Hiking Fall Paths In & Out Of London

The temperatures are starting to drop a bit.  The air is cool, moist and crisp.  It's my favorite time of the year!  Fall has arrived in London and I'm loving it!

One delightful aspect of our visit to London this time, that we didn't get to experience the last time we were here with small children, is hiking in and around London.  London is dotted with parks, large and small and well documented trails and hikes for all.  On Friday, our friends Janet and Steve joined Bob and me on a lovely hike in the country.  We took the Tube to the very last stop on the Metropolitan line to the small town of Chesham.  From there we walked through part of the town of Chesham and out, into and through some of the farms beyond the town.

The hike guided us along trails, and roads and frequently through farms.  There were well placed steps to lead us up and over fences, gates, and turn stiles of all designs.  Simple, polite signs reminded us to, "Please close the gates behind you." (Would you find that in The States?)

Denise & Bob

Denise & Janet

Our meandering took us past an ostrich farm. 

Approaching one of the many "kissing gates."

Yesterday, our friend John was in town so we took him on a stroll to Camden Lock, along the canal, and through Regent's Park. 

Some of the many colorful canal boats moored or traveling along the canal.

The fountain in Regent's Park

A gate into Regent's park with fall colors behind it.

It's not only boats that travel on the canal.

Regent's Park

I'm hoping to travel on these paths again before I return to The States.

The Isle of Capri and Sorrento

Lovely Capri

When our time in Rome came to an end, Bob and I took a three day tour group through Viator/Carrani Tours that took us to the ruins of Pompeii,  a two night stay in the cute town of Sorrento and a day trip to the Island of Capri.  It was a lovely, lovely way to end our time in Italy.

The colorful boats and buildings in the harbor of Capri made a nice picture.  We hopped off the ferry and onto a smaller boat that gave us a water tour around part of the Island.

It was a beautiful day.

There were many caves visible from the water.

We traveled up the steep road of the Island to the small towns of Capri and Anacapri.

Clear blue water of the Mediterranean Sea.

View from a terrace in Capri.

From the town of Anacapri we took a chair rail ride to the top to the Island.

We could see the large rocks that we had taken the boat through earlier in the day.

The following day we enjoyed wandering from our hotel, Grand Ambasciatori, through the quaint streets of Sorrento and down to its fishing harbor.

Our hotel was situated right on a cliff.  There were beautiful views from every window.  That is Mt. Vesuvius and Naples in the background.

At this point my camera had died so Bob used his phone to take pictures.  That is why I am in so many of the pictures in Sorrento.

Sorrento was a delightful little town with cute streets, plazas and cafes.  We continued our gelato tastings and it was in Sorrento that we found our favorite gelato. 

Look at the laundry hanging out the windows.  It just adds to the charm.

If I ever come back to Italy, I would love to return to this area again.  It was the PERFECT ending to our time in Italy.     Ciao!

Pompeii

This is a picture of The Road To The Sea in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

I have had a fascination with Pompeii since I was a child.  When we started planning our trip to Italy, Pompeii was the local that I was most excited about visiting.  In 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii under a layer of ash and rock.  It is estimated that around 2,000 people died in Pompeii and several casts of citizens entombed by the eruption can be viewed today.  Excavations of Pompeii began in 1748.  Pompeii was a well developed city when Mt. Vesuvius erupted.  The eruption captured the city as if frozen in time.  Over the years, most of the frescoes, elaborate tile mosaics, sculptures and artifacts have been removed to museums, but as you wander through the city you can still see the homes with courtyards, businesses, streets, The Forum, and temples.

This is The Temple in The Forum.

Some of the remaining columns that surround The Forum.

This is a storage room containing some of the artifacts excavated from the ruins.  In the center is a cast made of a man's body.

This is another storage room and another human cast.  The young man seems to be huddled in a corner covering his mouth from the ash.

This picture shows one of the city roads with homes and businesses on either side.  Those large stones in the middle of the road were placed there by the citizens of Pompeii as stepping stones to cross the road during rainy weather.  Groves in the stone thresholds of businesses indicate that the businesses had sliding front doors.

Here is another city street view with a public fountain at the bottom.  You can see more stepping stones in the road.  Some of the streets had deep groves in the road from the wear of the chariot wheels.

This lovely tile design reminds me of a favorite quilt pattern called Tumbling blocks.

Some of the Villas that were uncovered had courtyards, ponds and sculptures such as the one in this picture.

You can see from this picture that the villas were very elaborate.

 

Here is another home with a pond in the center of the courtyard.

This picture shows a tile mosaic entry to the villa.

Some of the columns were made of bricks covered with mortar.

I was surprised at how large a city Pompeii was. I would have loved to have spent more time wandering it's streets, peeking in it's doors and discovering more of it's secrets.