Our Apartment

This balcony is where we hang washed garments, growing herbs and flowers. It faces the kitchen and recieves alot of sun.

Balcony #2 leads to the livingroom. It's not used to often at the moment, once the season hit it's peak, this will be beneficial!

Our private hallway that leads to the apartment door.

The view when opening the front door. To the left is the kitchen, the 2nd left is the bedroom and on the right is the livingroom.

La Bedroom, is very spacious with lots of sun.

The bathroom, where the 50yr old washing machine resides!

Livingroom, we just recieved this sofabed (very comfy), anyone up for a visit?

We've mostly hung out here in the winter months (warmest of all rooms) and where all the good appetizing dinners are made, that is why Cris hasn't lost too much weight but I think it's all the beer and wine he's drinking! Viva Italia!!

Bean

Vulcano Solfatara

Le Stufe Antiche, known as Purgatory or Hell, were used as natural saunas and for inhaling sulphuric vapours. Scientists have found that the vapours released by the Sulfatara act like a viagra... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19255435?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Picking some rocks.

Rocks with sulphur and alum crystals. Just beautiful!

Inside the sauna, these crystals formed.

Bean

This area is called "La Bocca Grande", it's the largest fumarola in the Solfatara. Traces of rare red arsenic sulphur crystals called "Realgar" can be found here.






"Nella Fangaia" area, it is fed by innumerable small fumarole and spa water and natural mud, which boils at 140C

This machine was used to jar mud for beauty treatments...they still sell the stuff.

Bean

Bradyseism

Bradyseism (n)

1. on of several sayings popularized by the 60s-70s American sitcom "The Brady Bunch" (eg. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!).

2. the gradual uplift (positive bradyseism) or descent (negative bradyseism) of part of the Earth's surface caused by the filling or emptying of an underground magma chamber. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradyseism

3. a reason to hope that one day soon we'll have beach front property!

First weeked to the islands (Ischia)

Blogger blows, so the pics are in reverse order......

On our way home, the view from Ischia harbour.

Funky round house on the island

Just a little vinyard on the side of the road.

Getting lose never looked so good.

This kind old man reminded me of my zio Gianni. He let us take a short cut through some private property which led to the lovely vista above.

At a hotel/resto perched on a cliff by the sea with thermal swimming pools.

A churh in Panza. I loved this ball of a chandelier

Ischia was the first major colonie of the Greeks off the Italian mainland. They abandoned it soon after due to the violence of the volcano to which the island owes its existance and the abundance of thermal springs (we're told that 8/10 wells dug end up being thermal). They moved across to strait to Cuma, a stone's throw from where we live (and Vesuvius...).

The small path back up to our hotel from the beach.

The beach is composed more of a fine volcanic gravel than sand. The dark colour makes sure it burns your feet nicely. Bean bargained this shirt and the bracelet down to 5 Euro each from 2 poor guys.

People would run in and out of the water just to cool off for a second. Pussies, it's nothing compared to the Bruce in October! Pity I couldn't go fresca fresc to enjoy the cool water on all my soft places.

Yes, I am staring at honey.

The two most beautiful things I saw on the island.

Thermal pool at our hotel (average temperature, 35-38 C).

The island of Procida (between Ischia and the mainland). It's supposed to be the most densely populated place in Europe. We're heading there soon after we get out bikes, it's supposed to be mostly flat....

The Castle of Procida.

The historic part of Pozzuoli. Saddly it's been closed off for years due to the fact that an event of positive Bradyseism made much of the area unstable after lifting the town up about 2 meters.

-Cris and The Bean

Presenting.....