9-19 Vasto Part II

 So I am wondering if I got my criteria wrong - Vasto has all but one of our criteria.  It does not have a beach next to the old town.  The cities population is 41,000 which was larger than the 12000 to 28,000 I had chosen!  It also seems much more lively - both in the number of tourists and tourist attractions as well as a thriving town where people live and work.  Michael's research showed that Vasto was too high in altitude for the Germans to easily attack and so it escaped the destruction that fell to Ortona and many other cities at lower locations.  I think that is why the old town resonates with me so much more.

Behind this fence they are excavating some Roman Baths.  It was not open today.  After this - we turned around and walked back up the Loggia di Amblingh the way we had come.  

One more photo of the beach town below.

After a short break - the walkway continues even further.

I took this photo with my 200 lens - and then still had to crop it a lot to see that there is a statue of a women on that rock.

We need nourishment - the best time to stop for gelato!

After gelato we head back into old town on the tiny streets.  But just before we see this market.  Along the bottom on the front and side are these tiles showing what kind of wears are being sold here.

One sample tile.

We stumble upon this famous church.

And then continue wandering down the streets.

We head back to the parking garage - there was a kabob place just a few doors away.  Michael is still hungry.  He orders one kabob with fries and one Fanta.  The sandwich is huge - enough for the two of us.  The fries are the best we have had in Italy!  The kabob was delicious - but we are going out for a big meal at 8pm - so I try not to eat too much of his sandwich!  As we leave the parking garage it starts to sprinkle.  

When we get back to our apartment, we decide to take a short walk to see the sea view that is close to us.  We pass this monument - which appears to be a mixture of religious and WWII paintings.  

And of course - right next to it is the church - completely covered in scaffolding!

The sea view is nothing to photograph.  But when I turn around this view strikes my fancy.

Now I am really going to go into the apartment and stay off my feet for a while!  We never eat dinner at 8pm!!  We usually eat a late lunch and then skip dinner - maybe a little snack and some chocolate.  So my stomach is growling and it is just before 7pm.  This dinner came about because I had seen a sign that talked about the dish that this area is well known for - pasta with crab sauce and so we asked out landlord where we should go to get it.  She made the reservation for us at a restaurant at the outskirts of the old town here in Ortona.  More about this later.