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Ok so ive been away for 3mths tomorrow and this is my first blog entry, a little slow i know. Internet time gets eaten up by travel bookings, responding to emails and the problems you face with using public or hostel computers!
So I have been in Italy for almost 5 weeks now and I have seen so much yet there is still so much to be seen. I started off in Rome where I caught up with Ang and we had a ball. A bit of drinking to be had, and boy was it classy drinking vodka and lemonade in the hostel and along the way to our restaurants followed by vino at the restaurant.
After several days in Rome seeing the sights I made my way to Napoli. From there I saw the sights of Napoli and Pompeii before heading off to Ischia an island off the coast. I spent my time relaxing and exploring the Island including a day trip to Capri. Of all the things your meant to do at Capri, see the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto) the weather was crap so I didnt get to see it :(
Ischia was followed by Sorrento and I used that as a base to the Amalfi Coast visitng Amalfi, Ravello and Positano all in the one day inlcuding swimming at Amalfi! On my way to Sicilia I decided to stop at Praia A Mare. I found a brochure for the place in my bag, it looked pretty cool, and before you know it im at the train station asking if i can get to Sicilia from there and booking a ticket to Praja. Then asking a guy on the train to use his phone and checking there was availability for me to stay and if they could pick me up in a few hours time when i arrived.
Everything i wanted to do and see in Praja never worked out. I even booked to leave but then the weather fined up and others were keen to do a boat trip, even though some had already done it, and so i decided to stay longer. So after changing my booking details and staying another night the weather was crap and didnt let me go to see the Grotto there. It left me wondering if all Grotto's had a conspiracy out against me as they werent letting me see them!?
I finally made it to Taormina in Sicilia but didnt stay as long as i expected before heading to Catania and Mt Etna a live volcano. Pretty cool to see the lava flow, vapour and hear rumblings! A day trip to Syracusa and then a trip over to Palermo and the gold church in Monreale left me saying goodbye to Sicilia and hello Northern Italy.
A night train took my to Firenze (Florence) where I stayed a couple of nights and in between visited Pisa and the leaning tower. I walked inside it and boy was it a weird feeling being pushed into the walls due to the gravity and inclination of the building.
From there I went to Certaldo in the countryside of Tuscany which was amazing and so glad i went. I did a cooking class, not as hands on as i would have liked, but we got to eat all the amazing food and i have the recipes ppl!!! I did a day trip to Siena and had a bike for a couple of hours to ride to and from town so pretty cool saying i rode a bike in Tuscany! The hostel/guesthouse and the ppl there were fantastic. We had this huge feast where everyone shared food, cooked together, drank, sang and most importantly ate outside almost like the last supper! It was sad leaving ppl but hopefully meet up again with some of them soon.
Then it was the Cinque Terre where i spent a whole day hiking through the 5 towns along the coast. It is similar to the Amalfi Coast and whilst the area is beautiful i think it could be a bit overrated. Maybe because ive heard so much about it i had higher expectations, who knows. It was pretty tough given the heat factor but thankfully it had some shade, not much, along the way.
I was making my way to Bologna when i found out there was a festival and no accomodation. So i got off the train earlier after borrowing someones ph again and stayed in Modena for the night whilst visiting Bologna during the day. There wasnt too much to see so i decided to start making my way to Venezia (Venice).
Towards the last minute, i decided to stay at Ferrara and booked a couple of hours before arriving. I had the time and it was on the way so thought I would visit the town and see what it had to offer.
Tomorrow I head to Venezia where i will most probably stay a couple of nights before visiting hopefully Verona for the Romeo and Juliet fans. Then it will be Milan quickly before I catch my flight from there to Spain.
Hopefully you have managed to stay with me through this blog. If i get a chance I will try and update you on the first 2 months of my trip that is missing from here!
Anyway, hope you are all well. Take care and hope to hear from you all soon!
Ciao xox
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