Italy

So I took a shitty "overnight" from midnight to 5am, sitting straight up, from Munich to Verona, and I knew that Andre was in Cinque Terre on the northwest coast......just about at the kneecap of da boot, so I went there, telling her around what time I'd be there. I arrived a little after noon, and as I was walking up the hill to the auberge she had mentioned in her last email, I saw a vision. A hot little Italian chicky walking down the hill, but no, it was my little Italian chicky!!!!
Andreanna.........Belissima!!!!! Goddam was I ever happy to see her again. It felt so nice to travel across a little part of europe to grab'er in my arms......and in Cinque Terre no less......A rather romantic setting.......you'll see!

Cinque Terre

What an amazing spot........actually the most beautiful scenery I have seen thus far !!!!! Cinque Terre meaning literally the 5 lands, is a collection of 5 small fishing villages on the coast. Each village has it's own flavour but all of them are equally amazing and collectively the area is just sublime. The multi-colour houses are perched on the cliffs and mountains that line the coast, and the area is so lush with plants. It's a sight to see for sure.

It was cool too cause Andre had made friends with a quebecer chick, Emilie, while in Florence so they headed to Cinque Terre together and were really enjoying each other's company.

Andre had been in Florence while I was in Munich and also had one day before me in Cinque Terre, so when we met up, we went walking over to the little village she hadn't seen yet, and hiked up the hill (pics). As you can see, we were in the clouds, but it was rather foggy anyways.

There are paths that connect each village, be it via train which winds in and out of tunnels and waterside......pretty cool (pic left), or via foot, which is sublime......simply majestic hiking alnog the paths going through the vinyards (pic right), lemon trees, and other dense lush vegetation.....it feels like a rain forest almost......and you walk right on the coast along an old rather decrepid path which makes it so friggin belissimo !!!! You have some of the villages just nestled in a little inlet, on the sea, or up in the mountains, hidden behind the next bend of the trail (bottom pics). It surprises you all the time how much this place is a hidden gem. It is rather touristy but still a gem. Hiking between the villages was by far my highlight. It was beautiful, and warm, and I was doin' it with my hot Italian chickita.......Nothing could be better !

After meeting up with Andre, I was content no matter what, but Cinque Terre blew me away. I was thus anxious to check out more of Italy. So, we headed down to Napoli.......mostly to check out the surrounding area because it's a good base city with many attractions near it, tat are good for daytrips. We knew Italy would be expensive but we were starting to realize it was a little too high, even in the off-season......about 50-60 euro per day.

Napoli

We were forewarned by the Lonley Planet and Let's Go about the erratic, insane, and free for all organization of Naples, yet we still weren't ready for the most hectic and "in your face.....crazy, no laws, abundant traffic" ever !!!!!!!!!!!

We arrived by train, and fought our way to Giovanni's Place, a hostel that was written in one of our guides somewhere, and was by far the cheapest in town. We headed through some tight and rough areas, but still there was always life, and plants out in the street. The city itself is rather drab, and not very clean nor appealing, but it has some cool classically Italian cultural areas with street markets, and of course the street vendors with their fake Louis Vitton and Versace bags, and souvenir bullshit all over every cm possible.

Giovanni's Place is smack dab in a tight dark street, but we hit a goldmine. Giovanni (pic right) is the owner of the hostel and is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. What a crazy cooky, yet great man with the biggest heart, which is hard to imagine and out of context in Naples because of the go go go, push everyone out of the way mentality and feel of the place. The hostel itself was a little rickety but it was so perfect that way, and there was a huge beautiful roof terrace. We got to the hostel a little late, and he asked us if we were hungry, of course yes, and so he made us some really good pasta, and fed us wine and everything. We were a little overwhelmed by his generosity, and immediately fell in love with the dude.

There are a few things to see in Napoli, yet we didn't really want to wander around too much cause everyone, including Giovanni, told us not to take anything but the money you need for your outing with you........leave everything of value at the hostel......so........we weren't so up in arms on straggling through the streets on a nowhere or even on a detailed itinerary so we checked out the neighbouring highroller's island of.........

Capri

Only the rich and full of themselves can live here......otherwise, well-off tourists can come and gauck and also spend an arm, leg, and half-torso on a vacation here, but we were very content with our day trip to this gorgeous little island (pic left). Kinda like Cinque Terre with the little houses on the slopes of the hills, and fruit trees everywhere, this place was very nice. I felt it also reminded me of Cassis with the huge white cliffs and clear blue water down below.

We walked around the island and poked fun at the crazy window shops with the high-priced goods, and the snootily expensive restaurants, as we walked some more, and settled in to eat our very fatty mortadella + gouda sandwiches. They weren't pretty, or that good, but the sandwiches did the trick. We actually found a great spot down by the water where we could set up shop and dive, and swim a bit, which was right beside the "beach" which was private and cost 12 euro per person, to sit or lay on flat concrete, and have access to the water. Fuck That !!!! We hit our own "beach" instead, and really were alone in our alcove.

It was a gorgeous day, the water was great, and the island was a rewarding trek and discovery (pics).

Then, we had another daytrip, and checked out, of course..................

Pompei

Now this place really attracted us......Ca nous branchait en crisse!.........It was a major reason for going to Naples in the 1st place, and it didn't disappoint. One of the realy quirky cool things is that there are stray dogs all over the place. It seems the administration of the site let them roam free. They're super friendly, are passes out all over the village, and wait around all pitiful like sometimes for scraps of food. They really add a certain charisma to the site.

We spent almost 6 hours on the site and it's incredible how big the place is. You really realize it was a big, full-fledged, and well organized village that was covered in volcanic ash around 75 BC. Ash, not lava. So the village was hit by hot, noxious gases in a flash by the volcanic eruption, and the people were sorta suspended in time. The ash kept some of the villagers in their ultimate positions, and then the excavation process with-held this via plaster moulding...most still with the skeleton leering at you ..........some villagers seemed to be in agony (pic left), while others were praying, knowing it was probably the end (pic right). This was quite a blow.......to see these "statues" that were once living, and walking like anyone else.

The whole village was really impressive in terms of the organized civilization, and the temples, houses, and bureaucratic assemblies and structures. Really cool to see how advanced they were back then. It was quite beautiful too. It always leaves you to wonder how wonderous it must have been when it was brand new, cause even in ruins, it's gorgeous.

The coolest thing was the Bordello.....an actual legal whore house, that had greek slaves as prostitutes. There are sexual position paintings on the walls (pic left), and the very small cement beds (pic right) used for........ you know........doin' the not so mutual deed.

"Le gros salot" as Andre dubbed him, the dirty culprit in all of this, Mt. Vesuvius just lurks down at the village from beyond (pic right). I tried my best to reach inside, but I couldn't find anything bigger than what's up my nose (pic left).

Well.....with all of this cool stuff around Napoli, we had enough of Napoli, so we headed where all roads lead to..........

Roma

Now this place has a few things to see, and a lot of them for free ! The only thing is it's so feckin' expensive just to be there. 23 euros a night in a friggin' dorm, and forget the food, hard to make our own, and the sandwiches were pricey..........anyways.........

It's a gorgeous town. So clean, and so much less crazy than Naples. The slower pace of Rome (you won't hear that one often) was well appreciated. Of course there are shitloads of tourists but it ain't as bad as they say.

Of course, we checked out this guy (pics), where every road in Rome was supposed to lead to thus all roads would lead to the Colisseum. It was quite massive and it was cool to see this structure with my own eyes....from the outside only.......cause it was 12 euro to check it out from the inside.....screw that !.......way too expensive, but there's much more to see anyways. Almost around every corner is a ruin or spectacular monument or combination thereof waiting for you. It is quite pleasant just to wander around this town.

Of course, we went to check out the church with it's own area code, the city-state of the Vatican City (left). That was also very impressive, from both the outside and in. It is insane though to see how much money went into this place....it's pretty indecent.......imagine if all of that money had gone into health care......or titty magazines........just imagine how many people would be happier and healthier today because of it........I kid, I kid ! This place is something to see, and it's free! The mosaics, frescoes, stained glass, and all around artwork and stature of this place almost makes you wanna start going to church....ALMOST !!!!.... This place is so wonderous, it's kinda worthless taking pictures....you have to walk in there and feel it for yourself. Andre and I walked up the 5 hundred and whatever steps to get to the top of the Cupola, but I was rather sick that day, and had a fever, and didn't really enjoy it, and Andre was equally disappointed since there are too many people going up there, and it's super tight and claustrophobic all the way up......we even paid 4euro each just to walk up the friggin thing, but atleast we got a good view in the end(pic right) ...... but since we did the Cupola, we missed the Sistine Chapel, and that really pissed me off royal.......we couldn't do it the next day cause we had to get to Ancona in time to take our ferry to Croatia.

One funny side note is that I was supposed to meet up with my buddy Abe, that I met in London ;he was Kim and Gabe's roomate. He is now in Rome for the semester as he gets around, if you know what I mean..... and OF COURSE I mean he travels a lot for his program in school. He is an industrial engineer, if I remember correctly, and after doing a work/study term in London, he is now doing one in Rome until December. Super sweet deal......anywho......I was supposed to meet up with him but when I called him, there was a screw up with the phone, and he couldn't hear me, so I called again, and when he couldn't hear anything again, he said, in a kinda pissed off tone "stop calling me". I thought it was pretty funny, and so I stopped calling him..........Kinda sucked to be there and not be able to go grab a beer though but I guess it'll be for next time.

The impressive part of Rome is the fact that there are so many exterior free things to see, and they all put you in awe. It is a gorgeous town, but I will need to check it out further once I get the chance........We weren't really in the party mood. We were really anxious to get going to Croatia and its supposed beautiful prestine beaches, and we had enough of the incredibly pricey Italy, so we were happy to catch a night ferry from Ancona to Split. The cool part is that we got half-price for students, thus it cost 35euro each to cross the adriatic, and we had our own bunk beds in our own private room in the boat.....PIMPIN !!!!! We were livin large for that crossing atleast.

we'll talk soon from the wonderful Craotian coastline.

ciao..............................................................