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Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Mount Etna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013, is one of the world’s most active volcanos and is in a state of almost constant activity. An eruption about half a million years ago is responsible for creating the land that Catania sits on today. Its eruption of 1669 destroyed several cities in Sicily including Catania. We booked a tour to take an up close and personal view.

A driver picked us up at our apartment and headed towards the North peak. We got out of the car and listened to a talk about the history of the volcano and how it had affected the surrounding area. There was a wall of rock where it was easy to distinguish layers from several different lava flows. We got back into the car and headed over to a lava tube. Because of the low, jagged ceilings we were required to don hard hats.

We descended down some very crude steps into a tunnel. Our guide explained that at one time snow was collected and compacted into ice in these tubes. Because the lava was such a good insulator ice was available to nearby towns all year long. We walked the short length of the tube, gave back our stylish helmets and drove over to a trailhead. The website said that this was supposed to be an easy walk. Our guide said we would be out for about an hour and forty five minutes and that the trail was rather hilly in places. That turned out to be an understatement.

It was cooler high up on the mountain. The light breeze was refreshing as we walked. Eventually we came to a series of small craters all in a row. These so-called button craters had been active one after another during a recent eruption. Further down we came to a much larger crater. Besides the main craters at the top these were among the approximately 300 smaller ones. We learned that the tops of volcanos don’t grow as material is ejected. They become taller as ejected material settles back down and collects.

We continued on for a ways and enjoyed the scenery. On one side there was a long sloping hill reaching towards the top of the volcano and on the other side was a valley with a large mountain range in the background. Our guide pointed out where the Greeks had initially settled, followed by the Romans and then the Normans. Finally we went back to the car and stopped at a cafe for a quick lunch.

We got back to Catania around 6:00 pm. It had been a long day. Instead of dinner in the apartment we decided to get some light food at a cafe in Piazza del Duomo. We indulged in some Limoncello and Aperol Spitzes, too. Somehow we managed to get to our favorite gelato place. This time we ordered mediums. Lauren enjoyed the Limoncello so much that she bought a bottle on the way back to the apartment.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

We slept late this morning and didn’t leave the apartment until after 10:30 am. We intended to take a tour of Palazzo Biscari but it turned out to be closed for maintenance until October 25. We decided to hide our disappointment by visiting the outdoor market. It’s some of the best entertainment we’ve had. We bought a bunch of things and were on our way back to the apartment when we found a small shop selling leather goods. Lauren found a pocketbook that she really liked. The clerk suggested that we visit the factory a few blocks away. We dumped the food in the apartment and proceeded on our new quest.

The factory was just a five minute walk away and was located in a good sized building near the Benedictine Monastery. Downstairs there were a few people busy sewing leather goods. The showroom, consisting of several rooms, was upstairs. On the center table was a huge collection of shoes, obviously their biggest selling product. We perused the pocketbooks that were on display but found nothing better than what we’d seen in the store. Back at the store Lauren got the bag she’d seen before. Given her upcoming birthday it was our treat.

For lunch we went back to our favorite gelato shop and, for the first time, ordered food. Lauren had a salad with tuna, Deborah a Caprese crepe and I had grilled eggplant with a side of spinach. The food was very good. For dessert we ordered medium sized gelatos. The waitress, who remembered us from the night before, brought us larges. We were only charged for mediums.

Dinner in the apartment consisted of fresh salad greens, fried chicken cutlets and limoncello. We had amaretto cookies for dessert.

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Saturday, October 15, 2022

In the morning we went out and did some grocery shopping. We had planned to meet my sister at the airport this afternoon and wanted to be stocked up. Her flight from JFK to Rome got in over an hour early which meant she was able to get an earlier connecting flight to Catania. We had intended to take the bus to the airport but since she was coming earlier we didn’t have the time so we just took an UBER. The driver turned out to be a great guy. His English was almost as bad as our Italian. We had fun trying to have a conversation.

We arrived at the airport around 10:00 am. The flight we were waiting on was scheduled to land at 10:30 am. We asked the driver if he wanted to stick around and drive us back. He was happy to oblige. He gave me his phone number and said to message him on WhatsApp when we were ready. By 10:35 am we were back in the car and heading back into town.

Lauren had been traveling for the better part of two days. She was tired but still wanted to see some of the city. We walked over to Piazza del Duomo and got an early lunch at a cafe we’d eaten at several times. Afterwards we visited the cathedral, walked through the main shopping district, and spend some time perusing the outdoor markets. After a tour of some of the sights she would be seeing in the next few days we went back to the apartment. For dinner we found a nice outdoor restaurant near the apartment. Lauren and Deborah had pizzas (surprisingly they were Neapolitan style) and I had spaghetti with clams. We were all a little tired and wound up getting to sleep on the early side.

Sunday, October 16, 2022

We had a leisurely breakfast in the apartment because Ursino Castle didn’t open until 10:00 am. The castle was built in the mid 13th century as a royal palace for Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily. After the capital was moved from Catania the castle was no longer an important military site and was used as a prison. It is one of the few buildings that was not destroyed in the earthquake of 1693. Originally the castle was positioned on a cliff overlooking the sea. Because of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes the castle is now located about half a mile from the shoreline. At one time the moat was completely filled with lava. By 1934 the castle had been transformed into a museum housing mainly Sicilian art. Entry to the castle costs €10.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. The lowest section of the castle features high ceilings supported by ribbed vaults. On display we saw artifacts from the Greek and Roman settlements dating from the first century BC to the third century AD consisting mostly of marble statues and high relief carvings.

The second floor contained a large collection of Attica Kraters and Lekythos. Other rooms contained secular Medieval era paintings. The third floor collections, mostly paintings, featured works from the 19th century.

The fourth floor, up another seven flights of stairs, had a display of modern photography intermixed with ancient artifacts. Back on the ground floor there were some more ancient Roman and Greek sculptures and tablets on display.

Across the piazza from the castle we found a restaurant with outside seating that had just opened. We sat under a canopy and enjoyed the cool breeze while sitting in the shadow of the castle. Two of us got veal cutlets with French fries for the bargain price of €7.00. For another €8.00 we got an order of calamari and for €3.00 we got some potato croquets. It was a delicious meal and at an excellent price. By the time we left the restaurant had filled up with locals coming from nearby church services. For dessert we went to a cafe back in Piazza del Duomo and had some gelato.

Now was the time to go exploring. We walked down to the seafront. There was a really interesting looking cafe on the corner. We checked out their pastries and gelato offerings before heading North along the shore. After taking pictures at a fountain depicting the Rape of Persephone we turned back and re-entered the cafe. We ordered some more gelato and even shared a pastry. The gelato was excellent. Lauren said it was the best she’d ever had.

Finally we returned to the apartment where we made some reservations for a tour of the monastery and ate a dinner consisting of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and excellent bread. A few cookies may have been consumed as well.

Monday, October 17, 2022

In the morning we went to the outdoor market. We walked the entire market before choosing a few choice items. We got some swordfish fillets, breaded chicken cutlets, vegetables, bread, and some cheeses. It was so much fun. We had the swordfish for lunch.

In the afternoon we went on a guided tour of Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l’Arena or The Benedictine Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Arena. Initially we thought that Saint Nicholas of the Arena was a saint that was unknown to us but it turns out that the monastery and the adjoining church were so named because of an ancient Roman arena that had once been in the area. We went in the afternoon because the English language tours were only given at 1:00 pm and we purchased combination tickets that allowed us discounted entry to two other venues. Tickets cost €15.00. Credit cards are normally accepted (the machine was down when we were there so we paid cash).

The original monastery was built in 1558. In spite of their immense wealth the monks built a fairly modest structure. It was the height of the Reformation and they didn’t wish to call too much attention to themselves. When Mount Etna erupted in 1669 the resulting lava flows destroyed much of the structure. When the monks rebuilt they designed a facility that was 16 times the size of the original. In 1977 the complex was donated to the University of Catania, which proceeded with a major renovation.

We started our tour with a visit to the cloister. In the center was a large, rather eclectic structure, where coffee was served to visitors. Our guide took us through the university and down below the ground level where we saw some of the space that was used as the original kitchen. The library is now housed in that space and, where the ovens had been, we found racks full of card catalogs. The floor had been excavated to reveal a Roman house from the first century AD and another from the first century BC.

We went outside. Our guide explained that the 33 foot jagged rock wall in front of us was actually part of the lava flow from 1669. When the monks rebuilt they did so on top of the lava flow. Next we walked up several flights of stairs to get to the ground level. Across a small garden we went in and saw the Refectory. It was a large space with frescos on the ceiling where about 50 monks used to dine. Today it is a lecture hall that holds about 350 students.

Next we visited the space between the lava flow and the floor of the new construction. This was a large space supported by large stone arches. The monks had used the space for storage. Lastly we visited a secondary entrance in the form of a large neoclassical staircase. To be fashionable the monks had built it to replace the original Baroque style entry.

After the tour we walked around the outside of the school and peered into a few classrooms. Although we could have walked around the outside of the university by ourselves we would not have been permitted to see what we had seen without the tour.

Later in the afternoon we returned to our now favorite gelato place. The smalls we’d had the day before had cost only €2.00. Today we splurged for the medium size. They cost only €2.50. We might have to go for the large tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

This morning we went to the Museo Diocesano Catania. The entry fee was included in our combination ticket from the day before. The museum in housed in the Palazzo del Seminario dei Clerici. The museum spans four floors and contains mostly sacred works of art from Sicily primarily from the 15th through 18th Centuries. One of the most interesting pieces on display was an Eastern Style Icon of the Madonna and Child attributed to Saint Luke. At the top floor there’s an entry to the roof with a great view of the area.

A few steps from the museum we visited the Terme Achilliane. It’s an excavation of an ancient Roman bathhouse from the 4 or 5th Century AD. It was also included in our combination ticket. We walked down a flight of stairs and saw a large vaulted chamber. At the end there were pipes directing the water from the River Amenano to where several different pools and fountains had once been. Only a small portion of the entire complex has been excavated.

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Wednesday, October, 12, 2022

I woke up to find a message from our phone provider Google FI. They said that we’ve been using their service outside the US for a long time. Apparently their service allows for international usage but only for short periods of time. They are going to cut off our account. When I contacted them they said there was nothing they could do. When I asked how long I had before my service was terminated they said that it already was. That’s what I call good customer service. Of course, the entire reason we got them in the first place is because they told us we could use our phones overseas on an extended trip.

After investigating a few options we decided to go with T-Mobile. We can get unlimited everything for $70.00 for the two of us with all taxes and fees included. The problem is that we couldn’t sign up for their service. We’d had SPRINT before and my account information was supposed to have been transferred when they merged but it really wasn’t and everything was messed up. They claim to have 24/7 customer support so I called. They don’t. It’s only sales support. I have to call back around 2:00 pm my time to get technical support.

To make things worse we bought the wrong pods for the coffee maker, the Internet service has been flakey (our host said to use one of the other WIFIs but we only see one), and we can’t seem to find out where to dump our trash. Our host has been no help on this one either. A very frustrating start to the day.

After breakfast we got some “real” standup coffee and went in search of a full service supermarket. We found a nice place a few blocks away but it really didn’t have the things we were looking for. Across the street we spied a Lidl. It’s a huge German based supermarket chain that you can find in most of Europe. They are also starting to appear in the US. We visited a few in the States and they were a little disappointing compared to their European counterparts. In any event, this is the first time we’ve seen one in Italy, who usually eschews large multinational chains like this. Lidl had everything we wanted. Their wines were incredibly cheap so we helped ourselves to a bottle of €1.50 Chianti. We’re not expecting much.

After lunch in the apartment I started the process of moving our phone service. In total I was on the phone for five hours. Along the way I had to unfreeze our credit reports (it’s not clear to me why a cellphone company needs to check my credit especially when I’m giving them a credit card). They wouldn’t tell me which agency they used and insisted that I unlock all three. I was only able to do two out of the three because Experian wouldn’t let me login from overseas and will not take phone calls under any circumstances. Fortunately things worked out. I also had to call Google FI because the account/pin information that was required to port our phone numbers was wrong. It seems they regenerate this information when you try to leave their service. I also had to fight so I wouldn’t have to pay a $70.00 activation fee (more graft and corruption). After being on the phone for 45 minutes where they entered all of our information a supervisor told me I could avoid the fee by entering the information myself on their website. I tried that before I called but wasn’t able to create an account. It seems you can only create an account AFTER you’ve become a customer but you can still place orders without an account. Bizarre in the extreme. Anyway, after five hours and numerous phone calls we had new service and the transfer process was started. It completed sometime during the night.

We had planned to book several legs of our upcoming trips this evening but we were too exhausted after that ordeal to even think about. We’ve made some big decisions lately. We’ve decided to squeeze in a trip to Malta. It’s just a short ferry ride from Pozallo in Sicily. From Malta we can get a cheap flight to Jerusalem. It’s starting to get real.

Thursday, October, 13, 2022

We set out to do some exploring. Our first destination was Ursino Castle. When we got to the street, out of range of our WiFi, we tried to set a course. No service. Ugh! I flipped a few switches on the phone’s configuration and everything was once again good with the world. Unlike most castles that sit at the waterfront or high on a hill this one is situated in the middle of town. The castle hosts a museum of ancient objects. More on the castle when we visit next week. My sister is coming to stay with us in Catania for a week. We’re holding off on doing a number of things until she gets here so we can do them together.

Our next destination was the old city gate called, “Porta Garibaldi”. Along the way we stumbled onto an interesting looking church and took a peek inside. Chiesa Parrocchiale di Santa Maria Aiuto dei Cristiani or The Church of Saint Mary the Helper of Christians is a lovely little church that probably dates before the 16th Century. It was originally named for Saints Peter and Paul but was renamed in 1635 when a precious icon was deposited there. The icon is housed in an elaborate marble structure on the main altar.

Within the church is a large separate chamber containing a huge block of marble with figures carved in high relief. We walked around until we found an entrance and discovered a lovely little chapel with brightly colored frescos on the walls. A sign explained that this was a replica of the House of Loreto from 1740. The story goes that in 1271, after the Muslims invaded Palestine, the house that Mary was born in and where she first saw the angel Gabriel was lifted by angels and flown from Nazareth to Tersato, Croatia and then to Recanati, Italy and finally to Loreto, Italy. Today that house is contained in the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto.

Porta Garibaldi was just down the street. It is a triumphal arch built in 1768. It was constructed to celebrate the marriage of the Bourbon King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilys to the Austrian princess Maria Carolina d’Asburgo-Lorena. After the unification of Italy it was renamed in honor of Garibaldi. If you look through the arch, straight down Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, you will see the Cattedrale di Sant’Agata or simply the Duomo.

Next we went in search of what looked like a very large church we’d spied on our way to the arch. It turned out to be a police station. No doubt it was once a grand building of some sort. Across the street we found the Benedictine Monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas of the Arena. This is another place we intend to visit next week. Nearby was another grand building that was once part of the monastery and is now a college. In front of the monastery was an excavation of a house an ancient Roman. The family was obviously wealthy because they had a bath inside their own home.

Next door to the monastery we found the Church of Saint Nicholas of the Arena. Originally founded in 1558 it was completely rebuilt after it was destroyed by an eruption from Mount Etna in 1669. The church also sustained heavy damage from bombings during World War II.

It’s a huge Romanesque style church with chapels along the side aisles. Pictures on display show how elaborately the church was once decorated. Most of the chapels have marble altars topped with large paintings but the walls are bare and the ceilings are undecorated. Restoration work is ongoing but it’s unlikely it will ever be brought back to its former glory.

Our intention at this point was to go back to the main shopping district and walk that street to the end. Along the way we had some more interesting encounters. Initially we found the excavation of a large Roman theater. We could see large parts of it from outside the fence. The odeon can be visited for a fee. We intend to do that next week. Further along we came to the Piazza Saint Francis of Assisi. On one side of the piazza there was the house that Bellini was born and raised in. Across the square was the Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi all’Immacolata. It was open for the first time since we’d been in town. We ducked in just as the rain was starting to come down harder. Apparently Bellini used the organ in this very church to practice when he was a child.

Because of the rain we decided to cut our plans short and go back to our apartment. In fact our apartment was just steps from the piazza. We really are in a fantastic location.

We had tortellini stuffed with prosciutto and covered with pesto for lunch. Later in the afternoon, when the rain stopped, we went out to buy some supplies. Of course, all of the stores were closed for siesta. Instead we went to our favorite cafe and bought some pastries to have after dinner.

Friday, October, 14, 2022

In the morning we went out and strolled down the main shopping district. This time we walked to the end of the avenue. We hate to think we missed something. After all, there might have been another church to see 😇. If fact we saw several churches including one that had a memorable back story: Chiesa di San Biagio Saint Agata Alla Fornace.

The story goes that Saint Agatha, born 231 AD, was a devout Christian who dedicated herself to God and took a vow of celibacy. A Roman Prefect named Quintianus wanted to marry her but she rejected his advances. To persuade her he had her tortured in several horrible ways, including having her roll on burning coals. Finally, when nothing would persuade her, she was scheduled to be burnt at the stake. When an earthquake interrupted her execution she was sent to prison where Saint Peter appeared to her and healed her. If you pay €1.00 per person you can walk up behind the altar of Saint Agatha and see a remnant of the “furnace” that she rolled in. It is said that her veil did not burn. That holy relic is carried as part of an annual procession in her honor.

After lunch at home we rested so we’d be fresh for an 8:30 pm performance of Mozart’s Requiem.

The performance started at 8:42 pm. That’s actually early by Italian standards. The cathedral provided a beautiful setting. A screen had been installed that obscured the main altar but left the frescos in plain sight. No doubt it was to help the sound project forward. The choir was from the Bellini Theater and they were very good (a shout out to the unusually strong tenor section). The orchestra appeared to be a pickup group made up of both professionals and conservatory students. They did a fine job. The glorious refrains from the Requiem filled the entire church. Because of the strong echo some of the counterpoint wasn’t as crisp as we would have liked and the acoustics tended to swallow some of the higher pitched sounds but overall it was a great performance and a wonderful experience. At €10.00 per person it was one of the best bargains in town.

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Monday, October, 10, 2022

We’ve been to Italy several times but this will be our first foray into Sicily. We’re very excited.

I had asked our host to arrange a taxi to pick us up around noon. Instead of doing what I asked she gave me the phone number for a local cab company. Experience shows that making these calls rarely works out well when you don’t speak the language. I managed to find another company that takes reservations via WhatsApp. We’ve had good luck doing that in the past. WhatsApp is widely used by all sorts of service companies across Europe.

We have tickets on the 1:34 pm train to take us from Reggio Calabria to Villa Saint Giovanni. From there we have tickets on another “train” to Catania. We assume this really means a ferry because there are no tunnels and no bridges across the straight of Messina. We had expected to take a ferry to another train, but you never know. In any event we have way too much luggage to swim for it.

The train to Villa Saint Giovanni was really slow, we had only 20 minutes to make our connection, and we were worried we’d be late. It was literally inching along at about 5 MPH for several station stops. Finally it picked up speed for the last two stations and we made our destination just three minutes late. Normally there is an elevator to take you from the tracks to the lower level and then another elevator to take you to the main station. This station only had stairs. I took the heavy bags and sent Deborah head with instructions to ask someone where we had to go. When I got there she said, “track four”. Seriously? A train? That had to be a mistake. I showed the tickets to the booth clerk and he repeated, “track four”.

We hauled our luggage down two flights and back up another two flights to get to track four. The sign on the tracks was very confusing. We asked some passengers where they were going and they said, “Palermo”. At least that was in Sicily. We ran towards the head of the train to car two. Along the way we found a conductor and asked if this train went to Cantania. He said, “Yes”. We found car two and settled into our seats. We had no idea what was going to happen.

Soon the train started moving – backwards – very slowly. Eventually we started forward and started switching tracks towards the shore. The train was being loaded onto a ferry! We’d joked about that possibility but never thought for a second that it would become a reality. The first four cars went onto the boat and then the second four cars were detached and came up along side us. Everyone was getting off the train. In for a penny…

Upstairs on the ferry there was a lovely lounge with a snack bar and comfortable seats with a view. We bought a couple of sodas and settled in for the ride. An announcement said that the crossing should take about 45 minutes. When we arrived in Messina we got back on the train and soon found ourselves waiting at the main train station. We realized that the last four cars of our train were on another track, which said, “Palermo”. Ours said, “Syracuse”. It’s a damn good thing we were in the right car because otherwise we’d never have gotten where we were supposed to be. What a crazy experience.

After waiting another 20 minutes our train finally departed to the South. We breathed a sigh of relief. Loading the train onto the boat took a good 30 minutes, the crossing 45, getting off the boat another 15, and sitting in the station waiting to leave was another 20 minutes. Now we know why a relatively short trip takes so long.

Once we arrived in Catania we took a taxi from the station to our new apartment and dragged our luggage up to the third floor. We’ve got to start booking ground floor apartments or at least buildings with elevators in the future. By the time we settled in it was about 6:30 pm. We did a little exploring and found that our apartment is just around the corner from Piazza del Duomo. A really nice location. We found a restaurant with an interesting menu in the piazza and waited for the waiter. The menu he gave us was completely different. Apparently the restaurant was closed but the cafe was open. We ordered an arancini with cheese and spinach, a puff pastry with meat and cheese, and a calzone with meat, cheese and sauce. It was all quite delicious. We ended the meal with some gelato. It, too, was excellent. The cafe had some delicious looking pastries and cookies, too. We’ll try them again on another day. In total dinner cost €16.00. The restaurant had all sorts of pasta dishes for €7.00. We’re going to love Sicily!

Tuesday, October, 11, 2022

We started the day with some standup coffee, or at least we tried. When we ordered a couple of pastries, too, we were told to have a seat and it would all be brought it us. We hate paying the service charge. We each got a cornetto to go with our coffee. It’s an Italian croissant. Mine was filled with cream and Deborah’s apricot. Unlike the ones we’ve had before these were much more like French style croissants. They were very good. When the bill came there was no service charge. €6.00 for a caffe (what we call espresso), a cappuccino, and two cornetti. Not bad.

Unlike so many of our previous apartments where the hosts had coffee, salt, pepper, napkins, garbage bags, dish towels, etc., this place had nothing. Google identified what was supposed to be a large supermarket where we could stock up on essentials. Along the way we found a huge outdoor market that stretched for blocks. We bought some fresh fish, fruits and vegetables and many staples like milk, eggs, and bread in the store fronts in the area. It was more like entertainment than shopping.

After taking our groceries to the apartment we went back to Piazza del Duomo and visited the Basilica Cattedrale di Sant’Agata. Saint Agatha is the patron saint of the city. It’s a large, Romanesque style church. The original building dates from around the 10th Century AD. It suffered significant damage from earthquakes and fires in the 12th Century. In 1693 most of the church was destroyed in an earthquake. The present structure dates from the early 18th Century. Columns were replaced with double pillars for additional strength.

Shortly after entering we saw an elaborate burial with musical notes. When we looked closer we realized that this was the final resting place of the famous opera composer Bellini, who was born in Catania in 1801. There are a couple of places where you can see the original floor and some column footings as well. They appear to be about two feet below the current floor. Overall, it’s a very pretty church with decorations that span many different periods.

Just across the street we also visited Chiesa della Badia di Sant’Agata. It’s part of an Abbey dedicated to Saint Agatha. The rather small church is round with a large dome. Altars with statues of various saints can be found along the circumference. We took notice of an advertisement for a performance of the Mozart Requiem and a concert of varied opera arias posted outside.

The Abbey lead to a long Main Street with high end shops. We decided to investigate. One of the first things we found was a pastry/gelato shop that intrigued us. When we went in we found these lovely “casata cakes”. We just had to try one. The rather rich cake was made with ricotta cheese and marzipan and it was covered in a thick white icing. It was amazing. Finally, sickingly sweet desserts.

Further down we ran into a couple of other churches, Piazza Bellini with a statue of the composer, and then the ruins of a Roman Amphitheater from the 1st Century AD. Only a small part of the structure had been uncovered because it had been built over. It had been in use until the 5th Century. In the 12th Century many of its stones had been repurposed to build the Duomo.

Just off the main road we found a restaurant for lunch. It was 12:30 pm and we were the only ones there. We were a little nervous but during the time we were there the place filled up with locals. We had the pasta carbonara and rigatoni with ricotta and eggplant. Instead of pancetta or guanciale the carbonara was made with ham. €16.00 for lunch in a nice restaurant. That’s the kind of math I like.

Deborah cooked the fish we bought for dinner. It was baccala. Normally baccala is salted and dried cod but this looked fresh so we assumed that something had been lost in the translation. After cooking it was rather tough and had an odd texture. Neither of us ate it. At least we had some salad that we purchased that morning. And we had a nice dessert. We’d gone back to last night’s restaurant and gotten some cookies. One was marzipan topped with a cherry. The other was marzipan topped with apricot jam. They made us forget all about the fish.

After dinner we bought tickets to the performance of the Mozart Requiem. The concert will be held in the Duomo. We purchased tickets online for €10.00 a piece. We’ve seen it performed over and over again and have even played it a few times. It’s one of our favorites. The last time we went to see it performed was in 2018 in Budapest. It’s been too long 😎.

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Saturday, October, 8, 2022

We planned to finish up our list of things to do in town today. Our first item of business was the Museo Diocesano di Reggio Calabria. The museum is housed in a Palace built in the late 18th Century that was constructed for the archbishop. Along the way we encountered Chiesa del Carmine. When a church is open we just can’t help but take a peek inside. It’s a sickness really. We took a quick picture and left because a service was about to begin.

The museum displays artifacts from the Basilica Cattedrale di Maria Santissima Assunta in Cielo (the Duomo). Entry costs €3.00 per person. Cash only. The only cash we had was a €50.00 bill which the clerk could not break. She told us in Italian that we could see the museum and then return when we had change. We got it on the third try. She was very sweet.

Many churches have a collection that is referred to as The Treasury. That’s exactly what this was. There was a large display of monstrances, embroidered ecclesiastical clothing, reliquaries, and the like. There was also a nice collection of paintings that once hung in the church as well as architectural remnants from many antecedents of the present day building.

We left around 11:00 am. The clerk had told us that the museum closed at noon (in Italy that really meant around 11:30 am). We needed to get some change relatively quickly but we didn’t want to buy something we didn’t need. We found a nearby drug store and purchased a few items. Change in hand we went back to the museum and gave the clerk the €6.00 we owed her. She was very gracious.

Next up was the Church of Saint Paul ‘Alla Rotonda’. We were hoping this one was going to be worth it because it meant we needed to climb a pretty steep hill. We entered the church not knowing its history. It was decorated in an Eastern style from the Middle Ages but it was clear that just about everything was new. We assumed that it was old, had been destroyed and rebuilt in its original style. We eventually learned that it was built in 1932. Behind the church is also a museum, that we missed, containing a large number of icons and paintings spanning the 14th-19th Centuries. We may have to go back and check it out.

For lunch we went back to the place where we had the good arancini. We got one with fish, a small croquette with potato and cheese, and an order of the eggplant parmigiana. The eggplant, rather oddly, had layers of sliced hard boiled eggs, and ham. All three were delicious.

Afterwards we went on a search for gelato. We’d been a little disappointed in the places that had been recommended to us and so decided to try a place near our apartment. I got Nutella and Deborah pistachio. This was what we’d been looking for all along.

Sunday, October, 9, 2022

We decided to take it easy today. After breakfast in the apartment we went out for coffee and bought some sandwiches for lunch and dinner. We bought a bunch of pastries, too. They were quite delicious.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

A cab driver picked us up at our apartment and drove us over to the main train station. He had trouble lifting our bags. They weigh about 50 lbs. each. When you’re planning to travel for about two years you have to bring along a lot of stuff. I tried to help him but he wouldn’t let me. I gave him a good tip.

We intended to get coffee at the train station but nothing was open yet. We found a small cafe across the street and settled in. Our train was scheduled for 10:31 am. It arrived on time but we had a problem finding a place for our large luggage. The overhead compartments were too small and there was not enough room in the space between the seats. We piled them into the seats next to us and hoped no one would be sitting there. For most of the 3.5 hour trip to Reggio Calabria the train hugged the coast. The water was beautiful. There were few towns. We saw some small vineyards and a bunch of small olive groves.

We arrived at 2:06 pm. We hadn’t eaten lunch but weren’t really hungry so we took a taxi to the apartment. We dragged our luggage up to the second floor (really third floor), settled in, and went in search of lunch. In these smaller towns most businesses, except for coffee shops, close in the afternoon for siesta. We managed to find a restaurant that had pre-made dinners. I got a lasagna and Deborah got a gnocchi in red sauce. We tried to get arancini (Sicilian Rice Balls) but they had run out. The food was pretty good. I tried a soda made from chino. The picture looked like an orange but was actually the fruit of an myrtle-leaved orange tree. It had an unusual taste and was very bitter.

After lunch we walked over to the waterfront. It was gorgeous. We could easily see Sicily across the way. The temperature was about 70F with a cool breeze. We loved it. We walked around in shorts and t-shirts. The locals were in long pants and jackets.

Karen, a friend from college, had spent a lot of time in Calabria and now hosts tours in the region. We consulted with her about the best places to see. She also recommended two gelato places. We just had to check them out. Both were along the waterfront.

Along the way we encountered a number of old excavations. Some were Roman and some were Greek. It was easy to tell one from another by their use of building materials. All along the water’s edge there were numerous parks and restaurants. We also saw people sitting in the sand enjoying the beach. Eventually we came to one of the recommended Gelato shops called Sotto Zero. The shop was actually across the street but they had a lovely glass enclosed dining area overlooking the water. We got some ice cream and enjoyed the view. The gelato was ok but we’ve had better.

We continued walking along the waterfront for a while before heading back. On our way we kept an eye out for a grocery store. We had a lot of trouble finding a place that was open and much of the information on Google was useless. Finally we gave up and headed back to the apartment. We went into a cafe and got some sandwiches and pastries for tonight’s dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Around then corner a salumeria was actually open. We bought most of the things we needed for the next few days.

Dinner that night consisted of a mini cannoli and a chocolate mouse stuffed into a chocolate tart. It was the best cannoli we’ve had so far. We’re really looking forward to the food in Sicily.

Friday, October 7, 2022

We had a full day planned. Our first order of business was to get “stand up” coffee. Unlike our previous apartments this one had no coffee maker. Throughout Italy you can go to a cafe, sit and be served coffee or you can stand at the counter and drink it there. If you sit then you incur a service charge. There is no extra charge for standing at the counter. You’ll see a lot of tourists sitting and having coffee but for the most part locals always stand at the counter. The cafe had some very tempting looking pastries but we’d already eaten breakfast in the apartment: the sandwiches we’d purchased the night before and the last two pastries. One was a flakey and infused with almond. The other was a fried dough pocket filled with sweetened ricotta. Yum!

After coffee we found a grocery store and got the rest of the things we needed. Our next stop was the Basilica Cattedrale di Maria Santissima Assunta in Cielo or simply the Duomo. This is the major cathedral in town. Unlike Naples whose cathedrals had no stained glass windows, many of the churches in Salerno had them and almost all here in Reggio Calabria seem to have them.

The origins of the cathedral date back from the time of the Normans around 1061 AD. The building was burned during the 16th Century when the Turks raided the city. It went through several subsequent renovations before it was rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1741. After the earthquake of 1783 it was completely restored. It was so heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1908 that it was once again completely rebuilt.

As it stands today the church is essentially in the traditional Gothic style with a vaulted ceiling made of wooden rafters. There are stained glass windows along the walls and a rose window over the entrance. Many of the chapels along the sides have elements from older versions of the church.

Our next destination was Castello Aragonese. Along the way we happened onto another church and poked our heads inside: Chiesa del Santo Rosario. We took a few quick pictures and left because services were just about to start.

Castello Aragonese is a Medieval castle that sits right in the middle of town. It is likely that part of the old city walls from the 8th Century BC were incorporated into the Medieval version. The first defensive fort on the site probably dates from the 6th Century AD. In 1059 the castle was passed from the Byzantines to the Normans. In 1266 it came under the control of Charles I of Anjou who established his court there and further expanded the castle. Ownership of the castle changed hands many times in subsequent centuries with each new owner making additional changes. The last battle it saw was in 1869 when Garibaldi conquered the city during his campaign for the unification of Italy. Because of neglect and earthquakes large portions of the castle have fallen into disrepair and have collapsed. Only the two main towers now remain.

Entry into the castle costs €2.00 per person. Cash only. We took the elevator up to the top floor and found ourselves with a magnificent view of the surrounding area. From our vantage point it was easy to see Mount Aetna and the town of Messina, both in Sicily. At every level we explored all of the rooms and passages but there was little to see. When we finally got back to the street level we walked around the back of the castle and were able to get some nice photographs.

We checked out another church in the area called Chiesa degli Ottimati. The church dates from the 10th Century. The church’s claim to fame is its mosaic floors. They are original to the church and quite interesting to see.

Next up was the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia. Huge parts of Southern Italy were inhabited by the Greeks more than 2,500 years ago. They established towns, traded goods, built temples, and thrived for centuries. These Greek parts of ancient Italy are all referred to as Magna Grecia or Greater Greece. This archeological museum is dedicated to that Greek civilization and all of the artifacts that have been found.

Entry costs €8.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. The museum has a lovely collection of Greek pottery, and other household goods, but its main attraction is the Riace Bronzes. The two life-sized Greek Warriors were found by someone snorkeling off the coast of Riace (on the Eastern shore of Calabria). After nine years of restoration the pair were finally put on display in 1981. They have been dated from 460-430 BC. The two bronzes are in a room by themselves. Before being allowed to enter we had to wait in an ante-chamber for about 60 seconds while dust and other contaminants were removed from the air.

The two bronzes are magnificent. We were allowed to take our time and view them at our leisure. Produced using the lost wax method the details are amazing. The lifelike poses are characteristic of the Hellenistic period. They were worth the price of admission.

For lunch we stopped in at a small restaurant that specializes in Arancini. They had a large selection in a variety of flavors. We got one amatriciana, one pesto, and one with butter, mozzarella, and parmigiana. We enjoyed them immensely. They were so filling that the two of us couldn’t finished all three. In spite of that we couldn’t help sharing one of their cannoli for dessert. It was freshly filled to order and was absolutely delicious.

The only thing left to do was to find the other gelato place that Karen had recommended – and that’s exactly what we did! We enjoyed this gelato much more than what we had gotten the day before. It may not have been the best we’ve ever had but it was still very good.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

We were a little tired after two days on the boat so we decided to take a slow day.  In the morning we did some grocery shopping.  We got just enough to tide us over for the next couple of days.  The rest of the day we rested and caught up on laundry, blogging, pictures, etc.

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

This was our last day in Salerno.  We had intended to take the bus to Castello di Arechi, a Medieval castle high up on the hill, until we realized that the bus only went there every two hours.  We tried to find a taxi but there were none to be found.  We would have called an UBER but they don’t operate in this town.  We walked along the waterfront until we finally found a taxi stand near the ferry terminal.  

The ride to the castle was interesting.  We climbed higher and higher and went through a series of narrow, switchback turns.  We had been thinking we would walk back but there weren’t any sidewalks and the road seemed rather dangerous for pedestrians.  We’d deal with that later.

The castle sits about 1,000 feet above sea level.  From there the views are incredible.  We could see all of Salerno and the nearby town of Vietri su Mare.  Construction on the castle began in the 6th Century.  During 8th Century, under the rule of the Lombard Prince Arechi II, the castle was further expanded.  During excavations numerous artifacts were found spanning the 12-15th Centuries.

Tickets cost €4.00 per person. Cash only.  There is a small museum housed within the castle walls displaying artifacts found there.  There is a nice display of coins that were minted during the 12th and 14th Centuries and a few pieces of pottery.  Much of the castle is in ruins but we were afforded the opportunity to explore what remained.  There really isn’t a great deal to see and do.  The best part of the experience is simply enjoying the view.

According to Google the only way to walk back down the hill was via the road the taxi had taken.  That didn’t appeal to us.  We asked the ticket seller if there was a better option and she pointed out a path through the woods.  It turned out to be a very rustic trail made up of stairs and long, steeply sloping ramps.  It is likely that this was the original way to get to the castle in Medieval times.

Eventually we came to a road that was still high above our apartment.  We crossed and found another staircase leading further down.  This one was fairly modern and had even treads.  Finally, after walking some roads and finding more stairs, we reached the waterfront.  From there we went in search of a restaurant that we’d eaten at before.  We got there around 12:30 pm.  They didn’t open until 1:00 pm, so we walked over to the waterfront and sat on some shaded benches for a while and enjoyed the view.

Once again Deborah ordered the pasta carbonara. I ordered the pasta Grecian.  The sauce was made with pecorino Romano, black pepper and guanciale.

Back at the apartment we did some preliminary packing.  Our host arranged a taxi for 9:30 am to take us to the train station.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Deborah had a brilliant idea. The towns along the Amalfi coast are all built high up on the hill. If we took the bus to them then we could explore starting at the top of the hill and then, once we were at the bottom, take the ferry back. No walking uphill! We were going to give it a try. The problem was that tickets on the municipal busses must be purchased before boarding and can only be obtained in tobacco shops. It was Sunday morning and all of the tobacco shops we went to were closed.

We did some Googling and found out that the main bus station was near the train station. Unfortunately we couldn’t remember exactly where the train station was. Google was no help in that regard. We changed tacks. We walked up the hill a bit to a nearby train station. Surely that would do as well. Nope. There were no trains to Amalfi from that station. Damn! This time we gybed (I think the nautical references are appropriate) and walked about 25 minutes to the pier. We’d take the ferry after all. Along the way we found a large fragment of a Medieval aqueduct. It was pretty interesting to see. Ferry tickets were €9.00 each for a one way. Credit cards are accepted. Surprisingly, they didn’t sell round trip tickets but said we could get another one way in Amalfi.

These ferries have open air seating on top and fully enclosed seating on the main level. It was a gorgeous, sunny, clear day and we would have loved to have been seated on top but there was no room. It was pretty crowded. Beside the extra Sunday traffic we had to contend with people from two cruise ships in the harbor. We settled for a seat on the main level on the starboard side near an open window so we would get a view of the coast as we motored along.

We passed a number of small towns all built high on the hills. There were remnants of old forts and castles everywhere. Amalfi extricated itself from Byzantine rule in 839. It was a great maritime power and it controlled coastal Italy from Salerno up to Pompei. Rule changed ownership several times over the years. After a tsunami destroyed most of the lower town in 1343 the town never recovered to be a major power again. Today it is a Mecca for tourists claiming to have some of the best beaches on the coast.

The ferry left us off right near the center of town and we began looking around. The Duomo, or Cathedral of Saint Andrew, can be seen from the waterfront and sits in a central square. We decided to do some exploring before checking it out. Basically there is one long, winding road that snakes its way up the hill. The street is packed full of shops and restaurants catering to the tourist crowd. Clothing, especially anything with a lemon print, dominate. Amalfi lemons are featured everywhere from the granitas, limoncello, sorbets, and gelato. As expected prices everywhere were rather high.

We continued up the road and walked into an interesting shop that was selling sweets. Immediately upon entering we were given samples of some of the candies. They were really good. Towards the back of the store they were giving away free shots of limoncello, too. Another person was making the rounds with cookies stuffed with gooey fillings. We decided to come back and buy some candies on our way down the hill so the chocolates would have less opportunity to melt.

Further up the hill, beyond where many of the tourists ventured, we found a cafe and had lunch. Their prices were the most reasonable that we’d seen. I ordered stuffed cannelloni and Deborah ordered a Margherita pizza. The cannelloni actually came in a cheese sauce rather than the expected tomato sauce. Every region in Italy does things a little differently.

One of the things that made Amalfi famous in the Middle Ages was its paper or Charta Bambagina. They have made high quality, handmade paper since the 1200s. It was considered valuable and was only used for the most important documents. Paper was invented by the Chinese in the first century AD. Amalfi traded far and wide. Sometime in the 13th Century they learned how to make paper from the Arabs. Originally paper was made by reducing old linen rags to pulp. They switched to using cellulose sometime in the 18th Century.

After lunch we continued up the hill and found the paper museum. The mill had produced commercial products since the 13th Century. It ceased operations in 1969 when it was converted into a museum. Entry costs €7.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted.

We figured a paper museum. Seriously? Maybe for €2.00 or so but we weren’t going to pay a lot of money for this tourist trap. We walked into the gift shop and fell in love. All around there were beautiful papers embossed with flowers, cards printed on fine stock, notebooks bound in leather with cut pages, and so much more. A woman came over to us and explained about the tour. We were definitely going to do this!

We walked downstairs to the ancient factory. As we descended the stairs we could see and hear water flowing everywhere. The woman explained that this was a mill run by water power. Initially she showed us a series of “hammers”. These were long wooden beams with spikes on the end. The linen would be run past these hammers and they would break the cloth down to its constituent fibers. Next we saw a later version of that same machine. She pulled a lever, water began to flow, and the 400+ year old machinery began to whirl. It was so much fun to watch. We also had a demonstration where the 18th Century machines produced cellulose based paper in large rolls. At the end of the tour we went over to a tank full of linen pulp and made our own paper. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Next we visited the Duomo. Entry cost €3.00 per person. Cash only. Construction began in the 9th Century. The original Arab-Norman decorations have been subsequently replaced by Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque stylings. You enter into the cloister. At one time there were altars along the walls. Most are in ruins although a few still had large remnants of frescos. Next you enter into the Basilica of the Crucifix. This church is used as a museum to display many religious objects, art works, and former design elements.

After that you are led to the crypt where Saint Andrew is interred. It is a large Gothic style vault with brightly colored frescos on the ceilings and fine paintings along the walls. Lastly you come into the Cathedral. It’s a fine old building in the Romanesque style. The side chapels are sparsely decorated but all seem to contain beautiful inlaid marble altars. No doubt they were once ornately decorated.

Finally we went back up the hill to the confectionary we’d seen before. Naturally we got even more samples before deciding to buy a box of lemon covered chocolates with liquid limoncello in the center as well as a box of pistachio covered chocolates with pistachio cream in the middle. They were our favorites.

On the ferry ride back we got to sit on the top level. It was a beautifully sunny day with a fresh breeze and an incredible view. It was a great trip.

Monday, October 3, 2022

Today’s objective was Positano. It would have been interesting to take the bus there and travel along the narrow, winding, mountainous road, but the trip would take almost two and half hours. We opted for the ferry. The cost was €14.00 per person each way. Credit cards are accepted.

Positano was settled earlier than most of the Amalfi coast. The first settlements were well over 12,000 years ago. During Roman times it was a favorite place for the rich to build villas. During the Medieval period it was part of the Amalfi Republic. By the mid 1800s the town had fallen on hard times. During this time a huge portion of its population migrated to the United States. It started to become a tourist attraction in the 1950s and became ever more popular after John Steinbeck’s essay about Positano was published in May, 1953: “It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” Today it is a very popular tourist destination with high end hotels and fantastic beaches.

Positano is much larger than Amalfi. When you get off of the boat it’s hard to decide which way to go. All paths lead up hilly alleys with lots of stairs, but unlike Amalfi where there was just one main road, here the town was spread out over a much larger area and many diverging paths. Major scenes in one of our favorite movies, “Only You”, was filmed in Rome and Positano. We’d already tracked down where the scenes in Rome where shot and now we were going to do the same in Positano. Scavenger hunt!

One of the first restaurants we saw along the waterfront is called, “Covo dei Saraceni”. That’s the name of the restaurant that some of the characters in the movie ate at. Score one for us.

We wandered around the lower levels for a while just trying to get our bearings. It was very much like Amalfi. Lots of shops devoted to the tourist trade – with even higher prices for the same goods. Finally we took a winding path up the hill. We found a wonderful place that makes outdoor furniture out of volcanic rock with ceramic tops. They had some wonderful samples and will custom design any pattern you like in any color as part of their standard service. They offer free shipping worldwide for any orders over €500.00. From what we could tell that would be just about any order. If we owned a house we would almost certainly have placed an order.

Further up the hill there was art gallery after art gallery. The stores were definitely catering to a wealthier clientele than those in Amalfi. Eventually we ran out of stores. The rest of the way up the hill seemed to be for hotels and residences only. We turned back and took a side street up another part of the hill and found what we were looking for: Le Sirenuse, a five star hotel that also played a part in our movie. It was a lot smaller than it appeared on the big screen but it was definitely the same place. Two for two. Mission accomplished.

Now it was time to visit the main cathedral: Church of Santa Maria Assunta. The main altar contains a large Byzantine icon of the Virgin. It was brought to Positano in the 12th Century and according to the story its arrival was considered a miracle. The icon belonged to a cargo ship. When the ship came near the town the wind died and all attempts to move the ship failed. Suddenly the sailors heard a voice saying, “Posa, Posa”, which translates as “put me down, put me down”. The captain realized that the virgin wished to stop here. All of a sudden the ship began to move. The sailors donated the icon to the town, which in turn chose her as its patron and built this church in her honor. The town takes its name from this story.

Now all we had to do was find a place for lunch. We would have eaten at Covo dei Saraceni but it didn’t open until 3:00 pm. Instead we found a lovely restaurant one level above the waterfront with panoramic views of the sea. We sat in front of some open sliding glass doors and enjoyed unobstructed views and refreshing sea breezes. It was idyllic.

We started off with an order of fried, stuffed, zucchini blossoms. After that Deborah had the sea bass in lemon butter sauce with mashed potatoes and I had the seafood risotto. The food was great, the view was amazing and the breeze was refreshing.

The ferry for the trip back was a triple decker. Given the number of people waiting to board we only managed to get seating on the second tier. We were in the sun the entire way and after two full days in the hot sun it got to us. When the boat stopped in Amalfi we changed seats. We must have been pretty tired because we both napped most of the way back to Salerno.

When we got home we found that the hot water heater had been adjusted. Hot showers again. What a luxury.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Friday, September 30, 2022

We intended to leave the apartment at 10:30 am. Since getting a taxi can be difficult we started the process at 10:00 am. The taxi arrived by 10:20 am and we were off to the train station. I messaged our host that the taxi had come early and that we were gone. He responded immediately which meant that he was still at home – just like we figured.

The train ride was quick and easy. I’m not sure what was special about being in first class because nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We arrived in Salerno around 12:15 pm and had a leisurely lunch at the station. Our host had graciously allowed us to come at 1:00 pm instead of the usual 3:00 pm so we didn’t want to be early.

We gave the address to the taxi driver and he said that he could only take us close to the house because he couldn’t drive on that road. This was going to be interesting. The apartment building was high up on the hill opposite the waterfront. The street was very narrow. He could have made it if he tried but he didn’t. We lugged our bags up the hill to the second house on the left. I tried to message our host but I wasn’t getting any service. I left Deborah and the luggage and walked further up the hill. Nothing. I walked down the hill and managed to grab someone’s WiFi. It didn’t matter because before I could send a message we were spotted and our host showed us into the building.

After settling in we walked around our neighborhood to get our bearings before walking down the hill and strolling along the waterfront. Salerno is the Eastern most town on the famed Amalfi Coast and accommodations here are much less expensive than in some of the more well known towns of Amalfi and Positano.

On the way back to the apartment we tried to stop at a grocery store for supplies. We went to three different ones and they were all closed. According to Google they should have been open until 8:00 pm. We’ll try again tomorrow. We did manage to find a fruit stand that was open. We went in hoping to find something for dinner. We walked out with a container of (what was probably home made) pasta with eggplant, sauce, and cheese.

To get back to the apartment we could have walked up the hill the same way that the taxi had gone but instead we took the easy way out. To get down the hill we’d taken a long staircase. It was about 20 flights. For the ascent the city had provided an escalator adjacent to the stairs (actually three escalators one after another). We rode the first two but found that the third was out of order. We only had to walk about 7 flights to get to the top.

Soon after getting back to the apartment I tried to take a shower. The hot water ran out very quickly. Not again! We checked out the hot water heater (this one was electric) and the indicator was yellow. It should have been red. We messaged our host and she came right over. She said it should be in the orange area. She said we should wait about 30 minutes.

While we waited for the hot water heater we ate our dinner. It took a minute to figure out how to use the induction stove as we’d never used one before. The pasta turned out to be delicious. For safety’s sake Deborah took a very quick shower.

Saturday, October 1, 2022

When we left the apartment today we went in search of a grocery store. We went toward the Gardens of Minerva because our host told us that there was an elevator there that would take us down to/up from the bottom of the hill. We found it with little difficultly. The area near the bottom of the elevator has been painted in bright colors and embellished with poems. It’s very pretty to walk around there. There were four grocery stores within two blocks of one another. We went into each to see what they had. They were really just salumerias that sold assorted other things. The last one we went into had a good supply of just about everything wanted and, unlike the others, the man who ran this one spoke English very well. We loaded up on everything we needed except for bread. We got that from a neighboring salumeria that had some really wonderful looking loaves.

After putting away our groceries we went back in the direction of the elevator but instead went to the Gardens of Minerva. The gardens were started in the 12th century. Medicinal herbs and such were planted there to support the Salerno School of Medicine which thrived from the 14th-16th Centuries. The school was widely known and respected. It based it’s treatments on the philosophies of the ancient Greeks.

Entry into the gardens cost €3.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. We sat in a room and watched a 20 minute video about the history of the gardens and the school of medicine. It was narrated in Italian but sub-titled in English. Then we walked through the cafe where herbal teas and light snacks are served for a nominal cost. The cafe has a commanding view of the surrounding areas and the harbor and is a lovely place to just sit and relax. Finally we entered the actual garden.

Based on ancient medical practices the garden grows plants that will help hot, cold, wet, and dry conditions within the body go back to equilibrium. The cures are categorized as strength one (mild) through strength four (potentially deadly). The garden is made up of four tiers connected by stairs. Each level has a cistern where water is gravity fed to the plantings. The garden is designed to protect the plants from the North winds and provide maximum sunshine. Every plant is carefully labeled with its name and purpose. It’s a fun place to take a stroll and enjoy the view.

While visiting the gardens we met a couple from Toronto who was retired and doing extended traveling like we are. They, too, were going to Reggio Calabria and Sicily after Salerno. They’d been to Sicily before and gave us some recommendations for places to see. They also suggested a place in town to have lunch.

Next we continued down a path that lead to the Duomo also known as The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Angels and Saint Matthew and Saint Gregory VII. Walking through the streets up on the hill it’s easy to see that this was a medieval town. The streets, more like alleyways, are narrow and winding. Some are too small for cars and many have stairs so not even motorbikes can get through.

The cathedral has a lovely courtyard with an elevated walk all around. There are remnants of frescos and old pillars. Most of the old exterior has been covered over. The same can be said of the church itself.

The church dates from about 1080 AD and it was built atop the remains of a Roman temple. The church has sustained damage from earthquakes over the centuries – most notably from the one in 1688. The floor and three altars near the front of the church date mostly from the original construction. They are heavily influenced by Eastern Orthodox traditions and utilize mosaic tiles in a variety of patterns. The back of the church and the chapels have obviously been reconstructed and are mostly unadorned except for inlaid marble altars. Fragments of the original decorations can be seen here and there.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the church is the crypt. There is a charge of €1.00 per person to enter. Cash only. The ceilings are all vaulted in the Gothic style and contain brightly painted frescos. This is also where you will find the final resting place of Saint Mathew.

During our visit we could only see part of the crypt because a wedding was taking place. We were also denied access to the chapel off of the left transept because of a christening.

As we left the church we continued down the hill. We were looking for the place that our friends from the gardens told us about. Along the way we found another restaurant that had a nice menu and good prices. We decided to stop in there instead. I ordered the pasta amatriciana and Deborah ordered the pasta carbonara. Carbonara, one of my favorites, is the signature dish of Rome. I ate it almost every day for three months when we were there in 2017-18.

These dishes are often prepared with pancetta or, in the US, bacon, but both of our dishes were prepared with guanciale. It’s a special cut made from the cheek of the pig. In Rome guanciale was usually lightly cooked but here it was rendered down and quite chewy. We really liked it. The amatriciana, a red sauce made with pecorino romano and guanciale, was excellent. The carbonara was good – but not nearly as good as what you can get in Rome. After we left the restaurant we realized that the place we had originally been looking for was just next door.

For dessert we found a gelato shop that served their product via soft serve dispensers. It tasted good but had an unusual texture, more like ice cream. We probably won’t go back there again.

Back at the apartment our hot water woes continued. Each of us got about two minutes before the hot water ran out. Our host was unreceptive to our complaints. After quite a bit of back and forth she agreed to have a plumber look at the hot water heater on Monday (nothing ever happens on a Sunday in this country).

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

We woke up to a wet and wild world. Thunderstorms were everywhere. The forecast is for rain the entire day and most of tomorrow. At least we have hot water!

We took the morning to catch up on some personal business. Our time is running short here and still have a few things we want to do in the Naples. We are thinking about day trips to Capri, Caserta, and would like to go swimming amongst the Roman ruins.

We spent the afternoon booking places for our next couple of destinations. We’re all set until the end of October. Given the precipitous drop of the Pound Sterling we’re considering changing our plans and spending a full three months in the UK. We’ll keep an eye on the situation. Because the Fed keeps raising interest rates the exchange rate keeps moving in our favor. Most foreign currencies are at historic lows against the dollar. At least that works in our favor. Afterwards we continued to binge watch Suits on Netflix. We’re up to season five now.

Monday, September 26, 2022

Another rainy day. Once again we stayed in.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

We heard from AirBNB this morning. They’re thrilled that everything has been fixed. They offered us $50.00 compensation (30% of a day for three days). I’m not sure how they came up with that. I’ll be speaking to them later this morning. In the five years we’ve been using them we’ve had very few problems, but when we have had issues, their support has been non-existent. The hosts seem to have no accountability and the guests have no recourse and appear entitled only to trivial compensation.

We had an incident in Bucharest, Romania in 2018. One day the stove stopped working because there was no more gas. That same day the Internet and the TV stopped working, too. We contacted our host every day for a week. He told some vague story about how services were unreliable there. AirBNB support was useless. One day, just out of boredom, we translated the error message on the TV. It seems he hadn’t paid the bill. An hour after we brought this to the host’s attention the services were back. Coincidence? We were outraged. AirBNB said that it was great that everything was working again. When pressed they offered $50.00 as compensation and said that’s the maximum that they were allowed to offer. I guess that’s their magic number.

It’s rather wet outside this morning. There is a small chance of rain until the afternoon when the likelihood of rain significantly increases. We had talked about going to Caserta today but it turns out that the Royal Palace there is closed on Tuesdays. Our backup plan is to go to Capri. We’ll evaluate again after breakfast to see if it’s worth going.

It’s nasty, wet, and rainy. We decided to just take another day off. We went to a local restaurant for lunch and, of course, ate pizza. It may seem odd but the main dish on every restaurant’s menu is pizza. Afterwards we went to get dessert at a shop that makes graffe, Italian donuts. In Italian I ordered a plain donut and one filled with Nutella. The clerk quite literally laughed at me and then responded in perfect English. I was a little insulted.

They have freshly made plain donuts that are covered in sugar. They also serve stuffed donuts. The plain ones are lengths of rolled dough formed into a large circle. The stuffed ones are round, like traditional jelly donuts. When you order a stuffed donut they take a pair of scissors, cut in open, and fill it while you wait. The clerk emptied half a pastry bag of Nutella into ours. We took them home to eat later. They were absolutely delicious.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Today was forecast to be similar to the previous days but instead of striking out we took it easy. We both felt like we might be getting colds. It’s probably just the weather and/or allergies but we decided not to press our luck.

We went out for lunch to a restaurant we’d been to twice before. We saw our usual waitress arguing with another waiter. She seemed out of sorts. When she came to take our order it didn’t look like she was paying attention at all. Deborah ordered a pork Milanese and I ordered the spaghetti with clams. We also ordered an appetizer. We watched as people at several tables who’d arrived after us were served. We wondered if we were going to get any food at all. Finally our waitress delivered two pork Milanese. That wasn’t what we ordered and, what happened to our appetizer? We told her that it was wrong and she was fit to be tied. She insisted that this was what we ordered. We pointed to the items on the menu that we had ordered and she went away in a huff. It wasn’t clear what was going to happen next.

Deborah ate hers and I waited for my food. About ten minutes later our appetizer arrived. It wasn’t exactly what we ordered but we let it go. Another ten minutes later my spaghetti with clams arrived. It was cold. I told the waitress. She felt the bottom on my plate and said it was fine. I repeated that it was cold. She walked over to the manager and had a dramatic conversation in Italian. I’d had enough. I had no doubt that my next plate was going to have spit in it. I walked up to them and said I wanted the check. The manager, who only spoke Italian, said he would have another plate made up. I insisted on the check. He saw I was unhappy and that I wasn’t going to change my mind. We paid and left.

On the way back we stopped a the donut place again. The clerk remembered us. We told him that his donuts were delicious and he broke out in a huge smile. We just made a new friend. We ordered one plain and one filled donut. There were a bunch ready to be sold but he said if we were willing to wait he’d make some fresh for us. We waited!

We ordered a filled donut with creme topped with cherries. This time he cut a hole in the middle, filled it with creme, and then topped it with even more creme before adding the cherries. We said it was beautiful. He said, “yes, like me”. It was obvious we couldn’t take that home so we ate it right then and there. We also took two plain donuts home for later. Surprisingly they weren’t greasy at all. They were, however, rolled in more sugar than one should eat in an entire lifetime.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Yeah, we both have colds. The prediction is for more rain. We’re going to stay in again today. Our time in Naples is almost over. We’re leaving tomorrow. We have tickets on the 11:45 am train to Salerno. For some odd reason the first class tickets were cheaper than the coach tickets so we decided to treat ourselves. It really doesn’t matter because the trip is less than 40 minutes. It doesn’t look like we’ll get to Caserta or swim amongst the Roman ruins but we can still get a ferry to Capri from Salerno.

I told our host we would be leaving the apartment around 10:30 am tomorrow. We haven’t seen or spoken with him since the hot water was finally fixed. He said he would come over to say goodbye. I think he really just wants to convince me not to give him a bad review. That’s the only thing he really seems to care about. We’ll see. Frankly, he’s always late and we have no intention of waiting for him. Once we get a cab we’ll be gone. It’s very likely we won’t see him at all.

Actually, we had originally booked this place through AirBNB until the 27th. We made a private deal with him to extend our trip. We wanted an extra week but he could only give us three days. We wondered, based on all the complaining we did, whether he would just kick us out. I’m happy to say he didn’t.

We tried to schedule an UBER for tomorrow morning. The app made me go through the entire process before telling me that scheduling in this area is unavailable. There aren’t any dedicated UBER drivers in Naples. If you call for a car you’ll get a taxi and taxis don’t do scheduling. We’ve seen this before in our travels. It’ll be fine.

We went out to a local restaurant we’ve eaten in several times before. While we were there a couple came in and asked the waiter in broken English how long the wait would be for a pizza. He didn’t understand their question. I asked him for them in Italian and he responded to them in Italian. It turns out the couple was from Russia. When we found that out I said to them, “pet minut”, which means five minutes in Russian. They laughed. That seems to happen to me a lot. I’ve seen the Hunt for Red October enough to know that one. Actually, we’ve spent a lot of time in the Balkans and picked up quite a few phrases. The people there would deny it but Bulgarian, Serbo-Croation, and Russian are all very similar.