Spring Break Part 1 (Days 1,2,3)

I am currently pressing every key as gently as possible, crammed in a room not much bigger than the 4 bunk-beds it encompasses, trying not to wake my sleeping dorm-mates as Steph studiously surveys Rick Steves for tomorrow's adventures. Tropical hard candy and lemon cookies are adding the fuel to our late-night update, but let's back up a few days.

Day 1:

Guess what Tim? We made it to the train on time! We were actually so early after eating our morning pastries (courtesy of our trusty Tesco) that we chased down an even earlier train...just because we could! Barring some minor difficulties we made it to London Stansted Airport with little trouble. The journey over to Italy, however, was an annoyingly in-your-face barrage of Ryanair employees as they constantly awoke you from your already bad sleep to sell you perfume. Crammed seats and little organization only made matters worse, but for 50 bucks each, we weren't complaining.

Our first night in Italy was questionable at best. We arranged for the hostel to pick us up from the airport, only to be presented with a shuttle 40 minutes late. Upon joining the local Italian driver in his 4-seat Lancia, he started cussing realizing he lost his validation ticket. Quick on my feet, I found it for him and saved him a 300 euro fine. Needless to say, the ride was very quick and friendly (besides a pit stop to pick up his girlfriend).

Our first hostel experience was...interesting. A cool place that was truly Italian, the hostel lacked the privileged charm of spic-and-span double rooms. The stay would have been rather enjoyable had it not been for our German truck-driver room mate. His snoring put Dad (5 years ago mind you) to shame. It nearly shook the entire floor. Gotta thank Steph for being prepared with earplugs though.

Day 2:

We woke up to the smell of fresh breakfast. When I say breakfast, though, I mean packaged croissants and when I say woke up to the smell, I mean to our alarms. But anyways, we then needed to get across the country to Naples, Italy. I would tell you all about the countless adventures encountered during this overly-long leg of the trip, but it would all seem too redundant. Late trains, bus connections, language barriers, and 2 rookie travelers. Same old, same old.

Naples, however, was nicer than Bari. That is not necessarily a compliment though, seeing as how Bari was absolute rubbish. Naples seems to be the New York of Italy, having over 2 million residents and the title of most highly concentrated city in Italy. We were a little uneasy walking through this urban metropolis, and things did not impprove as we reached our hostel. In an alley down an unlabeled street, we had to enter an apartment complex and walk to the 6th floor (over uneven and slanted stairs to boot). I think we both nearly lost it when we entered the house. It was literally a mans home, with a few guest rooms. I wanted to run. In hindsight, however, I couldn't have been more wrong. Back to that later.

Naples underwhelmed (Stephanie the sisters' word, not mine) and failed to resonate with either of us. Maybe it was the lack of big-name attractions or our lack of enthusiasm, but the city seemed too big and too dirty. Although, it did have character. The birthplace of pizza was obviously abound in local pizzeria's, and we went to a local favorite with lines around the block. It was better pizza than the night before, but it was no Zeno's, Peppino's, or Pagliais. Is that blasphemy to say about the city where pizza was created? Possibly I suppose. But the pizza here is different. It is wafer thin, cooked in wood-burning ovens, and has minimal cheese. Interesting and tasty, but largely unsatisfying in my opinion. Great experience though eating at the same table as 6 local Italians. Our first gelato trip helped make up for the unsatisfying pizza.

Day 3:

Our troubles with connections had eliminated a few hours out of our sight-seeing time and had unfortunately demanded we cut out a place from our itinerary. Pompeii, unfortunately, was the place that had to go. We couldn't be bummed for long, however, walking onto the shore of the tropical paradise island Capri. No plans and superb weather made the day perfect. It was one of the days that need not be recorded through words, for it would fail to express the beauty and joy experienced. The moments of eating way too much gelato on the top of a mountain overlooking a gorgeous city, mountains, and the vast openness of water are ones that burn into your heart and mind but mean nothing to those not there. Needless to say, it was amazing. Randy and Jean would love it...it was a city waiting for a cruise ship.

We cut the day early and headed to Sorrento. A questionable choice that was only partially successful, the city was a mixture of gross tourism and unique Italy. Souvenir and treat hunting, however, made the city of Lemons a real treat. Hence why we are devouring Orange and Lemon candies and Lemon cookies. Who cares about eating healthy anyways. The healthiest thing I've ate this trip has been...peanut laced chocolate? Oh the joys of being a kid. No wait! I had eggplant! That takes us to a few hours ago.

We just finished eating a dinner made by our fabulous hostel host, Giovanni. The hostel is called Giovanni's Home, and that is truly what it is. We are guests in his quaint apartment and it felt pretty odd at first. But now it feels like we are all one big happy family...which I think is what he wants in a way. He just cooked us a delicious Italian pasta feast made of noodles, cheese, sauce, and unfortunately, eggplant. Guess where I sat? Right next to him. Do you think Italians like when you pick around their food? They don't. I suffered through eggplant before Steph, being the amazing girlfriend she is, pulled a sly move and switched our plates while he wasn't looking. Oddly, her plate was full of hot gooey pasta and had no eggplant.

After dinner we had a group sing-along where we learned some classic Italian songs. They will be on YouTube. The night was absolutely incredible. We couldn't have picked a better hostel. The most gracious host we have ever had, Giovanni provided us with an unforgettable experience in a highly forgettable city (in my opinion anyways).

I apologize if this post is long and all over the place. We just have wireless right now and wanted to update prior to continuing to Rome. It's been a long day and my writing seems to be the current victim of sleep depression. We'll update as soon as possible, but internet can often be hard to come by on a budget.

Oh yeah, did I mention we haven't changed our clothes since leaving England? Not even for sleep? That makes it something like almost 72 hours. And we don't plan to until bed time tomorrow in Rome. I'm not sure if I'm embarrassed or proud...both maybe?