Contiki Catch Up

Please forgive all the horrible typos. I'm writing this on my tablet while on the bus, and the autocorrect paired with a moving vehicle mean this post is a disaster area. I'm too lazy to fix it all though. So, just the best you can :)

Right, so where was I up to on the days? Did I tell you about Pompeii? Well, it was awesome! The amazing history's all so visible and available to seemed feel. The guide was interesting and passionate and the whole day was great. The next day was in Naples too, and I went on quest to find the eat pray love pizza place. The internet told me it was amazingly life changing pizza, but I was super underwhelmed. I had the magherita with extra buffalo mozzarella and itdidnt really have that much flavour. It was also a littleburnt from the wildfire pizza oven.it was verycheap, but not really the experience I was expecting. However, I made up for it by going to an amazing gelato store. First I walked down all these alleyways and came across a big section of market selling stuff to make your own Christmas nativity scenes. There's so muchstuff, just like for townhouses, only it was Christmas. It was pretty cool! Anyway, then I found the gelato place and had a chocolate one and a caramel nut one. Very good ice cream! Then I walked to the botanical gardens, but they were closed :( so, I wandered the city a but then called it a day.

Then the next day was Saturday. I caught the train back to Rome then found the starting hotel for the contiki tour. Now, I'm just going to give a bare bones description of everthingnive done since joining up with the tour a couple of days ago because it's too much to write otherwise!
So, I made it to the hotel without much trouble and met my room mate. She is awesome, we are about the same age, and she's doing her PhD, so we have lots to talk about and she and I seem to enjoy similar things and get on well. She's really nice and not annoying at all :) so, that's great! And there's another girl, Vikings from Canada who's lovely too. Oh, my room mate is Ange from NZ. I've also met a really nice guy from California named Frank... I know right mum? Haha! Anyway, he's a real life doctor! Nice guy, great sense of humour :) I've spent a fair bit of time with him and it's quite refreshing because he likes to talk about all kinds of things, not just sport and whatever like a lot of guys you meet. Plus, a lot of the people on this tour are like 18, 19 years old and I feel so old! Haha, they seem so young (not to mention a tad dumb at times). But there's plenty of peeps my age too. Some really nice fun people!

So, Saturday we met up in the afternoon and had a tour meeting. Then we went for dinner at pizza place in Rome.there was live entertainment with a piano player and an old dodgy guys singing sleepy Roman love songs. It was funny, and the pizza was nice.

Then, on Sunday it was time to see the coloseum. We had a local guide, a lovely old granddad called Pietro. He took us through colosseum and the Roman forum, both of which were awesome. I especially liked the colosseum, it really easy to imagine the emperors and gladiators and everything. Amazing buildings! After that it was lunch time so the group went to a cafe high on the hill to look out over Rome. Then we had a walking tour Moffat all replaces
I'd already visited, but I went anyway because they are so awesome. I got another gelato from the great gelato places and threw some coins in the trevi fountain tainted for luck and some wishes. I also bought a small watercolor painting of the fountain because it's my favourite thing in Rome. After through walking tour we had some free time. Ange, Vicki, Frank and I hung out together and went to an amazing old church, then frank and I wen4 to a museum, then we met back upland went back to th3 hotel to meet for dinner. Some of the group, US included, went to dinner at a restaurant where there was live entertainment, opera singing! We had a 4 course meal of eggplant and mozzarella, then two types of pasta, 4hen veal and veg, then creme caramels. The meal was mediocre, but fun. The creme caramels sucked!

Ok, big break in writing here! The next section was written a few days later:

Ok, now I don't remember wherein was up to. The start of contiki? The second day? I don't think I wrote about Florence.

We got on the bus in the in the afternoon after the Vatican. The paintings in the Sistine chapel were simply amazing, I really enjoyed it! Then we hopped on the bus to Florence. Florence was great too. Apart from the rain! We went on a walking tour of Florence. It's so beautiful! But it starTed pouring with rain. Ange, Vicki, Frank, and I walked around lots, and got really really soaking wet. We went to a pretty cool museum in a palace during a thunderstorm - was awesome :) we had a group dinner of meatballs and then went to a karaoke bar, which was fun. I didn't sing, but I did dance.

The second night in Florence was a special Tuscan dinner. I sat with a really fun group and we had four courses: bruschetta and salami, some pasta, roast pork, and tiramisu for dessert. It was a lovely meal, made all the better by the friendly waitstaff. If there's one complaint I have about Italy, its that nearly all the restaurant staff are a bit rude and abrupt. It makes the nice ones really stand out.  

The next day was a medieval village and a wine tasting. I tried it all. I had no idea what I was drinking, but some of it I liked and some not so much. That night Frank and I shared a really big t-bone streak, and it was super yum! Then we went for a walk around the city and hung out for a while. He is amazingly easy to talk to. I haven't talked to a guy this much, with this much mutual interest and understanding for a very long time. Frank has sort of made me realise that a relationship with a guy doesn't have to be so much work. With Brook there was so much work to keep myself happy because he couldn't do it, and with Andy there is so much work just communicate normally. Or at all really. We've never talked like I've talked to Frank these past few days. And I've also come to realise how serious Andy is and how I don't bring up certain subjects with him because I know they will make him grumpy or upset, or I don't bother because I know he won't understand. Not just from a language barrier point of view, but just because he won't understand on a personal or cultural level. I'm thinking this is not what I want in a life partner.

But anyway,  back to the tour...   Today we are back on the bus headed for Pisa and Verona, and finally Venice. I'm happy we've got two days left but also sad. But, it's possible Frank and I might do some more travel together in the future, which would be awesome.   But, I'm starting to get a bit bummed about my career prospects in Korea. They're really not that great and I'm not sure what to do about it. I might do some online teaching and work on my writing. If I can make enough to live off that way. But the thought of teaching kindergarten with only 10 days break in a year is a bit disheartening.

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Ok, it's now Saturday and the contiki tour is over. I'm on the bus headed back to Rome. Vicky left yesterday, Frank left this morning, early, and I left Ange at the hotel. So, where was I up to? I know this is an extremelybare bones account of my tour, but there is just too much that went on, both in terms of travel and emotionally to sum up here without writing a novel!  

So, on the bus headed for Pisa, Verona, and Venice. We got to Pisa and it was really cool. I took about a million photos of the leaning tower! Its really, really leaning! Frank and I hungout together again (are you seeing a theme here?), and explored one of the churches near the leaning tower. Man, if there's one thing Italy does exceptionally well, it's churches! After some free time exploring Pisa we were back on the bus bound for Verona.   Sadly, by the time we made it to Verona it was, again, pouring with rain, and also dark. And cold! But, rain, darkness and cold are excellent, and valid, excuses to cuddle certain people :) we saw a few of the alleged places from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a pretty swollen river, and stopped off in a church where a choir was singing. I really liked that, the choir was lovely and I can see why they have them. The sound of the singing in the beautiful space of the church is really special.

Then we joined the group for dinner. We had a selection of pastas and stuff. It was ok. Then, back on the bus headed for Venice. We arrived at about 10.30 at night, and Ange and I just went straight to bed.   The next day, Friday, was cold, dark, and wet. We got the bus to the ferry and then the ferry to Venice, which was flooded! They put out all these platforms to walk on above the water so you can get around. It was probably coldest day of my life! I should have worn my big down jacket, but I didn't want to get it wet and then have to transport it. So, I was just wearing a jumper and it was COLD!   Anyway, we got to Venice and went to a glass blowing demonstration, which was amazing! The artists, or whatever you call a glass blower, just casually put together these beautiful glass things like a vase and a horse. It was like magic to watch. Then we went to the shop section and I bought a glass necklace, which I love. It's red and gold, which are currently my favourite colours.

Then we had walking tour which was really lame because too many of the streets were flooded, so it was long, cold, and not that interesting. When we'd finished that, Frank and I, once again, teamed up and explored the city. We went to another amazing church, which had beautiful mosaic murals on the walls and ceilings. Then we went up the bell tower, which in hindsite was a bad idea because it was open up there, and the wind and rain were fierce. It was so, so cold! But the view was amazing. We stayed up as long as we could bare it, then headed down to go to a museum.   The museum was actually great, but full of stairs, which really hurt my knee. But, I made it upland down about a billion stairs to see some amazing paintings, some huge swords, and some creepy dungeons. The museum was in an old palace, which certainly makes for an impressive setting!

After that it was time to meet up with the group for a gondola ride. Ange and I chose not to go, and I'm glad we did. It was so cold a dark! Instead we went and did some shopping for Ange. Then, back to the group for dinner.   It was our farewell dinner, and everyone was in a good mood. I had an excelent night and nice food. I haven't laughed as much as I haven this tour for so, so long. Andy is a lot of things, but funny isn't really one of them. Anyway, laughing is great :) after dinner caught the ferry back to the bus, and drove back to the hotel. Because it was the last night, everyone wanted to hang out together. I don't think the hotel was too keen on it, but we all managed to get together for a while. Ange left quite early. I really like her, but I don't think she's a very social person, and has a bit of a bad habit of looking down on people who she doesn't like much. But anyway, I hung out with Frank all night, until he left at 5.30 this morning. So I didn't sleep at all apart from a couple hours between 5.30and when the bus for Rome left at 7.30. I did pretty well saying goodbye to everyone, and managed not to cry. I kind of had to leave Frank waiting for his bus alone though,  because if I waited with him would have cried. So, sorry Frank, I wasnt running away from you, I just didn't want to cry all over you.  

So, I'm now about halfway back to Rome. I'm looking forward to being back there, I really love that city. I'm going to take it easy for a couple of days before I fly to Egypt, both to recover from contiki and to rest my knee. And to try and sort myself out emotionally. I seem to be wanting something very different now from what I thought I wanted a week ago. Possibly its time reassess the plan. Or make an entirely new one.

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Ok, made it to my hotel in Rome, and now I'm crying. Feeling the comedown from such fun group travel, I guess. And, of course, saying goodbye to Frank. I'm not sure what to do about that one. Well, I know what I want.

Ok, Sam's five things on contiki Italy:
1) Frank, hands down.

2) Ange and Vicki, awesome friends.

3) Thunderstorms in Florence.

4) Gelato.

5) the Vatican

Naples Thursday

So, I actually arrived in Naples yesterday, but didn't feel like blogging. I caught the train down from Rome, it only takes two hours. I was actually kind of scared to come to Naples as everyone I spoke to was like "you're going to Naples alone? Watch out, I got pick pocketed there!", or something similar. Or yelled at or followed or whatever. Well, it is WAY different to Rome, but I don't feel that it's all that much more dangerous. I was halfway convinced half my stuff would be stolen and I'd be harassed by men before I even left Napoli station, but I haven't had a problem so far. It's much more tightly packed than Rome, and much more run down and scrappy. A lot of people in Rome smoke, but walking down the stretch in Naples is like having your own cigarette! Seriously, the secondhand smoke is intense. There's also, much to my surprise, and crap ton of black people here. Like, really really dark skinned. Not what I was expecting at all. They don't seem to be tourists, either. Not sure what that's all about.

Anyway, I got to Naples no problem and found my hotel without fuss. It's ok, not amazing, but clean and there's a bed and hot water, so no complaints here. I checked in and thenwent for my customary checking out the area walk. I ended up in these twisting tiny back alleys full of rundown shops, motor scooters, and people's washing hanging from windows and balconies. The Naples you see in pictures really does look like that! My knee was starting to hurt again, so I walked home, bought a pastry dinner and called it a day.

Today was the day of my Pompeii tour! I went and got this special Nepalese pastry for breakfast called sfogietelle. It's sort of like many layers of file pastry around ricotta cheese. After much examination, I think my ricotta had orange peel in it. I liked it at the time, but felt Carrick very soon after, and now even the thought of eating any type of pastry is making me feel nauseous :( after eating I went to thick up point for the tour and hopped in the van. There were three other people on the tour, one guy from New York, and a mother and daughter from New Jersey (but actually from Colombia). They were all really nice. The guide was Italian, but he spoke excellent English. At first I though he was going to be no good, but he turned out to be really, really great! I never got the chance to ask him, but I think he might have had a degree in Roman history or something because he was amazingly knowledgeable and passionate about the ruins at Pompeii. I was impressed.

The ruins themselves, from 2, 000 years ago, were equally amazing and impressive. I can't really explain what it's like to see, touch, and walk on history like that. The paved streets, the pillars, the mosaics, the walls! All really very intact and you could tell what they were. We saw restaurants, houses, gyms, a spa, and a bordello! Inside the bordello there were even fully preserved pictures of sex positions that apparently acted as a menu. Men just popped in after the spa, pointed to the picture they wanted, paid, and off they went. I really loved the ruins at Pompeii and would definitely go back again.

Oh! And I almost forgot. We also saw two statues of people from ancient Pompeii. When they died from the volcanic ash, it covered their bodies and made kind of a shell. Scientists used these shells as moulds to makes replicas of the people. They are pretty creepy because the people knew they were suffocating to death so they're no exactly laughing and smiling, but they are just grey statues not realistic wax models anything, which I'm grateful for.

After the ruins, we had lunch. I had pizza and it was total crap. Then we drove up mount Vesuvius, which was EXTREMELY long and windy. I got super car sick :( Again. But, anyway, then we walked about 20 or 30 minutes up to the crater. It was a bit of a steep climb, but not too bad. It was cold because it was so high. The crater was awesome. It's still active, so there is steaming up out of it. Also, the hole it blew in the top of the mountain... through all that rock. It's like just a big direct hole in the top of the mountain. You can clearly see all the layers of rock going down into the earth. Pretty awe inspiring.

Then the drive back down the mountain, another round of car sickness, and we were back in Naples. I'm still feeling pretty nauseous, so maybe no dinner for me tonight. But in the morning I have plans to visit 'da Micheles', the famous pizzeria from Eat Pray Love :) Apparently you often have to wait for over an hour for a table but the pizza is simply amazing. After that, I'm going to a top notch gelato place and then going to check out the botanical gardens. I'm o.d-ing on the history a bit, so a park might be great :)

And last, but not least, I bought a brace for my knee. It really helped today, though the walk down the mountain was not so good. I will keep mountains to a minimum and hope it gets better :)

Food tour Tuesday

Oh my gosh, today was amazing! I went on a day long walking tour of an old Roman district with a focus on trying real, high-quality Italian food. Man, was it worth it! I got to try real versions of everything I wanted to eat in Italy! And it was all so so good! The group of people was also great, everyone had a real passion for food and was really interested in it, and were friendly and nice. I waste only one who was travelling alone and everyone seemed to think that made me super brave and super interesting. I guess when I sum up my current life in a few sentences, I do sound rather unusual. One lovely Canadian Chinese couple took a real shine to me, and actually asked me atone of questions and it was so refreshing to speak to people who wanted to have a conversation rather than just talk about themselves. Great!

But, on with the food! Well, first of we went to a bakery and tried a cornetto, which is a little bit like a croissant but not really. It was lovely! And then we had mini tiramisu cups! It was little tiramisu in tiny chocolate cups, all edible. They were delicious! Then we walked around the corner to one of the top 3 pizza places in Rome and tried a slice of pizza magherita. They drizzled it with olive oil before serving it, olive oil that had been pressed fresh only 10 days ago! It was so good!

Then, back around the corner to the first ever specialty food store in Rome. We tried pecorino cheese, which is from sheep's milk. It had real truffles in it, I really liked that one. Then we had real parmesan, prosciutto, and salami. My fave, fave, favourite was the prosciutto. It melted in your mouth, it was amazing! Then we went into the store and some people bought some stuff, but I just tried some samples of 5, 10, and 15 year old balsamic vinegar. Oh my god.it started out great, and the older it got it almost became magical!

After that we went to see some sites nearby like a beautiful cemetery, the old abattoir, and a couple of other things. Rome and it's history are really fascinating. Then we went to an outdoor market where we tried some bruschetta - and learned how to pronounce it! And then tried some for real buffalo mozzarella! It was so different to anything I have ever eaten that's been called mozzarella. Then we tried canoli. It's a fried pastry tube filled with ricotta and chocolate chips, then lightly dusted in crushed pistachios. I'd never had it before, and it was on my list of must try things for Italy. Everyone raves about it and how great it is, and while it was nice, I didn't think it was that great. These were apparently very high quality ones. Guess it's just not my favourite thing.

Anyway, then we went and tried suplli, which is a kind of fried rice ball. I'd describe it as a risotto croquette. The flavour was great! They were beef and parmesan. Then it was lunch time. We went to a little pasta place and tried three kinds of pasta, but I forgot all their names. One was a cheese and black pepper one, one was a spicy tomato one, and then a more classic tomato one. I actually didn't find them that great. They were my fourth attempt pasta now, a d I think I'm going to have to conclude, I just don't like it that much. They just seemed a. It bland and had nothing exciting in them.

Then, out last stop was the oldest gelatteria in Rome. They've won government recognition and been making gelato for 4 generations! I had two Labour's, which is normal here. I got chocolate and pistachio. Both were wonderful. The texture is what really does it. Thick and creamy and amazing. Though, the place I managed to find yesterday was pretty close to the same quality as far as I could tell.

And that wrapped up the food tour. I walked back to the station with the Canadian couple, and then I went back to the cemetery we had visited to take some photos and get followed by a very beautiful cat :) Then I made my way home. I am not going to need dinner tonight!

Fantastic day in Rome! I'd definitely recommend doing a food tour of some kind quite soon after arriving, just so you know whatnot should be looking for! I know so much more now! So good!

Pantheon Monday

I didn't make it to the restaurant I wanted last night because it was closed. I ended up at a different one and tried the spaghetti carbonara. It was ok, but not very exciting. I don't think it was a very good quality one.

This morning, for breakfast, I got a slice of pizza to go from a 9lace just across the road. I got garlic and rosemary potato pizza, just like mum makes! It was really nice, they sure make good pizza bases here. Then I went and caught the subway back to the Trevi fountain area. I had a good walk around and managed to find the gelato shop I couldn't find yesterday. Good reason I couldn't find it, for such an acclaimed place, it barely had a sign outside, just a single door and a tiny sign. Not what I was expecting. Anyway, I was to early, it didn't open until 12, so I went and hung out by the fountain some more, and then walked to the pantheon.

The pantheon was really cool. It's the biggest reinforced concrete dome in the world, and parts of it date back to 2, 000 years ago! For real. It has these huge pillars outside and inside is a big dome with a hole at the top to let light in. It used to be a church to the ancient Roman gods, but about 500 years after it was built, the Roman Catholics took it over and made it for them. It's lucky they did, because a lot of the buildings they didn't take over got destroyed. The pantheon is really very cool! I had a walk around the dome, and then just sat in the pews for ages. The space was so huge, and it's low season for tourists, so it wasn't too crowded at all.

After all that, it was about 12.30, so I went to get some gelato! I chose just simple chocolate flavour, because a lot of the rest were sorbet, and I don't go a bunch on fruity ice cream. It was such good ice cream! It was like really good quality chocolate mousse turned into gelato. Thick, but also light, and the texture was so smooth. I enjoyed it a lot. Then, I was still hungry, so I went to a restaurant for lunch. I finally had some gnocchi! It wasmy 3rd pasta dish here, and while it was pleasant, I'm starting to see a pattern. None of the dishes I've had so far have any real distinguishing flavours. Theye are nice, but ma tad bland and tasted the same the whole way through. Mum, your gnocchi, ravioli, and carbonara are nicer than what I've tried here! I've a suspicion that is probably because I'm eating in tourist areas, though.

It's a bit difficult not to eat in tourist areas when you are a tourist! So, tomorrow I've booked a walking tour of a district of Rome, and the focus is on trying a whole bunch of good food! I have high hopes for this and am really looking forward to it. Tonight I'm going back to try the restaurant I wanted to go to yesterday. I'm not very hungry, and I saw they are serving prosciutto melone, which is prosciutto wrapped around melon pieces. I've read it's good, so I'll go try it.

Ok, off to get some of that now!

Trevi Fountain Sunday

Today feels like it has been quite the day. To start off with, I was supposed to have a Skype date with Andy this morning, but he forgot about it. I'm none too pleased about that. No ones ever forgotten me before. I'm not really too sure whether to make a big deal out of it or just let it go. I nearly always let everything go, but I sure don't like being forgotten when I've taken time out of my day IN FREAKING ROME to talk to you. But anyway, on with Rome!
I moved accommodation today. I'm paying double what was for the other place (so, $60 a night rather than $30), butinow feel like I'm in the lap of luxury! I'm in an actual hotel withdrawn bathroom, and key cards, and maids that clean every day. The neighborhood is filled with restaurants and the central station is about 5 mins walk away. The other place was clean, but old. Everything used old keys, so to go to the shared bathroom during the night was a big deal. The neighbourhood was fine, but abit seedy and graffitied, not to mention far away. Plus, I was seriously in danger of actually falling through the floor in a couple of spots in my room. Haha, so I'm totally feeling that it's and extra $30 night worth it right now :)
Now, I know I was supposed go and have gnocchi for dinner last night, butt started raining and my knee was sore, so I just ate my bananas instead. Today, my knee is still a little sore, but it might be getting better. I put a bandage thingies on it, so hopefully that will help.
What else did I do today? I went to a restaurant and had ravioli for lunch. It was pretty boring, just a ricotta filling with a cream sauce, but the sauce had mushrooms and prosciutto in it, and the cured pork here is sooooooo good! For dinner, in about an hour, I'm going to try and getinto this little restaurant down thread whatnot some good reviews online. Not sure what I'll have yet.
Besides eating, I also want to the Trevi fountain this afternoon. It's one of the most famous fountains in the world, and was built in the early 1600s! It was pretty big - like the whole front of a building, and was really cool to see. It wasn't too crowded either, I got some really good views of it without too much trouble. I spent some time just looking at it and taking some photos. Then I went to find this gelato place that I'd read was really amazing. I had it on my map and everything, but I couldn't find it at all! I tried some gelato from a different shop, but it was a bit dicey and I think it was low quality, so I threw it away. Life's too snort for bad ice cream!
So, now I'm back in my room having a wee rest before going to find some dinner. I've had a lovely day today.

Spagna on Saturday

So, yesterday's post was supposed to have pictures with it, but for some reason they didn't upload. I'll work on this.
Today I managed to sleep until 6.30am, which is about my normal wakeup time, so I'm getting into the swing of things now.
After I woke up, I read my book for a bit, then went to get some breakfast. I ended up with an ok sandwich thing with ham and cheese. Then I managed to catch the train to piazza Spagna, where there's this famous old church joined to this famous old town by these famous old steps. The steps are called the Spanish steps, for reasons I don't remember. There's not a lot of information at these sites around Rome. You mind of have to do the research yourself, or have guidebook or something. Anyway, it was really a lovely place, and I got there in time to hear the church bells right 11am, which was cool. I walked up all the steps, sat down for a while, watched all the people, and took some photos. It was a right and sunny day today, so it was very nice to just sit and watch. The spot wasn't insanely crowded, but it was busy. I'd hate to be here during the high season, it would be horrible!

Anyway, after I'd sat for a while, I went for a walk around the small town bit down the steps. It really all looks just like the Italy you see it pictures. But this area of town housed all the designer stores like Gucci, Prada, Jimmy Choo, and so on. I had a bit of wander and then went to find the Villa Borgese, which is kind of like Rome's central park. Well, it was a different exit from the same subway station, so I wen4 to find it. I swear, I rode over a kilometre of travelator! No kidding, they went on and on! And then I emerged from this subway exit into the middle of nowhere. Seriously, there was grass, trees, some gravel and that was it. No foot path or signs pointing the way. I took photo of it to show its middle of nowhere-ness. Anyhow, I just sort of followed my nose and ended up at the park.

It was such a lovely park! So romantic. I walked around and sat around it for hours. I made my way to a small pond with this really cool island in the middle with pillars and statues on it, and there were couples in row boats, and ducks. It was really cute. I didn't find the gallery that the park is famous for because Myles, and especiall5 me left k eek started to Burt, so I was taking it really easy and didn't want to wander around looking for it too much. It's ok, the park was enough for me.

While we're on the subject of Shepard and how it was romantic, people here are way more affectionate with their boyfriend or girlfriend than what I'm used to. Like even old couples are all over another. And the younger ones? All Oberon another and their tongues in eachothers mouths. Ew. But nice. But ew.

Anyway, by the time I was done with Shepard it was about 2pm and I needed lunch. So I headed back to piazza Spagna to find some food. Immediately I came across a r3ally popular place selling pizza by the slice out of a hole in the wall. Perfect! I got a prosciutto and parmesan pizza slice, which was the perfect size a d tasted so good! I thought that maybe it'd be really crappy because I was in such a tourist area, but it tasted pretty good to me! Success!

On the way home I stopped at the train station and worked out how to buy a ticket to Naples. Seems pretty straight forward. I might go in Wednesday. I'll decide on Monday evening what I want to do. Right now I'm back in my room having a rest. I'm a little worried about my knee. Hopefully a good nights sleep will fix it. I've chosen where I want to go for dinner tonight, and I want to try the gnocchi. I'll report back on that!

Tomorrow I'm leaving this hostel and moving to a different one, maybe 20 minutes walk away, towards the centre of town. It's a little more expensive than here, but I'll have my own bathroom, and I won't have to walk 20 minutes both ways just to get anywhere.

Ok, top five things I like about Rome so far:
1) The men are all really good looking. Like, seriously, they are all handsome!

2) You basically fall over really awesome looking old stuff wherever you go. Its everywhere.

3) (touch wood) the weather is lovely. Cool, crisp and clear so far.

4) Italian is just close enough to English that you can tell what about 70% of the signs say without having to know Italian.

5) Food had been pretty high quality so far, especially considering that crappy places I've bought it from.

Walked in totaly the wrong direction Friday

So, I slept really well, despite waking up very early. I'm feeling good today. Travelling alone is much more difficult than having a friend along, though. Plus, I have to deal with all these feelings of guilt every time I'm not out *making the most of it*. Like right now, I've been walking non stop for over 4 hours and I've come back to my hostel for a rest, but I feel like I should be out there doing more. But, I'm on holiday, right?  If I want to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon blogging and reading, then I can!

Well, this morning I left my hostel, after a shower where I discovered that c stands for hot in Italian. I was going to walk to this amazing sounding park with all these museums and galleries in it, but I walked in totally the wrong direction! I ended up at the colosseum! Haha :) I didn't want to spend too much time, or go into the Colosseum because it's a part of my tour later and I don't want to ruin that. But, there was a bunch of stuff to look at in the area. Plus, it seems that every few streets there's some other *really old thing* to look at.

Anyway, thank goodness I'd taken my tablet with me, because it's GPS works even with no internet, so I could see where I was and how to find my way back :) pretty handy! I also got some lunch while I was out. I stopped at a little cafe place and had a very yummy spinach, mozzarella, and salami sandwich. I was pleased.

So, the park is on the list for tomorrow. I also need to work out how to use the subway here. I can't go walking so far I don't have the energy to actually see the attractions. I'm also not sure I want to go to Naples still. There's so much to see an do here in Rome, I might just stay here and do a good job of experiencing it. I'll change hostels and areas though.this one is fine, but I'll get more variety if I move around a bit.

The formatting is messed up and I don't know what day it is!

So, here I am at Auckland airport. The buggers don't even have free WiFi for passengers. It'll cost me over $9 for 45 minutes of internet! Criminal. Anyway, I remember the last time I was in the international departures area of Auckland airport and I was so, so miserable.this time around I barely wipe the smile off my face! I'm going to Italy, Egypt, and back to Andy in Korea!! Awesome!

 I Just bought Andy a NZ sheep fridge magnet. He requested something with a sheep, and it was the cutest and least lame thing. It's wooden, and actually pretty cool.   

Mum and dad took me for lunch before dropping me off at the airport. We went to a nice cafe in Ponsonby. The guy who works there was just finishing his CELTA, so we had a talk about that...and then it turns out he's been to Rome and said that the pizza there really is as amazing as you'd think! Confirmation of pizza awesomeness!   Leaving mum and dad was a bit sad, but not too bad. It's majority helped by the fact that they have promised to come and visit me in the next few months. I really hope they do. Going one year without seeing them was a bit extreme. When I'm with them though, it never really felt like I'd been gone.   So yes, I am here at the airport. For some reason security wanted to almost unpack my entire backpack, but I was just really nice and helpful. Nothing was wrong, in the end, and I got through security and stuff very quickly. Also, the nice lady at the check-in desk got me an isle seat for the long leg of my journey. Score! I can pee as much as I want! Haha, small things, right?   Oh! And other exciting news! My car got sold yesterday, for a really good price. It's given me a bit of extra money to play around with. Not that I didn't have enough before, but extra doesn't hurt :)   Ok, and because I'm at the airport, here's Sam's five things, airport edition: 1) Browsing the perfume stores and smelling all the pretty ones.   2) Watching all the people and how they travel.   3) Knowing I'm embarking on an adventure and being proud of myself for doing it.   4) Anticipation.   5) Plenty of chill out and reflect time. I'm a very slow airport traveller :)   The flight is going very well. We are nearly in Melbourne. Emirates has been a pretty great airline so far. Their selection of tv and movies is really large, and the food was  nice! I had grilled salmon, with sauteed spinach, a prawn salad, and a very nice piece of orange chocolate cake. Even better, there has been no one sitting next to me for the 4 hour flight to Australia, so I was able to put the arm rests up and lay down to sleep for a couple of hours. My eyes are super bloodshot now,  utilise at least I got a little rest. The next 24 hours are going to be pretty long, I think.   Also, I forgot to mention that we saw an eclipse today. I can't remember which insular and which lunar, but this was the one where the moon goes in front of the sun. We didn't know what it was, the light just went all dim and funny. Then, we saw on the news a little  it later that there had been an eclipse and we'd seen it without even knowing :) Kind of cool.   *        *      *   Ok, so I am now 8 hours through my 13 hour flight, and I'm very keen for it to end! I have managed to get some sleep, maybe 5 hours on and off, which for me on a plane is pretty good. For some reason, this flight is totally falloff little kids and babies. They're being quite well behaved, but they still scream Andy from time to time. Just put an eye mask on, some earplugs, and me neck pillow, and it's all ok.still, really looking forward to getting off this plane :)   *       *       *   Right, so I've made it to Dubai! I've freshener up in the bathroom and I'm not feeling like total crap. Just half a crap. I enjoy going new places, but mad do I hate long air travel! I'm all swollen, bloodshot, dried out, too hot, too cold, and just downright uncomfortable. But, not too far to go now. Only about another 8 hours, three of which are in the airport. I'm likel5 going to be pretty grumpy by the time I get to Rome, though. A short nap might be a good idea, then a walk around to see what's out there. I really hope the free WiFi at my hostel is working. All the airports want you to pay to use it, and it's not even free on the plane! I pay all that money and I don't even get free WiFi. They were charging 1USD to send a single email! So, needless to say, I haven't sent any emails.   What else? Emirates co tines to be a pretty good airline. The food is edible, and it's no more uncomfortable than any other flight. The worships behind me now, though. All the rest of my flights are much shorter than that 13 hour beast. Ergh! Almost enough to put me off travel. Hopefully tenet time I get the chance to go somewhere Andy will be able to come too. It's so much more bearable when you've got someone else to complain to :)   Dubai airport seems huge, but all the signs are written quite small, so I have  to get right uptown them before I can read them. The depature gates and bathrooms are also pretty uninspiring and functional, but I guess they've Justin so many.   Ok, that's all from me for now. I'm just going to hang around the departures lounge for a few hours and then it's off to Rome!   *      *      *   I made it to Rome, and to my hostel. Seems warm and clean, it's 7pm and I'm going to try to read for a couple of hours, and then I'm off to bed:)

Five things on a Friday

I've been really busy doing a whole lot of glorious nothing here at home! Well, I've been buying backpacks, booking accommodation, fixing up my car to sell, playing with my tablet, and visiting my granddad. My brother has taken ALL my money and booked my whole trip, so next Wednesday, off I go to Italy!

I know, I didn't go into much detail on the Andy thing. Last thing you heard from me, we were all broken up forever. But, turns out maybe not so much. He has decided he actually doesn't want what his parents want him to do with his life, and instead would like to be with me. Which is kind of awesome. Sucks for his mum and dad, but I'm on my side :) Right now he is busy finding an apartment in Korea. Which is a huge step! I'm a bit sad that I don't get to help choose where we'll live, but I understand him wanting to find somewhere and get out from under his mum and dad. I'm just kind of thinking of it as if he'd already moved out of home when I met him, and I'll just be moving into his place when I get back to Korea. I'm really excited!!

What else? Life with my Samsung tablet (I got the Galaxy Note 10.1, fyi) is great. The more I use it, the more I like it. Mum and I spent about an hour the other day playing a brick dropping game called 'Save the Cheese' or something. Dumb, but fun!

Also, I made truffles using white chocolate and crème fraiche ganache mixed with this amazing dehydrated fruit powder they've started selling. They worked SO well! The crème fraiche really helped tame the sweetness of the white chocolate and the texture was really good and super easy to work with. I'm very pleased with how they turned out - definitely a recipe to continue to work with. And so easy! Melt 150g of white chocolate (I used Bennetts) and mix in 1/3 cup of crème fraiche. Done! And obviously, mine are coated in dark chocolate.

Yeah, my style is 'rustic'.

Raspberry flavour

Mandarin

White chocolate

And now, five things for a Friday:

1) I had a lovely lunch with my Mum and Granddad yesterday,

2) Mum is cooking the nicest food every day!

3) I'm packed and ready to go.

4) I think my brother got me a great deal on my holiday.

5) It's sunny!

I'm writing this by hand Friday.

Because... I got a tablet today! A Samsung tablet, to be exact. I'm still ironing out the handwriting recognition thingie but, it's pretty cool, so far. That's all.

New Plans Thursday

Hi mum!

Hi Jenni!

So, I've been in NZ for just over two weeks, and have two more weeks to go. It's lovely being with mum and dad, and I'll be sad to leave them. But not too sad because....

I'm going to Italy and Egypt!!

My awesome brother, who works for Flight Centre, has organised me a month-long holiday :) I'm spending two weeks in Italy, one week alone and one week on a Contiki tour, and then two weeks in Egypt, four days alone and 10 days on a Toucan tour. In my own time in Italy (7-8 days) I'm planning to go south of Rome to Naples for some pizza, and then across country to Matera, then back to Rome to start the tour which covers Rome, Florence (including Tuscan countryside and the tower of Pisa), and Venice in eight days. Then I have a couple more days in Italy, and fly to Cairo, Egypt! I have three nights alone, then meet up with the tour group to spend 10 days exploring Cairo, Luxor, cruising the river Nile, and looking around Aswan. Pyramids and Pizza in one month! I'm so excited!

Not sure what I'm most excited for: pizza, gelato, pyramids, the river Nile... too many awesome things to choose from!

And what comes after this month of travel? Well, if you're not Jenni or my mum you might be surprised to learn that Andy has changed his mind about breaking up and finding someone to marry. So, after much thought and many serious conversations, both with him and my parents, I'm flying to Korea after Egypt to find an apartment with Andy! Not the way I was expecting things to go, but I'm really happy :)

And here's a top five things about being home:

1) Awesome conversations with Mum and Dad.

2) Being with my dog.

3) Mum's cooking.

4) The way NZ smells (awesome).

5) Hanging out with Jenni.