Mittwoch, 13. Mai 2015 | Domenico Schiano Moriello | Europa
Day 7, Vietri - Roma
Last riding day of this beautiful tour, unfortunately! Our first stop was the magnificent Royal Palace of Caserta, constructed in the 18th century for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It is one of the largest royal residences in the world! After having lunch in Sperlonga, by the coast, nice curvy roads took us to Rome... but before reaching the hotel we had to face the traffic of Italy's Capital city!
It was a very nice tour, thank you Alberto, Catalina, Eduardo, Lorena, Jose, Silvia, Federico, Ana, Guillerme and Claudia!!!
The Caserta Royal Palace
inside the Palace
The impressive Honour Grand Staircase
Sperlonga
The tour is over, thank you everybody!!!
Day 6, Rest Day Amalfi Coast and Pompei
Lots of options for today, but we took it quite easy and, after a short loop on the amalfi Coast, where we had lunch in Ravello, we went back to the hotel where a driver was waiting for us to take us to Pompeii, the world famous old roman town that was buried under ash and mud during the devastating eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. We could really imagine how ancient Romans lived, also thanks to our very good local guide Antonella!
The Cathedral of Amalfi
Claudia and Guillerme
Villa Rufolo in Ravello
Amazing views from Villa Rufolo
Scialatielli ai frutti di mare, tasty!
Pompeii
Silvia
Day 5, Maratea - Vietri sul Mare
It was not possible to leave Maratea without going before to the Redentore statue, overlooking the wonderful coast of this region... also because the road to reach the statue is really great! After that, nice twisty roads through the Cilento National Park welcomed us in Campania. Visiting the old Greek Temples is a must... before having to face some traffic around Salerno and finally reaching Vietri, at the beginning of the gorgeous Amalfi Coast.
Group picture with the Redentore statue
this road looks like a rollercoaster!
Italy vs Germany, part 1
Paestum
Italy vs Germany, part 2
Day 4, Tropea - Maratea
Two options for today, long route and short one... and of course everybody chose the long one! Well not really everybody, because Federico, Ana, Eduardo and Lorena decided to go on their own for an even longer route! When they finally reached the hotel in Maratea, it was already time for dinner... but they were happy and not even tired! Addicted motorcyclists...
il Padrino fans, Silvia and Jose
Alberto and Catalina
lunch break in Altomonte
snow in Calabria??? Yes, if you reach the Sila mountains...
Day 3, Taormina - Tropea
It's time to reach the continent! Today we say goodbye to Sicily, this island that amazed our senses with its beauty, culture, good food... and also with its contrasts! After a nice ride over the Peloritani mountain range, we reached Messina and crossed the strait to Calabria. A tasty lunch in Scilla and we were ready to continue to Tropea, where almost nobody could resist from jumping into the beautiful (and still a bit "fresh"!) sea!
early morning on the terrace, just beautiful!
for our first group picture we could not find a better place than this one
behind the scenes!
And now, let's see what we look like for the best part of the day...
Claudia y Guillerme
Catalina y Alberto
Lorena y Eduardo
Silvia y Jose
Ana y Federico
on the Ferry to the mainland
Silvia and Jose in Scilla
Beautiful sunset in Tropea!
Day 2, Zafferana to Taormina with Etna ride
Normally, to reach Taormina from Zafferana Etnea, people need around 30 minutes... but we managed to make it in a whole day! First we climbed the Etna, the biggest volcano in Europe (as well as one of the biggest in the world) where we could also enjoy the perfect weather for a guided tour on its top. Etna gave us a very very "warm" welcome, we could hear its strong voice and also see some explosions from the main crater, of course from a safe distance! After spending the whole morning there, we took our bikes again and rode all around this giant, through woods and lava fields and some fantastic roads (the mare-neve road is very famous among sicilian bikers!) before we finally reached Taormina, the pearl of the Ionian sea!
inside the offroad truck that will take up to almost 3000 metres of altitude... going higher is unfortunately not possible at the moment!
One of the three main craters of mount Etna, currently erupting...
Group picture with Mr. Etna
Etna selfie
where is that plane going?
Lava pictures
the wiew from our hotel's terrace in Taormina
relaxing
just a few hours ago we were on the top of that mountain!
the red spot on the top of the picture is the fire of the Etna! Pity I didn't have a camera where I could use a very long exposure...
Welcome to Sicily!
we are at the foot of the biggest volcano in Europe, that is helping us to warm-up our engines! This tour will take us to Rome, after exploring a bit of Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata and Campania regions! Lots of things to see... and the weather looks just perfect!
On the first day we rode in the southern part of Sicily and we had the chance to see the ancient and beautiful mosaics in the Villa Romana del Casale, around 1700 years old! After that, a very twisty road took us to the capital of sicilian ceramics, Caltagirone, with its impressive steps, each step with a different decoration... ceramics of course!
nice GSs
At the Villa Romana del Casale
beautiful and colorful mosaics!
in Caltagirone, near the very famous steps
coffee break in Caltagirone