Sorrento and Capri - Friday 11 September

It was hot again today so we didn’t rush off after breakfast. Well when you’re on holiday why would you want to rush about? Some did but not us.

The ship docked at Sorrento and we had been advised to go to Capri as it is so pretty, so off we went. The plan was to visit Capri until early afternoon and then come back to Sorrento and have a wander about there before we went back to the boat. Well that was the plan.

Grand Harbour, Capri

As I said it was hot and off we went to get the ferry from Sorrento to Capri. It was quite a fast trip and we docked in Capri Harbour at about 10.30. Well when we got off the ferry we ended up in the most horrendously crowded place I can remember being in for ages and what made it worse was the heat. Crumbs it was scorching. We looked for the so called cog railway up to Capri Town but the place was so crowded we couldn’t see the entrance. The bus stop was crowded as you can see from the photo above, so we decided to take a walk up the road and see what was there.

Now we had only walked a few minutes up the road and I looked down and wished we had brought our bathing costumes. The beach was a tad crowded for me but looked very tempting on such a warm day.

Very tempting!

Heigh Ho! Here's a nice looking little hotel with a fabulous view over the cliffs and beach.

We started to get a bit worried as we were walking because there were no footpaths. It reminded me of a time when we got lost at night in Rome and yes, no footpaths and no street lights either. At least it was broad daylight here but Eric was definitely getting the willies!

Look No Footpaths!

The buses, taxis and cars coming down were not exactly moving very slowly. Yes buses actually came down here. Wondered if there was another way to go up because there certainly wasn't room to pass. Eventually I saw a cut through a street to some steps and we ended up on a footpath going up the back of the town.

After we'd been walking about half an hour this was the view of the very busy little harbour.

This was the view to the other side of the road.

Not sure what this was but it looked like there had been vines there.

Further up there was another wonderful view.

Here's where we went in through what seemed the back gate to Capri Town. Very picturesque.

The place was absolutely beautiful once we got up there but it was a little overcrowded with day trippers.

Lots of very fancy shops with lovely stuff at exorbitant prices!

I really loved this plaque outside a really nice gourmet shop.

This looked like a nice café. It had black and white photos of famous people who had presumably visited it, Rod Stewart, Sylvester Stallone, Liz Hurley etc. Capri is a place where the rich and famous hang out but I bet they don’t come out until after the ferries have left with the day trippers.

We drifted through the lovely little streets window shopping, no need to worry about cars here.

Came across a lovely hotel right in the middle of the shops. Very classy.

Very posh!

Eventually we headed along a nice little street, yes no traffic as it was very narrow.

The houses were on the left of the little path and over on the right were their patios cum gardens.Take a look at this one! What a corking view but no good if you suffer from vertigo.

You’d have to be an exhibitionist to come out here during the day but isn’t it fantastic. Look at that amazing view and get those white settees! Obviously doesn't rain much here.

We passed another lovely little hotel.

Mind you’d have to carry your luggage from the town centre though, no cars along this road. It got me wondering how people who live there manage to get furniture, fridges and washers delivered. They must have something to deliver them. Maybe a little wagon or perhaps they have a special delivery service. A hulking great bloke who can carry anything!

We walked along to the end of the little street and there is an amazing hotel there, Punta Tragara, a salmon coloured building designed by Le Corbusier. The view from the hotel is fantastic overlooking the Faraglioni Rocks and I managed to get a picture before the battery in the camera expired.



Apparently there's a fantastic beach at the bottom of the cliffs. Have to say we just didn't have the energy to climb down and then back up again. I was just about to take a photo of the hotel when the battery finally ran out on my camera. There was a plaque on the wall saying that Roosevelt and Churchill had met here during the war. My goodness that pair certainly knew how to pick the good places to stay didn’t they!
Well we headed back and managed to find the cog railway which took us down to the harbour in a few minutes. That was when it got nasty. It was very hot and there was just no shade in the harbour. I asked a policewoman which pier we needed to go back to Sorrento as I have to say we couldn’t see any information anywhere. Well this was the rudest police officer I have ever met in my life. Must have trained at the Bernard Manning school of charm and elegance! I gathered from what she shouted at me, that somewhere “over there” was an information board. Well we wandered about for a few minutes and eventually found a digital display board. Guess what? It was set in direct sunlight so the information was totally impossible to read.

So we walked along the pier past the ferries to see if we could find the ferry which was due in about an hour. Well health and safety regulations obviously don’t apply in Capri, well probably the whole of Italy. They obviously opt out of all the EU Directives we idiots in the UK go headlong into applying. As we walked past a ferry from Naples the cars and lorries started to pile off and we, along with about 10 other travellers, got stuck against the wall in danger of being crushed. The ferry staff and police did absolutely nothing to get people out of the way or stop more people coming. Just don’t understand why they didn’t block the area off until the ship unloaded. The heat and fumes were appalling.

After about 20 minutes we managed to get past and walked along to the end of the pier but there were no signs anywhere. So we had to brave it back again past the ferries unloading to find an information point. It was absolutely scorching and for some inane reason I hadn’t taken a hat, just suntan cream. Eventually we just asked someone who was working around the harbour and low and behold it was back along at the end of the pier where we had already been.

Finally we joined a very small queue for the Sorrento ferry which grew very rapidly. I started to get a little worried knowing the problems with queues or lack of them aborad. I was right, by the time the ferry started to take passengers on board we got pushed and shoved, eventually I thought I’d go over the edge into the water. What a nightmare. The ferry chappie started shouting at everybody in Italian which most people, including me, wouldn’t have understood. Now if he had just had the good sense to start to let people onto the ferry before the queue got too big it wouldn’t have happened. It’s really one of the things I hate about being abroad, especially in Italy, they just don’t understand the concept of waiting your turn.

By the time we got back my husband was none to keen to look around Sorrento, he’d had enough. Have to say I wasn’t keen either as the ship’s bus had stopped running and we’d have to get a taxi back down to the tender point. So we went back to the ship to relax, cool down and stuff our faces with high tea looking out over the bay. Good choice!

Have to say I'm glad we went to Capri as it was so pretty but not sure I'd go back again unless it was later in the year when there'd be less tourists.

Final Sorrento sunset shot after I'd charged the battery.

Next stop Amalfi!

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Children in Need Single 2009

Love Peter Kay's Children in Need Single for 2009.

They created the video with five decades of children's telly characters. See if you can see your favourite from when you were little. They're mostly BBC characters but a few are from other places too.

Caught a glimpse of Bagpuss my daughter's favourite, Peppa Pig, my grand daughter's obsession at the moment and I even saw mine in glorious black and white, Muffin the Mule!

The Google Ads get on your nerves but at least you can close them down.

It was really interesting watching how the video was made here on the BBC's Pudsey website.

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Hayley Westenra

My earlier post on We'll Meet Again included a video of this lovely little Kiwi who is one of my favourite singers. I play her CD, Pure a lot!

Here, in a live performance in New Zealand in 2005, she's singing one of my favourite songs from the CD. Love the lyrics, very thought provoking.

What a gorgeous voice she has.

For anyone interested in the original music, it's (Marcel) Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte.

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Sicily - Thursday, September 10

The ship docked in Giardini Naxos, Sicily on the Thursday morning and the view at breakfast was gorgeous. Didn't feel like moving!

It was very hot and a little hazy that morning!

We decided not to visit Mount Etna (that's it hidden behind the white cloud in the picture above) as the forecast was for rain that afternoon. We really are such wimps.

This port was small so the ship couldn't dock and we had to use the tender for the first time! Here it is from the deck above. No we didn't have to reach it from that height! I just wanted to see how bumpy it would be but it was very calm!

We just walked around the small seaside town of Giardini Naxos that morning.

You can see the volcanic rock here on this beach.

There was a nice looking little hotel along this very quiet street. I loved the tiled entrance and although small and only 2* is family owned and it has it's own beach. If I went back think I'd stay here.

Then we decided to walk back along the main promenade. It's a bit of a tacky little place but had its own charm.

It had a few private beaches belonging to hotels and clubs and some public ones. Here's one of the cleaner public ones.

Here's a family who found a quiet spot. Well not for long! Look who's coming!

Well, well, here they are again selling their wares. I've seen them just about everywhere I've been on holiday in Europe. Rome, Barcelona, Rhodes and now Sicily. They certainly get around. Haven't seen them at home yet but then again I don't exactly live in a tourist resort.

Even though it's not a classy resort but there were some quite nice little restaurants along the sea front but they were all deserted. It was pretty hot so we had a seat and just watched the world go by.

Now here's something we saw that surprised us. This woman just parked her car on a zebra (pedestrian) crossing even though there numerous car parking spaces around. Talk about lazy and selfish!

Here's something else that's a little out of the ordinary for us. Not sure what it was looked like a memorial. Just look at those rocks it's set into.

Other things we saw a few times were these, commemorating anniversaries. A much better idea than just sticking a notice in a local paper. They were posted in a few places around the little town.

As we were getting near to the place where the tender was going to pick us up we looked back and saw how the darker clouds were coming in. That's why I didn't want to go to Mount Etna, there's no shelter there. You'd think living in Britain I'd be used to rain wouldn't you.

Well when I'm on holiday I avoid rain like the plague. When we went to Rome a family of Americans thought we were crazy because I didn't want to go to get the Pope's Sunday blessing. Well it was tipping it down and yes I'm a Catholic but I make no exceptions for anyone!

Just look, there they go again, living on the top of those mountains. Now I have no idea why they want to live up there. It won't even be peaceful.

I keep wondering whether they are they expecting a tsunami or something? Well it is an area of earthquake activity so maybe they're safer up there.

Next stop, Sorrento!

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Memories

A two minute silence was observed at 11.00 am GMT across the country today. The silence is observed at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month and marks the moment that four years of war ended with the signing of the Armistice Treaty by Germany and the Allies.This year was particularly poignant as it also marks the passing of a generation. The last of the British World War I veterans died during the year.

Today in Westminster Abbey a special Armistice Day service was held following the deaths of Bill Stone who was 108, Henry Allingham 113 and Harry Patch, 111.

I was wondering whether whether any other countries mark this signing of the armistice with a two minutes silence. It certainly seems to be increasing in the UK with shops, offices, factories, schools etc falling silent. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq perhaps make us realise how peace is never really with us and also how grateful we should be that people gave up their lives so we can live in freedom.

Dame Vera Lynn singing We'll Meet Again is probably the most memorable World War 2 song in the UK and the Commonwealth. The Forces Sweetheart was only 22 when she first recorded it and is now the grand old age of 92.She toured Europe and The Far East during the Second World War providing a much needed boost to the morale of the forces. The song was popular not just because it was a great tune and she was a wonderful singer, but because it lifted people's spirits in a very dark and frightening time.

I was born towards the end of World War 2 and when I was little, this was still a very popular song. We had very little money to go on holiday and so I used to go on bus day trips with my grandparents to York, Edinburgh, Scarborough, The Lake District and other popular places in Scotland and the North of England. On the way back the people always used to sing popular songs of the day and some from the Wars. We'll Meet Again is one I always remember and it brings back lots of happy memories of those times.

Dame Vera stopped performing in 1999 so at the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday in The Royal Albert Hall, Hayley Westenra performed the song with the Fron Male Voice Choir. You can see the performance below. At 2 mins 49 seconds the video screens show Vera Lynn singing and some wartime film of Allied troops. She attended the Festival and you can see her right at the end of the video. She is still very popular.

It was good to see that this year Hayley Westenra and Dame Vera Lynn jointly launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal which aims to raise £31 million to support the Afhgan War's generation of wounded and bereaved.

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National War Museum - Valletta Post 128

Main Entrance to Fort St Elmo

The National War Museum is situated in a building known as the Old Drill Hall in Lower Fort St Elmo at the tip of the Valletta peninsula. It was originally built in 1553 to protect the entrance to The Grand Harbour of Valletta. The Fort was destroyed during the Great Siege of 1565 and reconstructed in 1567, there have been some modifications since then.

It now houses the Police Academy and a small part is occupied by The National War Museum. In more recent times, part of it was used as a film location jail for Midnight Express. It did look a little bit sad when we were there and in need of a bit of work to tidy it up but the entrance to the Museum has been renovated.

I visited the National War Museum about twelve years ago but it was completely renovated earlier this year and the change is amazing. Shame they haven't renovated The Fort, it's looking very neglected. Given its historical importance in the two sieges it really should be a big tourist attraction.

The Museum's collection focuses on the two World Wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. It recounts the story of the events which led to the two wars, their development, major actions and consequences locally and abroad.

Special reference is made to the role of Malta in the theatre of war and the contribution of the Maltese population to the war effort especially during the incredibly difficult conditions of 1942.

The visit begins with the origins of the First World War, the outbreak, major battles on land and sea and Malta's role as naval base and Nurse of the Mediterranean. Artifacts on display include German machine guns, trench mortars and a torpedo.

The fighter force defending Malta was a very small force of British-operated Gladiators, three were named Faith, Hope and Charity. Have to say Faith and Hope were very apt names for these planes. You can see more about them on this website and here's a photo of Faith on display in the National war Museum. I was amazed at how small the plane was.

Faith

I found an amazing piece of video on Google. It's an excerpt from a rare WW11 Italian colour documentary showing shows Italian and German air forces from an air field in Sicily on a bombing mission over Malta in 1942, with scenes of air battle against RAF Spitfire interceptors. It's really awful watching the bombs drop.

Here are some photographs of the various Armed Forces uniforms on display

Royal Navy

This is exactly what my Dad would have been wearing when he was in Valletta During World War 11. I remember him talking about his bell bottoms which traditionally had to have the creases horizontally across the trouser legs as well as vertically because they had to be kept folded in their kit bags. Apparently the sailors wore bell bottoms so that they could roll the bottoms up when they were working in the rigging. Obviously not during WW11!

Love those "whites"!

I really loved this Air Raid Precaution first aid kit. Note the old Boots the chemist logo!

ARP First Aid Kit

It's a great museum and has lots of personal memorabilia and awards.

This is one awarded to Carmelo Zammit who was killed when HMS Louvain was torpedoed by the U-Boat UC22 on 21 January 1918 in the Aegean Sea.

Here's another from World War 11 awarded to Frederick Neville Riley of the Merchant Navy.

There were lots more materials which have been donated to the museum by servicemen and women's families. One of the saddest was a letter notifying a Royal Navy seaman's wife in England of his death. It was written in what seems an absolutely callous way and included information on how she could claim for him. There was a photograph of him in uniform and a lovely postcard he had sent to her. It was so sad.

On Friday 15 April 1942 the entire island of Malta was awarded the George Cross, the highest civilian award for gallantry. The award is not given lightly and was unprecedented in British history.

For more information about The Cross and its recipients take a look at The George Cross Database .

The importance of the award was keenly felt by the Maltese people at the time and provided a much needed boost to the morale of the country whilst it was being constantly bombed and its people were starving.

The George Cross is mounted in a simple wooden frame with the letter from King George V1 and is housed in the National War Museum.

I've just bought a copy of James Holland's book Fortress Malta - An Island Under Siege 1940 -1943. So I hope to find out lots more about this amazing island and its people during that time.

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Source: Heritage Malta

Honest Scrap Award

I’m feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself! It’s ages since Bogey at A View From the Fairway gave me this award. In fact I was on holiday when he posted it. My thanks and abject apologies to you Bogey but not only am I a procrastinator extraordinaire I'm also an inefficient Blogger. I found this was still just a draft as I checked through my posting list. What a wassock!

I’m really honoured that you thought me an honest blogger. I do always post as honestly as I can, hopefully without offending people.
Well it’s all about honesty so I have to post 10 honest things about me. Now that has taken some time, that leads nicely to the first on the list:

1. I don’t open up to people easily or show emotions in public. That's probably how I've taken so long to do this. Sadly it’s a family trait I inherited from my Dad. My Mam was very different, wish I had been more like her. I’ve tried to open up on lots of occasions but it’s just not my nature.
   
   
2. I like my own personal space. Don’t like people invading it. Hugging doesn’t come naturally to me unless it’s with my grandchildren. After I went to Spain to stay with a family it helped, a bit!
   
   
3. I’m a bit of a perfectionist about lots of things so I put off doing them or I don’t complete them in case they’re not quite right, well perfect really. Sadly I think my grand daughter has inherited an even more extreme version of this trait!
   
   
4. I’m a messy, untidy person. I used to have a sign on my desk that said “A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind”. It made me feel better. Luckily I shared an office with a woman whose desk made mine look like I was obssessively tidy. Hers was a public health hazard!
   
   
5. One thing I’m not messy with is my clothes. I’m a bit fanatical about washing them in lots of separate colour washes, ironing every crease out of them and repairing them. It all has to be done just right! I'm such a pain but I can’t help it.
   
   
6. I hate the sound of the phone ringing. I just keep thinking, “Go away!” I detest using my mobile, they’re the devil’s invention at times.
   
   
7. I hate cooking and feel really guilty when I try to get out of it. I do love eating though.
   
   
8. I despise dishonesty.
   
   
9. I’ve never had my ears pierced and never will. Why? When I was little my Mam told me that only common people and gypsies had their ears pierced. It stuck in mind. It didn't go down well with her mother in law though. She had pierced ears!
   
   
10. I’m lazy, really lazy. I could sleep until midday in winter. I hate housework. I do clean the bathroom and toilets regularly though, can’t abide them being dirty. I would sit and sew or knit all day and night if I could. Once an old very houseproud great auntie told me that my nanna (her sister) could sit and sew while the ashes from the fire were falling off the fireplace. I burst out laughing and told a shocked auntie that at last I knew who I took after. I know that if I lived on my own I would stay in my pyjamas all day unless I had to go out somewhere, eat sandwiches for every meal, hoover once a fortnight and sew all day and night!

Well I hope I’ve been honest enough.

Now to the rules of this award:

1. You must brag about the award. (Not sure how to do this)


2. You must include the name of the blogger who bestowed the award on you and link back to the blogger.


3. You must choose a minimum of six (6) blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.


4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with Honest Weblog.
   
   
5. List at least ten (10) honest things about yourself.

Now I find it hard to pick just 6 people as I subscribe to so many brilliant blogs. I’m going to cheat here and say please feel free to take the award. I trust you!

For my final piece of honesty here goes. When I first saw the award I misread it. I didn’t see it as Honest Scrap. I missed the letter S in scrap. Sorry but as I said earlier, it’s all about honesty.

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