clairesadventure

...Claire posts twice in as many weeks!!
I know, but feel like I'm travelling again (well, cos I am) and all excited and so much to tell!
Rome was wicked, so much more that I expected, such an amazing captial. Its full of extremes, really old - turn a corner and there's a bunch of colomns or blocks of marble lying like they have been there forever, and probably have.. and the new - fashion and fanciness and anything you could ever want! Also frantic and mental, for zebra crossings the rule is just start walking and hold your breath as cars, buses, and scooters zip and out around you.. to peaceful and quaint and just beautiful, ivy hanging over red coloured terracota fracades and cobbled streets glistening at night.. ahhh!! All getting a bit poetic, but I really did love it! Did a lot of walking round just soaking it all in, as well as the usual sights of the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Trevi Fountain, and the Vatican (Sistine Chapel is worth the hours queuing and sharing it with hundred of other people!), St Peters Cathedral etc.
Only down point, getting caught in a downpour, man can it rain when it wants to!! Drenched to the skin and wading through ankle deep puddles to get home, but soon dried off and the sun came out tomorrow.. bet your bottom dollar...
Also met some cool chicks in me women only groovy hostel, so went out with them, sampled Gellato and checked out the Catacombe on the outskirts of Rome.. ohhh spookey...
The hostel was on the 'other' side (the Vatican side) of the city, in a real jewel of an area called Trastevere, very picteresque to the max.
Hard to leave, but had to be done, sure I'll be back!! Headed down to Napoli, thats Naples for us English folk who for some reason have to call it something different.. Staying in a very different hostel, homely and cozy, but lots of travelers and with a kitchen and balcony to hang out on its a bit more social.
Naples is even MORE crazy than Rome, which I didn't think possible. No road rules what so ever, if you can call them roads at all, most of the streets are so thin that a car barely scraps though, you have to almost press yourself up against the building when one beeps its way through! Which is why scooters are far more common, even see quad bikes.. and they go anywhere, footpath, one way streets the wrong way, sometimes with a whole family on the back..
Much more crowded and slum like here, and poverty is much more obvious, but I like it, definitely a working, living city whereas Rome (well, the centre that I saw) perhaps more stately.
Saw more treasures in the national museum, of which I am not growing tired of, and the harbour is stunning, big wide expanse with freight ships, cruise liners, sunbathers and Mt Vesuvius rising up above them all.. wow!!
Today I went to Pompeii, didn't realise how big it was, literally a whole town with streets, homes, shops, 'snack bars', the church and temples, administration, the forum, theatres, and amphitheatre.. and most sobering, the plaster casts of bodies huddled from the ash that are placed around the site.
Tomorrow, a new adventure - WWOOFing in Itlay! Became a member and found a place willing to have me, 'Ebbio' near Siena, Tuscany. A place with evergreen forests and an old volcano that produces organic olive oil, wine and veges.. also they believe in sustainablity and leaving the earth better than when we found it.. sounds great and hope it will be!! Looking forward to staying put for a while and getting stuck into something (and practicing my Italian!!), also experiencing the Italian countryside.
So, think thats it, will report back soon I'm sure, till then
HOW ARE YOU ALL?? do you still exist over there?!? Please send me an email, however short, if you get the chance as would be super cool to hear from you, promise to send you a personal one back!!
Love always..
Claire