Italy '07

Hello everyone from a hot Split... Ive been very fortunate so far that the hot weather has been following me on my summer holiday.. the only bad day was travelling on the train to the ferry yesterday!! Well Italy.... what can I say... I arrived in Rome from Madrid on a early morning flight (as it was only 35 euros!) on Tuesday and had 10 wonderful days exploring this country!! Rome.. well, it was one of those cities that is always high on the list to check out.. the history, culture, arts... so much of today comes from Italy and most of it centres around Rome! I wont bore you with too much detail on Rome as most travellers have spent time looking around the amazing sights! The highlight was seeing the Pope.. and not just that he was on his Popemobile.. and we were right up the front! Literally 10 metres away from the great man... I had to pinch myself that I was there experiencing this.. The other highlight was the Colosseum.. something that I have been wanting to see for years! (As a lover of sports and huge stadiums this takes the cake!!) As much as I loved Rome, I was glad to board the train to leave.. it is very touristy and the food and service is pathetic.. but it is still one of the worlds most remarkable cities! I left Rome and headed to the Almafi Coast to get some beach action and to visit Julia and her Italian bf who both live down there! I took the train to Salerno where they met me at the train station and gave me a tour of the nearest big town.. we then took the drive to where I was staying.. Atrani.. I really didnt know what to expect from the Almafi Coast but it is just spectacular! My jaw was on the ground.. it is gods country around here! Some of the views were just amazin.. I made the stop every so often and take numerous pics.. with me in them of course! The roads are the scariest Ive been on in Europe! I wouldnt be seen dead trying to drive around here... I then had lunch with Lucas parents who are the typical Italian families.. His Mum was just adorable, she made up a 3 course feast!! I havent eaten that well since I left the sanctuary of my parents.. I told her when Luca goes to Australia that I was going to move in.. she was all up for that idea!! I could easily have this twice a day and spend the rest of the time at the beach!!!! Good lifestyle.. I kept telling Julia that she is living every girls dream, spending a summer in the most romantic part of Europe! I spent 4 wonderful days on the coast, and went to the island of Capri for the day.. also checked out Sorrento and Positano on day trips...Each day was postcard perfect weather and the water was just brilliant! I really cant speak highly enough of this place.. Im definitely coming back to have another summer here! I sadly said goodbye to Julia and Luca and went to Brindisi to spend 3 days travelling around the heel of Italy.. you can tell its the poorest part of Italy and its an area that is not on the backpackers circuit! It was so good, to go to places that wasnt full of tourists... very strange! The locals didnt speak a word of English, so I was trying to speak semi Italian.. not very successful! The ppl down south were just the friendliest ppl that Ive come across in Europe and even though they didnt speak a word of English they really tried to help you out! I have now left there and last nite I took the ferry across to Split.. It was my first ferry experience for a while and I tell you what after the rough seas that we had last nite- I wouldnt be doing it again anytime soon! Anyway, gotta run. Hope everyone is well! Cheers T

Spain 07

Hello everyone

Well, it has been a while since Ive updated my blog.. have been caught up with the whole Facebook craze!!

Where am I... well currently Im in Rome! But have been travelling through the southern tip of Spain before landing here.. the 4 week summer getaway started in Barcelona, which is now the second time that Ive been there and every time you go there you really appreciate this culturally rich city!! One of the few places in Euope that I could actually live.. of course I would need to be able to speak Catalalon (dont know how to spell it!!)
I met Rob at his 4 star hotel.. not used to such luxury as I tend to gravite to the cheap and cheerful hostels! We left the following day to catch the train to Valencia.... this was a city that Ive been looking forward to seeing and it didnt disappoint! What a gorgeous place.. beautiful architecture and very friendly ppl!!! We had a great couple of days exploring this wonderful city and even managed to get in some water action at the beach and checked out a flamingo dancing display!!!
We left Valencia to go to Alicante.. just wanted to go here cause every Brit tourist seems to love this place so I thought I would see what the fuss was about! It was like the Spainish version of the Gold Coast....but the beaches werent even in the same league!
Dont get me wrong, it was pleasant and it had a good vibe to it but the day we spent there was enough but we did have a few adventures like trying to find the 'main' beach and trying to find transport home after watching the football!!
We left Alicante and headed to Malaga.. we decided to hire a car for something different and cause there was no train service between these two cities.. this we thought would be easy!! Well, it was at the start.. until we reached Malaga and trying to find the train station to pick Hannah up and then driving for 2 hours trying to find our hostel... absolute nightmare.. thankfully we are all still friends cause it was getting a little tense in the car as I was getting a scenic trip of Malaga.. (and it wasnt that scenic)
After asking about 30 ppl we finally found it.. right next to a construction site!! Malaga is famous for being the home of Picasso so the following day we checked out the museum and had a good walk around the old town, which was really interesting ..
We left Malaga to make our way to Gibraltar.. this was an easier task and we did the whole walk over the border ... on a landing strip... we had to wait a few minutes as a plane took off right in front of our eyes.
Never seen an airport like it in my life! Apparently, it was built cause the Spainards wouldnt let anyone cross over the border so the British thought stuff you.. we will build an airport and fly ppl in there!!
Gibraltar was an interesting place.. had a great walk up to the rock.. and generally just enjoyed the little piece of London in Spain! Really interesting history.....
I then left Hannah and Rob as they were going to Morrocco and I took the plane to Madrid.. This is where things went a little pear shape! As, when I arrived in Madrid I realised that my bag had been tampered with and my phone was missing.. I then had to report it and when I caught the metro into town I couldnt find the bloody hostel... had to ask about 50 ppl... thankfully I finally found someone who knew where it was... I was a very relieved man!
Madrid was a cruisy city for a capital.. and I did a walking tour around the sites and then that evening did a pub crawl.. in typical Spanish style it didnt start until 11pm and I got home at some ungodly hour... lets say there was light! I think Im still recovering from it..
Currently inRome and will be leaving to go to Salerno tomorrow morning to continue on my 4 week summer odyssey!
ANyway, gotta run.
Hope everyone is well!
Cheers
Troy