Monday, June 22, 2009

Return to Sperlonga, Grottos, Cherries and the Macarena.

On Friday I took the train down to Sperlonga. This time I went to check out ruins of Emperor Tiberius's Villa and the archaeological museum.

The museum is small and a little run down but the 4 euro admission price is worth it. The price includes the villa's ruins and the incredible grotto.

I walked down from the Old Town to the gate of the grotto.

I took off my shoes and walked along the shore. The beach wasn't crowded at all. It was mostly grandparents and their grandchildren. This was my first time on the South Beach (which is south of the Tower). It's smaller and more laid back.

The water here was just beautiful, clear and the perfect temperature.

As I walked along the beach, I started to hear the opening of a very catch and yet annoying song. I came upon a group of children and their grandparents getting down to the Macarena at one of the beach clubs. The DJ was into too.

Later I was taking photos in the Old Town's piazza, right by the bridge. This older gentleman and his wife gave me a bunch of cherries they had bought at the market that morning. We rinsed them off in the fountain. They were delicious. At first I said, "no thank you" but he insisted.

It was a perfect day. I was in a much better mood afterwards. The fresh ocean air does wonders.

More pictures of the ruins, grotto and beach are on my Flickr page.

View from the grotto.


Look how clear the water is.


Not sure why I took this photo but it made me chuckle.


A cat with a fish in his mouth.


The Tower.

15 comments:

Eleonora Baldwin said...

I love Sperlonga! What a pleasant day it must have been, no crowd, just polite folks, clear waters, kids and...cherries.

We should get together for pranzo before my departure.

Ciao,
Lola xx

erin said...

this sounds so nice! so different from the beaches here...

and how nice about the cherries :)

Rosa said...

And most importantly, it's not crowded!

Lenoxave said...

Looks like a lovely day. It's always nice to stop and smell the roses.

Gil said...

Your beautiful pictures show me what I failed to see when I got lost there last Summer. Thanks!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

lola - it was a great day. I'm emailing you now regarding lunch.

erin - it was so sweet.

scintilla - I was expecting to see more students or tourists but for some reason Sperlonga doesn't get that many day trippers.

sdg - yes it is. I need to stop and take a break more often.

gil - you're welcome!

Miss Footloose said...

A few years ago I walked a stretch of beach near Sperlonga, a lovely place. With so many beautiful places in the world, how to make the choice of where to live! Italy is on our short list, for sure.

Miss Footloose
www.lifeintheexpatlane.blogspot.com

Jen said...

What a lovely day. And I love the fact that you received that gift of cherries.

In Russia, it would have been the chicken dance, rather than the Macarena when I lived there. For some reason, for every celebration, party, vacation, etc., there was that chicken dance.

Claudia said...

oh, that beach is gorgeous. When I get to Italy next, I'm so going. Thank you!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

miss footloose - good luck with your move. I agree there are some beautiful beaches in this area.

jen - when I heard the beginning of the song, I cracked up. I haven't heard it in ages.

moi - I highly recommend it.

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

What a funky tower! The beach definitely looks much better than I'd imagine it to be. Thanks for sharing :)

Nicole Mays said...

Now that was a beautiful day!! I'm an American, lastly of Brooklyn. I live in South Korea now and am planning my next move (just a few months away). I've been to Italy, and as much as I ponder other locales, my mind always goes back there. Every now and again I check in and you make me smile. ;) Thanks

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

michelle - you're welcome. This beach is rated one of the cleanest is Italy. It was something to do with the tides.

nicole - best of luck with your next move. There is so much of Italy I haven't seen yet.

Mariaella said...

We are so fortunate to now live close to SPERLONGA, which is one of my favourite places in Italy.

We are an ENGLISH couple who came on holiday several times to this beautiful area of SOUTH LAZIO. In fact, we liked it so much that we decided to completely change our life, sell up in the UK, and we decided to make Italy our home.

We have a new website all about this lovely region of SOUTH LAZIO:

http://southlazio.shapcott-family.com

You can read about our new life in Italy at our Blog:

http://trecancelle.wordpress.com

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

luisa - I can't wait for the weather to warm up a little so I can go back. I look forward to checking out your blog.