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Robin & June were on holiday in Sicily from 4th to 22nd May 2010.
You can see the first two minutes of their
Sicily 2010 holiday video here
Why put family pictures on a business web site ? - Robin's open approach to
business
If you want to see more pictures of us, please visit our
FAMILY Page
Hi ! Welcome to Robin and June's "Holiday" page.
Since 1999 we have been taking most of our holidays in Italy every year.
After England, our home, we think of Italy as our favourite
country - the Weather, Food, and - of course - the Italian People.
June and I have been taking Italian lessons - for years now,
but it will probably be some time before we progress much beyond "Ciao !" :-)
Here are a few pictures from our holiday this year, followed by those in earlier
years - enjoy !
This year the cheapest flights were Easyjet into Palermo airport. We decided to see Palermo for the first time, but stayed in Monreale, a small city on a hill overlooking Palermo. It was an easy bus ride down to see Palermo.
We saw "interesting" bits of road, and heeded the signs. Then we stayed near the ruined, ancient greek town of Selinunte. We enjoyed a long walk through dusty paths of wild flowers between the ruins overlooking the sea.
Scogletti is the best little town on the south-west facing coast: within reach of Agrigento (greek temples) and less well known spots. Then Noto, preparing for the flower festival, then Naxos and a bus trip up to Taormina and it's amphitheatre.
The majority of our stay was in Giardino Naxos and our friends. We were honoured to attend the 25th birthday celebration of son Luca and to meet their extended family including Gran and Grandad. We ended our stay in Castellammare, not far from the airport.
You can see the first two minutes of our
Sicily 2010 holiday video here
- including glimpses of Sicilian kangaroos and penguins !
We spent much of our holiday in Naxos, and near our friends Enrico, Mathilde and the boys on the slopes of Etna.
We also got to meet up with David and Jeanette in their boat on it's way from Malta via Sicily to Corfu.
We enjoyed a few days in Lipari after a stormy but safe crossing
to the island by car ferry.
We took boat trips to see eruption of Stromboli and people bathing in smelly mud on Volcano.
After returning from the
islands, to the mainland of Sicily, we found ourselves in Naxos again,
and still managed to find lovely and interesting places we had not seen before.
This was another fly-drive holiday: booking the cheapest flights we could find, and the lowest cost hire car.
We flew out on 10th May, drove to Naxos, and found "La Riva" - our favourite hotel there.
After a few nights, we drove up to Milazzo and stayed there two nights
before catching a car-ferry to Lipari. A few nights there, taking boat trips,
then back to Naxos for the remainder of our holiday - never long enough !
In 2008 we have drove our old E240 to northern Italy and Austria instead of taking the
usual fly-drive. We did not expect to clock-up 7200 km (4472 miles) but that's what we did.
The Channel Tunnel is certainly better organised than airports - and maybe even quicker ! :-)
Here are the places we slept: Aosta in north-west Italy, Jeselo near Venice in the east, then Vienna in Austria - after attending the robot boat event at Breitenbrunn.
It was our first visit to Vienna,
and we
enjoyed the lovely buildings, statues, and the famous "singing toilets" at the Opera
underground station.
Then back into Italy, and Belluno in the Dolomites, where we met
friends Gino and Carolina.
Then Bologna, with it's leaning tower (yes, it too has one),
Pesaro, Bracianno, Orbetello, Albenga - where we could meet our old friends, the Costa family.
Then Verona, home of Romeo and Juliet. We also took in a few nice places such as
San Marino and Viterbo, sometimes on days where parking was the problem, rather
than just finding a hotel.
Then back into Austria so we could
stay with old friends Walter and Gizzy in the lovely Tirol village of Kossen. Then
a night in Strasbourg, to break our jouney back to Calais, Folkstone and home to Sunninghill.
A lovely break ! :-)
... the view of Etna from the balcony
of our hotel near the gardens of Naxos ... a stroll
through the gardens... wild flowers, orange trees, with Taormina
in the background ... and a walk up to the ancient theatre in Taormina.
... although one week is never enough, we did manage to stay in Siracusa
and the lovely city of Noto again... also to enjoy the company of Enrico, Matilda and the boys.
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Yes, June did not need to twist Robin's arm too hard for him to agree to them taking another
cheap winter holiday in Spain's Murcia region, staying with Sally and Michael in Portman: see earlier years below.
The bay silted up with toxic waste, and derelict factories, has it's own own special charm: in fact, we will
probably all miss these unusual attractions when Portman gets it's "makeover", starting in early 2007.
In another five years they say we will see a green golf course, lake, harbour for 700 small boats and
a beach of yellow sand - instead of that sooty stuff.
On the left you see what we saw, walking
up to find a geocache, on the way to the big guns that overlook the bay.
Below, you see the view in the other direction, past the La Manga Golf resort in the foreground,
over the lagoon, to the distant high rise hotels of the "La Manga Strip". There's June, putting our "no expenses spared"
ball point pen and UK 2p piece into the geocache. Robin, Michael, June and Sally make
a new friend at the bar where we paused for an evening cocktail.
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This was our first holiday in Sardinia, and will not be our last. The island was far greener
than we expected - particularly when compared with much of Italy and Spain. The Sardinians
make sure they catch all the water before it enters the sea ! There was much to surprise us,
such as interesting names given to villages, and roadside signs used for target practise:
the photo on the right only shows what look like 303 calibre holes - there are often hundreds
of 177 and a few 202 dents. Most road signs in Sardinia seem to get this treatment :-)
As usual we made no definite
plans, flying into Calgliari on 4th June, picking up the cheapest hire car we could find (National),
and searching small towns for a cheap hotel within a short walk of where the locals gather in the
evening to drink, eat and talk.
This year Robin took his GPS and
Pocket PC
to help them get lost, and do a little
geocaching.
That's June about to put a ladybird toy into the cache we found at a remote spot in the
hills near San Antonio di Gallua. I say "remote", but it was the weekend that the whole
village have a "festa" and take their picnics - just yards from the geocache location.
But it was not difficult to visit the cache without being seen by others, fill in the logbook, etc.
We started and ended our holiday in Portoscuso, on the south west corner. Do not be put off
by the massive industry south of the town: it ensures the town has a little "life" in it - particularly
the first weekend in June, during the festival to celibrate the tuna arriving. The picture on the right
is typical of the many lovely beaches in Sardinia - this one near Santa Maria Navarresa, on the east coast.
In the north, we enjoyed Palau - another small town big enough to "watch the world go by" in the late
evening - don't expect to see many people before 9 or 10 pm in any of these places. Next Year ? Sardinia or mainland Italy of course :-)
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P.S. Oh yes: British Airways managed to lose both our suitcases this time :-) But clever June knew to pack what we needed in the hand-luggage. We felt sorry for several other groups of passengers who had the same problem: one couple were passing through Sardinia to Corsica and had little else with them. Thanks also to Francesca and Carlo - our new friends in Sardinia : for that lovely meal in such a nice spot not far from Cagliari.
See "winter 2004" below, for more about Portman in Spain, where June and Robin grab
the occasional few days of winter sunshine.
This year Robin took his little camera-carrying
'plane and got his sister Sally and hubby Michael to help him get TV pictures of where they
live in Portman (see left), and over a friend's place near the big lagoon. June took the piccy
on the right, in one of her rare breaks from soaking up the sun or nagging Robin into getting
something to replace his tatty leather jacket.
We made no special plans this year - other than to spend the middle week of our
precious two, in Albenga, in the lovely "oldy-worldy" property of Michael and Mario,
just a few yards from our old friends the Costas, in the centre of the town.
As usual it was cheap flights
through Milano and and a hire car. This time it was the first two weeks of May:
too early for the jasmine and bougainvillea to flower, but with snow still visible
on mountain peaks and a little more water in the streams. We flew out on Saturday 30th April
and drove down to stay the first night at Hotel Gina in Vinci (on left) - as we did last year.
N 43° 47.371 E 010° 55.765 - for those with a GPS.
we drove down through Toscana, past
San Giamiglano, with it's tall towers, and Robin got to spy some black kites
over what must be the prettiest land-fill site in Europe - see above right.
We stayed in Hotel Vittoria in Anguillara on Lago di Bracciana so we could visit the
Tolfa Mountains and maybe see some
red kites
- no chance - it seems there are very few birds of prey in Italy.
However, our visit
to Riserva Naturale Montevano was rewarded by a lovely walk down the ravine, past
sulphur fumes bubbling up through streams (very top), and the ancient ruined city (right).
N 42° 07.900 E 012° 05.396 - I think is where we parked the car.
Then, returning north,
we visited the hill town of Montelcino, home of Isabella Duci who wrote the book,
"Vanilla Beans and Brodo" that June finished this year, after starting it last year
- June is a slow reader. That's June on the left, stood next to the "Spectacle Well",
one of the works of art in the town - although Robin thinks it is where they throw
old pensioners. We stayed in Bolsena on lago di Bolsena as we made our way
back via shoe factory outlet shops for a night on the edge of Firenza, on the river.
Petromoli was a lovely town, situated where two small rivers meet, and we stayed there
one night and ate in Norina's place - including the local specialties such as wild mushrooms
and "Testerina on Toast" - Robin was a little dubious on what this dish was - but they were tasty.
Petromoli has a lovely wild park, on the downstream end of the old town (below left).
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Then back for our relaxing week in Albenga - there's June pointing at
where we stayed: 9 Vico Poggia: walk along the river towards the sea
and turn left near where the geese sleep and at the only skewed zebra crossing. This time we got to check out
more bars and restaurants - including "Blu Bar" in the centre and "Luna e la sole"
bar, on the main road to the sea, which gets sun in the evening.
The "Falcone" restaurant - just a short stagger from 9 Vico Poggia.
More shoe shops and markets, of course, and Robin even got to fly his
little aeroplane with it's TV camera to see Albenga from the air !
That's a still on the left from the short video given to Michael, Luigi and neighbor Silvana.
If you are on broadband, or don't mind the download delay, you can see
some of the video
here (4MB)
Yes, it was a rapid descent for landing :-)
Then we decided to end our holiday further east past Genova around the coast
at Santa Magharita. We stayed one night at the Hotel Elena Regina,
enjoyed their restaurant but noted it seemed a mile walk from the town centre.
So the next two nights were enjoyed at the lovely Hotel Miramar in Rapello,
opposite where the little (road) train and water taxi parks. Our biggest
adventure must have been our long walk over the hills and down into the
little cove of San Fruttuoso, reachable only by footpath or water taxi.
After the three hour walk, and ice-cream when we got there, we were very happy
to take the boat back to Rapello. Oh yes, we started our walk in Santa Magharita,
after taking the boat there from Rapello. Above pictures are looking down into San Fruttuoso,
on the boat, approaching Rapello, and from our hotel room. On the right June relaxes
for a few minutes on our walk, before we make our way down the hill, and to a bar :-)
Cheap BA flights via Milano, then the cheapest hire Europacar
for another fly-drive. Just two pictures here: that on the right is Vinci, where we stayed
for our first few nights - partly because British Airways managed to lose one of the two suitcases :-)
However, it did mean we got to do a few walks in the hills around Vinci - home of Leonardo,
including to his birthplace on a hill north of the town. The museum in Vinci is well worth
a visit, and it includes models of his numerous inventions, including a bicycle, clockwork car,
helicopter and diving suit. Robin found out about Vinci, and the museum, while searching the
net for wind speed meters - yes, the great man invented one of those too. Below is
where we stayed at the end of these lovely two weeks: Bellagio on Lago di Como.
Our very first winter break, even if only 5 days, but this time Spain. Robin and June stayed with Robins' sister Sally and Michael, at their new place in Portman, a nice little seaside village in Murcia - although you might not choose to go there if you read under "Toxic Threats" on the greenpeace site. We enjoyed exploring the local derilict industrial wasteland, the two 380mm cannon high above the "contaminated bay" (to ward off tourist shipping), and the huge thriving oil refinery further along the coast - but we also enjoyed watching the locals catch fish to eat from the beach, driving on quiet roads, eating good food, and the rare experience of sun-bathing in January.
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We decided to drive our old silver Merc (C4 GPS), instead of fly-drive. The last time we did this was 1999 - see far below. We took the Dover-Calais Ferry on 29 May and drove through Paris before staying in a low cost but nice modern little B&B Hotel south west of the city. Next night was Cannes. The first week in Italy was on the coast, between Alasio and Albenga - much loved by us. Later we took in Pisa then Lake Garda and tasted the trout again :-p Finally we came back via northern Italy and Austria (just where was that border :-) stopping on the German side of the River Rhein. Then across small roads of France to catch the ferry back to UK on 15 June.
Apartment in Monte e Mare.... up to the old Roman road.... for Views of the sea...
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Alasio is only an hours walk south.... as is Albenga to the north.... with much to be enjoyed....
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old Roman baths beside the river.... Olive Oil Museum.... or just relaxing in the sun....
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then down to Pisa.... up to Lake Garda.... north to the mountains, para-gliders and Austria....
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through to Germany and the Rhein.... la belle France.... including friend Pascal's place :-)
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Last year Samantha, our eldest daughter came with us. We flew out on Air Italia to pick up a hire car at Roma on 22nd June and returned to UK on 6th July. 2 days at Albano, just south of Roma, then 7 days in Sorrento south of Napoli, then down south, to Lecca and Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, on the southern "heel" tip of Italy. Back up the Adriatic coast to Manfredonia for a night, then into the green mountains west of Isernia - Colli a Volturno - tasty trout :-) Then back for a few hours near the sea south of Latina before returning via Roma Fiumicino to UK. The last time we took Samantha to Italy was over 20 years ago - I remember her in the back of a small hired Fiat 600 shouting "spaghetti !" :-) June and I showed her some now-familiar places, like Roma, Sorrento Pompei and Capri, and we found some new places - maybe also to be visited next year :-)
near the Colosium in Roma.... Ostia Antica near the airport.... Capri daytrip from Sorrento...
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Yes, we are slowly begining to think in Italian - for place names at least :-) We flew out to Italy on Friday 18th May, and returned to UK on Monday 4th June; picked up a hire-car at Linate, then two nights at Prato, near Firenze; Then on south to Siena; then Albano south of Roma; nearly a week in Sorrento, across the bay from Napoli and Pompeii; back north to stay with friends in Albenga; then back to Linate and home; a clear day - could see the Alps from 100 miles, including where we stopped for a picnic on the Po River.
Over the bay from Sorrento, Pompeii overshadowed by Vesuvius... theatres... kitchens...
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In 2000 we had another great holiday. But this time we flew to Milano then hired a car: less driving - more time to relax :-) More time to enjoy Albenga, Little Leca and Liguria.
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Prior to 1999, it had been many years since Robin and June last took a
holiday to Italy (1981 ?).
In June 1991 they decided to "live dangerously" and drive their "old banger"
of a Mercedes down
through France and around Italy. Places visited included
Florence, Rome, Ferrara, Allasio and Albenga. They had a fantastic holiday - made the
more enjoyable by meeting some of Robin's "Internet Friends".
Lovely warm weather, even warmer people, fantastic food.....
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Rome was hot, and full of 'old and big places' - LOTS of walking that day !
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After Trevi Fountains, the Vatican and St Peter's square, back via the Collosium ...
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...of course, we HAD to take
a Laptop computer and GPS - just in case we
got lost - and we still did a few times... well, not so much lost, as took the wrong
turning off the road - but the GPS got us back out of difficulty...
We humans were less confused than the GPS, everytime we
went into a tunnel - and there were a lot of those on our 3000 mile trek - some miles long.
The 'old banger' of a Merc did not let us down... a puncture in Alassio cost us a couple of hours, and 7 GBP for a repair. After we got back, the water pump started to leak, and that cost all of 25 GBP, and a few hours to fit - so 'the old girl' can be congratulated :-) The old brown Mercedes lasted another few months, but then it eventually "died" due to rust - so we sold it for £90 :-) We now have another Mercedes which is a little newer, with registration "C4 GPS" (see for GPS) - so you don't know how old it is :-)
Many Thanks for taking the time to look at these pictures.
Robin and June would like to say sorry now, to all those that we did not have time to see while we were in Italy, and a great big 'Thankyou' to those we did see - and who helped to make this such a wonderful experience. We certainly hope to see Italy again.