Artillery
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Registered: 01/25/07
Posts: 189
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| | 01/02/12 at 07:47 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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Sometime back I received the following from Shipmate Greg Knowles. I think it would be a good idea to post it here.
Your comments are appreciated.
"In May 2010 I spent 12 days in Gaeta, reliving my stay there during 1967-69 when I was on the Little Rock. Not much remains rom so long ago. The Hideaway(?) and other bars and restaurants are gone, possibly because today's sailors are more career minded than we were. With so many of today's ships with civilian crew members, and with post-911 security concerns, I guess spending every free moment ashore to explore the culture of a foreign land is no longer encouraged.
Even with new facades and construction, I think I found the building in Gaeta where I rented an apartment with four other guys. It cost us each $15 a month, utilities included. We'd ride a horse carriage from Mama's Trattoria across the street to the Navy Exchange to buy Heineken for $3.20 a case. There was a bakery just down the street, and a cafe where you could get a Sambuca con moscas, which was a double shot of Sambuca liquor with a few coffee beans floating in it. The beans were supposed to look like moscas (flies or bugs). You'd light the highly flammable Sambuca with your Zippo to cook the beans, put your hand over the top to extinguish the fire, then drink the licorice-flavored Sambuca and eat the crunchy beans. On more than one occasion I saw sailors forget to put the fire out first, and end up pouring burning Sambuca on their dress blues.
One Saturday morning a few of us took a series of cab and carriage rides east of Formia to the foot of the mountain with the "nipple" on top. That's the chapel that can be seen from the harbor. We hiked through small villages, vineyards and orchards and spent the night at the top. I doubt many sailors have attempted that. The view is amazing.
A friend drove us to Monte Casino, that had recently been rebuilt after it was destroyed by bombing in1944 because aerial reconnaissance reported German soldiers inside the monastery. The Germans didn't show up until the place was bombed flat, and thousands died trying to take the hill. There are a bunch of cemeteries in the area that are popular with British, Polish and American men in their late 80s who fought there. I met a bunch of them.
Just about every weekend without duty we'd take a buggy to the train station and ride the express to Rome. I remember we were so flat broke we'd bum cigarettes and wine on the Spanish Steps and sleep in the Colosseum because we couldn't afford the $2.00 for a hotel room. Back then there were no chain link fences protecting ancient sites, all the doors were open, and there was no admission to anything. The only place you couldn't walk into at St. Peter's was the treasury and the Pope's quarters. The Pieta was touchable, as was everything else. Amazing.
The new part of town is much as I remember, with narrow alleys and lots of shops. The people are just as warm and friendly. And I had a ball. Stayed at the Flamingo Hotel, and discovered it has been host to many Navy events and people over the years.
I'd like to hear what others remember. And maybe learn where some of my shipmates have gone."
Best,
Greg Knowles, ETN2
USS Little Rock CLG-4
1967-1969
__________________
Art Tilley MT2 (Editor)
1962-1963 |
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khayes65
Registered: 12/26/10
Posts: 2
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| | 02/26/12 at 05:50 PM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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I was one of the other sailors in the apartment and I remember all he mentioned. I also remember using candles for heat on cold nights and helping construct the Great Pyramid of Gaeta, a task that Greg was of great assistance in. And as for unique beverages I recall one that we refered to as a greenie, I believe the proper name was Liquore del Foresta. Ken (Joe Pudge) Hayes |
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