Beechworth, Victoria

Beechworth, getting on for 300km north-east of Melbourne. It grew rapidly during the gold rush of the 1950s. About 3000 live here now. As in the Bright valley, beautiful countryside, no mining these days, instead there is plenty of fruit, cereal and livestock farming and, of course, wineries.

We sample some of the delights in a delightful sweetshop on the main street and then, further along, indulge in the pies at the bakery. Ned Kelly found himself on trial and subsequently imprisoned here.

It must have been very rowdy in the gold rush days, wonderfully peaceful now though.

We take the road to Chiltern and on to Rutherglen.

Mt Buffalo, Victoria

There are dramatic views from the tops of the sheer cliffs.

Even better views if you decide to go hang gliding. No flyers out when we were there, this is the take-off ramp.

You are not supposed to feed the wildlife but this chap was rather persistent and kindly cleaned the picnic table for us.

We found this one sunbathing in a sunny spot in the forest.

Australian Alps

December 2010, approaching the height of summer in Australia but 200km north-east of Melbourne in the Australian Alps ( a bigger area of snow in winter than covers Switzerland I am told) it is not at all hot. The chalet by the creek is in a great spot but you can see from the umbrella what the weather was like.

Good weather for hiking and this is the Eurobin falls. The water cascades down from Mt Buffalo (1723m) which is a huge flat toppoed slab of granite that can be seen from miles around.
The other chalet near the top of Mt Buffalois not open for business these days, it was quite spooky wandering around, reminded me of the Overlook Hotel - even though I know many scenes were filmed in Borehamwood, Herts!

Somebody left a piece of granite lying around. I asked Trish to move it out of my frame.

Let's start off with a Pimms to put us in the carnival mood.

To describe the streets as crowded would be something of an understatement.

she assured me that her fingernails were real and that they took three years to grow to that length. She must spend a few bob on nail varnish.

Monte Faito

Seven stops down from Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana brings you to Castellammare and the cable-car stop is within the railway station. The ride to the top of the mountain is spectacular; the slopes are almost entirely wooded, though you catch glimpses of the narrow winding road to the summit as you ascend.

Amongst the pleasures at the top is the fact that the elevation and the tree cover mean that it is lovely and cool for walking. The other pleasure is that it is quiet - during our two hour plus walk, we saw only two people. The paths are not particulalry well marked but you would have to be a pretty useless navigator to get lost. There is little wildlife to be seen, apart from a few birds and beutiful butterflies. Perhaps we were not looking in the right places or maybe it was siesta time. What's the Italian for siesta?
We did see sheep grazing perilously close to the edges of vast vertical drops and a mountain shepherdess, with Vesuvio in the background.

Amalfi

You have a number of choices as to how to get to Amalfi from Sorrento. The cheapest is via local buses but this means little fresh air and a long time on the hair pins. There are organised tours in coaches (argh!) or mini buses but we opted for the boat. Yes, it was crowded but we has fabulous views of the bay and the coastal peninsula, time to swim off Capri and the option of either calling in at Positano or at Amalfi.


The main piazza is dominated by the wonderful Duomo, which, like the other Italian places of worship that we have visited, is beautifully decorated and preserved. The town is very busy but the atmosphere is at the same time relaxed and friendly. The gelateria does a good trade!

The place is crammed with souvenir shops but there are many narrow lanes and alleys up and down steps where you can enjoy looking at the colourfully painted buildings, courtyards and gardens. People on the beach are squashed together like sardines, I cannot see how that can be at all enjoyable!

Napoli

We arrived at the Circumvesuviana station, from where it was a fascinating walk to the Duomo. The main station is best avoided, as it is currently a gigantic building site. The Duomo sits snugly between buildings in the Via Duomo, and though it is fairly unassuming from the outside, the interior is beautiful, particularly in the San Gennaro Chapel, which is dedicated to Napoli's patron saint, some of whose blood is kept in phials beneath the altar. Three times a year the phials are brought out before a packed congregation and by a miracle the blood liquefies. If the blood does not then this is a bad omen. It failed to liquefy in 1944 for example, and that year Vesuvio erupted. Never mind that WWII happened to be in full swing!

Napoli is unlike Italy's other great cities; it is sprawling, dirty and smelly in places but fascinating nonmetheless. there are scores of narrow streets, barely wide enough for two people to walk walk abreast at times and yet cars and the ubiquious scooters hurtle along amidst the washing lines (mind you don't get dripped on!) and debris.

Not all scooters are roadworthy.

From the duomo we walk to the Madre, Napoli's superb museum of modern art. Again, the building is modest and not easy to find, tucked away in a side street and the site of a former convent. Works include some by Jeff Koons, Warhol and Roy Leichstenstein. One of the best things about the place is that many of the exhibits are interactive, you are encouraged to sit on, walk into and touch some of them.

Another meandering walk brings us to the Cappella Sansevero, which is the tomb chapel of the di Sangro family. The decoration of the chapel is extraordinary in its colour, detail and beauty. Downstairs in the crypt there are two upright bodies on display in glass cases, one a man, the other a woman. The skeletons are encased by the hardened arteries and veins, which are coloured red and blue respectively. It is at the same time mesmerising and macabre.

Amongst the works of art in the chapel is the astonishing carving of a dead Christ shrouded in a veil and cut from a single piece of marble. The gossamer like veil is so thin you almost feel as if you could lift it, don't try anything though - there are two ecclesiastical bouncers standing at the main altar!

Below you is a picture of the 'ruota', the wheel.

Next to the now empty church of Santissima Anunziata is a building that was once an orphanage. In its outer wall is a small window through which unwanted babies were placed. These abandoned babies were put into the compartment of a wooden cylindrical drum and it is said that when the nurses heard a cry they would hurry to the drum, rottae it and pick up the new arrival. We are informed that these children then enjoyed advantages such as food, clothing, somewhere to sleep and an education. As you can see, the wheel is in good working order but the outside entrance has been closed and marked with the date that the last orphan was received, namely 27 June 1875.

No visit to Napoli is complete without a small pizza!