A taxi took us from Palermo train station to the coast an hour away. We checked into the lovely Marina Di Petrolo, home for the next week. The infinity pool looked inviting and the views from it were breathtaking. The hotel was a five minute walk from the town and harbor. The historic little fishing […]

From Vesuvius to Etna, another volcano looms large. A taxi from Catania to Taormina took about an hour so it was quite late when we got to the hotel. As the taxi wound up through the hills of Taormina the driver pointed out our hotel near the top overlooking the bay with stunning views of […]

The bustling busy city of Naples was a huge contrast to the isle of Capri. We stayed in a nice apt hotel near the Castel Nuovo. We enjoyed lots of pizza and gelato and found the noise of the scooters overwhelming! The Sotterranea or underground city of Naples was an interesting place to visit. We […]

The port of Sorrento was a hive of activity when we arrived. A cruise ship in the bay was bringing tourists ashore and there were lots of other pleasure boats in the marina too. We had to wait in the sun for the ferry to Capri which was running late. There was a guy walking […]

Sorrento looked beautiful in the setting sun as our taxi emerged from the tunnel through the mountain and descended towards the bay of Naples. We checked into the Hilton Sorrento Palace and spent four days there relaxing by the pool and enjoying nice sunsets and gelato. The hotel was on the hill overlooking the bay […]

The Ryanair flight from East Midlands to Rome should have been easy but ended up being stressful. There was huge, understaffed queue to drop bags off which delayed us so much that we had to ask at security to move to the priority queue or we might miss the flight. They allowed it 😀. The […]

Stena Line sailed from the Hook of Holland to Harwich in about five hours. The boat was comfortable and the crossing was smooth. We had dinner in the restaurant and watched a Harry Potter movie in our cabin. The Premier Inn in Clackton-on-sea proved that sometimes the less you pay the more you get! We […]

A few days spent in The Hague was a great way to see some more of the Netherlands and to recharge the batteries. We checked into the hotel very early, thanks to the cruise efficiency in disembarking everyone by ten am(!) which meant the room wasn’t ready for us. We left our bags in the […]

Holland America’s newest and biggest ship the Nieuw Statendam, looked huge as it sat in port alongside the harbour buildings prior to sailing from Amsterdam. Once on-board it was fun to spot all the buildings in town and all the bicycles on the quayside. The sail away from port was slow and smooth. Amsterdam is […]