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Vesuvius
Yesterday I climbed my first volcano. We caught an army green coloured bus from Pompeii Scavi station to the base of mount Vesuvius, the infamous volcano which erupted in AD 79 and destroyed the city of Pompeii, freezing it in time by covering it with volcanic ash. The last time Vesuvius was active was in 1944. At the base, we switched vehicles and boarded another army coloured truck — this one looked like a monster truck with giant wheels. Dropped off about 600 metres from the summit, we trekked up this last bit on foot and reached the massive crater at the top. The views over the entire region were…
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Buongiorno Italia!
The Jadrolinja ferry from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Bari, Italy, is full of Italians. Even the announcements over the PA system is done in Italian and English only. It’s an eight hour journey and Carter and I have only purchased deck seats, meaning we have to hang out at the common area for the entire journey. Where’s a deck of cards when you need one? The last time I was in Italy was about 6 1/2 years ago when I was living in Milan as an exchange student. Time really does fly, though it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. I’m so happy to be back in this amazing country…
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Sunset over Dubrovnik
Climbing up steep stone steps to Kate’s Guesthouse, located high up on the hills of Gruz/Nuncijata overlooking the port of Dubrovnik is tough in 29 degree heat, but is even harder when you’re still slightly drunk from the night before and carrying 13kg of stuff on your back. I was really struggling and pathetically had to sit down and pause after every 10 steps. Carter was not impressed. Last night we went out with the cruise gang as a last hurrah. The evening kicked off at Skybar (not quite glamorous like it sounds) followed by the much anticipated Sail-Croatia live concert at Lazareti, an old fortress used in the past…
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A boatload of Aussies
Booked for an island hopping cruise for a week, we get on our boat to find it chock full of Aussies. Carter and I are the only non-Aussies, apart from the crew. I first heard about this cruise from a friend who was in Croatia last year. Initially I thought a whole week on a cruise would be a bit much, but then came around to the idea, but when I see the boat is full of 22 year old, mainly female Aussies, I start to regret my decision. I think I’m about to live in a sorority house(boat) for a week. Cruises like this are always a gamble; you…
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Parle Anglais?
Pierre and Charlotte, a pair of French friends are a riot. They are tres French. Charlotte speaks the better English of the two and ends up translating for Pierre often. We run into them at the market in the morning as we are picking up ingredients for lunch and dinner. Back at the hostel, making brunch, they are 5 minutes behind us. I watch with great curiosity to see what these two are eating. Cucumber, tomato, cheese, and canned tuna with tomato sauce…interesting. Carter is equally amused by this pair and is happy to hear their French accents and practice un petite peu de Francais. After wandering the city in…
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Zadar
“Excuse me, but can I just burrow yous map for a minute? I just need to get me barings again”, he says. I can hear Scotland in his voice, but I ask anyway, “sure no problem, we are here right now”, I point to a spot on the map. “Where are you from?” “Scotland, Glasgow” he replies. Michael, as it turns out, is exploring Zadar and didn’t have a map with him so approached us as we were walking along into the walled old centre of the city. Twenty minutes later, as we are checking out the sea organ and the sun plate by the waterfront, we spot Michael again.…
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Impossibly Blue
Yesterday we spent the day at Plitvice National Park, a UNESCO protected area full of gorgeous turquoise lakes and beautiful waterfalls. Most of the lakes are rather shallow and cascade one into the other. The colour of the water is magnificent – blue, sapphire, turquoise, green; words don’t do it justice. The waterfalls flow through limestone and mist. The park is well touristy though, and we encounter hordes of people along the main paths. Sample of photos below.
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Budapest, alive at night
Budapest is hot and sunny during these long June days. We spend the days wandering various parts of the city. Up and down Kiraly Utca, where our hostel is centrally located, we branch off into the side streets to find restaurants and cafes. Two streets over is Andrassy Utca, the main street in the city that connects all the way to Hero’s Square. Budapest is actually made of two halves: Buda to the West of the river and Pest to the East. The Buda side is cute, lots of smaller narrower streets with colourful buildings lining the sides. The Buda hills contain the castle, Matthias church and the Fisherman’s Bastion…
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When everything goes wrong
We had plans to spend all day Wednesday in Stockholm, sight see, wander around, and then have dinner at a well rated restaurant where I had made a reservation ages ago. Carter booked us onto the Swebus to Stockholm. We take the #2 Flogsta bus to Uppsala centre, then board the bus for the 1 hour journey to Stockholm. Once we get into Stockholm, we walk along the water, towards the pier where we plan to buy tickets to a hop-on-hop-off cruise that would take us to all the major tourist stops. Suddenly, I notice Carter frantically searching his pockets and rummaging around in his bag, looking for something. “What…
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Extreme contrasts
Landed as scheduled early in the morning at Arlanda airport and take the train to Uppsala, where I meet Carter. First impressions of Uppsala: there is no one here. Flying from crowded, noisy, dirty, hot, humid SE Asia to cold, quiet, clean, sparsely populate Sweden has been a shock to the system. We spend the afternoon wandering around the centre of Uppsala and visit the main church and some of the main streets. There is hardly anyone around. We take the bus to a lake nearby — still no one around. Carter asks a lady near the lake “is there a beach/sitting area nearby with more people?” “More people?!”…
