My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Author: marionvermazen
I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.
After breakfast this morning Duke and I did most of the Rick Steves Naples walking tour. His walking tours really add to my enjoyment of a place. I wish there were more available.
Naples walking tourFish marketOn the Naples walking tourThe Tripperia! What are all those parts?Naples
Naples is gritty, vibrant and full of history. We definitely got a taste of all that on this walk. We had to cut this walk short to get to the bus station for our 12:15 bus to Bari.
Waiting for the bus to BariOn the bus
Bari has been a real surprise. We expected a gritty port city. This is where we will catch the ferry to Dubrovnik tomorrow. Instead we walked through an upscale shopping district on the walk from the bus to our hotel. Later when we went out for a walk we explored a charming old town.
Old town BariA stop for Spritz and a snack
We had an absolutely fabulous dinner near our hotel.
We started with the octopus appetizerAnd ended with a chocolate and truffle desert.
This morning we drove to the train station in Naples where we turned in our rental car. We all went into the station and Brian and Jo Ann bought tickets to Rome. We saw them off at the train platform gate. We have had a wonderful two weeks traveling together. We will miss them.
Brian and Jo Ann leaving for Rome
Duke and I walked to our hotel and checked in. We had a lazy afternoon in our room.
Tonight we are at L’antica Pizzeria da Michele. It is one of the oldest and most famous pizzerias in Italy. It was a fun experience and the pizza was good. We could see where it was from a block away because of the crowd in the street. There was a long line of people waiting to order pizza to go. If you want to eat inside you get a number and wait for it to come up on the display. Everybody waits in the street.
L’antica Pizzeria da Michele
When we arrived we got number 30 and they were serving number 3. It took about an hour for our turn to come. There are only four kinds of pizza on the menu and a few drinks. Our bill was €17!
We are now on the way back to Naples. This morning we left the coast at the ‘instep’ of Italy and headed inland and northwest in the Basilicata region of Italy. Along the way we stopped at the town of Matera. It is the oldest continuously occupied town in Italy. According to Wikipedia the area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic (10th millennium BC). The town is built around a canyon and is famous for its cave dwellings. We parked and walked.
Cave dwellings in MateraBehind us is the Duomo in Matera.
The cave dwellings in Matera were a slum in the 1950s and were then abandoned. Now they contain shops, B and Bs, and a knitting shop! The first I have seen in Italy.
Knitting shop in MateraKnitting shop in Matera
After leaving Matera we found a great spot for Duke to record his YouTube review of our Fiat 500X. It will be posted on our YouTube channel soon. If you follow the channel you may have seen that we are now up to 115 subscribers. Thank you all! We have named the channel Boomers Without Borders.
Getting ready to record Duke review of our Fiat 500X
Tonight we are staying at a hotel overlooking the town of Picerno.
Picerno from our hotel.
We played cards in Brian and Jo Ann’s room. tomorrow Brian and Jo Ann will head back to Rome as they start their trip home. So tonight was our last game of 500. The final reckoning for our two weeks of card playing found Duke in first place, Brian and Jo Ann tied for second and me in last place. Our nightly card games were a lot of fun.
This morning after breakfast at our Agriturismo we went to see the Archaeological Park of Sybaris. Three different cities have existed on this site. The Greek city of Sybaris was established about 720 BC. Another Greek city, Thurii was established about 444 BC. And the Roman city of Copia was established about 194 BC. We visited both the archaeological site and the associated museum.
The ruins of Copia and ThuriiThe ruins of Copia and ThuriiInside the Sybaris Archaeological Museum
Tonight we are staying at a beach resort. After we checked in we went down to the beech to swim in the Mediterranean.
Duke and I ready to take on the Mediterranean Swimming
Then we went back to the hotel to play cards outside our room.
Today we drove up the heel of Italy to a wonderful Agriturismo near the instep of Italy.
But first we decided to drive up to the top of the highest mountain above Scilla where we stayed last night. The brochure we picked up at the hotel made the drive and hike sound relatively easy and there was supposed to be a Christ the Redeemer statue at the top.
The road was very potholed. We stopped to eat the melon we bought a few days ago.
Eating our melon
A bit farther up the road we stopped at the sign for Montalto. Duke and Jo Ann made it to the top of the mountain. We didn’t find the statue but there was a great view.
The view from the topDuke and Jo Ann on top of Montalto
I think Agriturismo Trappeto Vecchio where we are staying is the nicest Agroturismo we have stayed at. The owner greeted us and offered us beer made by a friend of his. The setting is idyllic. We are surrounded by citrus and olive trees.
Our welcome drinkAgriturismo Trappeto VecchioWhere we ate and played cards
We had a wonderful dinner ending with fruit from his trees.
Marion's Blog 