So much to tell you!

Well this might officially be my biggest post ever! Some might be a bit repetitive of my last two posts so sorry if it is. I'm just going to start at the beginning and tell you all about my week. Maybe this would be a good time to grab a coffee or a muffin or something. ;)

Taormina, Sicily was so nice to see. I mentioned my lovely train ride and have pretty much vowed to never take an overnight train again after my 2 train experiences. After I relaxed for a bit in my hotel room I hit the town to see the sights. I came across the most gorgeous paintings. I headed up to see them and the painter himself was running his store. I actually found one that I wanted to buy. I went in and talked to him about them and he was so nice, spoke a bit of English and because he found out I was from Canada (and he has actually been) he was going to give me a really special price. (better than the American pricing he told me). So, for the low low price of 600 euros, I could take this painting home. Now, to give him some credit, from what I read around the store, I believe he is kinda famous and has had exhibitions showcasing his work all over the world for over 30 years now (I wasn’t kidding, it was the most gorgeous painting I have ever seen). However, we had a nice chat, I thanked him so much for talking with me and I headed on my way. Ah to be able to afford a 600euro painting. Boy though would that have looked great in my living room. I took a picture so I can remember it. :)

I found so many really cool stores along the way and only came out with some pistachios, some pistachio cream liquor (its famous around here I guess) and some earrings made from some lava stone. I also walked to the Greek Theatre. It was started to be built in the 3rd century BC by the Greeks and then the Romans later finished it. They still use it for theatres and shows today. I went back to the hotel then and sat at the pool and had a swim for an hour or so.

I then decided to go out for supper. I was told this one restaurant had swordfish (Sicily is famous for their swordfish) and I really wanted to try it. Well I got there, and had already ordered a drink and the chick tells me they don’t serve swordfish. Ugh! So, 40euros later (wine for 5 euros and pasta and a piece of what tasted like tuna fish for 35 euros), I had my supper and headed back to the hotel. I’ll make sure I double and triple check the menu next time before sitting down. Sigh...

The next day I headed out on my Mount Etna tour (which I think I mentioned briefly). It was a really cool experience. We stopped along the way and we actually went under the ground into a small cave that was formed by the lava. It was damp and little drops of water would fall down on us. Their was only the 3 of us on the tour (me and a couple from England in there 50's) which actually made the excursion much more fun. We stopped at two different winery's along the way and also a Honey place. I tried about 10 different wines, 10 different olive oils and about 20 different honeys in all. I bought 2 different wines, a garlic flavoured olive oil and a small jar of berry flavoured honey.

We could only go about 3/4 of the way up the mountain which was ok. The view was still so beautiful and we stopped a place were we got to get out and walk around, take some pictures, buy some souvenirs, and then we headed back down the mountain.

That evening I was pretty broke from my meal the evening before that I settled on chips and gelato as my supper choice for the evening. lol I was sitting in the main square overlooking the most beautiful view in Taormina and ended up striking a conversation with two girls from England (in their 20's). We talked for a couple of hours and just hung out. They recommended a really cute little pasta place for supper so I ate there the following night. Then I went home to get some sleep.

My last day in Taormina was very relaxing. I packed up my bags but asked for an 7pm checkout (because my train left at 10:30). I headed down to Isola Bella (a really beautiful beach pictured above). I rented a chair and umbrella for the day and just sat and read my book. To be honest I never actually went into the water there though because I had no shoes that could go in the water. Maybe this is a good time to discuss the beaches in Italy.... They have the most beautiful warm water you would ever swim in but the beaches are horrible. They are all rocks, no sand. I wish I was kidding but the rocks are anywhere from pebbles to the size of your fist and this is what you walk on, lay down on and what is in the water when you are trying to walk into it. You definitely need some sort of water shoes in order to go into the water.

That evening I headed out to the train station. I wanted to be almost an hour early just in case and luck be to me the train was delayed until after 12am so I ended up sitting on a bench for over 2.5 hours. I talked with 2 people that were sharing my bench though through broken English/Italian but we managed. :)

Arrived in Sorrento by a train connection in Naples and found my hotel (hostel) that I mentioned in the previous post. Weirdly enough though, I wasn't looking forward to staying there but now that I have done it, I would probably do it again if I was travelling on a very limited budget. There were 7 other girls in the room with me and I felt like I was 12 again at bible camp. :) We talked for a few hours while lying in our bunks and then went to sleep. It was not a bad experience at all. I met some really nice girls and one of them was actually heading to Pomeii on Sunday (which I was planning on doing also). We decided to go together.

Pomeii was interesting. Very cool to see. Some things disturbing about it though. We spent about 3 hours wandering around the ruins. I actually wished we would have done the guide thing as it was only a 2 hour tour and took you to all of the major spots in the town. We ended up back in Sorrento by 4. Had some gelato choc and vanilla and we sat in the piazza across from the gelateria. I tried to shake an orange tree because I really wanted to see if I could try an orange right off the vine. Couldn’t get the oranges to fall though. lol We sat down at the pier for ages. Came back, had shower and we met again for supper. Saw a really pretty sunset over the sea. Decided to hang out down at pier again because there was a concert playing that night. Sal DeVinci was the headliner. Really good actually. I think I might try to find his cd somewhere. They don’t sell them at the concert… weird. The kids were crazy and everywhere. People also makeout wherever they want which is kinda funny, slightly tiring as you are trying to dodge them all the time. lol I seen many cats wandering about. The day was actually filled with so many funny things. Saw a tourist booth in Pompeii that was selling randoms and they had a Canadian flag hanging on the front of there booth. We also seen a marching band back in Sorrento during supper that wasn't very good but it was still fun entertainment. It ended up being some festival of the Madonna that Sunday in Sorrento which is why the marching band was there as well as the concert that night. During supper though, we started to hear a priest talking and it turns out there was a church service going on right in the middle of the pier. Very strange. The choir was singing, everyone was praying and they even had communion. It was all very strange to see in the middle of a very crowded public place. During the concert that night there were also booths set up giving away these gigantic meatballs. lol Seriously. There was one huge meatball (the size of my fist) and they plopped it into a bun. Very comical.

Monday I went to Capri. Bit of gong show getting there. I needed to be at the pier at 9:40. Was rushed a bit but made it there ok. Went to what I thought was the gate only to be told to go back… I hand gone the wrong way. Asked other workers and no one knew where I should be going. Finally found the booth that I need to get ticket at and then had to run (literally) back to the ferry. It was pulling away as about 10 of us were running to jump on. Pretty crazy really. Decided to do a tour when I got to Capri. Tour guide Jerry took about 15 of us (mostly brits) on a really cool tour. There was a really crazy high mountain that you could actually go up to the top of. In order to get up though you needed to go up a one person chair lift. I was scared shitless but the view was so beautiful. It actually took 12 minutes to get up this mountain so you can only imagine how high it was. I just knew though if I didn't go I would have regretted it. I ended meeting 3 ladies (Di, Linda and Megan from England) that were traveling together. We all shared a lunch and they were nice enough to let me hang out with them for the day. They were all so lovely. We decided to go to the beach for a bit before heading back to Sorrento. Di went in but I sat on a big rock with just my feet in the water with the other 2 ladies because I didn’t have my swimsuit (which in England they are called costumes) with me. She finally talked me into coming in clothes and all. I did, jean shorts, tank top, bra and all. We stayed in for almost an hour I think. The water was so nice and just what I needed to cool off. I love the salty taste of it. When I got out, I came as close to being on a nude beach as possible and took off my top to put a different one on that I had brought. No one even blinked an eye at me. Again… weird. I swapped email address with the 3 ladies and hope to keep in touch.

That night I just went out for some supper and then wandered down the main drag. So many street performers out and some of them were really fun to watch. They really put on a show. I heard some music in a building so I checked it out. It turned out to be a fashion show. Models were not very good but it was still cool to see. I only sat for about 20min and then headed back to Hotel Linda (the new place I was staying in).

Tuesday I went on a boat tour of the Almafi coast. Again I ended up sitting next to a couple from England. Is anyone seeing a pattern here?!? lol They were super funny. He was always cracking jokes an she was just a very nice lady to visit with. Our first stop was on the other side of Capri where we got to get off the boat and swim for about 1/2 hour. The boat had a ladder that actually went right into the water which was really super cool and I walked right off it into crazy deep turquoise blue water. It was wonderful! The water was really rough though. Josee (the lady I was hanging with) and I only stayed in for about 15 min and then her husband went in for the rest of the time. I then headed for the showers on board, got cleaned up and then we were on our way around the coast again. the view was so beautiful. There was houses and churches all along the coast and up really high on the mountain. We were trying to figure out how people actually live that way, but it must work for them somehow. We stopped in Almafi for about 2 hours. I had some gelato (which I actually found a piece of broken glass in so that kinda sucked) and just hung out at the pier. We ended up back in Sorrento a little after 5pm. I went home for a shower because I can not stress enough how hot the sun is and how much a person sweats over here. Its kinda gross really. :{

Throughout my week long trip, I accumulated about 2 bags of random gifts and souvenirs. I had so much fun and definitely want to go back one day (maybe even before I leave Italy). I have decided that I think Sorrento is one of my most favorite spots I have ever been to in the whole world. I also met so many nice people from England on my trip. It was weird really. lol Every group that I met (other than the girls in Taormina) were in there 50's/60's and everyone took me under there wings and were very nice to me. The all had children my age and some had grandchildren. I also have noticed that because I was hanging out with English people every day during my holidays, I actually have found that I have already picked up a few english words as well as an accent sometimes. Its really quite funny. I don't even notice I'm doing it until its to late. LOL My favorite word so far is lovely. Everything is so lovely, this trip has been lovely, everyone I met has been lovely, you get the picture. lol

I ended back at home late last night (around 10pm) and talked with mom and dad for awhile on Skype. Today is laundry day and I'm trying to decided where to go tomorrow. :) I still have one more day to use up on my eurorail pass and I don't want it to go to waste, so I think I might make a day trip somewhere. Not sure where yet though.

Also, I put a few extra pictures up on my flicker account if anyone wants to see them. You can get to it by going into my profile and under Contact you will see a My Web Page. Click on that and it should take you directly to my flicker site. I can't wait to show you all of them, but flicker only lets you put on a few every month so I tried to chose some of my most favorite (out of the over a 100 that I took) :)

Temp high: to crazy hot this past week to remember
Gelato: Well I had some pretty much every day but my most memorable would have to be the pistachio gelato I had in Taormina. It was just lovely! ;)