Natalie and I have been in Italy for the last 18 days and, admittedly, life is more hectic than I expected. The lack of easy to find internet access has prevented us from writing more about our experiences. Thus, let us think of this as a summery post. I hope to write a few detailed stories in the next couple of days but… lets us wait and see.

Gaeta

Gaeta is a mid size town about 1.5 hours north of Napels. Natalie, Cup, and I spent three days here going through a walk from Cup’s past as explored one of his childhood homes. A highlight of our time in Gaeta, was climbing to the top of Monte Orlando. This relatively easy path provides a breath taking view of Gaeta and the surrounding harbor. In addition, this walk also provided an excellent insight into Italian culture as we met many people, both young and old,

Pompeii

From Gaeta, we drove to Pompeii using the Italian back roads. This gave me a chance to perfect my speed racing ability. Allow me to explain. I think that all Italians believe that they are Speed Racer. They drive in both lanes, pass 3 trucks in a row while going up hill and approaching a blind curve, and generally drive the way I would like to if the American police would allow it. This makes for some very fun driving, but also for a number of frightening experiences. All in all, I had a good time.

Pompeii, is the place to go if you are interested in Roman architecture. Apparently a volcano erupted around A.D. 79 and covered the town in volcanic ash. Although I am not hip to the specifics, this helped to preserve the town, the art, and the local architecture. Needless to say, this was a good time and well worth the trip.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the southern most town in the Cinque Terre area. Basically, there are 5 towns built along a series of cliffs and connected by a long path (mostly going either up or down) that wines through vineyards, olive groves, and farms. The view is breath taking and the hike is well worth the 5 hours and bucket loads of sweat it takes to complete. The pizza I ate in the last town, before hopping a short train back to Riomaggiore really sealed the deal for me.

This post is seriously lacking in details but Natalie and I are just figuring out the travel writing gig. Stay tuned for more details.

Tags | Italy