http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Kerissa/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Kerissa en-us Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:07:00 +0000 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:07:00 +0000 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/North-East/Z-rich/blog-317301.html After my visit in Naples I headed north to the little city of OrteAmelia where I was met by Ettore Hector. Ettore said he had not heard from me but had been contacted earlier by Wendy regarding my arrival time. He said he just went on instinct to the train as I had gone on the train to the small little town and somehow we both managed to find each other despite either of us having spoken. Et http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-313977.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-312141.html My second day in Naples I caught the bus down to the port and took the boat to the Island of Capri. The boat was quite nice everyone had comfy cushioned seats inside and the ride only lasted a little under an hour.Once we arrived at the Capri port I got off and found a station selling tickets for an island tour. After purchasing my ticket I went with about 10 other people into a boat and away http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-311838.html 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 pi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-311836.html After leaving Wendy's amazing BB I took the train to a little town called Sperlong. Wendy had called ahead of time to reserve a room for me at another BB run by two guys boyfriends. She had told them I would call them when I arrived at the station if they could then pick me up. Neither of them spoke English but fortunately when I mentioned the name Wendy they understood and arrived in 10 min http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-311816.html After leaving the hostel I made a call to a bed and breakfast situated just outside of the main city of Rome about a 20 minute train ride from the main station. Wendy was the owner of the BB as well as a cooking connoisseur that gave courses on cooking and led special food tours throughout Rome and the surrounding countryside. Wendy was great and even though the place was a bit of a splurge i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-309069.html The second day in Milano I ventured out to do more sightseeing and shopping. I saw quite a few churches and even managed to get in some shopping among my walking around. I bought a cute dress and a new purse both on sale Unfortunately several of the churches and museums I had set out to see were either closed for construction or booked for the next couple of weeks. The city is constantly reno http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Milan/blog-307157.html 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 d http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-309059.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-309064.html Tuesday July 29th 2008Tuesday I had to get up extra early so Caroline could give me a ride to the train station to catch my train to Milano. Unfortunately I my alarm didnrsquot go off so I jumped out of bed and scurried around to make it out of the house on time. I had decided to leave two of my smaller bags with Caroline to take back to Paris with her so I would only be traveling with my ba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Milan/blog-306818.html Sunday afternoon the younger Caroline invited me to her aunt's pool for a swim. Her family lives in several of the houses bordering the house we are currently in and rent them out throughout the year. The pool and accompanying view were gorgeous as you can tell from the pictures.Monday afternoon I spent with Jeanne one of the girls down at the polo club. Her name is pronounced kinda like Jen onl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-305700.html Wednesday we had guests over for dinner Sebastien and Ludoviv brothers from the HB polo team. Earlier that day Virginie and I had made lists of everything we would need to purchase at the store in order to make dinner. I was to pick up the tomatoes balsamic vinegar cheese and bread and Virginie Caro would pick up the chicken chips and dessert. After watching the polo games at the club ev http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-304647.html Monday night we took Rochelle's car over to the town of Sainte Maxime on the opposite side of St. Tropez. The evening was beautiful and clear and displayed a gorgeous sunset against the water and coastline. Parking was much easier than in St. Tropez and we found a spot without much trouble. After parking we walked into the town which reminded me a bit of Second Street with the cute shops and rest http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-304397.html Saturday Night in St. TropezSaturday night we took Rochelle's car and drove into the port of St. Tropez for dinner. The parking there is so terrible that Rochelle had to parallel park in the tiniest of places which took her nearly 5 minutes but needless to say we were NOT paying for parking and she did a terrific job I should have filmed her it was so good although she might have used the bump http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-303959.html Saturday was a day filled with sun sea and fun at the fair a nice change from the constant work at the polo club. Of course we still attended to the horses as usual fed cleaned and rode morning and evening and even managed to get in a polo game we watched didn't play but during the few hours in between we had a chance to relax and enjoy the local festivities. The weather was perfect for http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-302206.html Saint Tropez at lastWhat a change from Paris area. Not only weather wise so much warmer perfect sunny beach weather but also the style of living and the work load. Style of living still excellent but beachytourist as opposed to small countryside village and then jaunting into huge city of Paris. Sooo many people here tourists and locals alike. Very similar to Hawaii in that manner. Wea http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-300672.html Here are a few photos of Angervilliers the little town that Caroline Virginie and me live in and where Morsang the polo club is located. Every morning I scooter down to Morsang where I begin my day feeding riding and caring for the horses. The town around here is so beautiful that I wanted to share some pictures with you. And before I leave tomorrow Monday we head down to St. Tropez. T http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-293083.html Morning started off bright and early with Caroline driving Virginie and me to the train station. There we caught the train and rode it into Paris. Unlike the last trip Virginie dropped me off at metro stop where I got on the subway to go see the Notre Dame Cathedral. Unfortunately I got a bit confused in the metro station there are so darn many ways to go with tunnels and stairs everywhere en http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-291552.html So lately Caroline Virginie and Virginie's parents have been hard at work doing yard work and construction with Caroline's new house. The newest improvement was the addition of the mailbox Yay we can finally get mail. Caroline said she would go to the post office and take care of the registration and write down the address for me to send to family and friends. Mail from US to France and back tak http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-290674.html