Me in the Monsoons

Everyone raves about the island of Capri, on the coast line near Naples, like its the most blessed place on earth. I thought, ok, must be cool. So we checked it out on a sunny morning via ferry from Amalfi. Scenically, yes, its lovely. But then again, its nothing more spectacular than the coastline of the mainland. The big difference is, of course, that its an island, and islands draw a number of people including: tourists looking for day trip places that will sound exotic on postcards they send home to relatives sitting behind office desks; rich people who need outlets to spend exhorbitant amounts of dirty money and a preferably small place where they can find like-funded brand wearers; and famous people who, well, I don't know any famous people. Capri is their place. Its ... read more

I'm sitting here under a big old tree on the grassy city walls of Lucca, lapping up the glorious afternoon sun and watching people italian-style. Everyone continuously tells me that the Italians prance around when they walk. I hadn't really seen it until today, but up here overlooking the town, I know what they were talking about. There's couples holding hands and lingering over a kiss; elegant - always elegant - elderly ladies walking their miniature dogs; fathers chasing two year olds from one side of the wall to the other, yelling Claudia, Ciara, ciao!, their words a melody. There's a group of old men sitting around a wooden table, playing chess in deep concentration. Everyone is watching on, heads bent over the moving pieces, each one made of marble from Carrara, I assume. They all ... read more

The light floods into the bedroom early here in Venice; through the double window high above my bed, across the roofs of the city, to wake me up (relatively) early. I sit up on the rollercoaster mattress, stretch my arms, and opps, I've hit them on the beam above; I'm in a loft, afterall. One that would pass no building standards anywhere in the world other than here in Italy, and maybe in Mongolia for reasons more related to average citizen height than any sort of logic. Deep breath - ahhh, the not so fresco, fresh, Venetian air; the room is the ultimate dust bowl, but not just any dust, I'm talking old dust, 1789 era dust, dust that has been sitting here for a very good while. Yuck, I'm glad I'm not asmatic or susceptible ... read more

Have you ever fallen really hard and really far in love? Have you ever been dizzied by it, swayed by it, warmed by it as though you are under the gentlest yet warmest rays of sun? Have you ever been so in love that you'd nearly rather not go to sleep in case you might miss a moment of it? Well, I have. Just now. Again. My heart belongs to Berlin. I fell in love with her once before, a few years ago on a fleeting visit to her streets, but this time its even more serious. How do I know? Because she hasn't let me down. All the love I retained for her from my last trip has just been reenforced, made stronger. The streets are more alive than I remembered; the people are crazier ... read more

We're on the platform, one of the many U Bahn platforms, undergrounds, of Berlin's nothing-but-awesome public transport web. We wait a few minutes for the U3 that will take us from Nollendorfplatz to the Potsdamerplatz, the first famous cultural stop on our inaugural day in this fascinating city. Here it comes, clad in canary yellow and fire engine red; people begin to congregate towards the edge of the platform as the U Bahn slows, then comes to a halt. The doors open by the press of a little green button in the centre. In we go. Its crammed, fairly full. We have obviously caught a busy line, as there's no seats. But we can all confortably stand by the door. Eva reads a little too loudly from the Berlin guide we bought a week ago at ... read more