Coasting around and meeting the family

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So we were all pumped up for our 3 day tour down the Amalfi coast. We met our tour guide, Irene, who was from Florence. She seemed like a really bubbly fun person, although the first thing she said to us was "Okay so I know its really early, but you're not on the bus to sleep. We're here to have fun and get to know each other. So if I see anyone sleeping I'm going to come and wake you up" Tami and I both glanced at each other and you could tell by the looks we gave, if that woman even thought about disturbing us in our hungover state, heads would roll. So first things first, sleep......

A few hours later, after a quick toilet break, we were on the road again to Pompeii. Quick history lesson - Pompeii was buried beneath hundreds of feet of volcanic ash after Mt Vesuvis erupted in 79AD. Loads of people were killed, as the city was unprepared and didn't realise the volcano was due to erupt. Most people could have survived but being stubborn italians, they didn't want to leave their homes after the initial eruption and ended up choking to death on the poisonous gases. Typical italians! So history lesson over, we met up with a local tour guide and spent the afternoon walking around Pompeii. I was really suprised at the size of the city, I assumed it was just a small little village but the place was huge. It was amazing to see how well many things were preserved. Not only the architecture and the roads, but paint and frescoes too. You think about it, this paint is 2000 years old. I doubt Dulux makes paint that lasts that long! My only gripe with Pompeii is that it was ridiculously hot, so hot that all I wanted to do was get naked, but I didn't think that was the best idea. So after a few hours I was over it and wanted nothing more then a pool. Dont get me wrong, the place was amazing, and it reminded me of an ancient temple I saw in Peru - the frescoes were all perfectly preserved there too. But after two hours in the sun, I had seen enough. Lemon granita to cool us down, then back on the bus to Sorrento.

Arrived in Sorrento later that afternoon. The drive there was beautiful as the bus wound along the coast. We got to the hostel (which was another one of those camping ground hostels) and assumed we'd get stuck in a tent, like most of the other people on our tour. But through some stroke of luck, we got a dorm room! Woo hoo! And the view outside our window was simply amazing. Went into town for a brief tour of the city, then had some free time to shop and try Limoncello, a sweet lemon flavoured liqueur made in Sorrento. Tasty, but not really my thang. Met the rest of the group for dinner and had probably one of the best meals I've had so far in Italy. Irene our tour guide sat on our table and was convinced that Tami and I were a couple. I told her otherwise, but she still didn't believe me. Hmmm poor misguided tourguide....

Early start the next morning as we made our way to the Island of Capri. Caught the ferry over and slept, gee thats all I seem to do when I get on some form of transport. Capri was absolutely stunning. Took a boat trip around the island and just took way too many photos of the cliffs and rock formations out in the water. The water was a beautiful green colour and all I wanted to do was jump right in, but was a little scared that I might get left behind. Stopped off at the Blue Grotto which was one of the most beautiful and amazing things I've ever seen. It's an underwater cave that you enter in a small rowboat. But the scary thing is, the gap that you enter through is less then a metre high, so the driver of the boat has to time his entrance along with the tide. When the tide goes out the driver pulls the boat towards the entrance. He yells "Lie down" and then as the tide comes back in you get pushed through. It's very scary, especially when you're lying flat on your back and the rock is inches from your nose. But when we came out of the other side into the cave it was amazing. The water shimmers a luminous blue and the roof of the cave just sparkles with light. Unfortunately its too dark for any good photos to come out so I just sat back and took it all in.

Back on the boat and then onto the island for some beach time. The beach was beautiful, very rocky though. You couldn't sunbake on the shore coz the pebbles were just too hard. After Tami lay in the sun for 20 minutes she looked like she had bruises all over her body. I didn't want to risk it. So instead I swam around in the water and met this little Italian girl called Roberta. She was so excited that we had similar names, and even though I told her my italian wasn't very good she just wouldn't stop talking. I did pick up a few things, she is 5 years old, an only child and really wants her mum to have more children. She was really sweet, and when I left the water she called out to me "Ciao Roberto!" Oh bless her cotton socks.....

Got the bus up to Anacapri, the town that sits at the top of the island. We had to get a chair lift up which was really cool. Just going higher and higer and seeing the whole island, and then the ocean stretching out beneath you. It was a long ride up so in true thespian style Tami and I entertained ourselves by singing showtunes! The view was cool, so after taking some photos, we grabbed some gelati, and headed back to the ferry. Relaxing on a beautiful island all day can be really tiring so a quick dinner back at the hostel and then we hit the sack.

The only thing that annoyed me about about the Busabout tour was the early mornings. Do we really have to leave at 7am every morning? What made it worse on our last morning was that two guys were 20 minutes late. If I was the tourguide I would've just left without them, but she was kind, hmph! And we all knew exactly why they were late, they had been out at the pub till 6am! We were all tired and grumpy and so not in the mood. Finally they arrived, looking all smug and I wanted to hit them! Tami held me back, but gee if she hadn't been there...

Spent the day driving along the Amalfi coast through Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi. Got a chance to stop off in each of these towns, and although they were quaint and pretty, they were all a bit samy. Towns built on the side of a cliffs with specatular views of the ocean. You've seen one, you've seen them all. Don't get me wrong it was beautiful, but all these early mornings and late nights had started to wear me down and I was just too tired for it all. Drove through Naples and went past Mt Vesuvius. Its strange to think that a few days earlier we were in Pompeii which was destroyed by this volcano 2000 years ago, and yet today the city of Naples is flourishing just underneath it.

Got back to good ole Rome and had one last night at our hostel. In good old style had a drink or two with some new found busabout friends. Said goodbye to Tami the next morning, wasn't too sad though, I knew we'd see each other in London soon, and made my way to the train station to get my train to Lamezia. My parents grew up in a small town called Nicastro which is now part of the region of Lamezia, and although I've never met them I still have cousins living there. Typical Rob style I was late, and missed the train I had planned on getting. Thats okay, I thought, I'll just get the next one. Wrong! Every train was full until late that afternoon. Sitting around in the train terminal for 5 hours can get really boring. I slept (on the floor like a bum) and read my book (on the floor like a bum) and that was about it. It wasn't fun.

I was really nervous about meeting my family for the first time. My italian isn't that great and I knew only one of my cousins speaks a bit of english so I was really anxious. And spending a week with people who dont speak the same language can be daunting. So my cousin Nuccio and his girlfriend Ivana came to pick me up from the train station and already the language barrier was proving a difficulty. We chatted a bit (well as much as we could) then went down to the family beach house where I would be staying with Nuccio for the week. Met his parents Maria and Franco who spoke no english whatsoever and it was then that it sunk in how difficult it really was going to be. I went to bed nervous and anxious about the coming week.

I don't know what changed, but as the week went on Nuccio and I developed a way of understanding each other. We would ask each other loads of questions about how to say different things and by the end of the week I knew we had improved greatly. Even his mother Maria tried her best and in the end it was a bit of a running joke that we couldn't undestand each other. Staying at the beach house was great, coz every morning would start with an hour at the beach. What more can you want? Nuccio was the perfect host driving me all around the city and showing me all the old parts of town that my parents would have known. Went round to see a lot of my older cousins, which at times was awkward - one relative I met would have been in his 80's and although I told him I understand and speak minimal italian, he continued to talk to me as if I'd been speaking italian my whole life. And when I couldn't understand him he just spoke louder and more aggressively! But all in all it was good to meet my relatives and see where I came from. One cousin I met was the spitting image of my mother, very weird! I saw the house where my mother grew up, and that was really amazing. It really puts my life into perspective. Where she came from, how she grew up and everything that she has done to enable me to be in the situation I am today. It was a really special moment for me.

So apart from seeing my other relatives I spent the week in Nuccio's shoes. Riding around with him on his moped, which scared the shit out of me at first, but eventually I just loved it. Hanging out with his friends at the corner cafe sipping espresso and talking with our hands. Thats one thing which I found hilarious. I mean, I know enough italians to know that they cant talk without using their hands, but the italians that actually live in italy are so bad. I swear if you tied these guys hands behind their backs they'd be mute! I really had fun with Nuccio's friends, some of them even attempted a bit of english, and I just became known as Australia. Rather then call me Rob, it was just "Ciao Australia!". Too funny.

I ate so much food that week. I dont think I've eaten that much food since I was back home in Australia. They just pilled it on, and it wouldn't stop! I had to keep saying "Basta, basta!" whenever more food was pilled on my plate. While I was there Nuccio had just graduated from university so we went out on two seperate occasions for big fat italian dinners. It was just crazy, the food, the wine, everything was in excess. I kept telling Maria that I'm going to return to London a fat tanned man and no one will recognise me. She thought I was joking!

Went out to a few different bars during the week, one of them was a really cool club on the beach. Five different DJ's lined the beach each playing a different style of music, and bars kept the drinks flowing. It was so much fun, and really cool that it was all happening on the beach. I figured it must have been a special beach festival, but apparently it happens every night during the summer! Sweet! We all had a lot to drink, so when someone suggested skinny dipping, us boys couldn't refuse. It was hilarious, well we thought it was hilarious! Ivana and the other girls just shook their heads in shame...

My last day in Lamezia was spent at the beachside town of Tropea. This place was absolutely gorgeous. Cliffs and rocks line the shore, while the blue waters made me think of the Greek Islands. It was stunning. Although a few days earlier some people were injured when a section of a cliff collapsed, but hey that wouldn't stop us. So we litterally spent the whole day at the beach. There was about 15 of us, and we had such a great day. Lying in the sun, playing volleyball, jumping off the rocks into the water. I had to laugh though when lunch time came round. I knew we had organised to bring some food, I was thinking maybe a few rolls and drinks. But wait a second this is Italy remember. First up, two types of cheese, ham, salami and bread. Next, warm lasagne. Thats right warm lasagne, someone had got up in the morning and made two big trays of lasagne to bring to the beach. Next came the salads, of course there was three different types on offer, and finally just to finish you off, watermelon! My god, how is it that italians are not big fat cows? I just dont get it. And whatever happened to a casual picnic on the beach!!

After lunch I rolled onto my towel and fell asleep in the afternoon sun. I awoke and suddenly realised that I had spent three weeks in Italy and not once had I done anything stupid (apart from seeing the killer nuns in Rome) or not harmed myself in any way, shape or form. This is very unlike me. Thats okay, maybe my luck had changed. With my newfound luck, I decided to borrow Nuccio's snorkelling gear and go and have a look at all the fish and rocks. I was doing really well, that is until I saw this massive mushroom shaped rock with all these beautifully coloured fish swimming beneath it. I had to get a closer look. So I reached out and grabbed hold of the rock to pull myself closer. Unfortunately my left hand grabbed a massive sea urchin rather then the rock. I freaked out and swam to the surface to look at my hand. Sure enough I had four long black pin-like sticks, sticking out of my finger. I pulled three of them out (very painfully) but one got stuck under my nail and snapped off as I tried to get it out. I swam to shore and rather embarassedly tried to get it out using small stones, forks, anything I could get my hands on. No luck, this thing wouldn't come out and it was really painful. So sheepishly I showed some of the others what had happened, but after several attempts even they couldn't get it out. "Dont worry" Nuccio assured me "We'll get it out with tweezers when we get home" (All in italian of course). So I tried to enjoy the rest of my day in Tropea, but couldn't quite ignore the throbbing sensation in my finger.

Got back to Nuccio's and tried to get out with tweezers. No luck, then Maria tried with tweezers, pins and a full first aid kit. No luck there. I just assumed the stupid thing would fall out over time, but then I was told that if I didn't take it out it will get infected and I could get blood poisoning and die of septicema! Great, thats all I bloody need! And all coz I wanted to look at the pretty fishy! So off to the hospital we went. Got to the hospital, which was not very clean and scary looking, and got taken into a room. Nuccio waited outside while the doctor inspected the damage. He mumbled some crap in italian, then before I even realised what was going on, he grabbed a surgical blade and started scraping away under my nail. No gloves, no antiseptic, no warning like "Hey this might hurt like hell!" he just went at it! I have never been in so much pain in my life, I thought I was going to throw up. He just kept on scraping away and lifing my nail up. Then he stopped, surveyed the carnage, and went in for a second go. Although this time his strategy was to crave a chunk out of the top of my nail and rip it out. By this stage I thought I was going to faint and vomit and die all at once. The pain was excrutiating! Eventually I begged him to stopped. He probably just thought I was being a pansy but I didn't care. I was then told that I could just go on antibiotics to stop any infection, and that eventually it would grow out. He tells me that now!! Now, after all the pain! I took those dam drugs and got the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

What a way to spend my last night in Italy, in a friggen hospital! Nuccio kept calling me a "strunzo" which means idtiot, stupid, or you absolute wanker! I didn't care though, I was calling my self strunzo too. Had one last drink to end my time in Italy, and then went home.

The next morning I was quite sad to leave. I had rediscovered my roots and had really fallen in love with Italy. Nuccio and Ivana were sad to see me go and tried to convince me to stay. I was so grateful for all they had done for me and really proud of Nuccio whose english had improved dramatically. Hopefully I'll see them one day in Australia.

Back to London where I had 10 more days before heading off home. Hopefully I can last that long without being a total strunzo!

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Photos

Pompeii
Those stepping stones were used to cross the roads. A sewerage system wasn't in place so people used to throw their 'waste' on the road. Ewwww!

Sorrento
The gorgeous view from our hostel window.

Sorrento
Taste testing Limoncello, a lemon liqueur made in Sorrento

Island of Capri
I loved this rock formation out in the ocean.

The Blue Grotto
Making our way towards the entrance, very scary!

Island of Capri
Hey look at me!

Island of Capri
The rocks that made it so hard to sunbake.

Island of Capri
The view from Anacapri, the small town at the very top of the island.

Amalfi
It's very common for the spire on the tops of the cathedrals to be decorated in elaborate mosaics.

Amalfi
Cute little winding street

Comments

[Ryan]

a note
Oh god, that's funny. I laughed.

[Dad and Gig]

HOT!
You look HOT!

[silvana]

jealous
You look so good, and having a great time. I am so jealous, we want to be on that beach in Capri. Seeing you mums house bought back memories of my photos. See you soon. Have fun in Thailand and be careful. Luv ya.

[lu]

not long
omg ur blogs are sensational babe. ever thought of taking up writing? not long til we get to see u back home!!! xoxoxo