Blogs from Campania, Italy, Europe - page 95

No bus to Vesuvius This is not a regular travelblog of mine, but I was reminded of our experience of Italian taxi-drivers when I read Shaheema Shaw's blog "Madam, Only Rs.40 to Nowhere" about a Chennai auto-driver. This was way back in the summer of1989 when we had taken a Eurail tour. We had planned to visit Vesuvius that day and had arrived at the Ercolano Scavi station from Naples. It was about 2:15 PM and I had read from Fodor's that there are regular buses to the top of Vesuvius every 2 hours. (No widespread Internet usage in India in those days.) We wanted to take the 2:30 PM bus. Ercolano was a sleepy little station in those days. There were only three taxis outside the station. As soon as we stepped out of the ... read more

Well, I hate to say it, but I have found a place I hate. And it happens to be in a country I love. Naples is crap! Seriously, they should warn you about this and say No. Just Don't Go There. But they don't and here we are. Naples is terrible, but first, a little bit about our last few days in London... After a couple of days of pure recovery from the Contiki we set about being tourists again and went to the Tower of London. It is expensive, £16 to be exact, but totally worth it. The Tower of London was built by William *is that his name?* the Conqueror who decided that he would build himself a defence fort right up against the eastern wall of London, which was established by the ... read more

The “Monuments” of Avellino take about twenty minutes to see. There’s the clock tower in the Old Town, Il Duomo (the domed church) and a fountain. If you are looking for tourist attractions and to take pictures of grand cathedrals and famous statues, skip Avellino head straight to Rome and get your camera ready. But if you want a true Southern Italian experience pull off of the autostrade and take the small, winding road inland to Avellino. Here you will get a taste of Italian hospitality at its finest and some of the most amazing food in the world. In Avellino, you don’t observe Italy; you live it. The village of Avellino is at the foot of a valley just a forty minute drive from Naples, or Napoli in Italian. I had expected country bumpkins and ... read more

The first nights in Avellino were difficult. To say that I was homesick is not sufficient. I had lived abroad before, and loved it. But it had been so long since I had been truly independent. I had become too reliant on my relationship, which was one of the reasons that I left, but I had not prepared myself for how truly alone I would be. There is a thin line between independence and loneliness, and I was terrified that I had crossed it. An even bigger fear was that I had permanently lost a part of myself by relying on someone else for too long. The second night I walked up and down the streets—there was a fair and vendors were set up selling everything from antiques to toys to children’s books. I was relieved ... read more

Fridays LOW: That stupid hostel rule. Fridays HIGH: Much needed girl talk. We slept in Friday because the weather wasnt going to be good, but eventually I got up andd grabbed breakfast for mom and I from the Bar Internazionale at the corner. One thing that bothers me here is that they dont really do coffee to go. The coffee is amazing, but its done as like espresso and therefore doesnt come in the big cup you can enjoy for more than a minute. Anyways, I spilt coffee on myself on the way back to the hostel. When I came back, Lucy (the girl who works at the hostel) gave me a funny look. She then came to tell me that they have a 10am-2pm lock out to clean. Not knowing this I had to tell ... read more