Alberobello

Thankfully, no rain last night, so this morning we were able to sit, with Marge's side door open, whilst we ate our breakfast, enjoying the view of the nearby lake. Whilst we ate, quite a few people pulled into the cemetery car park, some with absolutely, beautiful arrangements of flowers. We have noticed in the Italian supermarkets, you cannot buy flowers, like you can in England, so every large town here, has at least one florist. Before leaving today, we gave Marge her usual brush out, still finding evidence of pumice from Mount Vesuvias, which has managed to find its way into every crevice.

Today we visited the city of Matera. Unusually for us, it was fairly easy to find parking for Marge, in an area especially designated for campervans. It took us about twenty minutes, to walk to the Sassi Caves, which are divided into two districts.

The cave dwellings, have been inhabited since the paleolithic period. Most of the caves now, are either shops, bed and breakfasts, homes, or luxury hotels.

At one of these hotels, we saw one of the many swallows, that darted across in front of us as we walked, fly through the hotels wrought iron gates, and settle on a stone ledge. Rarely, are you able to photograph a swallow, as they are constantly on the go.

There was an exhibition on, celebrating the work of Salvador Dali, of which, we were able to photograph freely, some of his genuine pieces.

We walked around for three hours, marvelling and photographing all the sights before us. Our legs ached, and we commented, that, if we weren't driving uphill, we were walking, uphill. All the inclines Marge has to toll up, cost us, and today her fuel bill was just under a hundred euros, but it's a small price to pay, to see the delights, we've experienced on our travels. We just wish, we felt a little safer on the roads, each day is a challenge, do you watch out for the potholes, or the car, behind, who wants to overtake, or the car coming towards you?

Tonight, we are staying on the edge of the town of, Alberobello. It is another world heritage site, with strange like circular buildings called Trulli.

(This is a derelict one John snapped in a field on the way in to town, tomorrow you'll get to see the ones in town which are a lot smarter!)

They are built from limestone, stacked, without using mortar, and have conical roofs.

The aire, is set amongst some beautiful olive trees, next to us, are a Dutch couple, and a very annoying small dog! A comment, about adding the dog to the pasta, if it didn't stop barking, seemed to deliver some relief, as you could hear some sharp orders in Dutch, being addressed to it. Tomorrow, we will take a walk into the town, to see the trulli's, before for we move further south. Electrical hook up, is included in our eighteen euro fee tonight, so for the first time in three weeks since leaving home, we can use our hairdryer, after we have showered. So blog followers, tomorrows photographs, will hopefully, show some nicely, bouffanted hair.

Miglionico

Last night, we sat under the covered seating area at the campsite, where the wi-fi signal was strongest, and enjoyed the warm evening. The family, who owned the site, had some visitors over, and they were very friendly towards us, but at the same time, respecting our privacy. This area, has been invaluable, as it has meant, we have not both been in the van, at the same time, giving a little space for everyone.

Once again, it rained heavily in the night, but this morning first thing, was fine. We had decided to move on, looking for better weather, although the forecast is not good, until next week. We left the site, just after 11 am, thanking our host, and saying we hoped to return to Pompeii, when we travel to Greece on another adventure. The family, we were staying with, had three sons, and the middle one, who was about twelve years old, had been very friendly towards us, and this morning came over and said in English, 'good morning, would you like coffee'. We were already drinking a mug, so politely declined. We wondered, if it was an excuse to practice, his already good English.

Today was a new, day, and we wondered what lay before us. Well, it didn't take long.

There is evidence of little drainage on the roads in Italy, and before we left, we waited whilst the heavens opened, and watched the deluge of rain. But is was time for us to leave, so we set off, braving the flooded road, and praying the potholes beneath were not that deep. As we left one of the faster roads, to join another, one, we were halted by flood water, probably around 2-3 feet deep. Despite, a no entry sign, being put up in the direction we wanted to travel, we followed all the other traffic ignoring it, including a lorry driver. Suddenly, he turned around, drew alongside us, and advised we did the same. We could sense, that Marge wasn't happy about all this water, lapping beneath her. So we sloshed our way through the flood waters, passing cars who were not so lucky, and headed onto totally, the wrong road, but it was a means of escape, and we were heading out of the danger zone, thankfully for Marge! All safely back on dry land, we continued our journey, travelling on more sensible, faster and wider roads, we'd already had enough drama for one day. A few miles into our trip, we drove over a very long viaduct, 'don't look down'. We could see a town, to the right of us, slightly obscured by the low cloud. With the rain sheeting down, and the visibility down to nothing, due to the low cloud, we were mindful of the sign we had seen at the bottom of the incline. 'Snow chains obligatory'. We knew we'd forgotten something! Descending down the mountain, leaving behind the endless mountain tunnels, the sun appeared, the landscape changed to rolling hills carpeted with trees of green, with harsher, rockier mountains as a back drop.

The traffic began to quieten, and we were able to travel slow enough, for John to take some photographs, of the passing landscape.

Tonight's stop is the hilltop town of Miglionico.

To get there, Marge had to slog up a large hill, sometimes having to drop down to second gear, with a top speed, of fifteen miles per hour. We are now, south of the Amalfi coast, deciding to give it a miss this trip, as the visibility was so bad, and we would have missed out on the amazing views.

Our overnight stop tonight, is outside the entrance to the cemetery. We know, should be quiet, unless of course they are all like our Marge!

By the middle of the afternoon, the threat of rain had gone, the sky turned blue, and we could feel the heat of the sun on our skin. As we are so high up, we have a great view Lagu di San Giuliano, a vast expanse of water, nestled, between the rolling hills.

We are about fifteen miles from the city of Matera, which, this year, has been recognised as a European city of culture. The caves there, are a UNESCO world heritage site. We hope to visit them tomorrow, if the roads are wide enough for Marge, and we can find somewhere to park her.

Late afternoon, we walked into the town. Everyone seemed friendly, but noted there were strangers in town. Walking through the narrow streets, we stopped as always at the church, another fantastic example.

Then, onto the Castello, which, was a beautifully, preserved building. We could hear the cries of the young jackdaws, in nests in, the hollows of the walls, their parents darting back and forth, with a continuous supply of food. Up on the terrace, we were wowed, by the view. We were glad we had visited, when the sun was out, and we could really appreciate.

In the distance, we could see the blue, of the Adriatic sea. As the sun lowered in the soft, pink, evening sky, it cast shadows across the soft rolling green, below us. we are glad we stopped here for the night.

Tonight's lighter note is, please can any of you, recommend another Italian song for John to sing. I, and the Italians, have had enough of, Joe Dolce's, 'Shaddap you Face!

Goodnight from tonight's cosy pitch.

Pompeii (Day 2)

This morning it rained, it thundered, it rained even heavier, Mount Vesuvias dipped in and out of the cloud, and the other three vans all left, So it's just us here tonight. Mid morning, the weather began to settle, and we put on our lightweight, waterproof jackets and backpacks, and set off, looking like a pair of geography teachers, on a school trip.

By the time we reached the ruins of old Pompeii, the weather had settled. We were suprised how quiet the area was, but by lunchtime, the coaches began arriving, with passengers from the cruise ships, and suddenly, we were flung into the world of tour guides and loud Americans.

We entered the site by the large amphitheatre, then viewed the nearby grapevines, whose grapes produce 1,700 bottles of wine a year, which you are unable to purchase, as the bottles are sold at auction.

The ruins were absolutely fantastic, and the realisation of what had happened here, was both unbelievable and fascinating. We could see the site was an ongoing project, with works going on all around.

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We wanted to see as much as possible, and the photo opportunities were endless, although made difficult because of the crowds of people. Stone columns, mosaic floors, wall paintings, brickwork, statues, the houses, the shops, shop signage, the streets themselves, where you could see the grooves of the cart wheels created over time, so much to take in, and then there was the brothel, tiny rooms with stone beds, very comfortable!

We heard one of the tour guides describe the image of a phallus carved in one of the large stones, that made up the road, as a pointer to the brothel for men, who'd lost their way, it seemed most of the customers were sailors from nearby boats.

After walking around the ruins for, four and a half hours, we seemed to have barely scratched the surface. With weary legs, we set off on the 30 minute walk back to Marge. Luckily, the man who owns the campsite spotted us,and stopped to offer us a lift, which we gratefully accepted.

This evening, Vesuvias looks dark and daunting, but quiet. It's unbelievable to think that its eruption all those years ago eradicated the lives of 20,000 men,women and children. Tomorrow, we will leave here, and hopefully escape the heavy rain that has plagued us the last two mornings.

On a lighter note, prosecco drinkers, it's 3.29 euros a bottle in the supermarket here, with an extra 10 percent discount if you buy six bottles.

Pompeii

It rained, nearly all through the night, so the view we were hoping for this morning, after driving part way up Mount Vesuvias, was not to be seen. Late morning, abandoning any idea of travelling further up, we set off downwards, Marge, confident, following a coach, who paved the way. Yesterday, we realised, that driving in Italy was a little bit like crossing the road in Italy, you need to get in there, so we did, whilst still remaining vigilant. Marge, being Marge, lured us into the back streets of Naples. So, incident number one, Marge had to reverse, out of the end, of a one way street, then turn right, tightly, minding the low wall, and up a gradient. Of course, the Italians are not very patient drivers, so whilst trying to reverse, they cut around in front of us, and, tried to squeeze behind us, all the time, sounding their horns. The Marge we know, would have loved all this male attention. We have worked out, that about one in fifteen of the drivers are on your side, whether you are trying to cross the road, or, waiting while you sort out your driving! After that, it was another case of 'get me out of here!'. So we followed road signs for the autostrada. Eventually, on the toll road, all was calm. Then, we exited for Pompeii. After leaving the autostrada, the roads, seemed like they'd been bombed, and because of the heavy rain, all the more dangerous. Then, incident number two. 'The bridge approaching, is too low for Marge'! 'Reverse, onto the junction'. More impatient Italian drivers, with blaring horns. So, we allowed the sat nav to re-route us. Incident number three. 'This roads narrow'. But Marge had, had, enough. The drivers coming towards her, either had to stop, or reverse back. By then, we were only about four minutes from our destination, great! Then incident number four. 'Those trees are TOO LOW! '. 'Sorry, Marge, this might be a little uncomfortable'. And then we arrived at the campsite. Greeted, by the cheerful owners, we were relieved to have arrived. We were each, given a welcome drink, of peach juice, and some fruit, a little like small peaches, from a tree in their garden. After being shown the facilities, (great, hot showers, toilet etc.), and being told information about, New and Old Pompeii, we decided to take a breath, and have our lunch, and celebrate surviving Naples. The site is a thirty minute walk from Old Pompeii, so after lunch, we took a walk out. The area, near the campsite, is very run down, and we were a little bit apprehensive about it, but twenty minutes later, we arrived at a beautiful, large church.

The painted ceiling was stunning, and impressed everyone who stepped inside to see it.

On, one of the walls, there was a painting of Ava Maria, adorned with gold jewellery, which caused a lump in the throat, and a tear in the eye, as this was Marge's favourite song as a young child.

The organ, which sat above the main door, was the best we'd ever seen, and we've seen some organs, having frequented so many churches on our travels in Europe, secretly praying that ourselves and Marge remain safe. Today, was the day, that we both thought Marge might come to grief. As usual, we were pestered by tour guides, one telling us the mini bus tour up to Mount Vesuvias was 15 euros each, when we knew from our hosts, that if you boarded it a the station it was 10 euros! On top of this, was a 10 euro, standard charge, to walk, to the crater. We are now firmly in Mafia country, and were put off one of the overnight stops, because the price was basically decided on the spot, after giving you the once over.

On our way to the large supermarket, on the edge of town, we were lucky to be rewarded with a free, sneak preview of Old Pompeii.

After, buying some provisions for tomorrow's packed lunch, we walked back to Marge. The evening was fairly warm, and after taking advantage of the on-site showers, we settled down, with a pre-dinner drink, appreciating, we had the best seat in the house, with a clear view of Mount Vesuvias.

We are looking forward to spending a couple of nights here, away from the rat race, that awaits us on Italy's roads. The Internet connection, is very poor here, so our blog may take a little while to come through, whilst we are here.