Month: June 2011

June 19^th

I arrived in Florence around 5pm, quite hung over and sleep deprived from the previous night in Rimini. While checking out the fab hostel (complete with gym, sauna, pool, and rooftop terrace) I ran into Ben!! I met him at the hostel in Positano (my most favourite place so far, and everyone else’s who has stayed there). I was so shocked and happy to see a familiar face, I nearly cried!! This night I took it easy, and after hanging on the terrace for while, I headed back to my room to go in the sauna.  Back in the room (8 person female dorm), I met Holly, a lovely girl from Australia who I just clicked with!

June 20^th

The previous night I had signed up for a wine tour through the hostel in Chianti. Funnily enough there were about 7 Vancouverites on the tour, and no Americans!! First we stopped in a little town called Greve to browse around and shop (btw it was blue skies and about 34 degrees this day!). Afterwards we headed to Lorenzo’s villa (an Italian count), which was passed down to his family from the Puccini’s.  Lorenzo is about 26, has big blue eyes, is loaded, can cook, and lives in a Tuscan villa, oh btw, did I mention he’s single!? We had an amazing lunch and tasted 2 different glasses of red wine (both from Lorenzo’s vines). After we moved on to a Grappa tasting (40% alcohol) and were lucky enough to have the guide give us extra alcohol in the form of various Italian liqueurs. What a great day, and by the end I was definitely tipsy.

Once I got back to the hostel, Holly and I met up as planned to go into the sauna. After we got back to the room we met two girls from Texas who had already been in Florence for about 7 nights…they have us the low down on where to eat and go out afterwards. Right before leaving we also met a girl from Ottawa, who I invited out with us as well. We headed out to Acqua al Due (recommended to us by about 4 diff people), which the Texan girls had gone to previously and loved. Unfortunately, it was packed, with over a 2 hour wait, so we went to another restaurant nearby. It was great, but we were all quite disappointed to have missed out on Acqua, so we made a reservation for the 5 of us the following evening. After dinner and wine we headed to Naima’s (bar/lounge) which the Texan girls had been going to. 1 euro shots and free alcohol made for a good start to the night, not to mention a drop dead gorgeous bartender. After Naima’s we bar hopped a bit, before coming back for closing, more liquor, and to hit the clubs with the owners and bartenders. Went out to a club called twice, and then when that closed, back to Naima’s for the after party. Surprisingly the funniest part of the night happened when we all arrived back at the hostel room… Where we found an extremely intoxicated drunk girl sleeping in Holly’s top bunk. We woke her up and she promptly began gathering Holly’s belongings in attempt to take them with her to her bunk (I suppose she thought they were hers in her drunken stupor). At this time, I am keeled over on my bottom bunk below, unable to stop laughing. The entire room was woken up, but for good reason!

The next day I found out the person who carried her up to our room ironically was Ben!!

June 21^st

Quite tired as per usual by now. Another super hot day in Florence and my first day walking in the city sober. Walked all around while Holly and Melanie waited in line to see David (girl from Ottawa), went to the market and had about 10 different kinds of biscotti. Determined to make use of the hostel’s sauna, after a nap, I rejuvenated once again in there with Holly. Then we all (2 Texan girls, Holly, Melanie, and I) headed out to Acqua al Due for our 9:30 reservation. Wow, what an amazing meal. Holly and I shared the steak sampler (balsamic, rosemary, and blueberry steaks)…and everyone else simply ordered the blueberry steak (the famous award winner)…whew, so damn tasty. Once again after our dinner and wine, we headed out to Naima’s, after we bar hopped, then went straight to twice. Well Twice was packed this night, impossible to move around too much. We did end up meeting 2 extremely nice (and chatty!) Polish guys. Turned out to be an awesome night.

June 22nd

The next day Melanie and I were unable to check back into the hostel as it was fully booked and we were a little late, so I decided to catch the next train to Grenoble. Wow…never moved so quickly in my life.

The train from Florence to Milano was your typical super nice Italian fast train, but when I had to switch in Milano to the TGV from Milan to Paris I was shocked. Clearly the train had not been cleaned before the trip and half of the seats were falling apart. Luckily I was sitting in Car 8 (the last car) and apparently there is a private section at the very back reserved for the Italian police (i.e. mafia). Anyways, I guess the Old Italian sitting back there with his 3 hot business women, overheard me complaining to this French guy about the French trains, and invited us to join him. I got so lucky as I really needed some sleep, and in the other cabin there was a baby = nonstop noises. I got to relax in probably the only nice cabin in the train! Arrived in Chambery a little late, and somehow managed to make it onto the bus to Grenoble just in time. On the bus I met an American Mormon…who would have thought! Sort of bizarre. Anyways, it was quite bizarre to come home to a stormy Grenoble, as when I left it had been sunny and hot for about 2 months straight, but now, 2 days since I’ve been here it’s back to that smoldering heat and sun!

Got to maintain my tan before I come back to Canada! Only 5 more days and I am home…honestly I cannot wait!

June 17th

Arrived in Rimini at about 4 pm. Headed straight to the beach, which was not nearly as nice as Positano or Cinque Terre, but still a relief from the heat. Met a bunch of people who I partied with that night. One of the hostel bartenders was flambuoyantly gay and the night was a total riot.

June 18th

Despite everyone being hungover, got a group together to daytrip it to San Marino (independent country, like the Vatican sort of), no taxes. It was gorgeous there, perched on top of a large hill, we could see for miles. Had a lovely lunch then headed back to the hostel. Naps then another night much the same as the previous one.

I am leaving so much out of this trip because I met so many different and hilarious people that it is impossible to type it all. Stories will have to wait to be in person!

Once again photos soon!

June 10^th

I arrived in Bassano Del Grappa at 9 pm, where Giorgia, Paolo, and Ornella were waiting for me at the station, camera poised and ready! What a great welcome. We went for dinner at a really tasty Asian restaurant and afterwards to a gelateria where I had the best gelato of my trip to Italy. Then we went to Giorgia’s home in Pagnano Asolo (where I stayed for the week), where I met Giacomo (Giorgia’s bro), Laurance and Paride (parents, Paride is Ornella’s Brother).

June 11^th

Breakfast at home, then went for lunch at a pizzeria in Bassano Del Grappa with an even better dessert spread of profiteroles, tiramisu, and lemon bomb. Next we (Giorgia, Giacomo, Laurance, Paride, Ornella, and Paolo) went to visit the famous wooden bridge and to the alpino museo. Then Paolo, Ornella and I had a tasting of Grappa at the distillery and some local piccante spread at a shop.

After Bassano we stopped in San Zenone (where Bruno Rinaldo was born) at Bortolo (Bruno’s brother) and Silvana’s home. Their home is right next to where the Rinaldo house used to stand, you can see the well where they used to draw water from (it has dried up now). Silvana served us all some homemade pannetone and cantucci, while we drank an apertivo.

Later this night Giorgia and I went to Il Muretto, a club in Jesolo right near the beach, with her boyfriend Giordano. In the morning we slept on the beach.

June 12^th 

Woke up on a gorgeous beach. Eventually went back to Pagnano around 4. Laurance and Paride cooked a great dinner of Mediterranean fish (Orato and another starting with a b) and Laurance made a really tasty Parisian cucumber side dish which I will definitely be making back in Canada! For dessert we had Ornella’s famous tiramisu

June 13^th

Giorgia and I took the train to Venice, visited the sights, and bought some souvenirs. Venice is really beautiful, but much the same! This night we had dinner at Silvana (Bruno’s sister) and Luigi’s. Great veggie risotto, ham and melon, and fritas for dessert. After dinner we looked at old family photos…such a good time!

June 14^th

Missed the train to Padova, so Giorgia and I went to the market in Castelfranco where I bought some great stuff for fam back at home! We had lunch then caught the next train to Padova. It was extremely hot this day and the bus ride to Villa Pisani seemed a lot longer than it was…but it was worth it

http://www.villapisani.beniculturali.it/en/index.php

Then we went to the church of San Antonio in Padova (really famous and massive church), I loved the vibe of Padova, full of students and extremely beautiful! I want to go back, maybe to study Italian!

When we got back to Castelfranco we took an apertivo with Paolo and Ornella before the epic Rinaldo and company family dinner at a resto in Castelfranco. Rosa, Silvana, and Severina (Bruno’s 3 sisters) were there, among many others. Of course there was Giorgia, Giacomo, Laurance, Paride, Ornella, Paolo, Luigi (Silvana’s husband), Firmino (Severina’s husband), Ivano, Manola, etc etc! Phew, well let me tell you, I had an image in my head of what it would be like to live with an Italian family for one week…well I had underestimated the velocity and sound level of every aspect!

June 15^th

Relaxing day at the outdoor pool in Montebelluna with Giorgia and friends. Then a great aperitif in Asolo (where Paride and Laurance met) in the centro storico (walled in center of the town). After exploring the town a bit and watching the races we headed back home where Laurance served a fabulous Chinese dinner followed by chocolate cake.

June 16^th

My last day in Pagnano, relaxed, planned remainder of trip. Had to buy a new camera and say goodbye to relatives. Went to Paride’s factory where Ornella and Silvana work, then went with Silvana to Rosa’s house to say good-bye. After to Severina’s to say ciao. That night Giacomo, Giorgia and I had a great dinner at Ornella and Paolo’s. Paolo gave me a tasting of some strong liquor, 70% called 100 herbs (the recipe is a secret), and gave me a large bottle to take home. Also had grappa and one other thing, if Paolo can help me here with this one…

June 17^th

Early the next morning, Paolo drove me to Bassano del Grappa to take the train to Rimini.

Staying with my family was crazy! So much Italian, it was a little hard sometimes and I felt as if I had lost my voice because I spoke so little (Paolo speaks very good English and Girogia was the only other person who really spoke any English, but Laurance and I could speak French together). Everyone was so generous and welcoming, I definitely was fed very well and fell in love with the area. Asolo is gorgeous, as is Bassano. I will definitely be back to Italy!

pictures to  come soon!

June 7^th – 7 pm

Arrived at Hostel Brikette, which is perched at the top of Positano. Cosimo (the front desk guy) immediately offered to carry my bag up the stairs…I knew this would be an awesome place once I saw the view from the veranda. I immediately booked another night ;). I stayed in an 8 person dorm, met a heck of a lot of Canadians…even about 5 from Vancouver! This night we all (staff included) partied on the deck.

June 8^th

After hearing a lot of stories the previous night of travel and Positano, I was itching to get down to the beach and explore. After a great breakfast courtesy of Ashley, I headed down the 700 stairs, stopping way too often to snap a photo of the endless views. Went to the more private beach and rented sun chairs. Halfway through the afternoon I went to one of the alimentary (grocery stores…which are super small and run by families), explained to the woman that I was going to buy ingredients to have a salad on the beach. Hearing this she offered to make it for me, and proceeded to concoct the most delicious salad ever. The service here is amazing. Later that day we hiked back up the 700 stairs to the hostel when I discovered I had no cash left and the only ATM’s are in the center (i.e.: at the bottom of the 700 stairs)…so down I go again. Took the bus back up though, with gelato in hand.

That evening, even more Canadians arrived…2 of the girls and I found out we all live within about a 5 block radius from each other, one of them goes to UBC, the other is great friends with my one of my best friends at UVIC!! It was cool to meet each other in Positano!!! This night we had an epic sized drinking game of King’s Cup. After everyone could barely leave the table, we decided to hike down the 700 stairs to go to the only club in Positano, called Music on the Rocks. It is a really sweet club in a cave on the water…highly expensive though. The hike back was not the best, let me tell you.

 

Ashley, Cosimo, and I

June 5th

I arrived in Rome at 8pm. Walked about 5 blocks to my hostel called “The Yellow”, and walked into what appeared to be a raging bar called the Yellow…nope, this was my hostel! Checked in, rented an iPad (for free!), showered and went downstairs to redeem my free drink tickets. Normally you just get one welcome drink of your choice, but I had met a few people in Cinque Terre who stayed at the Yellow, and gave me their extra tickets! Not only that, but one of the girls I met in Cinque Terre told me to go talk to the bartender named Angus and tell him that Trixie sent me. Of course I did this after having a couple free drinks (mojitos and Italian margheritas), and got a few more out of it. Met a lot of different people!

June 6^th

Regretting the previous night and sugary drinks, I attempt to pull myself together to go to the Vatican before I meet up with some people for a walking tour I signed up for through the hostel of Rome at 2pm. Luckily I met a girl who was doing the exact same thing, so off we went to the Vatican after a few setbacks…hangover related. It was so busy, quite a shock after being in Cinque Terre for 4 days, with hardly any cars. There were a lot of tourists in Cinque Terre, but no lines, unlike Rome. Almost everything has a wait unless you pay big bucks to join a tour. I would love to go back to Rome in the down season. Pizza in Rome is lovely though!

So at 2pm after braving the crowds at the Vatican, bearing the heat as we had to dress conservatively, and going back to the hostel to change as it was just too damn hot, we met the tour guide at Circo Massimo metropolitan fermata. This tour wasn’t your typical pre-recorded boring tour, that everyone gets…which is why we signed up (the tour company is called Roaming all around Rome). Our guide was the co-owner of the company and graduated with a degree in Classical studies and a minor in business – makes sense, no? The tour was awesome, we got the full history of Rome’s creation, myths included…Justin was extremely funny and the sights were a lot more interesting while listening to his commentary and imagining what happened so long ago in these spots. Some of the places we visited were the Palatine hill, Pantheon, Colosseum, and a lot more which I will post once I look the tour up online. Stopped for pizza and gelato mid-tour of course. After the tour ended at about 7 pm, we headed back to the hostel for a catnap and much needed shower. I vowed not to drink too much this night, which was surprising success. Hung out with Aussies and a lot of Quebecers. Didn’t get to watch the Canuckles unfortunately.

June 7^th

Anne and I had plans to go to a market in Testaccio, so we took the metro there after I checked out at 10am. The market was awesome, we really liked being out of the middle of the city and away from all the tourists. I bought a lot of fruit and biscotti! After about 2 hours we headed back to the hostel because I had to catch the train to Salerno at 2pm. On the train right now, arriving in Salerno at 4pm, then I will take a short bus ride to Positano. Checked the forecast, and it is going to be gorgeous while I am there.

I’ve got to say, Rome was a little too touristy for me, and I think I would enjoy it a lot more in the off season…I will definitely be back!!! Right now super stoked to go to Positano and Ischia, and even more excited to be getting closer to staying with the relatives!!

Okay…update:

Just arrived in Positano after 2.5 hours of hot bus rides and winding roads! Ahhh. Quite crazy, the bus had to stop so many times and reverse because we could not pass through narrow points. Not to mention a crazy drunk Italian guy was talking to me and following me, he finally got off at the stop before mine! The hostel here is amazing! People are so wonderful, especially the front desk guy. I am doing a cruise to the island of Capri in 2 days! Holy smokes life is lovely once you get there

The day started at 4:45 am. Caught the bus from Grenoble to Montmelian, train from Montmelian to Modane, Modane to Milan, Milan to La Spezia, and La Spezia to Riomaggiore. When I arrived at the train station in Milan I knew I was officially in Italy when an Italian train official helped me with my baggage, flailing his arms around trying to communicate with me in my very broken Italian, before saying goodbye with over 30 “ciao ciaos’s”. The train from La Spezia to Riomaggiore was gorgeous…all along the Mediterranean coast, going in and out of tunnels, past tiny villages. Now when I booked my hostel, the common theme with hotels/hostels in Cinque Terre is that no one can check in after 6pm because that is “family time”. Of course the train to Milan was late and I didn’t arrive in Riomaggiore until 7:45. The guy at the hostel desk informed me that my booking had been cancelled…I was sort of in shock, and when he offered me a couch to sleep on I said yes far too quickly! After taking only 6 euro’s off my first nights stay (the other 2 nights I was in a normal bed), he informed me I would be sharing a room with 2 guys, and began to laugh manically at me. At this point I was quite happy to have finally arrived after 12 hours of travel, so tried to shrug it off. Anyways, he carried my luggage up a ton of stairs to the dorm; luckily the room I was in was part of a larger dorm so it wasn’t a big deal.

Immediately I met 3 Aussie girls and 2 guys from Philadelphia (one who is working in New York, and one in LA). Went out for crepes and Bruschetta in Manarola (20 min walk along the via dell Amore to the next village). After we (us 4 girls) met up with the others at Bar & Vini, a super cool self serve lounge overlooking the harbor in Riomaggiore, where we tried the Cinque Terre vino rosa and Cinque Terre dry white wine. The red was amazing.

June 3^rd

Blue skies. Went for my first Italian cappuccino by the ferry dock. The regional trains running between the 5 villages of Cinque Terre were on strike this day from 9-5, so we had to take the ferry to Monterosso (the furthest village to the West, largest, and most touristy) to begin the hike. The ferry ride was lovely, after arriving in Monterosso we started the hike to Vernazza.

Really hot and humid, with a lot of stairs, was made enjoyable by the scenery and amazing views, oh and the conversation.

 

Once we arrived in Vernazza, we took a swim at the beach (my first time in the Med. Sea)…it was awesome, super salty.

After having lunch and visiting a small castle, began the hike to Corniglia (the least touristy town, as it is perched on a cliff)…a quick storm began as we were just coming into Corniglia, which we welcomed without knowing the consequences…

 Apparently any time in rains in Cinque Terre, the bugs attack. Well let me tell you, they certainly attacked. Due to a landslide between Corniglia and Manarola, we couldn’t hike that part, so had to wait for the trains to begin again. Killing some time we had gelato (peach and strawberry!), then bought some limoncino (about 15-20% alcohol, made from the lemons that are grown in Cinque Terre)…which tastes like a lemon lollipop. At 5 we walked down all the stairs to the train station where a heck of a lot of tourists and Italian on vacation were waiting as well, twitching, and swatting the bugs. Here we met some people from Hawaii and Texas. The first train finally came at 6:30 pm and I promptly hightailed it to take a shower to get the million bugs out of my hair. Back at the hostel I met another girl named Marianne from Quebec, who is also travelling Italy alone! Went out for dinner at one of the restaurants and had Ligurian seafood linguini: fantastico! Finished off with tiramisu and espresso corretto (with liqueur). There really is no night life in Cinque Terre, except for casual drinking…so we joined some Irish guys from Cork for a really entertaining evening. Quite hilarious and hard to understand accents (more so than Dubliner’s)

June 4^th – Saturday

2 cappuccinos this morning. Went with Marianne to a gorgeous swimming spot in Manarola where we spent the afternoon, jumping off rocks and lying in the sun. For lunch we took the train to Corniglia (my favorite town) to have foccaccia sandwiches and gelato.

 After going back to Riomaggiore to shower, we went out to Bar & Vini again and had a seafood salad, with cantucci and pie for dessert. We then took some wine to the harbor to sit on the rocks and watch midnight swimmers and a lightning show. We met a guy who grew up in Riomaggiore, but now teaches English now in Florence…he happily shared his bottle of limoncino with us.

June 5th – Sunday

2 cappuccinos and a local cake slice. Went to Monterosso (only village I hadn’t really explored yet) on the train with 2 guys from LA who took some amazing photos for me!! Will post them one he emails them to me. Also talked to some girls from Coquitlam who stayed at the same hostel I am staying at in Roma (The Yellow). They reassured me it was the best choice and now I have instructions to speak to Angus the bartender, to tell him that Trixie sent me, a reward being a free shot.

 Had pesto foccaccia in Monterosso before I had to hop on the train back to Rio to check out. Rushed madly to buy some food, pack, and lug my bags down all the stairs to cast the 13:50 train to La Spezia. In La Spezia I took the 16:00 train to Roma…where I am now.

Cinque Terre was amazing. The weather was perfect. I would love to come back and stay in Monterosso when I am older and can afford the hotels there! It’s quite touristy though, and I can’t imagine it mid-season. The hike was crowded enough when we went. There were a lot of American, Aussie, Canadian, and elderly Italian’s on vacation or backpacking through Cinque Terre. I am really excited to be travelling alone now because I realized how many more people I’ve met than when I was travelling with Megan or James. It’s more enriching and you get a lot of great advice and ideas for where to travel next or info on where you are travelling to! Not to mention invitations to come visit people where they live (i.e.: thee best perk ever!)