Maiori & Salerno (Italy) June 2015

Hotel - La Dolce Vita, Maiori

We had been invited to my cousin Toni and Rosaria's 25th Wedding Anniversary party which originally had been planned for Tuesday 23rd June, but due to planning issues and his son not being around on that day, the party was moved to the Thursday.  Unfortunately, this change happened after we had booked our flights to Italy, returning home on the morning of the party.

So we decided to have a little tour of the Salerno/Amalfi coast and make the most of a holiday, whilst also seeing family.  Best of both worlds.

About 15 years earlier, I had gone on a little bike ride with a friend from Salerno to Amalfi along the infamous coastline, and I always remember a few stops we made en route.  One of these was a little town called Maiori.  With very little English tourists, it is a real Italian holiday destination. I suggested this location to Clare and she worked her magic and found us a great little self-catering hotel, La Dolce Vita.

Our initial plan was to catch a bus from the airport to Sorrento, have lunch there and an ice cream at Davide's, then jump on a bus to Amalfi and possibly grab another Ice Cream (when in Italy!) and then get another bus to Salerno dropping off in Maiori.  Due to us arriving on a Saturday morning with 5 other flights this idea was quickly altered.  We opted for a train to Salerno, a little light lunch (pizza) and then a bus to our hotel.

Maiori is simply stunning, there is no way I could describe the place and do it justice. Quaint little seaside town, very Italian, with a long market street running through the middle.  Just beautiful.  Our hotel was a little ten minute hike out of Maiori centre along the Amalfi Coastline, when we arrived the cleaner had not been to our room, and didn't realise that we were arriving today.  Whilst she was startled to begin with, our laid back attitude seemed to calm her down.  We would be happy to leave our bags in the room and have a little wonder around the town to give her time to sort.

La Dolce Vita is a small Ikea based hotel with studio apartments and full self catering facilities.  The bed and kitchen are both hidden away during the day in cupboards, making the room look larger.  On the top floor of the hotel was a sun deck including a hot tub Jacuzzi looking out into it's own private bay.  Again, simply stunning views.

We opted for takeway pizza on our first night as it had been a long day (up at 3am), but takeaway pizza is far different from the pizzas we get at home, these actually taste delicious and not greasy.  Clare stated whilst eating our meatball and spicy Parma ham pizza that this was "the best pizza I have ever had, ever!" 

In the morning we packed away our bed, had a quick bite to eat and set off towards the neighbouring town of Minori.  Just a mile away from the town centre of Maiori, the walk took us on along the coast again for a few minutes.  Minori is a smaller town and even less commercial than it's neighbour.  It didn't take us too long to cover most of what the town had to offer so we headed for a little coffee break at one of the restaurants.  Bar 52 in Minori is a small family run establishment which made us feel welcome right away.  Again, it was Italian for Italians, and looking at the menu I told the owner that we would be back.

Clare spotted her dream house (apartment block) in Minori and is convinced that when we win the lottery that this will be her first purchase.  After a nice relax on the shore front we walked back to Maiori for Ice Cream at Geljada's which for me, is probably the nicest Ice Cream I have ever had!

For our last evening, we opted for a meal at Mario and Maria's restaurant after the co-owner told me that his wife is the best cook in Maiori.  Not having tasted all the cuisines in this little town I cannot confirm his statement, but it would take an outstanding effort to beat what we had.  Clare's Salmon Farfalle was divine and I had the homemade Lasagna, which was just how mamma makes.

After a few too many local wines we decided that we should return back to the Dolce Vita ready for the next stop on our holiday, home.

Hotel - Albergo Fiorenzi, Salerno

We arrived at Salerno Station earlier than expected, so I suggested to Clare instead of catching a bus to our next hotel, we should walk the Lungo Mare.  This is a long pedestrianised pathway that stretches the full length of Salerno into Marcetello (where our hotel is based).  

Salerno is a large commercial city, similar to Manchester with multiple shops, businesses and restaurants which also has an increased population.  Compared to our secluded, quaint retreat, Salerno is a completely different world. 

 Most of the family from England had arrived in Salerno on the Monday as well as my cousins from Australia ready for the anniversary party.  With it being Simon's (Australia Cuz) birthday, my uncle had invited us all to a pizzeria in the home village for a celebration, and what a celebration it was.  Mozzerella's, more pizzas than you could imagine, parma ham, proscuttio, fresh tomato, all the food was exquisite and I had explained to Clare that the "most amazing" pizza from the night before was going to have some serious competition.  Marco's confirmed that for me, amazing food.  It was great to see family from Italy, Australia and England all in one place for a celebration, and a great time was had by everyone.   For more on this restaurant, and why it is dear to my heart, please read the blog post from my 40 before 40 here: Buy Clare a Pizza from Degli Dei

In the morning we met up with my ma 'n' pa, Auntie Hiniz and Uncle Dave and T'lind and Bazza ready for a little trip to Minori and Maiori.  We had talked so highly of our two night stay, that we had convinced them that this should be a place they see. We were soon back on the bus along the Amalfi Coast line to the smallest town first.  When we arrived in Minori, a little stop off for something to eat and drinking before exploring was suggested, and Clare had remembered our promise to Bar 52.  When we approached the restaurant, the owner recognised me straightaway.  I told her we would be back, but I didn't think she expected us bringing 6 more people with us.  On our first visit, the bruchetta's had been recommended so this was our first choice, however, as we were in Italy we also ordered a platter of meats, cheeses, tomato and olives (even though these were not on the menu), the owner told us that she would sort something out, and she certainly did.  Fresh basil, tomatoes and olives from her garden, meat and cheese from local butchers and cheese shops we had a platter fit for kings and queens.  This was followed with the home made Limoncello and lemon granite.  Bar 52 was so accommodating and friendly to boot.  I do know that T'lind and Bazza came back here a few days after we had left, so it definitely had an impact.

As we were not able to attend Toni and Rosaria's anniversary party, we had been invited to visit on the Tuesday night.  Toni makes the most amazing fragoline, a liquor based frozen strawberry delight and he had promised me the night earlier that he would make some.  It was fantastic!  Toni is really busy working at the moment and based on the current employment levels in Italy, we are happy that he is so busy.  Leaving him to his work, Clare and I accompanied Rosaria to pick up their daughter from work.  Angela had sent me some pictures from her work via Facebook, she had started working for a Yoghurteria in Salerno with a difference.  Frozen yoghurt to which you choose your own toppings, sauces and delights.  Honey, Oreo Cookies, Cereals, biscuits, cakes, sponges, sweets, you name it, you can put it on top.  Italian food is amazing, and their desserts are as fantastic, Yoself Yoguteria rivals the most amazing Italian Ice Cream, this was delicious.

After returning to Toni's, we grabbed a takeaway pizza from Marco's and headed to my cousin Sabrina's house.  Sabrina had prepared a little bite to eat for us as well, without us knowing, so the night continued with chat, wine, food and perfect company. Sabi will always hold a special place in my heart as we always spent a lot of time together on my visits with Nanna.  Her husband Giovanni is superb, such a great guy and full of joy.  Clare absolutely loved spending time with them, even though she cannot speak a word of Italian.

Our last full day in Italy, we walked to the borgo that my ma 'n' pa were staying at for a chill out.  It had been a busy couple of days and we needed a rest.  We decided collectively that a final meal in Marco's (Degli Dei) was called for, but it would just be the Minori 8.  As my great uncles all live in close proximity to the restaurant, we decided to visit Zio Vincenzo first.  Clare had never been to Vincenzo's but his house was always the first place we visited for a meal when I came out with Nanna.  Picking apricots from trees, drinking homemade wine and all done in such amazing surroundings with such great company, this was the life.

Again, another awesome meal in Marco's to which Clare and I opted for a Lasagna Pizza, after we had eaten the largest and most beatuiful buffalo mozzarella ball ever.  I cannot praise the food enough here, and believe me, the mozzarella you buy from Tesco or Asda is nothing like true buffallo mozzarella.

Our time was over, home was calling and we left our family to enjoy the rest of their holiday.  Passing on our love to Toni and Rosaria celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary and asking Sabi & Giovani to one day come to us in England, we hopped on the train back to Naples.

That's Amore!

Egypt May 2015

Hotel - Makadi Palace, Makadi, Hurghada

The sun was calling us, it had been far too long.  We had been on city breaks, cold breaks and busy family breaks, but we hadn't done a proper sunny holiday since our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, and after the last few years, we deserved a little sunshine.

Clare was once a rep in Sharm El Sheikh for Thomson Holidays so had been to Egypt, and had done the Nile Cruise before but that had been 15 years earlier.  My Ma n Pa had also become Egypt fanatics going there for two Christmas' in a row, so with our bags packed and Chewie staying with Nanna & Grandad for a couple of weeks we flew towards the sun.

Our first 3 nights were to be spent at the Makadi Palace, part of the Red Sea Holidays Makardi-Mega complex. Beach front all-inclusive hotels with al-a-carte restaurants from every cuisine imaginable, huge pools, fantastic rooms and a sea so calm and tranquil yet full of colour.

With what seemed like a long flight (5 and a half hours) and quick transfer, we were ready to call it a night ready for the full day ahead of doing nothing much at all. 

In the morning, Clare treated me to a buy one get one free massage to make sure I was relaxed as possible, having a full Egyptian Massage at the start of the holiday and another one booked in for the last couple of days.  The Egyptian Massage is basically a beating for 1 hour, having your arms and legs twisted into positions that would make a contortionist wince, muscles pummeled and bones cracked, yet when you leave you thank the masseur for a great experience and look forward to the next session of abuse.  After our first (and only) meal in the Buffet Hall, as I am not a fan, we sat for a few drinks at the Piano Bar
where we were entertained by an Egyptian Lounge Singer who seemed to have learnt his trade from watching Japanese Karaoke.  It was dreadful, but the more mojito's I had, I became more appreciative of his finesse.

We awoke on our 2nd morning to more blue skies and Clare's birthday.  Once Clare had opened her cards and we had breakfast, we headed down to the beach.  I have never seen so many colours and variety of fish in such a close proximity.  You could walk a good 200-300 meters out into the sea and the water would only come up to your knees.  Yet, fluttering around your ankles and nibbling at your knees it seemed the whole cast of "Finding Nemo" had come to visit us and wish Clare Happy Birthday.  That evening we utilised the first of our many Al-a-Carte choices and treated ourselves to the Thai Garden.  With Fishcakes, Noodles Salads and Thai Red Curry we were full, and ready to call it a night

Hotel - M/S Grand Rose

For the next week, we had opted for a Nile Cruise aboard the Grand Rose, visiting a host of temples, monuments and tombs along the Nile from Luxor to Aswan and back.

We had an early morning set off from Hurghada to arrive at our Cruise Ship before 12 noon in Luxor. A few couples from the Makardi Hotels were also on the cruise, as well as a few others from hotels closer to Hurghada. The boat was a mix of English and German tourists, but we were segregated for most of the holiday.

When we arrived, we decided to nip up to the top deck for a little drink before our welcome meeting. Sat next to the bar, already with drink in hand were Paul & Sue.  They asked us to join them for a drink and we knew straight away that they were our type of people.  Fun loving, straight to the point and a great laugh.  We were joined minutes later by Jonny and Clare, a couple who had previously met Paul and Sue on the coach journey over from the hotel.  The six of us hit it off straight away, and our group was formed.  Mamma Sue, Pappa Paul, Jack 'n' Danny and the two Clare's.  Thankfully we formed our group early on as there were select individuals from other groups who really started to annoy.  Tipsy Annie, a 70 plus year old woman who was drunk for the entire tour, vile and rude, we had a few run-ins with her. Camera Dave, the man with the biggest camera and a chauvinistic outlook, we utilised him for his lens knowledge.  Moaning Minnie, a lady from our hotel who had complained about everything, and continued to do so throughout the next week, too hot, rubbish/tasteless food, too much learning, not enough shopping.

During the welcome meeting we met Gilan, our tour guide for the week.  I think initially we were typecast as the naughty, mischievous group, but Gilan would come to love us and sometimes rely on us for support with the other, naughtier, groups.  Down for our first meal, and I was convinced that Red Sea Holidays had hired celebrities to wait on us hand and foot, as Morgan Freeman introduced himself as our waiter.  I am sure he had another, real name, but he was called Morgan for the next week and relished every second of it.

Walking round the Scarab

We were warned that there would be early morning rises for each of the excursions to avoid the mid afternoon heat (which was ranging between 40 - 46 degrees each day).  So at 6:30am we were having breakfast ready for our first outing, Karnak Temple first, the Luxor Temple on the East Bank of Luxor.  When we arrived at Karnak Temple it was already 40 degrees and our pre-prepared bottles of water were diminishing fairly quickly.  I had tried to stay away from pictures and any information before our trip to Egypt so I could experience everything first hand.  The designs and structures at these sights are breathtaking, the craftsmanship and detail on every stone block is mesmerising. In Karnak Temple there is a Scarab Beetle on a short pillar that it is said if you walk around this 7 times it will bring you good luck, so hand in hand Clare and I walked around it, counting to ensure we gained the fullest amount of luck from that little bug.  Annoyingly I heard the Italian group that followed us only needed to go around it five times, it must be a country based thing!

When we arrived at Luxor Temple, Clare seemed to be struggling and opted to stay on the coach as she was completely drained of energy.  Inside the temples the heat is immense and I think that my little English White Rose had done too much with too little water.  I was told to go and take some pictures whilst she slept on the air conditioned coach.  I did exactly as I was told.  Again, Luxor Temple is huge obelisks, columns and details that you could not imagine.  Huge monolithic pillars, colours that had stood for thousands of years and statues of gods (especially Horus, my favourite), carvings in granite and two lines of lions in symmetry.

Returning to the boat for dinner, followed by pancakes we set sail for Ko Mumbo Temple.

The next morning we sailed down the Nile towards Ko Mumbo, catching glimpses of little Riverside villages, children waving, singing and swimming in the Nile (without fear of crocodile).  As we approached a low bridge, the staff and a few guests collapsed canopies and umbrellas and told everyone to remain seated.  I am sure there have been some serious injuries at this point in the past, but fortunately (although, our friend Tipsy Annie would have welcomed a bridge in the face) we all passed through unscathed and the canopies were re-erected. 

Ko Mumbo Temple was a little walk from our mooring station and as we arrived there the sun was setting.  A smaller temple to the ones we had seen the day earlier, but still as impressive. Again, I spent a good amount of time searching out my mate Horus who appears on most carvings and trying to take in as much as possible, although as good as Gilan is, there is so much to comprehend, and with Tipsy Annie chatting and laughing drunkenly it was even harder.  That was until we all told Tipsy to politely "Shut Up".  Returning back to the boat for our candlelit dinner, a 6 course meal that ran into the night, we were in bed early again after a few G 'n' T's for another early rise.

Our next morning was a triumvirate of visits, The Unfinished Obelisk, Phiala Temple and the High Aswan Dam.  The day earlier we had tried to confuse Gilan with her head count by shouting out numbers randomly, she counteracted this by counting in Arabic.  So, the evening before, I consulted my lessons from Pierre in Tunisia and allocated various Arabic numbers to the group.  As Gilan proceeded down the coach she was hit with Arabar's, Khamsa's, Setta's and a whole host of other numbers, thankfully she saw the funny side of it and seemed proud of our learning abilities....

The Unfinished Obelisk is exactly what it says on the itinerary, a huge stone obelisk lying at an acute angle almost ready for completion.  This is were we learned how the ancients would slowly dig and build to raise the mammoth stone to it's standing position, however, for some reason this was never completed and the huge paperweight remained hidden until recently.

Phiala temple can only be accessed via a little boat trip (which of course involves sales of goods and tat on board) as it is located on a small island, however, this was not the initial location of the temple.
The original island had become unstable, so Unesco moved the temple brick by brick to it's new resting place.  Thankfully, they had done an excellent job and there were many intact depictions of my mate Horus.

Finally, onto the High Aswan Dam which is under military control.. This is were Lake Nassa was formed when the Aswan Dam was built to control the Nile's flooding tendencies.  We had five minutes here to take a picture on either side of the Dam, looking at the Nile then Lake Nassa, then back on the bus.  The temperature whilst at the Dam was just short of 50 degrees and the pool was calling us, as well as dinner, pancakes and G 'n' T's

Our next morning still felt like the night before.  The sun wasn't even up and that is a rarity in Egypt. We were off with military convoy through the Western Desert towards Abu Simbel.  A recently (more recent than other sites) found temple that is well worth a visit.  As the coach trotted down desert roads, it became evident how desolate the terrain was.  When I say nothing for miles, i really mean it, there was nothing.  At 4am (ish) we were all blessed with seeing a glorious sunrise over the Western Desert, a sight I will remember, and part of my touring passion, to see a new day start in a foreign country.

When we arrived at Abu Simbel, Gilan took us an opposite route to the other tour groups informing us that there was shade this way and we could sneak into the second temple before the other groups knew it was there.  As we turned the final corner, we could see the temple in all it's glory.  The monuments I had seen only a couple of days earlier looked tiny in comparison, the four huge gargantuan statues that stood outside the entrance were jaw dropping.  We were allowed to take pictures outside the temple, but unfortunately, to preserve the colours internally, camera's were not allowed, and they were being checked.  The blues, yellows, reds and greens of the "paintings" inside
these two temples were as if Nick Knowles had gone in with his DIY SOS team the day before, although without the MDF. Bright and vibrant yet thousands of years old.  On our return to the boat through the desert again, we saw a mirage.  A huge sea of fresh water appeared on the horizon, yet we all knew it was a figment of our imagination. It is hard to describe what was visible and even harder to take a picture of it.

Back on the boat, we were all dressed in our Galibea's ready for party night.  With a 2:45am get up that morning and a none air conditioned room, you can imagine how much fun we had at the party. Unfortunately, it seemed very unorganised with the German tour guide giving all the instructions of the party games and increasing temperatures due to the DJ lights we were soon back on the top deck having a little night cap.

Luckily, the next day had no wake up call as we were sailing all day back towards Luxor.  Back under the low bridge,  through the Lock, and back up the Nile.  We got to meet the Captain of the Cruise and heard about his many wives (or wanting of).  We all chilled out by the pool with it's slippy surfaces, eating great food, pinching too many biscuits which upset the German's, more pancakes and an evening with Morgan Freeman.  As much as the temples are worth a visit, it is also great to enjoy the cruise for what it is too.

Our last day of excursions found us on the West Bank of Luxor with a full morning ahead.  Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings, multiple underground tunnels leading to tombs of Egyptian Rulers. We visited 3 of these tombs, the first being the deepest and steepest descent with walls full of depictions of Merenptah's life and afterlife, colour on the walls again that was astounding, my mate Horus all over the place and we were told to keep an eye out for Scarab beetles, Ships and Snakes (on the walls of course).  After the monstorous climb back to daylight we ventured to Rameses III's and Remeses VI's shorter tunneled tombs both displaying more of the same designs.  The Valley of the Kings is a white sand valley, and so reflects the heat from the morning sun directly into a basin to which you are standing and there is very little shelter.  There are no cameras allowed on the site to try and preserve as much colour as possible. Our two litres of water was diminishing fairly rapidly and it was still on 7:30am and we had much more to see.

Next was Clare's favourite monument, Hatshepsut (pronounced "Hot Chip Soup") Temple, a humongous, gigantic, colossal temple that looks like something straight out of Indiana Jones.  Multi-layered and multi-stepped we only had a 30 minute window to take in the sight as time had been wasted by Tispy Annie and her team due to shopping for tat.  I wish we could have spent more time here as there was too much to see in the short space of time, but we did the best we could and at least I got to see Horus in full technicolour glory.

Whilst in the Valley of the Kings we had visited the tomb of Remeses III, so it was only fitting that we visit his temple as well.  Again, we just had a whistlestop tour here, a quick snoop around the mass amounts of columns, pillars and carvings on the walls.  Our water had now ran out, and the heat was rising rapidly, the pool on the boat was calling our names and there was a Gin and Tonic ready for us.

Our last stop before returning to the boat was the Collossi of Memnon, two huge statues in the middle of a field, in the middle of a dual carriageway.  This stop consisted of, get off the bus, take three pictures and then get back on the bus, so I can't really say much about them apart from they were big, and I took some pictures (more than three!)

Back on the boat, we all realised that this was it, the end of our cruise.  We would spend one more day slipping into the pool, one more afternoon of pancakes, biscuits and G 'n' T's, our last supper with Morgan Freeman, and then a nightcap on the sun deck.  In the morning, we were off back to Makadi for a well deserved rest.

We thanked Gilan for her excellent knowledge, great humour and for putting up with Tispy Annie, Moaning Minnie, Camera Dave's comments and of course our new found counting abilities.  The staff of the Grand Rose were all fantastic and made our week unforgettable.  We cannot thank you enough.

This also ticks off a challenge from my 40 before 40 "Live on a boat for a week"

We bade our farewells to our new friends who had made our week cruise just that even more awesome.

Pappa Paul, Mamma Sue, Clare 1, Jack & Danny and Clare 2

Hotel: Makadi Palace, Makadi, Hurghada

After a long coach journey back to the hotel with Hady the "comedic" tour guide, we quickly settled back into our routine of sitting by the pool, wandering the beach front promenade, slipping back into the pool, abusive Egyptian massages, eating at the various restaurants for lunch, including Savoury Crepes at Discovery, Kebabs at Rendezvous and Tasty Kahuna Burgers at the Sunset Bar.

One of the first tasks as we arrived back was to book as many Al-a-Carte meals as possible, and luckily we reserved tables for all four nights.

The Discovery Restaurant for our first night, a buffet restaurant were the food was cooked to order. Fresh chicken, beef, pasta, fish done to your tastes and served with vegetables, rice, or potatoes.  It was so relaxed and tasty that this restaurant became our choice for breakfast every morning as well.

Our second night was spent at the Botanical Gardens, an international restaurant, multi-cultural menu.  I opted for an Italian style rosti steak, cooked to perfection and Clare had Swedish meatballs (nothing like the ones from Ikea).

When we arrived at the Makadi Palace on our first week, one restaurant stood out to me.  Always up for trying new foods, the Lebanese menu looked perfect.  It was.  A starter selection to which we had 8 taster pots, followed by soup, and then a Lebanese mixed grill, Clare opted for the Chicken Grill, we were looking for Lebanese Restaurants near home for future bookings.  Absolutely divine!


Finally, to end the holiday in style, we chose the Egyptian Restaurant and the neighbouring Makadi Mall. Again, we received a starter selection of taster pots with a beautifully fluffy pitta style bread for dipping in.  I opted for another mixed grill based on last nights success and Clare had an aubergine tagine.  The food is something we could definitely not fault in Egypt.

Our final morning called and we were packed and ready to take on the depressing journey home.  We had been told that Manchester was hosting a current high temperature of 8 degrees, a minimum of 30 degrees cooler than what we had become accustomed to.  Hurghada Airport has been undergoing some renovations recently and they are far from completion, so checking in and waiting for our plane was far from an enjoyable experience, but we did have the pleasure of seeing Mamma Sue and Pappa Paul before their departure.  Clare and Jonny were on our flight home, so thankfully, the dismal airport was brightened with their great sense of humour and company.

Due to the chaos of the check in procedure, as we boarded the flight home, we noticed that one of the seats behind us was occupied by a young girl crying.  She had been separated from her mother and sister because of issues with seating allocations.  Clare & I notified the cabin crew and told them we would be happy to move so the family could be reunited, and didn't mind if we were separated.  After a little jiggling about, Clare and I were re-united in the extra leg room section of the plane due to our kind offerings.  With our little legs there was ample room to stretch out and make the long flight home more bearable.

Whilst in Egypt, we were told that since the revolution in 2011, tourism has dropped from 14 million visitors per year to a measly 3 million.  This is having a major effect on the whole country as they rely on the tourist trade.  80% of the work is related to the tourist industry, and therefore with less people going to visit there are unfinished hotels, 1 out of 9 cruise boats in use, and staff depending on good reviews to retain their jobs.  I was a little unsure of Egypt before I went, but can honestly say, if you want sunshine, great food, fantastic hotels, and an interesting place to visit, then Egypt is an ideal place to go.