Archive for ‘Down Time’

Over the years I’ve been responsible for a number of creations but I’ve never been this proud…

On the weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a Defensive Driver training program at Subaru. It had all of the tire-screeching excitement I was expecting, but it was the safety aspects of the course that had the greatest impact on me (excuse the pun). The one day program had well structured mix of practical experience focused on building skills combined with classroom sessions delivering a wealth of knowledge. Of the many startling facts, in the time it takes to complete the program 51 people will die on roads around the world.

You’ll come away with a new perspective on driving. It really was a worthwhile experience. You’ll find more information at www.murcotts.com.au.

After a little sleep in, we had breakfast that was supplied by the hotel. We decided to check out the local tourism office and participate in one of the walks along the cliff face to Monterosso. We were told that the walk from Vernazza to Monterosso was going to take 2 hours, so we thought that would be enough exercise. We started by catching the train from Manorolo bypassing Corneglia to Vernazza where we got off. Next we walked thru the town and onto the path to Monterosso. It wound around a tight little path that was nearly vertical in parts. It was quite hard going, as there was no made path, just dirt and mud in places caused by the rain the night before. The path made its way high up to the top of the cliffs overlooking the village. It took us about 11/2 hrs to complete and we were saturated with sweat by the end of it, but it was a fantastic walk and we got to see some amazing views. We arrived in Monterosso at lunchtime and settled on a cafe right on the beach. Monterosso is the biggest and most popular of the five fishing villages. We had a lovely lunch right on the beach and then walked down onto one of the public beaches. There are many private beaches covered in deck chairs, sun beds and umbrellas but you have to pay for them. We sat on the beach and admired the scenery, we even saw a large man sculptured out of rock on one of the cliff faces. Contemplating whether we should do another walk on the way home, we decided against it as it was already getting late in the afternoon and we didn’t have time to do another 2 hour walk. Instead we boarded the 1630 hrs train from Monterosso back to Manorolo.

Once back at Manorolo, we walked down to the waters edge to go for a swim, however the tide had changed and bought with it jellyfish. Instead we went back to the hotel for a shower before dinner.

For dinner we decided to go back to the same restaurant as the night before. Again we had the mussels, they were so good the night before that we couldn’t resist. We then had calamari and shrimps for the main meal and again the same bottle of red. Our luck must of changed as we ended up with a cheap meal. The restaurant forgot to charge us for the bottle of wine! Again we ended the night with a walk on top of the cliff that overlooked the village.

With no sleeping in we were off early to the train station. We were able to reserve our seats on the train in first class to Cinque Terra. On finding our seats in the carriage we were surprised to find a mother and daughter in them. With my best Italian translation I managed to convey to them that we had reserved seats and that they were sitting in them. Fortunately they were nice enough and gave us our seats by the window. The trip with one train transfer lasted 41/2 hrs and we finally arrived at Manorolo at about 1430 hrs. What a stunning view we were greeted with, the cliffs covered in little houses cascading into the sea. We had a short walk thru the tunnel that runs beside the train tracks and down a little street that was no wider than a driveway. We found our little hotel that was right on the little marina, hence the name ‘Marina Piccola’. We checked into our room that looked onto the marina, where there are fishing boats and people swimming, and rested for an hour. The heat was searing and we were so tired from the previous few days and changing trains we had to have a small break.

Late afternoon we decided to go for the 1km walk along the Via dell’Amore (Lovers’ Lane) from where we were staying at Manorolo to Riomaggiore. The views of the vines and olive trees on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea were breathtaking. We spent an hour in Riomaggiore looking at the small town whose houses were hanging over the cliffs. We walked to their local ‘beach’, not quite like we have in Australia – instead the sand has been replaced with rocks and pebbles. Even so, there were many people sunbaking on the hard ground. On our way back to Manorolo, we stopped on the pathway at a bar that was overhanging the ocean crashing underneath onto the rocks. The view was spectacular and we enjoyed a beer and glass of wine there. They even gave us some nibbles, and we ended up staying there for nearly an hour taking in the scenery. We were even lucky enough to get one of the drinks free as they charged us only $6 instead of $16. We made our way back to our little boutique hotel and had another little rest before dinner.

For dinner we decided to go to the little restaurant that is owned by the hotel and is right on the Marina. We kept seeing plates of mussels go past us, so we thought we had better have some as well. They were marinated in white wine and were delightful. We continued with the seafood theme and I had the seafood marinara and Matt had Penne with curried scampi. We washed the meal down with a rich bottle of Shiraz. Even though we were full, Matt ordered dessert. It was a sponge cake that had been drenched in a local liqueur. It was very nice but very potent! We finished the night off with a stroll around the cliff top overlooking the town, with the village lights shinning over the marina and onto the water.

We started the day much the same as yesterday. Still buggered from the day before, we started by catching the same tour bus this time to the Pantheon. This building is the oldest ruins in Rome, and it is probably the most well kept. We nearly got lost trying to find the place, dogging down small back streets to get to it, but we finally arrived. Spent about 45 mins taking photos of the old structure and the statues and paintings inside.

We walked all the way back to the Vatican, had an early lunch and decided whether or not to go on a tour of the Vatican. We decided to do it ourselves and in the boiling heat had to cover our arms and legs. It was sweltering waiting to get in through the x-ray equipment and then up into a queue for the Dome. At least this queue was only for about 1/2 hour and then realised it was because you had to walk up 350 stairs to the top. Once at the top we looked down into the inside of the Basilica. We were very high and looking down into the church we were able to see things differently. On the way out we saw the entrance to the Capulet. Little did we know that it was going to be another 100 or more steps up a very narrow and winding passageway. The views from the top were well worth the throbbing legs and not to mention the sweat pouring down our faces. We had a 360 deg view of Rome from a bird eye’s view. Coming down was fun – not only were we sore but now getting very dizzy from the tight winding staircase not to mention dehydrated.

Once down on ground level again, we came out into the Basilica. This is the biggest church in the world and it looked it. We spent the next hour in the depths of the church taking many photos of the famous sculptures inside while keeping cool. We then walked to the Vatican Museums where the Sistine Chapel is located. By this stage it was just after 3pm and we thought it may be closed. To our surprise it was still open but better still there was no queue! We were able to walk straight in. Walking around the Museums we saw many pieces of art ranging from marble and bronze sculptures and paintings. We found our way finally into the Sistine Chapel – not what I was expecting and saw Michaelangelo’s masterpiece. We weren’t able to take any photos so Matt thought he could sneak one as he did of David. Unfortunately he was busted but we didn’t get kicked out luckily. By the time we saw the Chapel and walked thru the maze to the exit we had had enough and it was time to go.

Last stop for the day was Palazzo Venezia, or what the American soldiers called “The Wedding Cake” as it is a massive white building with large pillars that really look like the top layer of a cake. We were able to spend about an hour there seeing the grave of the unknown soldier and looking at the view right across Rome before we were due on the last bus back to the train station.

We had two extremely busy days in Rome and by the end of these we were absolutely exhausted. Unfortunately we just didn’t have time to visit Pompeii as it would have taken a full day in itself just to get there and back. Maybe next time?