Lake Garda & Verona

After about 3 hours sleep, I got up early the next day for the long train journey to Bergamo airport. Edoardo's girlfriend Mariana took me to the station in Cesena and helped me to get the right tickets (thank god!). I had to change trains a couple of times but it was all good. I met up with Sara, picked up our hire car, an Opel Corsa, and set off to Lake Garda.

Driving on the right hand side hasn't taken too much getting used to, I think I am in right-hand mode from having so many lifts from the guys the past few days! We arrived at the lake in no time and although we rented what is probably the smallest caravan ever invented, it had a beautiful view right out over the lake. The next day we drove around the lake, stopping to see a big gorge at the top where, over millions of years, the water from a stream has carved a gorge over 70m high into the rock-face. We were going to go up the mountain on a cable car but the weather was a bit rubbish and apparently it was raining at the top so we thought we'd give it a miss! That evening we ate in the local restaurant and ordered a couple of pizzas. When they arrived we were blown away by the size of them, half of one probably would of done both of us!!

The next day we got up early and went to see the castle at a place called Sirmone, on the end of a peninsular sticking right out into the lake. It seems to have been built right in the middle of the lake, with the water all around acting as a moat....must have been a mission to build it!!

Next stop was Verona, the inspiration for Romeo and Juliet.....apparently. What Shakespear failed to mention is that, while a small portion of the town is beautiful, the other 95% is impossible to navigate and that you are more likely to find the holy grail than a parking space! Anyway, after a bit of a mission we found the spot with THE balcony and a statue of Juliet. Legend has it that if you touch Juliet's right breast you will find a new lover....Sara made it perfectly clear that if I touched it I'd be looking for one, but I gave her a hug anyway.




The lake was surrounded by mountains




My best attempt at taking a picture of the waterfall at the gorge!

Ciao Amici!

So, after ten great days it was time to say bye to everyone and be on my way to Bergamo to meet Sara, who was flying in
on the 14th. The last few days have been spent drinking lots of coffe, beer and partying by the beach :) I have also been
practising my Boccetta technique, chilling out on the beach and watching Italy play football. I've had a great time seeing
my old mates from Australia and making new friends!



Me and Marco



Me and the guys out in Cesenatico



A monument in Savignano sul Ribicone



A statue of Julius Ceaser in the town






Edoardo





The amazing game of Boccetta!

San Marino

A few days ago Denny, Branda and Berni mentioned that they had the day off work and, as they knew I wanted to go,
asked if I'd like them to take me to San Marino. The small republic was right up there on the list of places I
wanted to visit so I jumped at the chance.

We got on the road about 2ish but there were a couple of other things to do before driving over to San Marino.
The guys wanted to show me a bit of the Italian Countryside so we drove out into the mountains in search of some wild
cherry trees. Next, Branda wanted to make a quick stop to practice one of his hobbies....which just so happened to be
jumping off cliffs attached to a small parachute!! Unfortunately there wasn't enough wind, although he did make a few
attempts before finally admitting that even if he caught a small gust and got off the ground, he'd plummet like a stone
for about 400 meters before hitting the ground.

Next was a quick stop to a small airfield where his father needed a hand to get his plane in the air! The plane was quite
small but very mean looking (see pic) and after bounding along the not particularly flat grass "runway" he made it into the
air, did a lap round the airfield dipping down right in front of out noses, and shot off into the horizon.

After that it was off to San Marino! Apart from being one of only two countries to give England any points in the
Eurovision song contest, San Marino was once the smallest republic in the world (its now something like the 6th), is famous
for its three picturesque castles purched precariously on top of a mountain 800m above sea level (and for stamps) and is
probably the most hilly place I've ever been to! The combination of the steep winding roads and Branda's crazy driving added
the fun of a themepark rollercoaster to the day as well!

Once we got up tho the castles we got out and had a look around - it really is amazing how the three huge castles were built
right on top of the cliffs and one of them especially looks like its going to fall at any minute! They were really beautiful
and inside one of them was a museum with loads of old viscous looking weapons. After that it was back down the mountain to a
country bar for a beer or two and some aperitifs, the perfect end to the day!

Who will you support......?

Just before I left home the other week I remember seeing lots of adverts trying, probably in vain, to muster up some English interest in Euro 2008 with the slogan "Who will you support?". Well, obviously the answer to that question is "no one - in fact, what's the point in even bothering to watch it if England aren't playing!".

However, in order to prevent being kicked out of my friends house (and possibly the country), I found myself supporting Italy the other night. Alas, they got battered by Holland and there was a lot of shouting and chair kicking (it reminded me a lot of England actually) but it was a great experience none the less.

The next day I went to the local market which was bustling with mothers buying shoes and clothes for their un-suspecting sons (who are probably over the age of twenty). It was also full of little food stalls, where I tried some amazing cheese and salami. Afterwards I rode around Savignano on Gas' bike and saw the bridge over the river Rubicone, where Julius Ceaser crossed over to liberate the town from someone, possibly the French.

That afternoon I met up with my friend Marco again and went to the lake I mentioned in my last post. This time it was our turn to try the surfing. There were four of us and as we sped out into the lake I realised that the waves produced by the boat weren't as small as I'd first thought! When it was my turn I jumped in with my surfboard, set myself on top and held onto the rope trailing the boat. As the boat builds up speed you are actually behind the wave it creates and are practically drinking the lake until you pick up enough speed to maneuver around onto the wave. Once on the wave you let go of the rope and you're still keeping up with the boat using only the speed of the wave. After popping up you find yourself on a perfect never-ending wave and then you can start surfing! It took a couple of attempts for me to get the hang of getting on the wave but once I got the hang of it I had some of the longest and most fun surfs of my life! The waves went on forever which meant I could improve my stance and try out some tricks!

Other than that I've done lots of stuff but nothing particularly noteworthy. Been to the beach lots, been drinking in Cesenatico lots, I went fishing but didn't catch anything and last night we played 5-a-side football (realising just how good the general standard of football is in this country!). Pictures to follow later!

Cesenatico and Ravenna

So, we went to watch Edo play football and then me, Gas and a few of his friends went for some drinks in the seaside town of Cesenatico. Another one of their friends, who I met briefly in Australia, works in one of the bars, so we went in so I could say hi to her. What the others had failed to mention was that they hadn't told her I was coming to Italy - her face was priceless when I went in and said ciao!!!

The next day I joined Edo on his gelato delivery run as he was going through a particularly nice area up in the mountains. The countryside in Italy is beautiful, much greener than I expected, and the area we drove through is full of little farms that supply the local restaurants with fresh produce. That evening we went to the guys' local bar, which is a bit more like a social club, where I was introduced to the game of boccette - a game played on a pool table with large pool-style balls but that's where the similarity ends, its actually more like bowls!

The next day I decided to do a bit of sightseeing so went to the town of Ravenna just to the North of Savignano sul Ribicone (where I'm staying). One of the things Ravenna is famous for is the amazingly detailed mosaics that cover the insides of the old churches and date back over 1,500 years! They were really spectacular, the churches are huge and the mosaics are so detailed that if you stand a few meters away you think you are looking at a painting! Another triumph of the day was that I managed to get directions to all the churches, order food and even find a bus to a different town to meet another friend, Marco, speaking only in Italian.

Marco and I went to watch a "surfing" competition. The reason I have put the word in quotation marks is that there are not really any surfable waves on the beaches around this part of the country, and anyhow, it was at a lake. What they actually do is take a powerful boat, crowd it with people to get the right weight, and shoot it across the lake as fast as they can to create great (if a bit small) waves! Marco knows one of the guys that runs it so I might get to have a go later on this week if I'm lucky!

After that we went to the beach in Cesenatico, which was quite a novel experience. As we parked I still couldn't see the beach and asked Marco how far it was. He laughed and said its just in front of us....it turns out that all the beaches are completely private and are divided up into strips, about 20 meters wide, where the owner builds a bar/club/disco. It just looked like a row of bars to me, you couldn't actually see the beach from the road! And then you walk through the bar onto the beach and its completely packed with sun loungers and parasols, coloured differently for each bar, right up to the sea! Its great fun though - we got some beers, lounged in the sun, played pool, table football and table tennis - all right on the beach.




An action shot of me delivering some gelato!



A bit of the Italian countryside



One of the main squares in Ravenna



The streets are really thin



A statue inside the gardens of The Basilica of San Vitale



Huge tablets of mosaics that were removed when restoring the church are on display inside



They're all very precise...



...in fact, you have to look really close to tell they're mosaics!



The roof of The Basilica of San Vitale



And the ceiling just above the alter - yes, this is all a mosaic



This arch shows Jesus in the middle with the 12 apostles running down either side



The colours are very vibrant, especially as these mosaics are about 1,500 years old!



This one has four angles around "The Lamb of God"



The main ceiling of The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia



Rich blue and gold mosaics in The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia



The Basilica of San Vitale from the outside



The ceiling of The Battistero Neoniano, depicting Jesus being baptised



More mosaics in The Battistero Neoniano



Each mosaic tells a story...



An easter calendar in the museum in Ravenna



A chair made completely from ivory



The beach in Cesenatico



Bagno Angello, the bar where Marco used to work on the beach in cesenatico

Bella Italia!

So after getting up at a crazy time in the morning (I didn't know there was a 4am until today) I was on my way to Italy! After enduring 2.5 hrs of Ryanair adverts I arrived and was picked up by my friend Edoardo. He has a job driving a truck around delivering ice cream and still had a couple of deliveries to make so I joined him. There wasn't enough room for my backpack in the front so we chucked it in one of the freezer compartments of his truck and drove off. After we finished we went to his house for lunch and I was cooked some beautiful lasagne by his mother - actually after being in the country for only 3 hours I have eaten about 6 meals! Anyway, after that we went over to Gas' house, where I'm staying and, as we got out the car, suddenly remembered that my backpack was still in the freezer! The bag was only slightly frozen so after recovering it we had some dinner and are about to go watch Edo play in a 5-a-side football tournament.

Having a great time already, will post some pics as soon as I get round to taking some!

Off Again!

Yep, as you may or may not know, I'm off travelling again!

I've taken up a job in London that doesn't start until the 15th September so couldn't resist squeezing in a couple of months of European travel!

By the time anyone reads this I'll probably be on my way to Italy (I fly on the 4th June) to meet up with the Italian guys I traveled with in Oz. After 10 days Sara comes over and we're driving round Italy then training round Switzerland before she goes back to home. After that its a battle between places I wanna see VS money I have left....which will win - keep checking the blog to find out!

So that's the general plan....I'm sure it will change along the way though!

Don't forget you can leave comments to these posts, I always enjoy hearing from you all. Take it easy and enjoy reading.

Si

P.S. In case you're wondering, all the previous posts on this blog were from my last trip to Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia and New Zealand.