Palermo, Sicily - Italy

What at an awesome few days we had in Palermo! Amazing Sicilian food, friendly locals, Palermos annual festival and warm evening beers. We arrived early off the ferry so checked in and headed straight to the city market, but seeing as it was about 7 or so, we had a funny conversation with an old Italian man having his morning espresso that it was closed until later in the day. So after also trying to talk with the café owners about the football as they were asking me about it (or so I think they were anyway) we headed to check out the city.

We booked a walking tour of the city and were really lucky we were shown around by a lovely local lady (and for only 10Euro), and although she said she had a group of 40 people the day before, we were her only customers that morning. She guided us for 2hours around the churches, piazzas and markets of the city, but what really blew me away was the history of the city. In a nutshell, it had many influences from the Greeks, Romans, Byzentines, and Arabs. They were able to work together in most cases to create quite a melting pot of cultures, but during world war 2 the allies moved through and the harbor/waterfront was heavily bombed. Nowadays although the city has mainly been restored, it is still recovering from a lot of corruption and intimidation that the mafia have inflicted on the city.

That night was the festival of Santa Rosalia and was the most important religious celebration of the year, as Santa Rosalia is the patron saint of the city who they believed relieved the city from the black plague in the 1600s. The festival went down the main street of the city with floats, and bands played music followed by fireworks at the end of the street. It was a pretty great way to finish our first day. We went back out the next night as we enjoyed having a few quiet drinks at our favourite little spot down one of the alleyways, but this time there was a much quieter parade happening, it had a stronger religious focus this time around where they carried Santa Rosalias remains (inside her shrine) down the street.

We then had a quieter couple of days, but continued to shop at the local markets and check out the local architecture. But I really stepped out of my normal comfort zone by checking out a ballet performance at Palermos opera house. The opera house was again a pretty amazing piece of architecture, and the ballet was good too. I couldn’t help but look at it from a sporting performance aspect though and admire their flexibility and strength with some of the things they did. 

But the rest of our time in Palermo was spent eating the local food, which we both got stuck into. Louise and I both love the bakeries as they sold some pretty elaborate pastries. But my favorites were these risotto balls called Arancinas that were filled with rice, mozzarella cheese, and ham or other meats - So good! Unfortunately we had to leave Palermo and our great hostel that we stayed in, but looked forward to heading to Lyon to catch up with Lachie and check out Lyon and the Tour de France.  

Ischia

Travel to Ischia was another tough day, as our initial ferry directly from Sorrento to Ischia was cancelled due to rough weather, so we negotiated our way there via a stopover and change of ferry in Naples. It all sounds simple when written down, but each stop is a battle just trying to work out what time and where each ferry is heading, what terminal it is at, and trying to communicate with the kiosk tellers who sometimes only speak Italian. Im getting a bit better with my Italian, or so I thought, but have been laughed at on a few occasions by how appalling I am at it. At least they have a sense of humour about it. Ive also had a number of occasions when Ive been randomly spoken to or asked questions in Italian, only to have no idea what was being said. 

Ischia is a beautiful little island, roughly the size of Waiheke, off the coast of Naples. We had chosen it as a place to splash out a bit to celebrate Louises birthday on the 10^th. We stayed at a backpackers in our own private room of an old amazing villa situated on a cliffside looking out over the water. The hostel was also owned by two eccentric Kiwi guys who had a pretty playful little puppy called Tequila. As it was Louises birthday we again went out and sampled the local cuisine, where I had one of my best meals yet which consisted of 20 Mussels (although small by NZ standards), with large penne pasta and a white sauce. So good! Louise also had a tasty mean, which was gnocchi pasta with rabbit meat inside a bread bowl. 

Since Louises bday was the day of travel from Sorrento to Ischia, the next two days were spent celebrating. Back in Sorrento I did have some balloons, small chocolate cake, and a funny Italian birthday card that played music and sang (of which I had no idea what it was saying), but her birthday present aside from dinner was to take her to one of the spas on the island. The spa we went to was called Poseidon (The god of water I think?), and it had 22 different types of mineral pools. The only thing was we had to wear little swimming cap things that looked like do-rag which was hardcase. But there was a process which you were advised to follow to get the full effect, and it involved working your way up from 28C through to the 40C pool. The 40C pool had 2 adjoining 15C plunge pools where you had to alternate with. There was also a Japanese bath, which involved walking around in a circle on top of pebbles to massage the bottom of your feet. That was probably our favourite after so many big days of walking, and walking to the top of the island the day before. Louise seemed to really enjoy the day, and funnily enough so did I. It was definitely good to have a few days of pampering, as we have just embarked on a big day of travel to get to Palermo, Sicily.

We are just on the overnight ferry at the moment which has left Naples, and will take 11 hours to get to Palermo. I was worried I would miss out on watching the World Cup final, but fortunately this ship is like a cruise liner. It has bars, restaurants, games room, and even pokie machines! We have our own little cabin too which all seems pretty flash to me. Makes me keen to maybe go on a short cruise one day (only a short one as I may get cabin fever pretty quick!). We made friends with a Canadian couple, and enjoyed watching the final with them, but am gutted that Argentina lost. But ill go to bed tonight and probably dream of the good food that lies await in Sicily, as Louise has been getting me excited about the various different specialties they have down there.

Sorrento/Pompei/Amalfi Coast

After a tough morning catching trains out of Rome to Naples, and then from Naples onto Sorrento, we were pleased at our choice for accommodation - A campground called Santa Fortuna, 5mins outside of Sorrento. We checked into our large tent and went exploring around the campground. It was a beautiful setting on the side of the hills, with the grounds running all the way down to the water. We walked past the pool and headed on past the fitness centre (a small room with a treadmill, weights etc), which has probably the best view of any fitness centre than I could imagine as it looked out over the blue mediterranean water and across to Mt Vicuvius. But we clambered down the steps further to find the beach, and to our surprise we had an awesome little spot for swimming. It wasnt a beach as such, but was a rocky enclave with a roped off swimming area equiped with a lifeguard, a snack bar (with Peronis for 2 Euro!) and floating plastic lilos. It was an awesome way to start our time in Sorrento, and the most relaxed I had felt in ages. 

Another great part of the campground was the restaurant which we went to on the first night. To start we had a 3Euro cocktail which was pretty heavy duty, and then had a one of the local specialties - a local Gnocchi pasta dish, which was amazing as well.

The next day we headed off to Pompeii. Pompeii was a city that was buried under the rubble of ash and remnants of the eruption of Mt Vicuvius. It was another piece of incredible architecture and design considering the time when it was built. The city was so well designed and spread out with rows of houses, 2 amphitheaters, churches, piazzas, and a sports area (that was also used as propaganda for military training of young boys). The excavation and the detail of the ruins was similar to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, with probably less religious significance. Considering the eruption was in BC, it seemed as though it could have been much later given how 'fresh' it all seemed. After visiting Pompeii we loaded up on some of the tasty pastries that the Italian bakeries have, and called it a day.

That night I had planned on watching the Germany v Brazil world cup game, and said to Louise I would head up just after it started. About 5mins in we heard a massive cheer from the Restaurant (where a busload of young Germans were watching), and realised it must be 1-nil. Then there was another cheer, and another, and another. So I quickly checked the halftime score to see it was 5nil, and decided to call in early for the night. Fortunately though I was able to check out hte Argentina v Netherlands game, and was stoked to see the Argentinians pick up the victory. 

The stunning Amalfi Coast was the next next stop, and we got up early to again catch the public buses to the first little town on the coast called Positano. The roads from Sorrento and along the Amalfi Coast are very narrow (you can barely fit 2 cars if you edged past), but the bus drivers have no worries flying around the bends even with the oncoming traffic of other buses, cars, and scooters. I unfortunately had to stand on the public bus and felt crook within a few minutes of leaving. I was able to hang in there, but it wasnt the best bus ride ive ever been on especially with the dozens of hairpin turns. and dodging of other vehicles.

Positano and Amalfi are famous for their Italian villas and houses that are situated on the hillside (see cliffside) that looks out over the blue Mediterranean water. The towns have lots of little alleyways with shops, markets, and eateries. We spent most of the day wandering and stopping only to eat great pizza, and drink coffee.
Our big adventure for the day started when the ferries back to Sorrento were cancelled because of rough seas, so we had to take a bus back along the windy roads again. We still had a public bus ticket to use, but it was chaos trying to get on the buses as everyones pushing and fighting for a seat. But I went and asked the siteseeing bus if they had any spare seats and how much it would be to upgrade to their bus, I was expecting it to be plenty of Euros, but it ended up only being 4Euros each! So for the chaos and hassle of the other buses, it was an easy decision.

I was sad to leave the campground at Sorrento as it was such a unique and fun place to base ourselves, but time to head off to the island of Ischia for a few days to treat ourselves, and celebrate Louises birthday. 

Europe Begins...Rome, Italy Part 1

We arrived in Italy a bit weary after a 12hour flight from Tokyo, but were immediately greeted by a friendly Italian man to take us to our campground - Plus Camping Roma. Its a pretty amazing campground really, massive, its got its own restaurant, store, and massive pool area, hundreds of pop up tents, cabins etc. An hour or so later, my mate Tim arrived to meet us for a day or two. Was really good to see him, although I was too jetlagged to show it the first night and just crashed out.

We made the most of our first day though and headed off for the Colosseum. After cramming onto the bus and subway, we finally arrived at the Collesseum to be greeted by the summer toursit crowds - the place was packed! But we got in relatively quickly as Tim had booked tickets for us online beforehand. It really is an amazing piece of engineering and architecture, not to mention the history tied to the place. You definitely imagined the battles that went on, as well as the thousands of people sitting and watching the events unfold in the terraces.

The crazy thing about Rome is that no matter where you walk, you stumble across either old ruin sites, beautiful piazzas (squares), or stunning churches. After the collesium, we headed back to the campground to hit the pool and have a nap as the heat has been pretty sapping (33C+ most days), even for someone used to Texas heat. We have been also trying to just eat local food wherever we go, and even though its been simple lunches of local produce, mozarella cheese, and italian bread, it all just tastes so good! That night I did get stuck into a nice tuna fettucine pasta dish, but just about enjoyed the Peroni (Italian beer) on the side as much as the pasta.

We woke early the next day to head back in the city and check out the Pantheon and a local market. To get from the campground into town requires a bus and a subway train which can be really hard work alot of the time. They are always crowded, stinking hot, and you often have to keep your wits about you as gypsies and pickpockets are always lurking about. We had an older guy on the train in front of us just about get pickpocketed, but an Italian man next to him noticed that a gypo had unzipped his bag when there was a bit of pushing to get on the train (a trick they like to employ)so he then pushed her and booted her off the train. Good on him I reckon. The stations are also places where they are around looking for unsuspecting tourists to scam or pickpocket, so traveling like this can be hard going some days.

The Pantheon was another amazing piece of architecture and engineering. Inside its ceilings were covered in intricate paintings, and there was also a tomb of a former King who unified Rome. Unfortunately Tim had to make tracks to Verona, so after the Pantheon we stopped in at a nice Italian bakery for some pastries and an espresso to keep us going. After Tim left we finished up our day by visiting a local market and then making our way back to the campground to sit by the pool for the rest of the afternoon with more Peroni's in hand.

For me, the highlight of Rome was on our last day when we headed to the Vatican City. Unfortunately since it was Sunday, the Vatican museums were closed, but we were able to check out St Peters Basilica which to my surprise really blew me away. Inside the Basilica, the ceiling is covered with amazingly intricate paintings, including work on the main dome from Michelangelo. As we finished up at the Basilica and were on our way to the metro, we noticed a big crowd heading toward the square, so we turned around and joined the masses waiting for the Pope to make an appearance. At midday on the dot he came to the window and began a reading (in Italian obviously, so had no idea what he was talking about). Again as it was the heat of the day we headed back to the pool for some recuperation before heading out in the evening so I could grab some evening shots of the Colleseum, Roman Forum, and Piazza Venezia-Vittoriano.

Next stop Sorrento...

First Stop - Tokyo

Well we had an incredible time in Tokyo to start our trip. It really is a fascinating place. We got off the plane with no hassles, and went straight through customs and onto the train in such an orderly and organised fashion, which is what Tokyo is like even though it is such a busy/big city. We got to our accommodation (which is very typical of Tokyo and is about the size of a shoebox where the double bed is only just bigger than a single) and had about 2mins in our room before the phone rang - it was Aniel and he was waiting downstairs to take us out. We went and met his 2 Japanese friends Miki and Kotaro, and made our way along the awesome underground transport system to Shibuya for dinner. Shibuya is a pretty bustling little district that has the Shibuya crossing, which you would have seen on the TV with all the thousands of people crossing on the street with the big screen TVs surrounding (a lot like times square).

We went to this awesome restaurant overlooking the crossing where we downed plenty of Japanese beer, and tried some awesome food: Fried chicken with egg sauce, veges with a tasty fish paste, beef cutlets, a soupy both with some chewy innards in (the only dish that I didn’t particularly like), and believe it or not - lightly seared raw chicken! We were a bit hesitant about the raw chicken, but it was super tasty, and mustve been the way that they prepared it to make it taste like sashimi. Miki, Kotaro, and Aniel really looked after us and wanted us to try everything, but the best part of the night was the banter from the restaurant staff. They were really surprised and happy to see foreigners at the restaurant so much that they went out of their way and gave us lots of tasters and free dishes. Once they learned we were from NZ they made a little rice dish with a sheep on it, and a plate with Thank You NZ on it. One of the waiters was bantering with Kotaro, but Kotaro called his bluff on the story he was telling, so he called him James Bond in jest (Japanese humour is a pretty different from kiwi sense of humour, but they have been amazing people so far), so the next beer he had they had written ‘For James Bond’ in the beer froth. The funniest thing was I went to go to the bathroom and they were so overwhelmingly helpful they showed me right to the door of the toilet, and I was a bit worried that they were going to basically offer to come in with me or show me how to use it! The toilets are pretty funny here, but will save that for another day.

This morning we got straight back out onto the streets, even after having not the best sleep, and headed to the Tsujiki fish market. It really was incredible to witness, but also pretty sad to see at the same time. This place is massive! About the size of west city mall, with wholesalers and small shops selling fish and veges. We wandered through the fish section for ages, and saw just about every creature in the ocean (no whales though…probably a bit harder to hide! ha). There was snapper, kingfish, wahoo, flounder, eels, shrimps, and the most impressive of all was the bluefin tuna. They have an auction early morning where they sell of the big bluefin carcasses, and we saw them after they had been prepared and were being sold by the wholesalers. Sadly though, we did see so many undersized fish (by our standards) including 10cm snapper, 50cm kingfish etc, so you can see why the worlds fish stocks are taking such a hit. Its probably made me more conscious to eat more sustainably sourced products when I get home. But in the meantime in Tokyo I’m just going to have to live with it and try a few new things.

After the fish market we went and had a peek at the imperial palace, but from so far away we couldn’t see a hell of a lot, but just relaxed in the park before having sushi for lunch. The sushi was amazing for 10NZD - salmon, tuna, shrimp, squid, salmon roe, egg roll, and miso soup - Yum! Finally we finished the afternoon at Asakusa shrine, which was pretty impressive to see too. Sadly though, after trying my luck with the fortune lottery at the temple for 100Y (about a 1NZD), I was told I would have bad fortune…which Louise has preceded to remind me of.

To finish off our first 24hrs in Tokyo we went out for one last dinner again with Aniel, and Kotaro. We went Shinjuku this time, and found a restaurant that did all you can eat and drink in under 75mins. It was a great option as time was short as we had to try get to Karaoke and on the last train home. Again the food was incredible, this time with a variety of small meats being placed on the hot plate in front of us this time including chicken cartilage. Soon enough the 75mins was up and we headed out to sing Karaoke for an hour. It was good fun although our group of four were/are horrendous singers!

For our second and last full day in Tokyo we met up with Aniel and another friend of his, Yumi, to go check out Harajuku district and Yoyogi park. Yoyogi park had some more really nice shrines, and these amazing sake barrels that were gifts to the district. The sake barrels had unique and distinctive designs on them representing the area that they have been gifted from. Harajuku itself is a shopping district known for its subcultures of people that hang out there. We were expecting to see heaps of different kinds of people hanging out there. but to be honest although there were a few skaters and a few odd fashion choices, it was pretty normal comparative to NZ. I just think Japan is so uniform with how people dress and act, to them Harajuku seems really out of the box.

After Harajuku we went back to Shinjuku to go up to the 43rd floor of a government building to see a view of the city from 200+m up. It was a great vantage point to see what the city is like from above, and give you a clear understanding at how huge and condense the city really is. I was able to make out one major sight that I unfortunately wasnt able to visit - Tokyo National Stadium, which was where the 1964 Olympics were held where Peter Snell won double gold.

As we were leaving the next day, we thanked Aniel for all his help before he headed home and went out for one last meal. This time we went to a little local Izakaya bar which served our final Japanese beers and small dishes. I couldnt help but feel a bit antsy as I wanted to get enough time to take some final night shots of the local shrine and gangway with the evening lights on. I went out at about 11pm and just as I was setting up for a shot of the main shot, they turned the lights off. Ah well, I perserved and was able to get some unique shots. This was enough to satisfy my curiosity before I headed home to pack for our flight out to Roma, Italy.

We really had a great couple of days in Tokyo and would love to go back for more time in Japan. Aniel really went out of his way to show us around and meet his local friends who were all great people as well. The food was a highlight for me, as everything we ate seemed so unique but fresh and tasty too. Time to look forward to a change in scenery and cuisine in Italy...