Part II- Italy Sept 15th-2nd October

Part 2
We left from Tropea in the morning and decided to try again with Maropati. We made out way to Rosarno again backtracking down the west coast and grabbed a taxi (who ripped us off) for a 20 min ride to centre of Maropati. Now imagine you are arriving into a deserted ghost town and have no idea what to expect and then it rains heavily. You are carrying backpacks and you hair is in shambles. Well that was me and my brother. We called home and spoke to George who directed us on how to find his family. We stopped at a resturant that was shut (siesta btw 1pm-5pm) and I glanced at this guy who came out and finally we found the man. The house was so cute. Hanging chillies and lemon trees. We had dinner and was lucky enough to sleep over. The family showed us the surrounding town of Cinquefonti, where they shop etc. Maropati was a gem. Im glad I had the rare experience of staying in a small secluded italian village. They gave us a lift to the train station in Rosarno and we were on our way to Salerno. 3 hours with Eurostar. The landscape throughout Calabria is beautiful. Lemon and oranges. It reminded me of a wet north Queensland.

Amalfi coast
Impressions
Salerno to Amalfi. The windy road was hard to swallow. I felt sick. We did have to wait nearly 2 hours for a bus to the Amalfi coast when we arrived at Salerno train station, so I was already in a shitty mood. The towns each had stops, so starts with Ravello, Atrani, Amalfi etc until Positano. It reminder me of the Great Ocean road in Victoria. This is the part of my trip where I realised that Italy is a little too romantic, yet dull for your party animals like me. I was slightly bored however I used the time to get a nice tan and enjoy the clearest ocean water I have seen. The ocean falls deep fast yet you can still see to the bottom. The smallest of pebbles line the shore. We found a hostel in Artani, which is a 10 min walk from Amalfi. The hostel was large. I couldnt stand the shower and toilet in one. Disgusting.
Atrani has its own resident goose who attacks tourists on the beach. A cafe in the little piazza was great. Happy hour 6-8pm each night. I had a great cocktail Ameretto. The food was reasonably priced compared to Amalfi. We had dinner one night in Amalfi and the squid was like rubber. The worst ever tasted. I then wished for a moment I was back in Australia somewhere in a Sydney seafood restaurant. The nerve!
Positano is positively the most photographed of all the towns. We took a ferry from Amalfi which took and hour and cost €5.50. Approaching the town is great because you can see it from the ocean and freak out how pretty it is and how courageous the people of this region where to build on the coastline of mountain range. We stayed on the Positano beach for the day and had a picnic. The sand at this beach was dark grey. Frank loved the beach setting that much he brought his own Positano towel. The actually town has one or two major streets and heaps of steps. There was a pleasant gathering of shops selling souvenirs, pastries, local crafts and wines. And of course the famous Limoncello lemon liquer. The small factory was a must see. I tasted red bull flavoured gelati, ewww. There wasnt any huge sights to see, just a relaxing time. The most prominent was the Amalfi Duomo which dominates the central square, dedicated to Saint Andrew, originally founded in the 9th century. It is a lovely Romanesque style church. I would hate to see the Amalfii coast during summer period because it isnt large enough to facilitate large crowds. From Amalfi we wanted to go to the Island of Capri, but due to time constraints we decided that spending the day lying on the Amalfi beach was all we cared about. After three nights in Amalfi we left for Sorrento. We took another ferry which took 1.5 hours via Positano and to Sorrento. The ferry was exciting cause we sat at the bow and felt the wind in our face. My lips were peeling for days after.

Sorrento
Impressions
Approaching Sorrento via ferry seemed daunting. I felt engulfed by a city again and coming from the small beach towns of Amalfi, it wasnt at all exciting. Once we walked endlessly to the hostel called La Sirene, Frank decided that he was heading off earlier to Rome. He felt that Sorrento wasnt beneficial for him, yet I knew that Pompei was an hour away. So Frank emotionally cut the ties with me after 2 weeks in Italy and because I hadnt seen him in a year, and may not see him again for another year, I did shed a tear. So I was alone and the hostel was practically empty. How am I going to keep myself entertained. Soldiering on, I booked myself into a tour for Pompei the next day. I strolled around Sorrento taking in the large number of English and Irish tourists. Sorrento is the perfect place to visit if you have never visited Italy before. It has all the features of an Italian holiday in one compact area. You have access to Amalfi, Naples, Capri and Pompei. There is great shopping and heaps of english tourists so your set. There is small narrow lanes and all weekend the major street Corso Italia becomes a party, as the street is cut off to traffic. Heaps of people looking into shops and eating gelati. I had a pizza to myself and ate it on the street. The atmosphere was great. I had dinner at the Rosso Leon, GREAT food. It was a welcoming change from the Amalfi coast food. Well inexpenive great food anyway. I brought some goodies from the supermarket also to take back to Dublin. Squid Ink stained pasta (black) being a unique find.

Pompeii
Impressions
I joined a tour bus in the morning on Sunday the 1st of October. The tour guide was informative and told us all about the region. We arrived at MtVesuvius and we had to climb the bloody volcano. Most were unable and they were breathing funny. I had a stick like some crazed hiker. The soil was lava ash and red. I felt I may be on Mercury or some other planet. The view over Naples was the best view of a city ever perhaps considering I was on top of a Volcano navigating myself around an active crater. It was absolutley exhilarating. Bring it on! Check out my photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielaineurope/sets/72157594313928386/
After Mt Vesuvius, the tour headed to Pompeii or should I call it Pimpeii. The town which was destroyed by the ash, not the lava, of Mt Vesuvius's eruption back in 79AD, was impeccibly preserved. I couldnt believe the preservation of certain paintings (frescos) that were of erotic nature based in a brothel. They were dirty minded people back then I swear. HEHE. There is even an etched image of a penis on the road. The excavations are still being completed after 200 years from the first discovery of the town. Its huge and dam facinating. However next time I would prefer to have seen it without a tour, really take up the atmosphere. We were in and out of particular sights like a fish out of water. Disappointing to say the least. Despite that we had a good meal and comfort transport. There was fascinating aspects of Pompeii. They used to have 'Roller Dolls' for there houses? The chariot markings are still visible in the roads and the stepping stone crossing are remarkable. Overall I loved visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was now time for me to get my things together and head back home to Dublin. I had to go via Naples and catch a train via Caserta to Bari. It was a whole day experience. Left Sorrento at 10am and arrive on my plan at 8.30pm. Had to saty in Naples for 2 hours, so went for a walk with my backpack on, well you know what they say about Naples, well its true. People asking you questions, African street sellers trying to sell fake designer bags. (whoops I ended up buying a Gucci one) and the overall dirt. I was in an out of trains. I also had a panic attack and a bit of crying because in Bari, I was incorrectly directed by some mad man bus driver who thought I said 'Port' not 'Airport'. I had to resort to a taxi for the airport, thankgod I got there with 10 mins to spare. Finally I arrived in London Stanstead at midnight and went through excruciating painful passport check and then having to sleep on the floor amongst other tightarses to catch my 6.30am Dublin flight. What a nightmare! yet a absolute blast. I think I will keep those memories for life. The best thing about Italy was swimming in Cinque Terra and climbing the Volcano. The worst was Bari directions, Amalfi so called squid and the heckling street merchants in Naples. .....but would do it all again if given the chance!