{"id":2771,"date":"2015-07-12T14:26:31","date_gmt":"2015-07-12T13:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/merrington.net\/?p=2771"},"modified":"2015-07-12T14:26:51","modified_gmt":"2015-07-12T13:26:51","slug":"beauty-spots-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/?p=2771","title":{"rendered":"Beauty Spots, Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s face it, as countries go, Italy is bella; beautiful and glorious. \u00a0Here were are racing by its magnificent coast\u00a0to meet a ship in Genoa that will bring Mercier to Oz. We had a wonderful day in Ischia after saying goodbye to gorgeous cousins in Minori and Sorrento. Ischia is one of our favourite islands because people are just as likely to break into song as to say ciao.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2772\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2772\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110277-640x480.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2772\" src=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110277-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"Waterfall &amp; mosaic of King Neptune at Poseidon Thermal Spa, Ischia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110277-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110277-640x480-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110277-640x480-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2772\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Waterfall &amp; mosaic of King Neptune at Poseidon Thermal Spa, Ischia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Thermal Spa is wonderful, with mineral springs running hot and cold. The waterfalls act as massage therapists.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning we sailed past another favourite, Procida, because we just didn&#8217;t have enough time to stop. We are already planning another Italian sojourn, using ferries and pensiones. Procida, Ponza and Ventotene are three of the Pontine Islands, south of Rome. \u00a0We anchored in nearby Ponza and had a wonderful swim.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2774\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2774\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010985-640x369.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2774\" src=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010985-640x369.jpg\" alt=\"Ponza\" width=\"640\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010985-640x369.jpg 640w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010985-640x369-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010985-640x369-500x288.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2774\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ponza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>From\u00a0Ponza, it was a nine hour day sail to make it to Porto Turistico, because we had a lovely south westerly breeze to help us on our way. You know there has to be a reward for that much sailing. A day in Rome, with shopping at Castrioni, scrumptious lunch at Romeo, a stroll down the Pont S&#8217;Angelo and a gelato fix.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2775\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2775\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110367-640x480.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2775\" src=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110367-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"Gelateria del Teatro, watching them ready the fruit for the ices.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110367-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110367-640x480-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110367-640x480-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2775\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gelateria del Teatro, watching them ready the fruit for the ices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Two days ago, we were stopped by the Guarda Finanza or border patrol of Italy. We were just motoring past Cittavecchia, we were asked quite a few questions. &#8220;Where are you going?&#8221; &#8220;Ercole&#8221;, we answered, he looked confused. More questions about our intended trip, while the other officer was checking us through their computer. He asked again,&#8221;Where are you going?&#8221; &#8220;Ercole&#8221; we said smiling. \u00a0A few more questions, then he says &#8220;erCOle&#8221;. Si, mystery solved.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2776\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2776\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010992-640x458.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2776\" src=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010992-640x458.jpg\" alt=\"Fortress in medival Ercole, Tuscany\" width=\"640\" height=\"458\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010992-640x458.jpg 640w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010992-640x458-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1010992-640x458-419x300.jpg 419w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2776\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fortress in medival Ercole, Tuscany<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are not a lot of ports or anchorages north of Porto Ercole on the mainland coast, so we sailed out to Elba, This is a wonderful Tuscan island and we have been here three times.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2777\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2777\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110403-640x219.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2777\" src=\"http:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110403-640x219.jpg\" alt=\"Porto Azzuro, Elba\" width=\"640\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110403-640x219.jpg 640w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110403-640x219-300x103.jpg 300w, https:\/\/merrington.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/P1110403-640x219-500x171.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2777\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Porto Azzuro, Elba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yesterday, we arrived to about 8 yachts at about 3PM. By the time we went to bed, there were literally 100 yachts in the anchorage. not counting the boats in the marina. It was like the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 8:00am, just about bumper to bumper. Many yachts had their fenders out at anchor, just in case.<\/p>\n<p>Off to Portoferraio!.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s face it, as countries go, Italy is bella; beautiful and glorious. \u00a0Here were are racing by its magnificent coast\u00a0to meet a ship in Genoa that will bring Mercier to Oz. We had a wonderful day in Ischia after saying goodbye to gorgeous cousins in Minori and Sorrento. Ischia is one of our favourite islands &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/merrington.net\/?p=2771\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Beauty Spots, Italy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,26,7,24,6],"tags":[79,80],"class_list":["post-2771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-2","category-boats","category-dreams","category-tradition","category-travel","tag-pontine-islands","tag-tuscan-islands"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3VxXq-IH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2771"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2779,"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771\/revisions\/2779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merrington.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}