After Italy I took the train and headed north into Switzerland. My first impression - beautiful and very cold! At least compared to the warm, balmy weather I had experienced in Italy. After getting off the train I took the bus (following the directions given on the internet) to the hostel. Found it easily enough even though it was nighttime and quite dark out. Fortunately it was Saturday night and there were lots of people out and about - who knew the train station in Zurich was the place to be Saturday nights! The hostel was on a nice quiet street and the man who nice when I checked in. I climbed the stairs to my room and started unpacking. There were only two beds (one bunkbed) which was nice as usually they packed us into ... read more

My second day in Naples I took the train to the town of Pompeii. From the train station I walked into the amazing ruins of Pompeii. Inside the gates, the sites were incredible. Stones cobblestones, huge statues and rock crevices were the only remains of the town that had existed before the eruption of the volcano (still active!). It was so neat to imagine families and civil life taking place among the old house structures.... read more

After catching the train at the Sperlonga station, I headed further south to Naples. I went to the tourist office, picked up several brochures (they were free - yippee, usually they're not) and called Giolianno. I was surprised to hear him speak English back to me. Wendy had reserved a room at his bed and breakfast for two nights and told him I would need a ride from the train station. Giolianno picked me up and drove me to the B&B a short distance from the train station. After I was settled, Giolianno and I went on a walk down to the train station so I would know how to get there. Then he drove me to the bank (banco) so I could pay him - cash only, and then gave me a tour of the ... read more

Rome was a nice change of pace from the business center of Milano. Not only were there historic pieces of stone everywhere you looked, not to mention millions of swarming tourists of every dimension, but the main sites and points of interest were all within walking distance from my hostel or a short metro ride away. The first day I arrived off the train and called the place I wanted to stay at to discover that it was totally booked. The lady was able to give me another name and number of a place that she said was close by. It turned out to be a hostel and I must have called the number four or five times for directions before I finally reached the door. The lady kept telling me it was right around the ... read more

My second day in Rome I toured the sites and even bought a ticket for one of those bus tours. Although it was priced at 18 euros, it allowed you to get on and off for the whole day at different points of interest and included free headphones for a tour in your language of choice. It helped me to get my bearings a bit and also helped in getting around to see more sites - much more efficient use of time when compared to getting lost in random streets. Although honestly I still managed to get lost several times over the course of my entire stay in Rome. By now, I've come to realize that sometimes following the herd helps keep you on the course to seeing the main sites, whenever I started doubting myself, ... read more