Villa Irlanda Grand Hotel Gaeta

Monday was beach day. We packed a lunch and left early, around 8:30am, for the sandy beach of Formia. The day was beautiful and hot, a high of 36C at the beach.

We spent a lazy and relaxing day in the water and sun-tanning. We were introduced to Creme Cafe, a slush-type espresso drink. It was too die for. It was so refreshing and good. Actually, since our arrival in Italy ...

... but it always seemed able to survive. The monastery and abbey grew in size and fortification over the centuries. On February 15, 1944, during the final stage of World War II, the Allies, believing the monastery and abbey were used by the Germans to hide their weapons and ammunitions in the tunnels underneath it, launched a massive bombardment of Cassino and the Monastery. The old roman town of Cassino and the Monastery were totally destroyed.

Cassino, Lazio, Italy saverino

... Also, they are only 45 minutes away from beautiful beaches in Formia and Ghiada.

We spent the day relaxing with the family. In the evening they had prepared a huge supper. For those that do not know, eating is very important to Italians. They usually do not have supper before 8:00pm and it usually takes a few hours. It's their way to catch up on the days events and crisis.

Le valigie si sono chiuse a fatica come al solito....al ritorno non so perchè, ma le stesse cose sembra che non ci entrino più nelle valigie...

Colazione e poi in aeroporto, anche se un po' presto, ma abbiamo da restituire la macchina e controllare il peso delle valigie perchè non sborserò più un centesimo per l'eccedenza bagaglio!!

Infatti eccoci sul pavimento dell'aeroporto a sparpagliare vestiti tra le varie valigie e ...

... legends. It is said that the mountain was split into three pieces by a tremendous earthquake at the moment of Christ's death, and three deep, vertical crevices were formed. One of these is known as the "Grotta del Turco". By descending the very steep steps to this cave you will discover what seems to be a hand print in the rock. It is said that this belonged to a Turk (Saracen invader) who refused to believe that the rock had split ...

ITRI is historic township, nestling in the foothills of the Aurunci Mountains, part of the Aurunci Natural Regional Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is situated a few kilometres inland, between the towns of SPERLONGA, GAETA, FONDI and FORMIA.

The town of ITRI is divided into two halves, the upper, historic, medieval town, and the lower sprawling, more contemporary section. The infamous highway, the Via Appia ...

... navigated the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea and eventually set foot on these golden Italian shores. Along the coast there are numerous sandy beaches, some of which are secluded and rather select, namely: Capovento, Sant'Agostino, San Vito, Arenauta, Scissure, Ariana, Quaranta Remi, Fontania, and Serapo.

You can see many more of my photos of Sperlonga and South Lazio here at my webpages:
http://southlazio.shapcott-family.c om

... set foot on English soil, and made their way to the city of London, to the district of Clerkenwell, the Italian quarter know as "Little Italy" or "The Hill". They rented a dilapidated Victorian house at the end of Little Saffron Hill, close to St Peter's Italian Church, which was to be their home for many years to come. Here my mother was born and she was brought up in the thriving Italian ...

... have the need to visit a doctor, rarely die before the age of 85, and it is not uncommon for its citizens to attain the age of 90 or even 100.

Perhaps we should all take a leaf out of their books !!!

You can see many more of my photos of Campodimele and South Lazio here:
http://southlazio.shapcott-family.c om

Anyone planning to visit this beautiful area please feel free to contact me.

... bike through the tunnels. I will summarize the experience by describing the shear exhilaration of being alive after leaving the final tunnel. I therefor vow that from now on I will take the detour! As I left Terracina it began to rain, getting stronger as the time passed. Left with no other possibilities, since all camp sites on the way were closed, I found a relatively cheap hotel in Gaeta where I will spend the night. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will improve.