May 31, 2014-up at 3:30 am. 7 am flight from Tucson to Chicago-3-1/2 hrs. Then 4 hr layover before the 9-1/2 hr flight to Rome. Sat next to a sick, coughing, crying 2 yr old. Poor boy finally fell asleep for awhile and his brother then coughed for a couple of hours.
Seats so crowded, no leg room. Finally dozed for an hour or so. Landed in Rome. Bus to train station for half hour or so. New mall and many apartments being built. Graffitti everywhere. Some songs on bus' radio were in English. Saw oleander bushes, nice parks, tennis courts, beautiful flower boxes on decks of apartments. Several billboards for Angelina Jolie's brand new movie. Many huge buildings.
Ooo-la la! Lots of handsome Italian men at the airport and train station! Welcome back to Europe, where yoou pay to use the restroom- usually 1 euro (today's exchange rate = $1.52) Train to Maratea, where our timeshare is, 4 hours. Several families traveling to other towns. Most little kids and young adults are on ipads or phones. One family is playing Uno. Hundreds of houses and farms along track. Lots of high hills, with some having villages way at the top. Vineyards, orchards. Went through many tunnels, some very long. So many apartment buildings in pretty remote areas and we wonder where people work. We were told very few dryers are over here, so there is laundry hanging out of hundreds of windows. Unlike China, where they hang it from a bamboo pole sticking out of the window, the decks and patios here have some sort of racks that appear to have 3 or 4 wooden sticks from which everything from panties to sheets hang-often down over the side of the building.
Train stopped at Naples. Men hug and kiss cheeks as they depart or enter the train. Saw lots of greenhouses, orchards, several prickly pear cactus and then views of the ocean in several spots. Changed trains at Sapri. At 2 stations Tom had to haul our two 45 pound suitcases down 30 steps, then up 30. He had a heavy backpack on, too. Last time I insisted he take one at a time. There isn't much in the way of handicapped access in Europe, and countless steps.
Arrived in Maratea and then an 8 kilometer taxi ride up the mountain to the resort. We got our second wind and were hungry, so had a quick pizza and Tom a well-deserved good Italian beer. A duet was singing and the first 2 songs were Love Me Tender and I'll Be Your Hero, Baby. A couple of short snoozes on the train, but may as well say we had been up 29-1/2 hours by now! Climbed into damp sheets and a thin fabric cover. Both chilled. No blankets or heater or central system. Me 203 steps today-Tom 253.
Sunday 6/8:
Except for getting up for potty, we both slept 14 hours! 5 thunder clashes here on the mountain during the night and rain. Cold. Both woke with leg cramps. This morning it is a little chilly, but the sun is out and we have many songbirds in the trees around our patio. We walked down to the restaurant to have a cappucino and visited with a mom and daughter from New Jersey. They said they froze last night, so it wasn't just we Arizonans! Went into mini mart on property because no dishcloths or dish soap was provided as in all the others in which we've stayed. Of course no washcloths, but I brought my own. Saw a bouginvillea and agave plants, many small lizards. Seems strange on this mountain that is so forested.
Took the free bus down to the resort's private beach. More prickly pears, agaves. Beautiful beach with black sand and rocks, on the Mediterranean. No seashells. Everyone's t-shirts have English writing. On the way to the beach are all kinds of trees, even pines, and picnic tables covered with moss. Reminded us of the Pacific Northwest.
Monday 6/9:
Took a tour by van to the Christ The Redeemer statue at the abandoned village at the top of the mountain above our resort. The mountaintop is 19,800'. Very scary switchbacks to get up there.
This racetrack looking structure is the road to the statue and village.
The statue was the second one built in the world - after Rio de Janeiro. It is 69' high and made of marble. Built in 1965 by a sculptor from Florence, Italy. Paid for by a wealthy woman. There is an old church there, which is open to the public. We walked up the many steps to the statue and there was a tiny lizard on almost every step.
There is a fancy hotel called The Grand Hotel between our resort and the mountaintop. 13,200' is our resort. The road didn't pass it.
Then down to the port area (bought nice produce) and then to the old town center. Saw a pretty scarf I wanted and got. Then saw it was made in China. Didn't think to look at tag. Interesting architecture and narrow streets. Hydrangeas, bouginvillea, grass that looks like corn, orange and apricot trees. Had a cappucino and croissant-since the Italians eat dinner so late-even 10 or later-they typically have these 2 things for breakfast. Later we had a gelato- the Italian ice cream- while we visited with a mother and son from our resort who are English. She reminded us of our friend, Sheila, at home. Walked up a long hill to a religious shrine.
Port area and restaurant.City square with
municipal bldg.
Relaxed on patio this afternoon. Sounds like a jungle with all the birds. Short nap. Ate at restaurant. Tom had a pizza again. They have very little meat, not crunchy crust, and he asked them to leave the olive oil off the top as the first one we had was so oily. I had a pork chop and grilled endive. 438 steps today--ugh!
Tuesday 6/10:
This resort is in a very pretty setting. Down by the restaurant, reception area, and mini mart you look down thousands of feet to the Mediterranean. But it is so steep to walk to our unit. As we age we will definitely have to ask about access. Great if you have a car here, as most of the people did. Did some laundry daily and hung on the drying rack on the patio-but it is so damp we often had to take it in, hang in bathroom, and then put on rack again the next day. Both were awake several times during the night. Hard to adjust to such a big time difference. Tom got up and read. After he came back to bed I got up and suddenly a squirrel jumped against the glass door 4 times. I was glad it was closed. Can't leave it open with all the lizards around and too damp anyway. The morning we went on the area tour I had taken an Airborne tablet out of the tube to take later. I forgot it laying in the pill container and when we got back the humidity in the room has started to dissolve it.
Luckily the office had decks of cards so we played, read, sat by the pool and on the patio. Bought potatoes, ham slice and can of corn-all tasted good. They only serve fries in the restaurant. Meals so expensive. Met couple next door-from Finland-own nursing homes. Me 391 steps, Tom 362.
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