The Westend Trap

With life finally getting back to normal now, everything unpacked, settled into the new place completely, thought it was time to finally pay the donation I owed Padre Pio, that I promised him, during the stress of finding a place to live. Managed to find a Capuchin Order Friary on Church Street near Smithfield.

As is usually my nature in the lead up to Christmas, I went Christmas shopping around the October mid term. As I am working in retail too long, that I won't think of doing it after mid November when all the offers I'm after are over. We soon found out we were better prepared than we thought and thought we'd unwind after a hard day, decided to crave out a pumpkin, something neither of us had done before, which was kinda fun and put us into spooky Halloween spirit. To my shock and painful horror, on Bank Holiday Sunday night when talking to Niamh from the Kitchen, I didn't notice a loose skirting on the floor and caught the soles of both my feet, which tore and hurt like hell. Luckily Niamh was on hand to take care of the wounds. It definitely pays to have a nurse in the family.

Thanks to my mother, I won a competition in the Sunday Times for a +TullamoreDEW whiskey tasting masterclass in the Palace Bar on Fleet Street. The whole event was quite entertaining and informative and I left with a Tullamore DEW goodie bag with a hip flask and glasses which was nice. About 2 days later, i enjoyed my first mince pie of the season +M&S followed by the complimentary whiskey I received from +tullamoredew, which was a surprisingly delicious mixture. 

After a hard busy week, I was looking forward to the comfy train journey home to Clare despite the 6am rise. After a quick coffee with the mother on her morning break, it was off home, where I thought I was just home to relax, where I quickly found out, I ended up helping my dad move some of my stuff over the years, that was a trip down memory lane. To round off my weekend home, we visited my Gran, who didn't know I was home and surprised her with a birthday cake and presents from Niamh and myself for her 92nd birthday. I seemed to bringing back more stuff on the bus journey than I had going home, isn't that always the way.

                                     

A play I've been dying to see for years was Mousetrap, finally got a chance to go see it at the Bord Gais Theatre, the set and the cast were amazing. The whole mystery plot and the disclaimer they tell the audience at the end to keep the secret over the plot is a clever one, which doesn't spoil the show for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. we already planning our next trip to the Bord Gais on the Luas home. Then on Thursday when got the members email about offers for 1 Man 2 Guvnors. I contacted them by email that evening about the offer, and of course received missed calls back and forth Friday and Monday. But when I also got an unexpected missed call from my mother around same time, I rang her back to find out, she won a pair of tickets to that show and was able to change them for me for the Thursday performance, which gave us something to love forward to. Come Thursday I met Niamh on route to the Grand Canal, where we got a nice bite to eat at Herb Street before the show followed by a pre show drink. Throughout the show and even during intermission the shows Skittle band The Craze performed who were very good. A particular highlight was the improv which Gavin Spokes performing as the lead Francis had to perform due to a sketch that went pear shaped, which however had the whole audience in stitches. Between the music, the band, the improv and comic timing, I not laughed so much in an ages exactly what the doctor ordered. When we got home, we watched the Glasnevin documentary One Million Dubliners which I felt was a quite powerful and emotional film and nearly had me in tears at the end over Shane Mac Thomais.

Which was starting to turn into a weekly trip to BGE Theatre, this time to see Westend Women, Joanna Ampil, Ria Jones and Kerry Ellis, 3 leading ladies of the Westend, who have starred in some of the biggest shows such as Wicked, Cats, Evita, Les Mis and Miss Saigon. I was dragging Niamh  to the show to see Kerry Ellis, as I was lucky enough to see her as Elphaba in Wicked in Westend. The feel of the show was fun, and ended being such unforgettable magical night with everyone singing and dancing along during the encore.

On Wednesday, our mother came up to visit for a few days, with a few touristy things planned during her stay and her promise of home cooked food, which had us excited. As I was working, My mother was lucky enough to collect my keys from the concierge. After a quick change and had some of my mother's freshly home made soup, we made our way into town towards Arnotts, for their special Christmas evening event. At this event, there was live music, gimmicks and free whiskey throughout the night and weren't shy with the whiskey pour.

First on the agenda, was on Thursday Morning, after a quick stroll to the Guinness Storehouse. As we booked an early bird ticket with 20% off admission online, we went straight to the pre paid machine, to collect tickets and start our tour. The tour is self guided and commenced by standing at the bottom of the world's largest pint glass in the Atrium, which rises up through the centre of the seven story building and if full would hold 13.4 millions pints of Guinness. On the fourth floor, we got the opportunity to pour of own pint of in the dedicated Perfect Pint Bar. In the Arthur's Bar on fifth floor got to see views of the brewery, nearly as spectacular as the views from my own bedroom. When we reached the Gravity Bar, we were able to sit back with the pint of Guinness included in price of admission despite the early hour and take in the breath taking panoramic views of Dublin City, in my opinion nearly the best view within Dublin itself. 

After all this Guinness history, we both were stuffed from breakfast so I rang brasserie 66 to reschedule our lunch for the next day when Niamh could join us too, as its a place we enjoy and thought our mother would too. After sitting back a tad longer enjoying the view from the Gravity bar, we continued on with our tour of the storehouses, with the Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield our next stop. On route, I brought her to the St Augustine and John church and Capuchin Order Friary on Church Street near Smithfield. The Friary is located right next the distillery which was quite handy. Our booked tour was at 3pm, and was a guided one which lasted about an hour and included a whiskey comparison with Johnny Walker Scotch, Jack Daniels Bourbon and of course Jameson and what the differences between them are. And most important, the complimentary Jameson drink which made my day being a Jameson whiskey drinker. 

Niamh had a full mini Christmas dinner waiting for us, in honour of our American friends for Thanksgiving. Once we were filled up, we got the bus towards town, for a private event Tommy Hilfiger with music, canapés, drinks and caricaturist, which was busy and fun. +Niamh got a caricature done which came out quite well. During the weekend, we went for the lunch at Brasserie 66 where we managed to get 5€ off thanks to Vouchercloud, followed after with Bewleys for a Christmas drink Candy Cane Latte, CHQ building for Lidl Christmas markets, and a Christmas Market at Catherine Church. 

After an intense day in work and later shopping with the family, we finally put the Christmas tree and decorations up in the Apartment, being supervised by our mother superior, which made the place feel quite Christmasy while listening to Christmas FM. 

                                             

New Beginnings

With the excitement of Italy behind us, we came home to the joys of accommodation hunting which was proving difficult separately and +Niamh starting her new college course in Healthcare Informatics. When we started to look for a place together, although still hard was more promising. We still had time to enjoy ourselves, with a reception at Harvey Nichols and cinema tickets to see Before I Go To Sleep in Dundrum. My weekend off, was a quiet affair, just spent watching Clare U21 hurlers winning 3 in a row All Ireland titles, followed by a day spent at the zoo, as Niamh put it baby hunting, which was more fun than I thought it was gonna be.

 

After a few weeks with no luck, it all came together on Wednesday the 17th, when despite Niamh ringing a particular estate agent that morning with no luck, I chanced my arm ringing after work at 3. I got a call back just before 4, for a viewing 30 mins later, which couldn't have suited us any better. We nearly fell in love with the apartment as soon as we entered it. I couldn't have ran any quicker to the ATM and back with the holding deposit. On Friday lunchtime, after spending the previous two days packing up my life, we signed our lease for our place and got the keys, which was a great relief after a stressful few weeks. As I had time to kill after unpacking, I decided to make most of culture night, and finally go see the Freemasons buildings on Moleworth Street, a building which has eluded me over the years as their open days never suited me until now. Despite getting totally soaked to the bone, once inside, from the onset it didn't disappoint. Over the 3 levels, the history of the Grand Masonic Lodge was everywhere to see and the Freemasons themselves were on hand to answer any questions. I ended up spending longer here, then I had initially planned. On the route home, as Niamh had ordered thai takeaway, I made a slight detour into the city hall exhibition. An exhibition I was not willing previously to pay into, once inside my reservations were correct, as this exhibition is not worth any price of admission. 

Our parents made the journey up that evening for the weekend, which was nice that the whole moving in was quite the family affair. Whilst I was working all day Saturday, which itself was an ordeal with no delivery and the never ending queues. At least the parents and Niamh had a more enjoyable day, spending it at the zoo at the request of our mother, who not been there in 20 years. However it was poor Niamh's second trip in less than a week. After their eventful trip to the zoo, they strolled from the Phoenix Park towards Collins Barracks museum, which neither of our parents had been to before. Just before exiting the park, Niamh attempted to give 2 strangers directions and somehow they ended up inside the new criminal courts. By Saturday night, both Niamh and myself had moved out of our old places and unpacked and moved into our new one.
                            

After a few technical issues with our UPC order, over the weekend, through social media on Monday and early Tuesday morning, I received the horizon box and got everything sorted, now the place really feels like home. On Friday, our mother decided to visit for the weekend again, which was starting to turn into a habit, arriving just after 11.30pm. The following day, we got up and took her by her request on a hop on hop off tour, which I managed to get on Living Social for 7 euro each for all 3 of us. My mother and myself meet Niamh outside the Little Museum on St Stephen Green, who came after college that morning. The ticket to the museum was included as part of the hop on hop off tour one. Our mother really enjoyed the guided tour of this particular museum, we followed this by continuing on the bus tour, followed by the Docklands one, which Niamh and me hadn't done previously and was a pleasant surprise. Disembarking at the Grand Canal, we strolled over to George's Dock, where Oktoberfest was on. The crowds and the atmosphere was electric and the first time I've drank a Stein glass of beer. This was a nice way to finish a week off work and settling into the new place.

 Things were definitely on the way up, as on October 4th, it was time finally to see +Ed Sheeran in the +3Arena Dublin. Im not sure who was more excited myself or Niamh, and this after we both saw him, the May Bank Holiday Monday in +Vicar Street. Ed really knew how to get the crowd going, which made the whole experience electric. Just like the intimate gig at Vicar street, we left the gig singing all the way home. 

Getting used to our surroundings, we noticed the historical structures, churches and buildings nearby on James and Thomas St, such as Guinness' St James' Gate of course, St Patrick's Smock Tower, St Catherine Church site of Robert Emmet execution and John's Lane Church where there a relic of St. Nicholas and the twelve statues in the niches on the tower are the work of James Pearse, father of Padraig Pearse.

Medieval and Renaissance Florence and Pisa

The train journey from Rome to Florence took just over 90 mins, after we embarked from the train, we headed to the tourist info to get a map of the city. We then attempted to find the Uffizi Gallery located near to Palazzo Vecchio, and collected our tickets which we booked online for the gallery. There was a security check point and the required cloakroom. Once inside the gallery we ascended the stairs upto the second floor which the renaissance paintings and sculptures are housed. The gallery houses works such as Boticelli's Birth of Venus, Leonardo di Vinci, Michaelangelo amongst others. At the end of touring the gallery, the view on the terrace gave a glance of the Il Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio nearby.

After collecting our bags, we exited into the Piazza della Signoria where there are the Neptune fountain known as Fontana del Biancone and Equestrian Monument. From near here, we entered the Loggia dei Lanzi, a building on a corner of Piazza della Signoria adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. This building consists of wide arches open to the street and is a sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art. On the entrance  to Palazzo Vecchio is a copy of Michaelangelo's David, the original is housed safely within the Galleria dell'Accademia. Like the Uffizi gallery, bags had to checked into the cloakroom for safety of the art. The ticket we bought was the museum and tower combi, and Liam again managed to get me a student ticket. Straight away entering the museum, you are bombarded with paintings by Leonardo di Vinci's Battle of Angliari and Michaelangelo's Battle of Cascina on the walls of the Salone dei Cinqueccento or Hall of the Five Hundred, works which neither were completed. Before we exited this room, there the statue of Michaelangelo's Genius of Victory and Vasari's  Another particular highlight for us, was Dante Death Mask, located in a small hallway, as all mentioned in Dan Brown's Inferno. From the museum, we climbed the steps of the tower, which showed the nearby Il Duomo perfectly. At this stage of the day, we were both wrecked, so decided to get the train to Pisa, we just missed one, got the next available one, although tad longer than previous one, gave us the opportunity to sit back and relax. We only noticed half way through the journey, we were meant to have validated the ticket before boarding the train, little we could do about it now. Arriving into Pisa, we followed our mate Giulia directions to our hotel, which couldn't be any more precise. Receptionist was very helpful, with directions and helping us with the map the hotel provided. The hotel still has that old family feel within a modern setting. After unpacking, we went for pizza at a place called Dabbe followed by Gelato in Piazza Garibaldi in small place called La Bottega del gelato, both which were divine and suggested by Giulia. To finish the night off, we had a drink on the terrace of our hotel. 

 The following morning, with a well earned sleep in, we went exploring the areas of Pisa.  From our hotel the Royal Victoria, our first port of call was the nearby, Piazza dei Cavalieri, small square with historical buildings which hosted political powers during the renaissance, with the Palazzo della Carovana, the main building with an elaborate facade designed by Giorgio Vasari. From here we countinued our stroll towards the Piazza dei Miracoli or Field of Miracles, UNESCO heritage site containing the Leaning Tower or Torre Pendente. Soon after arriving into the Piazza we purchased our ticket and were given a 4.15 time slot. As we had time to kill, we got the combi ticket for 8 euro to visit the Battistero or Bapistry, Camposanto Monumentale and Museo seller Sinopie. The Camposanto in particular was quite interesting, as it a huge cemetery with ancient Roman sarcophagi, frescoes and sculptures. With both Leaning Tower and combi tickets, gave us free admission into Duomo di Pisa. After our late lunch, it was nearly our timeslot to climb the tower and see the view over Pisa, although we were up and down within 30 to 40 mins, felt like more. Back at the hotel, the owner gave us some suggestions of where else to visit. As we wanted to relax before dinner, we went to visit the Scotto Gardens, a fortress coverted into a public park. We went to a cafe, we noticed on route back from the Leaning Tower, we ended leaving as the service was so bad. As it was getting late, we ended up eating by the Tower, although food and service wasn't the best, at least can say ate by the Leaning Tower. To improve and finish the night properly, we had gelato in Piazza Garibaldi at what was becoming our favourite gelato place. 

Our earliest morning yet, was Tuesday at 6.15 am as we had to make our way to Florence by train, for our jam packed day, beginning at the Academy Gallery at 9.15am to view the Hall of  Michaelangelo's work, of course in particular the statue of David. On leaving the gallery, we made the 5 mins walk to Florence's Cathedral, Il Duomo and were met with a long queue waiting for Brunelleschi's Dome. Niamh quickly joined it, while I hurried off to get the 10€ ticket for access to all the buildings. It took almost over an hour, before we even entered to begin the 464 steps climb to dome, viewing Vasari's Last Judgement beneath the dome closer on route. Once finally at the top of the dome, and on the platform  on the outside, gave views of Florence, which was almost outdone latter in the day by views from the Giotto's Bell Tower, Boboli and Bardini Gardens. After our descend from the top, we rushed towards the Bargello Museum, as the information online said it closed at 18.00 not 12.50. This museum was a last minute addition to our initinery after hearing and reading about it since our arrival into the region. The museum houses other statues of David by Donatello and Verrochio, in the city of Florence there 4 such statues, 2 in this museum, 1 in the Academy Gallery and a replica of Michaelangelo's one outside the Palazzo Vecchio. After our visit here, we joined the que for the Bell Tower, which moved a lot quicker than one for the dome, we queued and reached the top within 45 mins, however it felt like the climb would never end. On reaching the street level again, we went to the Bapistry, admiring the east doors designed by Gilbertini? who Michaelangelo once described them as been fit to be the Gates to Paradise. After a quick visit the cathedral and it's crypt, we walked over the Ponte Vecchio and towards the Pitti  Palace, where we got the ticket for the Boboli and Bardini Gardens which cost 10 euro. It took us about 3 hours to see only about half the Boboli gardens, but we made it to Porta Romana, the Buontalenti Grotto and the secret grey exit door from the Palazzo Vecchio, all of which are mentioned in the book Inferno. The view from both of these gardens are superb and in particular of the Duomo. We managed to make the 19.30 train back to Pisa, although it was a long and tiring day, was worth all the climbing of steps and hills. Once in Pisa, at this stage we were hungry and went to the first restaurant we met, which actually wasn't half bad. To finish the day, we had the required gelato from our favourite place.

To finish off our visit to Pisa and Italy, we enjoyed last few sights such the church of Santa Maria Della Spina and church San Michele , another leaning tower within Pisa. During our trip in this city, we seen all 3 such leaning towers. Before getting the bus to the airport, we sat back and relaxed with our final gelato in Italy before our flight home back Dublin from Galieli International airport. It was only while queueing to board, I thought to check my mobile boarding pass and noticed we had priority queuing, although it had closed, we still were able to skip the long queue which was a relief. 

All Roads Lead to Rome

Once off the train in Roma, and navigated our way through Termini station, we collected our Roma Pass for 2 attractions and use of the public transport for 72 hours. We soon learnt that GPS and maps would become our friend during our stay in Rome. With such help, we got our hotel, Hotel Tirreno, the location was convenient to the Metro and to Termini Station and the room itself was bigger and more luxurious than our one in Sorrento, and only learned when packing up that there had been a mini bar in the room, think maybe lucky we hadn't known. We quickly enough unpacked and commenced our exploration of the eternity city, that is Rome. We strolled back towards the nearby basilica to check it out, to find out that it was one of the items on our initinery, the basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore which is largest church dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary in Rome or our Lady of the snow. From here walked towards to the Pantheon, we arrived to a building which we thought was the Pantheon, but only realised after it was the Vittoriano, the Italian war memorial, located in Piazza Venezia. Around from the war memorial, were the steps up to the Piazza del Campidoglo, located on capital hill, which is a square that was designed by Michelangelo. From this hill,this gave us our first surreal viewpoint of Ancient Rome and in particular an excellent view of the layout of the Imperial Forums. Walking down Via dei Fori Imperiali, towards the Colosseum, enabled us to see the Roman Forum on the right and Trajan's forum and market on the left. By the time we reached the colosseum, it was sunset, which illustrated the monument in a beautiful light. To the right of the colosseum is the Arch of Constanine and the beginning of Palatine hill.

From this area, we walked straight south along Via di Sin Gregorio which brought us to Circus Maximus, which these days has become a peaceful park. We walked through the park but it had become too dark to take pictures, so decided to return to take a selfie another day. At this stage, we became hungry, so headed to find a place to eat, which surprisingly enough was near enough to the Trevi Fountain. When we got the Trevi Fountain, we hadn't known that the fountain is currently under going some cosmetic reconstruction work but the city still provided a place to throw a coin, which took a few attempts to manage. Our first night wandering around Old Rome, helped us get our bearings for the following morning. Seeing some of the main attractions lit up at night was a good start to our visit. Although took us long enough to find our hotel after our excursion out, in the end was possible mainly thanks to google maps, which wouldn't  be the last time, it would come to our rescue. 

After making use of the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we strolled towards the colosseum.  We were able to bypass the queues, thanks to the Roma Pass as there was a separate line for pass holders. Once inside, Rick Steves' guided and navigated us through the attraction, as he would with the majority of the attractions within Rome and the Vatican. From the 2nd level, we were able to look out from the colosseum onto the rest of the surrounding areas in particular Arch of Constanine and the nearby Imperial Forums and Palatine hill, which was our next port of call, as it was included in the same attraction price as the colosseum. After our mandatory selfie within the colosseum, we exited from here after our 90 min visit and strolled the short distance to the Forums Via Sacra. Again Rick Steves' helped us through the Forums before we went unguided walking about the Palatine Hill. Particular highlights of these two attractions were the Arch of Titus, Arch of Severus and the view from Palatine Hill overlooking Circus Maximus. We exited the Forums at the north west corner, next to the flight of steps leading to Piazza del Campidoglo, which is also the location of the the Mamertine Prison also known as Tullianum. This prison is famous for having been the location where St. Peter was imprsioned before his martyrdom. This 5 euro guided tour, provided info on the history of the prison, the roman walls, chapel of the crucifix and the location itself of the Tullianum or maximum security prison of Ancient Rome. After this tour, the war memorial/ Vittoriano was opened, we went in out of curiosity, which gave us an overview of the surrounding areas, and how close we were to the pantheon the previous night. On route to the pantheon, with a pit stop  first at Largo di Torre Argentina which is a square that hosts 4 Republican Roman temples and remains of Pompey's theatre Curia, the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated. 

About ten mins walk further, we finally managed to find the Pantheon. The pantheon is famed for its large dome which is the largest masonry dome in the world, is still a functioning church and hosts the final resting place of Raphael's tomb. Once exiting the pantheon, we walked 5 mins towards Piazza Navona, which in it's centre lies Bernini's Fountain of the Rivers. Bernini's sculptures and fountains would become a running theme throughout our stay. Soon after seeing this Bernini fountain, I remembered the use of Bernini in Dan Brown's Angels and Demon and decided that we must them see all. At the other end of Piazza we exited and strolled towards Piazza del Popolo in the North Center of Rome, which at its centre is an Egyptian obselisk that originally was in Circus Maximus. As our feet were beginning to hurt, we sat down in the Piazza to gather our composure before continuing on. Liam mounted the stone lion near the obelisk, was funny watching him try to climb back down. After seeing all these obelisks, we hopped onto the metro to San Giovanni, where the tallest obelisk in world is located outside the Lateran basilica. We finally crawled back to our hotel, for a siesta before heading back out later that night. Trying to tick items off our to do list, we got the metro to to the Spanish steps, where we climbed and descended the 135 steep sloped steps, after doing this, gave us quite the appetite however it was late, trying to find food was proving difficult. Luckily enough for us, the Irish bar Trinity College was still serving food and it was surpringly nice too. On the way to get the metro at Barberini station, we noticed the magnificent Bernini fountain, one of his not to be missed in Rome. 

 Early rise the next morning, quick breakfast and metro to Ottaviano, the stop closest to the Vatican. Once inside St. Peter's square, soon discovered we were a tad too early, so explored the square itself, which has free access before we passed the police checkpoint, followed by the Swiss guards. This tour only can be booked in advance and holds ten people at a time. The Scavi tour under St. Peter's Basilica included visiting the Necropolis and culminating at the site of St. Peter's tomb. On exiting his tomb, we were brought outside the Irish chapel under the Basilica. In the Papal grotto, we saw St. Peter's tomb from a different angle, 3rd so far that morning and the final angle in the Basilica itself. Luckily enough on leaving the tour and Papal grotto, we were able to enter the basilica without having to queue, which at times can take 3 to 4 hours. Particular highlights of the Basilica were the art work, structures, Pieta Chapel and the dome. On seeing the dome from a distance, we decided to pay the 5 euro and climb the 551 steps to the top of the dome, stopping off on the way for a closer view of the inside of the dome. Then climbed the remaining 320 steps to the top of dome, which gave us the opportunity to step out onto a platform and view the Vatican from a height. Liam didn't realise we had more steps to climb after the first set which was funny. On descending the 320 steps part first, we stopped for well earned pit stop and call our dad from the top of Basilica, before finishing the descend down which brought us back inside the Basilica. After our day one visiting to the Vatican was complete, we strolled towards Castel Sant'Angelo, famed for being the Mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian and fortess for popes. Here we used our Roma Pass to gain access as our 2nd attraction. On our journey back towards the main part of Rome, we passed over the Bridge of Angels and the noticed a sign for relics of Padre Pio, by the time we found the church it was closed and we were determined to visit it the next day. To finish off the day we revisited Piazza Navona, Pantheon and finished at Trevi fountain joining the que with gelato in hand, to walk across the boardwalk over the fountain giving us a closer look at the statues and of course a selfie. 

Slightly earlier start, but reached the Vatican with time to spare, to make a quick detour to the obselisk in St. Peter's square, for a photo at the air element mentioned in Angels and Demons. As we had a prearranged guided tour of the Necropolis via Triumphalis, before visiting the Vatican museums, which was self guided, we were able to skip the queue of people waiting for museum to open to purchases tickets. The guided tour was better than we expected and finished at the entrance to the museums which was ideal. The amount of paintings, sculptures and artefacts on display was unreal, even before we reached the Raphael rooms, finally accumulating in the masterpiece that is the Sistine Chapel which has to be seen with your own eyes to believe the beauty of Michaelangelo's work. Although neither of wanted to leave, there was places and things we wanted to see. A quick trip on the metro to Piazza del Popolo, to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in particular Chigi chapel as it was designed by Raphael and finished by Bernini and the earth element used in Dan Brown's book. To finish off our tour of locations mentioned in the book, we went to the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which we had to wait to be opened. The Ecstacy of Saint Theresa by Bernini in the Cornora chapel is used to illustrate the element of fire in the book. Our attempt to find the metro got us somehow atop the Quirinal, highest of the famous Roman hills and next to the Quirinal palace. Walking down Via dei Fori Imperiali, past the Colosseum, got us to Circus Maximus for a daylight selfie and attempt to find this gelato place recommended on TripAdvisor, il gelato di Claudo Torce, which seemed forever to find but was worth the wait. At the other end of Circus Maximus, Santa Maria in Cosmedin is located, best known for the Bocca Della Verita or mouth of truth in its porch. Although when were arrived it was closed 2 hours earlier than mentioned online, was just about able to get a picture of the sculpture. As we still had time, we hopped onto a bus to the church of San Salvatore in Lauro, when we got there, they were in middle of mass but in the end managed to get to see the Padre Pio relics. On our route for food, it started raining buckets, we ran to get shelter at the Pantheon but were already soaked. A drink was well earned after that, and ended up in the Irish bar, Scholars Lounge to recover before food, followed by the stroll back to the hotel. 

After breakfast and check out, we made our way to the Termini Station, to catch the train to Florence.

From Sorrento with Love

After a slight panic trying to get a taxi to the airport, we arrived with loads of time to spare. Taxi ended up being free due to a promotion. We made it seemlessly through security, and got few bits for plane, as neither us were really hungry because it was way too early to eat. We were unlucky not to sleep beside each other. Liam nodded off for a bit,  however, I was unlucky to be stuck beside, the most annoying two-faced, self-centered shrew I ever met. I was never so glad to get off a flight in my life. Until, we met the travel agent at the airport who was unhelpful and rude but we got sorted in the end with our 3 day tourist travel pass. What is ironic, Liam sub-consciously told the agent I was 25,forgetting I had turned 26, so was entitled  to a young person pass, which was 7€ cheaper. With a sprint, we finally made the ALBIUS bus from the airport into the centre of Naples. 

We attempted to try find a pizzeria that was recommended on trip advisor, after a detour or two,finally found it, however it was closed, which was surprising, as it was lunchtime on a Saturday. As I have never seen Liam so nervous or anxious, as we strolled around the city, we made a beeline for the train station, to catch the circ.. to Sorrento. As everyone packed on the train, we were very lucky to get seats, as it was getting pretty full. On the journey, one of the passenger across from me, opened a water bottle, which sprayed everywhere, spraying me in particular, which was a welcome relief and was something of a conversation starter. Somewhere on the way, traditional Italian type musicans boarded the train, and began playing stereotypical Italian music. Once we arrived finally into Sorrento, after what seemed like an eternity, with our 2 new friends in toe, we departed the station and attempted to find the Foreiger's Club hotel, which was recommended in the Rick Steves' guide book, something Liam and our new friend Anna, had been reading, with Liam leading the way, following the directions laid out in the book, which were spot on, and we all got to the information point with ease, collecting all the required info. After this, we finally made it to our hotel, where we parted company with our new acquaintances. We quickly checked-in, unpacked and went off exploring the town, the view from the rooftop of our hotel, was breathtaking of the mountains in the distance,which we soon learned was nothing to the view from the marina. As we climbed down the steps from Piazza Tasso towards the port, which was some trek, but was a fun experience, we saw the Sorrento city train and gave us idea that we must do that and both agreed, glad we did it even if it was tiring.

We explored the marina, port and surrounding beaches, before attempting the scary but beautiful climb back up to the town, which seemed to last for ever. Ironically, if we had brought our travel passes out with us, could've got the bus back for free.  We found the first place that looked decent for food, as at this stage, we both were famished. Soon after the meal, unsurprisingly we found the obligatory Irish Bar, Chaplin's. Not long after this, as it'd been quite a long day we were wrecked, and had an early start the next day, so off to bed we went. On the stroll back to the hotel, approx. 9.30pm we noticed the evening rush hour traffic, which we both laughed and joked about.

After an early start the following morning, we headed to the train station, having consumed the complimentary breakfast. We got the train to the Pompei Scavi stop, collected our tickets at the Porta Marina using our tourist passes. Once we got into the site itself, we began using Rick Steves' audio tour and map, which directed and guided us around the ruins, which we found invaluable at times, as it's quite easy to get lost and confused due to the vast size of the ruins. This audio tour, highlighted 18 key ruins which showcased the site perfectly, especially the house of the faun, house of the vetti, brothel (or Lupanare with such erotic art drawings on the walls) and the theatre. After this audio tour finished, we trekked to the other end of the site to the Villa dei Misteri which luckily enough was worth the walk. Before we knew it, we had spent almost 4.5 hours at Pompei, nearly an hour over the time, we originally planned. The walk from Villa dei Misteri back to the station, was nearly more strenuous on us then the 4.5 hours within the site. 

  

Once we finally got the station, the next train that was due was cancelled, which gave us time to recover before our next outing in Ercolano, to visit the site of Herculaneum. What is quite ironic, on the walk to the site, seems we took a wrong turn, and ended up in the wrong end of Ercolano for almost an hour, we nearly gave up trying to find Herculaneum when out of no where, we walked passed it. We both nearly cried with laughter and relief at finding the site finally! During our time at Herculanum, Liam was almost in tears when his home button on his phone became lost. He was such a grouch for the rest of our time at the site. The site is more intact in parts. Then Pompei, preferred certain aspects of this site, mainly less crowded, had the women's baths as well as the men's (Pompei only got the men's), however the baths in Pompei were more extravent then Herculanum. The statues were amazingly intact and so ornate. The trip back to the station was so much quicker and less eventful then getting to the site. On the train, Liam finally saw the funny side of it, as he joked about leaving a part of his phone at a Roman ruin. 

When we got back to Sorrento, the fun didn't stop as we jumped onto the City Train Sorrento. Which gave us a scenic audio guided road train trip around Sorrento. The first time we sat down and chilled all day was over a drink at what seemed to turn into our local, Chaplains. We finally managed to get something to eat, at a place we noticed the previous night, La Fenice, despite the quite slow service, the food itself was perfect. To complete the perfect day, we went to a gelatari Bougainvillea, that was recommended by Hotels.com iPhone app as we booked a hotel in Sorrento. 

Last minute change of plans, afforded us the ability to spend the day, travelling along the Amalfi Coast. Our day started off with pure luck, as we got the last 2 seats on the bus leaving Sorrento towards the coast, as we didn't want to stand the hour journey to our first spot, Positano. We soon learned, we got off at the wrong bus stop, after a detour or two, finally started the descend towards the beach, Spiaggia Grande, where the cathedral Chez Black, despite the long trek down, the beauty of the duomo made the effort all the more special. The shorter trek up the hill to the bus stop, was timed perfect as we made it as the bus pull up and we hopped on towards Amalfi. The cathedral of Amalfi, dedicated to St Andrew the Apolstle was a particular highlight of our visit, with this complex housing the Cloister of Paradise built in the Arabian style holding ancient sarcophagus, mosiacs and in the middle of the northern side of the cloister gave the perfect glimpse of the cathedral's bell tower, in the crypt the preserved remains of the apostle are hidden under the altar covered by heavy slab of marble and cathedral itself to the right of transept is the chapel of the relics housing relics of saints brought with the body of St. Andrew. At the bus terminus, we had to wait awhile to get a bus to Ravello because of the queues. When we finally got there, we took in the breath taking views of the surrounding areas from the hills above Amalfi. As the village of Ravello is such a small town, it's explored by foot. After a well earned coffee break in the Piazza Duoma, we dediced to just visit the Villa Rufulo due to time restraints. We were able to get the group admission rate due to our Artecard card into the estate, which gave us outstanding views of the Bay of Salerno. The panic of people boarding the bus, meant we had to wait for the next one, where again pure luck we were able to get seats for the journey back to Amalfi. Nearing Amalfi, with the roads so small our bus driver has to reverse for what felt  like an eternity, but everyone on the bus gave him a round of applause as it was no mean feat. The crowds waiting for the connecting bus to Sorrento were outrageous, when the bus finally arrived, pure chance we were able to get onto the bus, however we ended up standing until we got to Positano as crowds on the bus were jammed packed. After getting back to Sorrento we went straight for food, as were fanished where were we serenaded  by a female singer, and Liam had both limencello which I think went straight to his head. After our nightly visit to the irish bar and Bougainvillea, we gave into tempetation  and try the Queen Amsterdam chips as there was always a queue on the walk home. That was until we heard and saw a real life Italian tenor, singing in the private courtyard of a residence club, in the Piazza Tasso singing Nessa Dorma, which had Liam emotional as he always loved that song. 

With our last full day in Sorrento, we decided to go visit the island of Capri, we bought our tickets at the marina, like with everything else, the queues were unbelievable and disordered. The hydrofoil took just over 25 mins to the island, and had our tickets for the 9.45 am tour around the island and to the Blue Grotto which cost 30 euro each with 13 of that paid directly to the grotto. The tour leads to the White Grotto, Arco Naturale, Faraglioni rocks, Green Grotto before stopping and giving us to option to visit Blue Grotto and see the magic of the water from within before returning back to port. From here trying to follow the recommended intinery by attempting to catch the bus to Anacapri after 3 buses and 45 mins queuing, we jumped on the next available one to Capri and get a connecting one from there. Although the queues were as bad, the frequency of buses was a lot more frequent, that we were on buses with seats even, quite quickly. Once departing the bus at Anacapri, we got on the chairlift to Monte Solare, purchasing return fares. Liam told me at the top, and his finger nearly got caught on the bar as he entered the chairlift. Although the views from the summit were amazing, my vertigo had kicked in, on the journey up and wished to walk the descend instead. Over half way down, the ironic thing happened, I slipped and fell on my backside. Liam was at first, not quite sure what happened, before he realised to help me up. The journey down was properly more dangerous, twice as long and more painful on the feet than the chairlift would have been but we finally reached the bottom and brought us right to the Villa San Michele our next stop. That was until we saw the price of admission, and thought wasn't worth the money because all we wanted was the panoramic view. Then to our surprise, we saw the viewpoint which was free and the view was outstanding. We decided to tough it out and stroll back to Capri which took roughly 35 mins. In Capri we got a cannolo, al baba and lemon slushi, before joining the que for the funicolare railway, back to the port. At the port, after getting the ticket for boat back, maneuvering through the crowds waiting for the Napoli ferry, was near impossible and riots nearly occurred, only for crew did any of the passengers for the Sorrento ferry make it through. Despite the ups and downs of our visit to the island it was worth the effort. 

To finish off our trip in Sorrento, next morning we went to visit the church of St. Anthony, whose the patron saint of Sorrento, before boarding the train for Napoli. In Napoli, while waiting for our connecting train to Roma. We tried to see if da Michele the pizzeria was opened this time, but was closed due to vacation. So tried another one nearby, after waiting 30 mins to order, another 40 mins for food before we decided to walk out as we had our train to catch. Ironic thing was when we got to Napoli Centrale station, our train was delayed bout 40 mins before we departed for Rome.