Tuscany

I imagined Tuscany to be lush hillsides and a food and wine haven, and it certainly was. We spent 5 nights there: 3 in a small town called Grosseto, and 2 in Florence.

In Grosseto we stayed on a working farm called Volta Di Sacco in a very old stone building. Agriturismo is very popular in this area as we found out when we passed about a hundred different farms doing the same thing. The farmhouse was beautiful and interesting, but it was pretty boring. It would have been nice to meet some people there since it was so secluded.

Justin had researched some natural hot springs in this region, which we had to rent a car to reach. He was pretty happy to be behind the wheel again. I, on the other hand, was car sick because the car was too small and jerky. I had to get him to pull over so I could throw up. I haven't been car sick since I was a child... Good times. It was worth it though because Saturnia hot springs are the most beautiful natural springs I have ever seen. The water cascades down a series of waist deep terraces, perfect for lounging in. It's pretty hard to explain how amazing they are, so I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

After Saturnia we ended up at a winery in one of Italy's top regions, Montalcino, and tasted some of the best (and most expensive) wines we have ever come across. We found out a tour was happening just as we were finished drinking so we joined in. The harvest was just happening so we were there at a perfect time. We were able to see the wine in its first fermenting stages in huge metal vats, and were shown into the barrel room where everything sits for years. It was a really interesting lesson.

The next day in Grossetto we went to a little island called Giglio by ferry. This is the island that the Concordia cruise ship crashed into last year. Pulling into the port you are right next to the ship and it's pretty surreal to see it lying there. The island itself is beautiful, and Justin found us an amazing white sand beach to relax on until we had to go back to the mainland. We also had a really amazing lunch: fresh calamari and pesto gnocchi.

When you arrive in Florence you can immediately tell it is something special. It has quite a small manageable centre and all the streets look quite old with small lanes and high buildings. There is also quite a variety of cultures there and we were able to eat Chinese food(!) one lunch and a kebab for a dinner, so we were quite happy about avoiding pizza and pasta. We also went to a restaurant recommended by a couple people at our hostel in Sorrento. The menu was daily and just explained to you by the server. We decided to be adventurous- I ended up getting rabbit and Justin had veal. Both were really good, but it was a little hard to get your mind past what you were eating.

We were told we had to visit the Ufuzzi Museum, so we waited in the 90 minute queue, but we downloaded our own audio guides onto Justin's iPhone, which was awesome and I highly recommend doing if you are going anywhere to avoid paying for one. The Birth of Venus was a beautiful painting to see and we learned a bit about the renaissance in Florence and Venice.

Our hostel was just ok. I personally have been missing how cheap camping was and being able to cook for ourselves. So many places we have been to lately have no stove and too many rules. And not enough bathrooms.

We arrived in La Spezia yesterday and are here for three nights; Our last threes nights in Italy before going to Barce. I guess we better get a few more pasta meals in as we might not be back to italy for a long time... If ever. But that kind of reflection deserves another post.

Gen

Napoli Crapoli

Naples reminds me of home. Not in the good nostalgic way; in the worst ways you can think of. Our hostel was right outside of the train station and this is where all the homeless, drug addicts, and prostitutes abound. It really does look like the worst part of east Hastings, but with about fifty times the garbage and graffiti. I wanted to take more pictures, but I didn't feel safe taking my camera out. Especially after opening my wallet when buying a ticket for the train and having the ticket agent chastise me and motion to never show anything valuable around there.

Surprisingly our hostel was quite nice. They had a free pasta dinner the first night we arrived, and the next night an American girl took us out for White Night- a huge street party with hundreds of thousands of people enjoying the festivities. I couldn't quite get an answer about what they were celebrating- it just seemed to be a night where all the shops are open until 3, so all the residents go out. It was nice to see a fun, non frightening side of Naples. It was probably the biggest street party I will ever be to.

The only 2 things we wanted to do in Naples was go to Pompeii, and eat pizza. We wandered around the city looking for the best pizza around, and we found the restaurant from "Eat, Pray, Love" but the queue was so massive we settled on a random pizzeria that looked reasonably busy. The pizza was good, we had one margarita and a folded one stuffed with ricotta. I think it's the sauce that makes them so epic here- it just tastes like fresh blended tomatoes- because we've had a lot of comparable pizza around the country. But it was something that I won't forget and it made me happy.

Pompeii was obviously very dramatic. It was so massive, we spent about 2 hours there and managed to see quite a bit of it. For some reasons tickets were free, so that was a bonus, but we didn't get audio guides or a tour so we kind of wandered around without really knowing what we were looking at. We heard Herculaneum was better from a few people (thanks for your suggestions by the way) but we only had limited time so we never got to it. I can see how it would be easier to grasp a smaller city though because Pompeii was quite overwhelming.

We are in Sorrento now, and we have 4 nights here so it will be nice to settle down and relax for a bit.

Also wanted to mention that we booked our flight home- we will be in Vancouver October 28th so keep your schedules open for that week because I want to make dates with all of you.

Gen

True Backpackers

Well the car has officially left our lives. It was towed from our campsite in Sferracavallo on Tuesday afternoon after a bit of a struggle with our insurance.
Justin bought European breakdown insurance for our trip - Turns out they signed him up for national insurance (for the UK) only. Justin told them he was misled and the lady listened to the prior phone call and agreed that it was their fault. To make a long, fairly frustrating story short, they figured it all out for us and towed it to a wrecker.

Sferracavallo was a strange dirty little town to be stuck in while we dealt with all of that. There was a festival going on and that certainly livened up the city. If you were out and about during siesta things looked downright depressing. We tried arancini for the first time there (a sicilian specialty- meat sauce stuffed rice balls) and they are just so yummy.

We made our first official train trip with all our belongings on our backs from Sferracavallo to another little Sicilan town called Taromina with the hopes of trekking up Mt. Etna; an active volcano. As soon as we arrived here I think we knew that wasn't going to happen. The town is just so beautiful - 2 crystal clear bays surrounded by houses all built up on the cliffs above it. There is an amazing Greek theatre here and a cable car takes you down to the sea. Our hostle is really great, not only because simply having a bed for the first time in a few weeks is such a treat, but it has a terrace that overlooks the city and water where everyone hangs out and socializes. We went out last night with a group of people and it was really fun.
It's been super hot here in Sicily and we have taken full advantage of it here in Taormina. We went snorkeling for a few hours today and found a huge grotto that I found really scary, and we saw so many amazing fish. My favorite was a long needle nose one that I have never seen before.

We leave tomorrow on a long train ride for Naples. I've been told its absolutely filthy and dangerous, so that should be fun.

Thanks for reading my little update.
Gen