Morocco Adventures

After 44 hours of travel have reached Casablanca, Morocco. From the air it sure is brown and barren. Very slow through customs like Bali of old. Took nearly 2 hours.  Picked up our car and first stop Rabat the capital . One and a half hour drive. 

Amalfi/London/Portugal Spain

Monday 7th September

A huge day of travel up at 6.30am on 6th September to begin our next 5 week adventure - Napier /Auckland/Hong Kong/Rome then train to Naples - ferry to Sorrento - arriving at 1pm  - 11pm NZ on 7th September - 36 hours total.

The travel wasn't too bad apart from a couple of delays.

We took the ferry from Naples to Sorrento after hearing about some train stories on the local Circumvesuvia line. Turns out it was a great option as we had lovely views of Vesuvius from the boat.

The castle in Naples by the port.

Naples port - a busy place. Lots of cruise liners in .

Mt. Vesuvius - was amazed that it wasn't that high - kind of like Rangitoto!

The ferry ride was about 40 mins to the Sorrento Port. Sorrento sits on top of a hill. Very famous for its Limoncello . 

We finally got to out hotel a lovely 16th century B&B at about 2pm - quick shower and off to check the surroundings out.

We headed for the "beach" of course! A nice litre of Rose sitting in the sun. The areas are very organised with a bar and gorgeous little beach sheds - a chair for hire is 15 euro and umbrella 10.

We just sat at the bar/restaurant with our wine and French fries - done very differently - but very nice!

We met a lovely couple from England, he happened to be a retired policeman ex armed offender cop, so lots in common to chat about. Very pleasant sitting in the sun 28 degrees.

Forgot that we had a big trek up the hill back to the town - legs like jelly! Could have caught a lift for 1 euro but not in Sam's budget!

Strolled through the town gorgeous little alleyways and cobbled streets. 

Found a good little restaurant - plenty to choose from, but most importantly serving Vongole - my favourite! Spaghetti and clams.

Great way to finish the day - pretty tired by the end of it. Sorrento gorgeous town, lovely feel to it!

Rome - Circus Maximus, Roman Forum and Colosseum

Sunday 6th July

Goodbye to Croatia and an early start as we start toward the journey home. A stop in Rome for a few days first. It's only a 45 min flight from Dubrovnik to Rome - we arrive at 9.30am, but it takes longer than that for our bags to arrive on the conveyor belt. 

We are staying at La Clarisse - Trastevere on the other side of the River Tevere- more commonly known as theTiber River - lovely spot and handy to all the tourist spots.  Bags dropped in room and a bit off a freshen up and we're off to see the sights, but not before a bite to eat for lunch - no breakfast due to early start.

The lovely colours of the buildings.

River Tevere - Tiber River

The remains of the old bridge.

Our waiter at lunch - looks very smart - just an apron! Very clever! Nice pizza too and red wine - it was after 11am!

Circus Maximus - amazing to think there was Chariot Racing here many moons ago!

On the far side the Palatine Hill - and the remains of the Imperial Palaces which overlooked the Circus Maximus.

The site is still very much a live archaeological site, with digging still taking place.

 Looking down from the end where the chariots would have entered the arena.  Restoration and stabilisation taking place of the dig so far.

The cobbled roads that surround the Circus Maximus and other streets around the Roman Forum.

Sam wanted to bring one of the cobbles home in his bag.

The Roman Forum began as a market place, but became the economic, political and religious hub, town square and centre of all Rome.The Roman Forum is very much a live archaeological site with digging continuing also. It's like being in an open air museum. There are so many pieces of history everywhere you look.

Looking over the Roman Forum. It covers a huge area. 

The Temple of Saturn 

The Arch of Septimus Severus

The detail inside the Arch

The Column of Phocas

The Temple of Castor and Pollux - The Gemini Twins - my star sign

The Temple of Vesta

Temple of Antonius and Faustina

Temple of Romulus Doors

There is just so much more digging to be done!

The Arch of Titus

Next stop the Colosseum, not before we top up with more water. It is so hot we seem to be guzzling litres! Today entry to a lot of the tourist spots is free so there are heaps of people about.

What an amazing building. Five stories of seating holding up to 55,000 people, all seated according to rank. Awesome piece of architecture. There are 80 arched entrances. Makes you wonder how they constructed something like this with very few tools. Absolutely incredible!

The flooring has been reconstructed, which had many trapdoors in it leading to the spaces below which held both men and a variety of animals ready to combat.

A small piece of the remaining seating.

The Arch of Constantine built in AD315 to mark the victory of Constantine over Maxentius at Pons Milvius.  Stands 25m high.

A well deserved drink stop on the way home. It has been melting weather today and got to keep the fluid intake up.  Cool little bar - free apertivos with our drinks even better!