Italy-September 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Orgosolo

On the map

More murals

An artist displays a mural of a map of Sardinia/Orgosolo. Caligiari where we landed and Arbatax where we are staying are south of here.

The town refers to the works as murals rather than grafitti.

Orgosolo

The Twin Towers

Fall of Saddam Hussein

Every image has a meaning...these being the most obvious to us as North Americans, others deal with international issues but most relate to Italian political history.

Orgosolo

Farms

On the road

On the way up we saw livestock walking the highways...and a shephard with his flock of sheep and sheepdogs in town grazing on the front lawns of peoples homes on their way...to market I suppose....

Orgosolo

In the mountains

A village below

The entire area is mountains. The view to the ocean is spectacular...we ascended on those winding roads again for 20-30 mins before making our way back down.

We decided to tackle another "white knuckle" drive throught the mountains to visit a small town called Orgosolo. This town/village is know for its politically charged grafitti that adorns the walls of the town. The towns folk have accepted this as art rather than an eyesore...started by a local highschool teacher in 1975 to give students the chance to "vent" and express their opinions. Over the years it has become a tourist attraction and the village has embraced it with passion.
Here only a few of the images seen on the towns walls.....enjoy!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Arbatax, Sardinia

La Hotel Bita

Our terrace

A shot of the hotel from across the bay..
From the pool deck, our 2nd floor terrace

Arbatax, Sardinia

On the terrace

Our terrace

Love the tub overlooking the ocean. As you can see, Kim is finding it difficult to wind down and relax!!!

Arbatax, Sardinia

The suite

Love the suite, but the rooms in Italy have paper thin walls. Every place we have stayed we have been able to hear our neighbors every movement....just for the record......ewwwww!!
They must not believe in soundproofing, solid core doors..insulation....just sayin'!!??

Arbatax, Sardinia

La Hotel Bita

La Hotel bita

The pool was beautiful but freezing cold.
No poolside bar service either...come to think of it...we were the only ones drinking beer there...??? Hmmm..stupid English people....and we are the only English speaking guests here too.

Arbatax, Sardinia

Ford Focus

The Infinity Pool

PS...our new ride is nowhere near as nice as the Peugeot. This is pretty cheap but it does the trick.....packing is a bit of a challenge.

Arbatax, Sardinia

La Bita Hotel

A view of the pool/ocean from our terrace.

Arbatax-Sardinia

Well, we thought we were going to have tons of time at the airport after we dropped off the car. Hmmmm...should have know better.
With weight restrictions and baggage restrictions...we were juggling stuff from one bag to another to balance out the weights so as not to pay an extra charge.
Waste of time!! We ended up having to pay anyway and to top it all off ...the staff and crew at Ryanair are miserable!!!! What a terrible air travel experience.
However...we made it in the end and got our car in Cagliari. The 2 1/2hr drive through the mountains, although very beautiful and scenic, was like being on the "Top Gun" rollercoaster at Wonderland. Up and down and hairpin turns along steep cliffs......saw mountain goats slipping backwards!!!! Oh...and toss in the storm with blackest rain clouds I ever seen...good drive.
But!!! The hotel is beautiful..on the ocean...two story suite, two full baths, complete with an outdoor jacuzzi on the terrace. Life is good!

Pisa

Base of the Tower

Pisa

Duomo

Cathedral

The tower was built as the bell tower for these two adjacent buildings. The shadow of the Leaning Tower can be seen on the Duomo.
By 1985 it was leaning 18' from vertical. It was closed for several years while they supported the foundation with clay and concrete..

Pisa

Before

After

Cheesey, I know!!!! But ya gotta do it!

Spent a few minutes here ...had another 3 course lunch and headed to the airport.

PS..didn't know..it was started in 1173, 3rd floor completed in 1274..noticed it had started to sink at that point but continued anyway completing it in 1350. Only until 2000 did they start the renos.
It took 18 different cleaners to remove their 2 biggest challenges....gum and graffiti that riddled the stone.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Hair!!

Stylin'!!

Got some more hair appliances and we are back in business!!!
Looking good! Let see what the sea air does to that over the next few days in Sardinia????

Monday, September 20, 2010

Monterossa al Mare

Where's my beer???

We reached the town of Vernazza in just under and hour. Joe took the train the remainder of the way to Monterossa. I still had some energy to burn so I walked. This is the first walk we did but from the opposite direction.
Kim and Yvonne had taken the train there in the am to meet us.....the only thing missing in this pic is the beer....actually it is on the table...what a sweety.