Italy and Greece trip 2008

Aegina Island

After Athens, Mitch and I took a ferry to the island of Aegina. It ended up being a vacation within the vacation, where we could relax and enjoy staying in one place for four nights. We decided to not go to a popular resort island and instead went to a place where local Athenians go on weekends. Aegina is one of the Saronic islands, near Hydra and Spetses. We had a great time!

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TEMPLE OF APHAIA VIDEO

OCTOPUS VIDEO

BEACH SCENES

PORT OF AGIA MARINA

FERRY RIDE TO ATHENS AND FAST BOAT VIDEO

Athens

After our overnight ferry from Bari to Patras, we took a 3 hour coach bus ride to Athens. Along this scenic route, we saw the Rio-Antirio Bridge and crossed the Corinthian canal. Our hotel was in the Plaka district, the oldest section of Athens, crowded with shops, cafes and restaurants. Most of the Plaka's narrow streets have been closed to traffic, making it a nice haven from the city's traffic. The 2004 Olympics in Athens resulted in improvments in infrastructure and public transit. The clean and efficient metro goes to airport and the port of Piraeus so getting around was easy. Most signs were in both English and Greek and some print was in the Cyrillic alphabet. We learned a few basic phrases in Greek and the locals appreciated our efforts. Everyone we met spoke great English. They were very friendly and usually happy to offer help and advice. A staffer at our hotel, Yannis, was super friendly and gave us some great tips on where to eat, a Greek dancing show and suggested we visit the island of Aegina, which we did and loved!

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VIDEO CLIPS OF ATHENS >>

Sorrento

We stayed in Sorrento for 4 days which was a great location to take day trips to Pompei, Capri, and the Amalfi coast. April 25th was "Liberation Day" so there were lots of Italian families staying in Sorrento for the holiday weekend. We didn't book a hotel in advance and were a little worried because the tourist info center closed early and many hotels were fully booked. By a stroke of luck I made friends with a couple of elderly local men. Augustino led me down an alley off the main Tasso square and pointed me to the lobby of a posh looking hotel. The Palazzo Guardati (4 star) looked way out of our budget, but they did have 1 triple room left and we didn't want to leave town. The room normally goes for 220 euro per night, but Luigi offered it for the special rate of 160 per night - including breakfast! My prayers were answered! From the roof-top terrace, we were able to see the fireworks show for the holiday. The next few nights we stayed in another hotel owned by the same family, Hotel Zi'Teresa, which had beautiful inlaid wood furniture, a craft that Sorrento is famous for.

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SORRENTO FROM THE ROOF-TOPS VIDEO >>

Amalfi Coast

We took a regional bus from Sorrento to the Amalfi Coast. It was scenic ride on a very curvy highway, similar to Highway 1 in CA. It was scary at times! By the time we stopped in Amalfi it felt great to be on terra firma. My mom and I took a different bus to the hill town of Ravello, recommended by some friends and other travelers. When we returned, Mitch was sportin' a haircut by an Amalfian barber and enjoying a gelato. We had some wine on the beach and I got my feet wet in the crystal clear but cold Mediterranean. We jumped on another bus headed to Sorrento and stopped in Positano, another charming coastal village. We would love to stay longer to explore sometime.

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AMALFI BEACH VIDEO >>

POSITANO VIDEO >>

Capri

We took a ferry from Sorrento to the island of Capri.

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Chairlift ride from Mt. Solara

Pompei

From our base in Sorrento, we took a half hour train ride north to Pompei, at the base of Mount Vesuvius. Its was one of those places I've always wanted to see, and it was amazing.

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Pompei was destroyed and completely buried during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in 79 AD. The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompei under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But probably of most fascinating are the details of the private homes, the eerie casts of people and animals caught in the eruption, the utter humanness of the tragedy seen at Pompei.

Roma

We had booked a B&B for our first two nights in the Vatican City area. We were pleasantly surprised at this relatively quiet neighborhood (for Rome), and the close proximity to the Vatican. Our room had a view of the basilica's dome built by Michaelangelo! We toured the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and climbed to the top of the dome for fantastic views of Rome. We spent a half day on an open-top bus tour where we had a nice overview of the famous historical sites, while we were high above the crazy traffic.

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Short video clips:
Orchestra in the streets of Rome