Tom`s travels

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Amalfi Coast (4-11/06/2016)

As nearly every year we had organized a week in June to come to the town of Positano, where my grandmother always rents a hotel room for seven days. We departed from Verona airport and reached Naples airport 45 minutes later. From there we took a taxi and reached Positano around midday. For the next two days we spent the time in town and at the local beach of Fornillo. On the 6th however, I decided to head to Ieranto Bay, on the western end tip of the Sorrento Peninsula. So I took a bus from Positano and got off right before Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi: from there I walked for about 2 hours or 8km and reached the small village of Nerano. I then decided to take a quick swim at the Spiaggia dei Tedeschi (Germans' beach) in Marina del Cantone and then resume my walk. From there it was another hour to my destination; the walk was very pleasant, and the views were amazing, it ran along a beaten bath just below the mountain crest with the bay of Nerano on one side with crystal clear waters and then reaching the medieval tower of Montalto with a sheer dropping cliff on either side but with beautiful views all around. I then started my descent down towards the beach passing through wonderful olive trees and by different types of cactuses until I reached the bottom. There were 2 spots to choose from, an actual small beach with a few people already laying down on it or a concrete platform jutting out over the water that used to be part of what was a mining complex operating here until the 1950s. I opted for the platform and after setting down my stuff I immediately diving in the inviting wonderful water. There were plenty of fish and the water was cold yet very pleasant, I then dried out and relax for a few hours before it was time to get back on my feet and walk back. I detoured around the industrial ruins to take a picture of the view across the bay towards the island of Capri and then resumed my walk back. After reaching Nerano again I took a bus to Sorrento where I then caught my connection to Positano. After another day relaxing in Positano's beach, on the 8th we decided to go to Capri. We took the 10:30 boat that reached the island in about half an hour, we then descended into Capri's main port, Marina Grande, and got on the small bus that brought us to the top in the town of Anacapri on the western side of the island. From Anacapri we then took the lift all the way to the highest point of the island, the Monte Solaro, with wonderful views all around particularly towards the Faraglioni. We walked back down to Anacapri where we strolled around the town center and visited the church of San Michele which had an amazing majolica floor mosaic depicting the original sin and paradise filled with animals. We then headed to the Villa San Michele, built by Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe in the early 20th centuy, with views over the port and towards the Sorrento peninsula. The interior was very nice (thoufh the ticket was overly priced probably cause it is owned by Sweden) the gardens were exquisite with many plants and flowers and a terrace with an incredible view, overseen by two statues of sphinxes one of the Etruscan period and the other Egyptian. Below the villa we took the so called Phoenician steps (allegedly by the phoenicians) that took us down towards the Marina Grande. Having some time left we decided to take a plunge in the nearby beach called Bagni di Tiberio, which used to be a roman villa right on the waterfront/ After a quick swim we headed back in time to catch our boat to Positano.

Positano

Fornillo beach in Positano

The path leading to Ieranto Bay

Looking towards Marina del Cantone

Ieranto Bay and Capri in the background

A view of the platform in Ieranto Bay

View towards Capri

The Montalto tower and its olive trees

View of Positano from the beach

Marina Grande in Capri

Monte Solar, highest point in Capri

View from the top towards the Faraglioni

The majolica floor of the church of San Michele

Interior of the Villa San Michel

The garden of the villa

The Egyptian sphinx

The Bagni di Tiberio beach

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Aquileia & Grado (30/04/2016)

Together with my mom and brother we decided to do a day trip to Aquileia and the nearby town of Grado so we got in the car and drove for 1 hour and 50 minutes and reached the first destination. Right before reaching the town of Aquileia we decided to have lunch at a restaurant called All'Anfora where I had some pasta with seafood. We then parked the car in town and headed on foot towards the Basilica, there we bought the combined ticket (9eur reduced) and entered the Baptistery first. The building is connected to the Basilica through a hall that leads to the center of the Baptistery with the baptismal font at its center; the Baptistery was rebuilt thrice and lost its cupola in the 18th century so now the roof is replaced by some brownish cloths that create an evocative atmosphere. Next to the Baptistery is a building called the Aula Cromaziana, or Sudhalle, which was a hall built by the Bishop Cromazio at the end of the 4th century which still hods an interesting mosaic representing animals such as sheep, goats, and even a peacock. From there we entered the actual Basilica building; the first church was built at the beginning of the 4th century and was later reconstructed four times while the present building dates to the 11th century. Once inside we marveled at the immense and amazing floor mosaic, considered to be the largest early christian mosaic in the world, and being it a Unesco world heritage site and so important it is covered by a glass floor on which to walk on. Throughout the floor there are several stories told through the mosaics, such as the fight between the tortoise and the rooster, the shepherd and the flock, and then many other figures such as fishermen, benefactors, and many different fish. Along the sides are the 5th century columns, on top the 15th century ceiling, and far to the end the apse with a 11th century fresco with Mary and some saints. Below the apse, a 9th century crypt with 12th century frescoes with stories of Saint Ermagora and others of Christ. On the northern side of the Basilica, below the bell tower, is an area with several layers of archaeological remains from different periods. Mosaics of a roman house from the 1st century, and then several splendid mosaics from the 4th century detailing animals such as a lobster on a tree, a plate of snails, another with the rooster against the tortoise, and several birds. We then started our ascension of the 11th century bell tower, that had a well kept mosaic on the ground floor; reaching the top after 73m and 126 steps we had an incredible view of the surrounding landscape with the peaks of the mountains still full of snow. After exiting the tower, we then walked along the old roman road that passed through the old roman river port sided by beautiful trees and countryside. We then turned around and passed through the roman forum with some columns still standing. Further on another open air archaeological area with roman houses and oratories which were used as private altars of the local families. After that we entered the National Archaeological Museum, with several objects of the daily life of the ancient roman population of Aquileia such as glassware, coins, utensil etc. In the gardens of the museum were displayed, though quite dusty and abandoned, some really interesting mosaics depicting different scenes such as one with Clymene a river nymph.

From Aquileia we drove onwards, crossing the lagoon, and reaching the town of Grado. The town is considered to be the first Venice, as it was the first place the roman refugees sought out after the invasion of Attila. We parked the car and continued on foot, passing through its small and lovely streets which reminded me much of the lesser known parts of Venice. We reached the small main square, called Campo dei Patriarchi, with the two important Basilica's on either side, We first entered the Basilica of Saint Eufemia, that used to be a Cathedral before the suppression of the Grado Patriarchate, the church was built in the 6th century with a 5th century Baptistery, and a 15th century bell tower. Inside it has many roman columns, a 13th century moorish styled pulpit, and an amazing floor mosaic dating to the 6th century with human and animal figures. Next was the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, also dating to the 6th century, with a empty yet beautiful interior with roman columns and floor mosaic. Walking on through the town we passed by the remains of a third Basilica, also dating to the 6th century, with only a few pieces of wall remaining and some parts of the floor mosaic. We then walked along the seafront and ended the night with a nice dinner with fish and seafood.

The Basilica of Aquileia

The Baptistery

Mosaic of a peacock

Interior of the Basilica

Mosaic of the Rooster and the Tortoise

Detail of the mosaic

A bird part of the mosaic

Mosaic of fishermen and different kinds of fish

The crypt with frescoes

Another view of the interior

Mosaic of a plate full of snails

View of the bell tower across the vineyard

The roman Forum

Interior of the bell tower

View of the Alps from the bell tower

Mosaic of Clymene in the National Archaeological Museum

Interior of the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Grado

The Campo dei Patriarchi and the Basilica of Saint Eufemia in Grado

Interior of Sant Eufemia

The mosaic inside Sant Eufemia

One of the lovely streets of Grado

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Bulgaria (21-27/04/2016)

My Erasmus friend Simona, had invited me to visit her in Bulgaria, so after successfully booking a flight I left Bergamo with Wizzair on April 21st at 13:30 and arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital at 17:30 local time. After a quick stop at Simona's house to leave my stuff, we immediately headed towards the city center where my friend showed me the immense National Palace of Culture which was built in 1981 to commemorate Bulgaria's 1300th anniversary, with a beautiful long and narrow fountain in front of it spraying water. The palace is now used for concerts, exhibitions and conferences and shows how Bulgaria has been striving to modernize and improve itself. From there we walked further along Vitosha Boulevard, Sofia's main street, lined with cool bars and cafes. It was then time to go as my friend had arranged to meet up with her friends and have a barbecue on the nearby mountain Vitosha. By the time we got to the top and started preparing it was already 10:30pm but in the end we had a really great barbecue with good meat, beer and company, though the temperature was much colder than in the city and I still felt cold even with my jacket on. The next day we woke up late in the morning and decided to head to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. The drive took about an hour and a half and we saw some beautiful landscapes and all the Rila mountains still full of snow. After reaching the town of Plovdiv, we looked for a parking space and then continued on foot. We reached the city's main square, Stefan Stambolov square, where we decided to have lunch (I got chicken with potatoes with a kind of gravy). After lunch we continued on foot and walking along Knyaz Alexander I street we reached the ruins of the ancient roman Stadium, built in the 2nd century AD, when the city was known as Trimontium. Right above and next to the Stadium, stands the Dzhumaya Mosque, an impressive mosque, built in the 15th century during the Ottoman rule which still serves as temple for the islamic community. It was unfortunately closed so we weren't able to enter, so we moved on and got to the Church of Sveta Marina, with a beautiful wooden bell tower and a frescoed interior dating to the 18th century. It was a really pleasant and hot day, with a temperature of about 25 degrees; walking uphill we entered the Church of the Holy Mother of God and the Church of St Dimitar. After descending a narrow street we came in sight of the impressive roman theater, we payed the entrance fee 1,5 leva (75 cents) and entered the building. The theater, one of the best preserved in the world, was built in the 1st century AD, when the city was known as Philippopolis (before becoming Trimontium), and the whole cavea, or spectator seats, is still perfectly intact, while the stage has some columns still standing. The view from there was very nice, with the modern city just below, and the Rhodope mountains far in the distance. After exiting the theater we walked through some narrow and beautiful streets lined with typical ottoman/bulgarian wooden houses, and entered the Church of St Kostantin and Elena, considered to be the oldest in the city, dating to the 4th century though the present building dates to the 18th century. We then passed under the old city gate and reached the eastern part of town. There we had to turn around a bit as Simona's friend suggested to avoid that area since it was considered to be the Gypsies' neighborhood. We then entered a museum called Small Basilica (2 Leva) which holds an amazing basilica dating to the 5th century AD, with many mosaics still intact and an annexed Baptistery with an incredible mosaic depicting a deer drinking from a spring. After that we went on to see another museum, the Trakart Center (2 leva), which holds a series of incredible mosaics from different roman villas found throughout the city and some even more incredible glassware dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries, just amazing! After the museum we still had some time, so we went to check the city's other mosque, the Imaret mosque, also dating to the 15th century; it was open and with scaffolding inside but we still rather liked it, We then chilled a bit at the local public park, before two other of Simona's friends came to pick us up and drove us to Yagodina, a hamlet in the middle of the Rhodope mountains. We arrived quite late so we left our stuff in the hotel room and went downstairs to have dinner with all the other friends that would stay with us for the next few days (I got a tarator, a cold soup made of yoghurt, cucumber and garlic, and then patatnik a type of potato frittata similar to spanish tortilla, both very tasty). The morning after we woke up early, had a quick breakfast with Bulgarian bread and white sirene cheese and then got on the off-road cars that would take us to the top of a nearby mountain. The ride was bumpy and crazy but really awesome, we were going through forests and plateaus and up rocks when we reached the top that had a beautiful view over the surrounding mountains. There was also a platform jutting out from the mountain top called Orlovo Oko, or Eagle's Eye, and as the name suggest had an impressive view on the gorge below. We then got back on the cars and drove on until we reached another great view, overlooking the Trigrad gorge and river. Driving further on we reached the bottom of the gorge and walked a bit along the river with some really pleasant surroundings. We then went back to the village of Trigrad where we had an amazing lunch at Kristiyan's house, one of Simona's friends, with fresh trout and a super tasty patatnik of which I had five dishes. After thanking Kristiyan's parents we got back in the car and headed towards Trigrad gorge, there we booked a tour of one of Bulgaria's most scenic and famous caves, Devil's Throat Cave. In fact once inside, I was in awe of its size and beauty, particularly the impressive steep staircase spiraling to the top and then out of a small opening. Once outside we took some pictures of the pretty waterfall cascading next to the cave's exit, and tried some really yummy bee and pine honey which I came to regret not buying as it was really cheap and super tasty. It was time to leave, so after getting back in the cars we headed towards Yagodina to pick our stuff, switch cars and head to our next destination. We drove through another impressive gorge and reached the village of Chala,where we stayed in a beautiful house, which Simona explained to me they had believed we would be staying in camps without shower, heat and so was quite a pleasant surprise to find out otherwise. The villages in this part of Bulgaria, are still mainly Muslim, in fact one can easily spot the minarets jutting out from each village center,

That night we had a great dinner and then party with lots of bulgarian food, rakia and even more bulgarian pop and folk music; we ate, danced and drank till late. The next morning we woke up late and still quite groggy, we had brunch with airyan and bread with sirene cheese, we then got our stuff and left to the next place. We reached Yagodinska Cave, another really nice cave which unlike the other, was mostly composed of stalagmites and stalactites. Unfortunately the guide only spoke Bulgarian, and the friends that spoke English had decided to stay out and eat something instead; luckily a Bulgarian guy had some British friends and was translating for them so I managed to catch his translations. Exiting the cave I rejoined with my friends and decided to have something to eat, so I got a really tasty crepe with local blackberries that were really good. It was then time to go so we said goodbye to everyone and got back in the car headed for Sofia. On the way back we had a quick stop in a town called Krichim where a really young gypsy kid asked us for some money, the girls thought they had seen him before so started telling random countries to which he would respond with their correspondent capital city; apparently this kid was famous in Bulgaria and had gone on TV as he knew lots if not all capital cities in the world. About 2 hours later we were back in Sofia and the next morning I was ready to finally explore Sofia itself.

We started the day with the beautiful Ivan Vazov National Theater completed in 1907, and then walked on passing by the Monument to the Tsar Liberator, constructed for Alexander II who liberated Bulgaria from Ottoman rule during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877. and then stopping for a pic of the communist monument in Knyazheska Garden. Then onward stopping at the SS. Cyril ad Methodius National Library, built after the previous one had been bombed in WWII, we then reached and entered Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the second largest in the Balkan Peninsula. Completed in 1912 in clear Neo-Byzantine style, it has a beautiful golden dome and the interior is richly decorated with marbles and mosaics (which apparently had been shipped over from Venice). Right across from the Cathedral, stands the Church of Saint Sofia, which is considered to be Sofia's second-oldest church, dating to the 6th century. The interior was quite empty as it had been transformed into a mosque during Ottoman rule, thus all the frescoes had been removed, however some parts of the mosaics were still visible through glass coverings in the floor. Continuing on we also entered the Church of St Nicholas, or Russian church, and then passed in front of the National Gallery and the National Archaeological Museum, hosted inside a former ottoman mosque from the 15th century, but unfortunately closed due to refurbishment works. We then reached the Rotunda of St George, Sofia's and probably Bulgaria's oldest church, dating to the 4th century with beautiful 12th and 13th century frescoes inside. From there we passed in front of the looming statue of Saint Sofia and the small yet closed church of Sveta Pekta; right next to it and below the main square was a recently (2014) opened air museum which showed the archaeological remains of the roman city of Serdica, found when digging for the new metro line. We continued on and entered the Sofia Synagogue (2lev), the largest in Southeastern Europe, built in 1909 in an interesting Moorish style. After that we went in the Central Market Hall where I bought some baklava to snack on ( a sweet pastry with nuts, honey and pistachio) which I ate while sitting on a bench in the gardens sided by the Banya Bashi Mosque on one side, and the Museum of the History of Sofia on the other. We entered the mosque, built in the 16th century which was unfortunately covered in scaffolding but still rather nice to look at, and then walked further reaching the Largo, or Sofia's main square, with all the Soviet style government buildings all around it. Not too far on we also visited the Amphitheater of Serdica, part of a roman amphitheater now inside a modern hotel, quite impressive to look at. We then ended the day's visit with the Church of St Nedelya, first built in the 10th century, the modern building dates to the late 19th century and was greatly reconstructed after an assault in 1925 when a group of communists blew it up killing 150 people, a plaque reminding the event stands next to the entrance. That night Simona brought me to her friends' house to have dinner, but the next morning I didn't feel so well from mixing wine, rakia and whisky so I had to recover by sleeping till midday. I then managed to get up but we already had lost all morning so we just had time for a few of the museum I had planned to see. We began with the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Boyana Church (5 leva), an amazing 10-11th century church with incredible frescoes dating to the 11th to the 17th centuries, though the most important ones were from 1259. They were really interesting as they dissociated themselves from the mostly robotic and 2D typical byzantine frescoes and looked more like the roman and western fluid and 3D figures. It was unfortunately forbidden to take pictures inside so I will have to rely on my memory and internet pics to recall their beauty. After that we got on the bus and went back into town, as the church sits about 8km south of the city right below Vitosha mountain. We then visited the Museum of the History of Sofia, which ,as the name suggests, presented many artifacts dating from the city's early beginnings to the 20th century. There were many roman objects such as golden cups, interesting glassware and then medieval manuscripts and paintings, 18th century clothes and even a whole chariot. We were also able to see a traditional bulgarian dance performed by children inside the museum. To end the day we attended Simona's friend's vernissage where we had a few drinks and enjoyed the sunset before then heading home to have dinner and sleep. The day after was unfortunately my last day so Simona showed me where to take the bus which then brought to the airport and back home to Italy after an amazing week in a splendid country.