Week 5: Out of Italy and Into the Unknown.
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| Somehow not in the top ten sights for most people in Rome. That’s how great the city is, a church like this is but one of many. |
It has been a very eventful week, full of day trips, new friends, productive writing, and even a country change. I’m currently writing from a small town just a few minutes outside of Dubrovnik in Croatia. The city itself is absurdly expensive but this hostel runs a regular shuttle to the city centre and costs about a third of the price of staying in the city proper. It’s also a 10 minute walk from the sea and has beautiful views.
I spent another relaxed day of writing in Naples on Monday after a two hour walk through the town and the purchase of a new E-reader I ended up in the gardens by the sea and found myself a bench (one of the few not occupied by an Italian couple doing some serious lapdance/make out/sexual intercourse blend) and got some writing done. I also managed to find an off brand Italian e reader to continue to fuel my reading addiction. Up to 10 books read so far and on number 11.
Returning to Giovanni’s home, a still lovely hostel, I spent the evening watching Manchester united an chatting with folks from all around the world (Argentina, The Netherlands, Germany, U.K., America, and Italy all represented) and we most of us discovered we were all planning to go to Pompeii, so we arranged to go together at the early hour of 7:30 in the morning. I can tell I’m getting used to travelling when 7:30 seems unfathomably early. Take that teacher friends.
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| It’s still alive and kicking under our feet. |
We embarked on the train, headed to some smaller ruins in Ercalano, which were too expensive to bother entering but from there we found a lovely taxi driver named Salvatore to take us up to the start of the Vesuvius hike. I’m getting into better shape because the hike only killed me a little and I kept up with the other people who looked to be in better shape then me. At any rate, Vesuvius was closed over so it was just grass and a few brave trees in the crater, although their were some cool places where smoke was seeping out of the ground, and the crater or whatever the scientific term is was massive, huge Cliffside at the far end and I really wanted to climb down and try to climb out, then I remembered I’m not a professional climber and would have undoubtedly died and been arrested, so I ignored the urge. The view out from the volcano was what made the climb really worth it though, as we looked out at the Amalfi coast, at Sorrento and at the island of Capri, it was beautiful and awe inspiring and I was reminded of why people climb mountains.
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| Me Atop Vesuvius. |
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| The forum in Pompeii, Vesuvius behind. |
From Vesuvius we headed back down with our taxi driver and had an average lunch before splitting the group in have. I headed to Pompeii with two others while the other 3 headed to Sorrento. I’m glad I went to Pompeii. It was incredible, and I had no idea how big it would be. I chose to wander on my own through the ruins without a guide just imagining what it might have been like. I felt lost many times but wandered until I was found again. I’ve seen a lot of ruins, both roman and greek, over the past few years, Pompeii was of another world and I spent 6 hours there. It solved several upcoming problems with my current book and gave me the idea for a children’s book and a few other projects. Very inspiring.
That was my last day in Naples and I headed for Rome the next morning. Rome is a city I have loved since my first visit 7 years ago, and I find it never disappoints. The train was slow but cheap and I found my way to the hotel easily, though it was not exactly central. If you are staying in rome and looking for a cheap but convenient and welcoming place to stay, look no further than hostel Lodi. The whole staff was incredibly friendly, the dorm was comfortable (they have private rooms to) the garden was beautiful, and the free breakfast which I foolishly only had on my last morning was the best I’ve ever had at a hostel. A great place to stay and only about 10 minutes from the metro which will take you anywhere you want to go.
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| Piazza de Popolo |
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| A small part of the park. |
My first real day in Rome I decided to see a part of never seen taking the metro to piazza Popolo and heading up into the park. This is what my experience of Rome had been missing. The parkland was sprawling, beautifully shaded, full of fountains, museums and even a zoo. It was an oasis of pure peace in the middle of a bustling city. I planned to spend the morning there but ended up spending the whole day writing, reading, and wandering. It was refreshing and immensely beautiful, and in my mind at least, helped rome climb to the top of my list of favourite major European cities. In the park there was even a full size operational replica of Shakespeare’s globe with Italian performances running most nights. Just a lovely serene place.
The next day I did the big walk from my hostel to the colosseum The Trevi fountain is one of my particular favourites but the whole city is brimming with beauty and history and some of the churches are just incredible. San Clemens, a church which will play an intricate part in the ending of my current novel is a unique experience, going underground into an older church and then a pagan temple. I ended the day back in the parks above Pamplona, getting some more writing done, and in the end being too tired and cheap to pay to see an Italian Richard the third, since my knowledge of that play and the Italian language is limited at best.
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| The Trevi fountain: for me the finest fountain I have ever seen |
and through most of the sites that make Rome so famous.
At any rate, it too was a great, if exhausting day and ended with shared pizza back at hotel Lodi and a passionate if depressing talk about the state of the world and education between myself, an Australian engineer, the hostel staff, and an English man who had just left the army against there will. It was an interesting group and an interesting talk and while it was ultimately depressing, it did remind me that I am passionate about education and that, chances are, I will teach again, and hope to like it as well. I also learned about the plans to bomb Syria and personally I am left wondering, how we as a people have not learned the lesson, that even if engaging in and winning a war would be a good thing for the world, doing so in conditions like this against guerrilla fighters is all but impossible. And in America’s supposed desire to ease the suffering of people in difficult situations, all that they create is more death and turbulence. Kudos to the U.K. for finally not being America’s little pet as far as I understand what has happened, sadly it doesn’t look like it will matter. ‘m no expert on this whole situation, so if I’m off base, sorry.
At any rate the next day I flew from Rome to Dubrovnik with easyjet. It was only maybe a third full and I got a whole emergency exit row to myself which made the short flight very pleasant. Getting to my hotel was made easy by the shuttle to the bus station then being picked up by the hostel staff and brought out. It’s weird using a currency I’ve never used before as I have to spend time familiarizing myself with the value relative to a currency I do know,but it is fun withdrawing 4000 Kuna and knowing really it’s only hundreds in euros.
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| The View From My Room
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The hostel is nice, very welcoming, with reliable wi-fi and oh what a view. Look left if you don’t believe me. Last night I spent the evening chatting with an array of people, a lovely hostel employee who plans to go to Canada on a work permit this winter, a group of French girls who were actually kind enough to let me practice my French, three Portuguese girls who thankfully spoke strong English, and two brits and an Australian up in my room. The constant cycle of meeting new people from new places with new stories is incredibly inspiring both as a writer and a person, and I find myself brimming with creativity.
Most of my teacher friends went back to work this week, and it really made me feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this. I wish each and every one of you the best in this new academic year, and in some small way, I’m sad to not be having that positive impact on a group of young people. Of course in another bigger way I know I have it much better and am just lucky to have been given the chance to explore myself and this world so thoroughly.
On another note today is my mother’s birthday, a joyous and beautiful day that makes me remember her for all the wonderful things she was, and out there somewhere, may well still be. It is of course tinged with sadness, but this year I find it easier to look past that sadness and focus on my incredible luck to have been loved and raised by such a woman. I have truly been blessed by both my parents and indeed my entire extended family, but it was always my mother who instilled in me the drive to chase my own dreams and live the life I wanted, even if she often had visions of what that life should be. I know in the depths of my heart that she would be thrilled for me and my current adventure, and happy that I stuck out the year at Bradford and gave teaching my all. She is often with me in my thoughts and I feel like in those rare moments of sheer euphoria that come upon you from time to time while travelling, I am able to share them and the joy they bring, with her.
Every church or temple I go to which has an offering plate and a real candle to light, I light one for her and spend some time thinking of her. My hope is that this, at the very least will help to spread her undeniable spirit and zest for life all around the world. And who knows, if whatever comes next somehow is not entirely engaging, (I cant bring myself to believe that but who am I to know) and she is watching, perhaps it will let her know where I am, the wonders I have seen, and how much I love her. It is from her and my father that I have taken my love of travelling and my love of creating and so it seems fitting to spend her birthday in a brand new country that I have never seen before.
In fact, Rome marked the last city that I am sure to visit where I have already been. There is a chance I will revisit a few parts of Crete, and next year Costa Rica, but other than that, the rest of this adventure is into the unknown. That sets my heart to racing in the best way imaginable.
I’ve decided that after Dubrovnik, and a possible day trip to Montenegro, I’m changing plans a bit and heading into Bosnia for three days or so which should be both beautiful and interesting. I’ll be visiting the most bombed city of the region, which is right near the border and has a definite divide amongst the Croatian population and the Bosnian population. I’m told there are still clear signs of the horrible destruction that went on not so long ago but also signs of immense revitalization. It should be a potent and inspiring mix. I’d like to try my hand at a few short stories again and this may serve as the gateway to that. The hostel there is supposed to be one of the best in Europe, and as the region is not yet a massive tourist magnet, it is cheap. I’m looking forward to it before heading out to the Croatian islands.
One more piece of news before the song of the week and sign off. I’ve been on the road now just a little over a month, I feel endlessly better in all facets of my life. I’m happy, healthier, more outgoing, massively more inspired, and still deeply in love with travelling and writing. I can’t really see that changing though I’m sure I will miss home and do already at points, I am trapped in a state of near constant jubilation to be doing what I am doing.. That said, I recently calculated how much money I spent in the first month where I was in what should be the most expensive countries of my whole trip. Even if I match that spending total for each of the next 23 months (hugely unlikely) I still will have spent just under two thirds of my planned budget. That is very exciting and opens up more opportunities after South America. Africa, Australia, New Zealand. Parts of the middle east and Southern India? Who knows. At any rate, the world awaits and I must be going. Thanks for reading and I hope life is treating everyone well.
Song of the week: number 5: Backseat Serenade By: All Time Low.
More emo songs but I think the phrase Dizzy Hurricane is a perfect and potent use of personification. Give it a listen, or don’t, my musical tastes don’t have the best reputation anyway.
