Travelling Solo

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Following our epic time in Sicily with the girls, Laura and I split off for a few days and headed to Naples - the REAL Italy. This city is raw. I mean there are families that live in appartments 6 stoires up and lower a bucket down to collect fresh produce every morning. We had an amazing time staying with my mom's friends Pam and Mike. It was so nice to be in a home again and Pam is an
amazing cook - even the 3 days of rain were bearable when we came home to her incredible meals.

Meeting back up with the Charlotte and Kayla in Rome, we spent numerous days seeing the sights and many nights meeting locals, attending Neckversaries, meeting the legendary traveler who got caught steeling a boat (great story, ask me about it!) and riding around the city on scooters. Laura left a few days into Rome to start her aupairing work in France. I continued on with the girls and said goodbye to them in Milan.

So I was all alone. Just me. All by myself... 😞 okay. actually it wasn't so bad. I headed first to Venice and met a Kiwi guy, Izak, on the train there, who was happy to sit in the park with me drinking beer. Yup, got along fabulously. I couchsurfed with a really cool guy named Titziano and hung out in my new favorite city, Venice, for a couple days. Izak and I met up with a couple french girls who he had met a few months ago. I got to play translator for the day (don't ask me how the hell they originally met when they didnt speak the same language at all!) I was just blown away by Venice- this amazing city that is half underwater where people go about their daily business all by boat. I even saw a hearse boat carrying a coffin to the cemetery.

From Venice I continued on the Verona, the home of Romeo and Juliet. Outside the balcony where
Romeo receited love poems to Juliet (yes, the balcony exists) is an entire wall where people have posted love notes to those they adore - very sweet. From Verona I moved to Varese where I stayed with a very nice couple who took me to their favorite restaurants and introduced me to Reiki: a japanese technique for stress reduction and healing using one anothers energy.

I bolted on to Lyon for a few days before catching my flight to London. And here I am, back home (well the closest thing I have to a home here). I can't get enough of London. So much to do, so much to see, and the people I stay with here are wicked! Tom and I drink together, Craig and Kat cook me awesome Irish dinners (mmmm potatoes!), Dee and I shop and gossip and Mikey tells me all about his woes of teaching highschoolers. So pretty much, i'm set up! 😊

So i'm off to Austria tomorrow to start my training for work. Hopefully Laur and I will be reunited
soon - for some serious SNOWBOARDING!

You'll have to wait until the next posting to find out what Laura's been up to!

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