OUR TRAVELS

A much-needed, well-chilled dry white wine in a lovely square off Las Ramblas, Barcelona prior to embarkation on the ferry to Civitavecchia – Rome’s port.

There’s not much positive I can say about our Grimaldi ferry crossing – except to say that it took us there safely, for which we are grateful, of course. Dreadfully disorganised, late leaving, even later arriving, it wasn’t a pleasant experience, causing us to make an unscheduled wild-camping overnight stop on our drive to Lago di Bracciano.

Rosanna and Claire, cooling off in the beautiful Lago di Bracciano.

Lake Bracciano is about an hour’s drive north of Rome – easy to get to from the port. It really is a lovely haven of tranquility. Who knew? I’ve always thought of ‘the lakes of Italy’ are those in the north; Lago di Garda, for example, as well as Lakes Como, Maggiori and others (in fact we are now in Verona, having spent a glorious time at Lake Garda), but no, there are more lakes in Italy and Bracciano is wonderful.

Pitch-perfect – Claire always is, of course, and here our camping pitch couldn’t have been bettered.

We were but a cork’s-pop away from the water, the ‘beach’ of which we had virtually to ourselves.

Another cork, popped – loving the life.

Claire, of course, had lessons to teach online and Rosanna had lessons to learn online as part of her assessments for her imminent GCSEs. Both agreed that teaching/learning in this location was far better than in a classroom! Apologies to teachers about to go back to school after the Summer Hols – we know we are incredibly lucky!

Whilst the lake is stunning, there’s not that much to do in the surrounding area and we knew we had to be at Toscana Campeggio, Montopoli, Tuscany for the beginning of July, so we left the lake and drove to one of the most famous parts of Italy. Toscana.

When we arrived our host, Wil, explained that there would be a delay in Claire singing. It seemed there was a problem with the lady who had the restaurant concession for the season, who wasn’t very (at all!) pro-active re business promotional ideas. Plus, we found that in fact, Wil, wasn’t really the autocratic manager we’d been led to believe, as he had a partner – the owners of the site. The start of some bad luck, as alluded to above.

The Euros were big at the time, so this caused a further delay, with Claire performing only once after about 10 days. However, we had a very important guest to welcome!

Christo – socially distanced and quarantined!

Wil told us that there was a new quarantine rule for arrivals from UK, so he kindly found us a posh cabin for Christo to stay for five days. We were able to eat with him, at a distance though, and unfortunately, he wasn’t able to watch the footy with us, nor attend Claire’s first performance!

Our lovely neighbour, Joan who’d flown in from New York to take residence in her bungalow, loved the gig so much she presented Claire with a beautiful display of flowers!

The performance was well attended, including our new friends: Joan, Kitch, Fleur, Robbie, Tony (Irish, remember him from earlier in the blog?), Alessandro, Wil and Derek, and well appreciated too!

Wil, Claire and I were trying to make another plan re her performances as the restaurant manager wasn’t really interested (why, we’ll never know). We hit upon the idea of a sort of fair, where local producers would bring their wares for people to taste, paying a small fee for entry, much in the French Marche Gourmand model, and to listen to Claire. There were some negotiations and arrangements to make between Wil, his partners and the local producers, but we were to discover that these weren’t as simple as they should have been.

Meanwhile, after quarantine, we wanted to take Rosanna and Christo to see a little more of the area – so Pisa was only a train journey away.

The Cathedral in Pisa next to the iconic tower!

Yes, there’s the leaning tower – but Pisa has lots more architectural beauty (that isn’t falling down!)!

This next photo is slightly out of order – please view after the next!!

Arriving at a beautiful, very professionally run campsite a short bus ride away from wonderful Siena!

Siena, is of course, a must-visit city in Tuscany and it proved to be every bit as magical as we’d anticipated.

The iconic Capella di Piazza – by night. Beautiful and atmospheric!

As you might have guessed, after all this sightseeing, and bearing in mind it had been a long time since – we decided to visit a winery, in fact just about 3km from the city. And, talking of ‘must-visit’ you really should add La Torre alle Tolfe to your bucket list!

Like a Chateau in France, or a Country House in the UK, Torre alle Tolfe is really beautiful!

There is an air of tranquillity which blends in so well with the surrounding area (the hamlet of Tolfe, the rolling vineyards, Cyprus trees and olive groves) and the immense history of the building which is gently staggering. With foundations built in the Etruscan period (that’s BC, guys!) one cannot help but be impressed.

We stayed in Campy, of course, but booked for breakfast in the hotel grounds, following a superb dinner the night before – which we enjoyed after our tour and tasting!

Add to this the charm of the current owner, Mania, who took us around the magnificent property; as well as that of Emily, who hosted our wine tasting; along with the quality of the wine they craft and the outstanding olive oil; their excellent restaurant; and their wonderful hotel – and you can understand how this may well equal paradise itself!

*Please note that La Torre alle Tolfe features in my www.valleyfm.es Wine Show this Saturday 4th September 12 – 13:00hrs (CET). Please also note their Autumn Olive Oil harvesting and tasting event, whose details you can find here: https://www.latorrealletolfe.com/

Unfortunately, Rosanna and Christopher had to return to the UK – Rosanna had a summer job to go to (her promised resto job in the campsite hadn’t worked out either!), making and serving ice creams, and Christo had to return to his studies (he’s one term away from completing his Masters Degree in Sports Journalism). There’s an airport at Pisa and, unknown to me really, a beach area too. So, it seemed that a couple of days there before their flight would be perfect.

Well, it wasn’t! To put it simply, our experience at the campsite at Lido di Pisa convinced us that: a) we prefer out of season camping on our travels; and b) we want to avoid seaside locations in Summer!

When the kids flew out, Rosanna having been with us since April, we were a little lost to start with, but our wedding anniversary was coming up soon, so we had something to celebrate.

Sometimes referred to as ‘Little Venice’, there is a beautiful area in Livorno, close to coastal Pisa, where there are a number of interconnecting canals.

We enjoyed watching some of the boats travelling out to the Med and back into the harbour, as well as having a lovely anniversary lunch in one of the canal-side restaurants, with a local white wine to boot!

A delightful day in Livorno!
Our lunch restaurant was just behind Claire’s left shoulder!

A little down as we were missing the kids, there wasn’t great news to come back to after our visit either. Phone messages and calls with Toscana Village Camping indicated to us that it was going to be a waste of time returning. The promise of Claire singing for the season wasn’t going to be delivered, which was disappointing, as well as something of a financial blow. However, we saw it as a sign – we obviously needed to move on.

The northern lakes of Italy weren’t that far away, it would be slightly cooler and an area that we’d intended to visit anyway. Claire wrote to a few campsites around the southwestern area of Lake Garda – short notice of course, but might they be interested in a couple of performances a week, in exchange for a free of charge pitch?

We packed up and left Pisa’s beaches (probably never to return!) and drove towards the mountains. Over night we received a reply – yes, please come and sing one night at the campsite where we can offer you a pitch, free of charge, and another night at our other site (a short Scoots ride away)! Brilliant – our good luck was bouncing back!

“Early morning yesterday, I was up before the dawn, Well I really have enjoyed my stay (not that much actually!), but I must be moving on!”

Well, that concludes Part Thirteen of our blog – we hope you enjoyed ‘travelling’ with us, and that you’ll be interested in catching up with us again very soon. As always, all comments are most welcome – please keep in touch this way! Best to e-mail: colinharkness53@gmail.com

Ciao for now!

OUR TRAVELS

Part 12

So much water has passed under the bridge since my last post in May – water: that’s the Med, underneath the plane as I flew to Valencia; the Med again, this time under the ferry from Barcelona returning to Italy; also in the wonderful Lake Bracciano, just north of Rome, having disembarked from the ferry; the Med again at Marina di Pisa where we spent a few less than memorable days before and after Rosanna and Christo returned to quarantine in the UK; the stream that runs alongside our current campsite making its way into the Lago di Garda; and indeed that magnificent lake itself, where we are now.

Yep, that’s lotsa water under the bridge, and many stories too. I’ll make it quick (ish – you know me!).

May – my pre-birthday! Unknown to us at the time, it was the day before I left Italy to return to Moraira, Spain, for my Covid vaccinations!
Rosanna and Claire are always telling me I need to pay more attention to lighting, background etc when taking photos! This was my Birthday late lunch/dinner, cooked as ever by our Paella Queen, Claire, aided and abetted by Rosanna, who was responsible for the balloons etc! A lovely Birthday, though missing Christo, of course.

I don’t remember the exact timing now, but I think this was the Saturday, having received news just the day before that I was required for my vaccination on the following Thursday, in Denia! Good notice, except that the weekend was included in the number of days I had to: have a negative (hopefully) PCR test (which had to be written in English or Spanish as well as in Italian), somewhere in Rome; book a flight; and ask if somebody could collect me from Valencia airport.

It seemed that all was lost when, having booked a flight, the test result would not be available until a few hours after the flight had taken off. A series of calls to the Spanish Consulate, the airport and Ryanair couldn’t resolve the problem. However, the PCR test centre could! They were very kind in pulling out all the stops giving me my result on the Monday three hours before my flight. Campsite reception were great, calling me an urgent taxi – and, sweating away, I arrived in time for the flight! Phew – stress or what!

Mary and John at The Food Bar, Moraira, my treat as they had so kindly collected me from Valencia and given me a bed for a couple of nights too!

A call from Rome airport must have given our great friend, John, rather a shock. Typically, he said he’d be happy to collect me from the airport – what time was I arriving!

I had a super time with Mary and John, chatting about all of our travelling and I even had the chance to see them playing bowls. Thanks guys – see you again, sometime!

I’d been invited many times to stay with more great friends, Ros and Mick, who picked me up in Moraira after Mary had dropped me off a couple of days later.

Once this had chilled down we really enjoyed it at their stunning finca, where I would be based until Claire and Rosanna came in Campy (by ferry from Roma to Barça), gambling on the hope that during the time they were in Spain, waiting for me to have my second jab, Claire would be called for hers!

My actual birthday arrived and we went to a fabulous beach bar/resto on the coast (can’t quite remember its name!), with other friends also. A great lunch in wonderful weather.

Everybody who knows Ros and Mick will know that they are the most genial and generous of hosts so it’s no surprise that I had an absolute whale of a time with them, lunching out and in, with and without other friends, dining and chilling. I even had an absorbing chat with Juan (I think) the guy and his team who have been pruning their vines for years, discovering that he is in fact a renowned vine growing consultant and biologist who consults/has consulted on many of the wine making projects of which I’ve written, working with many of the winemakers whom I know!

One evening, another great friend had been invited to dinner, Jody – and her ace dog Rico, seen here on Mick’s perfectly trimmed lawn!

Rico, in let’s play mode!

I was in the chair, cooking wise, so had to leave the table a few times – I checked the wine levels each time before leaving, of course, Jody is a keen wine girl and knows her stuff. She’d brought some fine wines, I’d provided a couple too – I wasn’t going to miss out on those, you have to watch that Mick bloke!

When I returned once there must have been a discussion in my absence – Jody offered to host Campy with the three of us on her land outside her also beautiful finca, between Javea and Benitachell! I was overcome by her generosity, as I’d been firstly with Mary and John, then Ros and Mick – we are so lucky to have such amazing friends. Thank you!

We stayed for a few weeks, I had my second jab, Claire had her two. We went out and about (twas lovely to be back in Spain for a while) and we had some great BBQs and a Paella, of course – all with brilliant wines. Two below were sent by my friends at Celler Alimara, the one on the left an ‘Orange’ wine (skin contact white wine).

Two friends of Jody’s came to stay as well – all wine and food lovers so we had a ball. Including visiting two local wineries – the home of M de Alejandria, below for example, as well as the now world-famous Pepe Mendoza Casa Agricola, in Llíber/Jalón.

The most delicious dessert wine, M de Alejandria – and friends!

You’ll notice the lovely Rosanna here too, all growed up! Well, Rosanna had been studying for her GCSEs online in the UK, having left Lady Elizabeth School at the end of Year 10. All was working out well (as I write we await her results – they’ll be great, I’m sure), but the only drawback was that she wouldn’t be having a Prom Night like all her old pals at school. However, Jody and friends made sure that she wouldn’t miss out!

Rosanna’s Prom Night – courtesy of Jody and Pals!

There was bunting, balloons, music, bowties and fizz! Really kind of them all – they’d all had a Prom Night (not that many years ago!) and knew what Rosanna would be missing!

Also, we were delighted that Rosanna was able to see her great friend, Tim (seen with us on the final photo) a number of times during our time there.

The night before we left Spain to resume our travels (and to meet up eventually with Christo, later in Tuscany), we went out to dinner with Ros and Mick. Another great night, with great friends!

The last supper, for a while!

So, that was Part 12 – not full of lots of photos of our travels abroad, rather just a catch-up bringing us back to Italy, where our great adventure continues.

Part 13 (and it certainly wasn’t unlucky!) comes soon – watch this space!

NB As always – all comments etc are most welcome. Please send to colinharkness53@gmail.com

OUR TRAVELS

PART ELEVEN

Hello again and welcome to Part Eleven of our Travels. Regular readers will know that I’ve done a sterling job in fast-forwarding this blog to the present time! Well, not quite, but I was nearly there as Part Ten below suggests. However, the nature of this travel lark is that there is always something happening. For example, I’m writing this in Benimarco, Valencia, Spain, whilst staying at our great friends, Ros and Mick’s wonderful finca! Long story – but that’s a story for a later date!

Part Eleven is about the, roughly, second half of our long stay in Paestum, which we absolutely loved and to which we will return – in fact on our way down to Sicilia later in the year. Told you, there’s always something happening, about to happen or going to happen at some time!

The greatest part of a fantastic time in the ancient, once Greek owned, part of Campania, was the arrival of our daughter, Rosanna! She’d been working like mad on her GCSEs in the UK with her Papa and Stepmum, under the strict lockdown regime near York. She needed a break, in the sunshine – and we needed to see her, having last set eyes on her at the end of December! So, with Covid 19 PCR test, negative of course, and lots of other papers she left from Stanstead mid-April. We left our beachside camping site in Paestum the night before we collected her, returning to Pompei for the night, and thence to Napoli, whose airport was perfect for us.

Remember, Campi is 7.4 metres long – were we going to be able to park her, if so where? Clueless, the internet was no help, we arrived in good time and approached the Arrivals area, whereupon a huge soldier, machine gun at the ready, with his colleague, similarly scary and armed, looking on. I smiled, but could he see behind my mask? No worries, Claire’s infinite charm disarmed the guy completely and he pointed (not with his gun) us to a parking area. Phew – and then we found to our further delight, a cafe which was allowed to be open!

We weren’t allowed in the airport, despite our being best mates now with the army, several others of whom were constantly patrolling, so we messaged Rosanna to simply exit when she could, and join us for a coffee! It was wonderful to see her again, looking so lovely, smiley, confident and all ‘growed up’! Now, I’m from the north and we don’t do gushing emotion, but . . . . .

It was quite a long drive in one go back to Paestum, but it took us past Vesuvio and the Bay of Napoli, which weren’t bad for Rosanna’s first sights of this area, the furthest south she’s been in Italy. An early night after dinner, wine (ok not so much for Ro, but we belong to the French school of thought re bringing up youngsters with a healthy respect for alcohol, so she often has a taste) and lots of chatting. The next day – her first Beach Bonfire BBQ (almost the perfect alliteration)!

Sausages with a difference, meaty with fennel seeds as well!

But, I’m running away with myself – I need to step back a little to April 2021 BR (before Rosanna!), in other words a week or so before she came. In fact to another of the loves of my life – a winery visit (known in Italian as a Cantina, a word that doesn’t seem to have the same cachet as bodega/chateau/domaine, even winery).

This beautiful ‘candelabra’ descends from the ceiling allowing visitors to select a glass for tastings at
I Vini del Cavaliere, Capaccio, Campania. (www.vinicuomo.com)

Catarina was most welcoming when Claire and I arrived on Scoots at their lovely boutique cantina (winery – pay attention, willya!), I Vini del Cavaliere, in Capaccio, 15 mins away from our campsite. As you know, it’s not my intention to quote chapter and verse about all the wineries and wines that we experience on our travels in this blog. Wine is a big passion of mine, Claire’s too, so it’s bound to be a part of our travels – but not all readers share the passion (indeed, some might say obsession!).

For further details of the visits, wines etc please refer the Colin Harkness Wine Review on Video (posted on Facebook Colin Harkness); Twitter (@colinonwine); Instagram (colinharkness53); my monthly Wine Show www.valleyfm.es 12:00 – 13:00 hrs, first Saturday of every month *[next Wine Show Sat 5th June]); as well as my regular posts on the above platforms. This of course also applies to our visit to I Vini del Cavaliere and the glorious wines tasted there, and later back at Campy.

That said, a word about them would not go amiss – we loved our time there, Catarina and Giovanni were such genial hosts and, perhaps needless to say, their wines were outstanding. Plus, they are now open again for visits – which really is a must-do when in Campania (where, of course, you’ll find, only a few kilometres further north of Capaccio, the fabulous Amalfi Coast)! You can contact them here www.vinicuomo.com.

Now back to April 2021 ARA (After Rosanna Arrived!) – we showed her the magnificent Greek Temples in Paestum (photo in Part Ten, below), of course, and we were all delighted to visit a buffalo farm just around the corner from our campsite, where we bought and really enjoyed, some of their delicious fresh Mozzarella cheese and some of their hard cheese too.

We also took the train to Napoli – my strong advice: don’t ever drive in Naples! Three on a scooter, helmets optional, was common. Once or twice four, including one time when it was presumably, Mum, Dad and two kids, one of whom had a helmet on! Also there don’t seem to be any rules, re stopping at lights, coming out of a side road, going around a roundabout and so on. It’s a free-for-all, with horns blowing, fists waving, shouting and muttering, plus, unsurprisingly, the sound of ambulance sirens and the occasional police siren too!

The peace of the railway station before the storm of Naples!
A lion (on the right!) guarding the Cathedral of Naples – sadly closed!

Now, as promised – Col takes up a new hobby!

My brother, Al, was, is and always be better than me at all sports! Simple fact of life, though it wasn’t so easy to accept when we were younger. I did ok in sports in the end and I’m sure that reaching the standard I did was mostly the result of trying my best to beat him at everything, losing always, but learning as did so. Of course, this is my opinion now – I wasn’t so sanguine, so relaxed back in the day.

Let me introduce you to Rodney! He and I will bee reeling them in soon!

So, I decided to take up fishing – Al didn’t fish, so I wouldn’t be hammered by him catching more than me etc. I’m quite sure that if he had taken it up, he would have battered me (pun intended!). However, there wasn’t enough movement for me, it wasn’t a game so I stopped, returning to the badminton court, golf course, tennis court, swimming pool and so on, for the inevitable defeat. Playing in the same footy team was a delight, we were on the same side (guess who scored most goals though!), so too was our doubles pairing in badminton – same reason.

However, the fishing ‘bug’ has perhaps always been part of me, though dormant, until we set off on our travels. As we are often parked in campsites next to the sea, and as you know we sometimes have BBBBQs, it seemed to me that catching our own lunch/dinner would be pretty cool! I mooted the thought to Claire, who was all for it – and promptly bought me Rodney, tackle and stuff!

OK, so Claire was all for me fishing, she quite fancied a sea bream or two BBQd, washed down with a good glass of white Italian wine – but she wasn’t too keen on worms! Here she is carrying the bucket containing the bait!

Needless to say – I caught ‘nowt’ on my first attempts (Al would have caught a dozen no doubt!), but I know that the fish in Italy will be trembling once again soon!

Photo courtesy of Rosanna!

We weren’t sure how long Rosanna would be able to stay, so we wanted her to see a few more of the many wonderful sights in this part of Italy. We decided to go to Pompei for a short while, thence to Roma!

Claire and Rosanna in the Forum of the ruins of Pompei. If you haven’t been to see this ancient town, obliterated as it was in AD 79 when Vesuvio (in the background) erupted, you really must!

Those who’ve been know that Pompei is something else. One cannot imagine the anguish, suffering etc of the poor people, and their animals, who lived in this bustling Roman town. The speed with which the town was covered, firstly in ash, and then in the rivers of lava is something of Hollywood epic proportions – except that this was real!

Part of the ruined city of Pompei, just as it was on that fateful day.

We were all taken aback, particularly when we witnessed the bodies of some of the unfortunates, killed where they were, caught in exactly the same position too. Awe inspiring, eerie, moving and mysterious.

Fast food joint, as was, AD79! Complete with amforae where the food would have been kept warm, and in the background amforae for supplies – oil, wine, water and more.

However – and I’ll be in trouble for writing this – it wasn’t just Pompei’s ruins that took Rosanna’s breath away. Giuseppe, the cool, young Italian guy from whom we hired the audio equipment more than caught her eye! Like all dads and steppies, this is something I’m going to have to get used to!

Well, that’s Part Eleven completed – hope you enjoyed the catch-up. All comments welcome, but please e-mail them to colinharkness53@gmail.com, or post on Facebook, Colin Harkness, Twitter @colinonwine, Instagram colinharkness53.

Ciao/Adios!

OUR TRAVELS

One of the three amazing Greek Temples – in Paestum, Italy!

PART TEN

A great thing about our travels is the flexibility – we have a plan, sometimes we stick to it, we often adapt it and sometimes we change it completely. Our leaving Manfredonia (see Part Nine) was just such an occasion.

We’d planned to go to Gallipoli, further down the Adriatic and in the ‘heel’ of the boot of Italy. We’d read that there was quite a lot to see, the town was interesting and that there was at least one campsite open during the Winter. However, second thoughts, for a number of reasons (though mostly because it would be a particularly long drive to Sicilia which we wanted to visit. to see what it would be like for next Winter) decided us to go back across Italy to the Med coast once again, though further south than we’d been before. We ventured beyond Napoli, land of the original Pizzas!

I’d never heard of Paestum – once run by the Greeks, whose presence we were to find out is marked by three of the best-preserved temples anywhere – but it was on the way to Sicilia, sort of, and hopefully a little warmer.

The thrill of dining out – the only diners in the campsite restaurant, our table by the glorious open wood burning fire!

Well, it was warmer – but not at night time!

Camping Villaggio Dei Pini is right on the beach at Capaccio Paestum and it was such a wonderful location we stayed for about 4 or 5 weeks – so this is the first of two blogs about our time there. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, the owner, a touch stern-faced, to be honest, took our details, as well as our temperatures, and told us we could choose any available pitch.

There were three only taken and the one that we really fancied was free – bingo, we were set up in a short time and went straight the beach, but a few metres away! Idyllic just about sums it up!

In the distance, the Amalfi Coast, seen from our deserted beach!
Sunset, same beach, different angle, showing the beautiful Isle of Capri!

The following day we went to retrieve our passports from the office where we met the great young guy, Daniel, who became our friend in no time! Speaking German, Italian, English and Spanish – he’s worth his weight in gold at Villaggio Dei Pini, for that reason alone. However, that’s not all that makes him such a great guy to have at reception – he’s so friendly and willing to help. Add to this that he is a musician, playing the guitar, as well as an ex-professional footballer (having played pro footy in Uraguay, Italy and Switzerland!) and a lover all natural foods and, wait for it – wine!

He’s half German, half Uruguayan and his lovely wife is Italian – their sweet little girl, Celeste, therefore a mixture of the lot! And – when we arrived, Ana was over 8 months pregnant, so a small family about to become a little larger!

Clockwise – Claire, Celeste, Ana, Daniel, Fri and Lalla!
Bringing Paella to the land of Risotto – a small Paella Party, chez nous!

Also, we were delighted to meet Fri (pronounced Free) and Lalla – fellow travellers staying on the campsite, who were such good fun, with Fri another guitarist!

We all hit it off perfectly – one of the greatest pleasures of camping!

Claire and I were also invited to Daniel, Ana, and Celeste’s nearby apartment where we watched Daniel make homemade fresh pasta, also using Ana’s mother’s home grown and pressed tomato sauce and home grown and pressed olive oil. We chatted and played with Celeste and had a lovely time. One highlight was when I told our new friends that Claire is an Classical/Opera singer – and, I managed to convince her that she should give a little ‘taste’ of her wonderful singing.

Celeste, following the conversation, but probably expecting just a little sing song, was looking at Claire when she started on an opera aria, from memory, and seeing the little girl’s jaw drop with her eyes wide in astonishment, was priceless! Indeed, so moved was she, that she asked to leave the table and dance with beautiful balletic movement, following her year or so of ballet dancing classes. What a wonderful night!

It’s a man-thing!

Another great benefit of ‘our’ beach was the fact that, although deserted of people, there was a good amount of driftwood. This, coupled with the fact that the campsite had plenty of Pine Trees (it’s in the name!), spelt Beach Bonfire BBQ to me!

This was our first – we had several. The weather great, the wine good and the food, well my usual 5o shades of black!

We went to see the amazing temples, though Covid restrictions stopped us from visiting, but they are plainly, magnificently visible from the road. We also went to the nearby town of Agropoli on Scoots, which enabled us to climb the narrow and steep road to the deserted, but well preserved medieval castle, where we were enchanted by the occupied dwellings which surround it, many of them built at the same time!

So, we were lucky yet again – and there’s more: (don’t miss Part Eleven, where I take up a new hobby; we, inevitably, I guess, visit a winery; and when our lovely daughter Rosanna comes out to play!)

Thanks for reading!