Day 258 April 19 2015 Pyrgos Greece

arriving in Patras Greece

in front of hotel

Isabel in getting braver 

playing ball near at the hotel

enjoying supper and the view

Day 258  April 19  2015  Pyrgos Greece

Everybody slept well and we were all awake by 9 am.  Since we had brought the kettle with us I made coffee for Evy and me.  We had a relaxing morning including a nice hot shower and breakfast in our cabin.  I went through the latest pictures deleting the bad ones and labeling the ones worth keeping.  I also updated the word document for the blog so the next time we have decent internet I can update the blog.  We got off the ferry at 2 pm and drove the 2 hours to our apartment hotel.  Since we did not know what was the street name and what was the town name in the address our first attempt at finding the hotel ended up with us in front of a bakery.  Isabel was desperate to go to the bathroom so Evy took Isabel to the bakery and when they came out Evy had some pastries.  We then searched for the hotel for an hour, found it and checked in.  The first thing we did once we got into the room was to eat the pastry.  We were back at the bakery within an hour buying more stuff.  It is without a doubt the best bakery we have encountered on the sabbatical and possibly the best I have ever been in. On the way back to the hotel we bought groceries to make supper and ate it overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Day 257 April 18 2015 Euroferry Egnazia between Brindisi Italy and Patras Greece

waiting to pick up our boarding passes

waiting to board the ferry

The cabin made for a very nice crossing

leaving Italy

Day 257  April 18  2015  Euroferry Egnazia between Brindisi Italy and Patras Greece

We left our hotel at 11 am and had a leisurely drive to the port in Brindisi.  We arrived at the port at 4 pm and finally got onto the ferry at 6:30 pm.  We brought out cooler, food and kettle to the room with us so we had a nice meal in the room.  We have a cabin with a window that faces the front of the ship.  It has a sign on the window that say 50 euro fine for opening the window.  I looked and it did not seem to be alarmed so when we left port I opened the window to get some fresh air into the room.  The cabin is quite large with a decent sized bathroom complete with a shower.  We are supposed to arrive at our destination at 2 pm tomorrow afternoon; it should be a very comfortable crossing for us.  

Day 256 April 17 2015 Gravina In Puglia Italy

view from our hotel in Gravina in Puglia

David running up Mount Vesuvius

The crater of the volcano

our 16th anniversary spent on Vesuvius

admiring the rock collection from Mount Vesuvius

One last look at the crater before descending

Day 256  April 17  2015  Gravina In Puglia Italy

We drove from Agerola to Gravina In Puglia with a stop to see the crater of Mount Vesuvius.  We drove to the Vesuvius National Park and then walked up the slope to the crater and around about ½ the crater.  It was very cool to see into the crater and to see the vapor escaping from the vents.  Geologist predicts that Vesuvius could experience a major plinian eruption every 2000 years so one could be possible in the near future.

Day 255 April 16 2015 Agerola Italy

entrance to Pompeii

storage of artifacts and castings from Pompeii

Plaster cast made from depression in the ground

picking oranges in the parking lot

fresco at Herculaneum

a ruin at Herculaneum

Day 255  April 16  2015  Agerola Italy

We spent a full day visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum It was very interesting to see in person the stuff that I have only seen in TV documentaries.  We enjoyed walking through the streets and you could almost imagine what life must have been like for the inhabitants of the town in 79 AD when the eruption happened.  The plaster casts of the bodies were very cool.

Day 254 April 15 2015 Agerola Italy

appetizers in a really good restaurant next to the hotel

pointing to the hotel entrance

narrow 2 way street to our hotel 

Day 254  April 15  2015  Agerola Italy

We drove from Rome to Agerola Italy with a stop at the Apple store in Napels.  Isabel decided she wanted to upgrade her tablet to one with more memory.  We were a few km away from the apartment in Rome when I remembered that I did not have the majority of my credit cards or ID.  I had taken most of the cards out of my wallet as Rome is rampant with pickpockets and I felt that it was safer to leave them in the dresser. The person whom had rented the apartment before us had his wallet stolen.  I also know another person who got a thank you card from a pick pocket in Rome for having had so much money in his wallet.  We were lucky as the owner was still in the apartment cleaning it when we got back and I was able to retrieve my cards. The GPS had us get off the main highway to go to our hotel.  It turned into driving down the worst roads we have been on since leaving Canada.  They were not bumpy that would have been ok.  They were extremely narrow and steep with no way to turn around and high walls on both sides .  We were considering greasing the mirrors so we could fit through and were extremely fortunate that we did not meet body coming from the other direction or one of us would have had to back up.  After a few km on the interesting roads we ended up back on the same highway that the GPS had us get off of.  

Day 253 April 14 2015 Rome Italy

Day 253  April 14  2015  Rome Italy

We started the day by taking the bus in the wrong the wrong direction.  It did not take us long to realize what we had done but it did add ½ an hour to our trip.  The first place we visited was Vatican City starting in St. Peter’s Basilica.  The church is absolutely amazing, full of beautiful carving, painting, and mosaics.  We visited the crypt where the sarcophaguses of the Popes are displayed.  The most impressive tomb was Saint Peter’s which has two stairways leading from the main church.  We then spent the rest of the day in the Vatican Museum which has a very impressive collection of art.

Day 252 April 13 2015 Rome Italy

Roman Colosseum

overlooking the Roman Form

ancient fountain 

enjoying lunch outside the Colosseum

inside the Pantheon

Plaza Navona 

Day 252  April 13  2015  Rome Italy

We started the day at the Colosseum where we admired the ruins.  It was one of the sites in the world that I have wanted to see for many years and I am glad we made it.  Once we left the Colosseum we walked around the many ruins at the Paltatino Hill.  The palace that once stood there must have been breath taking.  The third site we visited was the Fountain of Trevi only to find it drained of water and under restoration.  We then walked from the fountain to the Pantheon followed by a visit to Piazza Navona.  We then decide to call it quits for the day; however as we were walking to the bus stop we passed a gladiator weapons museum and decide to check it out.  It was interesting as it showcased the evolution of helmets and swords over time.