1201 - 1350

sThis adventure has been a long time coming. I’ve had some crazy busy weeks with work and travel and just life in general. We are both super excited for this next adventure. Wish Izzy was coming with us [don’t think she’d like the plane ride some how. She’d wet her pants and whimper the whole flight] but she’s off on her own holiday with Rod’s Mum and brother and his Welsh springer spaniel, Cooper. She’ll have a great time and she will be well looked after and will likely wet her pant anyway when we come home.

Let this epic adventure begin. 40 days. 5 flights. 2 ferries. 3 counties [actually 5 if you count San Marino and Vatican City]

Our big Mediterranean and Adriatic adventure. True epicness!

1201/2018: It sure is. Rome here we come!

1202/2018: flight 4 of 5 this week [the longest flight] HKG-TLV. A very strange and detailed experience trying to get through customs here in HKG but safely boarding.

1203/2018: flight 5 of 5. Last one. Yay. It’s been a long week, just a few hours to go.

1204/2018: Well at least we made it to Rome all safe and sound. Can’t say the same for our luggage!

1205/2018: Not sure how real these smiles are? It was a weird feeling leaving the airport without our bags and without any clue as to where in the world they are or if and when we might see them again. It did mean instead of catching the train with our luggage through Rome, we just walked and saw some of the beautiful back streets [in scorching temperatures] on our way to our accommodation.

Hope our bags turn up eventually!!

Ps: the water in the background is from a famous landmark in Rome, but it has been photographed a billion times so didn’t think anyone would want to see another pic of it. [Plus we already have this same picture in Las Vegas anyway].

1206-1206/2018: Fontana de Trevi. This place is extraordinary. It is so loud you can hear th ewater half a block away, and there are so many people. And then very now and they you hear the guard's whistle as he tells you to get off the rocks. Neptune in all his glory and his horses rising from the waters showing his abundance and salburity. Apparently if you throw a coin over your right shoulder into the water "you will return to rome", two coins and "you will return to Rome and find love".

1209-1210/2018: This is a beautiful old building in the heart of Piazza Venezia. Especially at night [wish I had my big camera with me]. Nick named the Wedding Cake, I think it is actually called Il Vittoraino built in honor of the first King of unified Italy King Emmanuele the second. That might even be him on his horse.

1211-1212/2018: Checking out parts of the Roman Forum. Lots of ancient, archeological sites scatters across the forum, destroyed over the years, some by nature, others by man. Difficult to see and comprehend what this place use to look like. I question why lots of this area haven't been rebuilt [like other parts of the world] and instead remain in ruins?

PS: spot the dirty, stinky clothes that we have been wearing since we left Sydney. Still haven't heard about our luggage so its off to the shops for us.

1213-1219/2018:

1220/2018: I just loved this view. The ginormous colosseum just hanging out in an amongst the city backdrop. From this angle it doesn't look as enormous as it is close up.

1221-1222/2018: Extraordinary landscapes in both directions. So much destruction and ruins...

1223-1224/2018:

So many big monuments here in Rome. Not really sure what they are all about. I'm not the biggest finatic. They look cool and I'm sure there is a meaning behind them somewhere.

Google it...

1225-12272018: Panthelon. A 45m diameter x 45m high dome with a hole in the middle and when it rains the floor gets wet but drain via the little holes in the tiles [the evil looking black eyes].

1228/2018: The grand Piazza Navona. This is a beautiful relaxing place in the morning, quiet, tranquil just the nose of the espresso machine and the water fountains, but come night time it is a spectacular hive of activity full of buskers trying to make a quick buck, from charactuers, to artists, to spray painters, to dancers, to magicians and fire dancers. What a place to get lost in for a few hours!

1229-1230/2018: Found these beautiful laneways, one filled with ivy and the other different shades of orange. Every corner has something different to WOW over.

1231-1232/2018: Loved this perspective of the Colessum. Just your local street view.

1233-1234/2018: Another perspective

1235/2018:

1236/2018: We got a present this morning! Only 72 hours late but finally we have both of our bags back. Thanks El Al airlines for finding them for us. PS. How many bag tags can you fit on two bags?

1237/2018: Saint Peters Basilica in Vatican City.

One of my favourites pictures from our Roma adventures. Just the river, the bridge, the detail in the dome and the age of this Basilica.

1238-1240/2018: Vatican City. The smallest country in the world, a measley [but stunning] 44 hectares. Vatican City would fit into NYC's Central Park just over 8 times.

1241-1242/2018: Sshhhhh! NO PHOTOS.

Not sure why no photos but hard to patrol these days with smart phones. Anyways we spent a few hours wondering through the Vatican Meusum. Wow what a maze of adventure. A little bit like IKEA, just follow the signs to the check out, or in this case the Sistine Chapelle. The Chappell’s was extradorinary. The stories of Moses and Jesus painted between 1480-1540. Just wow! [sore neck though]

1243/2018: Where in Roma should I go?

1244/2018: Piazza Navona at sunset.

1245/2018: Made it. My friends Simon and Lou recommend this pizza place in Naples. They said find this place, have and Pizza and then leave Naples. So this is exactly what we did. The wait was long, but it was totally worth it! yummo. And then we promptly left the ferralness of Naples, the dirt, abandonment and the craziness and instead headed up into the mountains of the Amalfi Coast!

1246/2018: Hello Amalfi coast. Maybe not your standard instaworthy welcome. But here we are in the Agerola region up in the mountain of the Amalfi coast. It’s high, local and peaceful. We have a horse grazing in the paddock, a sunflower patch, and our own private rooster waking us up in the morning!

1247-1254/2018: A hot and sweaty mission from San Lazzaro [Agerola] to Amalfi

1255-1257/2018: Ferry adventures to Capri

1258/2018: Rod loves boats. Period. Small, large, fast, slow. So he was in paradise on the ferry ride to and from Carpi today!!!. Can't you tell.

1259-1264/2018: Adventures on the Isle of Capri.

1265/2018: Sardine central. Hot and sweaty buses. not ideal, but the view was worth it.

1266-1270/2018: €14 to see the "famous" Grotto. BIGGEST tourist rort ever.

A 60min wait for just 3 minutes inside the cave. Don't waste your money!

1271-1274/2018: #cloudsforciara. The colours and the clouds were phenomenal today. I just love clouds. There are always so unique and different and amazing and I could just stare at them for days!.

1275/2018: the Mediterranean sea in all its beautiful glory. It really is this colour.

1276-1277/2018:

1278/2018: Rod doesn't look too excited for what is ahead. But deep down he actually loved it!!! [how could anyone not!

1279-1285/2018: Felt like I really needed to add some colour to my photography. Lots of blue and green lately, so some brown and white and red and pink is a good addition!

Found these plants at the start of the Path of the Gods Walk from Bomerano to Positano.

1286-1287/2018:

1288-1292/2018: The views along the Path of the Gods were just STUNNING. The water is so blue and amazing views of Positano..

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1309/2019:

1310/2018:

1311-1319/2018: Matera in all its amazing glory

1320-1322/2018:

1323-1324/2018:

1325/2018: So good to see the Meseo Faggiano. A residential house that had a broken water pipes resulting in accidentally finding a while series of underground cisterns and tunnels.

Thanks Lauren for the recommendation!

1326-1327/2018: Lecce and it's roof views

1329-1330/2018: The beautiful clear waters of Otranto, LE

1331-1332/2018: Found this beautiful little bay down on the Adriatic coast. Just a cool little coves, lots of swimmers and boats. Great driving, as it allows us to stop wherever we want and find these cool spots.

1333-1334/2018:

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1337-1340/2018: We made it to Santa Maria Di Leuca, The most southern point of the Salento Penninsula (Italy's Stiletto). What a beautiful sunset to see over the Ionian Sea. Sometimes you just have to sit and watch the sunset and take pride and be happy with the colours and patterns it produces. Such beauty!

1341-1342/2018: Gallopli...Not in Greece

1343/2018:

A pretty sweet place to stop for lunch. Especially when shade is on offer. It was 32˚C at 12pm. So hot. And not a "humid Sydney hot" or a "burning New Zealand hot" Just flipping "I need to get out of the sun hot!"

1344/2018: Some pretty nice roads to drive on in Italy. Especially when I am in the passengers seat and there are clouds to stalk!

1345-1346/2018: Back at this beautiful Cove, Ciolo Bay. We went for a swim out to one of the caves but is started pouring down so we made our way back to shore. By the time we go back and changed it has stopped and but the time we got back to the road it was a clear blue sky again!

1347-1350: Such a beautiful bay here at Ciolo and the Ponte Ciolo. I did a big hike up to the top of the valley and back down after the skies cleared.

The Epicness continues

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