Erice Village in the Sky and the Clouds

Greg’s Italy the web site

I read a book several years back that described this ancient villiage high up on the coast overlooking Trapani and the salt flats. I was intrgued by the description of the fog rollsing in on a reguar basis. I did ot have to wait long. It flowed through the town and then left as the sun came back out. It is well worth the visit.

The book
Dreaming of Sicily ~ A Travel Memoir by Betsy Vincent Hoffman and Kathleen Citrolo Gwinnett | Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC, is available as a Kindle Edition.

HERE IS A VIDEO TOUR OF ERICE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISssEjWkMag

A quiet setting in our hotel.

The bell tower in Erice was built in 1315 and is a separate building from the Chiesa Matrice.

March 11, 2020 0

Italy’s Travel Restrictions, What Does It Mean?

The blog The Points Guys starts out there post with a line from the Kenny Rogers song

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run”

With all the headlines it is difficult to figure out what is happening and what to do for your international trip planning. Yesterday I said I was canceling my trip to Spain for the Camino de Santiago. My age group is more susceptible to flu and coronavirus. For detailed and good non panic advice on Italy I always go to my favorite Italy Blog. An American in Rome by Natalie. To quote her blog “-If you are a citizen of another country and not a resident of Italy, you can freely leave the country. You are not “stuck” here. Just be prepared for screenings at the airport departure and requests to self isolate when you return home.”

This is the link to her blog

https://anamericaninrome.com/wp/2020/03/thank-you-for-thinking-of-us-italy-on-lockdown/

I have followed her advice for many years, she even directed my wife to a great hairdresser in Rome when we were traveling to Italy for two months. Check it out.

Another useful source of information it the blog The Points Guys. Normally they guide people through maximizing the points value of credit cards but todays posts include canceling trips because of the concerns for Coronavirus.

Here is the link to their post of today”

https://thepointsguy.com/news/cancel-trip-coronavirus/

There is a lot going on out there. As a trips draws close check on what you can and can not cancel or change. As the situation becomes critical, carriers and hotels may be more amenable to allowing changes on flights and stays.Keep checking the US Govt Sites for CDC and the US Dept of State Travel Advisories

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

Line outside Starbucks in September 2019. Before the need to keep 1 meter apart rule.

Photo Greg Speck , 2019

La Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in September.

Photo Greg Speck 2019

La Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II yesterday

Photo NY Times, Getty Images, France-Presse

March 10, 2020 0

BREAKING NEWS,

JUST IN FROM WASHINGTON POST

WAITING FOR MORE DETAILS

March 9, 2020 1

Stay or Go?? Travel in the Time of Coronavirus

When we were on our month long trip to northern Italy in September, my good friend invited me to join him and his son on the last leg of the Camino de Santiago from Sarria to Santiago de Campostela Spain. After seeing the move The Way, is had been on my bucket list. I asked my wife if it was ok and when she said yes, I brooked my ticket to Barcelona (bargain fare of %436 US on AA).

I began walking with a 14 lb back pack to get my 77 year old body back in shape. Having done a lot of cycling it did not take long. Our goal was only 12-15 miles per day. Everything was going smoothly until the news of the Corona Virus started to make the headlines. At first I dismissed it as a problem for me as it was not in Spain and I was not going to stop at any other airport outside of Spain.

Then came the headlines, and the CDC advisory cautioning people to consider the ramificatons of travel during the time of Corona.

It was a hard decision but I have decided to cancel my trip and hope to do it next year when things should be a more under control and vaccines “might” ve developed.

My decision was based on how it would effect me and my wife. I am sure many others out there will have to make the same decisions and I wish you all luck.

I look forward to doing it next year possibly combining it with a week or two in Italy

Unless American Airlines allows me to cancel the money bill be lost, but I can sleep at night.

From Bloomberg News

Spain Mulls Emergency Steps as Coronavirus Cases Almost Double
ByCharlie Devereux
March 9, 2020, 8:04 AM EDT Updated on March 9, 2020, 9:13 AM EDT

Pedestrians wear masks in the subway in Madrid.

We’re tracking the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response. Sign up here for our daily newsletter on what you need to know.

Spain is considering drastic action to contain the spread of the coronavirus after the number of cases almost doubled overnight.

Authorities are responding to a worrying acceleration of cases, which jumped to 999 on Monday from 589 on March 8, with the outbreak focused on Madrid and the Basque country, an industrial hub.

The health ministry is locked in an emergency meeting with the Madrid regional government to try and get to the bottom of why there’s been a sudden spike and a government official said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is aiming to present a package of measures at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday

March 9, 2020 5

PHOTOS FROM THE SOUTH EAST COAST OF ITALY

I always love to view some of my older photos of Italy. My library has about 20,000 photos covering 1998 to 2019.

Castello Aragonese on the island of Ischia off the coast of Napoli

Ischia Island

The real taste of buffalo mozarella , shop in Ischia

Procida, between. Napoli and Ischia

Trani

La cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta (cattedrale di Trani)

A trulli in Albrobello

The castle like roofs of the trulis

Many things come together and these photos bring back many wonderful memories of our travels.

February 19, 2020 1

Vicenza

Vicenza is one of those places that does not get enough credit. My first visit was in 2018 on a bike tour. I enjoyed it but was only there for 18 hours and then back on the bike. As we left our hotel and walked into the center of town we came upon this picturesque scene. Ponte San Paolo crosses into the main part of Vicenza.My next visit was in October 2019 with great weather and no crowds.

The town is filled with many interesting sights

Piazza sei Signori offers sights, shopping and dining.

As night fell we found this wonderful portico. It was worth coming back in the morning.

The Duomo of Vicenza.

My wife wanted to attend service and we just made the mass time.

Corso Andrea Palladio

Palazzo Chiericati houses a collection of art from thirteenth to twentieth centuries. Salvator Dali’s Statue stands in front.

Dali’s Sculpture

The Teatro Olympico was the last work by the architect Andrea Palladio. His works are all through the city. I was not completed until after his death. The painted scenery gives the incredible illusion of depth.

FROM WIKIPEDIA Andrea Palladio

Born 30 November 1508
Padua, Republic of Venice
Died 19 August 1580 (aged 71)
Maser, near Treviso, Republic of Venice
Nationality Italian[1]
Occupation Architect

Buildings
Villa Barbaro
Villa Capra “La Rotonda”
Basilica Palladiana
Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
Il Redentore
Teatro Olimpico
Projects
I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura(The Four Books of Architecture)
Andrea Palladio (/pəˈlɑːdioʊ/ pə-LAH-dee-oh, Italian: [anˈdrɛːa palˈlaːdjo]; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius,[2] is widely considered to be one of the most influential individuals in the history of architecture. While he designed churches and palaces, he was best known for country houses and villas. His teachings, summarized in the architectural treatise, The Four Books of Architecture, gained him wide recognition.[3]The city of Vicenza, with its 23 buildings designed by Palladio, and 24 Palladian villas of the Veneto are listed by UNESCO as part of a World Heritage Site named City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto.[4] The churches of Palladio are to be found within the “Venice and its Lagoon” UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The view straight on brings you to the rear and a manner so realistic it looks like a real building.

From Wikipedia “Since 1994, the Teatro Olimpico, together with other Palladian buildings in and around Vicenza, has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto.”

Quick video of the Olympic Theater in Vicenza. Italy

There is a lot to see in Vicenza, Take a look on Google for more ideas. It is a pedestrian friendly city. Be careful to read the signs for traffic limitations, you may receive a ticket if you miss the signs to stay out of a certain street.

Public transportation is good. A number of US service men and their families come to town with our base close by.

January 30, 2020 0

TUSCANY BY BIKE Photos from a great trip.

Last post of 2019, I was off line while transferring all my photos to a new computer and should be doing posts on a far regular basis in 2020, Buon anno a tutti

To really see this ups and downs of Tuscany, do it on a bicycle. Above View from Piazelle de Michelangelo view of Florence

Always stunning views.

There were a lot of hills on this ride, but everyone finished.

Monteriggioni

Easy riding through towns.

Terre del Mangia, Siena

October brought fall colors to the region

Land of Chianti

A nice days ride, GPS track from San Gimignano to Siena

Brunello one fantastic Italian red wine

I was riding by a grove of olive trees when a gentleman offered to take my photo.

Beautiful Cypress trees line the roads into this BnB in Tuscany.

The freshest tomatoes are from Italy.

Last day it rained in Pienza, but the ride was over.

January 3, 2020 2

My Favorite Streets In Rome

This year we returned to Rome for eight wonderful nights. In 2017 we were in Rome for two weeks, and enjoyed becoming familiar with the city. It was no longer intimidating. On our last visit we stayed in an Airbnb on Via Dei Bianchi Vecchi. It was a great location to walk to many of Romes’s attractions. This year we found an Airbnb that did not have 67 steps to climb to the second floor. It was located on Via Cappellari about 200 feet from the Campo Dei Fiori.

From our location which was “Via dei Cappellari, 124 primo piano” we were able to walk to the following sights.

Chiesa Dei Santa Barbara Dei Librari

Chiesa Dei Santa Barbara Dei Librari Interior

Well worth the visit, small and beauitiful

Campo dei Fiori

The Campo dei Fiori is a great place to wanter and view the sights night and day. Surrounded by restaurants and shops, it transforms from a daytime tent city to vendors selling everything from fruits and vegetables to clothing and other items to a huge area wandering people.

Stalls and shops at the Campo

St Peters is about 10 min from the area. Walk down Corso Vittorio Emanuele and cross of the bridge by Castel Sant’Angelo and make a slight left and you will see it ahead.

St Peter from the dome

St Peters Interior

On to lunch in Trastevere

The chiesa of Santa Maria in Trastevere was another short walk

Always a wedding seven days a week

Crossing the bridge headed back to our Airbnb a beautiful view of St Peters in the distance

December 16, 2019 0

T-Mobile in Italy and USA

NAVIGATING USING MY IPHONE AND T-MOBILE

For my last two trips to Italy I have purchased a TIM SIM card from their web site and brought the printed voucher to a TIM store in Italy. In both cases all went well at the stores and in about 10 minutes my phone was up and running in about 10 minutes. Cell service with TIM was excellent and never had problems. The plan allowed 15 Gig data and 200 min of cell service. For some reason the cell minutes seemed to disappear quickly. The cost was 25 Euros (Now 20 Euros) and it was good for 30 days.

Down side was you got a new local phone number (Italian 39 country code), The plan is not renewable. 15 Gig of data can go fairly quickly if you do not have access to Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile plans include 2G data and 25 cents per minute calling. My wife made many calls relating to her business while we were on a month long trip to Italy. This was included in our $70 a month plan for two phones. The 2G data plan was adequate for her to send texts with photos, read and send email, but it was noticeably slower than what we were used to hear. Considering that AT&T plans for international use were exorbitant this was not a problem. Service was good from Rome to the Dolomites. No problems.

I opted for a 30d high speed package with unlimited calls. We used our cell phones for driving directions on Apple or Google maps every day. I had great refresh rates on web pages and never lost a signal while driving. The package was worth if for me. It is also renewable for 30 days. You will get a text when you arrive overseas in any of the 210 countries T-Mobile includes in the plan allowing you to choose several options for calling. My $50 and an slower priced plans IF YOU WANT FASTER DATA SPEEDS. Otherwise you are all sent. From their web site “The Magenta®, Simple Choice™, New Classic, and Select Choice plans provide unlimited 2G data, unlimited texting and calling at $0.25 per minute in 210+ countries and destinations”

International Pass: 512MB of high-speed data at up to LTE speeds and unlimited calling, to be used up to 24 hours, for $5/day.
5GB International Pass: 5GB of high-speed data at up to LTE speeds and unlimited calling, to be used up to 10 days, for $35.
15GB International Pass: 15GB of high-speed data at up to LTE speeds and unlimited calling, to be used up to 30 days, for $50.

T-Mobile served us well on our trip. Less problems than TIM. Check out the various plans, especially the over 55 plan.

Hard to believe that AT&T would push their inflated rates on travelers and continually raise the monthly cell plan rates. Their plans are very restrictive and expensive.

Cost $70 per month.

Coverage for as long as you need
Unlimited texts to the world
2GB or 6GB of data included
$0.35 per minute for calls
Available in 200+ countries

A lot of money for little return.

My T-Mobile bill arrived and there were no surprises.

T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom.

GREAT SIGNAL ON LAKE COMO

November 1, 2019 0

Lost In Rome, Again

Being lost in Rome is a treat, not a problem. We dropped our rental car off in Venezia, how amazing it is to drive to the edge of this cluster of islands. After leaving the car inform of the Hertz office, we walked across the street and closed a bridge to Venezia.

Next we walked to the Santa Lucia station to get our high speed train to Rome. Reserved seats and a great ride.

Italo provides fast and nice transport, It was a pleasure to travel by train.

Beverage service was provided and restrooms were spotless.

After arriving at our Airbnb on Via Dei Cappellari i, we head one block to the Campo Dei Fiori. We chose this location as it was near our last Airbnb and enabled us to walk to most of the destinations in Rome we wanted to see.

Campo dei Fiori at night. The market is gone, now it is dinnertime and people watching. A full moon came to welcome us.