Culture, Cuisine and Chasing the Lights

[amaroo]

The long drive home...



Tired and hungry we decided to eat local ... so we went back to La Bottega del Caffe







A short stroll and we were back at the villa - terrific day!

 

[Pushka]

The Amalfi Coast road is awful in August with such narrow roads, buses and hoards of tourists. Often have to stop and even back up to let others pass.

 

[love_the_life]

The Amalfi Coast road is awful in August with such narrow roads, buses and hoards of tourists. Often have to stop and even back up to let others pass.

We were there in October and it was still busy, but we were on a port stop as part of a cruise and had a private driver to show us the area. Lunch above Positano was memorable - no menu just dishes appearing and classic home cooking. Can imagine what the height of summer would be like :shock:

 

[amaroo]

Day 4 - Rome

Today we've booked an afternoon Vatican tour ... so we decided to take it easy and conduct some domestic chores - washing.

Laundromat located, we headed off with two loads worth. Price for two loads, washed, dried and folded in under 2 hours = €18

With a couple of hours to kill we stumbled upon Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore

Within minutes we found ourselves joining a walk through of the private rooms of the ancient Popes and then heading down to the archaeological site (1st century).

Totally unplanned, spontaneous and very enjoyable! Well worth a visit.

Basilica

 

[amaroo]

Standard form of policing/security these days☹

 

[amaroo]

Archeological Site - 1st Century







Hot Tub



Under floor heating

 

[Yoz]

Thanks for the tip. Norway is a first for all of us.

I've sorted written off fine weather for Bergen - have booked Noway in Nutshell so we'll be heading out no matter what.

Hoping for clear skies in Tromso ... fingers and toes crossed for the Nth'n Lights. Have hired a car and driver so we can venture into Finland or Sweden if necessary.

Would recommend water-resistant/waterproof footwear for walking around Norway as my sneakers definitely did not cut it. Grabbed a pair of waterproof shoes here. Heh.

Also, with the clear skies in Tromso we booked three nights of Northern Lights chases and got to see the aurora on the first night, while the chase got cancelled on weather on the second night, and the third night (tonight) they've advised the tour will start 2 hrs later as they estimate the skies will be clearest around midnight towards Finland. Everyone here jokes that any forecast before around 4-5pm is useless as the weather changes so frequently in Tromso.

If your driver is an aurora guide I think there's a really good chance of seeing the lights. I was pretty surprised at how much work our aurora hunting guide put into the chase on the first night. Apart from keeping in touch with the weather reports he was also in constant contact with a few other aurora guides (both on/off duty) to get an idea of which regions they felt had the best chances of clear skies based on what they could see. On top of that once establishing which region had the best chance of lights he'd pick out places that had scenic backgrounds that would make for great photos. We ended up walking through about 200m of snow onto a frozen lake with mountains in the background which made a lovely backdrop for photos (and a proposal!) which was great.

Without an experienced guide I think it would have been a little harder to find the lights; and the chances of them knowing nice photo-spots in the area would also be lower I guess. All that said apart from the lovely lights on the frozen lake we did see three or four aurora shows whilst driving along the road - our guide just pulled over and we all hopped out and watched for about 10-15 mins before jumping back in to continue the drive

Hope you get to enjoy the lights like we did. It's pretty amazing when they're dancing about!

 

[amaroo]

Like everything we've done/seen in Rome, we've already done the quintessential Vatican tour... however, we're happy to give the kids the full experience.

We booked our guide thru the concierge which was hassle free. On their advice (less crowds) we booked the afternoon session (2pm) for 3hrs.

 

[amaroo]

..........

 

[amaroo]

The Holy door ... great timing!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35037740

 

[RooFlyer]

Like everything we've done/seen in Rome, we've already done the quintessential Vatican tour... however, we're happy to give the kids the full experience.

We booked our guide thru the concierge which was hassle free. On their advice (less crowds) we booked the afternoon session (2pm) for 3hrs.

So you didn't pre-book anything?

I'm really surprised about the pm being lighter crowds (but pleased for you - obvious in the pics). Do you think that is a general thing, or maybe the time of year? How was the Sistine Chapel crowd-wise?

 

[amaroo]

Dinner - Primo al Pigneto http://www.primoalpigneto.it/en/

Located in an area that is being gentrified ... the cabbie warned us about walking around. I think the warning was OTT.

Definitely worth having a meal here.

The red pepper was delicious.

 

[amaroo]

Day 5 - Rome

Our last day in Rome, not much left to do other than shop, eat and drink

First up - Spanish Steps. Currently under renovation.



You can still get a good view from the top.





Some funny dudes



Ancient walls everywhere...

 

[amaroo]

Trastevere is a good district to take a walk.

 

[amaroo]

Campo de' Fiori







The singing priests - they were very good and great fun.

 

[amaroo]

Our last meal in Rome was awful... tourist trap cough. Ditirambo

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d788129-Reviews-Ditirambo-Rome_Lazio.html

SWMBO got this restaurant from a review in the Guardian ... total utter rubbish - just like their articles!

 

[amaroo]

Would recommend water-resistant/waterproof footwear for walking around Norway as my sneakers definitely did not cut it. Grabbed a pair of waterproof shoes here. Heh.

Also, with the clear skies in Tromso we booked three nights of Northern Lights chases and got to see the aurora on the first night, while the chase got cancelled on weather on the second night, and the third night (tonight) they've advised the tour will start 2 hrs later as they estimate the skies will be clearest around midnight towards Finland. Everyone here jokes that any forecast before around 4-5pm is useless as the weather changes so frequently in Tromso.

If your driver is an aurora guide I think there's a really good chance of seeing the lights. I was pretty surprised at how much work our aurora hunting guide put into the chase on the first night. Apart from keeping in touch with the weather reports he was also in constant contact with a few other aurora guides (both on/off duty) to get an idea of which regions they felt had the best chances of clear skies based on what they could see. On top of that once establishing which region had the best chance of lights he'd pick out places that had scenic backgrounds that would make for great photos. We ended up walking through about 200m of snow onto a frozen lake with mountains in the background which made a lovely backdrop for photos (and a proposal!) which was great.

Without an experienced guide I think it would have been a little harder to find the lights; and the chances of them knowing nice photo-spots in the area would also be lower I guess. All that said apart from the lovely lights on the frozen lake we did see three or four aurora shows whilst driving along the road - our guide just pulled over and we all hopped out and watched for about 10-15 mins before jumping back in to continue the drive

Hope you get to enjoy the lights like we did. It's pretty amazing when they're dancing about!

Congrats on the proposal! Absolute stunning location to ask the Q...

We're suited out with appropriate clothing courtesy of visiting Quebec mid-winter two years ago... -35/-40c most days.

We've booked a private car/driver/guide with a company specialising in Aurora chasing. One of the benefits of traveling in a family pack - things cost less on PP basis.

It's going to be an all nighter or hopefully, done and dusted early.

Excellent you got to see the lights. Feel free to post a couple of photos... would love to see them.

Any restaurant recommendations ?

 

[amaroo]

So you didn't pre-book anything?

I'm really surprised about the pm being lighter crowds (but pleased for you - obvious in the pics). Do you think that is a general thing, or maybe the time of year? How was the Sistine Chapel crowd-wise?

I got distracted with booking Machu Picchu, and ended up super busy leading into Xmas - I forgot to book the tour.

I got the impression (hotel and other tour operators) that PM crowds/tours were better throughout the year.

FWIW I paid €65/h (3hrs) for the guide + entrance tickets- well worth the coin IMO.

Maybe the AM "private viewing" marketing forces the numbers up?

The Sistine Chapel was the most crowded, but nothing OTT. Winter is a pretty good time to visit - lovely sunny days, bugger all people and everything is open, and on special.

 

[amaroo]

We had a terrific time in Rome.

What's not to like? Beautiful weather, limited crowds, delicious food and great wine!

Villa Spalletti is a stunning hotel and thoroughly deserves it's high ranking on TA - well worth dropping the bags here when next in Rome http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...iews-Villa_Spalletti_Trivelli-Rome_Lazio.html

A few photos of some classic Roman cars seen on our walks around the city.

 

[love_the_life]

Thanks for the info on Villa Spalletti - have filed that away for future reference. The first time we were in Rome we stayed at Albergo del Senato which overlooks the Pantheon. I see it has slipped a little on Trip Advisor and is now No8 but it was, like V Spalletti, excellent.
Your time in Rome sounds wonderful, can't wait to go back there.
Looking forward to the next instalment in your TR.