food heaven

Yes...we are alive and very well. In fact i fear we are going to come back a little bigger than we started. We lost weight on the Camino only to consume all that Italy has to offer. We have never eaten so well. We try lots of different things on the menu. We try to make the most of our food exploration by splitting what we both get to maximize our consumption. Besides it is fun. We are huge foodies to begin with...throw us into a country that lives and breathes food, drink and you have too very happy bunnies!

The camino seems miles away....sorry for the pun but i just had to. When i last wrote i am pretty sure i mentioned that poor Viviana got the same thing with her stomach as myself. She was just lucky that she got meds right away so it did not last as long and she was not hiking with it which is a good thing. I am still not sure how i made it? The last three days were a bit of a blur.

How we are traveling and moving through Italy is so far from our first part of our trip that there are times i can hardly believe we did what we did. I feel we are still processing most of it. It will be interesting to come home and see how we walk through the world then.....we learned so much about ourselves and each other.

We landed in Napoli, Italy on May 25, ahead of schedule. we changed our flight which cost us a bit but we are very glad we did it. we were both needing to leave Spain. Napoli is rather rough around the edges but the pizza rocks the world!! so simple yet so wonderful. we took a day trip to Pompei and Mt Vesuvius. We hiked up the mountain and felt we were back on the camino for a flash. The big difference is we did not have our huge bags. we did have to be a bit more alert with our valuables since Napoli can be a bit dodgy at times. The volcano was rather cool. Pompei is huge area. it really did take us all day to explore it. it was our first encounter with tourist groups by the masses....craziness and just the beginning. Italy has lots to see and apparently they need to do it in large groups.

We headed south and put up our tent for the first time along the Amalfi coast. We over looked the water and paid next to nothing for Itlay. We hiked the cliffs along the Amalfi one day. Our feet were not too happy since they felt that part was over. I actually think we are walking more in away since we are touring around the cities and country side and not resting much. The best part is not having the bags...it does make a huge difference to how long we can endure the pace of the day. The cliff hiking was a bit unnerving at times since there were no railings and the drops were well over 100 feet at times. The views though were breath taking and worth the bit of anxiety that came and went just as quick.

We decided to take in an island so we went to Ischia for a few nights. the tent came out again. glad to be using since we have been carrying it all this time. we were on a lovely beach this time but the water was still quite cold. we went to the thermal waters along the coast to make it much more lovely. the waters come out of the rock and the tide comes in and cools off the 90 degree water so we did not burn. the odd hot point here and there which would make you jump a bit but it was so relaxing. lots of local people were there but nothing that did not feel comfortable. we had to hike to that one and back.....it seems we are destine to walk whether we want to or not.

We reach Roma on May 31 and spent 5 days at Viviana's aunt's flat which saved us quite a bit since Roma is not cheap to stay in. she was kind enough to make us dinner every night and like most Italians would not accept a cent from us. we did manage to find a place to buy some wine, desert the last night there. She would not accept anything else. So her kindness was a welcome surprise and we will not forget it.

I am now writing this in Volterra, in Tuscany. It is a small walled medieval village up on a hill. it has tons of history dating before Christ. lots to see and explore. we are taking it easy tomorrow and then heading to explore other places the following day. we need a slow day. Roma was crazy busy with all the people, traffic, noise and just trying to take what we could in.

That is a quick over view.....we will try to get on again but it is not cheap here and hard to find at times. We are staying in a semarino that dates back to the 14th century....it is cheap and so amazing with the frescos, ceilings and spectacular views of the country side. We even have our own bathroom!!!

Ciao, ciao,
K

ps- Volterra is where the vampires from "twilight" books and movies are based at....but the film actually used Siena instead, we might hit there still thinking about it.