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| Buongiorno everyone! Just a quick update from the Amalfi Coast, which is a small stretch of land south of Naples. We have explored the major towns along the coast (Positano, Amalfi and Sorrento) as well as the Isle of Capri. There are many reasons why I love the Amalfi Coast . . . * breath-taking scenery!! Sheer cliffs plunging into the aqua ocean, white and pastel coloured houses clinging to the steep hills, the narrow road snaking around each bend (so many squeaks of excitement from me on the bus ride!!). . . The sunshine just takes on a different quality - I've never seen the sea glitter this much, with the light rippling over the ocean!! And the sun beams down on the houses all day . . . Relaxing while taking in the amazing views was ahhhhhhh. Relaxing while drinking a coffee and taking in the amazing views!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
* wandering - I have done soooooooo much walking (Dad - you'd be proud!!). There have been a lot of steps involved . . . The isle of Capri was fantastic for walking - such great views!! However, you did have to watch your feet as well as the views . . . so much dog shit on the path!! My other favourite walk was along the "beach" (i.e. gravel!! hehe) at Positano. So relaxing - and I found a whole lot of cute coloured tiles washed up by the surf (cheapest souvenir ever!).
* friendly people - The first time I've felt affinity for the locals so far. I've enjoyed so many conversations with friendly locals!! If you look lost you are always pointed in the right direction. Perhaps it is the fact that the Amalfi Coast is the in the business of tourism? I also enjoyed meeting all the dogs and cats!! Several locals described the coast as a "ghost town" at this time of year. It was certainly very quiet. In summer the place becomes massively crowded. But honestly, I think I prefer it as a ghost town!! It was sooooo relaxing. Sure, all the shops and restaurants weren't open - but as another tourist put it, you know that you're eating at the places the locals eat at! And I've been trying to pick up a little more Italian . . . it is really fun to try out new phrases!!
* food - such big servings!! of pasta, risotto, gelato . . .yum!!! I had my first Italian gelato. It was "ricotta e pera" flavour (ricotta and pear) and it was yum. I've had plenty of sweets as well, particularly sfogliatella (which the region is famous for - ricotta and fruit wrapped in pastry) Anyway - that's enough from me!! I'm off to Rome tomorrow! yay!! I'm spending six days there, which should be plenty!! Hope you are all well,
xox | | |
| Hey everyoneª
I am struggling a bit with this keyboard . . . so from now on ª means exclamation mark. And there will be no apostrophes because when I hit the apostrophe key it ends up as an ç.
I have to be honest and say that Barcelona did not win me over from day one . . . I had just arrived from Seville (which is like charm central), and Barcelona just seemed to be this busy, characterless place. . . Its "quaint" little streets were less quaint and more rundown. Not to mention that so much stuff is under construction here, or for renovation, or closed . . . The cathedral is under scaffolding, a lot of the cool Modernisme buildings were closed . . . Very irritatingªª. The city was really smoky, and for the first time in months, Ive come home stinking of cigarettes.
But very quickly (well, by day two), I warmed to Barcelona for a few reasons´
+ Modernisme. Barcelona is renowned for its weird and whacky architecture. And it truly was amazingªª Buildings inspired by nature, lots of flower motifs, houses with no straight lines (including the walls), bright tiles, ornate chimneys. . . etc. We admired some buildings from outside, and explored some more thoroughly. The music hall has this amazing stained glass sun. Too difficult to describeªª. And the famous unfinished church by Gaudi was phenomenal. Maybe i will come back one day (say 2020?) and see it completedªª hehe.
+ Food. Omigod. No words describe. Unfortunately, we had a few "misses". i.e. one place was outrageously expensive but not so yummy. But then we described the Born district and yum yum yum. The hot chocolates are phenomenal (like syrupªª). And i never thought Içd see yve chocolated out . . .hehe. There are patisserie shops EVERYWHERE. And some of the most simple dishes have been our favourites. Like the bread they serve everywhere, rubbed with garlic, tomotoes and drizzled with olive oil . . . And the marketsªªª The best fruit juice for one euroªªª
+ Walking. I did a lot of walkingªª And strangely enough, the more a walked the more I warmed to the place. It was all in the details . . . which you noticed more and more every day of exploration. La Rambla (the main street) had so much going on. Especially the flower shops and pet shopsªª. I was so fascinated by all the little turtles, ferrets, birds etc. The dark, graffited avenues of the Barri Gotic area were suddenly quite fascinating. The parks were great = I even went in a little paddle boat in one of them . . . hehe. And I climbed to the castle on top of Montjuic to see the sun set over the city . . . very prettyªª
This particular email is going to be cut slightly short by the fact that I have one minute and 10 seconds leftªªª hehe. But they were the main things Içve enjoyed about Barcelona.
Now it is onto Italyªªª Naples and the amalfi coast first, then rome and onward northªª
Hope everyone is well, and please email me about what you are doing if you have the chanceªª Içd love to hearªª
Lots of love,
Nikki
xox
Hi everyone!
I know things go wrong on holidays. Nothing ever runs perfectly . . . And today appears to be our day of mishap.
Strike One: FLIGHT ORDEAL (Barcelona to Naples)
I°m a nervous plane flyer. I°m not afraid of flying, I°m just scared I°ll miss my flight. I always arrive a little bit early, enjoy a coffee or something, but essentially remain that little bit edgy until I hand over my boarding pass and trudge down the tunnel passageway to my seat. Today, everything was running smoothly. Handed over the boarding pass, was ushered into the boarding area, was swept away by a crowd of people and trudged away to what we thought was our plane. Before we knew it, we were on the wrong side of customs, with "NO ENTRY" signs on the path behind us. Omigod. I was an hysterical mess of panic. We had five minutes until departure, and we were on THE WRONG SIDE OF CUSTOMS. Apparently Spanish people have a heatlhy respect for hysteria . . . Despite the language barrier we managed to convey our urgency, barged our way through and ran to the place we had been moments before, and reentered the boarding area. I was so relieved. Was so sure we would miss our flight . . .
Strike Two: AN ACTUAL STRIKE
I was looking forward to climbing to the top of Mt Vesuvius tomorrow (the active volcano that buried Pompeii beneath its muck). Buses take you most of the way, and you walk the final 1 km. Only problem was that we have one day (tomorrow) to do Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius, and I wasn°t sure it would all fit into a day trip . . . So I spent close to an hour trying to work out bus times and practicalities. Driven mad by crappy English translations on the transport sites, we decided to visit a tourist information office. Turns out there°s a"strike" (not sure who°s striking) which means we can°t go to Mt Vesuvius. Not only did I waste all that time, but we can°t go to the stupid volcano!! Dammit!!!
Strike Three: STUPID CHILDREN
Yve hated the kids in Spain. They were loud, rude, and the girls had really trashy dress sense. I would argue that the kids here in Naples are worse. When we were walking about looking for lunch, we saw heaps of kids running around with spray cans. Everything here is covered with graffiti. One group of kids ran by and one reach out and fully groped my chest. This is like a ten year old. Several pretended to spray graffiti on us. Despite all these foreboding signs, I was determined to have some fun in this stupid town, so I set out for the famous Archeology museum. The guy at the desk assured me it was a fifteen minute walk from our hostel. Not so. Like an hour later (I got lost!! And it is a long walk) I arrived and found the museum closed (Lonely Planet got the times wrong). By this stage it was dark. Having been warned about theft and general scariness in Naples I was a little bit spooked. And rightly so. Seconds later I was attacked by primary school kids with shaving cream. I know I°m being a wimp, but it was so scary!!! Dispirited and covered hair, coat to foot with shaving cream, I crumpled onto one of the museum°s many columns and started crying. Two pregnant ladies with kids in prams came up to me and wiped me up using baby wipes. Very nice. They didn°t speak English but said something about the kid°s behaviour being part of Carnivale. So I traipsed home smelling of shaving cream and baby wipes.
I know they say °bad things come in threes° and god I hope so.
Yve is frightened since she°s only had two of the mishaps and may be heading for her third . . .haha.
We were going to go to a famous pizza place tonight (Naples is the home of pizza), but I°m too frightened to emerge far from the hostel!!! At least we are staying in a really nice place, with a really nice common room and lots of fast computers . . . And I bought a book to read about Pompei for tomorrow =).
On the upside, the view of the Bay of Naples is GORGEOUS. And the next thing we are doing after Pompei is the Isle of Capri (in the Bay of Naples) and the Amalfi Coast. So that should be very different to Naples and much more fun!!!
Looking forward to leaving this horrible place behind,
Nikki
xox
Salvete everybody!!
Pompeii was awesome!!
Our Naples misfortunes continued for a little bit since my last email . . . Seriously, even the good pizza and sweets here can°t make up for this town°s crapness. Yve received her °Strike Three° when she locked us inside the hostel room . . . hehe. The key is really old and the lock really really ultra crap. And so we couldn°t get out!! Had to get rescued by the receptionist. Quite funny . . . Getting to Pompeii from Naples was a challenge . . . When the 10 year old kids of Naples have taken to the station signs with their spray cans it is difficult to work out where you are!! But we arrived safely. Yve refused to consider the day trip to Pompeii a success until we arrived safely home . . . which we did!! Yay! Success!!
But back to Pompeii - it was like all the Latin classes of my school days coming alive!! Watching Mt Vesuvius creep closer and closer to us as we approached Pompeii in our train was cool. I was surprised by how scenic the whole area was - green grass, blue skies and the mountains looming threateningly in the background. A nice place to live - if there weren°t an active volcano less than 10 km away . . . I really enjoyed wandering the streets and trying to imagine what they were like when the buildings were complete and the streets bustling with Ancient Romans. Just thinking about a whole town of people getting buried by volcanic dust and ash almost 2000 years ago!! I loved the forum, the temples, the amphitheatres, the baths, random columns. A few of the houses were cool (especially those with the frescos and mosaics still in place). And I loved looking at the elaborate burial monuments. The prominent citizens of Pompeii would be buried alongside the main road, so that the city folk and their relatives would be constantly reminded of their lives. There were dogs everywhere. I don°t know if it was like that in AD 79 . . . but quite a few of the houses have °cave canem° (beware the dog) signs, so maybe!! hehe.
The plaster body casts were also pretty cool. Because the volcanic ash and dust solidified pretty quickly, it formed moulds around the people that were buried during the eruption. These moulds, when filled with plaster, produced °body casts°. Models of the people of Pompeii, at the moment that they died. . . Pretty eery!
We were blessed with very few crowds. Only an occasional tour group - and they usually moved on pretty quickly. In fact, for most of the time we were there it was pretty empty. However, it was a shame that lots of the cool houses were closed =(. It seems that only a third of the interesting buildings were unlocked. There were official looking photographers in one of the closed houses . . . I must have looked disappointed, because one of them offered to walk around the house and take a few photos for me. Very nice - and he took some good photos!! hehe. And it was a shame that I didn°t get to make it to the Archeology Museum in Naples. Lots of the discoveries from Pompeii (e.g. frescos, mosaics, statues, vases etc.) are in the museum . . . A pity - cos it would be cool if you could see them where they were found originally!! Some mosaics and frescos were still in place - it is much more meaningful to see them at Pompeii, rather than in a museum =).
Anyway, sorry to devote a whole lengthy email to Pompeii - but it was very exciting for me!! hehe. And I have free internet here and don°t want to go out and see any more of Naples . . . Therefore, a long email was in order . . .
We are travelling to Sorrento (on the Amalfi Coast) tomorrow. This is traditionally a summer holiday destination . . but the weather is pretty good at the moment. It should be all beautiful scenery, houses built into cliffs, winding coastal roads, good food and relaxation, I hope!! We are also visiting the isle of Capri and a few of the other towns on the Amalfi Coast.
Hopefully it will all go well!!!
Hope you are all well,
xox | | |
| Hey everyone!
London has pretty much blown me away - partly because I'm very
easily entertained, but mostly because it so vast and varied. To be
honest, when planning my trip I didn't really think of London as a
highlight - it was convenient to fly into and I wanted to catch up with
some friends who are living in London. But after my day here there is
so much more I want to do! Little things from the cute little
telephone booths, the ornate lamps, the amusing tube (especially the
constant loud speaker saying 'mind the gap'). I also love the fact
that it is refreshingly cold. Although I have to pop indoors every now
and then to reheat my nose . . .
So far, I've ambled along the South Bank of the Thames (emerging
from the tube station to be faced by Big Ben and the House of
Parliament was awesome!! I took so many photos . . ). I started in
this part of London because I wanted to go on the very touristy London
Eye (for a view of the city . . . but it is closed for its yearly check
up . . . just for the time I'm here!). I've popped into a few museums
(Tate Modern and National Portrait Gallery). Wandered through the
fresh food market where Jamie Oliver gets his produce . . . Had a yummy
pie and coffee and ate them while sitting in a church garden. I
explored the Tower of London (all the stories of criminals, executions
and ravens . . . Ravens are kept there with clipped wings because there
was a prophecy that London would fall if Ravens left the tower). I
climbed the Tower of London Bridge to get views of the city (I thought
it was so pretty). I attended a House of Lords speaker thingo - the
house of parliament is amazingly pretty. And I'm currently in an
Internet cafe near Trafalgar Square. Basically wherever I walk I see
things that are so OLD - and that's the thing I most love!
Anyway, hopefully this wasn't too painfully boring to read =).
I have 4 minutes left on my internet time . . . So I'll sign it off here so I don't lose the whole silly email! hehe.
Hope you are all well, and enjoying holidays/work/elective etc.
Lots of love,
Nikki
xox
Hey everyone!
I have spent a further two days in London since I sent my last
email =). Now I'm travelling in Yvonne's company, which is much better
than wandering the city alone! hehe. And making the most of our time
with our friend Oli (who lives in London) has been awesome =).
The city has continued to amaze me. Highlights have included:
* squirrels and swans (Oli had to endure my
endless photography attempts to get animals just in the right position
. ..squirrels while climbing trees and swans while they hand their
necks up . . . It is actually really funny walking through Hyde Park -
you can pick the tourists a mile away because they are clustered around
one small spot taking a thousand pictures . . . and when you get up
close you realise that a squirrel is at the centre of all the fuss)
* climbing the 400-and-something steps to the top of St Paul's cathedral to get an awesome London panorama (very windy at the top there!!)
* indulging in british food especially tea!!! and scones!!! at
a fancy looking place called the Orangery near Kensington Palace. It
was so exciting - beautiful decor with a high roof and gorgeous
statues. I even took photos of the sugar cubes . . . So British!!
* wandering Hyde Park - the green green grass and
the skeletal winter landscape were so different to home!! Some might
have found the sort of drizzling rain a bit off putting . . . but I
just thought, again, that it was so British!!!
*shopping!!! Yve's presence has meant that
shopping has ascended the priority list . .. hehe. Consistent with my
obsession for all things old, I was entralled with all the antique
shops!!! We went to some swanky looking streets and the antique
jewellery, antique furniture and antique books were amazing!!! The
price tags were pretty steep though . . . One cabinet was 250 000
pounds!!! The antiques were a bit more affordable at Portabello Market
(still beyond my budget!) - I saw some really cute stuff (like an old
British games compendium - with chess, snakes and ladders etc.). We
also saw some art auction galleries - Monet's up for auction for 300
000 pounds, Picasso's, Dali. . . Some of the larger British shopping
centres were a bit overwhelming for poor little me though . . .
Harrod's was an experience - just too crowded!!!!!!
Anyway, we are heading for Seville tomorrow afternoon =). A bit
more time to explore London tomorrow morning - there's a lot more I'd
like to do, but I'll be back there at the end of my trip (March 4-6 if
anyone is around) so I can do more then.
Hope everyone is well!!!
xox
Hola from Seville!
I had high expectations for this little town
- almost everyone I spoke to told me it was their favourite place in
Spain. And it hasn愒 disappointed =). Yvonne and I are lucky enough
to be staying with one of Seb愀 family friends, which has made the stay
even more enjoyable. Seb told us the place was 盯ice? Biggest
understatement!! Not only were we picked up from the airport and AND
taken out for dinner . . . the house is four storeys tall, beautifully
decorated, right in the centre of town and has a roof with a view of
the cathedral (one of the major attractions of the town) =). And
freeeeeeeeeeee! yay!!
Once again, I惻l try to be brief in going over all the things I扉e loved about Seville!!
The first thing that struck me about Seville was the brilliant colours,
especially compared to bleaky wintery London! The sky was the bluest
blue, contrasting against the brilliant white, yellow or red of the
gorgeous buildings. And then there are the decorative tiles that come
in the brightest colours . . . I love it!
The second thing that I marvelled at were the streets and the architecture.
Houses and churches tower over the disorienting, winding maze of
cobbled paths that open up into plazas lined with orange trees and
benches. The streets are so narrow that they only take one way
traffic, and they are shared with pedestrians! And if squirrels/swans
were my crazy tourist obsession in London, it would have to be the
orange trees here in Seville. They are everywhere, but I haven愒 tired
of them =). I扉e tried to include them in as many photos as I can -
the orange and green of the trees is striking up against the bright
blue sky!! The cathedrals everywhere are amazing - inside as well as
out! The Spanish really know how to decorate a church! Wood carvings,
engraved stone and golden everything, paintings, high domed ceilings,
candles . . . Pictures of the Immaculate Conception are everywhere =).
The main cathedral had one altar with a painting of a saint that was
breastfeeding. Hehe. I immaturely found that amusing.
One of the things I扉e most enjoyed has been the FOOD!!
Hams hanging like stallectites from the ceilings of tiny little tapas
bars, with the walls adorned with flamenco pictures and stuffed bull
heads . . . Omigod I love tapas. As much jamon as possible. And
sangria. Yvonne found it particularly difficult to wait until 2 pm for
lunch and 8 pm for dinner (that愀 when they start here!!) We肖e even
tried the Spanish thing of standing up while eating . . . but I have to
say I like to rest my legs!! Those who know how obsessed I am with
cheese will be surprised when I say I got cheesed out . . . I ordered a
cheese dish that ended up being not-so-tapas-sized and more meal
sized. Three small wheels of goat愀 cheese fried with two other types
of cheese melted over. I only got half way through and haven愒 touched
cheese all day today. Hopefully this aversion will be short lived - I
need to eat more cheese once I get to Paris, dammit!!
And what would a holiday be without stuff-ups . . . I
managed to walk into a private house, right through the foyer and into
a room before I was shooed out by a maid . . . the door was open so I
assumed it was some sort of attraction!! Most of our other stuffups
have been thanks to the language barrier. With neither Yve or I
speaking more than 玖ola?狂racias豕 and the more recent language
acquisition of 究ervicios?(toilets). . . I now know that this is
the bare minimum of language required to survive. I扉e messaged seb
twice now for quick spanish assistance . . . I asked how to ask 汾hat
is the name of this place?? and I have since used the phrase with
success . . . and I messaged for some food translations . . . Ordering
food has been a bit of a challenge. But we扉e always enjoyed what
we扉e ended up with! All the elaborately long street names do not
roll off my tongue. We have gotten quite lost many times!!
Of course, we扉e gone along to lots of the tourist attractions -
* Cathedral and Giralda
(the biggest after St Paul愀 in London and the Vatican - astounding
exterior, breathtaking interior and we climbed to the top for a great
view, but there were all these school children running around like
crazy. Really wanted to be able to tell them off in Spanish, dammit!!
And it made me realise how crap school excursions are in Australia . .
. kids in Europe get way better!!!!)
* bull-fighting ring (it is a gorgeous building!! And we
went along to a tour which was actually quite interesting, considering
we knew nothing about bull fighting other than that bulls and fighters
were involved)
*flamenco performance (by a very overweight flamenco dancer . . . Who got angry when we tried to take photos!!)
* a multitude of churches and plazas and other various monuments
*
Pilates house
* shopping . . .
And we have the Alcazar (a big palace) and a few museums to go to tomorrow before heading to Barcelona!!
Sorry this email ended up being longer than I expected . . . basically I惴 loving Seville and all things Spanish!!
Hope you are all well,
xxo
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| I had a really good day today. I flew out in a little plane to a community called Daly River for a paediatric clinic. Heaps of dogs roaming the streets, oppressively hot/humid, lots of little kids everywhere, mango trees in back yards (so jealous!!). It was totally different to the city. People were also really, really friendly. Some differences: 1. A typical conversation about diet: Dr: So, tell me what Nora eats? Mum: Oh, mostly kangaroo, some wallaby, some fish when we go fishing. Dr: You hunt the kangaroo yourself? Mum: Yes. Dr: And you fish yourself? Mum: Most days. 2. Iron deficiency anaemia is a huge problem (everyone getting iron shots!!) and apparently one of the big factors is TEA DRINKING. The adults give the little ones TEA!! As in bottles of tea to one-year-olds. And the tannin in tea binds iron, preventing its absorption . . . 3. So many boils (all patients). So much otitis media (all patients). So much failure to thrive. Except for the kid who was referred with FTT, but turned out they thought he was 4 when he was really 3 . . . reminded me of paeds exam when I plotted the head circumference of a 6 month old on the 6 week line . . . 4. I love the propaganda posters. "Eat good blood food" (referring to food high in iron). "Kangaroo makes strong blood", "Tea is bad for blood" etc. And I love the lingo: "So are you mob leaving?" "Are you short of wind?" "What tucker does he like?" 5. Heaps of 60 year olds with great grand children . . . . One woman described how "so many women have their kids early" and then said "I had them late - I only started at 19"?!?!?! Also heard a lot of first hand info about the NT intervention (interesting stuff!) and went to an Aboriginal art shop (if I had $500 spare I'd snap one up - so beautiful!!!). xoxox | | |
| I am resolved to be committed tomorrow. Hopefully typing that out will make it more of a reality. . . I've been worried about so many things lately. It seems with me that once I start worrying about one thing, the worry just explodes out and encompasses even the smallest tiniest things. There's been plenty of really really good stuff happening too, which my brain conveniently ignores when it wants to worry. Maybe typing that out will remind me that LIFE IS GOOD =). The following will make uninteresting reading, I'm sure, for anyone else . . . but it is nice to have a written memory of good times =). * Hunter Valley trip was amazing. Wine tasting was so much fun (Semillon = bad; Traminer = good). Speaking to the ex-pilot turned wine-maker about his dog who was attacked by a kangaroo . . . Hot pot was an absolute treat. So much cheese, antipasto and chocolate too. "Intellectual" discussions over dinner and drunken sympathy for John Howard when he did his loser speech. Sleeping in quaint cottage, in a double bed, was *sigh* worthy. Waking up to see light drizzling rain falling upon the vineyards and the surrounding picturesque countryside. Playing scattegories (including Bernz' infamous "P" answer, and the rather racy truth or dare questions about furniture making in a room with thin walls . . .). Seb trying to draw me. Burnt croissants in the morning . . . (5 minutes in a microwave??). Seeing Seb get to know my friends was an absolute highlight. * John William's concert. We were sitting right at the front of the choir seats (cheapie seats- but really good!). We could see the conductor from the orchestra perspective - and were right up close with the percussion players. Really cool. Xylophones and tubular bells are great! Watching Seb enjoy the concert was the best bit. And the little kid next to us who kept playing the railing as if it were a piano accompanying the orchestra was ultra cute. The afternoon was full of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Schindler's List, ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Indiana Jones . . . I love the Raider's of the Lost Ark theme!! So cool. * Catching up with people lately has been great. Dinner with school friends at GPK, Yum cha with Steph and Ken (so much tea was consumed!), Dinner with Tim, Charlie, Grace and Steph (such nostalgia - the same Coffs plates, Tim's signature pasta with celery and Charlie's signature chocolate cake. Ah, memories . . .), Coffee with Mel and Tim at hospital, Indian with Mel, Beck, M-Y (soooooo full. No room for dessert!! Unheard of!). I won't forget the Friday night out with Jock and Tim at the fake vineyard, Beck and Chris' engagement party or tapas with uni friends at Bondi. * And I haven't even posted about the weekend where we went to the Uruquayan club for a Carnivale style performance (I was blown away! And learned how to order blood sausage. hehe). And then were treated to a harbour cruise the next night . . . complete with salsa! That was an awesome night. Sweet. Now I feel better! FOCUS ON THE GOOD SIDE!!! xoxox | | |
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