Friday, 1 June 2007

When in Rome... and Santorini, Naples and Pompei...

Hey from Rome. It's our last day here, we are heading to Cinque Terre this afternoon. Rome is a bit smellier and dirtier than I expected but you can't beat the history. And at least you are allowed to flush your toilet paper here though (unlike Greece).


Here's John on Perissa beach in Santorini. We didn't have the best weather here - it rained on our first day which was disappointing as all we had on our itinerary was to lie on the beach. Our last day fined up though so we did fit in a bit of sunbathing.
A donkey on the side of the road in Santorini.
The volcanic cliffs in Santorini are quite spectacular. This is the red beach (Perissa is the black beach).
Hee hee. We loved Stalky so much that we hired out another scooter (Phoony - Typhoon) to explore the island. The caldera that formed when the volcano erupted and the middle of the island sank is in the background.
Sunset in Oia, Santorini.
And from the Greek Islands to Rome! The flight was VERY bumpy (but still not as bad as landing in Wellington). This is one of the arches at the entrance to the Forum.
Ah naive tourists... we got ripped off by these "gladiators" after posing for this photo in front of the Colosseum. "10 euros please!"
John on the road to the Colosseum.
The Trevi fountain.
MC at the Trevi Fountain. We also saw it at night where MC threw a coin in to ensure her return to Roma. Guess stingy John won't be back in Rome then.

We climbed the 551 steps to the cupola of St Peters. The view from the top was awwwsome (to quote the many American accents at our hostel). The mosaics around the wall up there were incredible.
The ceiling in the Vatican was even more impressive.
Via Giulio in Rome. The arch with all the ivy hanging off it was designed by Michaelangelo.
We were hit by two massive downpours while in Rome. At the Pantheon above (we had to shelter in a Pizzeria) and also while in the queue for the Vatican. Luckily the ever-present African halkers seemed to appear almost immediately selling their umbrellas to unfortunate saturated tourists like us.
View of the Forum.
The best pizza John has ever had (and cheap too) in Naples (the home of pizza).
We went on a daytrip to Pompei. Here's John in front of some excavations. We wanted to climb to the crater of Mt Vesuvius after Pompei but unfortunately it was shut (not quite sure why).
And the old main street of Pompei.
John with St Peters in the background.
The view of St Peters square from the top of St Peters Basilica.
An old Norman castle in Naples. Spectacular view of the sparkling Bay of Naples.
Naples from the castle entrance.
Palazzo Reale in Naples.
The Bay of Naples.
Another old castle in Naples.





8 comments:

Anonymous said...

phoony eh? stalky and phoony. who's next? i reckon...um...how bout a tickler and u could name it tickly. so start hunting for a tickler...thats your main priority now. none of this galavanting around exploring the world...keep your eyes on the prize guys. jake arrives today! been 6wks!!! phew! we're having lunch out tomorrow at the place we might get married...hahaha. poor jake :) over and out.

Anonymous said...

Can't believe we are still getting hassled about our blog. It was a year ago, let it go.

Anonymous said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MC!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday Marie-Claire!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday MC (Sorry we're a bit late!)

Hope you had great day.

scottandhannah said...

Does giving you a present in advance make up for being several days late saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY?! Sorry MC hope you had a fab day!

marie-claire and john said...

So we had a bit of a mishap with the camera - it's broken...
might buy a new one here (vienna) cos at the mo only have john's phone which we can't post photos with.
anyway, had fun in cinque terre, florence and venice and will try update soon.
ps thanks for the bday wishes!

scottandhannah said...

oh god what a nuisance! i'd be lost without my camera. scott's parents arrive in london this evening so i get to play tour guide tomorrow yay! curious about vienna - is it worth a visit?