Civitavecchia /Rome/ Italy

     We woke up early to go the Catacombs and Italian country side for lunch at a farmhouse, being that we have all ready done the Colosseum, Vatican and Rome highlights. It is about an hour and 15 minutes drive to the Catacombs on the outskirt of Rome. The Catacombs was a great choice as this is the middle of a heat wave, and this is the only cool place on the whole trip. 

The Catacombs are amazing but they don't let you take photos. Even though they say it's because of the flash, (and you can take photos without a flash from your phone) they let you use the flashlight on your phone for walking....which I think would be more harmful to the surfaces. So I will just have to keep my memories and respect their wishes. I highly recommend seeing these at least once in your life time, and there are a few to choose from in Rome. It really is amazing to think how they did this. Below is a link to the Catacombe we went to.

Catacombe Domitilla

Then onto a tiny little village called Castel Dover ( I think that is what it was called) which is up a narrow street with a couple hundred steps to walk along this quaint little street lined with restaurants shops.

 If you turn right you can see a picturesque lake.  

There is a church, however not only was I not covered properly, (90 degree day I was wearing shorts and spaghetti straps), there was a service going on, so 2 strikes against us going in. 

This was an unexpected stop for us, so we decided to stop for a drink and get some wi-fi to check in at home. The first 3 places we checked didn't have wi-fi, so we didn't stop. Always ask first before you order. So we found a really cute bar and I ordered a cappuccino and hubby ordered a beer. 

 Got our wi-fi, had a drink, and met a really nice couple from Australia who showed us some amazing photos of their vacation stops. 

Onto the farmhouse for lunch, but was actually more like a restaurant.

 The tour described it as we would tour the property and assist with making the lunch. Actually there was a cute little Italian lady who was rolling the dough to make pasta.

 We were a little disappointed that we didn't do what was described in the excursion, but I don't want to make a big deal about it. Lessons learned this time around. We had hand made bread, salad, pasta, dessert and coffee. When they asked who wanted coffee, it was pretty funny because one lady wanted tea, who got a huge teapot. And for coffee we got the little tiny espresso. But hey, I'm in Italy so I'm going to be authentic! I watched they guy across from me put a little sugar in, so I followed along and did the same thing. It was bitter at first, but actually tasted good afterwards. It took us all of about a few seconds to drink and out the door we went back to the ship. 

When you arrive in Civitavecchia, you have to do a lot of driving to get to places. Exhausted, but had a great day in Italy. 

Naples Italy

     This is my second time to Naples, Italy.  The first time I went to Positano, Sorrento and Pompei, so I wanted to try something different. I booked a "Naples Street Food and Sightseeing Tour" through Viator. 

The link below is for the Viator tour.

Naples Street Food and Sightseeing Tour through Viator

It was already 77 degrees when we started out in the morning at 8:30 a.m. It would of been about a 20-25 minute walk, but an adviser on the ship recommended the taxi for about  €15 because be warned of pick pocketing and being robbed. He didn't want to scare us, but wanted us to be cautious. However, when we got off the ship and went to the information to get to Piazza Dante, she said, "Why don't you take the metro? It's only 2 stops and € 1.20."  Well that sounded good, and being the adventurous type we decided, why not? 

The castle is right outside the pier, and we walked past it to the metro station.

Castel Nuovo often called Maschio Angioino (Italian: "Angevin Keep"), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo). 

We walked about a block, and someone helped us with the ticket machine, because they were not in English. He directed us which way to go, and off we went. The subway was very clean and very empty. Maybe because it was a Saturday morning. The train came in about 2 minutes and we hopped on. It took only about 5 minutes to get to our stop. We ended up in Piazza Dante, but our tour wasn't for a couple hours. We wandered around some cobblestone small streets for awhile before coming back to the square. 

With time to burn, and it being hot and muggy, we stopped for a melon granita. Anything with ice is heaven on a hot day! Then we went over to the statue to meet our guide Sara. There were 12 people in our group and off we went. She gave us a brief history lesson while the armed guards were standing close by. It's not unusual to see lot of police (mostly near churches) and armed guards around. Off to the central old part of town where all the shops and action is. 

We went to a little shop of Antonio's for an appetizer of buffalo mozzarella and eggplant. 

It was unlike any cheese I had before and it was amazing. I can still smell and taste the distinct flavor and texture. You can buy water for €1 from him, which we did because it was now in the 80's. Wish I would of brought a hydro flask.

 Then off to a small pizza place where we had "Pizza Pizza". 

Now you may be wondering what "Pizza Pizza" is. It's kind of like fried pizza with mozzarella in it that was folded over.

 

Then she came out with margherita pizza and we each had a slice of that.

Naples is known as the birth of the the pizza and they say it's almost impossible to get a bad pizza there.

 Onto the Limoncello store where they made limoncello in the back, and we got a quick tour of the limoncello process. Up at the front we had the regular limoncello shot and the "la crema", which is a milkier looking, smoother tasting limoncello. We bought both as souvenirs for ourselves to drink at home and reminisce. 

Piunicho. Rub his nose for good luck. 

By now we are stuffed! But we aren't done yet! She walks us through the streets for more history, and we rub Piunicho nose for good luck before we go to a tiny shop for gelato. We ask for no cone because it's too much. 

We go sit at a table in the shade as she says there is one more stop of bread dessert.

 She asks us if we want it now or takeaway. I can tell you that every single person said takeaway. 

It was a Great 2 hour tour, and we had such a great guide. 

When we left she gave us directions the the Metro, as now we were in a different spot totally from where we started. 

We went walking to find it, but actually didn't find it and ended up at the pier. Os instead of €30 for a taxi both ways, we spent €2.20 total. A great day as I would of never stopped at all those amazing places and tried those different foods. A great experience and I definitely recommend it to anyone.

St. Andreas Beach Katakolon Greece

     We arrive at St. Andreas beach, and I have to say, this is a lot nicer and a lot less noisy than the previous one we went to in Albania.

 The umbrellas are free but you have to purchase €3 of food or drink, which is easy enough. Being that I just had breakfast not too long before, I had a bottle of water and a lemon granita. The sand is a little rocky so it's good to bring water socks.

 We left 1/2 day and went back to the town of Katakolon and did a little shopping along this cute quaint little town. Then we stopped off for a beer and Ouzo to top off the day. 

Katakolon, Greece

I read someone else's blog about the fun train. So we got off the ship and turned right through the main town. After a few blocks someone was selling tickets for the train, 6€ round trip, which takes you to a winery, then the beach. I didn't realize til I got to the end that the fun train was a  different vendor but basically the same. So if you walk to the end you have 2 vendors to choose from and they go to the same beach,  but different restaurant side by side

We went for a slow scenic ride to the winery on a 40 acre estate and paid 3€ for a glass of wine. 

The Mercouri (or Merkouri) estate is one of the Greek wine industry's charming pleasures. Its owners and employees are intelligent, sunny and relaxed. The estate itself, a working farm that has been family-owned for nearly 150 years, is breathtakingly beautiful; tastefully preserved and stunningly landscaped. Good taste is so pervasive at Mercouri that we were not the least surprised about the originality and universally high quality of their wines. 

Here is a link about the estates. Mercouri Winery Estates

 Walked around and took some scenic photos. It would be a great place to get married. 

  They had 2 very large , beautiful dogs in a fenced in area, where we were all taking photos of. They also had peacocks wandering around and lots of photo ops. After about 30-45 minutes the train  came back around, but not everyone got off, so we barely squeezed in to get to the beach. We kind of had to be assertive to get in as no one wants to scoot over,  so we didn't sit near each other, but at least we got on. This fun train looks like a zoo train, so not a whole lot of room and I didn't want to wait another 30-45 minutes for another one. 

 

#Katakolon #Greece #travellingtheworld #lovetotravel #vacaylife

Sarandë Albania

    We were in the only ship in Albania, and it's no wonder why. When we pulled into the harbor it was a landscape of beige, boring, impoverished apartment buildings. It was communist until the 1970's and they are trying to build up and grab the tourist industry. 

    I opted for the ship's shore excursion to Ksamil beach, pictured as an idyllic, Mediterranean, crystal blue water beach destination. But first we had to drive through the narrow street past depressed looking stores til we got to the outskirts of town. I was really hoping I would see some cute, inviting places to discover, but mostly saw small shops with fruits and vegetable for local people. 

     The guide was doing her best to build up the city, but it was hard to see past the sadness of everyone. After a 30 minute ride we reached our destination and walked down a gravelly road to the restaurant where beach umbrellas and chairs were included. However, it was a little disorganized and I felt like we were the test run. We weren't allowed on the front row loungers but could pick the rows behind it. Also included was a welcome drink of your choice at the restaurant. When I asked for a cold beer, she asked, "Do you want a small or large?" I said , "Well, if it doesn't matter, then I'll have a large". Then after some discussion back and forth with the bar they said it's only for a small. I said "That's fine". Again, I felt like we were the dry run and they hadn't done this before. 

It was mostly the the locals with the family's there, so was very noisy with kids etc. It is a beautiful, crystal blue water beach with white sand, so I could see why all the local people would come here. There are many hotels and restaurants along the beach that you can rent umbrellas for the day plus swimming. 

It was a half day excursion, we didn't see any cute shopping along the way, so we went back to the ship. I felt like this was the best excursion of the pick, and from what hear from other passengers and their experiences, I think I was right. Other people went to Corfu, but weren't happy waiting in the passports lines going back and forth. They said that the wait was at least an hour both ways. I've been to Corfu before and this being so close, I wish the ship would of gone there instead. That is a beautiful little island I wouldn't of mind revisiting. 

#Ksamil_Beach #Sarande #Albania #vacationlife #Travelingtheworld #Luvtotravel