Back to the roots

First things first, I'm sorry but a lot of these posts may be delayed by a few days due to lack of wifi. I tend to write about the location I am levying on route to my next location, and if there I no wifi while I m there, then my posts become a little behind. 

As for this post, be prepared for a long story... I'll try to condense it as much as possible for both your sake and mine. My thumbs may break if I write all the details, because too many memories were created in such a short time. 

The reason for the title is because the last few days of our euro trip were broken up into based on our roots into two families (due famiglia). 3 of the people in our group of European travellers have roots that track back to Calabria, Italy (imcluding myself). However, because mio famiglia is coming to see my home town in November, we divided up 3 and 3 into 2 different home towns in Calabria. The division was basically mangicakes and manigcakes who are trying their hardest to be pure-breds. As a result my last few days were spent in the beautiful town of Angoli. In order to sum up this town in a few words, I have come up with the following: 

1. Beautiful

2. Family 

3. Food 

4. Wine 

5. Piccolo (only 300 people) 

6. Experience 

Angoli is basically a little town that sits ontop of a mountain and overlooks both the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic sea on either side. It is such a small town that all you can hear throughout the day is honking. The reason for this, is because when the locals recognize the car that is passing them, they honk as a way to say hello.... This happens to pretty much every car that you pass. 

If you are ever going to have a meal with an Italian family for whatever reason, I suggest you prep your body for it and make your stomach as expandable as possible. Coming to Angoli after traveling Europe for a few weeks and eating only 2 small meals a day was the worst! The food was unlike anything I've ever tasted and I did not want to stop eating. My body kept freaking out because even though there was no space left in my stomach, I literally was not allowed to stop eating. If you ever try to resist the "manga manga manga" in an Italian household, be prepared to basically be force fed. 

Now the reason I said this food was unlike anything I've ever tasted is because everything... And I mean everything, is either grown or produced in someway in this families backyard. From the vegetables all the way up to the sausages and capicola made from the pigs they raise. It was mind blowing and mouthwatering all at the same time. 

Other than the amazing food and company, this trip was amazing because we finally got to relax. We made no plans, all plans were made for us and we were taken everywhere by car. This meant no grabbing 6 people and waiting for everyone to be ready, no trains to figure out and no drama! 

We went to see so,me of the most beautiful beaches that were surrounded by the most clear water I have ever seen. For those visiting Calabria make sure you go to tropea and pizzo, and do not leave pizzo until you have tried their Tartufo! They are known for this and the portions are massive! 

Can you keep up with this pace yet?

I start this post with the question can you keep up with this pace yet? A lough this question is directed towards you, it's primarily a question for myself. So far we are on day 18 of 90 and have seen (including our layover) 9 cities (on our way to the 10th), and 4 countries (on our way to our 5th tomorrow)!!! So the question is raised. Can a: my body handle this much moving and while wrapping 60 pounds around my pack in 35 degree weather, and b: I my brain stay calm and not go mental from all the hours spent planning our routes to all these destinations! I hate it, but I love it. Based on this information, it seems as though my relationship with this trip is like most relationships: rocky, heart felt, beautiful and ugly, yet totally worth it. Interpret his as you may! 

Anyways, down to the nitty gritty... Aka what my crazy butt has been up to the last few days. First of all I'd like to apologize for the delay in this post, u hadn't uploaded any pictures or had much time to rest and type until this train ride. So here we go... 

Since cinque terre we were in Rome for 2 days and Napoli for 1. Rome I found particularly interesting to visit, because much like cinque terre I had already been there, so it was interesting to see what I remembered and what I didn't. The first day there began with a quick treck over to the colosseum. No this beautiful piece I have probably seen 3 times, 2 of which I remember and one I was just a little too young to fully recall. Although I have come to this amazing historical city many times in my life, the views have yet to lose their beauty and still take my breath away. The following day we went to see the beautiful Vatican museum, and all it made me want to do is hire some amazingly talented artist to paint my ceiling! The art work surrounding all areas of each room was unbelievable! I can't even imagine the amount of work that has been not only put into the original work, but maintaining it and making sure over the years nothing changes about them! 

Yes, we obviously took the time to visit all of these amazing areas in Rome, but it isn't a visit to Rome without a pub crawl haha! When I went 6 years ago, it was the first time I had ever been on a pub crawl and I had such an amazing time that I had to do it again the next day! This being said, as soon as I found out we were going to Rome, the first thing out of my mouth was "WE'RE DOING A PUB CRAWL!" So off we went to the Colosseum pub crawl and of course it was a disaster of a night, and I loved every minute of it. 

Next stop Napoli! 

This was originally supposed to be the time we stayed in sorrento or somewhere a little closer to amalfi coast, but due to lact of hostels and lack of good planing we changed our course to the closest thing to this area, Napoli! Now, who I'm the right mind can complain, when the change of plans takes you to the one area that is known for their pizza! There were so many choices of both restaurants and flavours that I had to get one of my friends to do a quick pick! My mind was racing and my mouth was watering at everything I read, it was nearly impossible to choose! 

Although we had a short time in this city, we decided to make the best of it and take a quick trip over to Pompeii and take a peek at the ruins. This was both the most disturbing and scary thing to see. For those who don't know, and I could be a little off when I say this (so don't hold me to it.. Sorry lack of internet to double check my facts), but essentially what happened in this area is a volcano called volsuveus (if that's how you spell it)  and some time in around the 70's AD the volcano erupted and took over the whole town. Could you imagine! The volcanic ash was the first to hit the town, and just when they though they had seen the most of it, the volcano started to flow down to the town at a rate of 60km/h. Many tried to out run it or hide in different areas but unfortunately nothing helped. The sad and most disturbing part in the ruins was that there were actual bodies of those they found following the eruption, stuck forever in the position they held while they were covered in the ash and lava. Definitely a site to see for those visiting around the amalfi coast! 

As for right now we are off to get some of Nonnas amazing cooking from my friends extended families living in Calabria! I can't wait! 

Keep an eye out for more posts to come... Hopefully this time I'll be a little quicker. 

Xoxo

Please bring proper apparel

We just finished seeing the beautiful cinque terre and I swear the boys could have killed me. I went to cinque terre about 6 years ago and absolutely loved it! It was the weirdest thing going back to the same places, my mind just started flooding with the most random memories... I actually remembered this one specific train track at one of the train stations because of a picture I took of it 6 years ago (obviously I recreated it hehe). Since I had been to this destination before and told the boys that there is a way to walk through all the towns (how I remembered going through it when I was 16) they decided to follow me.  Now for those of you reading this that do jnot know me, I am the most directionally challenged person, but I figured if I just follow the paths we'll be fine. I was wrong. We got to a booth and the lady informed us that flip flops are normally not allowed, but we can continue at our own risk. Me, being out of it and just in pure excitement from remembering everything, I took this information and kept going without thinking about what she meant. Turns out we were headed in the direction of the hiking path, not the walking path. Now keep in mind, we were just In Interlaken where we hiked literally only up hill for 2.5 hours and our bodies were still sore. Also keep in mind the fact that although we conquered Interlaken, it was probably 15 degrees hotter in Italy. 

So we walked and the first thing we were faced with was a wall of stairs... And I swear there was a million. We were about halfway up them when we ran into an English speaking group and asked them the one question you should never ask on a hike - how long until the top? Or in this case, until the next city. At this point we were informed that it is about a 2 hour hike... Fuck my life right? Good news was, they said that the stairs were the worst part. They were right. We conquered the stairs and the rest was fairly flat. An hour and a half later we were in the next town, covered in dirt and sweat and in awe of our view. Too bad all the looks we received on the way there were bad ones... But what can you expect when a hiker with walking sticks and mountain boots runs into a girl doing the same treck I'm a pair of flip flops and a dress haha. 

Safe to say we will not be doing that again, and the boys will never out me in charge of leading (thank god)

More to come my loves 

Xoxo 

It's all about staring your fears in the face and saying FUCK you!

The past 3 days have been a mad dash of extreme sports! We landed in interlaken, Switzerland on September first and we're instantly in love. From the beautiful mountains to the minty blue water, we were surrounded with the most beautiful view from sunrise to sunset. 

After arranging our belongings in our hostel we headed straight for the information desk to organize our next few days of adventure... Which started much sooner than anticipated.  After speaking with the information desk the boys realized they really wanted to go bungee jumping first, so we went back into the office to find out when the earliest available time was, only to find out that it was in 5 minutes!! All the boys jumped on and purchased their tickets right away but there is no way in hell I was about to do that. Yes I know, I jumped out of a plane, but I'd rather die by flying and not by getting a bungee cord wrapped around my Kneck or dropped right on my head. Eek. 

So we hopped on a bus and got to ... I don't even know where but it was gorgeous. There were cows all over the area, and the view was stunning with mountain tops. 

It was such an experience to watch these crazy boys fly face first out of a gondola! It almost made me want to try it... 

The next day was the biggest adventure for myself due to the fact that I conquered two of my biggest fears: 1 cliff jumping and 2 drowning. If you haven't heard of it, google it, watch videos of it and then go to interlaken and do it... I'm talking about canyoning. Basically what this is, is a combination of cliff jumping off of rocks up to 8m as well as sliding down natural made water slides that are running at incredible speeds. We got decked out in water gear to keep our body safe from the rocks and our head above water, but that does not mean I didn't swallow a mountain full of water through both my nose and moth. I could have sworn I was not going to make my way through the event after my first or second jump that ended with a big gulp of water, however, by the time I conquered the whole mountain I was told that I was a champ on the water! Woohoo! As the only girl taking part in the event (besides the photographer) it was quite an accomplishment to hear this! 

I would love to share the footage of this but it is mainly all videos and I do not have the technology currently (slash I'm just lazy) to go through the videos and take snap shots. 

Keep reading and they may be up soon. 

More to come later 

Ciao 

Xo 

The day there was a stock market crash

It's Day... I don't know 5 of our trip and we just took the most complicated route to get out of Barcelona. Apparently we don't always have luck on our side when it comes to trains. So far we have been cruising along. Leaving our reservations to the last minute and jumping on trains as fast as we can... This came to a quick halt during our attempt to get from Spain to Italy. The only route we could take from our location was to go to France first and every single train was booked.. Obviously. 

We have done so much running around in the past few days that every city is starting to blur together! However, Barcelona is definitely one that stood out in my mind. We only stayed for one night, but boy oh boy it was one fun filled night. 

The day started with a few touristy things as every day should but ended with the most epic night of all. We came to our gorgeous (and pretty expensive) hostel met our roommates and loved them! Since our trip has been primarily the 5 of us it was great to meet people (especially for me because I finally had another girl present). The evening started with loads of sangria compliments of happy hour at our hostel, and a plate full of tapas (obviously... We're in Spain). After a few bottles of 1€ Vino from the local supermarket (yeah that's right 1€.... It's the same price for water.. I think I know what I'm buying more of) our night was just getting started. 

When it comes to night life, Spain knows how to do it... No one leaves their house until midnight or so and parties last until the morning. Perfect right?! You have your whole day to see the city, explore, eat, nap, whatever you want and then you still have all night to party. Due to a phenomenal recommendation from our good friend Kathleen, our butts were parked on bar stools at dowjones all night doing the weirdest and craziest shots you can think of and staring at screens. 

For those of you who don't know or have yet to go dowjones is a bar located in Spain with little screens around showing the prices of drinks (very typical). However, it's not so typical. On this screen prices are adjusted based on the number of drinks that are purchased. So for instance, if jäger is priced at 3, 50 € and I purchased a jäger shot, the cost will go up by ,15€. This means that if jäger is going up, those drinks that aren't purchased are going down. Just like in the stock market. Ontop of all these changes, every once in a while the stock market crashes (I know shitty right), but in this case it's awesome! When the stock market crashes prices go back to the original bar rates and we start the game again. 

So you're going now right? Hahah definitely a good idea. When you do go, the one drink you have to get is the hand of god... It is seriously messed up. They fill a tall glass with some form of liquor (god knows what kind) and light it on fire. Then the bartender suction cups the drink to the palm of his hand and swishes it around until the fire goes out. Then he give you a straw and tells you to suck in. At first all your sucking is air because he doesn't put it in the cup, and then all of a sudden he does a quick flick of the wrist and the straws in the cup with his hand still holding the air in from ontop. At this pout your inhaling some sort of hot burning alcohol air fume (clearly I can't describe it), and you do this for longer than you'd like. After the straw sucking, he takes his hand off and you take the shot. It doesn't end there. Just when you think there's nothing left in the glass he takes it from you, flips over a shot glass and pours the remainder of the alcohol onto the base of the shot glass. Now this is the worst and most shocking part... He tells you to snort it. So you pick up the shot glass, plug one side of your nose and just inhale all the hot burning alcohol that your bitch ass didn't finish. 

All in all, as I'm sure you can tell from the description of that shot... It was a good but messssyyy night. 

More coming soon .. And maybe a few Italian words too 

Adios Spain, Ciao Italy! 

Xoxo