Day 18: wee

Day 18: wee we wake up and head out to the city. Our first stop will be belvedere castle. Actually no our first stop ends up being the pharmacy because Liz and Hannah have become quite ill. Liz has aches and snot and Hannah wants to chunder. Great! We make it to the castle and it is gorgeous. The building is grand and the garden is very large. It was the prince's residence, now a museum full of artwork from the  1800 and 1900s. Hannah chucked at one stage so we put her in a taxi and she went back to bed :( Liz powered on and we roamed the city with its beautiful lights for a bit. Back at the hostel the girls both slept whilst I cooked up some veggies in the kitchen and made some new friends who weren't sick. When I took dinner up they were both fast asleep so I left it and came back down for hot choc (thanks mum) with my new friends. Then they decided to ditch me too and go to bed. It was only 830 so I rugged up and headed out alone. I stumbled across st stephen's church that we had been looking for for half the morning and went inside. It was stunning at night time. It was lit up with all these different colours and looked so medieval and gothic. The was alive and beautiful too. There was a 60 year old man in a red gown shuffling to a well known techno beat. I watched and was laughing heartily out loud it was so funny. I looked for a pub too but didn't find one on the main street apart from the "Australian bar" as I wasn't keen on wondering too far alone at night... Walking back I started to get an urge to wee. This became very strong quickly. I was close but not close enough so I searched for somewhere to go but there was absolutely no where. I was about 50 m from the hostel when I realized I was not going to make it. I peed my pants. I actually did it in the street. There was nothing I could do about it. It was happening. I had no control. What the hell do I do? Oh my gosh that actually just happened. My jeans were saturated. I ran into the hostel and up the stairs very speedily and blurted out my story to the girls. I was ominous utter disbelief. And then I was in the shower... 

Day 17: boxing day

We wake at 7 because Elisa and joe and the kids are leaving for Monaco. Panatonne and tea and biscotti again. We see them out of their own home and thank them for coming :) for our train doesn't leave until 11. I stroll the streets of aiello one last time hoping to find some Caki somewhere because apparently the soft mushy orange fruit is everywhere but I didn't. The air was fresh and crisp and the sun was out but everyone was inside... Or at the bar- the only place open. Luciano and Daniella take us to the train station. We have to take a bus to the border first then a train to Vienna. The bus trip is amazing. The mountains get closer and closer and soon we are driving through them. They are so big and white and numerous. We somehow manage to get on the train that takes around about rout to Vienna via salsberg so it takes 2 hours extra. We munch on prosciutto and formaggio paninis that Daniella prepared for us and admire the gorgeous snowy landscapes. I fall asleep dreaming of skiing down these beautiful slopes. 7 hours later we arrive in Vienna. Liz gets left behind at the metro station because the doors shut too quickly and the entire carriage joins in our laughter for the look on Liz's face as the doors slide shut in front of her is (hard to describe) perhaps amused annoyance - anyway its ingrained in my memory and was very funny. Being a public holiday and a Monday not much is open but we find a cafe with our French roomies and devour liver soup, goulash and a schnitzel the size of Australia! The hotel is large and very clean. I'm sitting in the lobby area on some couches typing away and feeling nice and relaxed... Time for bed I think...

Day 16: Christmas day

Day 16 Christmas  Early arising for me 7 am to Skype the fam but they leave me waiting 30 mins anyway! Then I can't actually speak to them cos I get told off by Liz for being too loud while the house is asleep so it was not the greatest success. After about an hour I head back to bed. No one gets up until about 11 30 then when Mateo arises and says (in Italian) is Australia far from here? It was so cute. We told him it was 24 hours on the aero plane. He contemplated this then climbed out of bed and went downstairs.  We went downstairs and find out that tomaso had  been vomiting all night which is why Mateo came up to escape the commotion. So poor Elisa and joe had been up all night! Coffee for breakfast as it was almost lunchtime anyway. Then joe and Mateo and the 3 of us strolled down to Daniella's for Christmas lunch. Elisa stayed home with Tomaso and Ricardo while we enjoyed a tremendous feast :(.  So... Entree was a plate of little packaes- prosciutto wrapped soft cheese, a cheesy pastry delight, a spinach dip and some bread. Then asparagus soup. Then some delicious meat with spinach and beans with bacon. My favorite was desert- semi freddo torronne which was an ice cream kind of nougat cake draped in rich chocolate sauce- to die for. Coffee and fruit to follow. We then exchanged gifts. We each received a moisturiser from Elisa, face mist from Daniella and a scarf, mittens, stockings and socks from a family we had not yet met!  Giordano took us to some old castles and told us about the history of the beautiful buildings. He also took us to his grandfathers old home- now very run down- and told us stories of coming here and feeding the horses and staying with his grandad. He also told us where nonno was staying when he first met nonna and where and how they met. Later on more family came over and poor Elisa was in her PJs nursing tommaso and Ricardo whilst trying to entertain guests! After Daniella and Luciano came over again and brought dinner. Soup, delicious cheese, salami, chocolate and biscotti. And then domire time...

Presents!

Presents  We sat on our beds on Christmas eve and unwrapped presents from our family back home. It was so fun. I loved all of them- esp the hot choc sachets! Mmm. And Liz finally got to open her pink box she had been carrying with her everywhere she went - a beautiful silver bracelet from terry. 

Day 15 Christmas eve

Day 15 Christmas eve Sleep in nice. Breakfast of champions- choc milk, biscotti and chocolate Panatonne. Then we walk to the town centre- a bar, a market and a supermarket (oh and the new pizza shop ) 300 metres away. We have an apple spritzer (alcoholic bevi) at 12.30 (feels like 10 am cos we only got up an hour ago) at the bar which is extremely busy. We then he's to Daniella's for lunch. This section almost needs its own page...  My fav was the semolina gnocchi- it was so so soft. We also had liver, nonna style cooked beef, another type of raw looking meat but it had a really nice soft texture too. Then a delicious orange flavored tart and some fruit. Oh and choc and coffee but that's a given... Daniella is a fantastic cook- giordano says that's the reason he's with Elisa. Then joe (giordano) took us to Aquilea. It is a very interesting place. About 300 ad I think it was- it was he 2nd largest city in Italy (second to Roma) with about 10 000 people. It was so important because it had a thriving port that did major exporting with Egypt. Now the city has only about 2000 dwellers. Ruins keep popping up all over he place and people aren't allowed to build on them. But joe says most of the time it's kept hushed. Joe tried to explain the history that as written on the brochure and managed to tell he story that the images on the floor of the church we're depicting- a monster that ate a man and then spewed him up on the beach??? Sure joe whatever you say... We were quite cold after visiting the stone ruins all over the city and it was dark so it was definitely hot choc time. Then back home to prepare for Christmas eve. Oh my gosh Christmas eve! We first went to he bar of course where we shouted everyone a spritzer. But only stayed for about 5 mins so Liz had to skull her red wine. Then off to Joel's parents house. Wow there were lots of people there. I met lots and lots and remembered none. Oops. We latched on and had chats with some girls around our age who spoke English. But the food! Sorry here I go again but hey we're in Italy and its Christmas- what do you expect. Antipasto was laid out before us on a long long dining table in a grand dining area. It was filled with salami, prosciutto, savory tarts, baclava, bread, cheeses, mini pizzas... I may have accidentally filled up on pre entree. Next was entree- lovely pasta soup then out rolled 3 different types of lasagne and of course we had to have one of each. They were so so delicious. Then vegetables and another baclava dish. And last biscotti - a heap of different varieties, chocolate and torronne. We could not move off the couch. At midnight bells started to ring and the boys pricked up their ears - babbo natale (Santa clause) had arrived and brought everyone presents. The boys ran over and ripped open their presents. Tomaso was tracking down baddies with his high tech spy watch for the rest of the evening. We got back to the house at 130 but then giordano said he was taking us to the bar. So the three of us walked down to the bar with him and ordered whiskey and coke and drank and danced to a mixture of traditional italian music and disco techa tunes. We got home at 4 am... Zzzzz tomorrow is Christmas!  During the night however a little person comes up the stairs. We look up and Mateo dives into bed with Liz! She is started at first but lets it happen. It is his bed after all. A few mins later Elisa and joe climb the stairs looking for mateo and find him fast asleep beside Liz. He remains for the rest of the night.

Day 15: the eating begins

Day 15 We awake and head out for brekkie with 2 new friends- eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, oj and biscotti for 5 euro and no service charge- amazing! And then we depart for aiello. Luciano and daniella great us with beaming faces as we jump off the train. They are so cute. They very soon realize how little Italian we understand but they try to speak and use hand gestures anyway. We arrive at Elisa's and she fixes us bean soup, coffee and biscuits. Then we are so tired we fall asleep for 2 hours. Our room is actually tommaso and Matteo's bedroom and they have  been kicked out to the loungeroom for three days. The room also has a very low roof and poor Hannah ha to double over to fit. They all find Hannah's height quite amusing and for at least the first 2 days they keep standing beside her and saying "alto alto". We wake up and play x box sport with the boys. This definitely keeps us amused for the next few hours. I'm very bad at tennis and often almost knocked Matteo out with my backswing but i was not so bad at skiing. Daniella and Luciano come back for dinner- pasta, meat and veg and delicious pancake berry kind of desert as well as liqueured pineapple, coffee then later coffee liqueur. We're just warming up for Christmas... Then the family finds out that I'm a physio so I don't rest until everyone has had a massage...  

Day 14: bed bugs

Day 14  Late arising. Liz has bed bugs :(. Off to murano island home to the Venetian glass. It is all very very beautiful and impressive. I loved the lamps the best. We all purchased something pretty as an Xmas gift to ourselves and then decided to visit lido- another island which is known for its nice beach. We however did not get that far. Though the water taxis are a nice way to travel around Venice they are slow and by the time we got to lido it was very cold and all we wanted was warmth and a nap so 10 mins later we were back on the water taxi. Not before witnessing a gorgeous sunset  view though. This definitely made it well worth the trip- I think so anyway. So we nap and enjoy a cup of tea before another 5 euro 3 course dinner. Pesto pasta, more bruschetta and more tiramisu (don't think the boys know how to cook many dishes)... Wine again then out to he bars where I have a horrid absinth shot that definitely sends warmth right down to my toes. 

Day 13 too many Aussies not enough Venice

Day 13 We explore and get lost with our new American friend Kelsey. We found lots of glass shops,  lots of delicious pastries of course and paninis with bbq chorizo and vegetables from a market. San Marco square was a highlight - the mosaics were unbelievably detailed. Hannah and I could not understand how you can get such amazing blending of the different colours using tiles. Back at the hostel we decided to cook up some veggies and arancini for dinner. Zac's desert was a chocolate and blueberry tart. Tonight we decided to stay in and we conned the rest of the hostel to join in with card games which turned into drinking games as soon as someone brought out a bottle of red. More than half the hostel was Aussie at this stage so we had lots in common to keep us entertained for the night. Unfortunately mark also arrived tonight. He is also Aussie although im a little embarrassed to admit it abd his accent is very confused. It's unfortunate because all he could talk about was himself and he was extremely loud and quite frustrating. The night ended with Liz having to skulk the kings cup 10 bottles of vino later and everyone being sent to bed for being too loud. 

Lunges in thermals

Still the funniest thing I've seen is Liz doing lunges and squats in her thermals at the hostel and then bench pressing a kitchen chair to try and keep her physique- what a gym junkie! 

Day 12: 3 guys running a hostel...

Day 12  Off to Venezia. The train ride was interesting. We were cooped up with a woman and her son and her dog- a tiny chuwhawha sitting on a diaper. The carriage smelt of urine the whole trip. The worst part was they got off and left the diaper on the floor! As soon as we arrived I loved venezia. It is something so out of this world. From the bridges and canals to the confusing walkways and dead- ended streets- everything is unique. Our hostel was run by an Aussie 21 yr old, a young- acting (not sure how old), moody Italian whose name might have been Gino or Matteo, and a 16 year old Brit (zac) whose story is not really known but his deserts are amazing. The hostel itself, not so clean but they thrive on being known as a good-time hostel. No they don't offer "special services" but they take whoever wants to go out every night to the bars of Venice ( which aren't all that pumping really). So tonight we are cooked a three course meal by the boys for 5 euro- carbonara pasta, bruschetta and tiramisu. Then we head to the bars until they kick us out. Back at the hostel the party continued because we found another entire tray of tiramisu in the fridge...

Day 11 the leaning what the?

Day 11  To Pisa we go. Ha what a funny place. The tower just made me laugh. I think Italy just likes to preserve things for the sake of it. It's not really necessary to have a leaning tower surely it could have been fixed. And they started building it then stopped then decided to start again after 100 years of rest- no wonder the economy is not so great... We bored of Pisa quickly so we trained to a nearby town by the name of Luca. That is a pretty strange place. Surrounded by a 12 foot wall, it is it's own city and is quite exclusive. We roamed markets yet again and found a niche for lunch. This time we remembered to avoid eating the bread laid before us. The view from the top of the wall was the highlight. We made our way back to Firenze and had an Indian feast for dinner because it was the only restaurant open on a Monday night. 

Day 10 biscotti, pizza, vino

Day 10 Bran breakfast due to troublesome toilet times. Then out to roam the city. When we found the actual duomo it was quite impressive (as opposed to a church we thought was it). After roaming and shopping and admiring and awing we bought ingredients to make pizzas and pastries for dessert yet again. Liz also purchased about 10 different types of biscotti to which she demolished within 24 hours (most in the first hour!). We napped then cooked our giant cheesy and prosciutto filled pizzas at the hostel and drank 80 cent vino with a Japanese guy and an Argentinian girl. 

Day 9 lots of milk!

On our way to Firenze. We had 3 hours to kill on the first train so we decided to play make up in our first class booth (given to us accidentally). Our smokey eyes looked way too glam for our traveller attire and clumsy backpacks when we stepped off the train! A quick stop for paninis in bologna then onto the super high speed train to Firenze where we were offered tea/coffee/ biscuits but first class was too overwhelming and we didn't want to accept in case we had to pay! (which you didn't have to). When the guy came to check our tix although we were given 1st class our eurail passes were 2nd class so he kicked us out. Lucky it was after the complimentary chocolate and face wipes and about 2 mins before our destination. We arrived in the arvo, found our hostel and roamed the markets and city centre. Hannah was pulled into the back of a shop by a market man who was trying to sell her a leather jacket. He undid her jacket and exclaimed "ooh pamela anderson! Lots of milk!" bestowing us with the names of cameron diaz (hannah) and lady ga ga (me) he hugged and kissed us and would  not let us leave. Liz was  not quick enough to pick up his  creepiness and so ended up receiving a slopping smooch!  A tad over pizza and pasta (for now) we ate at a Chinese restaurant for dinner (plus it was the cheapest we could find). Back at the hostel we napped and then I semi-forced the girls into going out for rule number 3 states we have to go out every Saturday night. Rule 1= you must drink water when offered the water bottle. Rule 2= leave enough time for train changeovers to avoid awkward pack running/ missing trains. Rule 4= must wear frog beanie when unhappy.  So we headed out purchasing delicious pastries on the way to a small bar. Quickly befriending some military Americans we drank and bar hopped. Unfortunately the persistence of Italian men didn't stop at the markets. We were pestered by 3 Italians who would not let us be without "bacci veloce" (quick kisses). It would not have been half as bad if they had have been even slightly attractive but the one who "claimed" me was... How does one say... extremely unfortunate... Anyway free drinks was the only positive to come from that- and some laughs and some Italian practice of course, but we ran away as soon as the opportunity came and somehow found our way home after getting hopelessly lost in the streets of firenze (and after a maccas pit stop). I might add I was completely useless at this stage so all thanks to Han and Liz for getting us home safe! Grazie mia amici belle

Day 8 abbateggio

Arise- breakfast of bread and jam and tea. Then I decided to walk down to San Valentino whilst the others talked to their boys on the phone and relaxed. The wind was ferocious I was almost blown over. And the road was not pedestrian friendly at all. It took a good 40 mins to get there and it was pretty dead so I strolled around and headed back home. I think the highlight of the trip was stepping into a hidden ditch and falling in to leaves knee deep! Got back and found ourselves with too much chill time due to miscommunication with the relatives. So had last night's left over pasta for lunch (still pretty good but nothing like Rosanna's of course). Serafino picked us up in the arvo and took us to nonninas old house, showed us beautiful views of abbruzzo and then around chieti- trying to explain things to me in Italian as simply as possible. We then went with carla to visit pescara- a pretty beachside town. We browsed markets and danced with some clowns on the street before heading back for dinner- more of rosannas amazing pasta and sausage and eggplant and omelette and choc cake (to which we took home what we didn't eat) + coffee  and a strong shot of something to help us sleep...

Day 7

Day 7 Sleep in! Breakfast at the bar around the corner of un caffe (short black) and choc croissants and cake from last night. We then meandered the streets of abbateggio (which took an entire 30 minutes). And hunted for a 'monster' that dad had hidden around the town, we rehid the treasure for clare and mina to find when they come in a top secret location... We then chilled out for a bit and waited for fabrizio to come and pick us up. We met his family- ate  more choc biscuits and truffles. Then he took us around san valentino. His english was scarce and our italian even more so. Often it was just pretending to understand! By this stage we were sort of in need of some real food as it was way past lunchtime. So we visited a pub where the owner was an Aussie with a real bogan accent but he hooked us up with some delicious focaccias. Then home. We had a nap then I got up and cooked up a storm- pasta with tuna sugo. During a round of 500 fabrizio and his mother knocked on the door. She brought us a cake and asked after the family- what a cute little nonna. We ate this and sipped limoncello before heading out to the bar. No one was there so we ordered a beer and started a game of 21 with the bartender. It soon got busy with the young locals coming in to socialize, have a drink or play darts. We left a few hours later in good spirits and headed to bed. 

Mmm rich mahogany... (must be said with rich man being inspired face)

Day 6

Day 6 Last day of free breakfast so stuff it in girls we've got a big day of traveling. On the train we couldn't reserve seats cos eurorail passes suck so we were kicked out of our comfy seats way too prematurely by a lady with a dog in her bag and a grumpy man who mumbled that if you can't speak Italian you shouldn't come to Italy- he obviously didnt realise that whilst i'm pretty shite at speaking it, I can understand some. So we sit in the isle- which is where we are now and we have to get up every five minutes for people to walk passed- good times. Lucky it's only a 2 hr trip... We missed the freaking connecting train ahh crap After the stress of sprinting aarathon distance with crush, voldemort and basil (our backpacks) weighing us down heavily, then trying to find a phone, then trying to speak Italian to explain the situation- we sprawled on the station floor and waited for the next train. During which a Nigerian man tried to talk one of us into marrying him so he could come to Australia.  4 hours to chieti was a long and not so exciting trip. We were met by Carla and taken to her home where Rosanna was busy cooking away. She served a feast of 2 servings of freshly made pasta fragolio, fish and cheese balls, salad and home made cakes for desert which we were given the remainder for breakfast. Carla and serafino drove us to casa di nonno cesidio which was to be our abode for the next few days. We settled in for the night and slept soundly for abbeteggio is very quiet...

Day 5

Day 5 To sorento for the day! once again early rising, mega breakfast and to the station. We somehow got onto the wrong station, ended up at a deserted underground station then got on the first train to leave that place, changed at yet another and finally arrived in sorento- a pretty, laid back, retiree beach town. Well there wasn't much of a beach and where there was the bit of sand was black but the views were beautiful. And the shopping irresistible! Lunch was fresh bread, cheese and prosciutto down by the ferry dock. And some real chilly choc like I'm talking dried chillie seeds all over it. His town is famous for its limo cello so of course we purchased some of that too. We then decided that we were heading toward a night out so that called for purchasing Smirnoff for 12 euro. We perused markets and then was in need of un cafe but chose delicious gelato instead. This guy was clearly a world class chef as there were pics of giant cakes and a cake for the pope up all over the walls. I couldn't go passed the nutella ice cream and it did not disappoint! Back on the train and back to hostel of the sun for our vodka and order in pizza and pasta- good times chatting and drinking with the Finnish- mitto vitto! 

Day 4

Day 4 Stock up on free breakfast! The giant nutella jar made that task quite easy. Then off to pompeii. Liz has just reminded me to mention the fact that we were stoned along the way- mo not high on chuff- but some kids thought it was funny to throw nuts at us as they mmarched by in their gang. The ruins were cool but we felt a bit jibbed as many of the sites were being re done and weren't yet open. This caused us to jump the fences and view the not yet safe restoration sites but what do they expect from a bunch of Aussie girls... Back in Naples we were on a mission to find Gino sorbinos- the best pizzeria in town... This involved walking down intense alley ways with scary men and zooming mopeds and all to find the shop was shut :( we went to the second best instead- di Matteo's which was pretty damn good. We ate an entire pizza each. Yeah we did. Back at the hostel we settled on the couch talking to some fellow backpackers and Han enjoyed a peroni. At the site of the other travelers' pizza dinner we miraculously felt hungry again so we set out in search of something sweet and found absolutely amazing freshly created cannolis. Num num num. num num num. ( yes they call for double num nums). Bedtime. Gnight hostel of the sun. 

Day 3

Day 3  Heading to nipples. Breakfast of champions purchased from the supermarket- bananas and tomato & basil bread eaten at maccas whilst waiting for the train. Found a good as hostel out of the ugly part of nips where the friendly staff enticed us with things to do here. We were sold. We walked around and shopped, had an expensive lunch where the chef had clearly dropped the salt container into the pasta but the guy singing with his guitar was a nice touch. We found a gorgeous view of the city up on a hill which housed - yes you guessed it- a very old grand castle and soaked up the view (and almost soaked my pants) whilst waiting until 4 so we could get into the castle for free. Hey we're students ( well most of us)! We cruised the streets some more, sampled nipples famous pastries and drank rich pure hot choc (and paid a ridiculous service charge). Then back to the hostel for showers and bed... Mmm

Day 2

Day 2 Early arising to head off to the Vatican. What a weird place. Who would make a city like the Vatican -its... well... Weird. It's beautiful and great that it has been preserved but it was clear to us that the catholics were too wealthy and power-driven. More castles popped up and we were then in need of a very sustainable meal of pizza and pasta. Back at the hostel it was time for bottles of wine and tattoos before heading out for the best gelato  in town - geovani Farsi and a dance at rome's lively clubs. We unfortunately still lack stamina but loved the mix of English and Italian tunes. 

Day 1

A British south African joined our crew for our next few days in Rome. She was cool and easy going and fit in with our stupid antics. Well what did we learn on our first day? We certainly learnt that rome wasn't built in a day! It is so ancient and stony but miraculously all of the buildings are still standing. We learnt that castles pop up in the middle of Rome like Asians pop up in Melbourne. We learnt that the Trevi is emptied of $3000 euro every day, the Spanish steps are over crowded and everyone is obsessed with the Disney store. We also learnt that walking ALL freaking day with jet lag calls for a very early night's sleep- thank you allessandro's palace you have provided well. 

Day 1: aero times

So te trip didnt start quite as we hoped. I was told I was not able to board the plane on melbourne as a piece of paper with INVALID scribbled across the top wa shoved in my face! This was soon sorted before I burst in to tears thankfully! Why does it take so fricken long to get to Europe? Lucky we had awesome air hosts who provided us with first class dessert, chicken skewers, bags and bags I peanuts, second sausage rolls an of course marriage proposals! Note to all Malaysian air travelers do not request kosher, asiatic or low fat meal options as a joke- they suck! We also met Geoffrey Rush's son and friends and played a brilliant practical joke by stealing their seats. It was brilliant because they didn't realize even when the elderly couple came back to claim their seats- te poor things were so confused! After shite sleep and being fed every 2 hrs we arrived in Roma at 5.30 am! Yay!