Howells in a Castle

Tuesday 5^th May 2015

Up at 6:30 and breakfast in the hotel restaurant (pretty average) before boarding the bus for the last time to make the trip to Fumicino airport.

Most of the group was returning home via Singapore, however, some like us were flying to different destinations.

WE said our farewells and exchanged contact details with some that we had become friendly with. The bus dropped us all off at terminal 3. As we were flying to Munich we had to walk about 200 metres to terminal 1, where we had about a 4 hour wait for our Alitalia flight to Munich, which was not departing until 2:35pm. There was free internet in the airport so we took the opportunity to catch-up on emails, facebook etc.

The flight left pretty much on time. The flight took about 1½ hours and we arrived in Munich at 4:00pm.

To our surprise the temperature in Munich was 25° and fine.

Caught a cab from the airport to our hotel, about 30 klms, some of which was travelled at speeds of up to 140 kph. Arrived at Hotel Torbrau at 5:20pm, as we had to go through some peak hour traffic.

The hotel is in a fantastic location in the centre of Munich, about a 3-minute walk from the Marienplatz (the main city centre square).

Aftr checking in we decided to go for a walk and it only took us about ½ an hour to decide that Munich is already our second favourite city (after London).

The area around Marienplatz is gorgeous, surrounded by some lovely old buildings with many places to eat and shop.

We found a great pub; the Paulaner Munchen where we had schnitzel topped with mushrooms, bacon and onions served with fried potatoes. Dessert was, yes you guessed it, Apple Strudel with custard.

Monday 4^th May 2015

An early rise this morning, quick breakfast in the buffet then vacated our State Room to meet our tour group in the theatre at 8:30am for disembarkation at Civitavecchia.

Boarded the bus at 9:30am and drove to a winery (owned by the Minardi family) at a lovely traditional farmhouse.

After sampling the lovely wines and bread with local olive oil we continued on to the nearby town of Frascati, where we had lunch and a wander around before boarding the bus again for the Sheraton Hotel (not far from Fumicino airport) where we spent the night.

After checking in we had a drink in the bar with our bus group before adjourning to a section of the hotel garden that we took over and drank the wine purchased earlier in the day at the Minardi winery, (yes a real Aussie party, which I don’t think the Italians understood). Everyone let their hair down a bit and enjoyed socializing. After a light dinner we had an early night for our last night in Italy.

Minored Family Winery

Meander farm house

Sunday 3^rd May 2015

Docked in the port of Naples about 7:00am.

Weather remains excellent, blue sky with a maximum temperature of 23°.

Breakfast in the buffet before meeting our tour group at 8:30am for our trip to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.

Naples itself was founded by the Ancient Greeks and was then an important part of the Roman Republic in the central province of the Empire.

We spent a couple of hours walking around part of Pompeii which was an ancient Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD. Though buried under several metres of ash & pumice, much of the city was preserved. We walked to the forum, along the ancient streets with the first pedestrian crossings, a Roman bath , a brothel with preserved artwork, mansions, The Greek Theatre (Teatro Grande) and the Odeon (Teatro Piccolo). Mt Vesuvius provides a stunning backdrop to the amazing ruins, which cover a 45 acre site.

Back on the bus we headed for the Amalfi coast. Stopped at a beautiful restaurant just past Positano for lunch. The views were stunning.

On the bus again we continued our journey to the town of Amalfi, where we had about an hour of free time to explore the town centre.

In Amalfi, which was absolutely beautiful, Lynne tried Limóncello, a strong lemon based liquor.

Back on the bus for the trip back to the ship, which took about 1½ hours. The bus driver deserved a medal for his ability to maneuver the bus along the very narrow and winding coast road as well as contending with the cars, motor scooters, and pushbike riders. The latter seemed to have a death wish as they weaved in and out of the traffic. Some of the bends were so tight that cars had to reverse back so the bus could pass them.

Arrived back on board at 5:30pm and the ship sailed at 6:30pm.

Had dinner in the dining room then back to our State Room to finish packing, as we had to have our bags outside our State Room by 11:00pm.