2017 - The Amalfi Coast

Ravello, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

NAPLES IS the port for the Amalfi Coast, among a great many other really great things to visit in Italy, including Pompei and Herculaneum, and the Isle of Capri. We have been to all of those places either before, or since. But we really wanted to do the Amalfi Coast again - and for Paul and Linda to see it. We hired our favorite "Rome in Limo" driver and guide company and had a great visit. We had been there in 2013, but because of the problems we had with that cruise, our visit was by hiring a cab driver to take us there. The positive was that it wasn't very crowded. The negative was that our cab driver was just that: a cab driver. So no guide. He drove us up to Amalfi and dropped us off there for about 90 minutes, which worked well enough for us at the time.

Ravello, Italy
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THIS TIME, one of the places I wanted to see was a tiny little town way up in the mountains named Ravello. A friend of mine and his wife had spent an entire week in Ravello a few years back and had raved about it. Our driver took us the back way up to Ravello and we started there, and worked our way back up the coast back to Naples.

Catholic Church - Ravello, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017

WE WERE our day on the coast was a Sunday, and we arrived in Ravello in the early morning. It was everything I had imagined. Very quiet and remote, with incredible views and lots of very cool buildings and squares.

Piazza Vescovado - Ravello, Italy
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WE PARKED on the road below the village and walked up into the main square (Piazza Vescovado), which is anchored on the west by the stately, Baroque/Romanesque, Catholic Church: Duomo di Ravello (Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta e San Pantaleone). Services were being held while we were there, so we did not see the interior.

Ravello, Italy
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AROUND THE piazza, there were small, cafe's to one side, and a pretty nice view of the terraced housing across the piazza from the church. The entrance to the little village was at the other side.

Ravello, Italy
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FROM RAVELLO, w headed south along the Amalfi Coast, to the town of Amalfi. As I mentioned earlier, our 2013 visit was nice, as the coast was not very crowded on the day we were there. Four years later, things had changed by magnitudes. The Amalfi Coast is one of the most visited vistas along the Italian coastline, and there can be times when the tourist attractions can be a sea of humanity. Amalfi and further south, Positano are a couple of those highly visited tourist sites. In 2013, I had no problem getting a nice view of The Cathedral of St. Andrew, the main architectural attraction anchoring the Piazza del Duomo, the main square in Amalfi, including the magnificent stairway up to the entrance. Not so much in 2017, and I concentrated my photos toward the top of the stairs, to exclude the huge crowd of onlookers.

Duomo di Sant'Andrea - Amalfi, Italy
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OUTSIDE OF the walls of the city, there are popular beaches, resorts, and restaurants along the shore. While the colorful umbrellas shout "beach," they are quite different than the beaches we so often see with white sand. The "sand" along the Amalfi coast is black sand, and is very coarse. It almost made me cringe to see folks laying towels down and laying on these beaches. But it certainly didn't take away from their beauty.

Amalfi, Italy
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AS IS often the case, by this time, the sun had grown very bright and "hot" for photography. The shot above was made in poor light, so I rendered it as a "high dynamic range" (HDR) image to make it more "artsy."

Amalfi, Italy
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OUR FINAL stop along the coast was Positano. Having spent some time in both Ravello and Amalfi, we thought we had seen the best the coast has to offer. Positano is the more popular of the towns, and as such, also quite touristy. We spent little time there. Probably the best of Postitano are its views from outside and above the city. Our day had been fairly long, and with traffic we still had a bit of a drive back to Naples and the cruise port. Like our guide in Santorini earlier in the week, this guide had asked us about our meal preferences, and had promised us a better - of the beaten path restaurant that was local and locally owned. It was up the mountain a bit from Positano, and the photo below was made from the balcony of our the restaurant. Again, as promised, we were but 4 of just a very few patrons. The food was excellent as was the attention paid by the owner. It was a fun end to a fun day.

Positano, Italy
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WE HAD spent a good, full day in Rome back in 2015, and on this trip we decided we would skip Rome and stay in a hotel immediately adjacent to Rome's Fuminico Airport, with a flight out the next morning. Another very memorable trip!

2017 - Athens Again

The Acropolis - Athens, Greece
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OUR LAST trip to Athens in 2015 was the final stop of our cruise, and we spent the day, overnighted and then flew out of the Athens airport. This time, it was just a "day stop." Having seen the Acropolis (2x for us), and most of the other historic sites, we decided we wanted to change it up. We found a walking, food tour of the city, which lasted nearly a full day.

Port of Piraeus, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

ARRIVING AT Piraeus, the port for Athens, we found a taxi ride into the center of the city, where we met our guide for the day. This one was lots of fun, though by the time we finished, I am not sure I could have eaten another thing for at least a day!

Roman Columns - The Acropolis - Athens, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2013 All Rights Reserved

WE STARTED with a traditional morning "breakfast" for the Athenians. It was a kind of pretzel - like crusty pastry, and traditional "Greek" coffee. Although they would cringe at my suggestion, I find the Greeks and Turks food cultures to be very similar. Indeed, we hear them "bicker" about who invented what and whose is best, between some staple items like yogurt, coffee, pastries, and certain meat dishes all the time. As much as they are similar, though, I know they certainly have their differences. Some nuanced. Some more broad. On the coffee, I tried Turkish coffee in Istanbul in 2013. This was the first time I had had authentic Greek coffee. I couldn't tell the difference at the time (which was probably a function of the 4 years between tasting 😀). Perhaps a better test would be to try them side - by - side (or at least closer to each other). Perhaps we will have that opportunity on our future booked cruise to Turkey and Greece in 2027. A quick internet search tells us a few (perhaps?) interesting facts. Originally called Turkish coffee, Greek coffee as changed to "Greek Coffee," when independence from Turkey was achieved in the 1800's. Prior to that time, the Ottoman Turks had conquered what it now Greece and ruled for 400 years. Greek coffee is said to be less sweet than Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is is sweeter and is made from darker roasted beans. Both are prepared the same way, boiling finely ground coffee in a special pot. Both are served with a (Turkish or Greek?) jelled, mastic-based candy (mastiha) that they again bicker over the origin of: Turkish/Greek delight.

Mastiha confectionary shop selling mostly Greek Delight candy
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WE FINISHED our Greek breakfast with Greek delights. We then visited a confectionary store where they sold them.

Selection of Olives - Downtown Athens Fresh Food Market
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ALONG OUR way, we tasted some Greek Olive Oil, and walked through the huge downtown fresh food market. I was impressed by the selection of olives. I love olives and I find that they are a staple for appetizers throughout Meditarranean Europe, and that olive oil is the prevailing oil to be used for cooking and served with bread tableside.

Street Art - Athens, Greece
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AT LUNCH time, we stopped at an outdoor stand for some souvlaki; a Greek lunch staple. Translating into English as "little skewer," for those who didn't already know, souvlaki is a skewer of meat (generally chicken or pork), often served with a pita, onions, and tzatziki sauce. "Street food," it was delicious. The downtown is kind of an eclectic mixture of modern and traditional architecture, with narrow streets and decorated buildings in most parts, though there is a wide, ultra-modern area with the high-end department and brand name stores right in the middle of everything.

Athens, Greece
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STREET ART, like in many of the European cities we have visited, is also common. Some of it is pretty impressive. To finish out our food tour, we stopped in a traditional, family restaurant to sample their Moussaka. The portions were large, but I felt compelled to eat it. 😊 Again, for those who didn't already know this, Moussaka is a layered casserole (some might compare it to Lasagna) with slices of eggplant (and/or) potatoes, and a layer of ground meat (traditionally lamb) in a bolgnese type sauce, topped with Bechamel sauce and baked to perfection. I know a few folks who say they don't like eggplant. I love it, and I think Moussaka is pure heaven. But after our day, I didn't really need to go back to an all-you-can-eat, cruise ship atmosphere, for sure. As they all unfortunately eventually do, the day eventually ended and we found our way back to the Reflection. We would have a day or two at sea, before we made our next and penultimate port stop: Naples - for the Amalfi Coast.

2017 - Santorini

Santorini's Villages at the top of the caldera; as viewed from our cruise ship far below, as we sailed into the harbor early in the morning
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WHENEVER IN my lifetime I have conjured "The Greek Isles," Santorini (without me even knowing its name) has come to mind. Whitewashed, domed churches and buildings with rounded and curved roof lines. Blue painted roofs, with other bright accent colors on the building. High up above the deep blue Mediterranean. When I saw the "brochure" for our cruise this time and the pictures of Santorini, I knew this was the Greek photographic "paradise" I had always wanted to photograph If I had my way I would likely visit there for a few days - in the off season - and try to take advantage of the "good light." I may still do that some day. But this time, it would be for one day, during our cruise. We hoped and prayed for good weather (Santorini is a tender - only port and one of those that is frequently cancelled because of rough weather.

The "iconic" Blue Domed Greek Church and Bell Tower on Santorini
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OUR PRAYERS would be answered this time. We arrived early on a completely clear, calm morning. This post will be mostly about the gorgeous "Greek Isles" sights and views, and my photography of them. I did a fair amount of reading and research before the trip for this one, with a couple specific spots I wanted to find for "iconic" shots. The primary shot is one of the blue domed, whitewashed church from above, with the ocean below and the mountains in the far background. My research revealed that this shot was not an easy spot to find, and several photographers expressed frustration at not finding it. I had directions and was confident that I was in the right spot in the village, I would find it.

Another spot where I think the image is every bit as stunning as the popular iconic shot
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WE GOT lucky with our guide for the day. He met us at the top of the funicular, and I shortly learned that in addition to being a guide, he is also a professional photographer. My wife needed to go to an ATM machine, and while we waited for her, I showed him my sheet of paper with the directions to the "iconic shot." He said, "oh, I am going to take you right there. And then I will show you some other, equally great shots." Because he was a photographer, and knew it was important to me, he planned our circuit around being in the spots when the light was best. I was in for a good day!

Because of our Guide's prescience, we found spot after spot that had not yet been discovered by the crowds
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ONE OF the challenges of a visit to Santorini - at least in season - is that it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. This means way more people than the relatively small island communities can accomodate. Our guide did two things that morning. First, he took us ina direction that was backward to the route that most guides use. Partly, this was because of the light. But it was also because he knew some of the best stuff was at the end of the usual track - but would come first for us, getting us there before the large crowds (for the first half of our day). Eventually, we did run into crowds in the middle of the village of Oiua. Then they were shoulder to shoulder. But we had really already seen most of the best views. Our next move was going to be to get into his vehicle and take a drive to the east, down the backside of the calderra, and onto the flats, where the airport is. But on the way, we drove through olive plantations. It was cool.

One of the most impressive feats is how the Greeks built these buildings up the steep faces of the calderra!
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THE SECOND thing he did (and this has happened to us 2 or 3 times over the years) was to ask us how rigid we were about our meals. If we weren't stuck on a noon lunch, he could get us through the tour and then would take us to a local restaurant that was out of the way, and did not cater to the tourist crowds. If we were rigid, he could get us somewhere for lunch, but he promised it would be a tourist trap and the food would be unremarkable. We - of course - chose not to be rigid and were very glad we did.

So much color!
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WHILE THE whitewashed stucco with brightly painted rooftops (especially blue) was the rule, there was a lot of additional color, some of it by the buildings and trim, and some by the colorful flowers so well supported by the temperate Mediterranean climate.

When not being stormed by the throngs of people, the small villages of Oia and Fira are full of pretty, quiet streets.
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THERE WAS so much color and charm, it was hard not to just keep pointing my camera and shooting. So I did just that!

Santorini, Greece
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SOMETIMES THE world is a very small place. I can think of nearly a half dozen occasions where we ran into people we had a connection with elsewhere. It is also not unusual when traveling the world, to "bump into" famous people. Id didn't really register it at the time, but the gentleman in the above image is none other than one of the world's foremost travel experts: Rick Steves.

Famous Travel expert, Rick Steves
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SANTORINI PROVIDED another one of those humorous anecdotes that arise from time to time on this blg. Our guide was a pretty blunt guy. With a good sense of humor. I have always loved his t-shirt, which he work with no reservations.

Santorini, Greece
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WE WALKED part of the hill on the way back to the cruise ship. It was a long, full day, but one of the most memorable of all of my travel!

Santorini, Greece
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