Chris's space

From Syracuse I rode to Noto, a small picturesque town in the hills with some very steep, slippery, cobblestone streets. I wandered around took some pictures and left, a nice old town but I have seen so many of these now they fail to make an impression. One of the hazards of travelling for too long. My riding camera Olympus Tough TG3 decided to be not so tough, with what looks like a damaged on/off button so no riding pictures until I get another camera 😦

Next stop Caltagirone, great ride on B and C roads through the Sicilian hills and at 38c like riding in a clothes dryer hahaha. This town is famous for its ceramics and a 142 step staircase which has a different set of tiles on each step called the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte and I climbed to the top of it and back down again, very slowly.

After that I rode to Agrigento, famous for the Valley of Temples and the Stairs of the Turks though I am only going to visit them on my way out. Serendipitously it so happened to be the Festival of Saint Calogero, the patron saint of these parts, lots of excitement.

Messina to Syracuse was a series of tunnels along the coast.

I stopped at Taormina located on a mountain with great views, very pretty and packed with tourists.

Next I planned to ride as far up Mount Etna as I could get thinking I would be the only one up there. Surprise hahaha there were about a million other people there, along with hotels, restaurants and a well developed tourist industry.

Syracuse, founded 2,700 years ago and the birthplace of Archimedes.

Sannicola to Messina – longest ride so far 520 km in 6.5 hrs and it included a ferry crossing from the mainland to Sicily (land of the Godfather). A large part along the coastline which is hard to escape in the boot of Italy considering its long and narrow shape. Mostly 4 lane roads with about 40% on the Autostrada but no tolls, in fact since I left Napoli there have been no tolls at all. There is a ferry every 40 min and it takes about 30 min to cross. You cannot buy tickets online, follow the signs and buy your ticket before you get to the port or there is a Ticket booth as you queue up to get on the ferry last chance to buy a ticket, very simple process cost 13 euro for me and motorcycle and you can pay with a credit card as you can for just about anything in Italy. I was waiting in the queue with the cars and a guy came up to me and told me to ride around them directly onto the ferry.

Messina – looks like it was once a rich city with some impressive buildings, parks and monuments but now they are all going to wrack and ruin, no maintenance and rubbish on the streets everywhere.

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All set to go from Matera and my battery was dead, anyway I got a push start and carried on. Did not have any further problems with the battery so figured that I must have turned the ignition key one notch too far into “Park” which leaves some lights on thus flattening the battery. B roads all day mostly in poor condition.

I went via Alberobello to see the stone roofed houses called Trulli, tourists and tour groups everywhere.

From the Trulli I rode to a small farm near Sannicola which I used as my base to explore the area. Gallipoli has a very densely packed old town.

Leuca is the southernmost point of Italy’s boot heel. This coast has many beaches and is a popular place with the locals.

The ride from Naples to Matera was very nice. Once I turned off the coast road traffic disappeared, winding roads through hills and rolling countryside with farmland, perfect if a little warm 35c hahaha but I was only wearing a long sleeved shirt so I did not cook.

Matera, also known as the “the Subterranean City”. The old city or the “Sassi” is a UNESCO world heritage site, a very interesting place. It is also a registered Knee killer :-).

The 2nd of July is the Festa Della Bruna in Matera and all the streets are lit up at night.

Capri, a resort island in the Gulf of Naples, visited by millions of day trippers. Famous for the Blue Grotto and the song “Isle of Capri” by Gracie Fields in 1934 followed by countless others.

I took a train to Sorrento and boarded the ferry from there to Capri, cost of a return ticket is 37 euro. The ferry takes 30 min and runs about every hour, you don’t have to book in advance and you can get on any ferry regardless of the time on your ticket. To get from the Sorrento train station which is on a cliff down to the port involves climbing down a very long steep set of stairs, coming back I used the elevator cost 1 euro, first you have to find it, just ask a local.

The ferry arrives at Marina Grande which is the main port on the island, from there you can book boat tours around the island (16 euro) and to the Blue Grotto. There is also a Funicular that will take you up to Capri for 2 euro or a bus for the same price. You can also get a bus to Anacapri from the port for 2.50 euro or from Capri for 2 euro.  The round the island boat tour takes you past the Blue Grotto but will not stop there for long because you have to transfer to a small row boat to get into the Grotto and it cannot wait that long. So you return to the port and get another dedicated Blue Grotto boat and come back, took about 2 hours for me because of the queue to get into the Grotto. Entrance to the Blue Grotto is 14 euro and I tipped the boat man another 5 euro. A very busy day.

Pompeii – one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy, quite a remarkable place. The effort involved in excavating an area this large must have been immense. There are two train stations that will get you into the site, Pompeii Scavi in the West which is on the Sorrento Line and Pompei town in the East which is on another line, they both start from Napoli. I happened to get on the one that stopped in Pompei the town, which wasn’t a bad thing because there is a richly decorated Cathedral in the town, a must see. I spent 3 hours wandering around the site, it was packed with tour groups, many from one cruise ship, they were numbered and labelled hahaha very annoying.

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel – Huge and crowded, reminded me of the Louvre in Paris.

Roman Forum ruins and Altar of the Fatherland

Rome – capital of Italy and once capital of the world, its history spans 2,500 years, population 4.3 million. Lots of things to see and do and therefore lots of tourists.

Interesting ride to Rome via the B roads, took a while getting through Florence and I went past the statue of David on top of the hill.

Public transport consists of 2 metro lines, trains, trams and busses. I bought a 7 day pass for E24 which covers all forms of transport. The metro lines are easy to navigate but the rest are not. I found an app that helps get from A to B, very useful, Citymapper.

Castel Sant’Angelo

St.Peter’s Square and Basilica

Colosseum

Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon