The End

When I first had the idea for this trip, I thought it would have to last at least a few months in order to learn anything from it. I wanted to be away for a while because I thought it would immerse me in the whole thing, and maybe develop me. Plus, I thought that more time = more stories to tell to make me more interesting at parties (not that I ever go to any).

I had the view that going away for just a couple of weeks was only a brief holiday, and thought that even 6 weeks wouldn't be enough for whatever it is I thought I would experience.

Maybe that was narrow-minded. Maybe I didn't want to be just another backpacker interrailling around Europe and wanted to be a bit different. Sounds about right to be honest.

Now I see that it doesn't necessarily matter how long you're away for. You could have a startling epiphany on a long weekend in Bruges. Two weeks in Egypt might give you a different perspective. Me, I've learned a lot during my time away (including such useful information as the word for peacock in Italian) - but I just as surely know that now is the right time to leave, and that I don't feel the need to stay any longer.

Part of me thought I should stay in Europe longer because a) that was the plan, b) it felt like cheating just spending 6 weeks away, but also c) I felt like I was cheating by making such a big deal out of my trip (I've pretty much milked it for the last year), only to return home to my friends in a matter of weeks.

But time seems to pass differently when travelling. Days seem to be much longer, and two days in a city feels like a week. Similarly, my week at the riding school felt like a month. That morphing of time, combined with my rather short attention span, means that I realise now I don't think I will ever go travelling for a long period of time. At least, not until my attention span increases. Any tips?

Budapest

Budapest was one of my most anticipated cities on this trip. Partly because I had a more personal interest in the history of the city, and Hungary overall, as my mother was born here (and I still have family in the country).

Budapest is also the only city on this trip that I have in fact visited before; although, given that I was three years old at the time, I'm not going to be regaling you with many memories of that visit. Still, I feel it counts in some way.

The city felt to me like it was built on contradictions and oppositions. That's certainly helped by the geography of the place; old, hilly Buda on the west side of the Danube, and flat, busy, bustling Pest on the other side. And perhaps it's also down to my hostel being in a more down-at-heel location. But I felt like the city was both cosmopolitan and struggling, upbeat but also gloomy at times.

Again my hostel had an influence in this. Run by a couple of locals, they were extremely friendly and welcoming, but also more than willing to share all their opinions about their city, their country, its politics, and those of the EU. Given that one of the bunch spoke hardly any English, this took place in the form of numerous hand gestures with the occasional reference to Google Translate - which was bizarre and amusing, but also left me with the impression that Hungary is a country that was optimistic about the post-communism future, but has not seen all of those hopes realised.

This impression was confirmed further when I went on a walking tour which focused on the communist history of the city, where the guides spent some time talking about the older generation's experiences and their views now. The tour as a whole was fascinating, actually - some buildings still have not been renovated, and we walked past more than one which were still covered with bullet holes from the 1956 uprising. Apparently these streets are in high demand by Hollywood, as it saves them having to build sets for shooting scenes.

Anyway, that's enough of me being depressing and political. The place is interesting, exciting and beautiful. There are heaps of good places to eat - though, perhaps unsurprisingly, none of them served goulash soup as good as my mama's. If you ask nicely I'll make it for you sometime.

One thing I had decided on before I arrived was to visit one of the many baths - Szechenyi in particular, which is the oldest of all the baths in the city. And I'm so glad I did. Elegant and ornate old buildings combined with lounging around in pools and a sauna - what's not to love?

I also paid a visit to Café Gerbaud. This is a highly ornate establishment off the main shopping street in Pest, founded by a Swiss man who, according to the tour guide, was a highly skilled confectioner and master baker (heh...) but was too penniless to start his own business... Until, that is, he married a rich Hungarian lady. I'm glad he did - I had a delicious Dobos torte, which is a Hungarian cake made of many thin layers of cake and chocolate, with a hard caramel topping. As a girl who dabbles in baking occasionally, I know exactly how fiddly it would have been to make that cake, and that just made it all the more delicious.

I loved Café Gerbaud so much, in fact, that what was supposed to be cake and a cappuccino for elevenses turned into lunch - the second course of which was another cappuccino and a large ice cream sundae consisting of some kind of cinnamon cake, walnut and chocolate ice cream and layers of cream, topped with a chocolate macaron and solid chocolate sprayed gold. God, I would eat happily eat that 'meal' for the rest of the week.

Anyhoo. As I write this, I am no longer in Budapest (for which my teeth are probably thanking me). I have moved onto a small town called Révfülöp, on the north shore of Lake Balaton. The whole of the lake is something of a holiday destination for Hungarians, although more so in the larger towns around the shore.

Révfülöp is not one of the larger towns. And that's exactly how I like it. If you have no interest in swimming in a beautiful blue lake, or cycling through a national park, then Révfülöp is probably not for you as there really isn't much else to do. The town itself seems to consist of three restaurants and a couple of shops. As it is, I've been quite contented with swimming, sunbathing and ploughing my way through the books on my Kindle still left to read. And my hostel provides home made meals every night, as much as you want for the cheerful price of f1200 (less than four quid). I've just filled myself up on a massive (and delicious) bowl of goulash with heaps of fresh bread.

After this post, however, there may be a silence for a while. My next stop after Révfülöp is to visit family in Debrecen, which isn't really sightseeing or touristing or travelling but reuniting with people I know little of but wish I knew more, whom I haven't seen since communism first fell in the early 90s. As this is more interesting to me and probably considerably less interesting to you, dear reader, I won't be publishing those exploits on this blog but on the (slightly) more private medium of Facebook. So if you really care, you can keep your eyes peeled on there.

The houses of parliament

The changing of the guard on Castle hill in Buda

One of the buildings still awaiting renovation from the 1956 uprising. Apparently Jude Law and Jason Statham were hanging out making a film here recently. No big deal.

The houses of parliament at night time

The Chain Bridge

Prague

Well, this is going to be a brief post because I didn't actually do very much at all in Prague. There has been a bit of a heatwave in central Europe for the last week, and it was between 32-34c the whole time I was in Prague. For someone who is constantly cold when in the office, surprisingly I have come to the conclusion I actually detest hot weather - that is, if I have to do anything which requires more effort than lying down and eating ice cream. Consequently, my stay in Prague was flavoured with feelings of grouchiness and general lethargy.

I made it to the Mucha museum, which was a priority as I am a fan of the artist's work. And there were some beautiful pieces, so I would definitely recommend it.

On my second day I got up early to avoid the worst of the heat, walked up the hill to the castle, by which time it was far too hot. I decided I would rather not spend money on an entry ticket, because I would be too busy quietly melting in a corner to appreciate anything. So I struggled back down the hill, to a pleasant patch of greenery on Shooter's Island in the middle of the river, where I hid under the shade of the trees for more or less the rest of my stay.

Prague *is* very pretty, I will give it that. Had it been cooler, I would have been pleased enough just wandering through the little streets, exploring and getting happily lost. It's also very touristy, though, and there was a huge focus on the nightlife in my hostel; all anyone talked about was how much they drank the previous night, where they were going tonight and how much they were going to drink. I found it all rather childish, a bit tiresome, and a little bit alienating since it was clear I didn't really have anything in common with anyone there. So, as pretty as Prague was, I wasn't too disappointed when it was time to catch my train onto Vienna.

Berlin

My next stop after Stockholm (with a stopover in Copenhagen again to break up the journey) was Berlin.

I don't really feel like any of my words can do this place justice. It was Just. So. Interesting. Just being in the city and coming face to face with the wall and seeing other parts of the city with its past, made everything hit home so much more. I feel like when I get home I need to go out and buy a load of history books, because I drank in everything the tour guide said; who, incidentally, was very good, and had a wealth of knowledge... She is writing a book on Berlin's history, so that gives you an idea just how much she knew about the city.

Despite receiving recommendations from friends for places to go, I didn't really see the culture and nightlife of the city; mostly because I was caught up in the history side, but also because I didn't meet up with any other travellers and don't like the idea of going out at night on my own. But that was fine, it was engrossing enough just to explore in the daytime and do some learnin's. And that at least means I have an excuse to go back some time soon!

Jewish Memorial

East Side Gallery - artwork on a remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall

Stockholm

I have to be honest, I didn't love Stockholm as much as Copenhagen, though I can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe it is that elusive concept of hygge, which the Swedes don't seem to have.

However, it was still a lovely city, and if it wasn't quite as pleasant to stroll through as Copenhagen (and let's be honest, Stockholm is still nicer for an evening wander than Bradford), it made up for it by having so many interesting things to do. I believe there are around 80 museums/attractions in Stockholm and the vicinity, so it would be difficult to run out of things to do.

My main priority was, of course, the Abba museum - or rather, Abba: The Museum to give it its proper name, which personally I think sounds a) ridiculous, and b) like it's the title for their comeback album.
I'm going to restrain myself because I don't want to tire your poor eyes out, but this was literally the best thing I've been to on this trip so far, and possibly one of my favourite museum/attractions ever. I don't even care whether that vote loses me all my cool points, it was just brilliant.

The audio guide was narrated entirely by members of the band, describing their early life and music career pre-Abba, and their thoughts on success and the songwriting process - all of which was really interesting.

The originals of many of their unforgettable costumes are on display. There are also interactive parts, where you can have a go at mixing a song, following their dance moves, and even sing along karaoke-style. Elsewhere, there is a massive light-up dancefloor complete with disco ball, although when I passed through only the young kids were unembarrassed abuut dancing along.

Afterwards I blew my year's salary in the gift shop then wandered back, with obscure Abba songs playing in my head for the rest of the day.

Other things I did in Stockholm which were not related to Abba:

Wandered through Gamla Stan. This is the old part of the town, and had lots of narrow little alleyways with shops and restaurants.

Visited the Nordiskamuseet (Nordic Museum). This was super interesting, with many different exhibitions. My personal favourite was the Swedish folk art gallery; I love this style of decoration, and it was interesting to see how modern Nordic textiles have evolved from these beginnings.

Also, there was an exhibition about the Sami culture, which was hugely interesting and thought-provoking.

I then visited the Modernamuseet, so I could pretend to be all cultured by looking at some modern art - I thought this might balance out the cheesiness of Abba the previous day. Again, I learnt a lot, and saw some wonderful pieces. Not knowing a thing about art, and even less about modern art, I couldn't tell you what was so amazing about them or what they were saying, just that I liked something about them. But then, I tend to think that's all that matters.

I could easily have found plenty more things in Stockholm to do, and I didn't as much have time as I would have liked to just wander round the city. But it's probably fortunate for my bank account that I didn't,  as I spent even more money in Stockholm than I did in Copenhagen, eek.

This photo has convinced me that all cranes should be painted to look like giraffes

Gothenburg Pride

I didn't actually see a lot of Gothenburg; my one full day in the city coincided with me feeling a bit low and needing to hide, so I didn't explore too much. Most serendipitously, though, I did literally stumble across the gay pride march, so I thought I'd share some of the photos.

In Which I Share My Learnings

1. If you want to breakfast like an Italian does, you better not have diabetes. Seriously, I don't even consume that much sugar in my desserts.

2. If one is to buy a lovely new leather purse in Florence, and transfer one's belongings from the old purse to the new one, don't congratulate yourself on being uber-tidy and throwing out unnecessary bits of paper, when one of those now-thrown-away bits of paper is the deposit slip for your luggage left at the train station. Fortunately Italians are not known for sticking to the rules, so I did get my backpack returned safe, but not before a lot of frantic rummaging through handbag pockets and cursing under my breath like a mad old lady.

3. As an introvert, I have accepted that I need my downtime and I'm getting better at not feeling self-conscious about it. I prefer to get up early in the morning so I can sightsee while it's quiet; this then means, though, that by the time early evening comes I'm so drained from all the stimuli that I physically and mentally cannot cope with the stereotypical backpacker experience of going out drinking. I prefer to hole up either in my room or in a quiet corner of the bar if the hostel has its own, and read my book or surf the net. I've more or less stopped caring what other backpackers think of me, as I care about my sanity and wellbeing far more - and I know that if I let myself get too tired out, I just feel homesick so I'd rather avoid that.

Having said that, I did manage to successfully interact with actual real live people in the hostel in Copenhagen; I drank in the hostel bar two (two!) nights in a row, and even talked to more than one person on each night. I know, right?!

4. I still feel permanently guilty whenever I have to interact with a local, for the sole reason that I don't speak any other language. I feel like prefacing every sentence with an apology for being another stereotypical mono-lingual English person.

5. Following on from the above, I've more or less accepted that I don't understand what's going on around me most of the time. Bill Bryson writes in Neither Here Nor There that he likes being in a country where he doesn't speak the language, because he doesn't have to listen to an overheard boring conversation between strangers. As clever and witty as the man is, though, I can't agree with him here. One of my favourite things about public transport is gaining a picture of the people around you by the things they talk about, then making up ridiculous backstories for them. I initially felt like I was missing out on such minutiae away from the UK, but I've come to terms with it now and mostly just wander round in a state of amiable cluelessness - which is probably something I'll bring home with me, to be honest, because it's actually quite freeing.

6. Kindles (or other e-readers) are an absolute, 100% god-given lifesaver for travelling, solo or otherwise. It's kept me company in many restaurants, and has provided relief from the busy crowds. When I'm tired of walking but it's too nice to be inside, I can sit outside in a park, square or piazza and escape from the world. And it helps me to sleep at night. Of course, ordinary printed books do all this too, but at the rate I read I would have needed a second suitcase just for books. I'm only three weeks into my trip and already I've re-read the entire Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series; two other novels, and three works of non-fiction. Not gonna lie, I feel pretty smug about this.

In addition, I have a selection of phrasebooks stored on my Kindle so I can quickly check how to ask for the bill while I'm sat in a restaurant. I even have the Kindle app on my phone for the same reason, just in case I happen not to have the Kindle itself out.

I wholeheartedly eat and retract any negative comments I may have made about e-readers in the past; I'm a convert (though real books still have a firm place in my heart).

Copenhagen

I'm in love. I properly adored Copenhagen from the minute I left the train station to find my hostel, walking among cheerful crowds on a beautiful sunny evening past Tivoli Gardens (the second oldest amusement park in the world and the inspiration to Walt Disney for his theme parks, you can have those facts for free).

From the start of my first day here, and all throughout the day, I only loved it more. I joined a free walking tour which took in the town hall, the palace, Nyhavn and various other areas. The guide was highly entertaining with a well-placed dose of dry sarcasm, and had hundreds of interesting facts up his sleeve which always wins me over. Most interesting of all was the history about the Danish resistance during the Second World War, and the efforts of ordinary Danish people to help their Jewish neighbours. I'd highly recommend reading about it, it's very interesting - or, if you happen to be visiting Copenhagen any time soon, check them out here.

There are so many beautiful buildings everywhere, I don't think it's possible to take a bad photo. And with the weather as beautiful as it was during my stay, it was very easy to just sit around the harbour, enjoying the sunshine and having a drink. Truly hygge.

I then paid a visit to Christiania, which had been at the top of my to-do list for Copenhagen for a long time. A free independent state within the city which in terms of size is more of a commune. It's basically a large, friendly community of hippies; cars are banned, they have their own bicycles called Christianiabikes, and there are all sorts of cafes and bars inside, along with little market stalls and a blacksmith's workshop. There is loads of wild, colourful and brilliant street art, and the place just generally looks happy. I could have stayed there all afternoon, sitting by their incredibly loud soundsystem  and absorbing its heavy heavy bass, and the dancehall reggae they were blasting out. As it was, they were handing out free mix CDs so I took one to enjoy when I get home.

Copenhagen is unfortunately more expensive than any of the other places I've visited on my trip, but you know what, it's a price I'm happy to pay because it was so much more lovely than anywhere else I've visited (yes, even Florence). Basically, I just feel it's really unfair that I don't live there yet. I need to try and find a way to live in Christiania.

Munich & Hamburg

After leaving Florence, I spent three days in Germany. There is a sleeper train which runs most nights directly to Munich from Florence, and, being a bit of a nerd, couldn't resist taking this out of sheer curiosity. Plus, I reasoned, it was better value, seeing as I was paying for both transport and accommodation together.

On the other hand, it wasn't exactly a good night's sleep. Not through any fault of the train operator; nope, I was so enthralled with the novelty and romance of travelling at speed through the night to a different country, from the comfort of a bed in my own cabin, that I probably had all of about 3 hours sleep. Had I been less of a loser, though, I would have slept much more soundly as I can assure you that lying on a bed in a train, with your head on a pillow gazing out at the dark night, is very soothing indeed.

I arrived in Munich at 6:30 in the morning, which was actually lovely, even though some night owls might disagree. It was nice to walk through the city when all was quiet, and admire the buildings without all the tourists getting in the way of a good photo. It was, however, a long day, and by 6 in the evening I was totally pooped.

One of the reasons for going to Munich was that it is possible to do a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, which I had wanted to visit. In the end, though, I decided against it for a number of reasons: I was still really tired (and I know my limits as an introvert), the cost was higher than I had thought, and the travelling time would have been around a 4 hour round trip which I wasn't really up for. So instead, I visited Munich's Toy Museum in the morning, and then went to the Alte Pinakothek in the afternoon, one of Munich's art galleries.

The Toy Museum is a small place, ensconced in a little tower/turret thing near to the Town Hall. There are four rooms on separate floors as you go down a spiral staircase, all of which have interesting collections of German-made toys throughout the ages showing beautiful craftsmanship. It cost €4 for entry, and, while it didn't take long to see the whole place, it was a pleasant enough visit.

The tower where the Toy Museum is situated

It was a relief to get to the Alte Pinakotek, as it had started raining quite heavily at this point. The gallery is undergoing renovation so some parts were closed to the public, which meant a reduced entry rate. I have absolutely no knowledge of art, and my appreciation is rather simplistic - I just like looking at the pictures. They had a few Heironymous Bosch pieces, though, which made me happy as I do like his work.

There is also a lovely cafe inside the gallery, with a gorgeous seating area and nice high ceilings. It was utterly comforting to sit in there with a cappuccino, reading my book and watching the rain from my window seat. 

I only spent two full days in Munich, but that was enough for me. It was nice, but I have no desire to revisit. Perhaps for someone who is a beer aficionado it would be a fun trip as there are unsurprisingly plenty of pubs and beer gardens, but as I am not much of a drinker when I am alone, and detest beer in any case, this alas was not alas an aspect I could appreciate.

I then caught a train to Hamburg. I had only intended this to be a quick stopover to break up my journey to Copenhagen, as I would have had to change trains here anyway. But having had a brief glimpse of the place, I'm deeply regretting that as it seemed much more interesting than Munich. The warehouse district I found very impressive, as I did the inner/smaller lake. I didn't even have time to set foot on the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's seedy (read: entertaining) street.

Hamburg's warehouse district

Hamburg's Inner Alster (Lake)

On Plans.

I like plans. Plans are good. They give you the security of knowing what's going to happen, and make you feel a bit more prepared for that unknown that is the future. I like planning things, and they give me something to look forward to.

So I think I've made my opinions clear. I have for the last two or so years, been pondering and planning this trip of mine. Partly to give me something to look forward to, but also to give me some modicum of control and of knowing how to cope in a country where I don't speak the language.

Now that I'm here, however, I don't like my plans any more. I had aimed to spend a week or so at a time visiting different cities, and to intersperse that with a few weeks at a time with farmstays such as through Workaway or WWOOF. I figured this would offer a nice break from the constant travelling, walking and sightseeing, and balance things out. I like my quiet peaceful countryside, so it sounded ideal.

The thing is, though, I'm actually enjoying the travelling, walking and sightseeing. I don't really want to be lingering for weeks at a time in one place. I'm currently on my first farmstay, at a riding school southeast of Florence in the Tuscan countryside hillside and had planned to stay here three weeks. So far I've been here three days. While it's a lovely place, the whole ethos of workstays just doesn't seem to fit in with what I want any more. Plans and desires and motivations morph and evolve, and I think I need to be honest with myself and acknowledge that maybe, what is better right now is to wing it, and just do the backpacking-round-cities thing. I don't do spontaneous that easily when it comes to going places, so this is kind of a shock for me. But I'm going to go with it.

What it does mean, though, is that because I won't be spending 3 or 4 weeks at each farmstay, my trip will be significantly shorter than planned. I don't want to stay in one place for too long, but my budget constraints mean I can't just use that extra time to travel to other places. It's a possibility, but it's unlikely.

So. I will be leaving my workstay in Tuscany at the end of the week, and deciding where to go next. It wasn't what was planned, but it's what I want to do, so nyer nyer to the haterz.

Florence

Oh, Firenze. So many people told me before I left the UK how beautiful they thought Florence was. I remembered their comments, while remaining a bit skeptical - purely because whenever a lot of people tell me how amazing a thing is, my patented Anti-Peer-Pressure mechanism (aka Being Contrary) sets in. Which is why it took me two years to listen to people and sit down and watch Game of Thrones, now my favourite TV show.

I digress. Like I said, I didn't get my hopes up about Florence. But it didn't matter, I fell in love as soon as I got near my hostel and realised how close I was staying to the Duomo. I can step outside my hostel and see the cathedral down a narrow street.

I spent the first afternoon of my stay just sitting outside the Duomo and admiring its beauty, whilst eating the best gelato ever (from Edoardo - if you're in Florence, it's highly recommended), and listening to a man play songs from Amélie on the accordion. 

I could seriously just walk the streets of Florence and nothing else, and be happy. And that, indeed, is more or less what I did.

I am currently staying at a riding school in Tuscany, not too far from Florence. So there will be less of the frenzied city updates, but hopefully not for too long.

Herculaneum

As I mentioned in my previous post, my main reason for coming to Naples in the first place was to visit Pompeii. Just because, you know, it had to be done. But a couple of months ago, my tattooist (who has a degree in anthropology, so I trust her judgement) said that Herculaneum is generally considered to be a better visit than Pompeii. I had sort of hoped I might manage to squeeze both in, which I might have done had I been more organised/less tired.

I set off from my hostel a little after 9, and got to Herculaneum around 10am. It *should* be extremely easy to get there; however, Naples aren't exactly very forthcoming with their railway route maps or departure boards so I took a guess and fortunately won.

Anyhoo. The site itself is really close to the train station, a 5 minute walk down the main road and you're there. I spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering round the ruins and looking at all the different buildings and rooms which had been excavated.

Here would be a nice moment for me to share some interesting fact-aroons about Herculaneum. Sadly, my brain just doesn't work that way and so I can't remember anything useful. However, I will share some interesting photos instead.

The view when entering the site

Thermopolium - an establishment serving lunchtime hot food

Hanging round at another thermopolium. Didn't get any lunch though. #PoorService

I came out of Herculaneum around noon. If I'd had the energy, it would have been possible to fit Pompeii in as well, as the site was open until 7pm, but it would have been a long and tiring day. So instead, I headed back to Naples and went to the Archaeological Museum. I'm very glad I did, because this is where many of the artifacts retrieved from both Pompeii and Herculaneum are stored, so in my opinion if you go to the sites themselves, the museum is a must-visit too.

I spent a couple of hours in there, though I neglected to acquire a map and I have a feeling I missed out on some rooms - again, as with the rest of Naples, any helpful signage seems to be not only optional, but actually frowned upon. Maybe it's to ensure people earn the privilege of visiting them, I don't know. I did, however, manage to find the 'Secret Cabinet' - this is the room containing all the ruder pieces of art excavated from the volcano sites, including many, many, many phalluses (they were used as good luck talismans and were often placed over doorways to ward off evil). Don't be frightened, though, I took no pictures.

Naples

I really wasn't looking forward to Naples. The suburbs I saw from my train ride in looked grim and dismal. Also, Bill Bryson had nothing nice whatever to say about the place in Here and There, so it wasn't looking promising. I only had one full day, so I was fully expecting to just visit Pompeii or Herculaneum, and that would be it.

My arrival certainly didn't get off to a good start. The short walk from the train station to my hostel proved all the stereotypes about Italian men and their attitude to women, and I felt really uncomfortable. Especially when I realised how much of a dive the area my hostel was in - in the market area, covered with litter, and generally just looking rough. I had visions of... Well, I'm not going to say what those visions were, because my family are reading this and I don't want to worry them.

In any case, all's well. I met up with a fellow traveller literally as I checked in at the hostel, and we went for a walk along the coastline to try and find some interesting parts of Naples. It wasn't pleasant in some areas - I think I may have seen a homeless man squatting by the side of a busy main road but I looked away out of decorum.

We got to the Castel Dell' Ovo. A lovely old building, and you can climb almost to the top which gives you a great view over the bay. Plus, it was free of charge which is always good in my book. The free entry I think may have contributed to the number of people loitering around, but in a good way - there were locals just sat on the cannons, reading books.

Castel dell' Ovo. Sadly it was a grey and rainy day so the Mediterranean was an uncharacteristic shade of grey

We then managed to find the posh part of Naples - entirely by accident. It was bizarre, but that's because I've only ever seen shops of that calibre in drizzly cold Bond Street in London, rather than a sunny coastal town. Needless to say, I had no desire to linger and risk spending my money in Prada or Valentino. We did, however, manage to find a couple more old pretty buildings.

After a brief detour of getting lost - and by brief I mean two hours - it was dinnertime, so on the recommendation of the hostel staff headed to Gino Sorbillo's. Seriously. Possibly the best pizza of my life. And, and! To further endear myself to the area, there was an older gentleman sat at a table nearby, with a King Charles spaniel on his lap, which was just totally normal. Perfect.

Last night there was a walking tour arranged by one of the hostel staff, so I headed out with a few others. When I say 'walking tour', I really mean our host just walked us to the cheapest/best drinking spots in the area. Apparently Naples is the cheapest place for alcohol... I had a bottle (yes, you read that right) of gin and tonic for €1.50. Dangerous stuff. But the atmosphere was brilliant, I don't think I could even compare it to anywhere else.

And what really won me over to Naples? Yes, it's dirty and grimy. But it's so vibrant, and real, and just the atmosphere feels totally alive and fun. 

Rome Part 2

Now that I have a better internet connection, I've been able to upload a selection of photos from Rome. Enjoy! (or not - my photography skills are not that great).

Trastevere

See how much I like bridges?

Castel Sant' Angelo

Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

The Colosseum