Sunday 15th Jan 2023
We had a relaxing morning and an early lunch at about 12:00. Had bread that could used as cricket balls as they are very heavy and solid – yes these were the bread rolls that they sell by weight! Good jaw exercise chewing them. After lunch we headed to the station to take the train to Herculaneum. We tried to buy tickets but were using the wrong machine. Found out we had to go downstairs, follow the tunnel, turn left, follow the tunnel for a long way with shops on both sides, buy tickets at the far end on the right and enter the platform on the far left. The platform is only relatively short but the walk to get there was probably 30 times longer than the platform. It was recommended that we plan to arrive 1 hour before the starting time of the tour because the public transport is notorious for being delayed. We arrived at the meeting place about 45 minutes before the starting time. Sat and waited for a while and then saw the lady with the tour sign. We checked in and found out there were only 5 people on the tour and we were waiting for the last one to arrive. That person never did turn up and we set off with just us and 2 young ladies from Sydney! We spent about 2 hours walking the site with Guilia (our guide) who is an archeologist, so knew a lot about the site. We had recently seen a documentary about Herculaneum and her stories matched those in the documentary (as much as we remember). It is amazing that this city was covered until a farmer found bits of the city when he was digging a well in 1709. It had been buried in 79! They have excavated an area that was not built on but believe there are still 2/3rd of the city buried under the current town of Ercolano. They think the only way they can excavate the rest would be to do as an underground excavation because of all the buildings and infrastructure on top.
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| Herculaneum |
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| Herculaneum |
The tour lasted about 2 hours and
we then had to exit the park by a different path to the one we came in. This
meant walking along some lanes/streets we did not know. We passed an old lady
going the other way and she said something to us in Italian (which we did not
understand) and then smiled so we smiled and laughed a bit. Not sure what she
said or even if a laugh was appropriate!!!
Had to wait
about 25 minutes for the train back to Naples. It was running about 15 minutes
late!!
Monday
16th Jan 2023
We had
another easy morning as we did not need to leave until 10:25 to walk through town
to the meeting place for our tour. You see interesting things when you just
wander around. Naples has many small narrow streets but also lots of straight
wider streets. There are cars parked everywhere! We also noticed when we left
the accommodation that at street level the fire brigade was there, and an area
of the foot path had been taped off. It appears a brick and some mortar had
fallen about 3 or 4 stories onto the foot path. Would have caused some serious
damage if it hit someone. When we arrived at the tour meeting place we had
almost an hour to kill so we had m/tea in a café. Had to give the order using
the translator app and taking photos of what food we wanted or just pointing to
it. Joy’s Italian is good enough to get a cappuccino and a warm milk, but not
to order specific treats. Les got his warm milk and we got our food but Joy did
not get her coffee. Luckily she had had one before we left. They wanted to
charge us for the coffee but things got sorted by Joy, without even using the
translator app! Even allowing for that the m/tea was expensive compared to
other places we have been in Italy.
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| Naples Streets |
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| Naples Streets |
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| Naples Streets |
We went to check in for the Naples Underground Tour and our tickets are “skip the queue” tickets but we had to line up in the queue. They then walked along the queue calling out those with tickets (in Italian) and then next in English. This meant we managed to partly skip the queue. Once checked in we had to head down a flight of stairs and a lady slipped on the 5th or 6th step. The staff made a comment like “there is a sign saying to hold onto the handrail” and made no attempt to help the lady. Fortunately she was OK with only a graze on her hand (that we know of). After we had gone down about ¼ of the stairs we stopped and waited here for about 10 minutes for everyone to catch up. Then we headed down and we were seated in a large open excavation about 30 metres underground. The guide gave an explanation about the wells that had been dug and how the underground tunnels came to be, etc. We then moved through the tunnels, etc which had been used as late as the 1940s during WW2. The problem was that the group was too large and it was not always easy to hear the commentary. Also there were times when we caught up with other groups and had to wait and both groups would be trying to talk at the same time. We also went into some very narrow tunnels where you had to walk sideways and not wearing your backpacks. These tunnels did not have any lights so people had to use torches or mobile phone torches but this was not fully explained, or we did not hear properly, and this made it a bit difficult. The narrow parts took about 10 minutes to navigate. Joy had her phone and Les just tried to keep up! There is also water in some of the tunnels and it is very clear.
During the war they
managed to drop 2 bombs and they went into one of the wells. The tangled their tail
fins and because of this did not land on their nose so did not explode.
After we
did the underground area we walked to an old Roman Theater which has many
nativity scenes in it. It has also been split in half by a street. Next was to
a classic house at road level where an old lady lived. When some archeologists
came to her house they found that part of the exposed wall was Roman but she
said “you should see my cellar” and she moved her bed and showed them her
cellar which was Roman tunnels and had been used to move actors from one side
of the stage to another and also for actors to change. It also showed that the
tunnel under the old ladies’ house extended to the neighbour’s property which
was a motor garage. At this point the tour finished, and we were free to head
our own way (1.5 hours into a 2 hour tour)! We had not been taken back to where
the tour started so we were effectively lost. Gilligan’s Island? Glad we had
Google Maps!!
Decided to
head for home and have lunch when we got there. Managed to find our way with
Google Maps. We have noticed Naples is busy, noisy, dangerous with motor bikes
and cars racing up narrow roads, dirty and lots of small shops selling almost
anything. Lots of cobble stones! Again we had very heavy bread rolls for lunch.
Afternoon
doing diary, looking at photos for the last week or so and generally relaxing.
Tuesday
17th Jan 2023
We had a
reasonably early start today as we had to meet at the Ramada Hotel on the other
side of the railway station at 8:15 for an 8:30 start. We arrived at about 8:00
and the minivan (Mercedes) was already waiting for us. From the hand writtern
sign it looked like there were 3 couples on the trip today. After a while a 2nd
couple turned up (a Spanish couple). We were still waiting for the 3rd
couple so after a while the Spanish couple decided to head down the street for
a coffee. We then found out the couple that was missing was on a train from
Rome and it was running 1 hour late. After checking with the head office it was
decided to leave so we had to drive down the road to get the Spanish couple.
Not sure if they actually got their coffee or not. They then sat in the front
seats until late in the afternoon when they departed at Ravello. The normal
trip to Positano involves a long tunnel so Aldo (our driver) offered to take us
via a scenic route through many little suburbs along the coast. One of the
places Aldo made sure we went was through a petrol station who had put up a
sign (looked very real) banning prostitutes!
By this
time the rain had set in, so photos were a rarity. We went through Sorrento and
stopped at a few lookouts on the way to Positano. We were fortunate that at the
times we stopped the rain had either stopped or at least eased off.
Our first stop was Positano where we had some free time however it had started raining again and is also very windy. Aldo suggested we head down towards the beach which we did but could not find any cafes open for m/tea – any we did see were locked up for winter. We reached the beach and the waves were crashing on the rocks in a very spectacular fashion.
We then headed back towards the minivan. The rain was coming in waves so we got some rain, some no rain, then rain and so on. We stopped and had a look in Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta (Church no 1 for the day).
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| Positano |
Back at the minivan and we headed out of Positano. There is
normally one road into the centre of town and one out the other side but as
they are doing roadwork during the winter season (when most things are closed)
the one road was two-way traffic and that caused lots of problems as it is not
really wide enough for two cars let alone minivans and small buses – much
jostling and back and forth to get around without damaging vehicles.
The next stop was Amalfi where it was decided to have lunch. We parked in the car park which also had waves crashing on the shore and some waves spraying the cars! The wind had also picked up and was extremely strong. Had to lean into the wind and hope you don’t get blown away. We took Aldo’s lead (all 4 of us) and headed to the Il Tari Restaurant for lunch. Again the rain is coming and going. This is a up market restaurant but with reasonable prices (ie about 20 euros for mains). Joy had a free glass of bubbly wine. Joy had lamb and Les had calamari. The lamb was fine and the calamari was average as it lacked flavour and was a bit chewy.
For dessert Joy had tirama-choux which was deconstructed tiramisu
with a profiterole filled with marscapone instead of finger biscuits, and espresso
coffee poured over it. Joy said it was Yummy! Les has pistachio cheesecake
which was also very Yummy!
We then had some time to look around town, not that much was open. We found the Duomo Di Amalfi however it was closed but we still call that Church no 2. Now we headed back into the hills to Ravello. Aldo dropped us just outside the centre of town (which is not much of a town size wise) and we headed in to have a look. After a few photos we managed to find a café that was open and Joy had an espresso and a pastry thing with lemon cream centre which she really liked. Les had warm milk and almond biscuit thing which was very nice. The café looked like it was a family run show with the father (old) and probably daughter (middle aged). We then headed off for a bit more of a wander as the rain has stopped but not the wind. We passed by Church of Saint Mary to Gradillo which was closed so we could not go in, church no 3!
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| What more can I say? |
Back to meet Aldo and head for home. We sat in
the front on the way home. Aldo is the sort that could talk underwater with 2
mouthfuls of marbles!! The trip from Ravello to Naples involved climbing over
the hills and there are many switch backs and what would be beautiful views if
not for the rain and clouds. As we headed down towards Naples we actually saw
some blue sky but it was just teasing us as the rain came back in as we neared
Naples. As we were the only guests now Aldo dropped us at our accommodation
which was greatly appreciated.
Les popped
out to the supermarket for bread rolls for tea plus essentials being milk and
chips!
Wednesday
18th Jan 2023
The weather is another changeable day as we headed out at about 9:30 to walk to the meeting point for the first tour of the day. We basically followed the same route as we did on Monday and just went a bit further. Found a café and Joy had a cappuccino which was fine and a chocolate and caramel treat that was good. Les just had a warm milk as they did not have any treats without chocolate. Met Ivan for our Naples Downtown and Veiled Christ tour. There were only 2 couples plus the guide. The other couple were from USA (enough said). The first stop was Chiesa Del Gesu Nuovo, which regardless of your faith is a spectacular building (Church no 1).
The next stop was Affresco del Cristo Rosso church which is a much plainer church (Church no 2). We wandered the streets of the old town visiting various piazzas and the university area. The next church was Basilica Parrocchiale San Lorenzo Maggiore Naples which ranks between the first two as far as grandness (Church no 3). Some more wandering until we arrived at the Sansevero Chapel and the Veiled Christ (Church no 4). This has some very spectacular statutes including one of Christ after being taken down from the cross and wrapped in cloth. It apparently took about 3 years to sculpt and is from a single piece of marble. No pictures are allowed in this location. We were then sent on our own way, so we stopped in a pizza restaurant where we had arancini balls and a margherita pizza (traditional Italian pizza, not Australian style). Soft, thin base, simple toppings. Very nice.
We then had to buy public transport tickets and headed to The Catacombs of San Gennaro. Public transport ie buses in Naples are a real experience. A kind lady gave us the details on when to get off the bus as we looked like tourists! We did a 45/60-minute tour of the Catacombs. There are no exposed bones in these catacombs as they have been taken away in the 17th or 18th century.
The tour was very interesting. The San Gennaro Catacombs are being managed by a group of young people from the local area as a non-profit group. The area was/is in what was/is considered a bad part of town where the youth unemployment rate is 60%. By managing the catacombs, they are addressing a number of issues - preserving an important historical place, providing a way for the youth of the area to do something, attracting visitors to the area, and improving the reputation of the area. After we finished the tour we had the option to return to the café/entrance area or leave via the back door and walk the streets of the local area and visit a 2nd catacombs. We opted to leave via the back door but managed to get lost. What we found out is that the main road goes over a high bridge over part of the town. It had started raining and the bridge is so high we had not even noticed we had walked under it. Found an elevator that took us to the main street level and we caught a bus to Toledo Railway station which has been voted the most beautiful railway station in the world. Not sure why. Yes there was a nice mosaic and light display over one of the escalators but that was it.
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| Toledo Station |
Caught the metro from
Toledo to the main railway station near our accommodation. The trains remind us
of the New York subways, etc you see in movies. Accelerate and stop very
quickly. When we got off the train (as most of the passengers did at this stop)
they started running towards the lifts. We decided to follow the others and go
up the escalators. The escalators are long and there are several of them so we
know why people wanted the lifts. Managed to find our way to the main part of
the station and walked home.
Thursday
19th Jan 2023
Another day
to move on but our train was not until 11:09 and we have to check out by 10:00.
Up at about 7:30 to have breakfast and finish packing. We were ready before
9:00 and so Les did more diary and Joy did some knitting. Left about 9:45 and
headed to the station where we stopped at McDonalds to have morning tea. Les
was looking forward to a milkshake but they do not do milkshakes that early!!
Joy had a croissant with Nutella, which was something she wanted to check off
the bucket list.
The train was on time and we got our 2nd last train trip in Europe on the Eurail pass in 1st class!! The last one is Rome to the airport (only about 30 minutes). The train then went slowly and eventually it was about 15 minutes late arriving in Rome.
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| Flooding between Naples and Rome |
Walked to the accommodation and was given a tour.
We were lucky as check in was not to be until 2:00 but we were allowed to check
in early. We decided to have a café lunch but that turned into a restaurant
lunch. Joy had lasagna and Les had risotto with scampi. Both were very nice
although scampi is hard to eat and not much meat in it.
Then did
the grocery shopping and Les is struggling to find lemon tea! We also only got
enough food for a few days and lucky we did as we have found out we have no
freezer in the fridge! Back to the accommodation and a relaxing afternoon.
After tea we sorted out which “Hop On Hop Off” bus and picked Greenline.
Received the tickets but no timetable!
Friday
20th Jan 2023
Up at normal time and aimed to be at the bus stop at about 9:30 as we have found some comments that that is the starting time. Waked passed the train station and easily found the bus stop and the Green bus was there waiting. Jumped on and got off after 3 stops at Circus Maximus. Had to ask for a map from the lady on the bus. We had audio commentary but had troubles getting the volume high enough with all the noise in Rome. Had a look at Circus Maximus and then headed to Piazza Venezia and the Pantheon.
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| No, Not the Colosseum!!! |
We had purchased an audio app that gave us all the details of the Pantheon which was worth doing as it was only about 5 AUD.
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| Pantheon |
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| Pantheon |
On to Piazza Navona, which has the lovely Four Seasons fountain, and then headed to Castel Sant'Angelo which we only walked past. We decided it was time for lunch so we had to back track and found a nice restaurant where we shared a pizza for lunch. We then headed to the Vatican City. Took some photos and then found out we were still in Italy and had to walk through the fence to get into the Vatican City.
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| Window that the Pope does some speeches from. |
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| St Peters, Vatican City |
Wandered around for a while and took photos including the
window where the Pope gives some of his speeches. We have also noticed that in
Rome and Naples there are lots of Police and Military stationed around the
cities. The Military are carrying machine guns. Would like to get a photo but
not sure if we are allowed and not game to ask!! There are also 2 levels of
Police being the Municipal Police and the Carabinieri (national gendarmerie of
Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign policing duties).
We didn’t
go into the Basilica in the Vatican City or the Vatican Museum as the queue was
quite long and we didn’t have a lot of time. When I say long, I mean as in
several hundred people, if not more. They are set up to manage many more people
with snaking lines, so they probably classify it as a quiet day, but it was too
many for us.
After the Vatican we walked back (via a detour for a toilet break) to the stop 6 on the Greenline bus route. This took us to Piazza Di Spagna and the Spanish Steps.
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| Spanish Steps |
It’s a good place to get a view from a high spot, and there weren’t too many people hanging around. Next stop was a supermarket to try and find some lemon tea for Les. No luck so got some berry tea. After going the wrong direction on Google maps we found the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was VERY crowded – seven people deep in some places around the fountain. We knew there would be some people there but this was ridiculous!!
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| Trevi Fountain |
As it was now 5:00 we decided to head for home.
We worked out it was faster to walk home than go to the bus stop for the Green
bus, wait for it to arrive and then get off at the station and walk home, so we
walked all the way home with a quick McDonalds stop for Les to use the toilet.
The Hop On Hop Off bus is a good idea but we worked out you could do a fair bit
by walking and if needed get a daily pass on the metro. We only used the Hop On
Hop Off bus for about 1/3 of the route and other than a few steep hills on the
way home Les handled it fine as most of Rome central area is reasonably flat.
Arrived
home just after 5:30 and had a relax watching old episodes of The Big Bang
Theory.
23 years to
the day since we had our first date and we both forgot the anniversary but
could be forgiven based on us being well and truly out of our normal routine.
Saturday
21st Jan 2023
Joy had a Whatsapp video call with friends in Australia and Les worked on the diary. After an early lunch we headed off for our Catacombs and Crypts with Roman Aqueducts tour. This tour started at the Capuchin Crypt - Museo e Cripta dei Frati Cappuccini – where we looked through the museum and then went to the Capuchin Crypt aka 'Bone Chapel' - a unique burial site with the bones of 4,000 friars. This is a unique site as all the bones are used for decorating the crypt, walls and ceiling. If any of the bones fall off, they can’t be replaced as it is now illegal to use human bones in art, including restoring old art. There was no photography allowed in this site. Next was a small bus ride for the 6 passengers to Catacombs of Domitilla. Again no photography allowed. Here we were taken on a guided tour by the people at the Catacombs. There are miles of tunnels and they have only explored a small part of the site. There are very few bones left in these catacombs and the ones that are still there are in the graves and not art like at the crypt. There is a church within the catacombs, which is totally surrounded by the tunnels and graves. It would be so easy to get lost down there. Next was a drive down part of the Appian Way (Via Appia Antica) and over to the Aqueducts where we were allowed to take photos. The Aqueducts are a very interesting site but as the weather was very cold so we did not stop for long.
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| What did the Romans every do for us? (refer Monty Python's Life of Brian) |
We could see the
snow on the hills surrounding Rome, and it felt like the wind was coming
straight off it. We were then taken back to Rome on the small bus and dropped
at a location that was not where we had started from so we then had to work out
how to get home including how to buy tickets on the public transport system. So
what this meant was we actually ended up walking for about 35 minutes to walk
home. Included a few long steep hills so glad to get home. Guide was Paris - a
fruit loop American but nice enough. Knew her stuff but did not talk loud enough,
giggled a fair bit, and has developed an Italian way of finishing her words (adding
‘a’), which sounds weird with an American accent.
Sunday
22nd Jan 2023
Today was the lowest part of the holiday and that includes when Les was sick in Zermatt. As we had been to the Appian Way and Aqueducts the day before we decided it was not worth doing another day there so decided to go to the ruins at Ostia Antica. This involved a metro from near the accommodation to Piramide station and swap to another train to Ostia Antica. When we got off the first train, we looked lost and 2 young ladies offered to show us the way (remember the old lady that helps us a few days ago!). We had been warned about young ladies pickpocketing, but the description was that they wore a coat while carrying another and bumped into you and lifted your wallet/purse, etc. They then just took the cash and threw away the rest. Joy was walking in front with one lady and then Les and the other lady (and I use the word lady very loosely) followed behind. The first lady never got close to Joy and after they showed us the way to go they left. We said to each other that it was a pity that they had such a reputation in Rome. When we got on the 2nd train Les realised his backpack was open and his wallet and accommodation keys missing. The 2nd lady had managed to open 2 zippered flaps of Les’ backpack and even a zipper section inside the backpack and get the wallet and keys and Les did not feel a thing.
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| Wallet was in small, zippered section within the zippered part. All 3 zippered parts were opened by the pickpocket, |
We got out
of the train and tried to back track to see if they had taken the cash and
thrown the wallet. With the help of some people we found the keys but no
wallet. We searched for about 10 minutes and then decided to return to
accommodation and report the theft and start cancelling cards, etc. When we got back to the accommodation, we
found out they had gotten funds from Les Travel card, Joy’s Credit Card (via
Les’ additional card) and our Bank account via a debit card. All the
transactions were small, meaning they did not require PIN numbers. We also
found that within 10 minutes they had done 30 transactions on Joy’s credit card.
Obviously they were professionals and had either skimming machine or EFTPOS
type machine/readers. In total they got about 2,000 AUD plus 100 AUD cash and
30 euros in cash. Les managed to keep his phone and camera as they were in his
pockets and he had his hands on them for security. We now only have Joy’s
Qantas Travel Card and a debit card in her name! Makes you feel really sick to
the stomach. Also trying to navigate the process of locking, cancelling cards
and reporting fraudulent transactions whilst overseas is a nightmare. We spend
about 30 minutes trying to find the police station at the main railway station,
the closest police station to where we are staying and then about 1 hour doing
the report. However, the police officer was good and spoke reasonable English
so between the 3 of us we got the report done and got a copy to put in claims
with banks/travel insurance but will take weeks to sort out. Spent the rest of
the afternoon at the accommodation and went out for dinner as we did not feel
like doing any cooking. Went to Mino and Joy had 4 cheese gnocchi then tiramisu
and Les had saltimbocca with baked potatoes then berry cheesecake.
With the
stress of the day neither of us slept well that night.
Monday
23rd Jan 2023
Well today is a fresh start but also means Les has to stick close to Joy as he has no credit/debit cards or wallet and feels kind of naked. We had the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum tour booked for today at 10:30 but they had contacted us and told us we were now on the 10:00 tour. So we walked to the starting point, about 30 minutes, as neither of us were keen on using the metro again. As we were walking it was drizzly rain. Also you are not allowed to take backpacks into sites (although some people did) so we went backpack free. Joy had her handbag and has shortened the strap so it is close to her and under her jacket. Also the prepaid travel card is in a zippered section with a safety pin keeping it closed, within a zippered section within her jacket and at the front of her. Do you think we are paranoid? You bet!! We met our guide Fabio and were given radio devices and earphone but not told how they work so for the first 15 minutes we were only hearing bits and pieces. After we were told how they worked it was much better but Fabio talked too fast. He was very knowledgeable and looked like Richard Hammond from Top Gear. It continued to drizzle rain for most of the 3 hour tour. We did Palatine Hill first which gives a view over the Roman Forum but did not get to explore much of it.
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| Roman Forum from Palatine Hill |
Last was the Colosseum and we got to enter at the ground floor level which we paid extra for but not sure why as there is no great advantage. After this the tour ended but we were free to go up a level and view from the higher level which we did.
As it was now
about 2:00 pm we headed to the restaurant over the road and had lunch. Joy had cannelloni
and Les had tortellini carbonara at La Biga Al Colosseo (The chariot at the
Colosseum). We then walked home via Oppo Gardens and some more ruins and a
quick stop at Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore.
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| Ceiling of Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. |
Back home
to accommodation via supermarket for milk, beer, dessert and chocolate! Comfort
food.
Tuesday
24th Jan 2023
We head to
the airport and stay overnight at the Best Western Hotel near the airport
tonight. We will both be relieved to get out of Rome! Headed off at about 11:00
after being able to arrange a late checkout and headed to the railway station.
Walking past the station we passed 2 young ladies and Les admitted he watched
them walk past and kept watching until they were about 20 metres away. Paranoid.
We jumped on the 11:20 train that is direct to the airport. Managed to find
space for our suitcases as the train is a Rome to Airport train and has enough
luggage space. We also got seats very close to the luggage so we could keep an
eye on the suitcases. We arrived just before 12:00 and decided to have lunch at
the café just outside the airport (still in the train station area). We both
had (very lightly toasted) focaccia with ham and mozzarella and Joy had a
cappuccino and Les had Lemon Fanta. The coffee was fine and the sandwiches OK
but would have been nicer toasted a bit longer.
Next we went into the airport to find out where we had to go tomorrow morning for our flight to Belgrade via Zurich. We have decided to take the early 7:20 shuttle to the airport and have breakfast at the airport. We then wandered around trying to find the “Arrival T3 door 4” as that is where the shuttle to the hotel leaves from. Took a few wrong turns but finally arrived at door 1 so we went outside and walked to door 4. The shuttle arrived about 5 minutes later and we had to wait until 1:00 pm for it to leave for the hotel. Shuttle takes about 10 minutes and when we arrived we checked in. As check in is from 2:00 pm we were planning to leave our suitcases and go for a walk to the Ostia Antica site close to the hotel (not the main site we were planning to visit a few days ago). We were allowed to check in and go to our room even though we were early. We then headed off to “Ostia Antica Parco Archeologico Imperial Harbours of Claudius and Trajan”. The site used to be the main port for Rome from 42 AD however from the 5th century the river and port started silting up, so the port was abandoned and is now 3 km from the sea.
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| Ostia Antica |
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| Ostia Antica |
Headed back and arrived
at the hotel at about 4:00 after checking if the supermarket had any Lemon Tea,
which they didn’t.
Tea in the
hotel restaurant. Joy had fried calamari (with a lemon wedge and nothing else!)
Les had spaghetti carbonara. Joy thought the calamari was a bit tough and salty
but Les thought it was fine. His spaghetti was very salty. For dessert Joy had chocolate
cake (not a lava cake but warmed up and very good) and Les had pistachio
(something like ice cream) which was also very good. We have noticed lots of pistachio
products in Italy including pistachio yoghurt. Back to the room for a quiet
night and to bed at 9:30.
Wednesday
25th Jan 2023
Up early
(6:00) as we have to check out and be ready to get the 7:00 shuttle to the airport.
We had requested 7:20 but just after we got to the room yesterday they rang and
we had to change from 7:20 to either 7:00 or 7:40 so we took the safe option of
7:00. Checked in bags with a person who spoke very good English and was a happy
cheerful person. Bit of a change for staff at airports! Then went through
security and both our backpacks were diverted to have a second check. Joy’s bag
got checked twice for explosive residue and they also located her small scissors,
but they were OK. Joy had remembered to put her Swiss army knife in the
suitcase but forgot all about her embroidery scissors. Be interesting to see if
they get through Zurich airport security. Have to remember to put them in
suitcase for flight home. Les’ backpack was just waved through!!
Then found
a café for breakfast. What chaos. They used the system where you tell them what
you want and pay at one spot, then take your receipt to another spot to
actually get it – and all of this with the Italian queuing system – ie he who pushes
in best and shouts loudest gets served first. Les ordered toasted ham and cheese
sandwich and orange juice and Joy ordered multigrain honey croissant and
cappuccino. What we ended up with was a toasted sandwich dark on one side
barely toasted on the other, dry and not nice at all. Only ate about 1/3rd.
Orange Juice from blood orange which meant it was red colour but was nice but
only small (freshly squeezed), A cappuccino (normal small) and Joy ended up
with 2 honey croissants (mix up in the food collection part of the system) so
Les ate one of them. They were made with multigrain flour and only drizzled in
honey but they were nice and not very buttery.
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| Joy practicing her piano in Rome Airport. |
Flight between Rome and Zurich was uneventful and we had some great views when we flew over the Swiss Alps.
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| Swiss Alps |
Arrived in Zurich about 5 minutes late and as we only had a 50 minute lay over we tried to get off the plane as early as possible but being in row 22 did not help. We made the walk to the next terminal in plenty of time and even got a cinnamon scroll each with a bottle of water for a snack/lunch. Left the almost full bottle of water on the ground next to the seat when we boarded the flight from Zurich to Belgrade. Since it cost about $10 AUD was a but annoyed with myself (Les). This flight was also uneventful and arrived roughly on time.
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| Plane Trail from our plane. |
Belgrade airport is not like most airports as we did not have to walk through any duty free shops. If you have nothing to declare, which we didn’t, you just walk straight through. We were met by Joy’s brother and sister in law holding a sign with ONLEY (Bannister). SO thoughtful! They had hired a car. The car park at the airport was just about empty. Not sure if this is normal. Piled the suitcases in the car and they drove us to Leskovac. Most was on a tollway with a speed limit of 130. By the time we arrived it was dark (just after 5:30 pm). Settled in and had tea at about 6:00 of chicken, pork, capsicums, bread. Dessert was baklava (Serbian one not the Greek one!).
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