Feb 17, 2019
Tunisia
I got only a couple of hours in Tunisia but that should be OK for a quick look at the Medina in Tunis and surrounding highlights. After breakfast at Tunisia Palace just next to the Medina, I entered the Medina through Bab el Bhar. After walking on the "main road" in the Medina - Rue Jamaa Ez Zitouna for a few minutes, I reached the main mosque in the Medina - Zaytuna Mosque. Unfortunately it's closed. Not surprisingly, somebody offered to take me to the rooftop of a nearby house overlooking the mosque expecting a few dinar tip at the end. The view on the rooftop is not too bad.
Leaving the mosque using a different route, I exited the Medina into Rue d'Espagne where the transportation hub Barcelone is located. A few tram routes (including Line 3 and Line 6) go to Tunis Marine Station. TGM trains leave from Tunis Marine to La Marsa frequently, passing various stations in Carthage as well as Sidi Bou Said. I got off at Carthage Hannibal Station and walked to Antonine Baths. The combined ticket that includeds admissions to several Roman ruins in Carthage is now 12 dinars. I later checked out the Amphitheatre and Villas Romaines and Antonine Baths seems to be the best among the three. There is quite some walking across the sites but it's doable with relatively ease.
Continuing on TGM train from Carthage Presidence Station north for two stops, I got off at Sidi Bou Said, the No. 1 tourist destination in Tunisia. The town is famous for its white and blue buildings, including the mosques. Walking along the roads in town and stopping by for food, cafe or shopping seem to be what most visitors do. One "site" with an entrance fee (4.5 dinars) is Dar El Annabi - house of a prestigious family. Apart from learning some history, you can relax with a cup of mint tea in their courtyard and have a panoramic view of the ocean from its rooftop (the same view can be had from the rooftop cafe across the street as well).
Back to Tunis by TGM train, I had some fish couscous (couscous is the national dish of Tunisia) before heading for the ferry terminal at La Goulette (taxi around 8 dinars but the driver asked for 1 dinar extra for luggage handling). The scheduled departure time for the GNV ferry to Genoa, Italy is 6 pm and they asked passengers (even without cars) to arrive 4 hours before. It turned out immigration didn't open until 4 pm and the ferry actually departed around 7 pm.
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| A Vendor Selling Dates in Tunis |
Feb 18, 2019
Tunisia to Italy
The Tunis - Genoa ferry is huge. It looks like a cruise ship but it actually takes vehicles as well. There are totally 9 floors. Floor 6 has some restaurants and other facilities, while floor 7 and 8 are mostly rooms (of various kinds including suits). There is a swimming pool but it's closed due to winter time. The ferry arrived at Genoa around 6 pm - 2 hours before scheduled arrival time. It takes about 30 minutes for foot passengers to disembark from the ferry and go through immigration.
From the ferry terminal in Genoa, it's about 30 minute walk to Piazza Principe (train station). There are also buses heading for the station on Via Milano nearby. At the train station, I had dinner at a Japanese restaurant before taking a regional train to Voghera. From Voghera I took InterCity train 757 to Remini.
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| Port of Genoa |
Feb 19, 2019
San Marino and Venice
There are buses from opposite Remini Train Station to San Marino every 75 minutes (less on Sundays). The trip takes 50 minutes to get to the City of San Marino (last stop). Not too far from the bus stop there is a free elevator going to the upper street and from there it's a couple of minute uphill walk to the tourist office where you can get your passport stamped (5 euro). Piazza della Libertà nearby can be easily checked out. There are clear signs indicating the paths to Tower 1, 2 and 3. It's about 10 minute walk from Tower 1 to Tower 2 and another 10 minutes from Tower 2 to Tower 3 (not open to the public). Tower 2 (Cesta Tower) is the highest and it's quit worth the 4.5 euro entrance fee to get in and climb to the top to take the classic photo of Tower 1 (Guaita Tower). The beauty of visiting San Marino in February is that there are almost no tourists and you have the whole place for yourself.
Back to Remini, I took a train to Bologna and changed to a high-speed train to Venice. It's carnival time in Venice but I saw very few people wearing masks. Venice is expensive (e.g. one-way public boat fare is 7.5 euro) but also very unique, that probably justifies the high prices. However, eating cicchetti (small dishes similar to tapas in Spain usually taken with wine) can be one way to save cost and it's much fun, especially at bars in local (not tourist) areas. Although taking the vaporetto (public boat) along the Grand Canal (apart from the major sites around St. Mark's Square of course) shouldn't be missed, I consider walking in the alleys passing numerous bridges a more essential Venice experience. It's especially amazing to walk in the local areas (such as from the train station to Rialto Bridge). The view from the rooftop of T Fondaco dei Tedeschi department store isn't that great and usually there is a lineup to get there. Rialto Bridge itself is probably a better free place to take photos of the Grand Canal (it's crowded but at least you don't need to wait!)
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| Guaita Tower, San Marino |
Feb 20, 2019
Florence and Pisa
It's only two hours by high-speed train from Venice to Florence. For someone without a grand interest in arts like me, a couple of hours in Florence is good enough and the luggage storage facility at the train station is handy. The two most important museums to visit in Florence are Academia (for Michelangelo's David) and Uffizi (finest collections of Renaissance works). Advance ticket reservations for both museums are essential to save time. For the Duomo, I just admired it from outside so didn't spend much time there. Taking the local specialty food lampredotto (beef stomach) panini at the food cart L’Antico Trippaio gave me more time to spend at Uffizi. Florence is said to have the best gelato (ice cream) in Italy. I tried one and didn't find it too special.
A one hour regional train ride took me to Pisa, famous for its leaning tower. No admission charge unless you want to climb the tower (probably not worth the 18 euro). The cathedral nearby is also free to visit but you need to get the ticket from the red building nearby and enter at assigned time (I got it very soon).
Although you can go back to Florence and take a high speed train to Rome to save a little bit time, I just took the 3-hour train from Pisa to Rome along the coast.
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| Uffizi Gallery, Florence |
Feb 21, 2019
Rome
A whole day reserved for Rome. Maybe it's too short for some people but to me it's just perfect. As Rick Steves pointed out: "Some people actually do Rome in one day." I followed his suggestions roughly with some variations. I did the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum in the morning. Instead of buying the SUPER ticket, I actually booked a complete tour that includes the underground and the panoramic view which turned out to be very worth it, especially the panoramic view. On the way walking to the Vatican City, I checked out Palazzo dei Conservatori ('Marforio' statue), the Pantheon and Piazza Navona briefly. A Roman style pasta at the nearby Cul de Sac for lunch wasn't bad at all.
Similar to the Colosseum, advance ticket reservation to the Vatican museums is highly recommended to save time. The last time slot you can reserve for the Vatican Museums is 3 pm (though they close at 6 pm). I arrived at St. Peter's Square shortly after 2 pm but there is a lineup at the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica so I decided to go to the Vatican Museums first. Though I'm not very knowledgeable in arts, I still spent more than one hour at the Vatican Museums, checking out highlights such as Laocoön and His Sons at the Octagonal Courtyard of Pio Clementino Museum, the School of Athens at Raphael Rooms and of course the Sistine Chapel. There are two exits at the end of the Sistine Chapel. The one at the far right is actually a shortcut to St. Peter's Basilica. I heard it's only for tour groups but wanted to try some luck. In fact, when I exited from there, nobody stopped me. This is really beautiful as you can enter St. Peter's Basilica directly without lining up for security check (I guess it's because when entering the Vatican Museums you already get checked by security). The world's largest church is indeed more than impressive, even for non-Catholics; And Michelangelo's Pieta is something you just want to admire without leaving. Near St. Peter's Basilica there are places selling Vatican stamps - something very good to collect.
After the Vatican City, I checked out Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain quickly. There were so many people at both places, especially Trevi Fountain. This is only February. I couldn't imagine how many people would be there in high season. The tiramisu (4 euro) at the famous shop Pompi near Spanish Steps is tasty and the shop clerk advised to eat within 10 minutes of purchase.
A high-speed train took me to Naples in just 70 minutes in the evening.
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| Trevi Fountain at Dusk |
Feb 22, 2019
Capri and the Amalfi Coast
In winter, there are only boats between Naples and Capri and between Sorrento and Capri. Slow boats are always running while more frequent fast boats run weather permitting. They update ferry information on a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/InfoCollegamentiMarittimiEMeteo (in Italian but can be easily translated to English). I took the 8:05 am fast ferry from Naples and arrived in Capri just before 9 am. I didn't see anybody at the Motoscafisti booth near the ferry terminal and the tourist information office nearby didn't seem to give useful/correct info. So I walked further to Laser Capri. Perhaps because it's winter time, they only got a 10:45 am departure tour that stops at the Blue Grotto but there was a 9:30 am round-the-island departure without the Blue Grotto. I decided to take the 9:30 am tour. The one hour round-the-island tour (18 euro) offers a good opportunity to see various cliffs, archs, caves and villas on the island from the sea and is probably the best activity in Capri if pressed for time.
A 20 minute fast ferry ride took me to Sorrento, a popular resort town in summer. From the ferry terminal, there are clear signs indicating the way to a lift (1 euro) that takes you to the upper level and from there it's about 15 minute walk to the train station. SITA bus stop is just opposite the train station. There is a small counter at the bus stop selling tickets. I bought a day pass for 10 euro just for convenience (it's usually cheaper if you buy tickets at the shops in the places you stop along the Amalfi Coast as tickets cannot be purchased on the bus, but it takes time). It's also a good idea to download the bus timetable (and understand how to read it) for advanced planning if time is limited.
For the Amalfi Coast bus journeys, it's essential to sit on the side near the coast (e.g. on the right side if taking the bus from Sorrento). I was lucky enough to get the front seat on every journey along the way - perhaps a bonus when traveling in February. I first stopped at Positano, the most beautiful town along the Amalfi Coast. It's better to get off at the Sponda stop in Positano. From the Sponda bus stop, walk along Via Cristoforo Colombo for a couple of minutes. The spot opposite Profumi di Positano offers the best view and photo opportunities for free.
Continuing on another bus heading east, I arrived at the capital of the region - Amalfi. I had almost an hour layover here and there isn't much to see (except the cathedral nearby), so I had a pizza at a restaurant near the bus station - it was delicious.
Another bus took me to Ravello in the mountain in 30 minutes. The spot at the Ravello bus stop offers best (and free) views over the ocean so I didn't go to any gardens frequented by many tourists. Instead, I walked all the way down to Minori. There are good signs along the steps indicating the direction but it's still a good idea to use a mobile map app for double assurance, especially near the beginning and the end of the walk. In the middle of the steps, there are signs indicating two ways both leading to Minori. The right path is shorter. It took me about 30 minutes to reach Minori (and I walked fast).
The Amalfi to Salerno bus passes Minori and takes about an hour to reach Salerno. The non-stop regional trains from Salerno to Naples take almost the same amount of time (40 minutes) as InterCity trains do but only cost half the price.
Feb 23, ,2019
Pompeii and Naples
Last day in Italy. Since my flight was in the afternoon, I took the train to Pompeii in the morning. Part of the sites in Pompeii were still under restorations and it was very, very windy. So I spent just about an hour checking out a few highlights such as Terme Stabiane, Lupanar, Casa del Fauno, the Forum and the Basilica.
Back to Naples, I walked along the famous narrow street Via dei Tribunali (a classic Naples photo) and went to the super popular L' Antica Pizzeria Da Michele. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and L' Antica Pizzeria Da Michele is said to be the best pizza shop in town. There were so many people waiting outside the door. I got a number and they were only serving the number about 40 numbers before mine. If I were to wait for my number, I would have missed my flight for sure. I decided to order a takeaway. Even though I waited about 20 minutes and there were about 10 people waiting for the toilet in the restaurant! Honestly I didn't feel the taste any better than the one in Amalfi. It's so popular perhaps because of its fame.
An AliBus outside the train station took me to the airport for 5 euro (20 minutes), ending this short but fulfilling trip to Italy.
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| Pompeii |
Overview
The week-long trip to Tunisia and Italy was short but well organized. Advanced planning (including popular site ticket purchase in advance) is essential for such a tight trip. Since the itineraries were well designed in advance, I bought most of the train tickets weeks before and saved a lot of money. Tunisia is somewhat similar to Morocco (in terms of the Medina) and Libya (in terms of Roman ruins), and I felt quit safe in the country. Italy is definitely one of the most popular destinations in the world, for a good reason. Although I enjoyed sightseeing in Venice, Florence and Rome (the top 3 tourist destinations in Italy), there are just so many tourists in those places - even in February. Personally, I liked San Marino (a microstate surrounded by Italy) and the Amalfi Coast the most. The views in both places are dramatic and there are not many tourists there, at least in February. Trains in Italy are generally efficient but a few minute late is the norm so connection time shouldn't be too tight.
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