Amalfi Coast

It so happened that our ship was to be in Naples on George's birthday. I decided to buy for him a private tour of the Amalfi Coast. I booked it in advance with Sorrento Topcar. We were picked up at 8:30 AM at the port by Julia and taken on a wonderful tour of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.

 

The drive was magical. The Italian coastline is gorgeous and the small towns built into the mountains are lovely. Around every corner there was a beautiful view begging a stop to take pictures. It was heaven to have the luxury of a private driver who would stop whenever we wanted.

 

 

The day was just ever the bit foggy, but it seemed to lend to the feeling of mystical loveliness.

 

 

The road wove around every corner looking down on little fishing villages, small towns and trendy summer resorts and hotels.

 

 

 

 

Our first stop was Positano, a town very popular with the rich and famous for its unique clothing stores and boutique hotels. Small winding roads leading into the town make it inaccessible for big tour buses.

 

 

 

 

Then on to Amalfi, a much more crowded and busy town. Since the access to this town is wider it attracted many more buses filled with tourists. Here there are many more shops and restaurants. There is the Amalfi cathedral and the large central square.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there were lemons and Limoncello and just about everthing lemon everywhere for sale. The Amalfi Coast is famous for its lemons.

 

 

Like so many towns in Europe there was no lack of tiny winding streets lined with little shops selling everything from fruits and vegetables to souvineers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drive continued along along the breathtaking coast to Ravello.

 

 

 

Here we visited the beautiful Villa Rufolo, a lovely old Villa built in the 13th century by the wealthy Rufolo family. While the buildings are mostly in ruins they are a reminder of the affluence of times gone by. The gardens overlooking the Mediterranean Sea were lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 The ride back to the port took us past Pompei, a destination for another trip, and the city of Naples.

If I have any advice for the cruise traveler in this area, it would be to skip the cruise ship excursion and book a private trip with Sorrento Top car at http:sorrentotopcar.com/. The price was reasonable and the service was excellent. The personalized attention and access to areas unvisited by the big tour buses was priceless. This visit to Naples and the Amalfi Coast will be forever one of my favorite trips. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rome

This past October my husband, George and I, went on a Princess Mediterranean Cruise that took us to several destinations in Italy, Turkey, Croatia and Greece. The trip was wonderful. While cruising is not my favorite method of travel this may have been the ideal way to see the destinations we visited.
I am starting here with Rome, which was actually the last stop on our itinerary, but we stayed there for a few days after the cruise so we spent the most time there. I had spent some time in Rome maybe 35 years ago so I had many memories from the the past. I couldn't wait to return but I wasn't sure if the city would live up to my memories. After all, trip #1 and #2 in the 70's was taken by a young woman in her 20's traveling on a Eurorail pass with her younger sister. Our tour guide was Frommer's book, Europe on $5 Dollars a Day. We had a vague itinerary planned but it was adjusted daily according to our wim. We had all summer and little money but we made it work. This trip was taken by an older and more cautious woman with her husband. While my method of travel has changed, the Eternal City remains the same. Except for bigger crowds and higher price tags, very little has changed. The city is as beautiful as ever. I was so glad to be able to share it now with the one I love.

 While walking to the Vatican we came across a procession by Los Hermanos del Senor de los Milagros. The feast being celebrated originated in Lima,Peru but is celebrated worldwide.

 

 

 

 

The shrine was carried by a group of men followed by women wearing lace scarves and carrying incense burners. The faithful followed along occasionally stopping to pray. 

 

Of course there are those places in Rome you must visit and first among those is the Trevi Fountain.

 

                                                     Then there is the Pantheon,

 

and the Coloseum.

 

There was the Piazza Navonna,

 

 

a lovely view of the Tibre River,

 

and exploring the Roman Forum. 

 

 

And just like Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, I had to visit La Boca de Verita. I did this 35 years ago and did it again on this trip. I am so happy Roma is so much the same and probably will be so for many years to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A C Daycare and Orphanage

One of the real highlights of my trip to Tanzania was a visit to the A C Daycare and Orphanage Center. This is a very small operation near Lake Manyara managed by a local woman, Angela Chabai, who cares for  10 children. I probably would have never thought to visit here if it were not for my sister who went there several years ago. She started a tax exempt charity to support this little orphanage. The money from the charity goes toward food, clothing, medical expenses and the cost of sending the children to school.

On the day I visited 6 of the children were in school. I met four of the younger shildren and one of Angela's helpers, another Angela. It was amazing how cheerful the children were. They are grateful for anything they are given.

 The children sleep in simple bunk beds. They have very little clothes and belongings. Water is collected from the roof when it rains since there is no running water. But despite the hardships these children "shine" (in the words of Angela) because of the love of people who live thousands of miles away.

Here is the schoolroom where the very young children learn their letters and numbers.

It took Angela several minutes to find one small piece of chalk to show me something on the chalkboard. Being a teacher and thinking of all the resources in our classrooms, I was humbled by  the simplicity of their lives.
I am so proud of my sister. She loves Tanzania. She loves the animals but also feels a responsibity to help the people who live there. And she did something to help. With her help these children eat and are taken care of and go to school. If you want to learn more about her charity the website is www.ubuntuorphans.com.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is known for the many Baobab trees that dot the landscape there. The Tarangire River is a magnet for wildlife during the dry season. We however were there during the beginning of the rainy season. There were plenty of seasonal ponds and watering holes so the wildlife was spread far and wide over the park and hard to find. What we did see were giraffes and lots of elephants.

One minute we were enjoying a peaeceful encounter with friendly elephants and the next...

         We were being chased down the road by an angry bull elephant.

Being in Tarangire during the beginning of the rainy season may not have been the ideal time to be there, but we would have missed the bragging rights to some interesting stories, like...

             having to pull these Aussies out of the mud with a winch, or

being the last to leave the park before they closed the lodge due to the road being washed out.  Funny story... the other drivers had their passengers walk over the washed out area and meet the drivers on the other side. Not Frank, our adventurous driver told us to stay put and hang on while he slipped and slided through the mud trying to avoid the washed out road on the left. But we made it and I think being anywhere when the landscape is turning this gorgeous light green is worth the trip.

                                               Me overlooking the Tarangire River

        Next up ... my visit to the AC Daycare and Orphanage Center in Lake Manyara 

The Serengeti

You read about the Serengeti and see it in such movies as The Lion King but you can never be prepared for the reality of it. It is HUGE. It is miles and  miles and miles of uninterupted grassland. It is aptly named "the Sea of Grass." We explored it for several days and it took all day to drive across it. If the Ngorongoro is closed this is completely open and seemingly limitless. At times it seemed devoid of any wildlife and at others teeming with wildebeest and zebra.

Zebras, Wildebeest and Thompson's Gazelles gather here by the hundreds of thousands waiting to start the annual Great Migration which will take them to the Masai Mara in Kenya. The numbers  of animals that we saw for miles and miles for as far as the eye could see was incredible.

There always seemed to be a storm brewing somewhere off in the distance, but luckily we hardly encountered any rain.

Kopjes are called "Islands in a Sea of Grass." They rise up in the middle of the open plain and provide habitat for a wide range of plants, animals and birds.

 It was thrilling to ride in the truck searching the area knowing that at any minute anything could pop up. And it did.

              First a lion on the side of the road and right after about a half mile down the road...

a leopard in the tree. The tail hanging down was the only clue that he was there.

And birds, oh my, there were so many birds!

Ostriches

Kori Bustard

Von der Deckken's Hornbill

Black-Bellied Bustard

d'Arnaud's Barbet

Next up...the little known Tarangire National Park