A visit to the Island of Ischia

 On another beautiful morning we awoke to a stunning sunrise over The Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius from our balcony. 

We then walked down to the Port in Naples, which was bustling with activity. The first thing we noticed was the Cunard cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth. Rob had worked on the original QE II but this ship was just....Huge.

We the boarded the Alilauro "Annamaria" ferry that took us over to the Island of Ischia.The journey took about 50 minutes passing through the Archipelago of the Bay of Naples.

We docked in Porto d'Ischia, which is a small but picturesque port. Our first stop was at a small cafe opposite the ferry terminal where we enjoyed a coffee and a cherry puff.

One of the locals then suggested that we catch the local bus to Pontile Aragonese. This turned out to be a real gem with traffic free streets full of small curiosities shops.

We wandered through the streets and stopped off to see the beautiful church of Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta.

We then strolled on until we reached the causeway that leads to Castello Aragonese d'Ischia, a medieval castle that is set on a islet that is reached by a stone causeway. 

We returned to the port and made our way to Ristorante Abbraciami that sits overlooking the harbour. This was a superb restaurant where we both enjoyed sea bass with roasted potatoes and a fresh salad.

The owner was so helpful and kept bringing us complimentary dishes to try and at the end of the meal he insisted on us trying his lemon cello served in frosted glasses.

Waiting for our return ferry, there was just enough time to enjoy a quick, cold Peroni beer in the Pirama Pub where we met a pleasent couple from California. 

A trip to Naples

It was a early morning start as we made our way to Paphos airport for our Ryanair flight to the Italian city of Naples.

One benefit of and early start was that the airport was very quiet. 

The flight to Naples took 2 hours 40 minutes Tues and on the whole it was pretty smooth all the way over.

We were a bit worried about the weather forecast in Naples, but we landed to a beautiful,  sunny morning. We took the Alibus to our apartment which was situated in the Port area, with view of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius. 

We dropped off our bags and decided to explore, we walked the short distance over to the main port where there were several cruise ships docked.

We continued our walk along the water front passing the impressive medieval Castel Nuovo and the ornate 18th century opera house, San Carlo Theatre.

 

We then walked onto Piazza del Plebiscito, which although impressive could do with a clean up.

We took a brief look at the grand Royal Palace of Naples with its incredible staircase and ceilings.

Then a quick visit to the Royal palace with its impressive statues and magnificent staircase.

The it was on to Via Cesario Console with its views across the bay to Vesuvius. 

Next was Galleria Umberto, a stunning Art Nouveau style Galleria with its huge glass ceiling and Dome, this building definitely has the Wow factor. 

We then strolled back into town and had a very nice Italian dinner at Rudy Caffè bistrot Napoli.

Archery and wine tasting

The G.Theophanous winery in Pissouri was the venue for an afternoon of archery and wine tasting.

We all thoroughly enjoyed shooting at the targets and a special Thanks to the instructor, Hew, for his tutorial and safety guidelines. 

After the Archery lesson we trooper off the the tasting bar where we enjoyed a number of wines that they produce at  the winery.

The winery owner, George, then took us into the vat room and allowed us to taste this year's next wine, straight from the vat.

Jane's holiday week in a nutshell

On Saturday evening, Mandy's childhood friend, Jane, arrived in Pissouri from the UK for a week's holiday. On Sunday we popped over to the Midway restaurant for a superb meal of Moussaka and Keleftico (lamb slowly cooked.)

The following evening the ladies went to "Bingo night" at the Pissouriana hotel. Lady luck smiled on them as they both won a couple of prizes. 

On Friday evening we popped down to the "Bay tree" in Pissouri bay. After a lovely meal we listened to the singer, Melissa Williams,  who certainly belted out a few tunes.

Autumn arrives and a Robbie Williams tribute act

 Mandy, along with Tania and Pete drove over to the Sapphire bar in Paphos to see Tony H perform his tribute act to "Robbie Williams ".

A good night was had by all who thoroughly enjoyed the show and company.

Autumn arrived in Cyprus with a bang in the first week of October. We were hit with cooler temperatures, high winds and some heavy downpours of rain. 

Due to the cooler weather, Rob pulled on his old hiking boots and went for some early morning walks.

We are so lucky to have this wonderful countryside right on our doorstep.