To Visit in Sorrento

I have to prepare an itinerary for a visit of Sorrento, a little but very beautiful town not too far from Naples (47 km). It will be not the first visit for me, contrary, I go there relatively often: with trekking group, with my friends... Even if I continue to not like the coast for it's terrible traffic and road, I can't deny it's incredible beauty. So, I click to listen to the song and look at the photos of the places to visit this time.



This is the general picture of Sorrento: it's the place where you can meet sea and Vesuvius. The first part of my next itinerary will be the main square.



The Mills' valley, actually covered to create the square, will be accessible when the restructure of the old town wall will be finished. Now, only a very little partt of the town wall is visible.





It's unpossible to avoid the picturesque fishers' village



Narrow medieval streets wiil guide me to the belvedere of the town





I will visit the basilica of the most adorable Saint of Sorrento, it's protector and protector of all peninsula, S. Antonino



Cathedral will be the next point



After that, the next to see is the port where the cruise ships' guests arrive.



So, this will be the circle I'll do in the town. About an hour, I think. 

Artists in the Streets of Europe

An interesting sign of modern culture are vagant musicians, dancers and other artists. In the narrow streets and squares of the medieval towns like Salerno (Italy), their performances are similar to the theater shows. The seasides become similar to the art studios. I don't know if they pay taxes or something like this but I'm content that the govwernors do not catch them from the cities as they do with the salesmen.


«Художники на улицах Рима» на Яндекс.Фотках

There are all schools of painters there. I like to look how the Chinese painters work (and, as you can see on the photo, others). Their techinques are so particular! Even if they simply write something for you, it's just an art. In fact, writing was always art, in Europe, too.


«художники на улицах Рима» на Яндекс.Фотках

I have different friends painters and know something from their lives. I was always surprised to njtice that they easily go to sit in the streets and offer to paint for passerbys. I would never do it. It seems to me not very ...I don't know... Non acceptable for me. But they are different from me in this sense, too. They like this work. They do it with great pleasure. Not only, they are happy to do anything for inspiration. There was a competition in one of our touristic centers when artists were closed in an antique monastery for a month with the task to create a masterpiece after it. Imagine, artists waited in the list for the next turn to enter in the monastery!

 I want to say that artists have to be free as they were from the beginning of the times. Inspired -to inspire and enlighten our life.


«по улицам Рима...» на Яндекс.Фотках

Teotihuacan, Mexico: Secrets of the Sun Pyramid

The Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico wants to share it's secrets. This fact discovered my friend from USA that went there with a cruise ship. :-))) Well, you are right, she did not reach Teotihuacan with the ship. It was an excursion she booked there, in Mexico. If you did not know it, there are many and very convenient Mexico cruises that visit the most beautiful and romantic places of Central America.


«Мексика. Пирамида Луны.» на Яндекс.Фотках

The most important pyramids of Teotihuacan were those of Sun and of Moon. And, the local populations believed, the deities of Sun and Moon lived there. They, deities, continue to lAnd they found a mask of jade, too.

The question that ask all the scientists that work there is: Who and When built the pyramids? Why all inhabitants left the town suddenly? There are not signs of violence neither hunger or epidemy. The town lived normally till one day when all together took their goods and went away. Maybe the excavations of this year will finally disclose this mystery.

Byzantine Art in Campania

Where would you go to see byzantine art?
You are right: in Italy, in Campania. :-)))
There are many interesting XI centurie's frescs here. Most of these frescs are very fragmentary and can only give you only a taste. You are interested, you understand that the church was completly covered with the paintings. But you can't even imagin HOW could it be.



Campania allows you to visit a completely covered with the original Medieval paintingschurch. This church is unicum. There are only some churches that preserve their medieval look in Italy. One of them is the basilica in Sant Angelo in Formis not too far from Santa Maria Capua Vetere.



where you can see New and Old Testament painted on the walls of the church. The population was not more literate in the early Medieval times and that is why the prists had to explain the Bible using the pictures.

Early Morning in Venice

Venice is always full of persons, even in the first hours of the morning -those who lives and works there and has not too much time to look around; tourists that come with the first trains intended to see everything possible before they will leave the town in the evening, running for better and better places; those, finally, who comes with the cruise liners so numerous there. Many of them gather together in the large spaces of the S.Marc square.


«Утро на площади Святого Марка в Венеции...» на Яндекс.Фотках

Photos, photos, photos, photographs are in every direction you turn your head. The impression is that all the persons of this town are able to think only about taking their shots. It's not so but you see and hear the photocameras litteraly in every place you go there.

The air is so nice in the morning, in Venice. It seems the dust is hanging in the air in the afternoon on dry and warm days. Two symbols of the town, the Winged Lion with one paw on the book and  St. Todaro, killing the dragon, standing on the high columns, supervise the town. But beware to pass between these columns! Once, this area was used to kill the prisoners, and it's not good sign to pass there.


«Утро на площади Святого Марка в Венеции...» на Яндекс.Фотках
 
«Утро на площади Святого Марка в Венеции...» на Яндекс.Фотках

Costa Blanca, Spain

Why we like white buildings so much? Could you explain me this phenomena?

When you visit Capri, for example, you notice the white houses of this island. With different kinds of ornaments in ceramics and luxuriant nature, white walls are probably the best possible "background". Ohhh, they are protagonists of the island there. And I was sure Capri is the unique place in the world that we can call the island of white houses.

Many years passed, and finally I visited Capri once more. I was in Anacapri, the town that remained in my dreams as the white town. Something changed in this period and the town was not so white as I remembered it...

Similar effect create white trullis that you can find in many places if you visit Apulia. But really white is the White Town there. Ostuni. Completly white.

Well, in any case I thought, THOSE are the white towns.
My friend visited Costa Blanca in Spain and turned home fashinated by this white place. The houses are white there, too (first photo). But not this is the reason they call it the White Coast. This coast is literally white. Because it's formed by white stones! (second photo).


«Испанское побережье Коста Бланка» на Яндекс.Фотках


«Испанское побережье Коста Бланка» на Яндекс.Фотках

Capri, an Island of the Cliffs

Capri is one of the island of the gulf of Naples. It is situated not far from the mainland but the "normal" ferry needs more than an hour to reach it. There are quick ferries, too. Jetfoils. Those arrive in the port of Capri, Marina Grande, in about 30 minutes. But the slow ferries allow you to enjoy the view of all the gulf of Naples if the weather is good. You can see all the islands and the Sorrento coast with calm for more time (and save moneyof the tickets, too).

There are 2 towns on the island, Capri and Anacapri. In the port, take a bus and go in Anacapri where it's possible to visit not only one of the most beautiful villas of the world but the incredible cliffs and caves (there are about 5 or more visitable caves there where the sun thanks to the particular conditions of the exposion color the water in azurre or red or emerald etc)

Capri is very good for trekking. The pathes have different complexity and there are very easy ways and very complicated, too. In any case you will be rewarded with breathtaking views. In fact, all the views are breathtaking, there, I think.

But there are different possibilities: if you don't want to look down from the cliff, you can rent a boat and look at the island down-up. The round trip coasts abut 16 euros, I think.

Online shopping? Frugality

Frugality is the right word to describe the main idea of frugaldad.com, the site where you can find a very rich collection of coupons to save money in, practically, all kinds of shopping online: from cheap hotels and travels to shoes and food. Saving money when you navigate this site is as simple as a click on the category you are interested in. The only thing you have to remember: don't be carried away by this great quantity of possibilities.

Coupons and deals are real and are actually interesting ways to have more from our hardly earned money. In this period of crisis -and I would say crisises that follow one after other- the possibility to purchase two or more objects or goods with the same money makes the difference. And frugality can gift us those things we would maybe never consider if we would accept thoughtlessly the first prices we see in the shop.

There are many ways to find coupons for online shopping: you can see them in your newsletters, in advertising banners and dedicated sites. But you don't need to look for them in all those places. Just bookmark the page of FrugalDad and open it when you need to buy something next time.

We tend to explain everything from the position of benefits, today. Now, what is the main benefit of frugality? It's easy: frugality can simplify you your life. To have less bills and more money for your personal needs or needs of your family -isn't it the dream you have every day? And it means more joy and happiness since you can live without everyday stress. Make a list of all those unuseful things you have. Did you notice that we often have too many equal objects? 2-3 cells, for example.

Using coupons and deals seem not very important way to save money, but if you count the advantages you had with attention, you will notice that all together they build a significant part that influences your budget in positive sense. What can you do with these savings? You can use them not only to buy more goods that are necessary to you today. With this money, you can even create you personal fund for your retirement, for example.

There is not matter, what do you need that money for. In any case, those coupons and deals, the frugality and attention in the everyday expensions can help you to make your life better.

Madrid -the Most High-Altitude Capital in Europe

Madrid was the next city to visit in the list of one of my friends. She has a very good job: she can travel everywhere practically every month. So, this time it was Madrid. The city became a capital "recently", in 1561. Madrid is not only the highest but one of the most large cities in Europe (London and Berlin take the first places).
 
«Крыши Мадрида» на Яндекс.Фотках 

Here is the main square of Madrid.
If you think that this square is a little empty, you have to remember that this place was created for all kinds of events and shows. It was a place for corridas, for parades, for shows. Here were organized the fires for heretics: oncew, in 1680, 21 persons were burned on this place and the royal family assisted this executions for 12 hours.


«Центральная площадь Мадрида - Пласа Майор» на Яндекс.Фотках

Today, Madrid forgot public executions and it's a pleasant city with many nice places for persons of every age and interest. Ans a kind of paradise for tourists.


«Церковь Святого Иеронима у музея Прадо в Мадриде» на Яндекс.Фотках

Sud Italy -Winter Means Rain

Italy, as all European countries, was reached by a very cold cyclone about 2 weeks ago.

The problem for this normally warm in winter country is that it was not ready to stand such a situation with dignity. Since there are never similar problems here, people do not have special cars and other necessary equipment to take the snow away. And I think with horror about the next future when all the snow will melt, specially that in the mountains.

Sud Italy was less hit by this natural calamity (in other countries, it is called simply "winter"). We had only rains here, and those who lives in the mountains came down with the cars covered with 20 cm of snow for 2 or 3 days.



I had to guide a group of excursionists from Salerno to it's castel and had to learn the way before the excursion. Nobody of my friends knew how is possible to go out from the Old Town to the castel and I had to study the situation. That is why I had to pass some days in Salerno even if the rain did not stop even for a moment.



The day of the excursion seemed to begin good enough: the rain was drizzling, and it even stopped then...



I like excursions and I participate on them gladly. But not under the pouring rain, guys...
The association wrote me that the excursion is confirmated. Than, they did not come the next day. I contacted all the museums about our visit -and the group did not come... The 4 persons that reached us at the end wanted to go for the walk. And I had to show them all the itinerary except the castle.

I was completly wet after it. I could not warm myself for 2 days than. Never more I will consent to guide somebody if the weather is not good...