Thursday, 4 May 2017

Italy part 2

Pic - Corigliano Calabro

Moving on then I'm in my room in a place called Rossano - It's basically perched on a hill as are many of the towns / villages in these parts. Finding your way around in a car is not easy - narrow streets and mostly one way. Still i'm here now. I have to mention La Marigold which I stayed at last night - the mostly beautiful B&B I think I have stayed at - 5 stars!Today I drove from Palmi to Corigliano Calabro.. It's a delightful town - again set on a hill - with lots of history and very photogenic, obviously! I visited a couple of other local towns this afternoon, Cropalati and Paludi - for my own notes I need to remember these names - you guessed it, towns perched on hilltops - see a theme yet?

I am planning on visiting Potenza tomorrow - and then on to Naples - where I may not stay - I'm thinking somewhere close for a couple of nights.. Maybe Caserta.Finding the restaurant was easy tonight. The trouble was it was closed. I thought 6:15 was a good time, not around here. It's actually 7:30 you should be eating apparently lol, well I'm here now and could eat a horse... maybe it's on the menu... The food was delicious - no lie, I loved it, it was just what I needed although I was the only one there which is a real pity. Update on the mission - I've booked a hotel (this time) in Caserta for two nights from tomorrow.

Pic - Cropalati

Ok so Potenza was a waste of time but only about 1 hour so it was not all bad.. I arrived in Castera earlier than planned so dropped off the baggage in the hotel and went to the Royal Palace - this place is huge - by that I mean the garden is over 2 miles long... It's a UNESCO heritage site but however well known, it is not well looked after - as they are charging 12 euros to get in you have to wonder.. The gardens are in need of some help, as are the building in them, also there are rides in the gardens which you have to pay more for and I'm not sure if they are part of the site... could be better.

pic - Inside Royal Palace a horse drawn ride is available.However, I am talking about the gardens and not the Palace itself - plain and simple most people visit this place for the gardens so.....Enough qualming, I am enjoying this trip after all! I'm looking forward to Naples tomorrow - it will be a one day blitz so hopefully I can take in all the best bits - then the Volcano on Saturday before moving out of here and heading to Rome where I think I'll probably stay 4-5 days... to be continued!NB: I have learnt to drive like an Italian - however there are certain things I do not do like not giving a damn - I think this needs more space so if I can I will put the drivers in the next blog..