experience: POMPEII & MOUNT VESUVIUS!

^view of vesuvius, from naples

^view from the top of the volcano


[these pictures are SUCH LAME SAUCE compared to the real thing! they seriously don't even BEGIN to do it justice...]


--

today was just absolutely grand in every single, stinkin' way!

I SUMMITED MOUNT VESUVIUS! AND EXPLORED POMPEII!

the rambles begin:

--woke up this morning at about 6am to say goodbye to kiet, my travelling partner, who was headed to the airport to fly back to america... don't remember the goodbye much because i was only half concious... it was sad to see him go, but the prospect of traveling alone was always a bit exciting to me... which brings me to...

--woke up finally and headed upstairs to the kitchen of THE BEST HOSTEL IN EUROPE to eat free breakfast [bread and nutella, baby!]

--sat next to rachel, a traveller from scotland [though originally from ireland]

--hit it off perfectly with her and decided to hop on a bus together to pompeii!

--had one heck of a time finding the bus station and getting a ticket... ended up waiting around for a good 45 minutes on a wonderful blob of rocks next to the ocean and a huge shipyard

--too the beautiful bus ride to pompeii, about 30 mins away from where we were in naples

--showed up and found a campsite, where we set up rachel's tent... SHE IS TRAVELING WITH A TENT! HOW EPIC IS THAT? [i will SOOOOO be bringing a tent with me the next time i backpack through europe!]

--went halfsies on a pizza for lunch... as always, it was divine

--tried finding the bus that would take us up the mount vesuvius so we could hike to the huge crater in the middle of the volcano

--FAILED in epic ways, got terrible directions from a number of strangers, and wound up in new pompeii... don't the name fool you... by "new" they mean "lacking ancient ruins, but still totally ghetto fab"

--wandered around new pompeii for a while and FINALLY realized why it was such a ghost town... everyone was on siesta! [the liesurely afternoon nap time that many european cities grant themselves each day... if only america could get with the program!] siesta time meant empty streets, run down buildings, just enough signs of life to let you know people are sort of around, but not much else...

--> brief description of new pompeii: it reminded me of a po-dunk place in western america, perhaps nevada or something... of course, the architecture was all very european, but the energy was SO small-town-america... i felt a bit at home, even... --finally found the bus after some hilarious wandering

--> finally found the bus station after being told about twelve different ways to get there... rachel and i kept laughing at how animated the italians get when they give directions... and how horribly innacurate many of them are... [though i suppose i can forgive them if they don't know left from right in english, since i don't know a lick of italian!]

--> hopped on the bus and met some WONDERFUL people... one from new york city, one from washington dc, and one from baltimore

--> went up the CRAZY STEEP WINDING road to the top of the volcano! it was seriously just like a roller coaster ride... the bus driver FLEW around the corners honking his horn to warn people that he was coming, as we all looked out the window at the crazy hieght we were gaining and the gorgeous coast below

--> stopped at a little shack on the way up, where a rather eccentric italian woman [in the most amusing accent] told us the history of the volcano, all about how her father was around for its last explosion in 1940something, and on and on... her shop sold THE MOST RANDOM junk you can imagine [we're talking glittery dolphins, sparkly marijuana leaf magnets, shiny kitten statues, barfybarfbarf!] it was very clear that she had some deal with the bus driver... "stop your bus at my little shack so tourists can buy things from me and i will give you all the free drinks you want..." or something like that...

--> AT LAST reached the end of the road, hopped out and started hiking!

--> OMGEEEEE, THE VIEW. basically, we looked out at the ENTIRE southern coastline of italy [ie: the mediterranean/tyrrhenian sea!] it is absolutely COVERED in stunning mountains and greenery like nothing else i've seen. and the buildings, OH the buildings! tiny little houses dot the entire coastline in wonderfully spontaneous ways. i just can't believe how many millions of people are nestled in next to one of the world's most active volcanos... !!!

--> i'm going to keep talking about the view. the sky was so blue, but we were so high that we were literally inside of a cloud at one point. the fog felt INCREDIBLE [take that, italian heat!] and made the experience that much more dream-like and enchanting. the volcano itself was a deep, deep pit of rocky/sandy/lava looking stuff [go figure...] there was steam rising up from within at a few different spots inside the volcano. the fact that we were LITERALLY standing on the edge of the mouth of a volcano still blows my mind.

--> kept recalling all sorts of random facts from my freshman world history class in high school, where we learned all about mt. vesuvius and its destructive eruption over the historical civilization of pompeii

--> had SUCH a good time chatting up a storm with all of the new friends i'd met... chatted about anything and everything you can imagine... even set up a lunch date with one friend for when we're both in nyc next week! the people you meet while traveling literally just make things so incredible and THAT MUCH BETTER... as if things could get that much better...

--> took a few snapshots, wandered all over the top of vesuvius, just gaaaaaazed out at the islands/palmtrees/villages/birds/ocean in the distance [the view was just MASSIVE... you could see SO MUCH for MIIIIIIIIILES, or kilometers i should say...]

--> finally wandered back down to the bus, where we saw another gift shop full of tacky goodies like light-up turtles and golden egyptian heads [seriously, because OBVIOUSLY both of those things will forever remind me of vesuvius... ?]

--> took the bus back down, couldn't keep my eyes off the view, fell in love with some lovely form of BRIGHT YELLOW tree/bush concoction... the smell was utterly lovely

--> arrived back down at the base of the mountain, exchanged facebook info with friends, and headed back to the campsite with rachel to make sure her tent was still in good shape

--> wandered around the ruins of pompeii... SO FANTASTIC! [if you don't know the story of pompeii, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii ] it's so amazing to have all of these things i learned in history class coming to life all over the place in italy! can't get enough of it!

this is going to sound like something i say way too much, HOWEVER, i simply CAN'T EXPRESS TO YOU how much i love this place! [the southern coast of italy!] it is just TO-DIE-FOR. someday i will travel here to spend a few weeks JUST exploring the coast! the cities are all so inviting and the sea here is just one-of-a-kind [not to mention the breathtaking mountains and wonderfully insane cities...]

and now i'm sitting all cozy in an adorable little hostel in the heart of naples with fellow travelers from all over the world.

it's a bit like heaven, i suppose.

=]


^a photo i googled, which shows the mouth of the volcano from the above... we hiked right along the edge...


<-- a map, just for kicks

[reserved for rome]

experience: FLORENCE

I didn’t think anything in Italy could rival Venice. THEN I showed up in Florence! If I had to choose on European city that fits me as a human the most perfectly, I think it would be Florence. [Or maybe I just love it so much that I am letting myself believe that… haha] Florence provides the most perfect blend of Italian charm—the energy of a city, the organics of the countryside, and a rich history rooted in the arts. The city sets itself apart from all others even in its color palette—whereas Paris is dominated by creamy colors, Florence is made up of deep browns, rich tans, and dark mustards. The warm tones fit in ridiculously well with the huge amount of greenery that exists in Florence, especially around the Adono River (like the Seine, but more wild and organic!) I guess I’d have to say that Florence is the most earthy of all the cities I’ve visited, and I just can’t even tell you how much

I loved existing there for the few days I did.

ramblings on our florence adventures:

-- showed up at the train station and had to lug our ridiculous amounts of luggage across the city in the SCATHING ITALIAN HEAT [we were literally swimming in our sweat by the time we finally found the hostel…]

--showered and met up with friends, all who are studying in spain this summer

--ate dinner… MORE ITALIAN PIZZA [if you can imagine…]

--oooh, and then GELATO [obviously…]

--so exciting to be paying for things in florence, where everything is literally HALF the price of stuff in paris [and cheaper than venice!]

--found an internet café, where we spent the night working on our final papers for our french history class [even though our time in paris was over, our studies WERE NOT! booooooo…]

--slept in, rolled out of bed, grabbed a map from the lobby of our hostel, and went exploring!

--spent time in the piazza de signoria, a huge city square filled with sculptures and art… imitated some of the statues and had strangers photograph us

--visited the duomo, which has a façade unlike anything I’ve seen before [it’s a bizarre blend of pink and green tones with ornate detailing and design…]

--seeing michaelangelo’s david! THE david! *HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP/SUMMER/MY LIFE* we stood in line for a good hour and a half [in the same scathing italian heat I mentioned before], then finally entered the museum, paid for our ticket [my one splurge in florence…] and headed to the exhibit. it was SUCH a great experience that i think I’m going to make a whole post about it later… ooooh, SOOOOO GOOD.

--spent more time wandering through places like piazza pitti and piazza santa croce.. every piazza has something new to offer! [piazza = public square, fyi]

--explored the local art galleries [surprise!], found one of the BEST photography galleries I’ve visited [a really impressive collector of photography books, which i just adore…] they had a number of my favorite american photographers, many who I studied in class during my spring semester, and I was certainly in heaven for a little bit. a lotta bit, actually. =]

--saw some street artists chalking BEATIFUL renditions of paintings onto the sidewalk

--more gelato, obviously

--walked up to the michaelangelo piazza, which is located on an incredible hill on the outskirts of the city... it provides a BREATHTAKING VIEW of florence. we could see the river, the duomo, the mountains, the EVERYTHING.

--saw a bride and her photographer … what a lucky duck to be getting married in a city so charming as florence!

--found a funky part of town where the streets are steep and windy, enjoyed a pleasant stroll

--were treated to dinner by one of kiet’s friends [and a fellow yalie] and a bunch of international fashion design students (from austria, belgium, america, china, switzerland, and brazil, respectively)… the restaurant, called moyo’s, was SO GREAT because all of the food was free… for real. they only charge for drinks. since I don’t drink, i simply bought an orange juice and proceeded to FEAST on a buffet of great food for an hour or two. they served sushi, which made me quite happy… i’ve been craving sushi hardcore for a week or two…

--wandered back to piazza della signoria, where i sat and listened to a beautiful flutist. listening to street performers is easily one of my favorite things to do while traveling. how ridiculously awesome is it that a person can just start making noises and suddenly hundreds of people are surrounding him to abandon all plans for the night and just enjoy the moment? it does my heart good. =]

--sat on the banks of the adono river to watch the sun set, laid in the grass till dark, watched the stars for a bit, then wandered back over the ponte vecchio bridge toward our hostel [one of the best bridges in the world! covered in gelato shops and jewlery stores, which sounds tacky but totally isn't...]

--tried working on our papers more, which were due the next day, but TOTALLY FAILED and fell asleep…

--woke up, laughed at how much work we were going to have to do on the train to rome, rushed to the train station, and bid the firenze goodbye!

i will someday go back to florence and spend daaaays there. it stole a piece of my heart, one that i happilly gave up! that sound so dramatic... but it's so true.

good stuff.

=]

experience: VENICE

My time spent in Venice has absolutely been one of the highlights of my summer, if not of my entire year (er, life?) Venice is a magical little city built on water, located in the northeastern corner of Italy. There are literally no streets—just canals winding through all of the buildings, pathways for walking, and cute little bridges. [Though I assume most people know that, I guess...] Without the hustle and bustle of vehicles, Venice has an ambiance that is simply in a world of its own. The buildings are tall and colorful, covered in flowers and greenery. Clothes lines hang from all of the windows and above the streets… just like the pictures. =] All of the restaurants and shops are nestled into tiny corners and alleyways. Everything about it seems like a dream—a little city filled with moss, salty air, and unparalleled charm. AAAAAH, I WANT TO GO BACK.

nonsensical ramblings on my adventures in venice [that will probably make me sound illiterate]:

--got of the train from milan and was utterly shocked to arrive and learn that a 24 hour metro pass was EIGHTEEN EURO… hello, venice!

--was utterly ECSTATIC to quickly, quickly realize that [duuuuh]… venice’s metro system is just a huge series of lovely, lovely boats!

--hopped on a boat to ride to our hotel… kiet and I just couldn’t shut up about how absolutely INCREDIBLE it all was… from the moment one arrives, venice is seriously like no other place on earth.

--met a cute couple from buffalo who was ecstatic to meet us because their daughter once went to a summer program at yale… they tried helping us find our hotel and failed miserably =]

--wandered a bit until finding our hotel, which was the most adorable thing everrrrrr

--spent the afternoon wandering through all of the local art galleries [one of my FAVORITE things to do in ANY city!], which just happened to be in the same district as our hotel… visited a few outdoor galleries, which were wonderful [I’ve never seen an outdoor gallery before]… sat on the docks and watched the boats and the buildings and the people and the sunny sky and everything, everything, everything

--had dinner at a lovely pizzeria… my first pizza in Italy! We quickly learned about italy’s “cover charge” system for many restaurants… customers don’t have to tip, but they have to pay a fee to sit in the restaurant

--spent the ENTIRE evening just wandering aimlessly and getting lost… it is soooooo NOT HARD to get lost in venice! Wandering the canals, listening to the lovely street performers (who are especially classy in venice, I observed), and sitting by the water… SO MUCH WATER… so much BEAUTIFUL water!

--had my FIRST GELATO! Omgeeeeeeeeeeeee, it changed my life forever. =D

--managed to get more lost than i think I’ve ever been anywhere ever… i wound up on some obscure waterfront [go figure] late at night all alone [I was supposed to meet up with kiet and our friend faye, who’s studying in Austria and Poland for the summer, but was simply too lost to do so..] the stars were shining brilliantly, a full-ish moon was out, and i sat down to stargaze… the water and sky created some of the most electrifying shades of blue that I’ve ever seen… it’s cheesey, but I’ve never felt more connected to van gogh’s “starry night”…. I literally felt like I was IN the painting… so perfect =]

--wandered utterly lost for a good hour or two and was relieved to hear english being spoken in the distance… followed the voice and met this LOVELY 40-something year old woman from California who was wandering with her italian boyfriend and his daughter [wandering and getting lost is a really popular thing to do in venice…] she told me the amusing story of how she met her boyfriend seven weeks prior and had gone home, sold her house, and moved to Italy to live with him… talk about a midlife crisis? In any case, she was wonderful and gave me a map and, together, we managed to find our way back to san marco’s, where we could catch the night boat! she was so great and told me I could come visit her in Italy any time I want

--met amy and chris while waiting for the night boat, two hilarious and charming friends from a small village of 120 people in england … we had a jolly good time talking about london, ny, our experiences in italy, and on and on… they’re the sort of people that you know for five minutes and feel like you’ve had as best friends for ages! I’ve met so many of those people this summer, actually… and I’m always so sad to leave them, knowing there’s very little chance we’ll ever meet again… ah, I don’t like thinking about that…

--woke up the next day for more wandering and exploring!

--spent time at san marco’s, the central square in venice where everyone hangs out

--fed the birds, as everyone does… got attacked by one, as probably only I do… [but at least it just attacked my head instead of pooping on it like the birds at versailles!]

--MORE PIZZA AND GELATO! SO STINKIN’ GOOOOOOOD.

--kiet and I had been told over and over to prepare for how expensive venice would be… however, we thought a lot of it was fairly cheap, compared to the prices we’d grown accustomed to during our month in paris… apparently we chose one of the most expensive cities in the world to study in! oh well, it made venice seem more affordable… which was super duper!

--explored little shops and a few museums, seriously just wandered and tried to soak it all up

--watched all of the gondolas! SOMEDAY I WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD A GONDOLA RIDE IN VENICE! The gondolas are all run by ridiculously Italian men in striped shirts and funky hats… such a romantic thing to do, so wonderful to watch!

--eventually had to say goodbye to venice…. DIDN’T WANT TO GO!

OH DEARY, IT WAS A GOOD TIME. if you ever visit Italy, your first priority MUST 100%ABSOLUTELY be venice!

i miss it already… [no, seriously...]

[an update]

i'm in florence right now, typing from a little internet cafe! i've been faaaailing at posting lately because my last week or so in paris was a tad insane [just lots and lots of going out and holding on to every last second of life there!] i left paris last saturday and have since been in italy, where i have to stumble into internet cafes for wi-fi and would much rather be out exploring than inside doing internet-ish things.

my week looks like this:

saturday: train from paris to milan
sunday: milan and venice
monday: venice and florence
tuesday: florence
wednesday: florence and rome
thursday: rome
friday: rome and naples
saturday: naples
sunday: siena
monday: milan and then AAAAAAMMMMMEEEEERRRRRICCCA! new york, to be exact. =]

italy is everything i could ask for.

and i really love gelatto. like, more than life itself.

i will post real things soon, perhaps.

reserved for paris