The Billingham Blog

We reached the parking lot for Mount Vesuvius easily enough, although it was fairly steep on narrow roads in many places. As with all Italian tourist sites, the sign posting wasn’t that clear but we ended up parking along a narrow road heading up a hill.

We paid €2 each for a return trip by mini bus up to the start of the walk - that took about 5 mins or so. We had debated about walking the 2km from the parking area to the start of the walk, but later on we were pleased we had a mini bus ride available to take us back to the car, rather than having to walk an extra 2km back to our car.

The walk up to the top of Vesuvius took about 30 mins in total – it was fairly steep, although the gradient was fairly consistent all the way. The views of Naples got better and better the higher we went up. It was a clear day and it was warm, so other than a bit of haze, you could see far and wide. We couldn’t quite work out where Pompeii was though!

There were three shops at the top, separated by about 200 meters or so. Each selling tacky souvenirs, food and drinks, but none of them had any toilets. So that meant that no one really wanted to spend too long up there – perhaps that was the idea?

We headed down and caught the mini bus back to the parking road.

It was change over day today and we both slept really well, which was a big relief. We also had an appointment to walk up Mount Vesuvius at 10am, so we didn't hang around in the morning.

Breakfast was the same as the previous two mornings: nice and very Italian. I retrieved the car and checked out. Somehow we managed to avoid paying the self-parking charges. Vick brought the roller cases downstairs and we were off into the traffic by 8:30am.

See the next post for our walk up Mount Vesuvius.

From there we headed for our hotel in Naples and that's when the fun started. Driving through Naples must be like driving through London, or any big capital city. There's traffic everywhere and there's normally a situation where 3 lanes of traffic converge into one!

We arrived at the Hilton Curio Britannique at around 1pm and we were offered an upgrade into a one bed suite. The hotel was stupendous, with amazing décor and a lovely roof top bar and restaurant.

The one-bed suite I had bagged as a free upgrade included an entrance room with two separate rooms: a bedroom on the right-hand side and a work area on the left-hand side. Both had a bathroom including a shower. All immaculate.

We headed up to the rooftop terrace for lunch.

We had lunch on the terrace and we both enjoyed a chicken Caesar salad and some fries. The balsamic vinegar was to die for: rich and tangy. I liked it so much, I managed to get it all over me and my clothes! [Dodgy top]

As expected, we had a nap in the afternoon.

We had no ideas about dinner, so we wandered out and found the tourists and mass of people down at the front. Way too noisy for us to eat, so we headed inland a bit and found an attractive looking restaurant which claimed to be the best pizza and pasta place in Naples. We picked a table down the side of the restaurant to reduce the level of noise even further.

Unfortunately, they may serve the best pizza and pasta but their service was atrocious – possibly the worst we have ever experienced: rude, arrogant and discourteous. But the food was pretty good.

We washed our grub down with a bottle of red – one similar to the bottle of Primitivo that we offered and they said they had run out of.

On the way back we enjoyed the pretty sights of central Naples.

We ended up having pudding in our room as the hotel left a little gift for us.

Holiday to Italy in Oct 2020: The Winding Streets of Positano on Fri 09 Oct 2020

Neither of us slept that well last night, but we were happy to be welcomed back to the Sorrento Restaurant for breakfast. It was going to be another day of sun today – potentially a tad warmer than yesterday.

We decided to head to Positano which is on the south coast about 10km and 40min drive away. Everywhere seems quite close until you hit the traffic which means it takes forever to get there. Well Positano gave a whole new meaning to the word crazy!

The drive from Sorrento took us into the hills and was a little challenging at times due to the hairpin bends which offered amazing views but with no opportunity to stop to take photos!

The crazy bit was turning off the main road to drive down to Positano. It’s a one-way road (good job too), which takes you past every house on the side of the mountain until you reach a point within a short walk of the beach. We wish we had taken a video of the drive.

We parked in Parking Central Di Gennaro and we were asked to leave the keys so that they could move the car to the underground storage.

We then walked down to the beach and the first thing we did was get another coffee. From there we took loads of photos looking back up the amazing mountainside.

We wandered around the beach front and then up along the coast a little way before making our way back up towards the parking garage.

Vick had wanted to spend more time here, but the shops were not fully open and it was a tad early for lunch. With us both being so tired and a challenging drive to get back to Sorrento we decided to head back and then get lunch in town.

After another hair-raising and stressful drive on the crazy Italian roads we reached the safety of the Hilton car park and we head into town to find a nice spot for a beer and some lunch. We happened across Terrazza delle Sirene, which had a lovely view over the Bay of Naples. We sat in the sun with our hats on and chilled out as best we could.

The menu and the waiter didn’t make it that easy to order gluten-free food but we got there in the end. We shared a eggplant parmigiana as a starter. Then Vick went for a tomato and onion salad (with fries) and I went for a cheeseburger.

Back to the hotel for another afternoon snooze.

For dinner, Vick found a stunningly good restaurant called La Cucina del Gusto cooking school which also serves food in the evenings. It’s rated as number five on the TripAdvisor best restaurants in Sorrento. I can only suggest that the four above it must have dodgy reviews because this MUST be the best restaurant in Sorrento – it was unbelievable. We genuinely believe it was probably the best meal we have ever had in any restaurant ANYWHERE!

Since Vick booked through TripAdvisor, we had 30% off. We started by ordering our standard bottle of Primitivo which was smooth and velvety. We were offered a free glass of prosecco to get us going, which was gorgeous.

For starters we ordered the bruschetta and the eggplant parmigiana. Whilst we waited for those to be delivered, we were provided with a special welcome amuse bouche which was fried balls made from water, yeast and seaweed – a tad on the stodgy side but very interesting.

The two starters were both tremendous. The tomatoes used in the bruschetta was amazing, and the parmigiana showed how poor the parmigiana was that we had had at lunchtime.

For main course we focused on porcini mushrooms! We shared a beef fillet with porcini mushrooms and a porcini mushroom risotto. Both were heavenly.

We reached pudding and although we were full, we had to make room for a lemon tiramisu and a chocolate panna cotta. Both really tasty and it brought to an end the best meal we think we have ever had. If only we had time to attend a cookery course!

Vick used the pens provided by the owners to leave some pertinent remarks. What a restaurant.

Pompeii Porta Marina

The drive was slow as it was yesterday going the other way, but we reached Pompeii Porta Marina entrance at around 10am.

We then farted about trying to secure tickets to get in for the next 45 mins or so. There are third parties offering to sell you tickets and all of them give you the impression that they are official ticket sellers. They insisted on paying by cash with an ATM being available in the ticket hall. However, when the ATM failed to serve out any cash, we were advised to go to the entrance where we paid using a credit card for our tickets. We also managed to get audio guides as well, although that was another story.

Finally, we got inside Pompeii and we had to walk to the other Pompeii entrance (Piazza Anfiteatro) to find another ATM. AT that time we thought we needed cash to pay for the audio guides! In the end we were able to pay with a card!

Piazza Anfiteatro

This is where our tour of Pompeii effectively began due to our diversion to find an ATM. It’s a nice entrance with a proper security check.

Pompeii was not too busy and was as interesting as we had imagined. I focused on taking photos and Vick did the reading and the listening to the audio guide.

Below is a list of the main attractions highlighted on the map above. We started in Region II.

Region II and Necropolis

II - 6 - Large Palaestra

This consists of a large open air square, surrounded by porticoes and enclosed by a high wall with battlements. All that is left of the centuries-old trees that were on the three sides of the great courtyard at the time of the eruption are moulds of the roots. There’s a pool in the centre which has a sloping floor.

II - 5 - Amphitheatre

This amphitheatre is the oldest among those known from the Roman times and could hold up to 20,000 spectators.

II - 3 - Praedia of Giulia Felice

This garden has a euripus, which creates an idyllic-sacral area. There’s also a spa area, which is richly decorated. Apparently, the house was one of the first to be excavated

There were a number of highlighted attractions which we couldn’t find the entrance to, so we pressed on to Region I.

Region I

I - 7 - House of the Menander

This house is a typical example of a home of a high-ranking family. The house owes its name to a picture of Menander, an Athenian playwriter, placed in the portico.

From the House of the Menander, we walked up Via Del Tempo D'Iside and entered Region VIII.

Region VIII

VIII - 8 - Triangular Forum

The Triangular Forum takes its name from its unique shape, preserves one of the oldest sacred areas in the city dating back to the 6th century BC. From this location, a number of other locations in Region VIII are accessible.

VIII - 9 - Doric Temple

The Doric Temple stood on the spur that dominated the bay in which the harbour is located, with a multi-coloured terracotta roof. The layout of the temple and the shape of the columns r eflect a mix of the Greek Doric style and local Campania traditions.

VIII - 10 - Large Theatre

The Large Theatre was built on a natural slope. The staircase was separated into three areas with corridors. These were in turn divided into five sectors comprising a passage and a barrel vault.

VIII - 11 - Gladiators’ Barracks

Behind the Large Theatre there is a quadrangle surrounded by 74 Doric grey tuff columns, where spectators could relax during the shows’ intervals. After the earthquake in 62 AD, it became a barracks for gladiators.

VIII - 12 - Small Theatre - Odeon

The Odeon was built during the early years of the colony (79 BC), requested by two local magistrates, Marcus Porcius and Caius Quinctius Valgus.

From Region VIII, we walked up Via Stabiana into Region VII.

Region VII

We found a number of small rooms on Vicolo Degli Augustali, which we looked into as we walked along.

Coffee Time!

That street took us to the bar, where we invested in a coffee and we took the opportunity to sit down briefly and rest our feet. The coffee was not too shabby either.

After coffee we walked south to one of the major areas in Pompeii: The Forum.

VII - 7 - Forum Granary

Eight openings, separated by brick pillars, stretch on the western side of the Forum. These were used for the fruit and vegetable market. Today they hold more than 9000 artefacts from the excavations in Pompeii.

VII - 6a - The Forum

The Civil Forum was the core of daily life of the city, being the focal point of all city administration and justice, business management and trade activities, as well as being the main place of worship.

From there we headed back to the Porta Marina entrance where we walked past the Sanctuary of Venus, standing resplendent.

We turned the light out fairly early – we were both knackered after a ridiculously early start to the day yesterday. The bed was comfy although perhaps a tad too soft for my back. I woke early and spent an hour on my laptop before returning to bed to get some additional zeds.

We both woke at about 7:30am and we headed down for breakfast. We were served by Peppe again who was very friendly and took our order for individual breakfast items without fully explaining the holistic breakfast offering. However, it was a nice collection of energy-giving foods which were easy to consume!

It was Pompeii day today, so we headed down to the car and drove back towards Napoli. We had considered going on the train, but I thought that was too restrictive – we may have wanted to go elsewhere after Pompeii. The weather was tremendous with very few clouds in the sky and a decent temperature high of 25 deg c.

See the next post for our write up of our visit to Pompeii.

After exiting Pompeii, we popped across the road to a nice-looking restaurant where we had a spot of lunch. The pasta we ordered was decent, but not desperately special. The Italians definition of “al dente” is definitely harder than our definition.

We debated about pushing on to Mount Vesuvius, but after fighting with trying to get tickets on line, we decided we would head back to the hotel and include the walk up to the crater on another day.

The drive back was a lot easier than either of the journeys along the same road that we had already taken. But it’s worth noting something about Italian road users – crazy does not do them justice. Motorbikes are everywhere and the riders consider themselves kings of the road. They overtake everything at any time irrespective of what’s coming. In fact, all Italian road users can be described as selfish – they all act in their own self-interest, working on the basis that everyone else will work around them. Even the pedestrians just walk out into the road, making the assumption that drivers will slow down for them – crazy!

After a snooze in the afternoon we decided to give Sorrento another shot at serving up some pasta to us. This time we headed to the best and biggest pasta place in the whole of Sorrento: O'Parruchiano La Favorita.

But first we decided to get a drink at a place which had been recommended by one of Vick’s work colleagues. Nothing special to be honest and based on the menu with one section of drinks entitled “sexy drinks” it probably said it all. We didn’t stay long.

The pasta restaurant opened at 7pm and we were in a few mins early. We had read reviews online which were either end of the spectrum, but this place proved to us that it was fair to be called La Favorita. The pasta was excellent and the service was pretty good as well.

We sat at a table in the courtyard next to a gas heater. It was a decent temperature, but there was a chill in the wind and we appreciated the slight warmth we could feel from the gas heater. We ordered another bottle of Primitivo – less port flavoured than yesterday’s wine.

We started with a rustic starter and I had the cheese and tomato pastries – both were very nice and got things off to a good start.

For main Vick ordered rolled beef with penne and I had the lasagne which was excellent.

From the terminal we walked across the road to where the rental car shuttle was sign posted, but we decided not to wait for a shuttle bus – we followed the map and walked to the Hertz rental car centre just around the corner.

Collecting the car was a bit of a hassle, but we got it in the end. The Fiat 500L was an upgrade on what we had ordered (apparently).

The drive down to Sorrento was only about 20km, but took us an hour due to the slow-moving traffic and the tight bends and little towns along the way. The Italian drivers left a lot to be desired, with very few indicators apparently working and very little respect shown to other road users. I sound like an old fart of a driver!

We finally reached the Hilton Sorrento Palace and parked on the road. After a brief guided tour around an executive room and a junior suite, we decided on the executive room and formally checked in.

By the time we reached our room, the weather had really turned a bit nasty: a torrential downpour and dark clouds made the outlook feel very gloomy!

We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the hotel restaurant: two club sandwiches and fries with a beer and a cappuccino. The waiter was delightful and he related his stories of working in Croydon restaurants in the early noughties.

We had a siesta in the afternoon and then headed out to walk around Sorrento, followed by a sneaky dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

Sorrento is a typical, traditional Italian place with alleyways and restaurants everywhere. The primary sight was Limoncello shops, some in interesting shaped glassware!

We enjoyed dinner at Trattoria Dei Mare – we were first in and whilst we were in we saw no one else! They offered a very limited menu, so we were struggling a tad, but it had an excellent write up on TripAdvisor. Vick started with the caprese salad and I went for a ravioli caprese – both were good but not knock out.

For main Vick went for a simple tomato-based pasta dish and I had the green pepper steak which was pretty good. We flushed our food down with a bottle of Primitivo red wine which tasted like port! Finished off with a free shot of limoncello. All finished off with 20% saving due to booking through TripAdvisor!

Back to the hotel and I took a couple of photos in the dark. The weather had calmed down now and we were expecting a few days of good sunshine.

Our alarms were set for 4am, but I first woke at about 12:30am. It was hot because we had forgotten to set the aircon up to a decent level – rookie mistake! I was up for about an hour but then struggled to get back to sleep. Vick didn’t sleep that well either.

The taxi was waiting for us downstairs and the driver was pleased to see us. Taxi drivers were also suffering as a result of the lack of travellers, so any fare was a good one from his perspective.

Arriving into T5 was a little odd. There were quite a few people around and the First Wing was open, but not security. Consequently, we decided to go through Security South instead. No issues in getting our stuff through security and we then had to wait 5 mins before we were allowed into the south lounge complex.

The CCR was closed, but the terrace in the First Lounge had been converted into a mini CCR lounge. The staff we encountered were clearly inexperienced and didn’t really know what the rules were about CCR cards and the like. But they did their best.

Breakfast was a bit of a struggle – the options were severely limited, but the cappuccinos were excellent as they always are.

We were advised that boarding was by row number in reverse, which was likely to cause us some challenges in respect to our roller cases. As soon as our gate was announced we had to move: it was B33 so a good 10-15 mins away, and it immediately advised that the flight was boarding. Naturally we had to pop into Starbucks on the way and by the time we reached Gate B33, boarding had started, but they had not yet invited the front block of seats.

Flight: BA2606 Equip: A321 Neo Sched Depart: 06:45 Actual: 06:43 Sched Arrival: 10:30 Actual: 10:05 Takeoff: 06:59 Landing: 10:01

We finally got on board and with a bit of negotiation we managed to get our roller cases into the overhead lockers. It was a very odd experience seeing everyone wearing a mask with the strong advice not to remove them unless you were in the “act” of eating/drinking. That at least gave us the opportunity to drink our Starbucks.

We pushed back early and with very little flights taking off at Heathrow just now, we were soon on to the runway and up into the skies heading towards Naples.

The service on board was very friendly and we were both invited to enjoy some champagne (which I couldn’t due to driving in Italy). The box of treats included a very tasty ham & cheese croissant, yoghurt and some fruit.

Overall, it was a fairly smooth flight other than one or two bumpy sections and we landed into Naples early due to a strong jet stream.

Wow – first overseas holiday since lockdown and our first trip back to Heathrow! It feels a bit weird. Got a good night’s sleep for a change – proves the melatonin still works anyway.

Full day of work for me. Vick was planning on a half day “in the office”, so that she could relax and complete her packing in the afternoon. We planned on hitting the road late afternoon so that we could check into the Hilton Heathrow T4 in good time. Probably not a lot going on down that way, but it will be our first time at the Hilton T4 so will be good to see how it compares to the Hilton T5.

We left home not long after 2:30 and we were parking up at the hotel about an hour later. The roads were fairly quiet and (thankfully) dry. The weather has been really changeable over the past few days: we have suffered from heavy rain and strong winds at times. It’s feeling very autumnal.

We arrived at the hotel just after two couples arrived in a BMW 3 series. We were waiting to check in for a long time, but our patience paid off: we were upgraded into a junior suite. I’d asked via email and I received a response suggesting it depended upon availability at check in.

The young Italian woman that checked us in was very friendly and was really pleased that we were heading over to Italy the following day. From what she said, it sounded like we were one of only three rooms that were occupied that night. When we asked later on for her to book us a taxi, she didn’t need to ask our name!

The hotel was quite nice – not quite as nice as the Hilton at T5. Our junior suite was a decent size and fairly well appointed. It overlooked the internal space where Oscar’s restaurant was located.

Oscar’s was the only restaurant open in the hotel – understandable on the basis there were very few guests staying here. We headed down at about 6pm and were warmly welcomed in. We ordered a Caesar salad to share for starters.

We enjoyed 4 glasses of prosecco on the house as a result of the exec lounge not being open.

Vick went for the chicken tikka masala and I went for a Thai green curry. Both were excellent in flavour, although I had to send mine back to be warmed up!

I think the hotel was really happy for anyone to be staying with them. As a thank you we were offered a free chocolate cake as a desert, which was pretty tasty and still moist.

Bobby Tesla 2 suggested heading home along the A303, rather than take the M5. This was our first time driving past Stonehenge. As we approached, there was a 2-3-mile tailback. Was it an accident holding vehicles up? No – cars were slowing down to take photos! Ridiculous.

I woke just before 4am and moved into the bathroom as per the previous night. I started suffering from all of the meat I had eaten the night before. I couldn’t see me wanting to eat anything for the remainder of the day!

Vick woke about 6:30am. She told me that she had to ring the hotel from our room at about 11:30pm to ask them to clear the courtyard – there were loads of people making a load of noise. I didn’t hear a thing - I slept right through it!

We met Mike & Jo for breakfast in the courtyard. Jo told us a similar tale, but this time of their noisy neighbours who kept her awake until well after midnight. Mike slept like a baby!

We all had a relatively light breakfast at the hotel (even me).

We checked out and drove to Bishopswood in the Blackwood Hills and parked at the Candlelight Inn pub where we had booked in for lunch at 1pm. On the way we stumbled across a Starbucks and we couldn’t just drive by.

Enjoyed an amazing walk across fields, out manoeuvred the cattle who looked fairly threatening and said hello to a number of farmers.

Back to the pub and we were all in various stages of being desperate for the loo!

I woke around 4:30am and I set myself up in the bathroom, which was fairly large and warm enough to stay comfy, whilst I waited for Vick to wake. Vick woke around 6:30am and we had a very basic coffee in the room.

We met the Harpers downstairs in the courtyard at 7:45am. The plan was to grab some breakfast, do a decent hike and find somewhere fab for afternoon tea. It was dry and warm but the forecast didn’t look that good for the rest of the day.

We walked up to the car and drove to Darts Farm in order to supercharge and grab some breakfast. All the “new” normal precautions were in place: face masks needed to be worn as we entered the farm shop and restaurant and sanitiser dispensers were close by. Although the waiting staff didn’t wear special gear and once at the table face masks could come off! Anyway, breakfast was excellent. I went for the full English, which was pretty decent. The sausage was a bit anaemic and the mushrooms were disappointing, but the rest was excellent. The others all went for variations on avocado on toast, which I have always thought was a very unusual option for breakfast!

After about an hour, we drove from Darts Farm to Budleigh Salterton and parked in the car park close to the front. We briefly walked to the front to take in the view, but it soon started tipping it down. So, we missed the photo opportunity of the colourful beach huts and instead we headed to the start of the path on our way to Otterton along the coast.

The walk was really refreshing and provided some amazing scenery. It drizzled most of the walk, but didn’t rain enough to force us off our hike.

We soon ended up on the opposite side of an inlet, looking back towards Budleigh Salterton. We had climbed up a little way and we found a great viewpoint.

The path followed the coast for a few miles and we were able to take in the amazing views of the rocky coastline.

By the time we reached the turn off to Otterton, we were desperate for our afternoon tea.

Otterton was a lovely quaint little place, with a well renowned place for afternoon tea, which after all, was the entire reason for the walk!

Afternoon tea at Otterton Mill was amazing. Jo, Mike and I ordered double scones; Vick ordered a single scone, but brought her own wheat-free scones. We were all absolutely stuffed at the end of our lunch.

By this stage, it was throwing it down. We headed back along the more direct route to the car: along the river. Then headed back to the hotel and crashed out for the afternoon.

In the evening, we managed to book a table at the Pig & Pallet for dinner. We had a drink outside at the Lighter pub and ate way too much (as normal)!

After a brief walk around Topsham taking in the Saturday night sights, we retired after a long, tiring day.

It had been a busy week and we were both looking forward to a weekend away. As a result of the pandemic, we hadn’t gone anywhere together since Christmas and the last time I flew anywhere was back in March when I flew up to Helsinki and back again. It had been a long time!

The weather forecast wasn’t that great, but should remain warm at least. Vick was convinced it would be a traffic jam from Bristol all the way down to the south coast of Devon, so we agreed with the Harpers that we would get on the road by 3pm to give us every chance of reaching Topsham at a decent hour.

The first hour of driving was very easy going. The A34 and the M4 were not that busy, but things changed as we approached Bristol and our connection on to the M5 heading south. We fairly quickly ground to a slow crawl.

The plan was to stop at Gordano Services to grab a bite to eat and to supercharge at the same time – the superchargers were fairly busy, but we managed to get a double stall all to ourselves. The service station itself was packed. It was the first day of compulsory face masks and it was a little unusual seeing so many people wearing them – it felt like we were in Asia where the impression I get from TV is that wearing masks is a standard way of life.

I popped into Burger King and the others picked something up from Waitrose. We sat outside and scoffed our food, whilst Bobby 2 enjoyed his top-up in the warmth.

45 mins later, we headed back on to the M5 where we found it slow for the first 20 mins, but as we broke free of the Bristol rush hour, it became a very easy drive down to Topsham.

As we arrived, we drove along the main street of Topsham, which was very quaint. We found The Globe easily enough and parked not that far away, in a car park behind the hotel.

We checked into rooms 17 & 19. We had drinks at the pub with chunky chips, followed by a quick walk around the town and bay, then we retired.

The weather had cleared up, and the sun was out. It was fairly busy on both the M25 and M40, but when I got the chance I didn’t dawdle on the way home.

After picking up my Starbucks, I headed to the new Finnair Lounge – my first time to see what it was like. After scanning my boarding card, I was invited to enter the business lounge. I asked whether I was allowed to use the Platinum Lounge (being an Emerald member and all that), and she reluctantly agreed.

Both lounges were as good as empty, but they looked so much better than the old lounges, especially the Platinum Lounge. I took lots of photos to show off the new look.

Big changes at Helsinki recently and the expansion never seems to stop!

Back to Gate 40 and it was a good 15 mins before anything happened at the gate, but eventually we were allowed back on to the aircraft. I was back into Seat 1A. The guy in my seat (1F) and the guy in 1C had also got back on board. The number of rows of CE had vastly reduced down to a manageable 7 or 8.

The guy in seat 1C told me about the issue he faced on the way up to Helsinki with the guy who had previously occupied 1A. He attempted to steal his mobile phone! Not heard a story like that before.

Flight: BA0799 Equip: A320 Sched Depart: 13:50 Actual: 13:38 Sched Arrival: 15:05 Actual: 14:43 Takeoff: 13:47 Landing: 14:29

Since all passengers were on board early, we pushed back a good 10 mins ahead of the scheduled departure, and we were in the air well ahead of time as well. We hit that turbulent air immediately after take-off, but it soon calmed down.

The cabin crew up and down were pretty good. They certainly did their best to keep everyone happy.