A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
At noon, after checking out of H2otel / Aquadome in Unhais de Terra, we drove the Nissan Qashqai to Casal de São Simão to hike along the wooden floorboards to the famous "Passadico das Fragas de São Simão." . . Upon arrival at 14:00, we were hungry and decided to stop for lunch at Restaurante Varanda do Casal. It was an unexpectedly fancy restaurant at…
Read More: Hiking Casal De Sao Simao, Portugal
Friday, September 27, 2024 . At around 09:30, we started our one-hour drive from Unhais da Serra to Piodao. The road was extraordinarily twisty and narrow, but it had beautiful views of the surrounding hills and mountains. Some of the hills were purple (perhaps Jacaranda)? . . Upon reaching Piódão, we parked our car and added extra layers of clothing, as it was a chilly…
Read More: Hiking from Piódão to Foz d’Egua
Thursday, September 26, 2024 . From Belmonte, we drove to Covilha to see the New Hand Lab. The drive to Covilha was more difficult due to narrow, one-way roads. We finally arrived at 14:15, a few minutes ahead of its opening hours (14:30 - 17:00) . . We waited for the New Hand Lab to open. When it did, a person who worked there let…
Read More: Visiting the New Hand Lab, Covilha
Thursday, September 26 . After we finished breakfast at 10:45, we decided to explore Belmonte. After heavy rain, hiking would be challenging in muddy conditions, so we decided to hike on Friday instead. . . I programmed Google Maps on my iPhone with directions to Belmonte, and we started our drive in our Nissan Qashqai. On the way there, we took a wrong turn and…
Read More: Visiting Belmonte, Portugal
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 . At noon, we drove our Nissan Qashqai from the Ventozelo Hotel & Quinta in Ervedosa do Douro to the H2otel/Aquadome in Unhais de Serra. . During our two-hour drive, we stopped for lunch at DouroSerra Restaurant in Valongo dos Azeites at 13:00. We had made lunch reservations in advance (to avoid problems getting seated). . . When we arrived at…
Read More: Relaxing at Aquadome, Portugal
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 . I woke up at 07:00, showered, shaved, and dressed. I packed my remaining clothes and chargers and prepared to check out of the Gran Cruise House in Porto, Portugal. . Inna and I walked downstairs to the hotel's restaurant for our 08:00 breakfast. We sat at our usual table and ordered scrambled eggs, cheeses (Azores and Ricotta), and deli meats…
Read More: Visiting Douro Valley, Portugal
On the way to Ventozelo, we briefly stopped at the Fundação da Casa de Mateus in Vila Real. . . . . According to Wikipedia:. The winery buildings date from the 16th century and were modified in the 1800s. Architect Nicolau Nasoni was involved in the project to construct the palace, which took place in the 18th century, possibly between 1739 and 1743, according to…
Read More: Visiting Fundacao da Casa de Mateus, Portugal
Although Inna visited Portugal in 2022, I had only visited Lisbon and Santiago de Compostela during a Celebrity European Cruise in 2003. . . . For my upcoming birthday, Inna planned an exciting trip to Portugal with stops in Porto, the Douro Valley, Covilhã, Coimbra, and Lisbon. . . . . . Date Flights Loc Hotel Car rental Activities . 9/20 TAP Portugal TP238 SFO…
Read More: Visiting Porto, Portugal
Saturday, October 7, 2023. After landing at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport at 20:20 (on a flight from Brindisi's Solento Airport), we planned to take a taxi to the nearby Fly Deco Hotel in Ostia. . At first, we had difficulty finding the airport exit, but we finally managed to exit and queue for a taxi. When we reached the head of the queue (15…
Read More: Taxi Hell at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino (Rome) Airport
Our hostess suggested visiting Ostuni instead of Brindisi when we were checking out of our Hotel Palazzo Papaleo in Otranto. She said that Ostuni is much more picturesque and exciting than Brindisi's port. . . Although I had researched Brindisi and planned to stop there, I switched my plans to Ostuni, about 30 minutes away from Brindisi (by car). . . . The drive from…
Read More: A Stop in Ostuni
Thursday, October 5, 2023. . . From Lecce (parked at the Parkejoo near downtown), we started our drive to Otranto at 18:20 (later than I would have liked, as I prefer to drive during the daytime). . . . . I programmed Otranto on my iPhone's Google Maps application, and we started our drive there. Traffic was heavy during rush hour, and I made a…
Read More: Relaxing in Otranto
Thursday, October 5, 2023. On the long drive to Otranto (our next major destination), we decided to visit Lecce. . After driving from Matera over mostly one-way and some two-way roads, we reached Lecce in two hours. Passing slow-driving cars on one-way roads took a lot of work, as most roads were curvy and bumpy. . . When we reached Lecce, I parked at the…
Read More: A Visit to Lecce
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 . In the early morning, after a quick and delicious breakfast at our Aquatio Hotel, we returned to the Parcheggio Sant'Isodoro (Parking Garage) and set out on our drive to Alberobello. . . On the way from Matera, the roads were primarily single-lane and only sometimes well-paved. When we reached wider freeways, the roads were much better (and speed limits much…
Read More: Trulli beautiful Alberobello
Tuesday, October 3, 2023. After touring the Norman Steps at Castelmezzano, we returned to our Opel Corsa rental (Hertz), parked in the blue spaces on Strada Provinciale 13, and set off for Matera. . . . . I connected my iPhone 14 to the Opel's USB port, and Apple CarPlay started working! It was a great help in navigating the complex roads to Matera. The…
Read More: Exploring Matera
Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Castelmezano is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association, and the grand views around the village certainly warrant that lofty claim. . . . In the morning, we woke at 7:30, showered, and dressed. We had to pack our clothes to prepare for the drive to Matera. . . . Before leaving…
Read More: Hiking the Path of the Seven Stones
Once our Alilauro ferry docked in Sorrento, we rushed to the taxi area, hoping to catch a taxi. We needed to get to the Hertz Rental Agency ASAP (before it closed for lunch at 13:00). . Unfortunately, there were no taxis. This was a big surprise since taxis know the ferry schedule and should be happy for additional business. . . . . . After…
Read More: Driving to Castemezzano with a stop in Salerno
To relax during our two-week trip to southern Italy, Inna made reservations for 3 days at the San Montana Resort & Spa on the island of Ischia (off the coast of Naples). Ischia is one hour away from Sorrento by ferry (making it convenient to visit). . . . . Friday, September 29, 2023. While in Sorrento, we woke at 7:00, dressed, and packed our…
Read More: Relaxing on Ischia
Inna reserved a private, chartered boat tour of the Amalfi Coast for my birthday. However, unfavorable marine conditions forced a change of plans one day before my birthday. Inna rescheduled the time for Thursday, September 28th, hoping the Tyrrhenian Sea would get calmer. . . . . Luckily, the weather improved, and we were first picked up by a driver from Corso Italia (flags). He…
Read More: Boating on Amalfi Coast
Wednesday, September 27, 2023 . . . . . . Inna made reservations for a small boat tour of Capri from Sorrento. After reviewing multiple tours and companies, she settled on the following boat tour hosted by YouKnow: . . Capri & Blue Grotto Boat Trip-Prime Experience with max. 8 guests from Sorrento . We were picked up by a small tour bus at 7:30…
Read More: Beautiful Capri
Inna booked Luciano, a private tour guide, for an 8-hour Amalfi Coast tour with stops in Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, and Ravello. . . . . We woke at 7:00, showered, and got dressed for the tour. At 7:45, we left our Bed and Breakfast on Corso Italia 185 and walked 3 minutes to Gentile Cafe, our favorite nearby cafe. . . We sat down and…
Read More: Driving on Amalfi Coast