The last post of our Italian trip! We stopped for a brief visit to San Gimignano in Tuscany (below), a medieval hilltop town which we vaguely remember visiting in the 90s. The town is very attractive but our photos didn't come out very well, somehow there was just too much contrast between the sun and the shadows in the narrow streets, so I've just posted this distant shot which Keith took instead.
Somewhere along the line we stopped somewhere where there were actually a few butterflies! This was not a holiday where we spent much time in nature - it was all about towns, villages, the coast and Roman sites.
Below, the two blues are Common Blues and the one in the middle is a Meadow Brown.
Our last stop before driving home was to Lucca, also in Tuscany. By this time I was feeling a bit grotty with the cold (which I am sure was actually Covid) that K passed on to me. I didn't bother taking any photos, so these are all K's images.
We parked just outside the old city walls and walked around inside the town. There seem to be ornate churches galore!
The church of San Michele in Foro.
A kind of tuktuk!
Church of San Giusto.
Church of Santi Giovanni e Reparata, Lucca's first cathedral.
Duomo di San Martino, the current cathedral.
Inside the Duomo di San Martino.
From ornate ceiling to ornate floor.
Somewhere round the back of the cathedral. I liked the signs of modern building works against the backdrop of historical buildings!
Finally did you know that Chat GPT can turn your photos into watercolours, oil paintings, impressionist art, whatever? I only just discovered this, and it's just as easy as using an app, if not easier. However, unless you pay a subscription, you are limited to five photo transformations per day.
They also suggested turning your photo into a vintage travel poster, which I could not resist. First I turned my picture into a watercolour, then into the poster, which I instructed to add the words 'Amalfi Coast'. I'm really pleased with the result! 😀
I think that sums up our Italian trip! But to sum up further:
The pros: very scenic, gorgeous ornate churches, amazing Roman ruins, good food.
The cons: Too many tourists, too much traffic, private beach clubs taking up nearly all the beach area, fairly basic campsites (we didn't even stay at one with a pool!).
Would we go again? Yes, but probably only as part of a trip including another country, so just in the north I think.
This September we are going back to Spain - just to Catalonia so not too much driving, good birding places and lovely sandy beaches open to all!
It was a long way back home, so we did it in stages, and stopped to visit a few places in Umbria and Tuscany. We had visited these provinces before, back in the late 90s.
Spoleto caught my eye for one very interesting reason.
No, it wasn't this fort at the top of the town.
It's what I'm standing in front of as I take a photo of the fort. It's an escalator! It goes up to several different levels in the town. Wow, now if only more towns built on hills could install something like this, I'd be a very happy bunny!
Archway with statue across the street.
The Duomo, or Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta.
We came out of the escalator at the Duomo level, but as we approached the church we were met by a lady who told us that filming was going on at the other end of the square, and that we couldn't go in that direction. We could only access the church interior, and then back to another level on the escalator, which was a bit annoying.
Anyway, the cathedral looked a bit plain upon first viewing. But then as we walked further down inside, it became clear that it is in fact an extremely ornate church!
Amazing painted ceilings.
And more...
Chapel of Sant'Anna, with frescoes dating from the late C16th, some of which have been carefully removed to uncover even older masterpieces dating back to the late C14th.
Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. I think this one is my favourite.
Back on the escalator we went up another level. I can't remember how many there were, but I think it was three.
Fontana di Piazza del Mercato (Fountain of the Market Piazza). We came out near this square and had a wander around.
Piazza del Mercato
Then up to the top level where the fort is, for amazing views out over the town and countryside. It's funny being level with the church tower.
The final access to the fort level was stairs, though I spied a lift (elevator!) saying it was only for use by the disabled. Well i considered myself an old lady with dodgy hips and knees who is perfectly entitled to use said lift, and so we did. Not that the fort was terribly exciting, it has a museum inside and we weren't interested in that.
And after that, we enjoyed taking the escalator back down, which took us to a level near to where we were parked. Perfect! 😀
I mentioned the crush to get on the bus in the previous post, but I didn't tell you about the fun and games involved in driving a full sized bus up these narrow winding mountain roads. One of our buses was driven by a woman who liked to parp her horn going around every corner (probably a sensible thing to do) and there were times when we would meet a car coming towards us and there would be some interesting maneouvres to get past.
At the bus station in Amalfi the drivers really showed their incredible skill. They would back the buses into their parking slot amidst hundreds of people all rushing up trying to get near the doors to get on the bus, cars trying to drive past and just general tourists milling about.
On our first trip in to Amalfi, we had to get off the bus about a kilometre from the town as the bus couldn't get past something - we were not sure what that was about but it looked like some roadworks. As it happened this was great as we got to see the town from a different vista and take more photos!
I didn't bother taking my heavy camera and just took photos with my phone.
The jetty for the ferries up ahead. At times the queue was the length of the jetty. I would have loved to go to Positano by ferry, but it was in the other direction, past where we were staying. But we couldn't get there any other way (as far as I could figure) than to go all the way to Amalfi, then back again. Just too much hassle, sadly.
The famous Amalfi lemons! (Or are they the famous Sorrento lemons? They actually look more like their oval shape). They are huge, aren't they? Compare them to the basket of oranges!
The Duomo, or cathedral, of Amalfi, Sant'Andrea. Building began in the 9th and 10th centuries, but it has changed over the centuries using many different styles and now sports a Norman-Arab-Byzantine facade, after part of the previous facade collapsed in 1861.
Looking back down from the top of the steps at Piazza del Duomo.
Before entering the cathedral we walked through the Cloister of Paradise, built in 1266 in the Arab-Norman style. I must say I have never heard of this architectural style but apparently the Norman bit is actually Romanesque, so it's a fusion of Arab, Byzantine and Romanesque, which is known as Norman in Britain.
When we entered the church, it was quite a surprise. It is simply breathtaking! I read that it is C18th Baroque style but with elements of many other styles.
I think this might be the most ornate Italian church we have ever been inside.
Back outside and we indulged in a little window shopping.
Funny! 😁
I have to say, not for me. 😂😁😂 Though very much photo worthy!
Wandering back to the seafront there was a beautiful old ship which sailed off somewhere whilst we were there. 'My' boat is the one on the left, however. It's about the right size for me, I reckon. 😁
Looking back at the town which is so scenic with the mountains towering above it.
More wanderings back in the direction of the ferry jetty, we stopped to have a look at this little marina area. There was a private beach here (out of view) with plenty of people on it, although I wouldn't fancy swimming where so many boats were moored up.
Now this is another boat that caught my eye. It's not as big as my ideal 'gin palace' but it would do at a pinch. ;-)
We then wandered back to the bus stop area to get our bus home. It was all a bit confusing and we waited around for when a bus put the name of San Lazzaro on the front of the bus. However when our bus arrived, we couldn't get on as too many people were in front of us.
A few minutes later a bus pulled up across the road and lots of people rushed towards it. I got on and asked if it was going to San Lazzaro, but they told me 'Bomerano' which of course didn't make any sense. Amazingly the drivers all seemed to speak English so said this bus was going to an area not that far from San Lazzaro, so we decided to get on it rather than wait another hour for our proper bus.
When we got off at Bomerano, we realised that we would still have to wait another hour for the next San Lazzaro bus. Some Italian people phoned someone who came to pick them up. Then some young guys hitched a ride. Some time later a taxi was going past and some of the other people at the bus stop hailed it and got in. Left at the bus stop were just K and me, and another couple. Resigned to wait another 20 minutes, suddenly a taxi appeared so I rushed out and hailed it. We negotiated a price and offered to share with the other couple, who were going to San Lazzaro too. In fact it was only about a ten minute ride!
The owner of the camp site was out the front when we arrived, and being a very friendly soul, we told him about our fun and games. He said that the young guys were staying at the camp site too, and so were the other people who took the first taxi. And it turned out it was the same taxi who dropped them off, then came back in the hope of getting more customers, i.e. us!
So you see why after the bus shenanigans the following day, we had totally had enough and headed north towards Umbria and Tuscany!
