Italy

In September 2007, Aidan and I spent ten nights on a highly anticipated trip to Italy. We had a good time, but the high expectations we had were not really met.

For some strange reason, of all the places i have gone that should have been full of tourists, Paris, New york, the Greek Islands,...Italy was by far the most touristy, and it definitely detracted from the appeal of the place. The least touristy part by far was Ischia, where the only tourists were German, who were markedly less obvious and and much quieter than the American tourists that we found in Rome and the Amalfi coast. Our trip was at the end of September, so I can only imagine what it was like in the height of summer.

So one of the major problems was the amount of tourists...a problem to which we were obviously contributing though.... The other thing about Italy we were a bit disappointed in was the food. After savouring many beautiful meals from our friend Andrea, the Italian chef, we imagined Italy to be Andrea's cooking all meals every day. Not so, it was greatly disappointing, and as horrible as it sounds, I am pretty sure the food in Wollongong and Canberra is just as good! We had some good meals in Italy, but nothing blew my mind...

Anyway, we spent the first two nights in Rome, then four nights in Sorrento, three nights in Ischia, and a final night in Rome again, before flying home.

Rome was lovely and hot when we arrived! my favourite kind of weather! We saw all the typical sites, including the Vatican Museum, where I surprised myself by staying in line for 40 minutes to be let in. I didn't think I had it in me. I wonder a bit how certain pieces of art become so famous compared to others. E.g. the Mona Lisa is a bit of a mystery, and in the Vatican I was surprised that the part of Genesis on the roof in the Sistine Chapel with the finger of God was so famous above everything else in there. Because while it was awesome, there was so much awesome stuff in that museum altogether.

I liked the square out the front of St Peters Basilica, which is surrounded by three lots of columns/pillars, and if you stand in two certain places in the square, all the columns become eclipsed...like, you can only see the front row, because they are perfectly in line. Anyway, I thought that was cool.

I also was looking forward a lot to the Trevi Fountain, and it was amazingly beautiful, but also packed. And what is with these gypsies selling those noise-makers everywhere in Italy? It is supposed to be romantic! Looking at the Trevi Fountain, I wonder why these days amazingly intricate landmarks like these are no longer created. Everything is chic, and smooth lines, and super giant or super small, but not just being made for beauty like that was.

After Rome we headed for Sorrento, which was disappointing and so I won't say too much about it! The highlight was hiring a scooter on the Amalfi coast, and riding that amazing coastline, although not the bit where Aidan ran the scooter into the side of teh cliff (better than off the other side I suppose). Obviously there were no major injuries! The towns along the coast were pretty from afar, to look at them spill down the mountain side, but inside they were crowded and a bit grotty. The beaches were almost non-existent, and while the water looked nice and clear, I didn't want to lie on thepebbles/dirt/broken bits of concrete that passed for sand, and I most certainly didn't want to have to pay for the privelege! the prettiest town there is Ravella, which is set high up in the hills, and is less busy, and overlooks the ocean and terraces of agriculture.

The next place we went was the most beautiful. Ischia, an island off Naples which is generally snubbed in favour of Capri (all those tourists? no thanks!), is quiet, and favoured by German tourists (I got to use my german, hooray!). It is famous for its numerous hot springs all around the island. We spent a whole day at these things called the Poseidan spa's. this was a sprawling resort kind of thing which was all pools, and landscaped gardens and beach front property! The pools were thermal and ranged from 15-40 degree's celcius. I don't think I went in one under 30! My dream.

The other good thing about Ischia is that it was probably the best accommodation I have ever had anywhere. It was beautifully decorated and centrally located in a cute little village called Forio (I think that was it...). It was a B&B, and the lady was so lovely, and her house was so beautiful. She served us our breakfast outdoors in a beautiful setting and spoke to me in a broken combination of german and English.

While I anticipated trouble from pick pockets while in Italy, or the amputation of my ring finger, we had no trouble at all. Like my experience in Paris and the watched pot that never boils, it seems the more you look out for gypsies, the less you will see. It seems that my Tiffany ring has the effect of looking so misplaced on me that it looks like Accessorize costume jewellery that I might have picked up for £7.99 on Oxford Street.

Anyway, this is the end of my European travels for a little while, next stop Asia...I move to Shanghai next Saturday, 27th October 2007!

T