Italia

31.05.2007

Our tour of Sicily took us to Catania and Taormina on the Eastern side of the island, before heading up to Sorrento (Pompei & Herculaneum) and then Rome.

Catania was an accident, as our train didn't continue to Taormina as we had thought (found this out on the train, of course) but we ended up in a great hostel and saw a tour of the city via a taxi from the train station.

Taormina is an incredibly adorable town on the top of a hill - winding streets, a myriad of gelato shops, pricey shopping and a Greek ampitheatre. It was a beautiful place, but our "hostel" was so far out of the way down and up winding streets, we were happy to be there only one night. The beach Isola Bella is down the hill, accessible via sky gondola, and was the first time since Tunisia that we could relax on the pebbly beach.

An overnight train (where we scored sleeper beds even when we only paid for seats!!) took us to Napoli, where we promptly got on another train for Sorrento. Don't really want to spend much time in Naples, please forgive me. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the preserved cities of Herculaneum and Pompei. The former is much smaller and less known, but they actually allow you to walk right into the homes and businesses, see the frescoes up close, and wander the streets rather leisurely. We did a little eavesdropping with a Senior tour or two (when between Sarah's little German and my French we understood a bit...)

Now we are in Rome, and leaving today for Croatia. We've certainly managed to meet some fellow backpackers and in fact spent a few days heading in the same direction.

Rome is so busy, but so beautiful! After the ruins we saw in Tunisia and Sicily, I'm really glad to see the true opulence of the heart of the empire. And also checked another country off the list - passed into the walls of the Vatican, even if only for a few snapshots. We're going to have to chow on some more gelato and pizza before we leave...not sure what kind of delights the Balkans will offer for vegetarians...