On one of our day trips from Sorrento, we headed down the Amalfi Coast. For years I have seen photos and told myself, “Wow”. No photo can do this coastline justice. The highway is excellent but narrow. On many of the turns, only one vehicle can proceed. A large bus cannot travel this highway. Even with the small ones we took, the driver would often honk as we turned a corner which we could not see around.
We stopped at one of the few turnoffs along the highway and took a short hike down to an overlook. This is the town of Positano. I took the following photos while at this overlook.
I love bougainvillea and all colors grew everywhere.
Looking across the Mediterranean.
The land is rugged with both new and ancient buildings hanging off mountainsides and cliffs.
A closer view of Positano.
Another view across the Mediterranean.
The highway, houses hanging off the edge, olive trees, lushness everywhere.
It was a stormy looking day. We kept thinking it would rain but luckily it did not.
The Amalfi Cathedral in the town of Almalfi. Its design is unique and shows the cultural influence of the Muslim world with whom the town was a major trading center for centuries–arches, gold and green.
A typical street in Amalfi. We walked all the way up this street to just below the school, found all sorts of delightful shops, and ate our favorite food of the entire trip. My favorite was spaghetti with a lemon creme sauce. Recipe comes later.
Near the sea looking up into the city. The large building up on the slopes is now a cemetery but used to be a monastery.
Same spot as previous photo, just looking the other direction.
We were supposed to take a little boat trip out into the sea but it was too rough. Ema, my daughter, walked all the way out to the end of the pier.
The water was so high I thought perhaps it was high tide. I was told it was not.
Today I asked my daughter and grandson what/where was their favorite in Italy. We all agree, Amalfi. I also loved Capri–more about there later.
It takes approximately four hours to travel by road from Rome to Sorrento. To get in and out of Sorrento, the highway goes through three tunnels, one of which is more than three miles long. Like all cities along this area of coastline, Sorrento is a city where many of the buildings hang off the edge of cliffs above the water.
This part of the primary street off the main square is full of shops and pedestrian only. Christmas decorations were already being installed. From the time we arrived until we left, the giant metal tree in the middle of the main square went from just metal to covered with greenery to the installation of lights.
A typical side street off the main street seen in the first photo. Sorrento is the perfect place for those who like shopping in all sorts of little shops or enjoy hanging out in restaurants, many of which are open air along the street, sipping cappuccino.
From the main street, we walked out to a cliff park overlooking the sea.
This photo, taken from the same spot as the previous photo, shows Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. Cities below the mountain include Naples and Pompeii. Several thousand people also live on the slopes of Vesuvius.
Again taken from the same spot, looking in the opposite direction, this photo shows the steepness of the cliffs around Sorrento. Houses, vineyards, businesses, olive and lemon groves hang off the edges. The volcanic soil here is very rich and conducive to intense, successful farming. This is lemon country where limoncello is very popular.
A few feet from the overlook, we visited a very old church courtyard. Very old is relative everywhere in Italy. New can be several hundreds of years old. I kept thinking about the US and question whether anything we have built now or even at the beginning of the country will last as long as much of what I saw in Italy.
In the Panhandle of Texas residents greet rain with joy. We rarely get enough and when it does rain, usually it brings lightning, thunder, sometimes hail, wind, downpours. Today was different. When I arrived home, I heard the waterfall running, saw droplets on the evergreens and flowers, saw flashes of sunshine.
Note: I live on a canyon rim near Amarillo, Texas. One story as to now Amarillo acquired its name is from the fact that in the both the spring and fall, the countryside is carpeted with yellow flowers.
Not dreaming, real. My college roommate and husband (we all went to Grinnell College in Iowa together) moved to California a number of years ago. We take turns visiting each other at least once a year or take a trip somewhere together. This year was my turn to visit them. First, I stayed at their house near Carmel.
Taken later in the day after the fog lifted. They live where fog creeps in during the night and burns off slowly.
Late one morning we drove to Big Sur for lunch at Nepenthe. The name really fits. It is Greek for pain free or painless. Definitely this place makes everyone feel wonderful, especially the views.
Succulent heaven resides in this area and around San Francisco. Here are photos of a few near the shop below the restaurant.
On another day, we drove through the Salinas Valley to Salinas to visit the house where John Steinbeck lived and the John Steinbeck Museum. The following views show fields along the way. This is lettuce country. The majority of the lettuce consumed in the US grows in this valley.
Taken from the car window.
The following is a photo of the John Steinbeck House.
Volunteers dressed in costumes of the time serve a lovely lunch.
From an elevation nearly sea level, another day we drove on a gravel road up into the mountains above Carmel Valley to an elevation of 5000 ft. About half way to the monastery at the end of the road, the road enters Los Padres National Forest.
The pine trees in this area bear huge pine cones. The tree here and a similar one in the previous photo possess unique trunks, limbs, and foliage. I never learned the species of either. There is a parking area and some hiking trails. While not particularly difficult, the trail we took goes up and down and can be a bit steep in places. The views are spectacular.
We tried to pick a non-rainy day to go to the Bronx Zoo. Yet, when we arrived, storm clouds swirled; it did not look good. Luckily, the threat never materialized. I had forgotten just how large it is. This June, the vegetation reminded me of a tropical jungle except the species of plants differ.
This zoo is huge and old with elegant, classical style buildings.
These photos were taken in the Madagascar building.
Water flows everywhere, making for a very natural feeling environment for many of the animals.
The okapi can really blend in with its forested environment. This is one of my grandson’s favorites.
The gorilla area is so large I was never able to discern its perimeters. This seemed good to me; they have lots of room.
If you do not want to spend much of your time walking from exhibit to exhibit, some of which are not close to each other or are very large in terms of acres, a shuttle circles the zoo regularly and you can get off and on at various stops.
Another option is to ride the Monorail which goes all around the huge Asia exhibit. The only downside is, due to the area in which the animals have to roam, you may not see many up close. Can you find the tiger?
This is an Asian rhino and we were told she especially likes hanging out in the water.
Red pandas are not related to pandas at all. Although they are a unique species, they are most closely related to raccoons and weasels.
Many people criticize zoos and would rather have animals roaming free. Sadly, some animals are already extinct in the wild. A number of animals at the zoo fit this category. In some cases the zoo has a breeding program and are working on reintroduction programs which will reintroduce extinct species back into their original wild habitats.
No matter how you plan to get to the zoo, you are going to have to walk some distance unless you hire a car or taxi. You can take the subway and walk about 1/2 mile or so, or you can take the bus but will have to walk to the correct bus stop to catch the express bus which stops near the zoo entrance. We took the bus which allowed us to get a sort of “tour” of Uptown, Harlem, and the Bronx. It was comfortable and not very crowded. I took the following photo at 124th street.
