Our wifi is intermittent in Perugia, so I'm taking the opportunity to post while I can. Here are some photos from the 11th & 12th of July. Also, Happy Birthday Sally-Anne, rock on!
Today we thought we'd join the line to see the Duomo. Too easy except that every ticket was taken until July! However as we got close to the queues we were approached by a woman wanting to know if we had tickets. She had plenty of tickets and a guide to take us through the museum, duomo, bell tower and baptistery. Just like finals at the G, companies buy up the tickets and on sell them at a tidy sum. We were glad to take up the offer and had a great time transported back to the days of Donatello, Michaelangelo and Brunelleschi. For me, the Duomo is all about the building, the pulleys, levers, the wood bearers, the brick moulds and the bricks - beautiful herringbone. Inside the cathedral walls, the message is clear to all - straighten up and fly right or burn in hell - sound familiar? Took lots of photos from the top of the dome. (If only I could get them to load here! I'm working on it)! Even today the Duomo dominates the city with its s...
It was another relatively early start for us as we had to be at the Colosseum before 9am for our 3.5 hour tour. The weather is hot so we were glad it was a morning tour. Our guide was an archeologist and we were very grateful when she took us to an entry point away from the teeming crowds of people lining up to get a ticket. It was an excellent tour and helped to dispel a few myths (Christians were not fed to lions at the Colosseum) and clarify what is known and what is still conjecture. It is a massive structure, even today and enough of its original features exist for you to imagine how it would have looked and operated. The platform to indicate the floor of the arena is really helpful and the example of wooden pulleys and ramps to bring gladiators and animals up from below was great. The Forum was also interesting we were able to see where Julius Caesar was cremated and the various basilicas that still remain. On the Palatine Hill, we saw where ...
We have had a more relaxing day today. Firstly, we caught the bus to Amalfi and then another, to Ravello which lies 7km above Amalfi. Ravello is a very beautiful town with two exceptional villas, Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone. We visited Villa Rufolo which was magnificent, set high over the Mediterranean, the building and its exceptional gardens were a feast for the senses. In the afternoon we returned to Amalfi and relaxed at the beach. Ciao
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