What can we say about Italy? History abounds, graffiti is the national pastime, it is dirty and almost everyone smokes. There are no rules to ban smoking in restaurants although hotels had non-smoking rooms.

We found the Italians to be loud and gregarious but also quite reserved. We were told that most Italians do not speak English, even in high tourist areas. However,  if we greeted them with Buongiorno, or Buonasera, we got a big smile and helpful service. Along the border area of Austria, the Italians spoke German.

We discovered that although there is supposed to be a Eurovelo Route with the appropriate signage, sometimes the local route took precedence and the Eurovelo signage disappears. We followed the R3C and the Alpe di Aria.

Along the coast from La Spezia towards Rome there are fewer dedicated cycling routes. Although along the coast there were dedicated cycling paths for campers going to the beach areas. We opted to take the train from Bibbona as we were constantly getting misplaced trying to find the Eurovelo routes or other cycling routes.

There are lots of campsites in Italy. However, on the coast they are mainly for week-long stays and very few had spots for touring cyclists. Some of them had four-day minimum stays, which didn’t help us at all. There are also a lot of youth hostels, which were reasonably priced but varied tremendously in quality and cleanliness.

We eventually opted for hotels, (instead of camping) which broke the budget. However, it was nice after the heat of the day to cool off in a room with air-conditioning.

We ticked off all the major tourist places in Italy, including Venice, Cinque Terra, Pisa, Rome and Pompei. We also had a brief stop in Parma, which had a good Tourist Information Office who gave me maps for some nice cycling areas.

The area around Bibbona was lovely (Tuscany), again with some good cycling roads, if you weren’t fully loaded touring cyclists.

The Italians are cycling fans (in the north) and generally gave us space. As we got further south the drivers were more impatient.

We didn\’t have the opportunity to stay with any Italians (through warmshowers) or have a chat with them about their political situation. 

There is a lot of tourist money going into Italy. We could not see where that money is being spent on infrastructure, the buildings are crumbling and the roads are appalling.

We found the train system was excellent in Italy and we could get our bikes on local trains.  There were times when we might have a longer lay-over in a Town because we had to take local trains, instead of the high-speed or intercity trains.  However, there appeared to be at least one or two trains a day that we could take our bikes.

We enjoyed Italy, once we had stopped cycling.

August 8, 2018

We are home safe and sound after a long day of traveling and a good nights sleep.

Our taxi to the airport arrived early and we were able to get both bikes in the Mercedes van without any problems.

I hadn’t checked which terminal we were flying from but figured the taxi driver would know. As we came towards the terminals, I noticed that Terminal One did not have Air Transat on the boards, Terminal Three indicated all other Airlines. That is where the taxi driver left us.

We unloaded the mini-van and the taxi driver got us three carts! Two for the bikes and an extra one for the bags. I am not sure how he thought we would maneuver three carts. We loaded the bikes and bags onto the two carts and proceeded into the airport. Just our luck – earlier in the year Air Transat switched terminals and we were flying out of Terminal One. “Out the door, turn left – five minute walk” Five minutes with two bikes and luggage, I don’t think so, especially as I could not see over my bike box. Ralf lead the way and did not waver from his path, people had to move out of his way, otherwise they would get caught in the back of the legs by my hubby on a mission! I followed in his wake. It was like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Even with changing terminals, the bags and bikes were checked in within an hour. We had about three hours to wait before we could board the plane. As with other things in Italy there was no organization to the boarding. The plane is boarding at Gate 16, everyone get on at the same time! Chaos. However, that did not compare with the chaos at Montreal Airport when we landed.

The flight was good, the food was mediocre and there were a few bumpy bits as we came into land – turbulence on landing great. I held on to Ralf’s hand, this was it we were going to die.

We cleared ourselves through passport control (electronic passports) and a cursory look by a border control guy. Then we headed to pick up the bikes and luggage. Eight flights had arrived around the same time. Now one would assume you would have 8 different carousels to deliver all the luggage. Nope, four flights on one carousel and four flights on another carousel. At one point they decided that they would switch carousels for the passengers from France to the same carousel that our luggage was supposed to arrive – five flights. A mass of people headed towards our carousel, absolute chaos.

The bikes arrived before our baggage – at first we were told they would arrive at 8A, then 2A. Ralf got those loaded on the carts and eventually after waiting for over 1.5 hours we headed out to meet our taxi driver.

He had tried to call us, but for some unknown reason, we didn’t get the call. He wasn’t sure if he had missed us. I am not sure how that would have been possible considering we had two huge bike boxes.  He contacted the dispatch to check on the phone number.  There were no announcements to the people waiting that there were delays with the baggage delivery.

A two hour drive home through thunder and lightening storms and we were home safe and sound, exhausted. Local time was 9:00 p.m. Italy time was 3:00 a.m. A quick shower and into bed.

Stay tuned to see where and when the next Adventure will take us.

August 5, 2018

Our last day in Rome. We have seen so much in the last week in Rome, it was well worth spending the extra days not to rush through all the touristy things. Some people come for a couple of days and rush through everything. When we were at the Coliseum one lady was so intent on getting to see the next thing, she missed spending time wandering around and enjoying the surroundings.

Today was a relaxing day, enjoying the gardens and villa of the Borghese Family.

The Gardens cover an area of 80 hectares (approximately 200 acres) and were developed in 1606 by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The Villa Borghese was designed by the architect Flaminio Ponzio. It was referred to as a party house. Where the Borghese family (Cardinal Borghese) would entertain the nobility of Rome and also somewhere to keep his private art collection.

Unfortunately, we didn’t know that you had to book tickets in advance for the Villa – there were no “last minute” tickets available.

Oh well, we enjoyed the gardens and peered through one window which revealed a small portion of the extensive art collection.

The gardens became a public park in 1903. The gardens are well visited by the local population and tourists alike.

There is a small lake which was originally designed as a Fish Pond, but is now a small boating lake. Boats are rented at E3.00 for 20 minutes. There are still lots of large fish in the lake and turtles.

The property consists of many different areas, including a sports field, I thought it might be used for polo, or a good game of cricket.

One of the other forested areas was used for private hunting. Some of the gardens were a little overgrown and I wondered why they didn’t maintain them. However, as Ralf said if they were maintained they would have to charge to get into the park and it was so nice to be able to enjoy the park for free, along with hundreds of Italians having picnics etc.

There were a lot of fountains, some were well maintained and others towards the back of the property were less well maintained.

We spent about four hours wandering this extensive property.  We could have rented bikes, but they looked like a lot of hard work.

There were lots of statues throughout the garden, some were a little weird – like the statue holding the smiling head?

Again it was a very hot day, even the police horse was hot and the policeman was walking him, allowing him to cool down.

These two dogs knew how to keep cool, they lay down in the small culvert.

A lovely way to spend our last day in Rome.

Although we had a great day, there were moments which made you wonder about the other side of Rome. Today we saw a lot of homeless people, sleeping rough in the park. This fella was passed out at the end of a street car line!

Once again we are amazed at the graffiti throughout Rome, even on Metro Trains. How do they have the time to do this, especially as there are so many CTV cameras around.

We finished our last day with pizza and gelato. I have enjoyed the pizza, but I do not want to eat another one for a while, you can have too much of a good thing. The gelato is a different story I will really miss tasting all the different flavours.

Tomorrow we fly home. There will be a couple more posts – “Thoughts on… Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria and Italy. I will try to get those done as soon as I get home and organized.

August 4, 2018

I had a few administrative things to do today before updating the blog. Ralf was up and out of the room by 7:00 a.m. I had a nice lie-in until 8:00 a.m.

What a lovely breakfast. Everything from scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, meats and buns, fresh fruit, cereals, and croissants and pastries. This breakfast covered every possibility, of course there was really good coffee as well. I must admit, I ate enough to cover me until dinner time!

I have felt a little stressed the last few days, trying to get the logistics sorted out with taxis to the airport and whether to cycle home or get home some other way either by train or taxi. It was good to have a day on my own. When Ralf came back, it was obvious that he enjoyed his day on his own as well.

It’s good to be together, but it is good to have time apart as well.

At one point the cleaning staff came in to clean the room, I told them I had to work, but they could clean the room. They checked the fridge, to see if we needed more water.  We had bought some beer and wine for the week-end!

Nope, the fridge is fine! We both laughed.

Ralf’s comments on the day.

Vatican City Museums (VCM). I decided that I wanted to go to the Vatican Museums. So I was up at 6:30 am, breakfast at 7, out of the hotel doors by 7:27 and in the Vatican line up by 7:50. When I arrived, there must have been about 200 people in front of me, most of them were with large Asian tour groups, so things should move along well when the doors open at 9 am. I started my tour at 9:28, most people turned left for the shortened route, I turned right for the extended tour and the peace and quiet that came with that decision for the first few hours.

While waiting in the line, I was approached at least a dozen times to “Skip the Line”, you go in in 10 minutes for E35. The best deal I could get was 30 euro, not good enough for my tight wallet, knowing that it will only cost E17, and the Vatican doesn’t charge the tourist tax or to go to the WC.

Everything else be prepared to open your wallets big time. For example: a slice of Pizza and 500ml of water – E12 or $18, a muffin and coffee E8 or $12. Needless to say, I didn’t eat at VCM.

Once inside, you first go though security, then the groups turn right, the individual ticket purchasers turn left, and the ‘on line’ ticket holders are scanned in a separate area. Sounds well organized, but then again this is Italy, all the groups and ticket holders merge to go through four glass doors into the main courtyard or meeting area, and then can go their separate ways.

HISTORY: The VCM’s are Christian and art museums located within the city boundaries of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by Popes throughout the centuries including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display. There are 26 museums, which comprise of 54 rooms. Not all are open to the public for various reasons, renovations, private viewings or the art is on loan to other museums.

I took over 250 photos and narrowed it down to 34 for the blog – including the Sistine Chapel (I will be struck by lighting, I’m sure). Wherever possible I will give you a little blurb for each picture and more history on the Sistine Chapel later. Enjoy.

Double Helix Staircase

The original Bramante staircase was built in 1505, it connects the Belvedere Palace of Pope Innocent VIII to the outside and stands in a square tower of the building. The modern double helix stair case commonly referred to as the \”Bramente Staircase\” was designed by Guiseppe Momo in 1932. Having two staircases allowing uninterrupted traffic ascending and descending.

Papal Cars

The Citroen Lictoria C6 was donated to Pius XI in June 1930 by Citroen Italy to celebrate both the Conciliation between the Church and the Italian State. Pius XII avoided its use during the difficult years of the Second World War, favouring the Graham Paige 837.

The Mercedes Benz 460 Nurburg limousine was also donated to Pius XI for the same reason as the Lictoria C6. For reasons of protocol the rear passenger compartment of the 460 Nurburg is equipped with a single seat in crimson brocade, recalling the papal throne.

You might well ask? A Volkswagen Beetle? Yes it was donated, and blessed by John Paul II in May of 2004. It was a gift from the president of VW Mexico, Louis Manuil Abella Armella. The Beetle was the last of a limited series of just 3000 car. You can just see the Pope behind the wheel? Right?

Greek

The last time the Grand Gala Berlin passed the streets of Rome was when Pope Pius IX travelled to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo for the the celebration of 8 Sept. 1870. A few days later, with the Breach of Porta Pia, the Papal States ceased to exist and the Grand Gala Berlin was no longer used.

At the end of the Museums there is the Sistine Chapel. Pope Sixtus IV commissioned Botticelli and Rosselli to decorate the chapel. At this point, the Sistine Chapel\’s ceiling was painted like a simple blue sky with stars. But Pope Julius insisted, and Michelangelo began work on his famous frescoed ceiling in 1508, for four years. The chapel was built between 1473 and 1481.

You are not allowed to take photos inside of the Sistine Chapel. I had my camera pointing upwards, but was not obviously taking photos. The photos I took are not bad considering the way they were taken.

Sistine chapel.

However, I did witness two people being escorted out of the Chapel by security. Security had told the two young men not to take photos, the men continued taking photos, they were told again, the third time they were escorted out of the Chapel – one with his arm twisted up his back.

August 3, 2018

Our main concern today was to move all our stuff and boxed bikes 500 metres up the road to the Best Western.

At about 10:30 I walked up to the Best Western and asked if we could put the bikes and luggage in their storage area while we waited to check-in at 2:00 p.m. Just a moment the kind man at the desk said, I will check to see if your room is ready. Yes Madam, your room is ready, you can register.

I went back to the hostel and we started hauling everything to the hotel, it took us about 45 minutes. The bikes wouldn’t fit easily in the Best Western\’s “left luggage” room so they took them downstairs to their storage area. Everything else went in our lovely air-conditioned room that we have for three nights.

We decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. We took a short walk to a shopping mall, to see how the real Italians shop. O.k. it was a fancy shopping mall with prices to match, not where the average Italian shops.

Ralf and I had the same thought about the amount of grafitti we have seen in Italy.  We both noticed these garbage trucks, how quickly things get tagged.

My other concern was how we were going to get from the airport to home and the cost. I did the calculation and to cycle home (3 nights hotel, food etc.) would cost almost as much as getting a taxi. The weather forecast is for thunderstorms and very hot humid weather for Tuesday and hot temperatures Wednesday and Thursday (29 C feeling like 35-39C). We quickly contacted two taxi companies in Brockville and we are taking a taxi home. It is expensive, but at least we will be home on Monday night, exhausted but home.

Everything is arranged to get home, the taxi to the airport, the flights (although I still have to pre-book the seats) the bikes are boxed and we have a taxi to take us home.

Ralf asked if I wanted to go to the Vatican Museums. He was willing to get up early and stand in line. I had no desire to see the artifacts that the Church has \”collected\” over the years. I think I would probably be arrested by the Swiss Guard because I would have to rant about the excesses. Ralf has decided to go to the Vatican Museums tomorrow and I will update the blog. 

August 2, 2018

Happy Birthday Chris.

My feet are killing me, another great day in Rome.

The history is absolutely incredible. Today was a visit to the Coliseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. We had spoken to a couple of girls this morning who had done the tour yesterday and said “with the right tour guide it is great”. They were a little disappointed with the morning tour guide, but the afternoon guide was great. They warned us about the hawkers around the metro station.

Again we took the Metro to the Coliseum. The Metro is really easy to use – a one-way ticket is E1.50 each or you can buy a 24 hour ticket for E7.00 each. If you are going to hop on and off the metro, it is worth getting the E7.00 ticket. We bought the one-way tickets.

There were a lot of hawkers, we told them we already had tickets and stood in line. The line was long and eventually Ralf went to one of the “Tour Guides” and asked how much to “Skip the Line.” For a tour guide and visiting all the sites – Coliseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum it cost us 30 E each. If we had stayed in line for an hour or more it would have been 48 E for the two of us, it was worth skipping the line.

The Coliseum guide was tiny (really tiny, smaller than me). She held a telescopic pole with lace tied to the top and away she went. Trying to keep up with her through all the crowds, to get our tickets was very difficult. Eventually, after a security check, we were inside the Coliseum.

The guide gave us a lot of information, about the building of the Coliseum in 72 AD. The building was completed in 8 years by Jewish slaves (Prisoners of War) and Jewish money after the conquering of Judea.

On the outside of the Coliseum there are marble plaques that indicate what area you were to sit.  The marble seating has been reconstructed to show what the stadium would have looked like during the \”games\”.

The Coliseum was used as an arena to provide entertainment to the masses – “Give them games and food and they will be happy”. The games and food were provided by person who hosted the games. Often someone who wanted votes to be elected to a position of power. The morning entertainment was always the contests with the animals – not much of a contest, when you had lions etc. entering the ring with unarmed combatants.   The animals were killed for their meat and to feed the masses.

The mid-morning/early afternoon entertainment was usually the executions. These were criminals who could fight for their lives! Again unarmed combatants against well-armed Gladiators.

The afternoon and early evening was for the gladiators. People would scratch the names of their favorite gladiator on the seats – graffiti has always existed in Rome!

During each part of the games the “scenery” was changed. A series of doors and winches were used to bring the animals and combatants to the arena floor.

After the history lesson we were allowed to wander around the two-levels that were accessible.

The subterranean level was where the animals and criminals were kept.We finished our wanderings at about 1:00 and our afternoon tour of the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum would start at 2:30. We were to meet our second tour guide outside of the Coliseum.

As we exited the Coliseum we were confronted by dozens of migrants with bags full of water bottles selling water at one Euro per bottle. I showed my iced water bottles and we made our way through. Within seconds, they all started running for the top road, a well worn path. The local police had arrived in a car to move them on. They waited until the police had got back in their car and then descended on the tourists again. This happened several times, it was like a game of cat and mouse.

We had an hour to kill, we found a great place for lunch down a side street leading away from the Coliseum called Simplece. A lovely pasta salad, with fruit and a cold drink for E6.00, you can find cheaper places to eat if you look. The young woman behind the counter was really friendly and had a great smile and lively personality.

At 2:30 we met out tour guide (Stan) and walked the short distance to the Palatine Hill. Our group had expanded from about 30 people to almost 60 people. Fortunately, the afternoon tour guide was very tall and had a voice that everyone could hear.

He gave us the history of Palatine Hill which is where the first six emperors of Rome resided. Then we were told about the Roman Forum. This area is full of history. He told us that in one area there is a piece of marble (which is not actually marble it is Porphyry stone) called Emperor’s Marble and is worth about 200,000 Euro per cubic inch. There is a bath in the Vatican museum which was Nero’s bath, which is made from this marble and is worth approximately 2 billion Euro’s.

After Stan had given us a history lesson which took about an hour and a half we wandered the Palatine hill and gardens and then went down to the Roman Forum. Stan told us where to enter the forum and how to get back to the metro station.  He told us to head for the Roman McDonald\’s (three arches) and turn right or left down the Via del Corso. and you can find the exit.

One kid asked his Mom if they could go to the McDonald\’s, he really needed a McDonald\’s.  His younger sister had to explain the joke to him.

The afternoon photos, didn’t turn out as well, as there was a smudge on the lense. However, you get the general idea.

The Romans liked to build large arches to show their triumphs in war.  This one depicted their success in Judea and the spoils of war.

A really interesting day. Full of facts and figures that I have forgotten already, but very interesting and exhausting. Again it was really hot and we headed back to the Gelataria and ate more gelato before going to the supermarket to buy dinner – a nice salad tonight.

Ralf packed the bikes ready for our move to the Best Western tomorrow and ready for the flight home on Monday. I am a little concerned about the size of Ralf’s bike box, it is very big. The Best Western will call the taxi service tomorrow and reserve a mini-van for us. Fingers crossed his box will fit in. We haven’t been successful in the past, with taxis but maybe our luck will change and everything will run smoothly.

August 1, 2018

We left the hostel at 9:15 and took the Metro to St. Peters Square. We only wanted to go to St. Peters Square and go into the Church. This was going to be a “free” day. After getting off the Metro, we could not walk more than 50 yards before someone would come up and try to sell us “Skip the Line” entrance tickets to the Vatican Museum. The prices ranged from 48E each to E75.00 each.

If you pay to go into the Vatican Museum, you enter the Sistene Chapel and then the Basilica from another entrance, thereby skipping the line to get into the church. Am I being very cynical by saying “If you pay the Vatican – you can skip the line and maybe go straight to heaven and skip hanging around with the riff-raff who cannot afford to pay to get into heaven”. Or maybe there should be help for the beggars that are outside of the churches.

I was very disappointed at the price and all the hawkers trying to sell us tickets. The actual price to enter the Vatican Museum varies from E17 to E38. At the very minimum (E17) the Vatican Museum has an income of 78 million Euros per year.

I understand that monuments and museums need funding. Especially those ancient monuments like the Colesium etc, which you pay to get inside. I don’t mind donating when I am in a church, as we did in Ulm. However, there is a tourist tax for every person staying in any accommodation in Rome from hostels to hotels, E4.00 per head. Approximately 4.2 million tourists visit the Vatican Museum every year. Not all of those tourists are going to spend a night in Rome. If only half of them spend a night in Rome that is 9.6 million Euros per year just on hotel tourist tax.

All we really wanted to see was inside the Basilica and St. Peters Square. The line for the Basilica was a two hour wait. I didn’t want to pay to go into the Vatican Museum.

We had a wander around the square trying to decide whether to join the “free” line. I asked the Swiss Guard, if we could get into the garden area.  No you can only access the garden from the Vatican Museums. 

As we left St. Peter\’s Square we noticed a small church.  Although we didn\’t see the Sistine Chapel, we thought this painting on the ceiling was very impressive.

We opted to continue on our journey visiting the free things – Piazza Navona, Panthenon, Tivoli fountain, Spanish Steps etc.

We had a wonderful day. I was the tour guide and had the map.

Before we started the walking tour, we stopped for a coffee and a sandwich at a small café near the Castle. It was a very peaceful area, with nice music, the prices were reasonable and the coffee was good.

We crossed over the Tiber, passing the law courts of Rome.  A very impressive building.

The first place we came to was the Piazza Navona. A large gathering place with fountains and a pointy thing. The square was surrounded by restaurants and gelato cafés. Erected in the centre of Piazza Navona, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) was designed by Bernini in 1651. The four statues represent the most important rivers of the continents where Christianity had spread.

As we came towards the Piazza we noticed what appeared to be an archaelogical site. The Piazza is built on the site where the Stadium of Domitian (Circus Agonalis), founded in 86 AD, once stood. It could hold approximately 20,000 spectators, which came here to see different athletic competitions. The stadium was re-discovered when they began excavations for a new metro line. They retained the excavations and have a very good exhibition of how the stadium (or Circus) was constructed.

After the Piazza Navona, we negotiated the small streets and a very poor map to the Pantheon not to be confused with the Parthenon in Athens. The Pantheon is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. At the beginning of the 7th century the building was donated to the Pope Boniface IV, who transformed it into a church. Churches are free to get into in Rome. The roof is open and when it rains, there are small holes in the floor that allow the water to drain away.

There were signs around the building stating this was a place of worship and to be quiet and respectful. However, there were a lot of people inside and the noise echoed around the building.

We carried on our walking tour of Rome to the Trevi Fountain. The weather was hot and there is not much room to get a good photo of the fountain. Lots of people, including myself were trying to cool off, putting their hands or hats into the cool waters of the fountain.

The Trevi fountain is the largest fountain in the City measuring approximately 20 meters in width by 26 meters in height. The myth of the Trevi Fountain, originated in 1954 with the movie \”Three Coins in the Fountain,\” goes like this:

• If you throw one coin: you will return to Rome.
• If you throw two coins: you will fall in love with an attractive Italian.
• If you throw three coins: you will marry the person that you met.

In order to achieve the desired effect, you should throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder.

Over one million Euros are thrown into the fountain each year and there are signs stating not to take money out of the fountain, as it belongs to Rome.

Finally we got to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Embassy is located in this square. The Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti in Italian) were built at the beginning of the eighteenth century connecting Piazza di Spagna and the Church of Trinità dei Monti.

Ralf went to get some photos from the top of the steps and I waited in the shade. There were a lot of hawkers asking for money. I don’t carry the money when we are on vacation, it was easy to say “I have no money”. My little bag, is not from any fancy fashion house and when I say I have no money they look at my little bag and walk away.

This concludes your Free Walking Tour of Rome.

From the Spanish Steps we took the Metro back to the hostel.

It was very hot and we wanted some gelato. The gelato near the touristy area is more expensive and smaller portions. We waited until we got closer to the hostel and had a huge gelato at our new favorite Gelataria.

We cooked pasta at the hostel and spent the evening chatting to other guests. It was a really nice evening again, although we were told off for making too much noise after 10:00. Reminds me of Dick getting us into trouble at the last GOBA, when we were told to be quiet.

July 31 2018

Ralf has been sending emails to various bike shops around the City to find out about packing services or boxes.  We received a couple of responses the price ranged from E50 to E100 for both bikes.  However, we would still have to get the bikes from the shop to the hostel or the airport.

After breakfast we headed out to a bike shop that was within 1 km of the hostel. They didn’t pack bikes but they did have boxes. We bought two boxes (E10) and headed back to the hostel.

Ralf was ready to dismantle the bikes and have the boxed bikes in the room. The owner of the hostel was not keen on having two large boxes in the room, so we agreed to wait until Thursday afternoon to pack the bikes.

As I mentioned we are only in this hostel until Friday. There is a Best Western near the airport and another one about 500 metres from the hostel. I went into the one near the hostel and asked about rates and could they arrange a van to get us to the airport.

The rates are very good for our remaining three nights and they can arrange a mini-van to take us to the airport. The lady on reception called the taxi service to ensure that they had a mini-van large enough for the boxes. We booked from Friday to Monday at the Best Western and they will arrange the mini-van to take us to the airport.

We spent the rest of the day updating the blog and trying to stay cool. Average daytime temperatures are 35 degrees with a real feel of 38 degrees. Night-time temperatures are about 25 degrees, but we do have air-conditioning in the room

After dinner we had a really interesting conversation with an Indian lady (Melody) who had studied in India to be a Doctor and is now studying in Australia to be an Orthopedic Surgeon. We talked about India and arranged marriages (she had one), families and education. What a great evening.

July 30 2018

Farewell Pompei, we hope you survive the next eruption from your very close temperamental neighbour!

We got on the local train to Naples and got off on the wrong station. No problem, get back on the train and get of in one stop – no extra charge!  As mentioned previously, there is graffiti everywhere, even the trains have graffiti on them.

This is the only graffiti in Italy that we have seen that is comparable to some of the \”art-work\” we have seen in other areas of Europe.  Maybe the only reason that graffiti is so prevalent in Italy is that it comes from an Italian word. The rest of the graffiti is just tags.

\”Both \”graffiti\” and its occasional singular form \”graffito\” are from the Italian word graffiato (\”scratched\”). … In ancient times graffiti were carved on walls with a sharp object, although sometimes chalk or coal were used\”

We bought our “slow train” tickets back to Rome. Cost of these tickets were E26 for two, cost for the fast train after 12:00 was E45.00 tickets for two. We should have got in to Rome about one hour later than the fast train. No worries worked on pictures and got the photos ready to update the blog.

The train was delayed at one station because the lights were not working on the track. The conductor on the train spoke very good English and asked if we had heard and understood the announcements. Good service!

When we arrived back at the hostel we had a nice cool shower and asked to do some washing. We were told the cost at the hostel was E10.00. E10.00 you have to be kidding me. We asked where the nearest Laundromat was, she said they charge E10.00 for the wash and dry. We don’t use the dryer for the cycling gear and our clothes. The young lass (Marianne) who is working the desk at the hostel, apologized for the cost. We got our dirty clothes together and were about to find the closest Laundromat when Marianne came in and said she would do the washing for free and if the boss came back she would say they were her clothes. The boss wasn’t due until 11:00 p.m. We didn’t want to get her into any trouble, but she took the clothes and put them in the washing machine. European washing machines take over an hour to complete the wash cycle. The washing was done, dried and folded by 8:00 p.m. – Good Service!

Ralf went to get us some pizza slices from the pizza place across from the hostel (Pizza Cinque). The lady who served us last time, served Ralf and asked where I was – Good Service! Things are looking up.

Tomorrow we are hoping to get the bikes boxed or at least boxes for the bikes. If we use a service, we have to get the boxed bikes from the bike shop back to the hostel. If we can get boxes, Ralf can box the bikes and we only have to get them from the hostel to the airport.

We are only booked into the hostel until Friday, then we either have to stay a few more days or find a hotel closer to the airport.

July 29 2018

Another great day being tourists.

We walked the short distance from our B&B to the entrance of the Pompei ruins. We spent almost four hours wandering around this very large archaeological site.

STREETS IN POMPEI

As we entered the site from the main ticket office, we entered the amphi-theatre.

AMPHITHEATRE

Pompeii was covered by ash in 79 AD. As we wandered around we would listen to some of the tour guides. The City of Pompeii ruins covers over 44 hectares (100 acres) and there are still ongoing archaeological digs and renovations to the various houses. The population at the time of the eruption was approximately 16,000 to 20,000. It is unknown how many people escaped the eruption. However, the remains of only 1,500 people have been found, there could be many more undiscovered bodies. Only recently in Herculenum 300 remains were found.

Pompeii was a large Roman City with an amphitheatre, large square, commercial buildings and public baths which are all visible and restored. There was even a “red light district!”

On the map (first photo) there is a blue dotted line, that is the route for wheelchair accessibility! What do you think James?  It is the top sidewalk that is supposed to be accessible!  We didn\’t see anyone in a wheelchair.

The tour guides would show the highlights of the City, we walked up and down the streets and found some interesting places.

Some of the larger houses covered one whole block, with ornate murals and mosaics.

MOSAICS

Some of the houses were only open at set times, some from 9:30 to 1:30 and others 1:30 to 5:30.

MURALS

EXAMPLES OF CEILING DECORATIONS

There was one house and garden that we could not enter in the morning, it was open in the afternoon as we were leaving and we were able to see the mosaics and gardens.

There were a few plaster casts on display of the people who could not escape the explosion.

However, one tour guide said that most of the wealthier people of the area were able to get away. Only the slaves, servants, and disabled people could not escape from the cataclysmic event.

As we were leaving we spotted the directions to the red light district of ancient Pompei and the advertising sign for the house.

This is a major archaeological site that is still undergoing excavations.  To put things into perspective, Vesuvius is rumbling, the last major eruption happened in 79 AD, there were approximately 16,000 to 20,000 people living in the area (including Herculaneum).  The photo below shows the area of modern day Pompei with a population of 25,400.  Although when this volcano erupts again, it could effect up to 3 million people, depending on the wind direction.

The temperature soared again by mid-morning, 35-38 degrees. We were melting, thank-goodness for Merino wool t.shirts – we don’t stink (too bad).

We stopped on our way back to the B&B for a late lunch and went back to the B&B for a cool shower.

I was able to change our return flights. Air Transat was really helpful. We couldn’t get on the week-end flights, our flight leaves on Monday August 6 and arrives in Montreal at 16:50.

We will spend a night in Dorval and then cycle home from Montreal. I checked for trains, but there are no bike trains after August 6. Ontario has been having a heat wave this summer, I hope it has cooled down a bit by the time we are cycling home.