Bella Italia

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Following three weeks of Greek island hopping, I met up with Anna and four of her friends for a weeks sailing around the Southern Ionian. In contrast to our October trip, there were no major mishaps and our boat remained in one piece! Some strong winds made for some really exciting sailing and we had a fantastic week. Apart from day one, when it rained, we had great weather with a nice breeze which made the temperature perfect. Clare met up with us in Kefalonia and spent one day sailing with us before returning to Lefkas town. After the girls went home, Clare and I made our way across Greece by bus to Igoumenitsa and from there we got the overnight ferry to Bari, Italy. It was supposed to be a nine hour crossing, but the port was busy when we arrived and so we spent an extra four hours floating around out at sea. We were picked up by a family that Clare’s aunty knew of who were looking for someone to teach their kids English. We spent the day/night at their house in Conversano. They were a lovely family and very hospitable, so Clare decided to stay and give the teaching a weeks trial and I continued my travels on my own.

I arrived in Naples on Tuesday 20 June and it wasn’t long before I came to the conclusion that Naples is a “Marmite” city - “you either love it or hate it” and as with Marmite, I hated it! It probably didn’t help that on the first night I lost my cash card or had it stolen, I wasn’t sure which and so had to get it cancelled and then transfer funds to a different account. I thought the card had been used by someone else when the bank told me the lowly balance on the account, but after going through all the transactions I discovered that alas, no it was just me spending too much! So what can I say about Naples? Well you definitely put your life at risk every time you tried to cross the road. The traffic is non-stop, an onslaught of mad drivers therefore resulting in constant noise and horrendous pollution from car fumes. You weren’t even safe in the narrow streets or pedestrian areas thanks to the kamikaze mopeds! Having said all that, loads of people love Naples, so don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself! I escaped the smog and headed for the relative peace and quiet of the beautiful Amalfi coast. A two hour boat trip took me to Amalfi and from there I got the white-knuckle, hairpin bends bus trip up to Ravello, a pretty village with stunning views of the coast. I trekked back down to Amalfi via hundreds of steep steps, passing through lemon groves, and then went to Positano, the playground for the rich with exclusive hotels clinging to the surrounding hills.

Naples reaffirmed my dislike for big cities and so I was apprehensive about heading to Rome. I had been to Rome previously, but on both occasions it had absolutely poured down with rain and we got drenched trying to see the sights. It was certainly third time lucky though with bright blue sky which allowed me to wander at leisure. I instantly loved Rome. It’s a much brighter and cleaner city where the traffic seems less obtrusive. You can meander through the streets and just when you think you’ve seen it all, you turn the corner and find another fantastically impressive building or monument. On Saturday night the road leading to the Colosseum was closed to traffic and we couldn’t figure out why until we found ourselves in the middle of the Rome Gay Pride procession. Needless to say, we got to see some even more fascinating sights that weren’t listed in the guide books!

After two days in Rome I headed for Perugia in Umbria and stayed for four nights. It was a lovely town high on a hill and a great place for exploring surrounding towns such as Cortona and Assisi which were easily reached by regional trains. You know you’re in Tuscany/Umbria as you pass the numerous fields filled with gorgeous sunflowers. There is a great evening vibe in Perugia where everyone takes their drinks and sits on the steps of the cathedral which overlooks the main piazza. It was particularly buzzing when Italy won yet another World Cup game. The locals went mad and the car horns didn’t stop honking for a good couple of hours. On Monday nights in Perugia, the cinema shows films in English (with Italian subtitles) for only four euros. The best bit about this being that the cinema is housed in the ornate Teatro del Pavone and if you’re lucky you get to grab a posh box seat. Just on the outskirts of Perugia is La Perugina, a huge chocolate factory which makes the famous Italian Baci chocolate, amongst other things. You can go there for a free tour and can sample as many free chocolates as you can eat. Needless to say I took full advantage of this and felt somewhat ill afterwards!

Next stop was Florence. The Duomo is an amazing building and the view from Piazza Michelangelo with the sun setting over Florence was beautiful, but I have to admit that I didn’t see much more of the city. Instead I used it as a base to visit San Gimignano and Siena by bus. I went to Siena on 1 July and the locals were busy preparing for Il Palio, a medieval spectacle which is held on 2 July and 16 August each year. It involves a race of ten horses and their bareback riders haring three times around the Piazza del Campo. Each of the ten teams represents a different district of Siena and every team decorates one of the streets off del Campo with flags, plaques and fancy lighting fixtures. Just from the preparations you could tell that the atmosphere would be amazing on race day. However having seen the pictures of spectators crammed into the square and the fact that in order to get a decent spot you have to arrive at least four hours before the race and wait in the stifling heat, we decided not to go. Instead a group of us at the hostel in Certaldo clubbed together to make dinner, watched the minute long race on TV and drank copious amounts of vino.

From Florence I had intended to go to Bologna and then Verona, but on investigating train times I found that it was then going to take me five hours and several train changes to get to Cinque Terre where I planned to spend my last few days in Italy. I was also ready for a break from cities and dashing around sightseeing and so instead ended up in Certaldo, staying in a converted convent in the Tuscan countryside. Unfortunately the mosquitoes from Florence followed me there and I was quickly covered in lovely red, splodgy bites. There was also an incident where a scorpion tried to make its way into my rucksack, but luckily one of the guys caught it just in time otherwise I could have been in for a big surprise at some point! In spite of all this, the hostel was fab, with a really relaxed atmosphere, helpful staff, lots to do (if you could be bothered!) and the luxury of a swimming pool in the gardens. It was very tempting to stay longer in Certaldo, but with only a week to go I thought I should move on and so went to Lucca for a couple of days. Lucca is hidden within its city walls with most traffic banned therefore making it a lovely relaxed place to chill out in. On the second day, I got caught out and soaked in a rainstorm and that night there was a massive thunderstorm which thankfully then made the temperatures more bearable the next day. Up until that point the heat and humidity in Italy had been stifling, even at night, and yet the Italians still managed to look cool and glamorous, whereas I just looked a permanent wreck! Every year in Lucca they hold a summer festival which started on Friday with Eric Clapton. Charlotte (a girl I had met in the hostel) quite fancied going, but neither of us were keen to pay the forty euros for a ticket so we cheated and went to listen from a side street adjacent to the piazza where the concert was being held. Ten minutes into the concert a guy approached us and gave us a free ticket, so we then decided to splurge and went halves on another ticket. Neither of us knew many of the songs, but it was a great gig with a nice small audience, but good atmosphere.

On Saturday I moved on to Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast. It was such bliss to be back on the coast again with a sea view from my Manarola hostel and even more welcoming was a cooling sea breeze - at last a bit of relief from the extreme heat! Cinque Terre is made up of five villages and there is a 12km coastal walk which links them and I did this on Sunday. The first stretch from Monterosso to Vernazza was a bit of a killer with hundreds of steps uphill and the second stretch to Corniglia wasn’t much easier. Thankfully from there to Manarola and the final leg to Riomaggiore was far less strenuous. In summer they recommend that you do the walk either early morning or late afternoon, so being the idiot that I am I did it in the middle of the day! Worth the effort though for the views and allowed me the excuse for more gelato and pizza! That evening I met up with Charlotte again and we went for dinner and then on to watch the World Cup Final. What a nail biter, but so great to be in the thick of it and witness the Italians singing and chanting throughout the match. It goes without saying that they were ecstatic to win! Cinque Terre was a lovely location to spend my last few days relaxing. My final evening was spent in Pisa and I loved the Leaning Tower. It really does defy gravity and looks as though it could topple at any moment.
Travelling on my own again has been fine as I’ve met some great people to socialise with along the way. I had to plan ahead a bit more in Italy as, due to it being high season, a lot of the hostels were booked up in advance which took a bit of getting used to after the laid back pace and easy going travelling in Greece. One recommendation would be to go earlier or later in the season when it’s cooler and quieter. It’s also worth checking out hostels carefully as they can be expensive and some have annoying lock outs during the days which mean that you can’t access the hostel. Having said all that, Italy is beautiful and I definitely enjoyed my time there!

Thursday 13th July and it's time to fly back to the UK from Pisa and back to reality!

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