With our first activity at 10am we had what could almost be called a sleep-in. We had pre-booked tickets to climb to the top of the dome of the Duomo. The climb was much less tiring than the one at St Peters, though I still managed to bang my head in a few places. The…
As usual an early breakfast in Nocelle before catching the bus down to Positano. Being the end of the line we got seats, though as the bus went down it became very crowded with the morning commute. Once down in Positano we made the trek through the alleys to the wharf where we bought tickets…
Nocelle is a small village high above Positano. The road only came as far as the village 20 years ago, but at the village itself there is only foot access. And because it’s on the side of a very steep hill if you want to go anywhere chances are you will be going up and…
We troubled Nino for an early breakfast so we could get our little trek on Path of the Gods done before the heat of the day. We set out about 7:45am. The path itself is of pretty good standard – in New Zealand it would be considered relatively easy other than a few mild climbs…
After breakfast I quickly had a run around the streets, trying to follow the directs given to me by the hotel reception for an ATM. Eventually I found one inside a building. So with cash in hand we caught a taxi down to the harbour and caught the high speed ferry to Capri. We left…
The train to Napoli left at 7:35, so an early hike to the station. The train was a Frecciarossa, meaning it travelled at up to 300km/h. As we sped through the countryside I explained to Mina and Jess that New Zealanders fought in this area during World War 2 against the Germans. Just as I…
On our way to the Domus Aurea tour we had booked for 9:30am we stopped first at Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. We had to go through security to enter the church – maybe due to the fact it’s Vatican property. We then had a short detour to Arch of Gallienus which was an…
A couple of days ago City Wonder Tours cancelled our tour of the Colosseum and Forum. I’d booked with them mostly because it was convenient, since it’d be the same company as the one that led us to the Sistine Chapel. I managed to get on a tour with Walks of Ital (Walks), who I…
A 6am start for a 4km hike to to Vatican Museums for a tour that basically is get into the Vatican Museums 90 minutes before it officially opens and head straight to the Sistine Chapel before it gets too crowded. The room itself is worthy of the attention it gets, it really is impressive. “No…
We had no activities booked for our first full day in Italy, though the Pope has an audience on Wednesday mornings, and although you are supposed to have a ticket it’s entirely meaningless – no one checks, and the Pope himself has said you can attend without one. So we started the morning early, heading…