• Jarrod Dietz

Italia

Jarrod tarafından 21 günlük bir macera Okumaya devam et
  • Gezinin başlangıcı
    14 Haziran 2023

    Train days

    13 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    After the late arrival to my Rome accommodation, I didn't bother to give myself too much to do as I had to check out at ten and make my way to Florence. So, I just had a sleep in. The public transport system isn't as straightforward as in Singapore, and as such, I found myself getting lost trying to get to my long-distance train. Nevertheless, after a couple hours of fucking around I made it to the correct station for the train to Florence. Unfortunately, to save some dollars, I took the 4-hour train ride rather than the 1.5 hour train. This wasn't a big deal as I couldn't check into my room until 3 anyway and it was nice opportunity to see the Italian countryside. It was so nice it created an issue I didn’t expect- everywhere is so beautiful and unique, but trying to capture it with a photo is always so difficult to do on a moving train. I don't have many pictures because they would either be shit or not accurate to the actual state of the view. So today doesn't look like much in terms of photos, but I still enjoyed rural Italy and the train ride.

    Upon arriving in Florence, I knew I was in for a good few days, as even the walk through the town to get to my accommodation was breathtaking. So, after checking in, I took a walk around my accommodation- I was careful not to stray too far as I knew I had a lot to get through over the next 5 days and I didn't want to spoil it by trying to do too much on the first day, wearing myself out and not getting a proper chance to see everything in the area. As a result, I just walked through the local plaza, and it was awesome. The buildings are so close together and often overhanging the road in such an interesting style of architecture. Small restaurants and bars crammed into little spaces; it is fascinating. I wanted to keep going but knew if I spread myself too thin, I would miss things and have to go back tomorrow. So, after taking a slightly longer route home, past the Pitti Palace, I started to make my way back to the accommodation. Watching people play football and basketball in the park really solidified the perspective of being in Italy, and it was so cool to see. Stopping by to get some dinner at about 6 pm is quite hard in Italy as most places don't open until 7. As such, I had to pick a bar that I normally probably wouldn't have gone to. I didn't have data on my phone and so I couldn't google the meaning of their menu. This made me do one of the most despicable things in my entire life. The man came around for a second time to ask me what I wanted, and I just ordered the cheeseburger... in Italy, I ordered a cheeseburger. I panicked and just picked something. It was a shit burger, too.

    My accommodation looks awesome, the bar area is fantastic. I went down there for a quick drink before realising it only serves cocktails. Although I was mostly keen for a beer, I figured I'd get a cocktail to prepare me for bed. It is an open restaurant, so there were mostly people that weren't staying in my accommodation, which is disappointing, but I didn't plan to stay for too long either way. After that, I headed to bed for a relatively early night to get a good sleep and get a bunch done tomorrow.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Michelangelo & Galilleo

    14 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Without having to worry about travelling and trains and flights, this felt like my first full day of sightseeing without having to be on a schedule. I had booked in for free tours on the Northern part of the Arno River, and as such, I started by day in the South where my accommodation was. There was still plenty to do, and I am glad I split it up this way as I managed to fit just about everything into today that I really wanted to see. My plan was to go see the views from the top of the hill, track back down to the river and then finish off by heading West and seeing everything in the South.

    It started off with a bit of a long walk up the hillside, but the view at the top was worth it. The red brick rooves, colourful exteriors, and colossal monuments that protruded above the delicately detailed rooftops and colourful skyline (such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence and so forth), made for an unreal view. Once again, the photos don't do it justice, but it was truly incredible. Then, after some more aimless wandering, I ended up in a war memorial park that had a quite sombre feel about it, but it had some amazing views of the Italian countryside just to the South. Florence is actually a very small but compact and functional city. After completely circling the strange stone structure that the park encapsulated, I ended up at the entrance to the Basilica di San Miniato by complete accident. Unfortunately, the Basilica itself was undergoing works so that made getting a good photo much harder, but even just walking through the graveyards and into the church itself was an experience on its own. The inside was so incredibly well built and maintained that it was hard to believe that it could ever have been built during the 11th century. This is likely the first of many churches that I will get to view, but if they're all like this, I won't complain. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be taking pictures in the cemetery part of the Basilica, so I held back sometimes but still managed to take some good ones. The size and extravagance of some of the burial sites were unbelievable - this wasn't something I planned to see, but I'm glad I stumbled upon it. After another smaller church and walking through the Piazzale Michelangelo, which provided equally extravagant views, it was time to head down the hill again toward the river. But, not after some quick admiration of the incredible statue that adorned the beautiful plaza and provided a incredible forefront for the view of the city. Though not the original, it was a fantastic replica of the famous statue of David, created by who else other than Michelangelo himself. The real thing, built and preserved in the city of Florence can only be seen in the Accademia Gallery of Florence, but more on that later.

    On the way down, there were extraordinary waterfalls inbuilt into the architecture and the steady gradient of the hillside that flowed down alongside you as you went and it was just amazing to me for whatever reason. There were no rivers running down the hill, but these waterfalls just seemed to appear from out of nowhere and looked amazing. I can barely describe them, the water fed into this big pond at the bottom with fish all through it - definitely worth a look through the photos to best describe it. After this, I was by the river and began tracking to find some lunch, but first, I was tempted by the house of Galileo that was just up the road from where I was. It wasn't far, but it sure was steep. I had high expectations for the house, but when I got there, it was just a house! You couldn't walk through or even see anything exciting about. I almost missed it, if it wasn't for maps saying I was right out the front. It had a picture of Galileo, but other than that, you would have never guessed it was his house, I think people live in there still.

    Next, I went to the famous Ponte alle Grazie bridge, where houses and stores are run on the bridge itself, often overlapping. This was so cool and incredibly busy, but that is expected in these types of areas. As they sell mostly jewellery, I saw little reason to stop, but it was still cool to look. I then tried to visit the Medici Garden, but it closed at 7, so I was left with not much to do with my afternoon. As a result, I found a calzone to eat for dinner and went back to my apartment for bed.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Florence Nightlife

    15 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today was a very big day that started off with a free walking tour of Florence. I had avoided the main town centre because I wanted my first experience to be with a tour and I'm glad I did. By the end of the tour, there were only more things to add to my list of things to do. The person conducting the tour was very well versed in the history and culture of the city, and as such, he provided great insight on how to spend your time. He began with a brief description of the city as a whole and highlighted the need to spend some time in the south of Florence. This reinforced my decision to spend my first day down there, and it sounds like I did everything worth doing, so that was positive. After this, we began our tour and started going through the religious centre of Florence, so I got to experience the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Brunelleschi's dome, The Gates of Paradise and Giotto's Bell Tower. This was incredible. The size and grandeur of these monuments are indescribable, to think how old they are and how enormous they are is difficult to comprehend. I had seen them from afar but never expected what I witnessed. The most perplexing part of these sites are arriving through the small and narrow streets without much hint of what lay before you, then your vision becomes engulfed by these colossal structures that appear out of nowhere. You are simply in awe. This is not something I expected and cannot begin to describe. The tour guide did a good job of explaining the history and the building processes to create it. All cathedrals are built in the shape of a cross, yet a hexagon is also important imagery in Catholicism, and so they wanted to create a cathedral that matched this symbolism. Yet they did not yet have the capability to build the massive hexagonal dome that was an integral part of the cathedrals Eastern wall- where the nave is located, at the top of the cross. As such, they could not build it. The rest of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral was built in preparation for the day they would figure it out. Until then it simply sat, incomplete. Eventually, Brunelleschi figured a way to make it work (by constructing a regular spherical dome on the inside and encapsulating it with a hexagonal dome) and so they could complete the monument. They thus named the dome after him. I have booked tickets to walk the steps between the two domes (which include over 400 steps in very confined spaces) because the view from the top would have to be the best Florence. We then left the religious parts of Florence behind us and made our way to the Piazza Della Repubblica, which represents the economic centre of the city, and the tour guy explained the history behind the city centre after it became the capital of Italy (briefly). He spent some time explaining the differences between the Italian cultures from Tuscinians, Napolians, Sicilians, and so on. This was interesting to me as I was unaware of the differences between the regions. He showed the previous boundaries of the city and how it has expanded over the years. This was cool as you could see the city grow before your eyes. We passed the Ponte Vecchio bridge as part of the tour. I visited this yesterday, but it was good to do in a tour as the guide explained the history behind it. During the plague they made the connection that where there was a high prominence of bugs and rats, there was more deaths due to the plague, as such they decided that they would place butchers and the like along the bridge so they could dump all the waste into the river, therefore reducing the number of disease spreading animals that were present in the city. Finally, we made our way to the cultural centre of the city at the Piazza della Signoria. This includes the Ufizzi Gallery, the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Loggia dei Lanzi. This was an incredible experience as you got a glimpse of the history that the city has to offer. He explained how the Medicis (former bankers and politicians famous for being incredibly rich) eventually inbred themselves into extinction. But before the family died away, the final heir of the family left all their belongings to the city of Florence under the clause that it would never be sold, would never leave Florence and would stay in the possession of the city. This is part of the reason the city maintains such a large plethora of historical and cultural artefacts. As one of the richest families of all time, they had owned, now priceless artworks. Because of this decision, Florence is renowned as a cultural hub of Italy, Europe, and the world. We finished overlooking a second replica statue of David and the guide once again did a good job of explaining the history of the monument. There were two anatomical inaccuracies with the moment. Michaelangelo was an artist and a man of science. By extension making him a man of human anatomy. Unlike other sculptors who loved to exaggerate the human body, Michelangelo made sure David had no muscles or veins that didn't exist in reality, ensuring everything was anatomically accurate. He used the statues nearby to represent how other artists make the men impossible strong or disproportionate. Everything was accurate, except for the fact that the hands and feet were considerably bigger than is possible on a human male. He did this intentionally and did so because he was considerate of perspective. He expected the statue to be placed atop the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. As such, he wanted to ensure these features could be visible from 50m below. The second inaccuracies relates to the cock. David - according to the story in the bible would have been circumcised, but to be accurate to the model he used to signify David, he left the monument uncircumcised. The accuracy of the art makes it that much more important and makes me want to see the real statue while I'm in Florence.

    That was just my morning with the tour. Afterwards, I restarted my general tendency of walking around random streets. As this was pretty much my first time in the northern part of the city, there was still plenty to see. Just about every road has some hidden monument you never expect to come across in the short and narrow streets. First, I stumbled into the markets, but they mostly sold Italian leather and so I wasn't quite in the market for anything. I moved on a couple of streets down and came across the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, and it was magnificent. As I am doing this retrospective of a couple of days, it was as impressive as some of the museums and gallery's I would see in the coming days. It was 7 euro and so I wasn't sure about it at first, but it was well worth the money. Huge altars, stained glass, painted walls and ceilings, artwork, amazing architecture, and statues lined about every surface of the church. Having just stumbled across this Basilica wandering the streets of Florence, knowing this is one of thousands in Italy really puts into perspective the wealth of the Catholic Church. Even outside the Basilica, it had an outdoor area with tombs and artworks, followed by a small museum with collections of artefacts and clothing from different periods and popes.

    This brought us to the afternoon, and I was already knackered. Because of this and a dinner I had planned, I thought I'd send myself home. I began walking along a riverside park on my way home, but it was not much of a park from what I had seen. It was a long asphalt path with trees on one side and the river on the other. I got to a point where another path developed that resembled something closer to a park. But as I entered, I had a man yelling from across the park that he wanted to chat, I tried to keep walking, but he eventually caught up to me. He was nice enough and was mostly just trying to sell me drugs, but I said no and just tried to get out of there as soon as possible. That was the end of it, and I restarted my walk. I eventually got bored of the walk however, and having noticed the same guy was now following behind me (which I'm sure is just a coincidence), it signified a solid reason to cut my walk short and went home.

    I then caught up with a local as an opportunity to learn about Italian nightlife (as I haven't been able to go out really), and see the city at night. Italy is a very interesting place - we walked between a few bars and got something to eat. But the amount of drinking in the streets was hard to believe. All the buildings are too small to hold more than a few people and so everyone just drinks in the streets. It was kind of dirty but very interesting. Then on the walk home, it was cool to see the town at night, less busy but lit up with all the lights, there were still plenty of people out for 2am but nothing compared to during the day. I found it very interesting to know the lady I was with lived maybe 20m from the Ufizzi Gallery. All these narrow and tall buildings I found it hard to believe that people lived in them, but of course they do. I couldn't wrap my head around living across the road from one of the most significant art galleries in the world. In Australia, the closest you get to that is a pub across the road. It was also the location of a Mafia bombing attack targeted at the Gallery, and which badly impacted her own building and killed 3 innocent people. Even these little streets and houses are so filled with history that it is mind-boggling.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Medici Gardens and Ufizzi Gallery

    16 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    I was in for another big day of walking, as I finally found time to get to the Giardino do Boboli, or the Medici Family, and I intended to get through the Ufizzi Gallery. I started off by wandering through the gardens, completely randomly but being absolutely struck by the wealth that this family must have had. I mean, I try my best to compare it to the richest of the rich today, and I can only think that they would trump everyone in the modern age. They had hectares of space in the south of Florence, completely dedicated to going on walks without seeing poor people. I spent hours in this place, and the number of monuments and artefacts you come across is incomprehensible. This doesn't even begin to mention the house itself. Even for today's age, it is extravagant, I struggle to understand what would be inside. It is basically a castle with the size and walls surrounding the complex. You could go inside, but for a further fee. It is now a museum and would have been interesting, but I have other museums I would rather see first. I will simply leave you to look at the photos for further description of the size of the mansion.

    I then made my way to the Ufizzi museum. Getting a ticket was shockingly easy, walked into the building to a line of maybe 10 people, bought my ticket, and walked in. Even the inside wasn't very busy, so that was a major plus. For this reason alone, I think I enjoyed it more than the Vatican Museum. That being said, it started off rather boring, as I didn't have the audio guide, and it was mostly about the history of Florence newspapers, but it did improve. I got to the modern art section in which most of it went way over my head. My capacity to understand art was truly tested there, and I did not pass. There was a drawing of a bull with a cock, that I truly think I could have drawn in grade 6 (and likely did). I made my way to the historical art and monuments. This was much easier to appreciate and understand as I have a pretty good understanding about who or what the monuments were dedicated to. Normally roman empowers or events in Greek, Roman, or Catholic religions. As such this was very interesting, I got to see in person, the sculptors that I have only read about. The art was also much easier to appreciate. Although normally depicting catholic religious events, the skill to complete these works is clearly more impressive than the child's drawing of a bull’s cock. This museum was massive, and you could spend days in there if you wanted to know more about each individual piece of artwork, but I was mostly walking through and taking pictures. Despite this I was still in there for 4 hours. Luckily there was a cafe toward the end where you could briefly recharge with a drink. A major necessity after all the walking. The view from the top was incredible, too. The pieces of art that stuck with me the most were The Fall of the Rebel Angles, The Birth of Venus, and the Portrait of a Man with a Medal. All of these had something about them that made them more notable than all of the rest. Whether incredible detail, 3D perspectives or just simple beauty, I found myself most impressed with these.

    By the end of these two activities, I was sore beyond description. I parked up for a few beers at the Irish pub and began to gear down for bed. But I had a nighttime tour that I had booked that relates to the dark stories and history of Florence. I expected this to be interesting but the person performing the tour was nowhere near as charismatic or engaging. Either that or I was just too tired, but I found myself to be bored most of the time. There were still some interesting stories but nothing too impressive. By the end of this I was incredibly ready for bed and so headed back and went to bed asap.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Rest Day #1 (Somewhat)

    17 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After a few very big days and still bigger days coming up, I took a well needed day off (or so, I intended). I spent much of the morning in bed, taking it easy before feeling as though I'd have to do something productive to justify the costs and time spent getting here. As such, I made my way to the Central Market of Florence. Outside was mostly clothes, leather and jewellery for sale - none of which I am in the market for. A lot of the stuff for sale was all the same, to be honest, and so that furthered my disinterest. I then made my way inside, where it was much more interesting. This was the food section of the market, and where I began to hunt down some lunch. There were so many things to choose from and I am incredibly indecisive. My stomach had shrunk slightly over the past few days with lots of travelling and barely enough time to eat, but I was keen to get a big feed into me. In the end, I sat down at a nice old couple’s stall, and they explained to me that the most traditional Florence dish they offered was something called Lampredotto. It was tasty and an interesting texture. I later learned that I had eaten the lining of pigs' stomach, but it was still an interesting way to enjoy the culture of Florence. After this, I was pretty much gearing down for an early night.

    But a mate I had met a couple of days earlier from France messaged me on WhatsApp to go for a drink somewhere. Given that I didn't have many friends and hadn't had much opportunity to meet people, I jumped at the offer. He was also solo travelling, and we met when he simply stopped me in the Plaza outside the Ufizzi gallery and introduced himself. I thought for sure he was trying to rob me or scam me somehow but when he messaged me it all seemed legit. It ended up being a much bigger night than I had expected given that I was having a rest day. We had gone to Santo Spirito for a drink, and he was a very interesting person indeed. He was riding from France to Croatia on his bike, as a “holiday”, and stopping at major cities. Because he camps along the way he doesn’t meet many people other than by just stopping other backpackers in the streets. He would set up camp whenever he got tired and was lucky if someone would let him camp in their front yard, otherwise it would be anywhere he could find. Something in Australia that would be outrageous if not impossible. After a few drinks, we thought it necessary to try and make some more friends. This is where the Italian laws and nightlife can be very treacherous. Half anxious and unsure of how we would do it, we wandered into the main Plaza and was instantly swamped by girls trying to talk to us. He and I were shocked beyond belief. It felt too good to be true. That's when we eventually learnt that they were in high school and at most 17 years old. In Italy, the drinking age limit of 18 is more of a recommendation, apparently. After a quick look at each other, we decided it was time for a "drink" so we could escape that situation. We left and got a drink and tried to find somewhere to sit (away from the children). Once again, it didn't take long for some nice-looking English people to approach us. This time, they were asking for the location of a nightclub, which, as foreigners, we could not help them with. They eventually invited us to join them, and we figured we would oblige. After about 40 minutes of walking drunk through the streets of Florence, we ended up in a very fancy night club in the middle of nowhere. It was expensive but was my first taste of nightlife in Italy and it was awesome. We had a view over the city, good music and the English people were good fun. Eventually, we decided it was time to leave at about 3:00 a.m., and we headed back to theirs. They invited me to stay with them and given the opportunity to sleep in a comfy bed for a night with air-conditioning for a night. I jumped at it.
    Okumaya devam et

  • The dome and Italian Festivals

    18 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Although I had not expected to be hungover, booking Brunelleschis dome today was now not such a good idea. I had a great sleep given I was in a comfy bed for the first time in a while, but when I learnt I had about an hour to get back to the hostel, pack, and check out, I was rushed into a more focused mindset. I left the girls' place, walked to my accommodation, quickly packed my bags, found my luggage drop location, and made my way to the main square. This, however, was only the beginning of my pain. Before me lay over 500 stairs before I could reach the top of the dome.

    As part of the Brunelleschi's dome, we got to see the full Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. This was interesting but not as impressive as some of the others that I had seen. This was surprising given it’s the biggest cathedral in Florence and one of the most spectacular buildings from the exterior, but I think the main attraction is the dome. Nonetheless, it was cool to see the ceiling from inside the cathedral, then see it up close on your way to the top of the dome. They did not lie about the confined space in which they expected you to walk through. For someone of my size, I hit my head multiple times trying to watch my step. The view was well and truly worth it, though. It was amazing to see the city of Florence from that high up. You could pinpoint key locations around the city, see the countryside and hills overlooking everything. I could not have been ready for the incredible views. You simply must see the pictures to get any sort of valid description of the views. Florence is truly a beautiful city. Its global significance dwarfs its actual physical size and, as such, makes moments like this even more special. You aren't just overlooking replicas of the same building, but you are overlooking thousands of years of architecture, artistic design, compact living, cultural spaces, beautiful nature, and impressive feats of engineering. Because there are no skyscrapers or large office buildings, it feels like you are thousands of years in the past. A view like this in Brisbane would likely not even be worth the steps. But in a place like Florence, I would have done 5x that to witness the view (even as viscous hungover as I was). It hasn't been long into the trip, but Florence has taken the cake as the city to beat in terms of beauty, culture, art, and uniqueness. It's truly incredible.

    My day was far from done there, however. It had barely begun. I then had to return and pick up my bag and take it to the train station for my trip to Rome. I had lucked out once again by staying with Stef and securing free accommodation at a proper Airbnb as opposed to a hostel. The catch (that wasn't really a catch) was that she was going to a music festival that night for an Italian rapper. Although I was very tired, she was kind enough to let me stay with her and so I felt I should go to the concert and spend some time with her. It ended up being a bigger fuck around than I had expected, however. She went into the festival early to get a good spot, and I trailed behind because it was a long train ride. I got to the accommodation but didn't have a key, so I had to give myself a make do shower with wet wipes and throw my belongings over the fence (I was starting to feel like a real backpacker). I could then make my way to the festival but never in my life had I seen so many people in such a compact area. I have been to many a festival in my time but trying to get through the crowds an hour before the performer came out on stage was as difficult as anything I've ever done. But eventually I made it to Stef. When the guy eventually came out it was so dense and sweaty with people, I knew I wasn't going to make the whole way through the act. Another thing I learnt is that Italians are very short so I had many women complaining that they couldn't see over me, not that I could do anything about it. But I did find it comical to look over the crowd of small brunette people and just see the tops of peoples heads. The photos reflect this. I've also never seen so many people choosing to film the event rather than enjoy it either. The girl in front of my literally posted the whole 1.5 hours onto her Instagram story. About 20 minutes until the end, I decided it was time for a drink and a break. Getting out was almost as hard as getting in. People were happy to let you out, but it was so compact in there that people could barely move if they wanted to. And the number of people who had entered the festival had probably doubled somehow since I arrived meaning that the distance I had to squeeze through people had doubled too. It took me a while, but eventually, I got out. I had fun but fuck me was it a big night. We eventually made it back despite a very dodgy uber driver, who must have been in his 60s trying his best to hit on Stef. When we got home, we had a little smoke and passed the fuck out to prepare for yet another big day ahead.

    Overall, despite not understanding the rapper and being cramped the whole time, I did enjoy the festival, and it was still cool to witness. It was a big day, but it was worth it.
    Okumaya devam et

  • The Vatican

    19 Haziran 2023, Vatikan Şehri ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    The days keep rolling, and I keep doing more and more shit. Today, Stef wanted to visit the Vatican - something she had never done, despite being to Rome many times, and something I was also very keen to see it. Above everything, the best part about travelling with Stef was the fact that we could easily communicate and ask questions to the locals. She either knew nice restaurants or at least knew how to ask people where they were.

    We started at the main Plaza of the Vatican, adorned with a tall colonnade that encircles the square and provides a platform for 140 marble statues to situate themselves. Saints, popes, bishops, and other religious figures are the main figures that look down on those that wander through the plaza. This was impressive enough, and it doesn’t even begin to mention the biblical sized Basilica that overlooks it all. We then continued to simply wander the rest of Rome as we weren't going to get into the Vatican Museum until tomorrow, so figured we would get up early and do it then. We went to the supreme court, to see the magnificence of that building before going to the main attraction for the time being, the Castel Sant'Angelo. The bridges leading up to the castle and the castle itself were incredible. It is crazy the number of things you can see in this city without travelling far at all. This is particularly true for the areas around the Vatican. Just standing on the bridges near the Castel Sant'Angelo, you could see different monuments that spread across the whole city. It is difficult to comprehend how it must have looked hundreds of years ago, given it is hard to fully understand the size and scale of the buildings even today.

    After seeing a few things along the way (Piazza Navona and the Largo di Torre Argentina, most importantly), we made our way to the Campo de' Fiori. This was a little market that is called something like the flower market in Italian. When Stef was last here, there were beautiful flowers everywhere, but this time, it was just a regular market, and most places were once again selling the same stuff. With that disappointment, we didn't stick around for too long before heading to the pantheon. Although quite busy, it was an incredible thing to see and one of the biggest monuments in an incredibly famous city. The line as too long for either of us to want to wait through, so we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. Once again, it was very touristy but cool to see in person. Although cool, it is difficult to spend more than a few minutes here because of all the number of people, so we went back to the Airbnb for a shower. Stef had us booked into a very fancy restaurant, so we got ready and headed there.

    Because we were early, we stopped off at an incredibly nice rooftop bar for a cocktail. We then made our way to the proper restaurant for dinner. After a few drinks, she had already decided what we were going to order. She refused to tell me what we were going to eat but assured me it would be good. The first meal was a standard Italian pasta dish, although very good it was nothing too adventurous. The second serving consisted of ox tail and pigs stomach lining (tripe). I do not remember the names of the dishes, unfortunately, but they were both good. The ox tail was far better than the tripe, as it was a bit chewy. After she finally broke the news of what I had eaten, we eventually figured out that I had already eaten Lampredotto, which is a traditional Florentine sandwich with tripe, anyways. At this point, we were incredibly full and drunk and figured we should get going. She then informed me that most trains in Italy stopped at 11, and given it was 10:45 and had to catch 2 trains to get home, we could only run to the station and hope. Although we made the first train, the second was done for the day. Some more running later, we made it onto the bus and found our way home eventually. By the time we got to bed, it was early in the morning, and we had already decided we had to get in line early for the Vatican Museum the next day. Not only this, but I had to make my way to my accommodation in Rome after it all. Meaning, it was going to be an interesting day tomorrow.
    Okumaya devam et

  • VatiCANT Move Museum

    20 Haziran 2023, Vatikan Şehri ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    After a big day yesterday, we expected today to be even bigger. After getting up early, we arrived at the Vatican Museum at 7 am. I had to go drop off my bag and so didn't return until about 8 am. After waiting in line another 2 hours, we finally got into the museum. By this point we were already fucked - especially Stef as she had been standing for an hour longer than me. We had hoped it mightn't be overwhelmingly busy by the time we got in, but we quickly realised this would not be the case. Although the museum was very cool, having to deal with literally hundreds upon hundreds of people, made enjoying it that little bit harder. The magnificence and artistry that goes into every roof, corner, window, and wall is truly unbelievable. Every inch of every wall would justify a photo. Only being able to include 20 in this journal entry is incredibly difficult. I could not believe the total hours that must have gone into the construction. Once again, though, the number of people made getting around and reading the descriptions near impossible, and by the end, Stef and I simply couldn't be bothered to even try and read the descriptions. It may have been the wait in line that pushed us to the edge, but we were drained from the beginning. We persisted and did the whole thing but found ourselves looking for the exit by the end.

    Nonetheless, the museum had a special ancient Egypt section at the very beginning, which was of particular interest for me. Given that I won't be making it to Egypt on my trip, it was cool to get some taste for the culture one way or the other. We then made our way to statues and monuments of roman emperors and Greek gods. My interest in both made this a really cool section and gave interesting insight into how they were perceived thousands of years ago. It was amazing to see the stories of Greek mythology retold in statues. Because the Roman and Greek names for certain figures are different, I often wasn't sure of exactly what I was looking at and with the descriptions being difficult to read, I sometimes had to guess a bit. We then made our way through the most impressive section of the whole museum, in my opinion. It included ancient maps of Italy on all the walls, with exceptional pieces of artwork on all of the rooves. It was as though they were crammed in because they had too much beautiful art to include in the museum walls and resorted to filling them into the ceiling however they could. The lighting they had also created the effect of solid gold trimmings around the arts, adding to a godly environment. World can't explain. The video I took I think begins to do some justice to what we witnessed. We then entered rooms with 360-degree murals depicting different wars and events - literally turning a whole room into a single piece of art. The final section was the Cistine Chapel, and although impressive, I was actually not as impressed by this as I was with the previous sections of the museum. I understand it is incredibly old and large, but other than that, I didn't think it was worth continuing to battle the crowds for. Perhaps with a guide, I would have understood the monument more and been more impressed, but the other sections of the museum still outshone it, in my opinion. Overall, it was an amazing experience, and I am wholly glad I did it, but I think it would have been better to go in winter.

    To me, the highlight of the day and the trip so far was actually Saint Peter's Basicila. Once again, every mm of space through the whole building was covered by artwork and beauty. But above everything else, the enormity of the building cannot be explained in words. Even in today's age, a building of this size would be a remarkable undertaking, and I struggle to believe it would have anywhere near the beauty. Given it was free, this also added to the appeal for me. It was far more suited to the large number of people - so we could easily move around and take photos without being squished against walls and people. The final part of St. Peter's Basilica was another tour of the dome. Stef was in a rush at this point to get to her flight, so we got to avoid half of the steps by paying an extra 2 euro and use the elevator (10-euro total). This meant we only had 300 instead of 550 steps to conquer. The best part of this was seeing the inside of the Basilica but from the top looking down. A good photo was hard to get through the fence, though, unfortunately. It put into perspective the size, as people looked more like ants from the top. It also gave me an opportunity to see the details of the mosaics that line the walls. When you get up close and see how many tiny pieces of colour make up an enormous roof of art, it blows your mind. Even though it was mostly designed to be seen from far below, they did not shy on the details. But eventually, we made it to the top and got to look over the city. This put into perspective the size of Rome and the number of monolithic buildings they have spread across the city. Each direction you look, you can spot 5 or 6 buildings that stand out as historical and cultural artefacts. We also got to see the gardens that exist within the Vatican. Although I was originally very keen to go through there. Seeing them from above gave you a better idea of what's around anyway. Although it looked cool from above, I think it would be disappointing to walk through as it was mostly just hedges. Stef then had to run to make her train, I had to collect my bag and get to my accommodation, and so the day finally came to an end. It was hard to believe after several incredibly busy days, but I had nothing planned for tomorrow and was very keen to spend it doing nothing.

    Although the final fuck around of the day included getting to my hostel, that actually seemed nice, only to be told that there were works going on and I would be required to go to a different "building". I later learnt it was a completely different hostel, but it was much quieter, so I wasn't complaining too much.

    I unfortunately could not do the day justice with 20 photos so there will be some things I speak about in the entry that did not make it into the photos - apologies.
    Okumaya devam et

  • State Of Origin

    21 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Because I have had too many busy days during my journey, I am having to retrospectively complete a lot of these entries. As such, I am a week behind and using a 6-hour train journey to complete all the ones to date. But it is hard, and they do take a lot of time to complete, if you want to do them well. I may have to begin shortening them to ensure that I can do them for each day, but we will see how that goes given how much I seem to be doing on a day-to-day basis.

    Given that I had an incredibly busy few days travelling and wandering with Stef, today was a completely empty day where I did incredibly little. I slept in, laid in bed for a few hours, called the folks, and tried to make my way to a Scottish pub to watch the state of origin. My dad had luckily found the perfect spot to watch it. Although a 20-minute walk, it was guaranteed to play the game, and so I made my way there. I had hoped for a few other Aussies to be there to make some friends, but when I arrived, the place was packed with people from all over Australia, but mostly QLD and NSW, obviously. At first it was far too busy to get a seat, but a nice family invited me to sit down with them. They were supporting Queensland, and we were some of the few in that section of the pub. Luckily, it didn't stop us from getting really into the game. Of course, the highlight was Queensland taking the series in a very convincing win and being able to celebrate in a pub across the other side of the world. After this, another nice family invited me to sit down with them for a few drinks. I happily joined them, and we sat and chatted for a few hours. After buying me a few beers - in which they were 6 and 7% - they eventually went on their way, and I was left to wander home. At this point, I was quite drunk and only getting more drunk. It is interesting to walk home from the pub and still stumbled across monuments hundreds of years old, hidden in tiny streets.

    Eventually, I did make it home. And although I just laid in bed to recover from the walk, I fell asleep. I woke up at some point later and wandered to find some dinner. By the time I found a nice restaurant and ate, I realised I was near the Trevi Fountain. Curious to see it at night, I took the long way home, only to discover it was somehow busier at night. Although I could see why, it looked really nice under the lights. But once again, I didn't stick around for too long before heading home for bed. And that was my whole day, much shorter than previous, but it was mostly a recovery day anyway, one that was very needed.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Taity Time

    22 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Even after a decent rest day yesterday, I still felt as though I needed a day or so to fully recover. The news that Jack may be joining me sooner and getting to Rome tonight only encouraged me to rest. The days will likely get longer and busier when he joins me. As a result, I chose to just wander through Rome again, this time going through the Villa Borghese gardens. This was quite nice but very big. And given I was trying to rest, it was a bit difficult to see it all. It was interesting, but given it is mostly a park, there is limited opportunity to learn about what you are looking at. Apart from this I did nothing all day. I went back to my apartment and waited for Jack to arrive via train. I collected him from the station and walked him to the hostel. Although we were booked into the same place, he got put in the actual hostel we booked rather than getting transferred, like I did. And although I thought I got the shit hand in that deal, turns out the original hotel is far worse and much busier.Okumaya devam et

  • Day of Surprises

    23 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Jack arrived last night, and apart from getting dinner, we basically didn't have time to do anything else. But after a shit night’s sleep in his hostel, he got transferred to my hostel, and we went on to the main attractions around Rome.

    I had left some major attractions for when Jack arrived so that we had stuff to do together, which is why some major monuments haven’t yet been mentioned. We then started at the top and headed to the Colosseum. After just a few minutes of aimless wandering, wondering where the ticket booth was, I began scanning the surroundings to try find it. That’s when a typically Ausie looking bloke V-lined for Jack and tackles/hugs him. Turns out it was one of Jacks mates from soccer a long time ago. Although they hadn't seen each other in a year and had no idea either person was in Rome, they ran into each other on the other side of the world. It's made crazier to think Jack wasn't even supposed to arrive in Rome until some days later. We had a quick catch-up with Zac and his girlfriend, Ruby, before figuring we had to leave and get our tickets to the Colosseum. We waited in line for a little over an hour, but it was midday heat without any cover, and so it was a long hour, to say the least. Getting inside was worth it, though. As a major bucket list item, I could barely believe I had finally made it. Even Jack was heavily impressed with the monument and was happy to read the information pieces that came with it. The views of the Roman Forum and the rest of Rome were incredible from the top levels. After going through both the upper and lower levels and spending plenty of time reading the history, it was time to head out. We were then in a predicament as to whether to head home or get through the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum was another major bucket list item for me as the history is even older than the Colosseum, and most other monuments around Rome. That being said, I do not think it was Jack's cup of tea, particularly. It would have been more beneficial to have had a tour or at least an audio guide to take with you as some of the written descriptions didn't paint much of a picture. I think this, plus the heat, put Jack off a little bit. Nevertheless, I was still sure to take my time and see everything I wanted to see. The views from the Palatine Hill were incredible. It was an interesting combination of ancient structures in the foreground, with slightly less ancient colossal monuments in the background. It painted a great picture of how old Rome really is.

    As we got toward the end of the forum, our plans to catch up with Zac were brought forward as he had stumbled across the World Street League skateboarding competition - another crazy coincidence. Especially because I had been saying to Jack that there are a ton of pro skaters in Rome, and I hope we run into them. When we looked through who would be competing, we decided that we would have to get a good spot, grab a few beers, and chill there for a while. Despite this, we only missed the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, but we would get a chance to see this later. When we made our way to the skateboarding event, which overlooked the Colosseum, we found a great spot where we could stand on the fence and look over and watch without buying a ticket. Tickets were supposed to cost 50 euros, but our spot was in the shade, had a great view, and had a cafe that sold reasonably priced beers just around the corner. The decision to not buy a ticket probably saved us hundreds of euros in the long run. Overall, I have hundreds of good photos from this day alone, so trying to pick 20 for this entry was once again nearly impossible. The highlight of today was getting a photo with Chris Joslin while buying the boys a bunch of beers. I bought one for him to as he had just finished his heat and looked like he needed one. We briefly discussed life in Aus and the US, and I figured it was time to let him recover. Even as I write this a week later, it hardly seems real.

    After this, the skating was just about done, and we headed to finish off our night in the pub. Unfortunately, Jack led us to a very shit pub very far away from anything, and so we didn't spend much time there before heading to Zac's for a quick drink before going home. This was the end of an incredible day, one of the best of the trip and maybe one of the best of my life. So many unforeseen things occurred that just made it incredible. Tomorrow, we were in for another big day of skating and sport, and so it was good we had a reasonably early night.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Calcio Fiorentino- MMA Basketball

    24 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Yesterday was a big day of walking, day drinking, and sport - something likely to continue into today, and so the day started off slow. We decided we should go back and see the things from yesterday that we're missed as well as investigate the other areas around Rome. We decided the best way to do this was on Lime Scooters, and it was a revolutionary idea. I had spent endless hours walking previously, and although not an issue in Florence, in Rome, it was a much better way to get around and see everything. As such we went past the Colosseum again and saw all 360 degrees of it in a few minutes, then went and saw Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, as well as Trajan’s Column and the rest of the monuments in Piazza Venezia. Trajan’s Column was another bucket list item for me as I have heard many stories and podcasts about it and so seeing it in person was an awesome experience for me.

    We knew today was going to be an equally big day for both site seeing and sport. Italy and Florence, in particular, is known for their history. But one small quirk that I did not expect to stumble across while travelling was the Calcio Fiorentino. This is a sport from the Middle Ages, the rules of which I do not fully understand, but based on the videos I had seen, it was essentially bare-knuckle boxing with a ball. My tour guide had explained the sport to us during my tour in Florence, but I had no idea the day was so soon when he had told us. To celebrate the Saints Day for John the Baptist, the streets of Florence bustle with festivities and markets. It is something I would have loved to witness, but my minor changes of plans to my schedule meant I missed it (although I had no idea about the holiday until the tour). In fact, only when a violent video appeared on my phone that I make the connection that it must have been the traditional sport played in Florence that was described by my tour guide. When I saw what the event truly encapsulated, I had to check the day of it. It was the very next day, and that day had come. I told Jack we had to see it, and we spent the first part of our day investigating pubs where it may be played. We figured our best bet was to go to the same Scottish pub that had the origin and boasted itself as the best sports pub in Italy. Thanks are due to dad once again for finding the pub in the first place, as I meant I got to see both sporting events. That being said, even when we arrived and mentioned the game, none of the workers had heard of it. Despite being huge in Florence, no one knew of it in Rome. Speaks to the fact that many Italians mostly align themselves more so to their city rather than their country. None the less they assured us that if they could play it, they would, so after a lunch feed there, we made our way back to the second day of skating.

    This time, it was the Semi Finals, and so the skaters had stepped it up majorly. The girls started in the afternoon, and so we started watching them with a few beers once again and saw some unreal skating from teenagers that were destroying the female competition.

    Eventually, the rain hit. The first time we had basically seen a rain cloud the whole trip and, as such, it was timed perfectly to make our way to the pub to attempt to watch the Calcio Fiorentino. This sport did not disappoint, and Jack and I were quite drunk by this point. With most people trying to enjoy an afternoon beer, we essentially forced them to watch street fighting with us yelling in the background. The poor group of French people in front of us had no idea what was going on, but neither did we. They tried asking us, but we had more questions than answers ourselves. We were just enjoying the moment. In the end, it was a blow out which took away from it a bit, but to say it wasn't heated would be a lie. Multiple fights had broken out before the ball was even on the pitch, and one of the veterans of the sport was even sent off. To this day, I am unsure how you could get sent off in a sport that seems to have no rules, but that was his final game before retirement. So, it was quite a sad event for him, but it must have riled up his team because they ended up destroying the other team. Santa Maria Novella was the team that won, which is the suburb I stayed in when in Florence, so I'm claiming them as my team. A win for them is a win for me. After that, we made our way back to the skating for the men's competition.

    To one up my photo with Chris Joslin, Jack and I got a photo with Nyjah Huston - the best skater of the last decade. This was just before he destroyed the competition during a great day of skating. With some more drinking, by the end of it we were pissed and ready to head home. It was just Jack and I now, so we weren't planning on going out or doing anything, were more keen for bed. But right as we left, we saw Shane O'Neil leaving the event, and after fangirling hard over him and asking for a photo, he said he would come back for one. But he never came back :(

    With a sad end to a great day, we headed home to go to bed.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Salerno

    25 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today was going to be nothing special. We had a long train ride to Salerno, and that was basically the only plan I did some entries into my journal and rested after a few big days. The train ride was really cool, though, through the Italian hills and along the coast.

    When we arrived at our hotel, our building manager didn't speak any English, which was our first real language barrier we encountered but we managed to have a reasonable conversation and get ourselves checked in (thanks to google Translate). After this, we headed along the coast toward the beach to go for our first swim in quite a long time. The beach was slightly dirty and quite rocky, but we enjoyed the swim, nonetheless. The water in the Mediterranean is so clear and had so many fish that it makes for such an interesting experience. After this, we got some seafood pasta and got ready for bed. We figured when in Sicily and along the coast, getting a proper seafood feed was necessary. We had that, went for a quick stroll along the main esplanade, and headed to bed.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Amalfi Coast

    26 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Today was the big day, and the main reason we decided to stay in Salerno. Well, that as well as the fact that we had heard some bad things about Naples. But we wanted to spend some time along the Amalfi Coast and decided on Positano and Amalfi as the areas to do so. We went via ferry because we thought it would give the best views of the coastline while also being quick and relatively cheap. I think we made the right decision as we got to see all along the Amalfi Coast and marvel in the way they built cities on the edge of steep hills right next to the coast. Given the age of some of these cities, it makes you wonder whether it would have been worth it all. But after spending some time in the towns, it makes perfect sense why you'd want to live there. I would have loved to get more photos as we travelled along the coast but there was a swarm of people lining up for the photos off the side of the boat, and I was slack to deal with that, so we just soaked up the views from inside.

    We started at Positano, and we simply jumped in the water, had a few drinks, and wandered around the small town. To avoid the stairs and blistering heat, we mostly stuck to the walks along the coastline. This was a really cool experience as we came across a few small beaches dotted along the coast before we eventually hit a dead end. We headed back for a drink and one final dip before heading back to the ferry. We did detour through some small shops, but we are both limited by bag space as well as money, so once again, we didn't buy anything.

    We then ferried towards Amalfi and had a similar strategy to that of Positano. We went for a quick jump in the water and then began to wander around the town. We had heard of a really good rock jump in the town and so was looking all over for somewhere that matched the description. It was only on the way back that we went by a little jetty where a company was running a boat hiring stall. Despite them not speaking any English, we gestured until they knew what we were talking about. The rock right by the dock was a notorious rock jumping spot. He showed us videos of people doing the jump, and so Jack and I geared up to do it. After Jack went, a young worker must have gotten excited as we grabbed his boardies and joined us for his second jump. This kid was crazy. It was probably a 10-15m jump, and he was front flipping and doing crazy shit. It was then my turn, and although I was shitting myself, I didn't give myself time to overthink it. I scaled down the rocks and prepared for the jump, I had done my best not to look down until this point, and it was scary to see the height from that perspective. Nonetheless, I couldn't back out now and threw myself off. It felt like you would free-fall for ages, but the rush was awesome, and it ended up being the highlight of the day. After that, we figured it was time a well-earned drink. After a few spritz and some beers, we were ready to jump on the ferry back to Salerno. Once we got back, we grabbed a feed and headed for bed. The place we chose to eat wasn't particularly fancy, but we pizzas were awesome. After that, we then parked up in our beds and got ready for bed.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Pompei

    27 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Pompei was the next reason for me wanting to stay in the area around Naples. I have always wanted to see the site but was blown away by the actual area it encompasses. We, however, made 3 pivotal mistakes. Firstly, despite the site being open until 7 p.m., we booked an audio guide that had to be returned by 5pm. We had things to do in the morning and so didn't make it to Pompei until 2pm, I had not considered the fact that audio guide would close before the site, but it heavily impacted how long we could stay inside. Secondly, Stef recommended that I try a fried pizza while in Naples, and when we found somewhere that sold them, we grabbed one each. The main issue that arose from this was the incredible size and quantity of grease that came with it. Quite literally the last thing you would want before walking around Pompei in midday heat. Despite being very good, the timing was horrible. The third mistake was not checking the map before we started to walk around. Although I knew we would be restricted by time, I underestimated the size of the site and figured we could get through it all in 3 hours. In the end, we spent probably an hour in the just the houses part of the city and realised the monuments on the other side would be considerably more interesting, but even the trek to the other side of the site took ages. We then had to rush through the amphitheatres and colosseums, but we did end up seeing everything we wanted. A bit of extra time at these final sites would have been nice, but by the end of it, I think Jack had pretty much had enough anyway. Overall, I am very glad we went, but a bit of better planning probably could have made the experience more enjoyable. The audio guide wasn't as effective as I had hoped either, as it was difficult to understand what they were referring to when discussing different aspects of each area. Not to mention, they kept saying we should walk through different areas of the site that we did not have access to. I'm not sure if we had come on the wrong day where most things were shut or if they simply only open small sections at a time. Either way, it did slightly take away from the experience as we could only listen to what was inside and try and match with different things that we likely couldn't even see.

    It is difficult to comprehend how well preserved this site is given the age and especially given the size. You could see how functional and effective it must have been running at one point in time. The site was breathtaking, and I hope to return one day and do it on a proper tour. Although we had these as options, the cheap ones only went for 2 hours, and I feel as though they would overlook some aspects that would be interesting. Next time, I will get a proper tour that isn't rushed. By the end of this, we were beat and ready to head to bed, so we caught the train back and did exactly that.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Catania Reunited

    28 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today was a throw-away day. We had nothing planned except for an extended train trip to Catania and eventual drinks with Liam Hair and Ben Grebert. We had originally planned to fly but Jack booked tickets for the wrong month and so we were forced to go on the train and hope that we could get some of our money back by changing the flight to a different time and place. In the end, we got some value back but had to invest more money to change the flight and catch a second one to make it worth it. This was a use it or lose it scenario.

    The only slightly interesting part of this trip was that the train had to traverse the Strait between Sicily and the Italian mainland. We thought this may be an underground tunnel, but it turned out to be a ferry for trains. Then, we literally got put on the boat, in a train, and ferried across to Sicily to disembark and continue on their rail system. This would have been cool if we hadn't lost 2 hours due to technical issues with getting the train on and off the ferry. Meaning we were supposed to arrive at midday to catch up with Hairy and Ben with the flight, but then it turned into 6 o'clock because we had to catch a train, then it became 8 o'clock due to the delays. This was slightly annoying, but we eventually caught up with them for a drink. We got sloppy drunk off Aperol’s and shots before meeting some girls from Arizona. We spoke with them for a while before heading home for the night. It was great to see Hairy again after 11 months a part - it was especially good to see him knowing it may be another 9 months until I'm home. After this, we headed to our accommodations to sleep.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Syracuse

    29 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Before we made our way to catch up with Hairy and Ben for our train trip to Syracuse, we decided to check out the beach of Catania itself. The walk toward the beach showed the worst sides of Catania as there was a clear divide between the nice parts of town and the dodgy parts. Even along the main strip there would be rubbish around, but in this trek toward the beach, we were shocked at the amount of garbage that littered the roads. I think this is a recurring theme of our travelling. A lot of the locations have nice parts and dirty parts, and it is simply identifying where these locations are and avoiding them. We did not do this as we walked toward the beach, and I think it lowered my expectations for the beach considerably. Jack was completely put off by it, but luckily, I had been warned about the rubbish in parts of Italy and Europe and wasn't completely shocked by it. By the time we had made it to the beach we assumed it was going to be a disgusting mess, and the Cherry on top of the cake, a minor fire that had broken out blocking out path to the beach, ensuring we lost all motivation to even go and see it. Instead, we started walking to the train station to get to Syracuse, but even this was difficult, road works meant we had to run across highways and jump on buses just to get us in the right direction. Eventually, we did make it, just as the train arrived at the station.

    After an interesting start to the day, we finally caught Hairy and Ben and made our way to Syracuse. We only got to experience the old town, but it was incredible. It would have been good to see how the rest of the city compared, but there were so many cool places in the old town alone that we figured it wasn't worth exploring any further out. It started with some old ruins as you first entered before being welcomed by tiny streets and large cream-coloured buildings on either side. The little restaurants provided great food, and I got to try my first proper arancini ball. Unbelievable is the best way to describe it. I haven't found one as good since. We made our way through the old town toward the beach before finding a secluded, yet still slightly busy, little Cove to swim at. Nonetheless, we parked up there for a few hours and continued our recovery from the night before. Eventually, we felt better and figured it was time for a spritz and a feed. We found a little bar that overlooked the crystal-clear water and figured we would stay here for a few drinks before finding somewhere else for food. The food was so good in the area that the choice became a bit overwhelming, and we eventually ran out of time to be picky and had to just pick a restaurant. In the end, it was good and cheap, but there were definitely better options. By this time, we were already partly pissed so we figured we would grab a few drinks for the train ride. When we arrived at the station, there was a single carriage, banged up and graffiti ‘ed train that we joked might be our train. Once we figured out what platform we boarded from, we quickly realised that it was, in fact, our train. Not only this, but the train was completely full, and we were forced to sit on the ground of a dingy ass train for almost an hour. This was an interesting trip home, but we made it eventually.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Day on the water

    30 Haziran 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today, we booked a snorkelling trip to a cave system off the coast of Catania. We made our way on Lime Scooters to the port where we caught up with Hairy and Ben. We chose the morning session, so the sun wasn't so brutal, and we actually enjoyed the morning sun sitting on the front of the catamaran as we sailed for about an hour to the location. The views across the coast of Catania were incredible, but eventually, they put up the sails, and the view was blocked mostly. Eventually, we arrived at our destination, and by this point, we were stinging a swim in the beautifully temperate water after laying in the sun for so long. For whatever reason, the captain dropped us off about 150m from the swimming spot. I think that most people on the tour rarely do the snorkelling and instead choose to swim off the edge of the boat. We, however, were keen to see what lay around the rock formations. They described them as caves, but they were hardly caves and instead just rocks protruding out of the water. Given that we were with 2 avid swimmers, Jack and I struggled with the swim and were easily left in the dust. Nonetheless, once we got to the rocks and could manage our breathing a bit better, it was really cool to swim with the fish and jellyfish. There were no massive sized fish, but thousands of little ones. It doesn't compare to the reef dives you can do in Australia, but it was cool just to see how it varies in the Mediterranean. I had forgotten my underwater camera attachment for my phone, but given the swim we had to do, it likely wouldn't have been worth bringing anyway. As such, the number of photos for today is very limited.

    At the end of the swim, which took about an hour, we started the long trek home, once again being blown out of the water by Hairy and Ben. This time, we were going against the current, and we felt every bit of difference. Eventually, though, we had made it. They then served some food and Prosecco while we chatted with others on the boat. The 2 guys running the show were very cool and interesting people to talk to, and so we discussed life in Australia compared to Italy. This then continued as we made our way back to Port.

    On the way home, we found 3-euro Aperol spritz, and we made some serious use of that deal. After about 4 of those each, we headed home, taking a detour on the lime scooters, and got ready to prepare for a big night ahead. We then bought a few bottles of wine and headed to the boys' place to drink them on their rooftop terrace. By the time this was done, we were completely hammered and figured it was time to head out for some food. After some shit talking and some eating, we ran into the girls from the previous night and drank with them until early morning. After this, we were all completely ruined and had to send ourselves to bed, or we'd wake up in a random street in Catania. It was a great night, and it was great to see Hairy. Unfortunately, this would be the last time I see him for another 9 months as he was on his way to Malta and then home shortly after that. It was a shame to say goodbye, but I am lucky to have seen him while over here.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Palermo

    1 Temmuz 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today, we said goodbye to Catania and made our way toward Palermo to catch up with Zach and Ruby again. This meant most of the day wasn't too exciting, just involved Jack and I sleeping in, catching a train to Palermo, grabbing a big feed and jumping straight on Lime Bikes, this time to meet Zach and Ruby at the beach. This was about a 30-minute ride, but it was along the water for parts of it and was a mostly chilled ride. The trip to the north of Palermo had already shown us that Palermo was a standout city in terms of cleanliness and beauty. It was much neater and had much more character than Catania, and when we arrived at the beach (although it was a trek), it was much nicer than the beach than we have had previously. Palermo has huge cliffs that seem to encompass the whole city, and it made for a cool view anywhere you are but especially by the beach. We chilled by the beach here for a while, drinking beers and hanging out before we decided it was time to ride home. This time, there were 4 of us and we were drunk, which made it even more interesting and comical. But eventually, we split up, and each of us headed home to shower and get ready for another big night of drinking.

    Zach and Ruby had an early bus to the airport for their flight and were sure they wouldn't drink much, but after racking up a bill of 180 euro between the 4 of us, it is safe to say we were quite smashed. Lots of different spritz, some limoncello shots, jaeger shots, and the rest. By the time we paid the bill, we were dancing in the middle of the restaurant and causing a scene. The chaos continued when we got back to the hostel, as for the first time ever, people littered the halls and rooms. We were loud and considerably drunk, so we were sure to have some drunken chats with everyone, not that we can really remember. The waiter at the restaurant, of all people, had given us some weed to thank us for being so friendly to him, and we planned to make the most of that. It wasn't much, but we were drunk, and so that was probably a blessing. I don't even remember what time it is when they left, but surely enough, we fell asleep almost instantly. We later learnt that Ruby and Zach missed their bus and had to taxi the 40-minute drive to the airport, costing them a pretty penny. Once again, it was good to see them before they went to the final leg of their journey in Greece.

    The first part of my trip has involved more Australian mates than expected, but also, I've also made fewer international mates along the way. I'm sure that will come eventually, however. We head to Croatia next now in a change of plans to ensure I can do that with Tait before he runs out of money. Given the party atmosphere, I hope I can meet people and do other parts of Europe with them.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Rest Day #2

    2 Temmuz 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After a few big days of partying with mates, it was once again just Jack and I and so we spent the whole morning doing completely fuck all. The only time I left the room was to get food, but because we took the Lime Scooters, we ended up seeing quite a few nice places around Palermo. Palermo is interesting in how it seems to be split up into market areas that are very active and vibrant during the morning and day, and then as that seems to dwindle out, the pubs that are across the main road seem to really kick off and create another awesome atmosphere. This is what I loved most about Palermo as there is always something happening, the nightlife is great whether it is partying, drinking, or eating, it has everything you could want. Palermo has been my second favourite city behind Florence at this point because it maintained a small-town atmosphere with all the benefits of a big town. There were always things to do, and the people were great. After lunch I once again ventured out of the room to get dinner, in which Jack chose a very fancy steak house to eat, for whatever reason. Though I must say it was one of the best meals I had eaten in my entire life despite costing quite a bit and being quite small. We of course got the cheapest meal we could, but it was definitely worth it because of how great it actually tasted. It wasn't a big meal, but it was enough to sustain me- but not Jack. After this Jack got roped into a date with a girl and was forced to once again have a big night of drinking but I was happy to lay in bed and watch Netflix until I passed out- this didn't take long to happen.Okumaya devam et

  • Cefalu

    3 Temmuz 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today, Jack was once again nursing a hangover in bed, but due to my early night, I hopped up and tried to see the final bits of Palermo. The main thing I wanted to see was the Regional Archaeological Museum Antonio Salinas. Unfortunately, being a Monday, it was closed- which is quite common in Italy. This was very disappointing as I had heard good things but when you travel you lose track of days and forget that things close on Mondays. Nonetheless, I wandered around on my Lime Scooter, called my parents, and saw the rest of Palermo that was within a reasonable distance.

    I did this until Jack woke up, and then we decided we should do Cefalu as we had heard good things once again. This was about a 1-hour train ride, and then we got there and went straight to the beach. We didn't have heaps of time as Jack had slept in, but we figured we would wander the town and see what was around. Jack had been told about a really nice beach about an hour walk out of town, but once again, he had led us into the middle of nowhere. It was still cool to see the little town, but I would have much rather chilled by the beach or explored actual Cefalu. By the time we finished our walk, we didn't even have any more time or energy to go back to the beach, so we headed for our train. When we arrived, however, it had been delayed by 45 minutes, and so we had a conundrum of going to the beach very quickly or just wait around for a while. We were so low on energy after the walk that we chose the latter. However, the train home was crazy busy, and people were jumping on each other to make it on. We knew there was a later train that should arrive about 5 mins after, and so decided we'd wait for that. We put ourselves in a better position this time to get a seat and waited. This second train was once again delayed, but eventually, we got on, got a seat, and headed home. Jack was very tired from a big few days and I was very tired from a big day, so we got a feed and went to bed. Given that we head to Croatia tomorrow, this was our last chance to get a Bolognese, which I hadn't had yet, and so we jumped on it. We were starving, and when it finally arrived, we inhaled the food and went straight home for bed. Tomorrow was a big day of travelling, but I was excited for a boring day where I could try and organise myself a little bit.
    Okumaya devam et

  • Arrivederci Italia

    4 Temmuz 2023, İtalya ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today is our final day in Italy (For now), and it is going to be an anticlimactic end to the trip. We started with a 9am bus to the airport, a 1-hour flight to Naples, a 6 hour stop over, and another 1-hour flight to Split in Croatia. Thus, beginning the next phase of the trip - the Balkans. I have heard endlessly good things about the Balkans, and so I am eager to see what it is all about. That being said, we start in Croatia, where most of the activities will include chilling by the beach and drinking. We have done a fair bit of partying so far, but I kind of expected more to be honest, so we will see what Croatia holds for us. The only activities I really hope to achieve include the three caves tour recommended by Melissa and Mum as well as wander around the old towns and parks in the area. We arrived late into Split and walked to our hostel to check in. Right off the bat, I could tell this would be one of the nicest hostels that we have stayed in so far. It was clean and spacious, and the ladies at the front desk were incredibly helpful.

    After we finish Split and Hvar, Jack will be heading over to Spain most likely, and I continue my journey through the Balkans on my own. That being said, I may have a friend from work join me for a hike through Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo. This could work out well as I plan to track South along the coastline of Croatia (Dubrovnik and Ston potentially), Montenegro, and Albania before tracking back up the mountain regions, north to Slovenia. This would also allow me to see Sarajevo, Plitvice Lakes National Park, and Zagreb. Because she won't be able to join me until August, it should align perfectly. If I manage to collect a spare few days, I may even fit in a couple of days in Corfu. This is only really possible due to accumulating a few spare days in Italy and being ahead of schedule. This did come at the cost of the southeast of Italy, but it could be worth it to spend some extra time in other parts of Europe.
    Okumaya devam et

    Gezinin sonu
    4 Temmuz 2023