Dubrovnik, Croatia – Day 2 & 3!
// June 20th, 2008 // No Comments » // Croatia, Travel
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Day 2:
This morning we woke up fairly early so that we could catch the 9:00AM boat to the Island of Lokrum which is located just off the coast of Dubrovnik.
There is no need for reservations as many other activities in Dubrovnik need to be reserved at least one day ahead. With this boat ride to Lokrum, you simply walk down to the Old Port of Dubrovnik, find the Lokrum Island boat stand and purchase your 40 Kn ($8.63) round trip ticket. Boats depart from the Old Port of Dubrovnik to Lokrum every hour so you pretty much never have to worry about being stranded on the Island for too long. If you’d like more information please visit the official website of Lokrum
It took about 15 minutes to get to Lokrum, and the boat goes really slow so you have plenty of time to snap some photos of the Old Town of Dubrovnik as you’re leaving the port, the hill side where our apartment is, and the Island of Lokrum as you sail closer and closer to it.
Once we arrived on the island we walked straight to the Mrtvo More (Dead Sea) a natural saltwater pool that is fed by the sea that surrounds Lokrum. We dropped our bags and I had to coax Liz into getting into the water because she has a fear of cold water. Not really, but you’d think she did at least. In reality the sea here isn’t cold at all. It’s probably 20 degrees warmer than any water on any beach in Massachusetts, but she still thinks it’s too cold to swim. We swam around in the Dead Sea for a few minutes and Liz took a few cool photos of me messing around in the water.
After exploring the Dead Sea, we headed off to the cliff side of Lokrum where we found an amazing photo opportunity! It was basically a hole cut out of the rock with a view of the Adriatic Sea in the background. One of the most amazing photos I’ve taken to date on this trip so far. That was definitely one of the main highlights of Lokrum.
Afterwards we strolled along the cliffs and took a few photos of each other…
The next highlight was the Nudist Beach on Lokrum. Well maybe I’m lying about the “highlight” part. As usual, I seem to find the nude beaches that have all of the elderly sunbathing on them (ex. the topless beach I visited in Benidorm, Spain). As soon as we arrived we saw a few creepy old men lying out and they were staring at us as we walked as far down the beach as possible. We finally arrived at a spot on the rocks where we thought we would be safe and once again I jumped in the water (fully clothed) and swam for about 25 minutes or so while Liz caught some rays. Unfortunately, or fortunately there were no photos allowed on the beach. Lucky you!
We departed from Lokrum Island around noon time and headed back to Dubrovnik. Once we arrived at the port we decided we would go to Buza (Cold Drinks), a cafe that lies outside of the castle walls of Dubrovnik. Once we got down to the bottom Liz wanted to lie out for a little longer so I wasted no time and did my first cliff jump in Dubrovnik! Of course I scoped out the landing again before jumping. The water had to be at least 75 feet deep in one spot so it was a perfect place to land. (Video coming soon!)
It was now approaching dinner time and Liz and I were starving! We stopped at the supermarket on the way back to our apartment to pick up some food and drinks. Once we got back Liz got right to cooking and I spent some time cleaning up the apartment. For dinner we had Spaghetti, and sauce with chicken mixed through it. We set up the table outside on our balcony that overlooks the Old Town of Dubrovnik.
After dinner we headed back down to Old Town to have a drink on another cafe that lies outside of the castle walls of Dubrovnik. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of it! It’s located just around the corner from the other cafe (Buza). We sat down and had a vodka and cranberry as the sun set over Dubrovnik and the weather was amazing. What a great end to our second night in Croatia!
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Day 3:
This morning we slept in until around 10:00AM and I was surprised that Liz slept that long because I know myself how hard it is to adapt to the time difference here in Europe. We’re six hours ahead of Boston and it’s usually really difficult to adapt during the first few days after you arrive. We didn’t really have much planned for the day other than to find the Tourist Information and search for some day trips that we can take from Dubrovnik at some of the travel agencies in town.
We headed down to Old Town and finally found Tourist Information! It’s taken us a couple days to find the place! When we finally arrived we picked ourselves up a map and a few brochures that looked interesting. Once we finished there we headed off to a travel agency called Adriatic Explore. They have all sorts of day trips so we sat down with the travel agent and got more information on some of the trips that we were interested in. We decided to think a little more before making any decisions and we grabbed a brochure on our way out.
After leaving we decided to head off to Banje Beach, the beach that spit up a rock that hit me directly in the forehead on the first day I arrived here. The difference between today and our first day here was that the ocean was much more calm. After taking a swim at Banje Beach today I realized how insane I was going into the water on the first day in the first place. It was crazy!
We swam around in the shallow, rocky water and then laid out for a few before heading back for a late lunch. Velveeta, and chicken! Mmm! Liz actually brought Velveeta to Europe for me, because she knows how much I love it. Unfortunately you can’t find Velveeta here in Europe. Not that I know of at least. All I know is that it was so good!
We both took showers to rinse off all of the salt from our bodies and got dressed before heading down to Fresh, a small bar/cafe down in Old Town that offers free Wi-Fi Internet, and has all sorts of cheap alcoholic drinks. Once there I uploaded some new photos to the site, and made a few phone calls back home. We sat there and had a few drinks before heading back up to the apartment to drop my laptop off before we went out for the night.
At around 8:45PM we headed down to Old Town to watch the big European football match (Croatia vs. Turkey). The crowds were crazy, and everyone was dressed in the Croatian team colors (Red & White Checkers). There was a giant projector screen that was mounted up on the wall near the bell tower in Old Town that was showing the game. Liz and I got a front row seat in the Stradun (main street in Old Town Dubrovnik) and we watched the game as the crowd went crazy!
Neither team scored all game until Croatia scored with less than two minutes left! Everyone went absolutely nuts! There were fireworks going off in the city, people lighting torches, blowing air horns and more. Within 30 seconds Turkey came back and scored to tie the game. Nobody could believe it! This meant that the game would be decided on penalty kicks. Croatia was up first and they missed their first kick. It was pretty much over from this point on. Turkey scored on most, if not all of their penalty kicks (can’t remember) and Croatia missed all but one! It was an unfortunate end to the night, the crowd quieted, and everyone seemed to scatter home in disgust. Fortunately for Liz and I we had a great time and would’ve liked to see Croatia win but there were no hard feelings due to us just supporting the team where were vacationing!
Once the game finished we grabbed some gelato before heading back up to our apartment. Tomorrow we’re planning on doing a half day kayaking tour on the Adriatic Sea! Should be pretty exciting!
Bari, Italy to Dubrovnik, Croatia!
// June 18th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Croatia, Travel
Well, I’ll start off by saying that the 8.5 hour overnight ferry from Bari to Italy was almost worse than being on a bus for 3 weeks straight. I purchased a deck ticket for the journey which cost 46 Euro. If I was to purchase a cabin ticket, which included a bed, shower, and a private bathroom of my own the prices would have been astronomical! The deck pass simply gave you the option to either sleep out on the deck of the ferry, or go inside to the common areas which had tables, chairs and restaurant styles to find a place to sleep. At first I laid outside on the deck but then decided to head into the common area so that I could find myself a nice restaurant style booth to set up camp at.
Once I scoped out a vacant table I took my two bags and locked them up to the leg of the table so that I wouldn’t have to worry about people stealing anything as I slept. It worked out pretty well. The sleep part didn’t work out too well though. After you lie on these booth seats which have cushioning that is paper thin you realize that you’re really just sleeping on a piece of wood. It was a long ride, and all I wanted to do was sleep until the sun came up in Croatia.
At first I had the booth to myself but at one point during my tossing and turning I glanced over across the booth and found an older man sitting on the other side. I opened my eyes for a few seconds but was too tired to even say Hi. I was using my jacket as a pillow, and had no blanket. The worst part about it was that the air conditioning on the ship was blaring the whole night. Theres pro’s and con’s to everything. You could go outside and sleep on the deck of the boat on some wooden benches, and be warm because the weather was beautiful all night, or you could go inside where it was a tiny bit more comfortable and freeze to death from the A/C. I chose to sleep inside and by the time I realized how cold I was, I was too tired to move, nevermind unlock my bags and drag them outside with me. I simply just dealt with the cold, and tossed and turned the rest of the night while enduring the most uncomfortable sleep to date.
Finally the sun came up and we arrived at the port of Dubrovnik! I was so excited to finally be on land again.
I jogged off of the ferry as it docked and ran across the street to the ATM so that I could withdraw some Croatian currency (Croatian Kuna) for the bus to Old Town Dubrovnik from the port. Once I withdrew some money I jumped on the next bus to Old Town. After arriving I had to navigate my way to the apartment that Liz and I rented for the week. All I really knew was that it was situated in the foothills of the mountains here in Dubrovnik and it overlooked the Adriatic Sea and Old Town. It was 7:30AM. Here I am with no directions to my accommodations and I’m a walking zombie who’s carrying two backpacks with a total weight of nearly 40lbs on my shoulders. God, help me find this apartment so that I can just drop these bags! After taking a few correct turns I asked a few people if they knew the address that I had scribbled on a piece of paper. Each person that I asked led me a little closer and closer to my final destination. At last I arrived at my apartment. I checked in, and immediately threw my bags down. It was such a relief to finally be here. Now all I had to do was unpack some of my clothes, run to the nearest supermarket to grab some food and R-E-L-A-X!
The owner of the apartment had planned to pick Liz up at the Dubrovnik airport at 11:30AM so I went along for the ride with him. We arrived and waited for Liz to get her bags off of the plane and off again back to the apartment. It was so great to finally see someone from home. Who would’ve thought that I’d have visitors in Europe? Poor Liz had to take two seperate flights to get here, one from Boston to Dublin, and then another about two hours later from Dublin to Dubrovnik. The funniest part is that she traveled nearly 9 hours to get here from Boston, yet all I did was take a ferry directly across the Adriatic Sea from Bari to Dubrovnik and it took me nearly the same amount of time. How crazy is that?
Once we settled into our new home for the week we headed off to explore the Old Town of Dubrovnik. We spent quite a bit of time searching for the Tourist Information Center and in the end just gave up and spent the rest of the time seeing different sights, beautiful views from the castle walls, and more.
We even came across the popular, yet somewhat “secret spot” in Old Town which is a bar that lies on the outer edge of the castle walls and overlooks the sea.
I had read many articles and tips about this place in the past when researching Dubrovnik and I now know why everyone had so many good things to say about it. If you’re ever in the Old Town of Dubrovnik take a stroll around the walls that face the sea, and you’ll be sure to find it. The only way to know when you’re in the right place is when you see a wooden sign that says “COLD DRINKS ——->”. If you see that, follow the arrow and head through the door way. Be prepared to be amazed by the views and the opportunity to sit outside the castle walls of Dubrovnik while you sip on a beer or some wine.
After exploring Old Town we had some dinner at a nice restaurant called Arsenal. It’s a nice place with good food and has outdoor seating that overlooks the port. After our meal we headed back to our home for the week but not before making a quick stop into the supermarket on the way back to pick up some liquor. We got back to the house and immediately jumped into our bathing suits so that we could take a late afternoon swim at Banje Beach which is located below our apartment.
We arrived and realized that unfortunately Croatia isn’t the best place to find a sandy beach. I couldn’t understand why the locals called it a “Pebble Beach” when there were no pebbles, it was all rocks! I couldn’t resist the aqua colored water so I jumped right in. The waves were crazy! The only problem was that there were rocks the whole way out, no matter how far you swam out. Finally a big wave came and I thought I’d be cool and try to ride it into shore a bit. Well that didn’t work out too well. I ended up getting thrashed in the wave, flipped upside down and a rock which was also picked up by this giant wave cracked me in the forehead. I came out of the water stumbling and that was the last of Banje Beach for the day. Now I have a swollen lump on my head and it’s only my first day here!
After the beach we went back up to the apartment and took showers before heading out for the night. We met up with two roommates of mine that I had met in Naples about a week ago. They were here for one last night so we met up with them at this place called Gil’s which is located on the port. Gil’s is an unbelievable spot here in Dubrovnik. You can choose to sit on the ground level which is really modern and high end or head upstairs to the lounge where we went to lounge on giant bean bags on a patio that overlooks the sea.
It was quite the spot, if you can afford it that is. The drinks were really expensive compared to most places and since the girls that we met up with were finishing their last drink we decided to just hang out and grab a drink at the next spot that we would head to. We finished up at Gil’s and headed for a club/bar called Fuego which is located just outside of the Pile Gate entrance to the Old Town of Dubrovnik. It was a really chill spot and our waiter was really cool. He was giving us free shots throughout the night and even taking shots with us. We all had a great time and a good laugh. Once 11:00PM hit, we headed downstairs to the night club at Fuego. There was really nobody there so we had a drink and then Liz and I headed home to catch up on some much needed sleep after all of the traveling the both of us did in the past 24 hours.
Tomorrow we plan to head to the Island of Lokrum which is located about 15 minutes away by boat from Dubrovnik Old Port. Supposedly there’s a nude beach, a cove, some caves, and hiking trails on the island so we’re going to go check that out.
Until next time…
Grotte di Castellana & Polignano, Italy!
// June 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
This morning I woke up early and headed down to Bari Central Station so that I could catch the train to Grotte di Castellana, I had planned on trying to make the 11:00 Long Tour (in English) of the Caves of Castellana but when I arrived at the train station I realized that the next train wasn’t departing until 10:53AM. Unfortunately I missed the 11:00 Long tour but I had a back up plan! The back up plan was to take the 1:00PM Short tour of the caves if I ended up missing the long tour.
To make a long story short I arrived at Grotte di Castellana around noon time and as I walked off of the train I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. There were no signs, just a field with some dead grass, some trees and a few cars placed here and there.
I decided to try to walk through what I thought looked like a desolate car park and after asking a random man who passed me where the Grotte di Castellana was, he pointed me in the right direction.
Once I arrived at the Grotte I purchased my 1:00PM ticket for the Short tour of the caves and pretty much laid out on a bench in the sun for a little less than an hour. Once 1PM hit, I got in a line which included maybe 6 or 7 people and myself. I was surprised that it was empty, but then again it was a Monday afternoon at 1PM.
We met our guide Christina who walked us down into the first cave and informed us that we were allowed to take photos and videos in this part of the cave only.
There were no photos or video allowed during the rest of the tour of the caves due to “copyright infringement”. I was pretty disappointed because I love to show my website viewers the in’s and out’s of everywhere that I visit on this trip. Unfortunately this time I couldn’t even sneak any photos or videos because they had a guide at the front speaking about the caves, and then another guide joined us at the back of the group.
I do have quite a few amazing photos of the first cave though here’s some more…
After the 45 minute walk through the caves we arrived back at the end and took an elevator back up to the exit. Overall I would say the trip to the caves was worth it’s 10 Euro admission price. It’s definitely a really cool thing to see if you’re in the Puglia region, or anywhere near Bari, Italy. It’s only an hour train ride from Bari, and I’d recommend you take the Long Tour instead of the Short tour I took if possible. Supposedly the long tour takes you to a cave called the White Cave which is supposed to be amazing. Unfortunately for me the train times screwed me up. Maybe next time!
Once I arrived back at Marina’s house I jumped in the shower and relaxed for a while before dinner. Marina’s mother cooked us pasta with REAL Ragu sauce and I’ll explain to you why I say “REAL” in this side note below.
Side note: Last night I was telling Marina about our version of “Italian” food back home. More like American-Italian food I guess. I was explaining to her that when we make pasta back home we buy pre made sauce from the store (ex. Prego, Ragu, etc). She couldn’t believe that we bought pre made sauce. Here in Italy, most if not all people make their tomato sauce from scratch if they are going to cook pasta. Marina also couldn’t believe that there was a brand called “Ragu” but yet it came in a traditional version that was just plain sauce with nothing else in it. Here, the word Ragu means “Tomato and meat sauce” and she found it so funny that there was a sauce called Ragu and it didn’t even have meat in it! I think it’s almost offensive to the Italians to hear these sort of things. She also couldn’t believe that there was a sauce called “Prego” either. She said why is the sauce called Prego? The meaning of Prego has absolutely nothing to do with tomato sauce at all! We had quite a few laughs about it.
Back to dinner, it was unbelievable as most Italian food has been so far here in Italy. Marina has showed me all sorts of new ways to cook pasta and I cannot wait to get home and try some of the recipe’s that she’s given me. Her mother served us up a traditional type of pasta that is used here in Bari which is called “Orecchiette”, and it was covered with Ragu sauce, the REAL Ragu sauce! The sauce was made with tomatoes, meat, mushrooms, and onions. Along with dinner we had some really strong red wine, and a glass of Limoncello (a traditional after dinner alcohol made with real lemons).
After dinner Marina took me to a city which is south of Bari called Polignano. She had been wanting to take me there for a few days now, but each night we were either busy doing something else, or too tired to make the trek. Tonight we made it down to Polignano and I was so happy that we did.
Once we arrived in Polignano it was sort of an issue to try to find parking but after a few minutes we ended up getting a really nice spot right near the entrance of the feast that was going on! I had never been to an Italian feast before, but I had heard of them in the past. They are basically just big celebrations in the streets full of people, lights, food, street vendors, alcohol and entertainment. Sweet! Here’s a photo as we walked through the entrance of the feast!
As we walked down the main street into Polignano, the edges of the road were crammed with street vendors that were selling the same old stuff, (fake purses, sunglasses, toys, wallets, wrist watches, and more). It’s pretty interesting to see, but at the same time after you walk a mile and see the same stuff being sold over and over it gets sort of boring. We split off down another road that led us to the Old Town of Polignano and I was amazed to see how clean the old town actually was. It was built with all white stone and it was just absolutely beautiful!
After walking through the Old Town of Polignano we arrived at the cliff side views of the sea. They were amazing. There were a few different view points that we visited. Here’s a few photos of the views from the cliffs.
Tonight is the last night that I’ll spend at Marina’s comfortable home in Bari. I’m excited to go to Croatia, yet sad that I have to leave already. It’s been a great 4 nights here in Bari and I hope to be back to visit again soon. I have to say that the Puglia region of Italy is one of my favorite parts of Italy so far. It’s so beautiful here, and the views of the sea on the coasts of some of many cities that lie along the Adriatic are simply unbelievable. Bari, and the Puglia region is somewhere that I would love to come back to. Thank you Marina!
A day in Capitolo, Italy!
// June 15th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
This morning I awoke around 8:15AM after getting quite a bit of sleep. I felt good yet at the same time somewhat tired. I think that when I sleep for too many hours that I’m even more tired when I awake sometimes. I jumped online to check my emails, had another nice breakfast with Marina and we headed off to Capitolo.
When we arrived in Capitolo we were met by Marina’s two friends Luciana, and Lidia. They were really friendly girls that were quick to tell me that they had studied English in the past but have forgotten most of it due to the lack of speaking the language over the last few years. I laughed and Marina explained to them that I don’t know much if any Italian either, so I guess that meant that Marina would be our personal translator for the day!
We all walked down to the beach that is right across the street from Luciana’s house in Capitolo. The beach was absolutely beautiful! The water was clear at the edge, and it then faded out to green and then blue in the distance. I couldn’t wait to jump in! I laid out on my towel for a few minutes before finding the water absolutely irresistible! I swam around in the water for about 25 minutes or so before heading back to my towel.
It was so refreshing, and so great to think that here I am on the east coast of Italy swimming in the Adriatic Sea, soaking up the sun and relaxing while “reality” awaits at home. Why am I so lucky? I don’t want this to end!
After spending a couple of hours at the beach, we headed back to Luciana’s house for lunch. In Italy most people tend to have a nice sized breakfast, a big lunch, and a smaller sized dinner. Today I realized what it was like to eat an Italian lunch! Luciana was a great host and she served up two courses of food for us on the outdoor patio of her house.
The first course was pasta of course! Not your typical pasta and tomato sauce though, it was bow-tie pasta with a creamy alfredo sauce and it had small chunks of ham mixed through it. It was great! Next up was a somewhat typical meal from back home which was roasted chicken breast with roasted potatoes that tasted like they were soaked in the juices from the chicken. Once again, the food was so GOOD!
During lunch we were entertained by Luciana’s brother Giuseppe who spent most of the lunch making jokes about how much he loved food, women, and his muscles. It was too funny. His warped perception of the ideal “hot american woman” was Pamela Anderson. He did not speak English but the one thing he could say in English was “Bay Watch”. I laughed hysterically and informed him that his girl Pam Anderson is actually viewed as trashy these days. He seemed to be disappointed in my statement about his girl but we all had a great laugh!
After our meal we went for a walk down to the beach again to attempt to walk off all of the food that we had just devoured and of course I had to grab a gelato before we headed back to the house. Marina and I headed back to Bari around 4:45PM and arrived back at her home around 5:30 just in time to meet all of her relatives that were visiting today. It was a great time even though I was surrounded by 10 or 12 of Marina’s relatives as they stared and spoke in Italian. Quite intimidating, but they ended up chatting up a storm with me and used poor Marina as the translator once again.
All in all, today was a great day. Another great day in Bari, and another great day on this amazing trip of mine. I’m one more day closer to reuniting with Liz in Croatia, and I couldn’t be more excited to see someone from home again! It’s been about 2 months now and I’m feigning to hang out with someone that I’ve spent months laughing with, joking with, dining out with, and just enjoying life with back home.
Tomorrow I will try to make it out to a town called Castellana Grotte in which there are these amazing caves that you can take a tours of. Until next time…
Bari & Torre a Mare, Italy!
// June 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
This morning I awoke to a really nice breakfast that Marina went out of her way to set up for me. She has been following my website over the past couple of months and feared that I would write a negative post about her breakfast because of some of the posts that I’ve written about the horrendous breakfasts that I’ve had here so far in Europe. Please understand that I don’t believe that all breakfasts are trash in Europe, I’ve had many great breakfasts actually! And breakfast with Marina was one of the best! She pretty much grabbed everything possible from her kitchen cabinets and placed it on the table for us to eat. It was great. There was cereal, fruit, biscuits, yogurt, and more! It was even better that we got to eat breakfast outside on her front porch with a view of the Adriatic Sea. The breeze was like no other and the sun was shining so bright. It was only 9:30AM. Paradise!
After breakfast I set out to get a closer look at the city of Bari. I took the #12 bus from just outside Marina’s house right down to the city center of Bari. From there I just explored the main shopping streets and even walked down to Old Town where I walked along the old castle walls of Bari. The views of the sea were really nice.
Unfortunately due to the time of day that I visited the city center of Bari most of the shops were closed. Most shops, restaurants, and other services close here from 1:30 to 5:30PM each day. It’s quite similar to a siesta in Spain really. After I explored the city a little bit I walked along the beach on my way back to the bus station.
Once I got back to Marina’s I took a siesta of my own. It was the first time that I’ve actually taken a nap during the day through out my whole trip so far! Put it this way, I’ve been very productive in Europe! I ended up napping for about two hours before waking up to my left over panzerotti from last night. Mmm! A panzerotti is flat bread folded in half stuffed with tomato sauce and mozzarella and can be baked or fried. I had Marina’s favorite type of Panzerotti which is the baked type. It was so GOOD! It’s like a pizza really, but Marina claims that “it’s not, it’s different”!
After dinner Marina was nice enough to take me to another coastal town south of her city called Torre a Mare which means Tower on the Sea. It’s a place where many people go on a nice warm night to hang out in it’s small square filled with restaurants, gelaterias, and more. It was a beautiful night, the town was illuminated and the lights were reflecting off of the water where many boats, and yachts were parked up for the night.
After visiting Torre a Mare, we headed back to Marina’s house and fell asleep quite early. We are planning on meeting two of Marina’s friends this morning one of which owns a beach house in Capitolo another coastal town south of Bari.
Naples to Bari, italy
// June 13th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Italy, Travel
Well, my stop over to Naples wasn’t too exciting to say the least. As soon as I walked off the ferry I wanted to turn around and walk back on. As I stepped on to the dock I could already smell the city. You know when you walk in to a real grimy city and you can almost smell the trash in the air? Well, in this case the trash was literally in the air, and all over the ground.
I had heard stories from fellow travelers that I’ve met along the way about Naples. Each and every one of them described it somewhat the same way. It was dirty, sketchy, and how else can you explain it, TRASHY! I had been warned, but I tend not to believe anything until I see it and that’s exactly what I did once I stepped off the boat at the port of Naples.
I ran across the street with my luggage trying to dodge the scooters and maniac drivers. I walked about 2 blocks took a left and as I turned the corner, there was my hostel! (Bella Capri Hotel/Hostel)! I had to pay 5 cents to use the elevator to get up to the sixth floor. Yes, you really do pay for everything in Europe. Toilets, and even elevators in some cities! Unbelievable right? I arrived at the sixth floor where the reception for Bella Capri Hostel/Hotel is located and checked in. I dropped my bags and headed upstairs to the lounge where they had free WIFI (another surprise) and I was really impressed with the conditions of this place. The lounge was really nice, it also served as the breakfast area. It had 3 PC’s, with internet, a flat panel tv on the wall with full cable TV, a common refridgerator, tables, chairs and more.
I jumped on the internet for a few to check some emails and then headed around the corner to grab some pizza. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and if you know me well you’d know that pizza is one of my favorite things to eat! They say some of the best pizza in the world is made in Naples. I wouldn’t totally agree with that, but it was pretty good!
After dinner I headed off for a walk down a few main streets near the port which had all sorts of shopping, and seedy watch shops, “looky, looky men” and trash EVERYWHERE. If you haven’t heard, Naples is undergoing a major and I mean MAJOR trash crisis. Check out an article about the crisis here. After walking around for a few and not being able to stomach the 5 to 6 foot piles of trash in the streets and the smell of wet garbage that is weeks old I decided to head back to my hostel and hibernate for the night.
I got back and hung out in my room with a few people and my three roommates. One guy was from Sweden, and the other 2 girls were originally from New Jersey but both went to school in Massachusetts. One of the girls actually lives in Medford currently so we ended up hanging out and chatting for a while before bed. She is traveling with her younger sister who is a student at UMass Amherst and is currently studying abroad in Spain. They were both really cool, and it was definitely refreshing to meet some people from back home.
This morning we headed to breakfast which included a croissant. Mmmm! I haven’t had a croissant since my Contiki Trip. That was a change! After breakfast we just hung out in our room until check out time. I headed on the tram down to the train/bus station and bought my bus ticket to Bari while my roommates headed off to the Ring Hostel in Ischia, where I had been 3 days previous to coming to Naples. After buying my bus ticket I grabbed a quick slice of pizza and walked around a bit. It was really sketchy around the train station. There was trash piled everywhere, and many people were approaching me from all sorts of directions trying to sell me laptops, iPhones, belts, hats, you name it! All fake of course… And what happens if you say no? They offer you all sorts of other junk products that you have no interest in. Sometimes they even offer you Hash, Cocaine, Ecstasy, and more. Well, that’s what happened to me at least. I was so over Naples, and couldn’t wait to get out of there.
The bus finally arrived and it was a three hour journey to Bari. When I arrived in Bari, I met up with my host Marina who I have been speaking with through CouchSurfing and Hospitality Club for a while now. I’ve been excited to meet her and she’s everything I had originally expected. We took the bus back to her house which is located on the Adriatic Sea here in Bari. It’s simply amazing!
I was shown to my room, or shall I say my own FLOOR of the house (the downstairs) which is finished and includes, a couch, a kitchen table, oven, microwave, refridgerator, bathroom with a shower, and more. Marina was also nice enough to feed me her mothers own home cooked Lasagna, but the difference was that this was not your typical Lasagna! It was mozzarella, broccoli, bacon, and some special sauce that was mixed together and made into Lasagna. At first I cringed at the idea of the four ingredients above, but after I tasted it I ended up chowing down two huge slices of it! It was the best! Now if I can only get the recipe!
After eating we headed up to the roof deck on top of her house. It was unreal! You could see for miles over the coast line of the Adriatic Sea as the sun was setting over Bari. I was in heaven! The roof deck of Marina’s house is now my favorite thing! We don’t have anything like this back at home. It seems to be quite the norm here in most houses in Italy. I like the idea of coming up to the roof deck on a sunny day to lay out, or even when the sun is setting and the cool breeze is blowing off of the sea. It’s so relaxing here. I’m really looking forward to chilling out here for the next few days.
Tomorrow I’ll be heading into the city of Bari to have a look around. I’ll hopefully get to explore the old city, and maybe even do a little shopping. We’ll see!
Ciao!
Ischia, Italy – Day 3
// June 11th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Italy, Travel
Another late morning! I woke up around 9:30 which is late compared to what I’ve been used to on this trip so far. Most mornings I’ve been up at 7:30, 8:00AM. Coming to Ischia was one of the best decisions I’ve made so far on this trip. It’s been such a refreshing get away for me. I’ve done nothing but lie in the sun, swim in the ocean, hang out in the hammocks on the roof deck, and take in every inch of the beautiful scenery around me. It’s the most relaxed I’ve been on the whole trip. It feels GREAT!
This morning I hung out with my Cali friends before they headed off to Naples. A little later on I decided to rent a bicycle from the hostel for 5 Euro. I headed off and cruised around Forio. I took a spin down to the beach, the cliffs, and stopped to grab some dinner before heading back to the hostel. It was fun, and it was cool to get back on a bike again. I haven’t ridden a bike since I cruised through the valleys of Hopfgarten, Austria a few weeks ago.
When I arrived back at the hostel I ate while I did some research on where I’ll be heading next. My original plan was to stay here in Forio (Ischia) at the Ring Hostel until Friday morning and then take off to Bari, Italy. Instead I’ve decided to jump on the ferry tomorrow morning to Naples and stay on the coast of Naples for a night before taking the train to Bari, Italy.
I found a brochure of a hostel in Naples here at the front desk of the Ring Hostel called Bella/Capri Hostel & Hotel. It looks like a really nice place. I asked the receptionist what she thought about it and she said she stayed there for 3 nights recently and really liked it. She said it was in a good location and also fairly cheap. I checked out the website a bit more and made a reservation for tomorrow night so I’m all set and ready to go!
Tonight I’m just going to hang out here and relax on the roof deck with a couple of beers. Theres really nobody else here, two canadian girls just showed up but that’s about it! This hostel is a ghost town at the moment, and I like it that way!
Ciao!
Ischia, Italy – Day 2
// June 10th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
Today I decided to sleep in a bit. I woke up around 10:00AM with no real set plans for the day for once. I figured that I’d spend some time doing a little research on where I’m off to next, and how I’m getting there (ferry, bus, train). I asked around whether I’d be better off taking a bus from Naples to Bari or a train. I was advised the train would be a better decision. So I think that’s what I’ll do.
After researching and updating my website I decided to take off to the beach for a swim. I had heard that there was some cliffs that you could jump off of about 15 minutes walk from the port of Forio so I took off on a mission to find them. I invited my two new friends from California, Rebecca and Kristen. We all headed off down to the port and then walked along the sidewalk for a bit before walking down to the waters edge until we saw the “cliffs” in the distance. The cliffs weren’t really cliffs, they were just giant sandstone type of rocks sticking out of the water. They were really cool though!
We finally arrived at the rocks and headed down the stairs to get to the beach level. We walked across quite a few huge boulders to get out to where we wanted to be. I found a big flat rock for us to lay our towels out on and it was right at the waters edge so it was a perfect spot. I threw my stuff down and jumped in to the water so that I could go get a better view of where I would land if I jumped off the big boulders or “cliffs”. There were no locals there jumping so I obviously had to have a look for myself of the landing area. I swam out to where I thought you would land and went under water to check out if there were any rocks in the way. It was clear, there were a few rocks on the right side but other than that it was really deep in this one spot and wide open so it was definitely safe enough to jump.
I swam over to the edge and climbed up on top of the big boulder and I’m really glad that Kristen and Rebecca were there because I would have no photos to prove it! That’s the one benefit of traveling with someone, the photos you can get of yourself without holding the camera in your own hand and taking photos of yourself. At first I jumped from a lower spot on the rock just to make sure it was safe enough. The next time I went up I ran and jumped from the top. It was sick! It wasn’t as high as other cliffs/bridges that I’ve jumped off in the past but it was a really good time. Who would have thought that I’d be on an island right now off of the coast of Italy jumping off cliffs into the ocean? This is crazy!
After jumping for the second time I instructed Rebecca on where to jump and land so that she could do it also. With no hesitation, she made the jump! I was pretty impressed. We hung out in the water for a bit and then swam through this crack in this huge boulder in the water, you could swim all the way through the center of the rock. It was amazing. The rock was so big, and if I knew where a good landing spot was, I would’ve jumped from it. But, unfortunately it was a little too far to swim out to find out where to land.
We swam back to the rock and laid out in the sun for a couple of hours, it was so relaxing. The sun was slowly setting and the temperature was absolutely perfect.
Today was one of the best days I’ve had in a while. Out of all of the places that I’ve visited in Italy so far, Ischia is surely one of the best places I’ve been to. Although there isn’t a whole lot to do on the island, the weather, the fairly reasonable prices, the scenery, and the somewhat courteous people make this island a great place. Also, it’s great for a real relaxing vacation in the sun. What makes Ischia even more appealing is the fact that you mostly see locals from the island. There are hardly any tourists here! The island of Capri is a totally different story!
Tonight I plan on having a beer or two on the roof deck of the hostel and heading to bed. No set plans for tomorrow, probably a little more research and then maybe I’ll take off to check out another part of this island.
Sorrento to Ischia, Italy!
// June 9th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Italy, Travel
This morning I had to wake up at 7AM so that I could jump in the shower, and get ready to check out of my hotel. The ferry that I needed to catch was leaving from the Port of Sorrento at 9:30, and there’s only one ferry daily from Sorrento to Ischia so I couldn’t be late!
I threw my backpack on my back and headed down to the train station. It took about 15 minutes to get to the station. I bought my ticket and headed 1 stop down to Sorrento. From there I made the walk down to the port to buy my ticket for the ferry. A one way ticket from Sorrento to Ischia on the only available ferry (Jet Boat) was 18.50 Euro. Sort of pricey if you ask me.
The ferry took about 45-50 minutes to get over to Ischia, I slept most of the way due to being so tired from the night before. When I arrived I immediately hopped off of the boat and headed straight to the bus ticket window. All I wanted to do is drop my backpack and see the island while the weather was nice. I bought a bus ticket for 1.20 Euro, and headed off on the #1 Bus to the port of Forio (Forio is an area on the west coast of Ischia) where my hostel is located.
I found directions to the Ring Hostel on their website the night before arriving and the directions were pretty spot on. I didn’t have any trouble finding it so that was comforting. After about a 15 minute walk from the Port of Forio, I finally arrived. When I walked in I felt like I was in a ghost town, there was one woman at reception that checked me in and the rest of the hostel was empty. When I was shown my room (the Blue Room) I walked through the dorm room and I was glad to see that there were a few backpacks and clothes under a few beds as I walked to the back to find my bed. It was nice to see that there actually were people staying here!
After picking my bed I changed into my bathing suit and planned on heading out to the Baia di Sorgeto (Natural Hot Springs) here in Ischia. I walked down to the Port of Forio and took the CS Bus to Panza where the Baia di Sorgeto is located. Unfortunately I missed the stop originally and had to take another short bus ride back to the Sorgeto stop but it wasn’t a big deal. Once I got off I had to walk about 15 minutes downhill until I reached the top edge of the cove (as you’ll see below).
From there I walked down 228 stairs to get to the bottom. At this point I was already envisioning the walk back up. Once I reached the bottom I dropped my bags underneath this little cave type of thing that is along the shore (as you’ll see below).
I couldn’t wait to get into the water! As you walk into the water it feels like an actual jacuzzi. You have to be very careful though because if you step or jump in the wrong spot of the water or you will literally burn yourself. That is how hot some of the spots are! I was told before I went there that I should only go into the spots of the water that people were already lying in because at least you know it’s not boiling in those areas.
I laid down in the shallow water up rested my head on a rock as the cool tide came in and swept the hot water from the shore edge back out towards me. It was an amazing feeling! I spent about 45 minutes lying in the water taking in the sun and relaxing. It was such a good time.
After spending some time at the Baia di Sorgeto I decided to head back to the hostel to shower and relax for a few hours before dinner. I took the bus back to the hostel, took a cold shower (no hot water here). Figures!
At 8PM a few of us met in the lobby of the hostel and headed on a crazy roller coaster type of car ride from the hostel to the owners restaurant which was located about 5-10 minutes away. Dinner was good, I sat with two girls from California (Rebecca & Kristen) that are staying with me at the Ring Hostel. I had Gnocchi and I also ordered a cheese pizza to go.
I was dead tired from the previous night so I headed to bed around 1AM. Tomorrow I’ll sleep in for a while and then head off to explore the island a little bit.
Sorrento to Pompei – Day 4!
// June 7th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
The sky was looking pretty overcast when I awoke this morning. I was hoping that by the time I got back from breakfast that it would clear up so that I could start my day. I had been planning on doing a day trip to Pompei and that’s exactly what I did.
After breakfast I headed back up to my room because it was still raining a bit. Twenty minutes later, my aunt and uncle knocked on the door and were heading down to the pool bar which serves food from 12-2PM. Odd hours, I know. Most pool bars tend to be open all day, not in Italy. They take random breaks during the day like the people of Spain!
I headed down to the pool to grab something to eat and to chat about what our plans for the day were. My aunt and uncle wanted to head to Capri, and I had already given Capri a shot the previous day and it sucked due to the torrential down pours. I wanted to head to Pompei for the day but I was waiting for the skies to clear up first before I even attempted to make the trip.
At around noon time I decided that I would head down to the train station which was a 15 minute walk from my hotel (S. Agnello Station) to head for Pompei. The Circumvesuviana train runs from Sorrento, to Naples with many stops in between, one being Pompei. I found it to be fairly fast, efficient, and very cheap (3.10 Euro – Day Pass). The only downfall to the Circumvesuviana train system is that they are not the cleanest trains. The outside of each train car is full of graffiti and the inside of the cars are no where near modern. I guess you get what you pay for here in Italy! It’s cheap, and it got me to Pompei, so that’s all I expected of it!
Sorrento to Capri – Day 3!
// June 6th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Italy, Travel
This morning I woke up and ran down to get breakfast before heading off to Capri for the day. I took the complimentary shuttle down to the center and walked down to the port as I did yesterday. This time I bought a ticket to Capri! There were two options, a ferry for 9.50 Euro, or a different type of ferry called a “Jetboat” which was 14.50 Euro and it gets you there much faster. Normally I’m in no rush, and I wasn’t in a rush today at all. I could have cared less what time I got there. The weather was nice, just heating up to around 65, 70 degrees but it was still early! The problem was that the next “slow” ferry wasn’t for a few hours so I was pretty much forced to take the jet boat to Capri. I bought a round trip ticket for 29 Euro, which I felt was pretty expensive, but whatever I was going to make the best of the day.
As we were cruising across the ocean to the Island of Capri the weather started to go sour. Real sour! I’m talking a giant black cloud sitting over the island of Capri. I couldn’t believe it. It took about 15-20 minutes and we arrived at the port of Capri. What do you know, it was pouring! Absolutely pouring. I told myself that I’d make the best of it so I bought a ticket for the cable car to get up to Ana Capri, a nice lookout that looks over the whole coast of Capri. The ticket for the cable car cost 1.40 Euro which I thought was pretty good. At the top you then need to take a small rickety bus to another point where you then need to take a chair lift, yep like the ones you use at a ski mountain. Finally you arrive at Ana Capri, you lose your breath due to the view, and the rest is happily ever after.
Unfortunately I didn’t get that far! As I got off the cable car I realized that it was pouring buckets. I decided to take the bus up a little further to see if the time would pass and the rain would stop but that didn’t happen either. When I finally arrived at the top where you would normally get the chair lift to the absolute top, I gave up. It was pouring rain, and it wasn’t stopping anytime soon. I ended up taking a taxi down with a few random people because it was raining so hard and the line for the bus was miles long. Everyone wanted to get down and get the hell out of there.
At the bottom I waited for a couple hours for my ferry, and spent more than I should have on junk food due to boredom. I was really disappointed with the day. Capri was a place that I was really looking forward to seeing. Unfortunately I picked the worst day, and I’ll just have to scrap my plans of seeing the top of Ana Capri. Well, tomorrow is another day, and I’m probably going to lounge by the pool for a few hours before deciding what I’ll visit next…
Unfortunately I didn’t get too many good photos today due to the weather… Grrrr!
In the end… Life Is Good!
Sorrento, Italy – Day 2!
// June 5th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
This morning I awoke just in time to run down to breakfast here at the hotel. It was included so, I made a real effort to get down there in time. The breakfast was actually pretty good. There was all sorts of cereals, pastries, eggs, bacon and more. The best part was that there was a chef that cooked omelets any way you liked them. You tell him what to put in and he cooks it up right in front of you. I was quite impressed! Plus it was the first really good breakfast that I’ve had in a while.
After breakfast I chilled out at the pool for a couple of hours. it’s beautiful out at the pool area. It’s located on the 2nd floor, and the pool overlooks the ocean in the distance. It’s pretty amazing. I didn’t get in the water, I pretty much just laid out for a bit.
Around noon time I decided to head back to my room so that I could get dressed to go explore Sorrento a little more. I took the complimentary shuttle down to the center and walked to the port of Sorrento to get some more information on the ferries that run from Sorrento to Ischia, Capri, Positano, Amalfi and more. After finding out some prices I made a last minute decision to take off on a ferry to Amalfi a coastal city that my parents stayed in last year for their 25th wedding anniversary. They raved about how beautiful it was, so I knew I had to make a trip down there.
I paid 9.50 Euro for a one way ticket to Amalfi, figuring that I’ll figure out what type of transportation I’d like to take back to Sorrento later on (bus, ferry, train, etc). I jumped on the ferry and we took off to Amalfi. Our first stop was Positano where a few people got off. The views I had from the boat of Positano were amazing. The houses were stacked one on top of another on the edge of the cliffs. It was beautiful. I actually wish that I got off to check out the city a little more but I was heading to Amalfi and I already paid a euro or two more to head to Amalfi instead of Positano. I stayed on the boat and just took some photos in the meantime as we were arriving and departing Positano. Check out the photos below.
Finally we arrived in Amalfi, it took just a little over an hour to get there. It was beautiful here as well! I jumped off the boat and headed to the store so that I could pick up a few postcards. I bought a few, wrote them all out while sitting on the ocean front of Amalfi and posted them off! It was great.
I headed off to explore Amalfi a bit more, I didn’t wander too far. Just to the Cathedral di Amalfi which was pretty amazing. I walked up and down the stairs, there were 57 stairs to the top. (Yes, I counted!) I spent a couple hours just wandering around and I grabbed some pizza while I walked.
I was thinking about going to Ravello, but I wasn’t sure what time the buses ran to and I didn’t want to get caught in the middle of Amalfi with no bus, or ferry back so I decided to take a different mode of transportation back to Sorrento. A bus! Now, I have to say it was one of the most insane rides I’ve ever taken in my life. The roads back to Sorrento are on the edge of a cliff the whole entire way. At every twist and bend the driver beeps the horn to let drivers on the other side know that he’s coming around the corner. It was unreal! An hour and 45 minutes of pure terror later, I arrived back in Sorrento safe and sound. I headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a couple hours before heading out again with my aunt and uncle.
We planned on heading to dinner down in Sorrento center at this place called the Foreigner’s Club, a restaurant located on the edge of the ocean situated way high up on the cliff edge with beautiful views of the port. We ordered our food and drinks and didn’t receive our drinks until our last bite of our meal. The waiter was really rude and the service was the worst. One of the worst I’ve experienced yet, but I think my waiter in Prague still takes the gold medal for worst service.
After dinner we met up with a couple that are friends with my aunt for a couple drinks and then we headed back home to the hotel. My aunt and uncle are attending the wedding tomorrow afternoon so I’m probably going to take off to Capri for the day! I’m really looking forward to seeing Capri!
Dublin to Sorrento, Italy!
// June 4th, 2008 // No Comments » // Italy, Travel
This morning we had to wake up at 4:00AM after heading to bed around 12:30AM. I was a complete zombie this morning. The taxi arrived at 4:30AM to pick us up and bring us to the Dublin airport. Our destination: Naples, Italy!
We arrived at the airport where we grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed down to the departure gate to wait for our flight. The flight ended up being just over 3 hours to Naples. It wasn’t too bad. I ended up getting three seats to myself so it worked out quite well. As we walked off the plane we could feel the heat. I was in paradise!
We jumped on a pre arranged coach and took a wild ride to our hotel. I thought the driving was bad in Ireland, it’s nothing compared to Italy! They drive like absolute maniacs here. Even the scooter drivers are nuts. Everyone seems to be in such a rush. More than home, believe it or not. Much more! We arrived at our hotel (Grand Hotel La Pace) just outside the center of Sorrento. The hotel was beautiful, and the rooms are pretty nice too. Much better than anything that I’ve stayed in on my trip through Europe so far. Granted, I’ve been staying in 2 or 3 star hotels for most of my trip. The Grand Hotel La Pace here in Sorrento, is a 5 Star. I can’t say I’ve ever stayed in a 5 Star hotel in my life, nevermind this trip.
After checking in my uncle, aunt and I headed down to Sorrento city center on the complimentary coach that runs from the hotel every couple of hours or so. We grabbed a beer at the Fauno Bar, a great place to chill out if you’re ever in Sorrento. It’s smack dab in the middle of the center so it’s a great place to sit back, relax and people watch if that’s what you’re into. Plus, they must have over 100 drinks on the menu. Everything you could want and more!
After the Fauno Bar we went to a pre wedding dinner at Photo, a higher end Bar/Restaurant which is located a block off of the main square. (My aunt and uncle are here in Sorrento attending a wedding). I went along and we had a few drinks and some food with another couple. We had some laughs, and headed home for the night. Just to warn you, never, EVER take a taxi home from Sorrento to your hotel. They are the most outrageous fares I have ever seen. When you step into the car, the meter reads 7.00 Euro. That’s what the rate starts at! We drove just a bit over a mile and the taxi far was 22 Euro! Unreal! You’re better off walking… seriously.
Tomorrow we’re going to lounge at the pool for the morning then figure out something to do for the afternoon… should be fun!
Three days of relaxation back in Dublin
// June 3rd, 2008 // No Comments » // Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Travel
This past Sunday I flew into Dublin from Amsterdam fresh off of a three week, ten country trip across Europe. The last three days here in Dublin have been full of nothing but rest and relaxation before I head off for another three weeks of traveling the south of Italy, and Croatia. These past few days have given me plenty of time to unpack, get all of my laundry done, and repack all of my gear for another few weeks.
Tomorrow I have an early morning flight to Naples, Italy from Dublin. I’ll be staying at a beautiful hotel in Sorrento for five nights called the Grand Hotel La Pace. After Sorrento, I head off on my own to a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea called Ischia for four nights. I’ll be staying in a hostel there called the Ring Hostel. By the looks of the website, and the reviews it seems like it should be a lot of fun!
After spending four nights in Ischia, I board the ferry back to Naples to catch a bus to Bari, a port city on the east coast of Italy. I’ll be staying in Bari with Marina a fellow CouchSurfer/Hospitality Club Member who has been planning to host me for a couple of months now. I’m excited to see yet another part of Italy that I haven’t been to yet. Bari will also most likely be the last city that I visit in Italy on my trip to Europe. At this point I will have covered the following cities in Italy: (Verona, Pisa, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi, Pompei, Capri, Ischia, Bari and maybe even few more!)
From Bari I will be cruising across the Adriatic Sea on a ferry on the 17th of June. I’ll arrive in Dubrovnik, Croatia on the 18th of June where I will meet up with Liz who will be flying in from the States to hang out and vacation with me! I can’t wait! She will be the first person that has come to visit me from the States since I’ve been here and it’s going to be such a good time! We’ll be spending a week overlooking the Adriatic Sea, and the Old Town of Dubrovnik from the balcony of our apartment that lies up on the foothills of the city.
On June 25th, Liz and I will be flying back to Dublin and I’ll spend a day or two showing her around the city before we head over to Galway, Ireland to hang out with my cousin for the weekend. We’ll probably spend two nights down in Galway before heading back to Dublin and we’re thinking about flying to Spain for a few days before she heads back to the States on July 6th. What a vacation this will be for her, and me of course!
This whole trip has been absolutely amazing so far and I cannot wait to see what is in store for me next. I feel like I’m addicted to traveling now. I’ve been asked many times if I’m sick of traveling yet, and the answer is definitely not! I constantly want to be gone. It’s nice to have these couple of days off to do laundry and relax, but I feel like I can’t sit still for too long. After I get back from these next three weeks of traveling, I will have had three days off in 6 weeks of straight traveling. It’s unbelievable! I’m having the time of my life over here and I have so much more traveling ahead of me…
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Just a few shout outs real quick…
What’s up to… Liz, Eddie, Mark, Veracka, Will, Gonatas, Kyle G, O’brien, Bruno, Juliana, Ryan D, V, Jenna, Aislyn, Anna K, Aiste, Shawna, Mel, Mom, Dad, Grams, Robyn, Kev, Mary and everyone else out there that still keeps in touch with me. You know who you are! Miss you all, and I’ll see you all soon.
If there’s anyone else that I missed just know that it’s not intentional!
Our Favorite Quotes
Travel teaches toleration.
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