Gina and Andrew's Dolce Vita

We end as we started.......a song to seal this glorious holiday. With some testy times, some lows, lots of highs , most of all we are safe, happy and oh so plump.......eeeekkkk!  

Is it crazy to think Cassino to Rome is only 45-50mins by car, yet by train it's 2.5hrs? We're sure it's the last dig for losing out on car hire. So back in Rome, chasing all the big sites one last time. Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia and Via Del Corso. Perfect weather for beers, vino and gelati.   Our confidence has grown  in crossing roads , whether pedestrian crossings or not. Any road rule in this city is a recommendation, so taking the chance means you need to own it. Happy to report we will be home alive. Since the restoration of the Trevi Fountain, police are stationed permanently to monitor tourists activities.   You can't touch this, you can sit there, you can't take food or drinks. Imagine living in the apartments above, the whistle blowing would drive you insane. We sat people watching for an hour. This place never stops. Just incredible. We make our way home tomorrow and neither us is ready, but our bank balanc...

Recovery day for all. With yesterday's celebrations, the body (dancing kills the knees), mind and spirit need to rest. We spent a slow day in Cassino central taking in all the sights and sounds. A stroll in the park discovering the gorgeous Terme Varroniane, fresh water streams flowing directly from the mountains. The city/town has a slow pace where locals go about their daily affairs. Monte Cassino towers over the city sitting high in the rocky hills. It's best known for its historic abbey, one of the best known Abbeys of the world and a site of the Roman town Cassinum. Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944 may come to mind. Historically, it's one of the most written pieces detailing the invasions, monks, pagans, religious bodies and the constant expansions/restorations. We learn Cassino is also renowned for its pizzas - surprise. In particular, the Bufala mozerella in bianco. Just a tip, the only place outside of Italy we have found this style of pizza is in a cool joi...

A magical wedding, 12 hrs of celebration commencing at 11am. Will leave the photos to speak for themselves. Congratulations Mr&Mrs deMarco.            

My fault for being s relaxed and truly forgetting the time......damn Desigual you distracted me. Andrew on the platform biting his nails and cursing under his breath as I casually stroll to he platform. Final whistle blows and the train is ready to depart. We just made it !,,, The next leg of our journey takes us to Eileen and Mario's wedding in  Cassino to catch the 3rd leg of their wedding celebration from Melb , KL and now in Italy. Dodgy people on the train forges a deal that no one nods off on this 2hr trip. It's  too risky- bags secured around our waist, each facing opposite directions "got your back" style and eyes peeled. Even amongst the dodgy types, there appears to be a heirarchy. Three African faces are scoping the train, carriage by carriage, signalling to each other. The dodgy couple sitting behind us are on alert. They get up to sus the situation, we hold our bags tighter. It's the conductor they are all avoiding. It appears the next stop is t...

Naples was always intended to be a quick stop, say hello, then move on. With our guides and their local knowledge we shopped hard, ate harder and had a great experience. Naples was a blur but we got to experience a city that never slows down.  Local markets with fresh produce and seaford galore..     Of particular highlight was The Fontanelle Cemetery, located in a cave in the hillside in the Materdei section of the city.    Essentially a catacomb housing skulls and bones from history including the plague of the 1600's and more recently from it's service as a bomb shelter during the shelling of WW2. It is sombre, macabre and fascinating. The bizarre thing was people adopt a series of remains and bring random gifts to honour them. Humbling to say the least. Moving on, we took the funicular to the upper end of town with its treed lined streets making us feel safer was better suited. An Aperol spritz during happy hour  and life in s good again...

Hip hip horay, it's Andrew's birthday !!!! But I forgot and needed to be reminded. Two days on the beach fried my brain. We leave Positano by ferry and make our way to Naples. Blow me over.....everything they say about Naples and more is true. Hold onto your bags wallets and anything valuable because we're in for a ride. How best to describe this city - dirty, unsafe, rude Italians, dog shit everywhere (lovely dogs, bad owners), pollution and insane traffic! Welcome to Napoli. Greeted by family, we can relax and be lead to all the best of.    With others taking the reins in the itinerary, I'm like a fish out of water, our first stop is to drop off the bags. Our apartment located in Chiaia, considered a safer part of town and much to the family's worry may not be to our taste in accommodation. They didn't see the place we stayed in Catania, so in comparison this is great !!   We set off on the days adventures, including some serious eating. A local fav of...