Italy Sept 15th - October 2nd (18 Days)

Where do I start? Actually very hard to put 2.5 weeks of Italian bliss into a condensed summary for all the world to see. I can start by saying that Italy is exceptionally beautiful. My favourite areas on this particular trip were Cinque Terra, Sicily and Amalfi Coast.

Cinque Terra
Impressions
I started by flying from Dublin into Bergamo, 7 km from Milan. From there I waited for a bus in the rain to get me to my hostel. I couldnt work out the buses once in Bergamo, so opted for a taxi. It was absolutley pouring. Finally settled into the hostel and in the morning made my way to La Spezia, where I was to meet my brother, Frank, via Milan. At La Spezia train station, I finally saw my brother after a year of seperation. It was trully surreal. He hadnt changed and I felt comfortable with being me. We wanted to see Cinque Terra so we waited for a bus to take us to our hostel in Biassa, however the buses where on strike. We called the hostel and they said to get a train to Riomaggiore. From there a huge climb to the top of the hill with our backpacks to catch the National Park bus.
Biassa was remarkably green, and one girl described the surrounding trees as brocolli. It was such a small village, about 20 mins by bus from Cinque Terra, and to have a hostel there was brilliant. It is recommended. The hostel has a bus service every morning at 9.30 that takes you to the five towns of Cinque Terra. The five towns are Heritage listed and unique to Italy. You can only access them via train and bus. Riomaggiore was beautiful. Frank and I spent 3 nights at this hostel and we had a great insight into the village lifestyle by attending meals at a pizzeria/house with a family. They were incredibly hospitable. Grappa was the main contender in the relaxing nights we spent there. Vernazza also one of the small villages was magic. Imagine feeling like your in a movie set for a romance film. I couldnt believe that in the 13th century these towns were built with such elegance, yet surrounded by the most jagged rock. It would have to be my favourite place in the North of Italy. I went for a swim in the ocean and while floating, took in the breathtaking beauty of the village. Its so colourful. Look at this photo.
Monterosso, another town of Cinque Terra, was quaint and more spread over the shoreline. We ate in the rain with the locals. They were making anchovy rolls al fresco. They were delectable. The anchovies were so fresh.

After 4 days in the region of Liguria Italy, we headed to Florence. We were not going to go via Florence because I had already seen it, but one night wouldnt have hurt Frank. You have to go to Florence when you come to Italy. I adore Florence. The Art and lavishness of the buildings and sculpture. Frank got to see what its all about. The view at Michelangelo Piazza is awe-inspiring. We strolled into museums and took in the well-proportioned David sculpture, something I didnt see last time in Florence. Michelangelo Buonarotti was a genius. David is sexy even if he is meant to be only 15 years of age.

Sicily
Impressions
From Florence we needed to decide if we were going to see Amalfi coast first or Sicily first. Sicily would be a better option because we could do a 360 back to Rome. On the train from Florence to Rome a lady had her luggage stolen. I felt extremely paranoid as I had helped her move her luggage and then she sat down. Before we left the platform, her luggage was taken off the train by some arse. There was also this suspicious man on the next carriage. It just gave me the creeps the whole way there. Once in Rome, we took a connecting train to Cittadivecchia. We had to walk through the ferry docks to find the ticket office for the SNAV ferry. Finally we jumped onto the ferry. The sunset was spectacular. Took an elevator to out floor and settled in. The food was like a canteen and I ended up slipping over on a stairwell because my thongs were just not gripping. You’d come inside feeling like a salted eel.
After 17 hours and an uncomfortable sleep we arrived in Palermo, Sicily. We had no idea of what to expect. Frank was apprehensive of staying in the city and I wanted to see the beaches. We walked through the streets of Palermo and discovered the local markets buzzing with atmosphere. Also we stopped for a breather at Quattro Canti and witnessed an accident. Felt so sorry for the bloke. He was crying. After an internet pit stop, we settled on a bed and breakfast in Mondello. Mondello is 20 mins from Palermo by bus and is sort of your city dweller escape. It has beautiful beaches. The villa was amazing. We thought it was going to be the average bed and breakfast with no views etc. Total opposite occured. We had the view of Mt St. Pellegrino. The place is called La Terrazza and it was 80 euro a night. We had the whole home to ourselves. So we cooked and washed our clothes. We stayed for 3 nights. Each day was spent lying on the beach and enjoying the crystal clear waters of Mondello. The view was to die for.
The next stop on our Italian adventure was Cefalu. We backpacked it around the city for a couple of hours to take it in. We were on our way to Taormina. Cefalu is very Arabic. The influences were clearly apparent. I didn’t feel as if I was in Italy. We went through the streets and took a lot of shots. The place was so picturesque. It was really a beautiful city. The church was magic. The gold Mosaic of the roof was out of this world. Such an ornate church inside, however when outside, it looked very barren. Check out all the photos of Mondello and Cefalu here --- The next stop on our Italian adventure was Cefalu. We backpacked it around the city for a couple of hours to take it in. We were on our way to Taormina. Cefalu is very Arabic. The influences were clearly apparent. I didn’t feel as if I was in Italy. We went through the streets and took a lot of shots. The place was so picturesque. It was really a beautiful city. The church was magic. The gold Mosaic of the roof was out of this world. Such an ornate church inside, however when outside, it looked very barren. Check out all the photos of Mondello and Cefalu here --- http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielaineurope/sets/72157594313781819/

On September 24th we were in Taormina. Cefalu to Taormina Train ride was hell. So boring. We arrived in Taormina without any booked accomodation and it was dark. All we knew was that the lonely planet stated there was a youth hostel somewhere. Frank was getting angry with me because we couldnt find the bloody place. Finally we found it nestled about 10 minutes from the city centre. The girl running it is Aussie and so nice. We actually met up with a girl whom we saw in Cinque Terra. Taormina is luxurious holiday destination. Its better known for its breath taking view of Italy's snow-capped volcano, Mt Etna. It wasnt clear enough for us to see and I really wanted to climb it, however it was just so damn expensive. So we left it and decided to take in the local atmosphere. We ate at a family run restaurant called La Fontana. They were so nice to us and the food was special. I hadnt eaten tasty food like that since leaving Australia! We spent the day walking around the lavish shops and checking out the hugely pebbled grotto beach, which we need to take a cable car down to see. The shore was so pebbled that I fell over trying to get out of the water. The only benefit of a pebbled beach is that there is no sand. We drank on one of the nights we a bunch of backpackers. We only stayed in Taormina for a couple of nights. I wouldnt rate it for fun even though there is a hostel there. Perhaps its more for August tourists.

Calabria
Impressions
We now had to decide if we were going to visit friends of our family in Calabria. We knew it was going to be hard to find them and who knows they might not put us up for the night etc. We took the chance and made our way from Taormina into Messina and over the strait to Reggio di Calabria. From there we asked a few people about this small village called Maropati. We knew it was 20 mins by bus from Rosarno.
It was getting late and after arriving in Reggio during siesta, we were not motivated to bother with Maropati. So we went to a small town called Tropea because we heard there was a hostel there. The train ride proved to be interesting. Most houses in Calabria are unfinished there was also an overgrown soccer stadium. It is the poorest area of Italy. Once in Tropea however that changed. Tropea was like Taormina. Flashy restaurants and the most romantic sunsets. The beach in Tropea was exceptional. The sand was white and fluffy. Check out the photo. Most shops sold chillies and olives which are the biggest produces in Calabria. The calabrese are known for there hot tastes. I tried chilli chocolate. We stayed in a b&b because the hostel was closed after the summer. Seeing that we were coming out of the summer period. the town was still alive with tourists. The town is situated high above the sea level so when we were unfortunately subject to a major electrical storm, we felt as if we were inside it. The rain overnight came down in buckets and the streets looked like rivers. It was all over in the morning. The arancini in Tropea were not as good as in Sicily. Sorry any calabrese reading. We watched some old timers play cards in public and what a display that was. Arguments and sniggering amongst friends. http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielaineurope/sets/72157594313853133/