Roma, Italia (Rome, Italy)

When I went to sleep last night here at the Roma – Foro Italico – AF Pesina Youth Hostel, there was only one other person in the room, when I woke up this morning, every bed was full.  I never heard a thing so I must have slept OK.  I walked down stairs and had breakfast and got myself ready for the day.  I talked to the hostel front desk lady who gave me the low down on how to see the city, which buses to take, etc.

She said that on the last Sunday of the month, admission to Vatican City Museum and the Basilica di San Pietro are free.  Today is the last Sunday of the month, so the lines will be long.  So, I set out to do the Vatican first.  I took the number 32 bus which dropped me off just a short distance from the line, the three city block line.  Could be more, that’s all I could see at the moment.  So I got in line for a while to see how fast it moved. Read Full Article & Comments…

Agordo in the Dolomite Mountains to Roma, Italia (Rome, Italy)

Well, I did indeed go to sleep to the sound of that water and I woke up to it this morning as well.  I slept great here at the Rivamonte Agordino Imperina Hostel.  Have you ever gone to a place where you just really felt comfortable?  This was one of those places for me.  The sights of the mountains up stream and down stream, the smell of the outdoors and all the new wood in the building, the sound of the water and the crickets, the coziness and coolness of being within the three foot thick stone walls, and no skeeters.

I’d like to stay longer but, I’ve put it off long enough, I stayed as far north as I could as long as I could, but I finally nutted up and decided last night to take the plunge and head south into the oven.  Roma.  I packed up and said goodbye to the proprietor, I forgot to get his name, but he was a very sweet man.  I headed to Belluno to catch the Autostrade, but missed something and wound up taking the scenic route but I got back on track eventually.  Remember, you can get to anywhere from anywhere here. Read Full Article & Comments…

Venizia (Venice) to the Dolomite Mountains, Italia (Italy)

Aug 28 & 29

Susan and Miles were headed for the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy, just south of the Alps, and as it turns out, so was I.  They took me up on my offer for a ride and I explained to Miles that he would probably have to sit sideways because there’s not much of a back seat in my little car, no leg room at all, he seemed to be OK with that.

We departed the Venice Hostel and set out on the water bus for the Tronchetto garage and arrived without incident.  Problem.  I forgot where I parked the car.  I wrote it down on a piece of paper which I had lost.  So, I described the car to Susan and Miles and we split up and went looking.  I had gotten off of the elevator on the third floor and noticed the sign that said Level O, Sector E and recognized that as what I wrote down.  After not finding my car there and exploring other floors, I noticed every sign on every floor said Level O Sector E.  What the heck?  Well, we eventually found it, right where I parked it of all places. Read Full Article & Comments…

Venezia, Italia (Venice, Italy)

Last night, just before going to bed here at the Venice Hostel, a new roommate showed up.  Susan, from Vancouver Island is traveling with her son Miles.  We got to talking about home for a bit, quietly in consideration of those trying to sleep, then in walked Bella, a skinny blond 26 year old from San Diego, who dresses like a slut and carries two extra bags for her jewelry and makeup, and who thinks she’s hotter than she is.  This chick was the most annoying, self centered and irresponsible person I’ve met.  We were all in bed and she came in speaking loudly and all she could do was talk about her jewelry she bought today and complain how she has no money, and brag about how she stayed out all night the three nights before…. Oh my gosh.

Susan, a very reasonable person and I got on just fine, and of course, we made fun of Bella.  We had breakfast together with Miles and unfortunately, with Bella as well.  It was just so embarrassing.  Anyway, we all split up and I got a water bus 24 hour pass and headed for the Piazza San Marco to get started on the day.  And a beautiful day it was, but I could tell it was going to be a hot one.  I just walked around for a while and then sat for a while and repeated this process.  I found that I had more picture opportunities if I just sat still and looked around. Read Full Article & Comments…

Lago di Como to Venezia, Italia
Lake Como to Venice, Italy

I don’t remember if I mentioned it but the proprietor of the La Primula Hostel is named Alberto.  Alberto is a real sweetheart.  Alberto has a most wonderful voice; it’s not deep but it is resonant and has a slight wispiness to it.  And being that he speaks Italian, it really sings.  Even when he speaks English, it sounds like Italian.  He wears long shorts and a tee shirt and runs around barefoot.  Scraggly hair and of course he hasn’t shaved for two or three days.  Last night I sat on the front porch, which is just outside his office, just so I could listen to him talk for a while.  I think I’ll miss Alberto.

I washed my clothes last night and didn’t find out they had no dryer till after the cycle started.  I found clothes lines outside sort of behind the building and put them to use.  Got up this morning and they were almost dry.  As soon as the sun came up though and a slight breeze started, they dried pretty quick.  Dryers are kind of rare here I guess.  When is the last time you dried your clothes outside on a line?  You should try it.

I packed up and said goodbye to Karen, settled my bill with the voice and said “Ciao Alberto”.  The fastest route to Venezia would take me through Milano and I wanted to avoid that so I took some back roads through small towns for a while and planed to pick up the A4 in Bergamo.  I had to drive that one lane road back to Como, but it didn’t seem so bad going the other way. Read Full Article & Comments…

Menaggio and Bellagio, Italia (Italy)

I was the last one to bed last night and so I didn’t get to meet any other of my roommates here at the La Primula Youth Hostel.  Apparently, I was the first one up this morning and so I took the computer outside on the porch to catch up on writing a little.  Breakfast was a single croissant, and a glass of pear juice.  I’d never had pear juice before, it was nice.  I’ll have to hunt some up when I get home.

When I got back to the room I met Karen from Birmingham, England, she’s on a week long holiday here at the lake taking a break from work.  We talked for a bit and then I headed into town to hunt up the tourist office so I can try to find me some of that internet.  No luck.  They did tell me I might find it in Bellagio though.  Sounds good to me.  I hopped on the next ferry that made a quick stop in Varenna and then on to Bellagio on the other side of the lake.  In the line to get Read Full Article & Comments…