Sleep Spent

I got back to my apartment in London at 21:50 GMT. I am very glad to be home!

There hasn’t been an update for the last five days because I was unable to find an internet cafe that would charge reasonable rates. (€6/hr was too rich for my blood.) And after the altercation my female sort-of-kind-of traveling companions had to deal with because of using the €6 access at Zorba’s Hotel in Athens, I’m glad I forwent using the not-so-cheap option there.

But more about that later.

First things must always be first. In that spirit, I have changed my socks. Now, I need to transfer and organize my photos. I also need to buy some food, as I purposefully emptied out my pantry before The Excursion. Once these and other pressing matters (like my Shakespeare paper) are attended to, expect a mega-update with the best of the over 400 pictures I took in Italy and Greece (on one set of batteries!), not to mention an explanation of why I missed my first flight to Athens.

Stay tuned.

Yesterday, I arrived in Florence (Firenze for all you Italians), and saw the David. I spent a good half hour just gaping. They call Michelangelo “The Master” for a very good reason.

I was anxious to find my hostel, so after an interesting chat with a Hawaiian that asked me for directions, I made my way to the train/bus station. It had begun to rain, and I didn’t have a rain coat (too much extra weight/space to bother with), so I was a bit wet when I finally found the Sita bus I needed to take to get to Tavernelle, the small town 40 minutes from Florence where the hostel is. Perhaps that was the reason I got on the wrong bus.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was a bit down on Rome to begin with, and I must apologize for that. I have since spent €30 on guided tours of the major ruins and sites (including the Vatican Museum/Sistene Chapel), and I can now say that this city is COOL! I am sad to be leaving for Florence today, but I am. Life goes on.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve only got five minutes left on my internet card, so we’ll see how fast I can type!

• The keyboards here are Italian, but they’re being recognized by Windows as American layout. So if I touch-type, I’m ok. But if I have to look down...
• I’m going to the Vatican today! I don’t thin’k we’ll get to see the Pope (that’s the Wednesday tour), but we will get to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. So excited!
• I took some kick-ass pictures of the Colosseum last night. I’m really getting the hang of the night time setting on my camera. These will, of course, be posted later, when I return to England.
• Gelatto is the best thing ever! I’ve had one every day so far, with no plans to stop. :-)

That’s about all I have time for. I’ll check back with you all from Florence.

First impressions: Rome is a very dirty city. Took awhile to find the hostel, but I had flown with other people from the group, and we eventually located it together. I’m going to plan my three days here tonight, and maybe go out to see the town after dark... I’m NOT excited about the “Pub Crawl,” though. Our receptionist claims that if we come back sober, he’ll run naked down the street. At €15, it doesn’t sound worth it.

More updates later!

2 October

Leave LHR on Alitalia flight 203 at 10:15 GMT

Arrive FCO at 13:40 CEST

Stay in Alessandro Downtown Hostel (directions)

5 October

Leave Rome, travel to Florence by train

Stay in Ostello del Chianti

7 October

Leave Florence, travel to Cinque Terre by train

Plans undetermined

9 October

Leave Cinqua Terra, travel to Rome by train

Leave Rome on Alitalia flight 718 at 12:55 CEST

Arrive AHN

Stay in Zorbas Hotel

11 October

Leave Athens on Alitalia flight 731 to Milan at 17:15 EEST

Arrive MXP at 18:55 CEST

Leave Milan on Alitalia flight 248 to LHR at 19:50 CEST

Arrive LHR at 20:50 GMT