checking in...

wow, beautiful pictures! We plan to go to Italy the summer of 2011. I look forward to reading your report! By the way, what city was your favorite?

Thank you, Isabel, for the gorgeous pictures! We're going there next May and can hardly wait. Looking forward to your trip report.

I gotta tell you, those are the BEST photos I've seen in a long time. GREAT!!!!!!
Why did you sewitch cameras? Some photos with Canon and some with Panasonic.

I concur with Wally - the best travel photos I've seen in ages. Absolutely beautiful! It's amazing that you got so many shots without people, at the height of tourist season. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Beautiful pictures! Waiting for your report on Dubrovnik as I will be there on September 10 for 4 nights. Looks like the weather was perfect.

Love the pictures. My husband and I will be going to Rome, Naples, Dubrovnik, Split and a few other places in May.I am looking forward to the trip report and may have some questions for you!! I understand about planning - that is what we are doing right now!

Beautiful pictures, isabel!

Lovely pictures - they remind me how much I love the Dalmatian coast, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I have to start thinking about yet another trip there!

Thank you Ann, I have been looking for these from you and I am awestruck aS usual. I have some real favorites:
#110---bell tower in Sorrento
#276---umbrellas on beach---MUST HAVE BEEN AFTER DAWN
#370--Atrani profile---WHERE IS THE SCAFFOLDING?
#456---the coast
#493--over Atrani
# 532--Anacapri clock tower
#594---Blue Grotto---AMAZING COLOR

I notice you switch cameras often---what is your logic?

Off to Dalmatian coast now !

I'm savoring these one album at a time. I think these are your best photos yet.

As others have said, you have taken some amazing photos.

These are incredible pictures!

Fabulous photos! = )

Beautiful photos!..............looking forward to your trip report

Thanks for liking my photos. I hope they help people planning trips to the area (or re-living them).Tomorrow I'll get the trip report part going.

waldo and bob - To answer the question about switching cameras - I always have two with me. The last several years my main camera is a Panasonic FZ35 which takes just as good photos as my Nikon DSLR which I usually leave home. But I also use a Canon elph. I just got a new one before this trip, the SD980, it's got a nice wide angle and gets excellent color, but a lot of the shots were slightly out of focus. Anyway I shoot most things with both, since sometimes one will get better exposure, etc.

bob - what scaffolding? I guess I got lucky, that was a really wonderful view, I'm so glad it wasn't ruined by scaffolding. And yes, that is the REAL color of the blue grotto. It was amazing. I couldn't believe it really was that color, and that the camera captured it so well (considering I was lying in the bottom of a row boat at the time).

I had gotten that shot of Atrani with a slide in 1989 and it still is one of my favs. This year the church had scaffolding---I almost cried.

See if this takes--page 2 in this gallery:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=23260&cat=3827

Great photos, Ann! What did you find the least resort-y feeling in Croatia?

Stunning photos. Thanks.

SORRENTO AND THE AMALFI COAST Day 1, Sunday, July 4 - We arrived in Rome at 9am, about 18 hours after we left western Mass. From FCO it was still another 6 hours to our hotel in Sorrento. The Leonardo Express (14€ each) was easy to find – signs all over the airport, you cross over a pedestrian bridge to get to the train station. There was no line at the ticket booth and we were able to buy both the Leonardo Express ticket and the ticket from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale (44€ each). The airport express leaves at :07 and :37 after each hour and takes half an hour. We had a choice of a 20 minute wait till the Napoli train or an hour and 20 minutes so took the longer connection so we’d have time to get something to eat. The train to Napoli took just over an hour and Napoli Centrale Station had good signs directing you down one flight of stairs to the “Garibaldi” station where the Circumvesuviana trains to Sorrento leave from. This is a local commuter train (3.40€ each, one way) without air conditioning but there was a decent breeze and the one hour trip was not uncomfortable. The station was not “sketchy” or threatening as some described it, it was like a subway station only with more light.

In Sorrento the train station is a half block behind Corso Italia, the main street, about a ten minute walk to Piazza Tasso the main square and center of town. Our hotel was another 10 minute walk down Corso Italia. So all in all, just over 24 hours from our house to our hotel room. Longer than most trips I’ve done but it was worth it to get all the way down to the Amalfi Coast without having to spend a night in Rome (since we were spending time there before our next two flights).

Ulisse Deluxe Hostel: Via del Mare, 22 Sorrento, Tel.: +39 0818774753 http://www.ulissedeluxe.com/ E-mail: info@ulissedeluxe.com per night 69€ double, plus 10€ breakfast, free wi-fi in the lobby( but not in the room), AC, Satellite TV with CNN, mini-bar. It’s considered a “deluxe hostel” rather than a hotel but the rooms are huge, very nice marble floors, nice wood furniture, etc, great bathroom with shower and Jacuzzi tub. The lobby and breakfast room are also huge, modern, nice. I think there are some “hostel” type rooms with bunk beds that are cheaper but all the areas we saw were certainly 3 star hotel quality. There is also a connected fitness center with pool, exercise rooms, etc but that is all extra. There is also a large parking garage, also extra. No view though (well you can see the ocean from the window but just barely). But for the price it was a great deal. Breakfast at 5€ per person was also a steal – far better than anything you could buy for 5€. Location a five minute walk from the old town with all the shops and restaurants. About 20 minutes walk from the train station. And the hotel organizes numerous excursions, we took the one to Capri that was not only a good deal financially but turned out to be one of our favorite experiences.

Sorrento – The town really grew on me as the week went on. It has beautiful views over the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the background, narrow alleyways in the old town, ancient stone stairways leading down to incredibly clear turquoise water. It doesn’t have the fishing village charm that the guidebooks claim for Positano and Amalfi (but then they don’t really have it either), but it doesn’t have their prices and Sorrento has the best transport connections. One guidebook described Sorrento as having “a certain perfect coziness, comfortable like a favorite cardigan. Visitors get the sense that nothing distressing is going to happen. Sorrento doesn’t flagrantly chase after your money, unlike other places in Italy, and it lacks garishness. Around Sorrento stretches one of the great garden spots of Campania – lemons being the main crop, Lemoncello being the major product.” That pretty much sums it up. There are several streets in the old town center that are completely touristy, but that also means lots of restaurant choices and shops to browse in. The lemon theme is almost overwhelming – lemoncello sold and samples given everywhere, lemon gelato, lemon granite, lemon slices in your water and on many of the dishes you order in restaurants. Not to mention lemon groves all over the place. But I like lemon. There are numerous parks and piazzas with views that I could spend hours gazing at. There are lots of beach options – cabanas, beach chairs, etc that you can rent. There is one tiny stretch of “free beach”.

We spent 8 nights (7½ days) here and that was about perfect. We did day trips on five days and the last two spent time exploring Sorrento itself and taking it easy. On a three week trip you need a little down time, especially when most of your days are day trips that don’t lend themselves to the siesta.

Great so far. Tagging.

Day 2 Monday July 5 - AMALFI COAST DRIVE, AMALFI AND POSITANO - We got to the bus stop (across from the train station) about 8 am for the first bus (8:30). There were about 3 people there ahead of us. Bought our tickets in the tabachi next to the train station entrance. So we obviously had no trouble getting a seat on the “right” side of the bus (which going to Positano is the right, as opposed to left, side). The bus was not even completely full so I don’t know when the people who all write trip reports about the jam-packed Amalfi Coast buses are there, but apparently not in July. We took the bus three times and it was never completely full. The views are, of course, gorgeous though I will say the views from within the towns, especially Ravello are the best. So if you are considering driving instead of taking the bus because you want to stop frequently to admire the view that’s not really necessary – nor possible, there are a few places you could pull over, but not many.

The road is not scary as in ‘you might crash and die’ scary. But I sure wouldn’t want to be in a rental car that I was worried about getting scraped. Those buses pass cars with literally five or six inches to spare. Kind of amazing to watch. The only drawback to the bus, which may or may not be the case in a car, is motion sickness. I had no problem on the bus to Positano or from Positano to Amalfi but on the way back I was pretty queasy. My husband was queasy on all three buses and I saw and spoke with several other people who also felt that way. I think it partly depends on the driver.

We got off in Positano and walked down the windy narrow “streets” to the Piazza Duomo and beach area, then as far as you could go in each direction. Lots of stairs. Lots of steep paths/alleys. The view of the town from the beach is gorgeous. But it is better from a distance than up close. The stores are mostly expensive women’s clothes and jewelry with a few ceramics. We actually felt we had “seen” it in about 3 hours and didn’t feel any desire to linger. If you weren’t renting a beach chair there wasn’t really anyplace to sit (well other than cafes of course). So we went to the second bus stop (Sponda), the one closest to Amalfi and waited about 10 minutes for the next bus. This one was not full either, although quite a lot of people got off so that helped. We again got a seat on the right side (this is at noon) for the rest of the drive to Amalfi.

oh my gosh -- the photos of Rome are breathtaking! I'm going in September 2011 and your work has given me some great ideas for angles and places to shoot. These are extraordinary. Looking forward to the Rome portion of your report. Thanks for sharing these!

Ann, I just looked at your Rome gallery--fantastic as usual.
Very comprehensive---A person could feel like they visited Rome just from your gallery.

I love your photos! I am returning to Venice and making my first visit to Croatia and Montenegro next year. Seeing the photos made me even more excited about my trip. I can see I will have to get a new memory card for my camera.

Yeah I really liked Rome. We'd been there once before but only for a couple days and for some reason I really liked it much more this time. A few of the photos in the gallery are from that trip eight years ago (the ones of St Peters and a few others)but most from this trip. In several cases I compared photos I took eight years ago with now and things have been cleaned up quite a bit. But I liked it so much I'm going back in November.

Trip report continues...

I liked Amalfi better than Positano, which I know is the opposite of a lot of people. It just had more character, a larger nicer waterfront, more to do and see. I’m actually glad we were staying in Sorrento rather than any of the Amalfi coast towns, but if we were to pick one it would be Amalfi over Posoitano or Ravello. The Piazza Duomo and the Duomo itself are beautiful. We had lunch at a café right in front of the Duomo steps. I decided the view from where I am eating is more important to me than the food. But the pizza and lemon granite were pretty good.

We spent the afternoon exploring the town and then walked to Atrani. We walked there via the road, and back through the alleyways. I had bought the Sunflower Walking Guide to the Amalfi Coast which I learned about from someone’s trip report. We did several of the walks but I can’t say they were totally accurate, there were several times we got fairly confused, and most of the time there were signs anyway so the book wasn’t necessary. The walk from Atraini to Amalfi is fairly well marked.

The views on the drive back to Sorrento from Amalfi are not quite as good (at least in the late afternoon, it was 5:30 when we left Amalfi) as they are in the morning heading to Amalfi. And it is about 100 minutes. It was 7:10 by the time we got back to Sorrento.

Day 3 – Tuesday July 6- CAPRI My original trip (which was only going to have 4 full days in Sorrento) I wasn’t even going to go to Capri. The guidebooks and trip reports made it sound so terribly “touristy” and crowded as to be not enjoyable, at least “in season” which I assumed July was. But it turned out to be one of our favorite days. We took an "excursion" the hotel was running (they do it daily) to Capri. At 30€ it was only two more euro than just taking the ferry round trip and they included a boat tour around the island. We had considered doing that anyway and knew you could book a one hour trip for 14€ once you got there so this really was a good deal. But turned out to be a really, really good deal as the boat tour was over two hours, included everything - even the green grotto - I didn't even know there was a green grotto - and also stopped at the blue grotto.

Most of the ferries going from Sorrento to Capri are closed boats so you wouldn’t get the “boating” experience. This little boat (about 35 people) was so much better. The trip included pick up at the hotel and transport to the little marina of Massalubrense, about a 20 minute drive. The half hour ride to Capri got us there around 9:15 and we had until 15:45 when the boat was to leave. We took the bus up to Anacapri – that was rather unpleasant as the bus was really hot and crowded but only took about 10 min.

Anacapri’s main square (tiny) had a bunch of expensive stores, but all the side streets were quiet and peaceful. The church of San Michelle (2€) has a majolica tile floor mural of the garden of eden that was amazing. We walked around to the other square, along several alleys and over to the Villa San Michele (6€). The villa and gardens were nice, but it’s the drop-dead-gorgeous view that is worth the price of admission.

Just past the villa start the Phoenician Steps (Scala Fenicia). They were built in the middle ages to connect Anacapri with the outside world via the harbor at Marina Grande. Until 1877 when the road was built, nearly all commerce, people and goods had to up or down this switchback flight of steps. In 1999 the authorities rebuilt the steps for tourist use. The stairway was made probably by ancient Greek colonists, however, rather than by Phoenicians. The guidebooks say it’s about 1000 steps. At least! We did the 1000 step climb (up and down) in Napflion Greece last summer and this was harder, and we only did this one going down. Each step is about twice as high as a normal step. (My 6 foot tall husband even said it was difficult and my legs were screaming when I got to the bottom (I’m only 5’2” and had to take twice as many steps for each stair). But we did it.

We had planned to walk up from Marina Grande to Capri town, which I actually think would be a fairly easy hike, but after the Scala fenicia I opted for the funicular. No “hour long wait” as the guidebooks all said, we were up there in 10 minutes. Piazza Umberto I was jammed, as were the streets all around it, but a ten minute walk brought us to the Certosa di San Giacomo – (Charterhouse of St James) which was almost deserted. It has a large cloister with dead grass not a single flower or tree – rather unusual. There is also a smaller cloister which was much nicer, plus a little park with some wonderful views. But the views are even better a ten minute walk further to the Giardini di Augusto. Much more crowded too, but the views were worth it.

All in all I’d have to agree that the town of Capri is full of tourists and expensive shops and restaurants. I liked Anacapri much better and actually had no desire to have stayed on the island at all. I’m glad I went but one day was plenty.

But the best was yet to come, the boat ride around the island.

WONDERFUL report-thank you. I'm still going through your pix and they are super.

DH and I did walk from Marina to Capri town and it almost killed us. A slight exaggeration but you should be glad you took the funicular. You did miss some interestingly painted private entry ways. I'll post them later. We made Sorrento our base as well and enjoyed it.

Looking forward to more. Brava.

Wonderful trip report - looking forward to the rest of it!

TDudette - actually glad to hear the walk up to Capri town almost killed you - I was sort of regretting we didn't do it, but after the 1000 steps down my legs were like jelly. So now I'm glad I didn't.

The boat ride around the island was over two hours long and included everything in the guidebooks and then some. We stopped at the blue grotto and at first my thought was that this really was a tourist trap. There were probably 10 boats jockeying for position to unload four passengers at a time into one of the dozen or so rowboats that were taking people into the grotto. There was also a long line of people on the stairs leading up to Anacapri waiting to get a rowboat. But since we were right there, and most of the people on our boat were doing it I felt I wanted to experience it. So we forked over our 11,50€ (each) and climbed from our big boat into a row boat (no easy task as both boats are bobbing up and down quite a bit). You have to lie down in the boat as the opening is only a few inches above the sides of the rowboat. The water all around Capri is pretty darn turquoise so I figured how much better could it be inside. IT WAS AMAZING! - and to think we almost didn't do it cause it was "too touristy". I am never not doing something again because it's too touristy. It was sooooo cool. It positively glows! The water was iridescent. Our rower told me to put my hand in the water and it really looked blue. And the rower sang O Sole Mia while explaining that the grotto was some Roman emperor (can’t remember which one)’s private swimming hole. I got it all on video. And the photos came out too which was amazing considering how dark it was and that we, which includes the cameras, got splashed going in. I am so glad we did it.

We then continued our tour around the island, stopping by green grotto – with emerald colored water, the white grotto – with a natural stone Madonna, and through the Faraglioni rocks. All in all a very enjoyable day. But really the best part was this boat ride and tour. Just taking the enclosed ferry over and seeing the two towns would have been much, much less interesting.

I know some people have had less wonderful experiences with the rowers going into the blue grotto, so like anything I guess it depends on luck.

Day 4 Wednesday July 7 - POMPEII- We got to the train station in time for the 8am train to Pompeii so as to be there when it opened at 8:30. And it was worth it. We got in just ahead of two tour groups, and were able to stay ahead of the crowds for most of the first two hours. In fact at one point, walking down to the Villa of the Mysteries around 10 am, on a shady road, with just the sound of the birds singing, I was thinking how peaceful Pompeii was.

After the villa of Mysteries we encountered lots of tour groups (seems like most people were in a group, only small percentage were wandering around on their own like we were). Shade disappeared around then too and it was pretty hot. But Pompeii was definitely worth it. We hit the main “sights” but also a lot of the houses further out that the tour groups were not getting to. I had done a lot of research and it paid off. I can see how if you haven’t read anything ahead of time you’d need a guide to know what you were looking at. The book they give you with the map is pretty good though. Actually, it’s all on the official website which I had read and downloaded before we left. It really helps to have read about the Roman house, the Roman town, Roman style painting from that era, etc. There is also a whole course on Roman art and architecture through Yale University available free on-line (video of the actual lectures plus transcripts) which has several sessions on Pompeii.

Here are some sites I used for research: http://oyc.yale.edu/history-of-art/roman-architecture/ , www.roman-empire.net/society/soc-house.html , www.roman-empire.net/society/society.html , www.pompeiisites.org

We spent just about 5 hours there, and we needed that many to see the majority of the site. Only the last hour was I a bit hot and tired. There are several fountains throughout the site so you can refill your water bottles but not a lot of places to sit, and in mid day, not much shade. But it’s Pompeii, so of course it was worth it.

Day 5 Thursday July 8 - Napoli – You either love it or hate it, most people seem to hate it. I found it really interesting, am very glad I went, and am equally glad I didn’t stay there or spend more than one day. We were there about 7 hours including lunch, and that was a good amount of time. I was ready to leave by then. We took the train there, did the “historical walk” that I put together from Fodors, Frommers and Rick Steeves, spent just over an hour in the Archaeological Museum, had pizza at a little café, saw Galleria Umberto I, Piazza Plebiscito, and Castel Nuovo and took the boat back to Sorrento.

I have to say I didn’t expect some of the magnificent buildings – you read so much about the narrow streets with laundry flapping in the breeze (of which there are plenty) and the churches but there are some really impressive buildings. Galleria Umberto was amazing – much better than it’s equals in Paris or London. But there was another galleria, right across from the Archaeological museum that I had not even read about that was just beautiful. Chiesa Santa Chiara’s tiled cloister is fabulous. The pizza really is the best I have ever eaten (and I’m originally from New York). The traffic is really as awful as everyone says – the only way to cross a street is to wait till a local is going and stick right next to them. The cars will not stop until you are actually in the street in front of them. And I guess you just have to have faith that they are not too busy texting someone to notice that you stepped in front of them. I guess I consider Naples a “site” like Pompeii – something to experience, to see – but not exactly a place to linger or enjoy. But I don’t really think you can say you experience southern Italy without it (just like I don’t think you can say you experience Sicily without Palermo, which by comparison with Napoli is rather subdued).

Terrific trip report and photos--thank you!

I really enjoy your trip reports, and especially your photos. They are the BEST I've seen. HOWEVER!!! you really have the wrong impression of Naples. You did not do it any justice staying for only one day. There are places and sites in Naples that connot be equalled in this world. I have to agree with you, also as a former New Yorker, that the best pizza in the world is in Naples.

Waldo - glad you like the photos. What do you mean about wrong impression of Naples? I didn't say I didn't like it, there were many beautiful things there, more than I had expected given what the guidebooks, trip reports, etc say. It definitely had a vibe, a buzz. It's just not the kind of city I see myself spending lots of time in. For example I've been to London and Paris multiple times, and go back every few years - not so much to see new things but just to BE there. I'm going back to Rome in November even after just spending five days there in July. But that feeling I didn't get from Naples. So I'd really like to hear your impressions of it.

On with the trip report...

Day 6 Friday July 9 -Boat ride to Amalfi, Ravello and the “hike of 4000 steps” - We wanted to see the coast from the water so took the boat (11 € each way) from Sorrento to Amalfi. Fortunately it had an open deck (as well as inside seating). I guess I’d have to say the view from the bus is a bit more stunning than from the boat, but the boat is way more fun. The wind in your hair, sun on your face, watching the world go by. Totally enjoyable way to get to Amalfi. The boat stops in Positano so you get the great views as you pull in and out of the harbor. Same with Amalfi.

We headed straight for the bus stop for the bus up to Ravello. As it was a strike day only some of the regular buses were running so we opted for the red open top sightseeing bus instead which was leaving in five minutes. It was only 3€ and had rather interesting commentary and probably better views than from inside a bus window. It took maybe 25 minutes to get up there. Ravello is nice and quiet –can’t really say untouristy as everyone there appeared to be a tourist, there just weren’t as many people as in Positano or Amalfi. We wandered around the back streets for a while then visited both the villas – Rufolo (5€) and Cimbrone (6€). Both of which actually do have the views you have seen in all the guidebooks and calendars. Totally beautiful. There are no words to adequately describe it. The buildings and gardens are nice too but it’s the views that make you wonder why you live in your boring little life and can't find some way to own a villa on the Amalfi Coast. We spent a bit over an hour in each of them, including a small picnic lunch. Both were uncrowded, quiet and largely shady.

And then we did one of the walks from the Sunflower book. From Ravello down to Atrani – “easy, 1 hr” says the book. Well easy must be relative, and as in the case of the Phoenician Steps in Capri I was certainly glad we were going down and not up, but easy is not the term I’d use to describe it. It’s about four miles and it was virtually all steps. The book was a bit confusing but there were some nice tile markers telling you which way to go to get to Atrani/Amalfi so we knew we were on the right path. There were some occasional nice views (but not as good as from the two villas in Ravello) but mostly you were going between some eight foot high stone walls, or through olive or lemon groves. And then, just as we were almost to Atrani (we could see it) we came across an iron pipe barricade with orange plastic netting blocking our way. Someone had already torn away the plastic and clearly there was no way I was going back up all those stairs so we climbed through the pipes (being real glad we are relatively thin). It was not really clear why they were blocking the path, looked like there might have been some crumbling or falling stones. Anyway, I was very glad to get to Atrani where I rewarded myself with the largest lemon gelato they had.

We still had the 20 minute walk to Amalfi, which itself is 419 steps (up and down, I counted this time). So we estimated that the hike down from Ravello must be around 4000 steps. Whew. At least most of it was in shade. Was it worth it. Well Ravello certainly was but I’m not so sure the hike was. At least we can brag about it. But the other four hikes I had planned were not going to happen. It actually didn’t take all that long – a little over an hour from Villa Cimbrone to Atrani. The boat ride back to Sorrento from Amalfi was a piece of heaven after that.

Keep it going!

Day 7 and 8 Sat and Sun July 10 & 11 - Sorrento – We felt it was time for a little relaxation so spent these days in Sorrento. We walked east and west of town for the views, down to Marina Grande and Marina Picolo a few times each at different times of the day, did some shopping, and spent time sitting in Villa Communale (beautiful park with even more beautiful view of the bay of Naples) sipping lemon granite. Lemon granite by itself is refreshing and tastes great, but add a couple of splashes of lemonchello to it and it’s really good. That feeling, of sitting there with the sun on my face, the Mediterranean behind me, sipping lemmoncello laced granite – I want to keep that memory with me to relive in February when it’s 20 degrees out and has been snowing for a solid week. That’s why I travel, for memories like that.

For dinner we went to the restaurant that the lady who sold us a majolica bottle suggested. Her name was Ana Maria and it’s her brother Mario’s restaurant. It‘s outside the walls – e.g. not in a touristy area. So we had our authentic dinner. It was good, but not all that much better than most of the food we had in the “touristy” restaurants, and it was a bit more costly. I had sea bass – so at least I did get a fish meal. But talking to Mario was fun, and it was nice to be off the tourist track for a while. Then we walked back through town and the festival lights they had been putting up all week were all lit up – very pretty. The passegiatta was in full swing and almost every restaurant/bar had a tv outside so people could watch the game – world cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. Got some really good gelato – amaretto and chocolate sorbet. Good way to end our stay in Sorrento.

What a great trip report and fantastic picture !! I need to buy a new camera, or take you along with me on my travels.

The camera hardly matters---the photographer does.

that is very true

Hi Isabel! I'm going to the Amalfi coast this September and was wondering if you have more details about the excursion to Capri. It seems like a really good deal! I found similar excursions but for more than the double and they looked more like tourist traps. Thank you for sharing!

Mia - the excursion was run by our hotel, Ulisse Deluxe Hostel so we just booked it the night before. They go every day. But it wasn't exclusively our hotel so even if you are staying somewhere else you could do it. Perhaps if you called the hotel and asked they would give you the name of the guy who ran it. I just don't recall the name as it wasn't important to me at the time. But I can't say enough good things about it. The two guys were friendly, the boat was nice, it was a great size - not too small but just so much nicer than the ferry boats. You could ride in the sheltered part of the boat, back on the back deck, or up front (if you wanted to get wet). It was great.

bob, mimi - thanks for thinking it's the photographer, but the camera does make a difference too. Many of my photos with the little point and shoot were slightly out of focus, so a somewhat bigger camera, especially one with a good zoom and a wide angle will produce better shots.

And now on to Rome...

Day 9 [Monday, July 12]– We got the 7:55 train to Napoli but then had to wait on a long line to get tickets to Rome. I tried the machines but they wouldn’t take my US credit card. Although some Italians also seemed to be having trouble so maybe it wasn't the card. The first two trains to Rome were sold out so the earliest we could get was the 10:30 eurostar which got in at 12:15. Don’t know why it took longer than the 1:10min the other trains took, it made no stops. But whatever, it was 10€ per ticket cheaper. The hotel is a good 15 minute walk from Termini,taking the metro makes sense as there is a stop about two blocks from the hotel. It felt good to be free of our bags. We cleaned up and headed out to explore.

Room wass just as hot as the last time I was there (also in July) but also more crowded, at least more tourists, and especially groups. But I was also better prepared, knowing what I wanted to see and where those things were. I had mapped out several walks (strung together from various guidebooks and internet sources). The hotel is less than 10 minutes from Trevi Fountain so we started there and made our way past lots of gorgeous churches, interesting piazzas and little streets to the Pantheon area and then Campo de Fiori and Piazza Navona. We walked down via Giulia which is full of beautiful old pallazos (most of which look like they are probably beautiful inside but could use some work on the outside). We stopped for pizza and ended up at Piazza del Popolo which I really loved. It’s huge with three big churches, the steps up to the Borghese Gardens, and a great Egyptian obelisk surrounded by four lion fountains in the center. It certainly doesn't have the same vibe that Navona has, nor as many beautiful fountains, but it was nicer than I expected.

A few minutes from there are the Spanish steps, another area we had not really gotten to on our first visit. It doesn’t look that far on the map but we were dead by the time we got back to the hotel.

Hotel Julia Via Rasella, 29 - 00187 Rome www.hoteljulia.it info@hoteljulia.it Telephone :+39 06 4881637 wi-fi, breakfast. The hotel says it’s located on a quiet street and it really is, from either direction when your turn down this street, Via Rasella, it is noticeably quieter. The hotel is in a couple of old palazzos, next to each other. The “Domus Julia”, where we stayed the first two nights, has several floors of ‘suites’ consisting of a common area and three rooms. So if you are traveling with a group you could book the whole thing. It was newly renovated, very clean, quiet, room and bathroom were both huge. There was satellite TV and a mini-fridge (which was not exactly cold, cooler than room temp though). Internet does not reach the Domus so you have to go to the breakfast room in the main hotel next door for wi-fi. When we returned to Rome we stayed another three nights, this time in the main hotel. Room was a little smaller (but still fairly large) but internet worked in the room. I actually preferred it over the Domus Julia which is considered better. Extremely friendly staff. The breakfast was very good – coffee or tea, juice, yogurt, cereals, cheeses, hams, rolls and croissants, etc. The usual buffet style and everything was good. It’s a 2 block walk to Piazza Barbarini (which has a metro stop) where there were several inexpensive restaurants. We really like Soby’s which is a pizzeria and a tavola calda (meats, pasta, veggies, fish, kebabs) with very well air conditioned dining room.

Thank you for posting about the Hotel Julia Isabel, I'll be staying there in September.

nice pictures..i am going to amalfi area in september..would you advise staying in sorrento or positano or town of amalfi? which has nicer beach?

Great report! I'm glad that you did not focus on the weather so much. A lot of people get so upset that it's hot an humid and let that ruin their trip.

I'm enjoying your trip report Isabel. And your pictures are fantastic. How nice to find another traveller who uses public transport, walks a lot and stays in local hotels.
I did much the same as your itinerary a few years ago, but in early January! There were no boats/ferries running, a very curtailed bus service and a lot of hotels and restaurants were closed. Pompeii was almost deserted and it poured with rain, probably the wettest day of my life! Never saw Vesuvius. No queues or crowds! Cold too, and short days, but the area impressed me enough to want to go again and your trip report has inspired me.

gertie - I often thought about what the area would be like in winter - there are pros and cons about high and low season travel but in general I do think I prefer the warm evenings, sunny days, flowers, long hours of light, open shops, etc and am willing to put up with the heat and crowds in order to get those things.

dscarber - it really was about the hottest three weeks I think I've ever spent, but there are ways to deal with it - AC in the hotel, siestas, lots of gelato, etc. And just be prepared for it - summer in southern Europe, it's going to be warm.

robbyuws - well we really preferred Sorrento, and not just because it has the best transportation options. It just had a nice feel to it. As for best beaches - we didn't go to the area for the beaches, and it's not an area with exceptional beaches. Sorrento only had one small free beach, but lots of places where you could rent beach chairs with or without cabbanas, also these floating plastic chairs that looked nice. Positano and Amalfi had more beach area but even there it was mostly you rent a beach chair with umbrella in a row of lots of others.

Day 10 [Tuesday July 13, 2010] Rome We tried to get an early start and were out the door by 9am. There was actually no crowd at the Trevi fountain – it was also not even turned on, some guy was sprinkling something we assume was cleanser of some sort into the water. The pantheon was also empty and a much nicer way to really see it than when it was so crowded. We retraced our steps through Piazza Navona to Campo de Fiori since yesterday we got there to nothing but garbage trucks cleaning up after the market. This morning the market was in full swing, we bought some fruit and the then went to some areas we had not been to before – Portico d’Ottavia and Teatro di Marcello. Wow, great area (just past the Jewish ghetto, the synagogue is right behind it). All free, no crowds, just great ruins. Just past there is the Temple of the Portunus [aka Fortuna Virile] and the Tempio di Vesta, both on the Piazza Bocca della Verita with a beautiful fountain, and across the street from Santa Maria in Cosmedin, of “mouth of Truth” fame. All of this was completely uncrowded except for the line to have your picture taken sticking your hand in the mouth. Which I don’t get. I just took the photo of the mouth between tourist hands. The church itself is very different from most in Rome, it’s one of the oldest in Rome and was delightfully tourist free (they were all outside sticking their hands in the mouth). The church is Romanesque and not at all like the gilt covered Baroque churches that are the norm for Rome. Just past Santa Maria is San Giorgio in Velabro behind the Arch of Janus. Nice peaceful area, pretty church, impressive arch. And just past here is the back of the Roman Forum. You get a great view, and climbing up the back of Capitoline Hill is even a better view. Nice to be able to just stand and look out over the forum and see the whole place in it’s entirety. Last time we were in Rome we went into the Forum (today it looked like wall to wall tour groups) and it’s nice to see it from that angle also but I was really impressed with this (free, relatively uncrowded) view. We walked through Piazza dei Campidoglio and took the stairs to the left of the mayoral palace (by the statue of the she-wolf) up to the back door of Santa Maria d’Aracoeli, through the church, and out the front which puts you on the terrace of the Victorio Emanuele Monument (the wedding cake/typewriter). The views from here are also a 3 star wow. You can pay to go up to the top for ‘panoramic’ views but they were pretty darn panoramic from this (free) area. There’s also a WC and a café. Past the café are the views of the coliseum, forum, trajans column, trajan’s market. By this time we were plenty hot and tired and so slogged our way through Piazza Venezia, down the Corso, through the masses around the Trevi fountain and got some pizza to take back to the hotel.

Your pictures are lovely!
I think I have found our hotel for Rome for next year.
Thanks
Susan

Terific photos! Really enjoying your report.

Beautiful photos!!

WONDERFUL trip report--and so perfectly timed for me (-;(selfishly) because I just spend an hour looking for the "perfect"place in Sorrento for next June!! Mille grazie!

On to Croatia!

Day 11 Wednesday, July 14 We flew EasyJet from Rome to Dubrovnik for 14€! Only drawback was since it was a 7am flight, not only did we have to get up at 4am, but there’s no public transportation that early so had to take a 60€ car to get to the airport. But even with that it was still incredibly cheap and easyjet does what it does fine. Just stick to the one bag or know you have to pay, get on line early to get a decent seat.

Days 11,12, 13,14: DUBROVNIK – As you drive in from the airport and round a curve in the road and get your first view of Dubrovnik, glowing orange in the morning sunshine, surrounded by those huge walls and deep blue sea – it’s a three star “wow” site. The bus lets you off just outside the Pile (“pee-lee”) gate where there’s an ice cream stand, Tourist info, a few tourists milling about. Very cool to walk through the beautiful old gate, over the drawbridge, through the second gate – and then it hits you: a wall of tourists even thicker than Disney world gets. I’m usually one who says there are ways to get around the tourist crunch, it’s not that bad - but Dubrovnik is one place where the tourists, and the businesses flagrantly chasing after your money, are just so in your face that there’s little escape. Even after the two cruise ships parked in the harbor left (around 6:30,spewing a huge brown cloud of smoke that lingered for an hour) it was crowded, before they left it was impossible to move down the street. Our last day there, a Saturday was noticeably calmer, still extremely crowded but significantly more pleasant.

For one thing, Dubrovnik is almost “too beautiful”. Since it was fixed up after the war everything is in fabulous condition. The color of the stone is almost white, the whole town looks blindingly clean. It’s hard to believe it’s 700 years old. It really does look like a Disneyworld set. I guess I hadn’t realized it before but a little bit of shabbiness, at least around the edges, gives a place a feeling that it’s a real town. The other thing though is that virtually 100% of the businesses are catering to tourists. Usually, even in some place like Venice, you see some “real” shops, where the locals go, and some workshops where people do business. Not here, not inside the walls. Outside there is of course, a whole actual town. The prices are cruise ship prices. The food, jewelry, tourist trinkets, etc are considerably more than on the Amalfi Coast where we had just come from and where I would have assumed to be higher.

Of course most of the crowds stick to the Stradum and few streets around it. To the north the “streets” quickly turn to steep steps on narrow little alleys. This is where all the “houses” are, mostly 4-6 story buildings. The apartment we rented was in this area. To the south of the Stradum, a few blocks away there are some nice windy streets, opening to small courtyard type squares, and this area was fun to wander in.

Early in the morning it’s relatively cool and less crowded, but the main streets are full of garbage, garbage collectors, and delivery trucks. Evenings it’s relatively cool, beautifully lit but those main areas are so full of restaurant tables that you don’t feel like you are in a town, rather feels like one huge restaurant. Mid day it’s very hot and extremely crowded. So while Dubrovnik is incredibly beautiful, this is one place where I really do think off season is the time to come. We were told Dubrovnik gets 800 cruise ships in the six months from May to October. That’s an average of four a day (although we haven’t seen more than two at a time). They carry 2500 passengers (plus 900 crew). That’s a lot of people, not even counting tour buses and independent travelers.

We did do the Walls walk, took a walk out the Polce Gate and up a ways for a great view back to the harbor (need to do this in the morning), and we took a pirate cruise into the harbor (about 45 min, 75 kuna, they leave every hour or so) and that was fun and cool (literally and figuratively).

Doing two day trips left us with only one full day (we had four evenings) which was plenty. The evenings were by far the nicest time to be here. The Wall Walk was definitely one of the highlights, great views both in and outside of the walls. We waited till about five pm to do it which was smart. I can’t imagine it crammed with people, or hotter than it was. At this time we were not exactly lonely, buy the amount of people was not unpleasant, and it was cool(ish) in the shade. Southern Europe was having a heat wave this summer; apparently it’s not normally quite this bad.

You give a great description of Dubrovnik. It was just the same when I was there 2 years ago except that there were 5 cruise ships n the harbour. I managed to go round the walls about 8am as soon as they opened and before the crowds. I agree that off-season might be the only time to go there. But it's still stunning. So are your pictures!

Wonderful pix and report!

The one exception to the high prices (other than beer and ice cream which are quite cheap) is the accommodations– if you choose to stay in a "sobe" or apartment. We stayed in Apartment Minerva, at 14 Antuninska . It was easy to find, 4th street on the right after the Pile Gate, the street turns to steps and its up 70 steps! But the apartment itself is on the first floor. Very nice, clean. Smallish rooms but you get a bedroom with queen size bed and night tables, a living room/kitchen, bathroom, large closet. It has everything you could need – tv, frige, stove, microwave, tables and chairs, great shower. Really good air conditioning. Very pleasant helpful owners. All for 60€ a night. +385 (0) 91 252 9677 owner: Obitelj Vidosavljević-Vučić duvivu@gmail.com http://dubrovnikarea.com/Eng/details.asp?tip=0&kre=2&lok=3&cijena=40%3A60&mje=19&vri=7&SmjestajID=OV-A-0971

The side streets north of the Stradum are quiet, most of the shops and restaurants are on the Stradum and the two or three streets parallel to it. I have never seen such a high concentration of restaurants anywhere – and I’ve been to most of the touristy places in Europe and the US. But those little streets heading up towards the walls are where the actual residents live, and where all the sobes/apartments are. I definitely like staying within the walls. The buildings are unquestionably beautiful, as is the layout and the setting, and if you love old stone towns this one is certainly a stunner – of course only when you can actually see it which you can’t mid day at least in the summer. But am I glad I went, even in a very hot July – you bet I am.

Day Trips with Atlas Tour Groups - We had booked the Mostar day trip, through Atlas Tours, on line. When we got to Dubrovnik we checked in with their office (just outside Pile Gate) to confirm. We also at that time bought tickets for the Montenegro Blue Tour. The Mostar tour seemed pretty full but the Montenegro one had plenty of space. The bus was right on time and the trips were overall enjoyable. I am extremely anti-tour group. They drive me absolutely crazy with their rudeness, the way they block entire streets and plazas, the way they wander around in their tour-group haze, oblivious to the fact that anyone else might want to walk by, or take a photo. I hate being IN one even more. But we really didn’t want to bother with renting a car, figuring out parking, etc so this seemed an easy way to get to Mostar and Montenegro and it was.

Mostar is about a three hour drive from Dubrovnik. It took us about 4½ hr. First we stopped about 15 minutes into the trip to switch buses – depending on your language, apparently Atlas runs several buses there each day with different pick-up points, so they all meet and you switch to a bus with a guide who speaks your language. Then we had one more hotel to pick up at and had to wait 15 minutes for the people. Then we stopped at a “rest” stop for drinks and toilet use – that was another half hour. The border crossing was another 20 minutes, though that obviously wasn’t their fault. The guide gets off and does a bunch of paper work and then eventually a police officer comes onto the bus and you hold up your passport for them to glance at. The Montenegro one is similar with the switching buses and lots of hotel pick ups. At least that one didn’t have the half hour (each direction) waste of time rest stop. All in all you spend quite a few hours on the bus not really getting anywhere. The ratio of time at your destination to time just sitting is a problem. But the buses were comfortable, the guide (we had the same one both trips) pleasant and she gave us lots of history and information about where we were going, where we were passing through, etc. Some people have suggested you could do it less expensively on your own but with car rental, border crossing card, gas, parking –I’m not sure. It was worth the 52€ (Mostar) and 60€ (Montenegro, this one included lunch) per person to not hassle with a car.

Mostar – The first “real” stop is the town of Počitelj, It’s extremely tiny but picturesque with a mosque and a few stone houses. It wouldn’t take long to see, but 15 minutes wasn’t quite enough. Once in Mostar you are given over to a local guide. Some trip reports talked about knowledgeable, interesting guides but ours was a jerk. He even referred to himself as “our entertainer”. We went to the Turkish house, and a group of about 60 is way too many, so half had to wait outside while he did his (slow, boring) talk, and then repeat it for the second half. I’ve been to Istanbul so this was nothing compared to what I saw there, but even for the majority of people who have not been to Istanbul this guy didn’t have any information that wasn’t in the guide books. He was into telling jokes. Bad ones. We ditched the tour at that point and spent the rest of the three hours on our own.

The old section of Mostar, around the bridge is very small but beautiful. It’s been completely redone, the bridge is positively gorgeous. The mosques all around do give a very eastern, exotic feel to a European town. The main street (bazaar) is lined with sellers of jewelry, scarves, copper, etc. Prices are quite good though the quality of the stuff is pretty minimal. There are plenty of places to eat, those prices also good, far less than in Dubrovnik. Within a block or so of this main section you do see bombed out buildings and there is no way you don’t realize you are in a place that quite recently was devastated by war. The exhibit of photos (by the bridge) is very moving. As you drive in you pass city parks that were turned into cemeteries because they couldn’t get out of town to bury their dead during the war. There are also the concrete block Soviet era buildings all around. So all in all it’s a very interesting place. It was pretty jammed with tourists but I think off season or at night it would have a much more evocative feel to it. I’m very glad I went but the fact that it was 40 degrees C may have something to do with my feeling that a couple of hours was enough and I was actually glad to get back on the air-conditioned bus.

My added note. Indeed great photos and report reminding me of our trip to Sorrento-Naples-Capri-Ravello, etc. You have taken pictures I wish I had myself! Our stay in Pompeii was too brief as well as warm.

Bill in Boston

Bill - when I first started researching Pompeii I thought 2 hours sounded like enough, but now having been there for 5 hr I can see how you could spend even more time.


Montenegro – This trip had sounded less interesting to me than Mostar but turned out we enjoyed it at least as much. The time on the bus was at least as much as the Mostar trip but the drive itself was totally scenic and there was no hour wasted at the potty stops. The first stop was the town of Perast, cute little town on a bay with two islands in the center, one natural with a working monastery on it, the other man made with a church – Our Lady of the Rocks. We got off the bus and onto a small boat for the five minute ride out there, had a short tour of the church and went back. The next stretch of coast line, the bay of Kotor, is fjord-like and very beautiful. Rivals the Amalfi Coast almost for dramatic scenery. Well not quite. The town of Kortor, a UNESCO site is much smaller than Dubrovnik but also completely walled. The whole place is not in as pristine shape as Dubrovnik, nor are it’s buildings as beautiful as Dubrovnik’s, but you get the feeling that people actually live here whereas in Dubrovnik you really do feel like it’s a Disney resort. It wasn’t horribly crowded, despite the fact there was a 2500 passenger cruise ship tied up. The harbor must be incredibly deep for that size ship to be able to pull up about 100 yards from the main gate of the walled city. I can remember being in only a few cities where the cruise ships actually dock at the land rather than anchor out in the harbor and boat the passengers to shore. Anyway, an hour and a quarter was about the right amount of time for a quick walk through of Kotor and time for an ice cream. Prices here are also much less than in Dubrovnik (e.g. ice cream 80 cents versus $1.70 equivalent in Dubrovnik).

More scenic driving, then a very long tunnel through the mountains (Montenegro’s mountains are quite high and quite close to the coast) to Budva. Here we had lunch, included in the tour price. It was a very nice restaurant and the food quite good. Then two hours free time which was at least an hour too much if you weren’t going swimming. Also a walled historic town, Budva is primarily a beach town. It’s similar to, but not as interesting as Kotor which again is similar to Dubrovnik. Despite the crowds Dubrovnik is called the “pearl of the Adriatic” for a reason. None of the other places come close to the visual beauty of the buildings, the walls, the setting of Dubrovnik.

We too thought the Bay of Kotor was special. We were on a 40 person ship at the time and explored the entire fjord. Your images certainly do it justice.

I did the same trip as you and I too enjoyed it. I think the tunnel through the mountains was out of use at the time, remember a long drive and a short ferry ride to get to Budva. Like you, I dislike organised tours but it seemed the optimum way to see everything.
I did the Mostar bit myself coming down from Sarajevo by bus. Stayed a couple of nights. Yes, it was a different place altogether after the tour buses left. I managed to walk around the non-touristy part of town where there had been a lot of damage during the war which was still in evidence. A thought-provoking experience.

Day 15: Sunday, July 19 -Jadrolinija Line Ferry (Marco Polo) from Dubrovnik to Korčula. We got the bus from the Pile Gate to the Port, a ten minute ride and got our tickets (194K for two). You can board an hour before sailing, which was at 10:00. It’s a huge ship, sailed from Italy the night before and then sails up the Croatian coast to Korčula, Split and on. Mostly inside seating, lots of cabins, but a couple of decks with tables and plastic chairs and some shade. Pretty crowded, it was the only boat to Korčula that day. It was also the only one I was able to get the dates and times of online a couple months ago. There’s a “fast” boat most days but not Sunday and its schedule wasn’t on line when I wanted to book hotels last Spring. But a three hour ferry ride is fun. Pulling into Korčula there are wonderful views of the town on its minuscule peninsula jutting out into the blue Adriatic.

The owner of our apartment was there with a sign and led us to the apartment, a five minute (at most) walk from the port. Marco Polo Apartments Ulica Marka Andrijica 10, www.marcopolo-apartments.com/ booking@marcopolo-apartments.com tel : ++44 20 8961 6449 Croatia Phone: +385 (0)99 686 3717 mobile : ++44 7946 208 177. We had booked the ground floor apartment which is the only one in the building (I think there are four) without air-conditioning. I was worried given how hot it has been so far on this trip that it was a big mistake but the fan does a fantastic job and we were not the least uncomfortable. The apartment is very tiny but that would be the case of the rest of the apartments too as they each occupy one floor of the building. Bathroom is really tiny. Not a lot of space to spread out. But it has a little fridge, sink, couple of burners to heat water for coffee. So I guess I’d say for 47€ it’s adequate. The location is wonderful, smack in the center of the town, around the corner from the main square with the cathedral.

Korčula is another beautifully situated stone town, with remnants of medieval walls and towers. It has a wonderfully impressive entrance tower with stone steps leading up and into the main street. There are stepped streets off both sides of the main street but they are much more gentle steps than Dubrovnik, the whole town is barely a hill. It’s also smaller than I had expected, you can literally walk anywhere in five minutes. There are plenty of restaurants and jewelry shops but they aren’t overwhelming as in Dubrovnik, and there are far fewer people here – and they aren’t the cruise ship crowd, more likely people from the general region (Eastern Europe) on vacation. The shop owners all speak English but we didn’t hear a lot of tourists speaking it.

There’s decent enough tourist infrastructure – internet shops, a larger grocery store than I saw anywhere in the old part of Dubrovnik, Tourist Info, places renting scooter, boats, cars, etc. But it has a very laid back feeling. There are several places you could swim (rocks and beach area). The restaurants lining the promenade on both sides of the peninsula are relaxing places to have dinner and just enjoy the view – and the breeze. A cool breeze is something we’d been lacking on this trip. Unless you want to spend time sleeping, swimming or sunning, you can easily walk around Korčula, shop in every store, and have relaxing meals in one full day. We had a day and a half and it was fine.

I was very impressed with your pictures! I just bought my first DSLR (Canon) and I can't wait to use it in Italy next month. Thanks for sharing.

Nice to read about Korcula at first hand. I tried to go there too but the ferry only stopped there twice a week. If I'd got off there wouldn't have been another one in time for me to get to Split for my flight! Still regret that I missed it. But as you say, the view from the ferry is good. Your description and pics are wonderful.

Day 17 – Tuesday, July 20 - The only daily ferry to Split leaves each morning at 6am so that was kind of a drag, some days there is the 13:30 large ferry (the one we had arrived on) but only a few times a week. We discovered you should buy your tickets the evening before you want to leave, at the kiosk on the west port which is only open between 7 and 8 pm. They will then tell you whether the following mornings boat will leave from the east or west port. In fact the boat comes in around 8pm and sits there overnight till the 6 am departure. When we got there at 5:40 in the morning the ticket kiosk was open and there was quite a line of people waiting to board. The Krilo Jet is mostly inside seating and they separate passengers going to Split from those going to Hvar; Split passengers have to sit inside. The boat was almost full and when we got to Hvar more people wanted to get on than got off so quite a few were left in line. I don’t know if there was going to be another boat for them or what but our boat was full. There are other options of getting to and from Korčula – there is a little ferry to the town of Orebic just opposite Korčula Town on the Pelješac peninsula that goes hourly and from there I think you can a bus north or south. Also, you could take a bus on Korčula to the town on the opposite side of the island where I think there are more ferry options.

All I saw of Hvar was the harbor but it didn’t look anywhere near as interesting as Korčula. No walls or towers, most of the buildings looked much newer. There may have been more of interest once you got into the town, and there was a fortress up the hill a bit, but overall I don’t see how you’d choose Hvar over Korčula or why it seems to be the more popular of the two.

Split – We arrived around 9am. By far the biggest port we’ve been to on this trip. Many, many ferry boats going in and out. But nothing on the scale of Athens. A short walk off the pier brings you to the start of the Riva, the waterfront pedestrian promenade. Lined with restaurants and bars (mostly drinking places rather than eating places) but also with lots of benches, palm trees, ice cream stands. And the outside wall of the Diocletian Palace – primarily just looks like an old stone building(s) but you can clearly see the Roman pillars that were part of the original. The Riva is a great place in the day time but at night it really comes alive: street performers, popcorn and cotton candy carts, all the pavement cafes full and not one but two areas of people walking and others sitting on the benches and people watching against a background of deep blue Adriatic. The Riva, and all the old town, in evening have a fabulous vibe. We saw one group performing traditional Croatian dance and a few steps away another group was doing some kind of rap music basketball performance. We actually liked Split more than we thought we would. There are plenty of people here but it’s not as crowded or so entirely given over to tourism as Dubrovnik was. Even in the old town there are people who actually live work and shop there. We didn’t go into the “new” city of Split.

The palace itself is very interesting visually, not to mention historically. Odd combination of ruins, remnants of the original palace which have been incorporated into other structures, the “recently” added bell tower, and lots of medieval buildings and winding lanes. And a few squares that seem more northern European than southern. The main “sites” are pretty easy to see on your own with minimal background info. The TI gives out maps with walking tours on them.

The highlight for me was climbing the bell tower. I climb most bell towers I come across. This one wasn’t especially high (around 300 steps, for comparison the one in Bologna is over 500, Notre Dame is 387) but the first half the steps are incredibly steep (probably 18 inches or more) stone, and no hand rail on parts. Some people were having a lot of trouble navigating them. But the views are worth it.

There is also a relatively easy ‘steps and paved path’ walk up Marjan Hill with great views.

Gardens Cottages& ApartmentsCrvena, Solurat 22 Split 55€ Mob: +385981711730 , 0981711730 info@croatiasplitapartments.com www.croatiasplitapartments.com Owner:Nikola Brajevic A ten minute walk from the center of the Diocletian Palace are these ten “apartments” around a nice garden area, very quite. Our room has no kitchenette but some do. It has AC and is quite spacious and has free wi-fi. Very clean and comfortable.

Day 18, Wed, July 21 - Trogir- We got the 9:45 boat from Split (right on the Riva) to Trogrir. At 20 kuna each way it’s only 5 k more than the bus, takes the same amount of time (1 hour) and is way more pleasant. Big outside deck on top and cooler inside seating down below (but still with decent view). The schedule seems more conducive to people staying in Trogir and doing day trips to Split than the other way around, but our 9:45 got us there just before 11 and we were able to see the whole town leisurely and make the 14:30 return boat to Split (there was another at 18:30 but that would have been way too much time for us).

Trogir is another pretty little stone town surrounded by water. There are a couple of defensive towers remaining but no wall, and it’s pretty flat so doesn’t have the visual impact of Korcula but it’s certainly pretty. Beautifully restored, lots of Venetian influence in the buildings, several pretty churches, numerous restaurants selling grilled fish. We walked around the entire encircling promenade in probably half hour or less, another hour and you could explore every street in the interior.

All in all we had a wonderful time in Croatia and I’m very glad I went. It somehow lacks “something” that Greece has, despite the similarities (lots of ocean, islands, small towns) and also doesn’t quite measure up, in my mind at least, to the Amalfi Coast or Cote d’Azure. Prices are good, but not great (I guess those days are past), food is also fine but not fabulous. “Seafood” mostly consists of a lot of sardines, anchovies, squid, calamari, and mackrele – which is served whole including head and bones. Some areas also had eel. The ice cream was cheap (6-10 kuna or about .50 – 1.50 €.) I’d certainly come back to Croatia, I’d like to see some of the north and will probably include it in a future trip around eastern Europe. I’d also like to see Sarajevo. But if I’m looking for another blue skies/blue waters trip I’d go back to Greece, Italy or France first.

I know just what you mean. Having been to all those places I still go back to Greece every year.
Just a comment on the fish with head and bones: it's quite normal in Europe and the UK for fish to be served whole. I get frustrated in the US when it always comes filleted. Seems somehow boring and tasteless like that. Could be it has been frozen along the way? Was in a Greek restaurant in Houston last weekend run by Greeks but the fish was still filleted.
Sorry, just a comment, dont' mean to hijack your thread.
And what a great trip report!

gertie - I know fish is often served with head and bone in most of Europe. I guess what struck me was the varieties - I'm just not that in to ell, sardines, anchovies, mackeral. Maybe I'm picky. It wasn't the bones so much as the type of seafood. Oh well, I suppose since I seem to find almost everything about Europe superior to home it's nice that at least I like my New England seafood better.

Day 19 – Thursday July 22 – Easy jet got us back to Rome with no problems. They didn’t have on-line check in for this flight so I was a little worried there’d be a long line. We took the airport bus from in front of the Diocletian Palace (1/2 hour, 30 kuna each). There was one scheduled for 5:30 and 6:20 and there was actually at least one more during that time. So we got to the airport really early and were even able to check in before easyjet’s appointed check in time. No line. Flight ten minutes late. Flights were 32€ each. What a deal.

By the time we got the Leonardo Express, walked to the hotel (metro would have been quicker) and got settled it was after noon so we decided to do Borghese Gardens as it might be cooler. And it was quite pleasant. All the grass is dead (but I hear the grass at home in Massachusetts is also dead) but the trees provide shade and there are several nice fountains and the little lake with the Greek Temple that you can row a boat around was quite scenic. As city parks go I’d say it’s about average.

By this time I was kind of craving something different in the way of food (Croatia seems to have a lot of Italian food) so we went to a Chinese Restaurant not far from the Trevi Fountain. That sounds like it should be awful, or at least a rip off, but it was pretty ok. Nothing a foodie would appreciate, but decent food at a decent price. And it was cool. Even at dinner time it’s been pretty hot and sticky out so sitting at outside café tables is not as wonderful as it is in other weather.

Then we did one of my favorite activities – walked from piazza to piazza (Campo de Fiori, Navona, Rotunda, Trevi) – people watching and taking photos as the sky gets dark blue and the lights come on. Tons of street performers, everything is so beautifully lit. The only place that was uncomfortably crowded was around the Trevi fountain. Since it’s so close to our hotel we passed through there at various times of the day, almost every day and it’s always crowded. Got some gelato (and my husband got a beer – our usual pattern).

Day 20 Friday, July 23 – When we were in the Borghese Gardens mid day the day before I was thinking the view would be great early in the day with the sun behind so we started out there, then walked down to the Tiber and along it for a while, admiring the classic views of the Castel Sant’Angelo and Pont Sant ‘Angelo and the dome of San Pietro reflected in the river. We crossed over to Trastevere and did a walk I’d put together, mostly from Rick Steves who seems to think that area is the best part of Rome. It was nice but I actually prefer the “heart of Rome”. We started up Gianicolo hill but decided the view from just above San Pietro in Montorio was probably almost as good. The round temple in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio was really nice. We stopped for some shaved ice with lemon from a little stand along the river just opposite Isola Tibernia and enjoyed the view before heading back across.

At this point I ditched my husband and sent him back to the hotel so I could shop and photograph things without him hanging around. And was successful at both. The midday heat was unpleasant, but the light was great. I revisited the four piazzas from the previous evening and in between found time to shop.

By three o’clock I was hot, tired, dehydrated, hungry and the shop I wanted to go to was still closed for siesta so I decided I needed some salt and fluid replacement and to sit in air-conditioning for a few minutes – and what was right there that met those requirements – McDonalds. Sometimes you just gotta do what you need to do.

For dinner we went to Saby’s – a chain I think I saw others – which had very good looking pizza, a tavola calda with several choices of meats, veggies, potatoes, pastas, and a kebab option. Very good and inexpensive and the air-conditioning in their upstairs dining room was very cold.

I had heard (and seen photos) that the “monuments” and Capitoline Hill were beautifully lit at night so we decided to go there after dinner. The Piazza del Campidoglio was nicely lit but the forum was dark. The Vittorio Emannuele Monument is brightly lit. While sitting there waiting for it to get dark we noticed a bride and groom having their photos taken. Didn't seem like the best spot for wedding photos, but whatever. Then they went over to this group of Korean students who were sitting on the steps attentively listening to their guide lecture. The bridge and groom (after asking) sat down in the middle of the group and had a group photo. Wierd, but funny. (The following day and night we saw many, many bride/grooms doing photo shoots, I guess it's the thing to do in Italy).

I have GOT to show my husband your pictures of Rome - I'm so excited for our trip next July now that I've seen them. Thanks for sharing!

kwren - yeah, Rome was wonderful. The first time I went (eight years ago) it was ok but didn't really grab me. This time it did. I'm even going back in November.

Day 21 Saturday, July 24 – We had gone back and forth about whether or not Tivoli would be worth the trouble. I’d wanted to see Hadrian’s Villa since a friend was involved in making a movie there several years ago and showed me the pictures. And Villa d’Este also looked wonderful and got such fabulous reviews on most travel sites. We even considered doing a tour since the public transportation seemed so difficult. (But the half day tours were over $75 and we could do it ourselves for 14€ – per person). Finally decided that given the hot weather we would do Villa d’Este only, it’s the easier one to get to and shady and cool where as everything I read said Hadrian’s Villa has little shade.

Turned out to be quite straight forward to get to Villa d’Este. There are numerous descriptions on fodors, trip advisor, rick steves, etc – some of which kind of contradict each other. But here’s our version: Metro Line B to Pont Mammalo station which is the bus terminal for the Cotral buses. Easy to see where to buy tickets (2€) and we got the return ones at the same time. The display board listed buses to Tivoli about every ten minutes. There were people waiting at the platform but the bus was not full and we got seats. The bus makes a ton of stops, is not air conditioned and the scenery was pretty boring but it was not complicated or confusing at all. The driver announced “Villa Adrianna” but it was not obvious where you would walk to get there. Just after that stop the bus goes up a big hill, and vistas open up on both sides. A couple more stops and then it’s obvious you are at Piazza Garibaldi. There were signs directing you to the Villa d’Este and it was a five minute walk. When we were ready to return we looked on the opposite side of the piazza and saw a bus stop sign and within five minutes a bus came along that said Roma on it.

Villa d’Este itself is not that beautiful a building – large grey rectangular. There are several floors, at least two of which have multiple rooms with frescoes on walls and ceilings. A little repetitive after the first five or six rooms. The gardens are terraced down a hill, and consist mostly of trees and shrubs. Almost no flowers. It’s the fountains that are the big draw. And it was cooler and shady and interesting but frankly not as wonderful as the guidebooks make it sound. I’m not sorry I went but it certainly wasn’t a highlight of a visit to Rome. A nice diversion on a very hot trip though.

It turned out to be kind of interesting because when we first arrived there were quite a lot of dark, brooding clouds. Just as we were finishing our walk through the gardens it began to thunder and then the skies opened up to a pretty good thunder storm. A lot of rain. A lot of thunder and lightning. Watching it from the terrace of the villa was pretty amazing, as there are sweeping views out over the plains. At noon the church bells starting ringing and that mixed with the thunder and pouring rain was really cool. So we spent the time looking at the frescos since we obviously weren’t going anywhere. And then after about an hour the rain stopped as suddenly as it started and the sun was out and the skies bright blue. So of course I had to go back down and photograph the fountains against the blue sky. But when I got down there (several hundred steps all together) the fountains were not running! Something about “too much water”. The fountains still operate on a several hundred years old principle and all that rain caused them to stop. No one could say exactly how long they’d be off – “not long”. So back up to the villa where we had lunch – tomato and motz salads –to wait. Back down to the fountains which were indeed now running. There are hundreds of fountains if you consider every single little one, but really only one major one – that spurts water way up into the air. It was definitely more interesting being there for the different skies, and the thunder storm, than if it had just been another beautiful sunny day.

Trip Report: The End

For our last night we went to see the coliseum as the sun set, then lit up. It was good people watching especially the brides – there were six different couples having wedding shots. There had been three at the Villa d’Este and one the night before at the Campidagio, Obviously the thing to do is to have your photos in your wedding gown with a famous backdrop. But the poses, the tourists in the photos, the poor choice of backdrop, they just didn’t seem like they could be any good. And so faked looking. And no wedding party, just the couple and three or four photographers. Weird.

But the full moon came up over the coliseum just as we were leaving, a really nice image for the last one. Our walk back to the hotel took us by the Trevi Fountain as usual, beautiful even with a zillion tourists around it. And the gelato place around the corner from the hotel has pretty good gelato – lemon and ananas every night for me, and a beer at the hotel for my husband.

Flight Home – left Hotel Julia at 6:40, metro to Termini and were on track 28 where the Leo Express leaves from at 7:00. Got the 7:22, arrived at FCO just before 8. Signs to Terminal 5 take you to a shuttle bus, five minute ride. Check in for all American carriers. Passport check, desk check-in, security, passport control – then another shuttle bus back to the gate (which is really attached to the main terminal building). But all accomplished in an hour. Although the lines all got longer so had we allowed only two hours instead of three it would probably have taken two hours. But flight was delayed a half hour, then another half hour that they didn’t explain. Then we couldn’t push back from the gate cause some people wouldn’t sit down. Then we were number 1 for take off and the pilot comes on and says the person in the lav has to go back to their seat. Geesh. But we flew up the coast of Italy so great views, then over the alps, more great views – very clear day and we must not have been that high up cause you could see pretty well. A nice farewell to Italy - see you again soon.

Isabel great trip report and the pictures were amazing!

tt

loved your Croatia photos; thank you so very much

Just saw these now, but such stunning photos! Hoping to make it to the Amalfi Coast for the big 30 in a couple of years. For now I'm content just looking at yours.

traveltalesfromtheredheadedtraveler.blogspot.com/
(My travel writing blog!)

This is just what I needed today. I know this is an "older" post, but thank goodness it came up on my screen today. We are planning a trip to Italy ( Venice, Florence, Rome, Sorrento/Almafi area ) for the Fall. I was beginning to get discouraged by all the negative statements that are posted about Sorrento. I wanted it to be more than just a great transportation hub, and your pictures/review revived my initial hopes ! We are planning a similar itinerary for the area and you have given me back my excitement with your pictures. Thank you SO MUCH !

bookmark brilliant thanks Isabel

dondonandjj:
I hope you will find the report interesting; if there is any question,please let me know.What is your area of interest?

We just booked a villa in Florence for a week with friends, and will then be traveling on to Rome and South. These photos are wonderful, have to have a closer look and read all the comments. Thanks for sharing so much.

WOW, what amazing photos! So glad this post was topped, as I missed out on them originally.

Couldnt think of a better way to spend the last rainy day of my holidays than looking at your fantasticphotos! Thank you so much for the effort. We will be in Croatia in July and I am now very excited about the trip. one of your photos of the Dubrovnik walls showed the rooms where we are staying,Villa Adriatica. I was thinking about a da trio to Montenegro with Atlas but like you am not a fan of bus tours, however I am rethinking that now. your info has been most valuable for our planning. the shot of the bubble blower was great!

Thank you for including your photos! So excited to get on with our adventure!!!

Beautiful pics!! You are not kidding about crossing the streets in Naples and sticking (literally) to a local. When I went there, I was glued to the back of a nun figuring no one would try to run her over. The traffic is crazy there but I loved it.