide ourselves I feel!

There was an awful lot to see as we trotted around clutching our bags as though our life depended on it even though we only had about Euro50 between us! Las Ramblas deserves a special mention with street entertainers dressed as Matadors, Soldiers and much more.. even gave them a Euro to have our picture taken with them. We gave the churches and monuments a miss (I guess we are all churched and monumented out!!) but did enjoy the La Sagrada Famiglia which began being built in 1892 and still isnt finished. It was started by Gaudi and has continued to be added on to.. its five huge spires towering over the city. Even Picasso studied drawing here .. now that was something I didnt know.. although of course there is lots I didnt know I just pretend... And of course there is the Olympic stadium.. actually without the Olympics in 1992 there wouldnt have been as much of the city to see as it seemed they built most of it for that!

And then it was over and it was pack up camp time and off to Barcelona Port to catch the Ferry to Rome

More stuff ....

This is what we mean by the caricature signs in Spain. On the left is a sign telling us??? who knows.. the P is for Picnic but Mum, Dad and a child and a car.. isnt that superflous?

And below just to remind you you are still in Spain there are thewe huge bulls all over th horizon about every 100kms or so. Hello you cant leave Spain without going through the border.. but I guess they are aesthetic!!

Valencia to Morella and Taragona

Once again these pictures are all in the wrong order.. one day I will get this thing sorted...

Left is Coraleen in one of tiny streets winding up to the top of Morella which seemed to go on forever .. but actually was only 1173 metres up!!





Above right is Coraleen in the main street of Tarragona.. another beautiful little town on the eastern coast of Spain.. and more beautiful weather.

Above is the view of the town of Morella from the valley below where we stopped and chatted to a couple from Thames.. only to proove it is really a small world. And to the right one of the beautiful bell towers at the top of Morella.
And to the left... another one in the Town of Tarragona.

Travelling north west to visit some of the hilltowns once again we came across another couple, this time from Thames. They were in their 60´s and retired and were travelling through France and Spain for two months camping although mostly free camping (they told us a story about meeting some snakes.. live ones at that!!) and enjoying the simplicity of it all. Sorry.. not for us!

The first hilltop town we came across looked gorgeous so we stopped on theside of a mountain.. read steep incline.. to take some pictures.. not a goodlook when lorries were roaring past us at 100kms an hour! Moving right along to Morella with a disintegrating castle 1173 metres high we found a Hostal for the night and went out exploring after an interesting lunch of something that was called meat but defintely tasted like squid, the colour of squid, shaped like a crab with feelers and was soft and squishy like squid... and it tasted divine.. and washed down with some local beer I certainly had no complaints. We started out walking up hundreds of steps ... I kid you not.. there were hundreds of the blighters.. only to realise we were then at the base of the castle. Never fear.. we were up to it (even though my right knee has given up the ghost but a few voltaren could fix that) we plodded on. And plodding it was as we were inland with no breeze and I swear the temperature was at least 39 degrees. The walk to the top of the castle didnt seem so bad as the steps were circular and the view on the way just amazing, stopping to take pictures of the bell tower, an old bull ring and the view we soon found we had less than 100 steps to go!! At this stage I gave up and let Coraleen do the last bit on her own. I stayed below and took a picture of her at the top just to proove one of us did it. It was amazing even if the castle was disintegrating. Believe me we slept well that night in the cool of the Hostal even though it wasnt airconditioned.´ As the town in general is at such a high altitude it was actually cold at night and we took our Polar Fleeces out once again. There was nothing much to do in the evening except have a drink at the local but definitely worth the visit.

That was our tourist day so the following morning we headed back towards theCoast to stay on the beach. We stayed three nights in Tarragona whichis 86kms south of Barcelona and spent two days laying on the beach. We decided we deserved it. After all we couldnt go to Ibiza or rather werent prepared to spend the money to go - its sooo expensive. The ferry fare alone, without Molly was $300NZ each return. Tarragona was our first time we actually camped and didnt do too bad. Me in my little tent and Coraleen in the van. We managed to get the awning up and the tent and the airbed and even sorted out the power. Last time we turned the power on and then plugged in the jug for a coffee and blew out the campsite!! This time we had learnt.. take the jug to the showers and boil it.. not in the van. There is a few touristy things to do here although mainly its the seaside. Our campground is about 1km long and 250m wide between the sea and yes, you guessed it... the main trunk railway line on the East Coast. We have learnt in our short time here the Spanish dont value their coast line as every campground has been on either the train line or the motorway and Tarragona has both. Thank god for ear plugs is all I can say. Oh and yes... no nude men on the beach so all is well. We are now looking for a campground in Barcelona although they seem few and far between.

Valencia.. interesting days...

Our naked man on the beach.. not supposed to be at the top of this post.. but hey we are technophobic!!

And below.. our great dinner at El Saler a few miles from our camground. Eels, snails, asparagus and tiny fish (delicious I might add!!)

Left.. another of the architechtural wonders of Valencia..dont bother to pay to go inside.. its a waste of space with Kelly Tarltons having a lot more to offer and of course, a lot bloody closer.


Above is another of the structures as part of Oceanographic Centre.. outside much better than the inside!!

And below.. the Tourist bus.. we were just too hot and bothered to walk .. and of course Coraleen had just been robbed!

















After our Euphoric win at the Louis Vuitton it was beach time, after 5pm when we arrived and there were still about 100 people on the beach.. but.. most of the men were totally naked. Very few women wear tops anyway but it was only the second time we had seen naked men.. and never so many of them. Coraleen and I were discussing the merits of various appendages as we plonked oursleves down to soak up some more rays. They were walking up and down as if getting some exercise or perhaps on show? mind you the guy doing that had the smallest willy I have ever seen. One man in particular.. in his 50´s came over to talk to us. I must say it was rather disconcerting to have a totally naked stranger standing over you haveing a normal conversation. When he discovered we were from NZ he mentioned the AB´s and I could hear Coraleen say.. if he starts doing the haka I am going to wet myself.. and sure enough he did!! it´s true... it´s true I tell you.

And then last night we went to El Saler for dinner.. our first dinner out since arriving in Europe. We chose the local fare .. half a litre of Sangria.. eels, snails (I now know how they cook those little blighters) cuttlefish and asparagus. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The eels were boney but they come apart like Flounder and the sauce they were in.. garlic and lightly spice tomatoes.. delicissimo! The snails werent anything to rave about and bloody difficult to prize from their shells even when cooked.


There was no sunon Sunday and as its our last day here so we went into town after getting up late (as per usual) and are going to do the Tourist Bus thing and drive around the sights just to make sure we have seen them all. And then tomorrow it´s off towards Barcelona staying at Morella and Tarragona on the way.