August

August is a prime reason I need to get my ass in gear with my blog entries. It is probably both good and bad that I am someone who writes when I am inspired. I guess I just happen to be inspired less than is probably ideal to carry on a blog meant to be done quite regularly. I am having trouble recalling some of August, but luckily I know the reason for this is because not a whole lot happened in that month. I found that pretty disappointing at the time, I recall, because August is still in the midst of summer everybody is feeling good and the weather is great and being where I was, I would have hoped that we would have been busy and enjoying various activities that go on in that area during summertime.
The first week of August was, in fact, busy. There was a group at the villa up the street, Villa Michaela. This family is the longest running client that either villa has. They are British and have been to the villa for one week during the summer for something like 17 consecutive years. All I had heard since I first arrived was how this family was a complete nightmare and they were needy and love to complain and were high maintenance, etc., etc. What I realized was something I constantly realized while at the villa. That is, never take anybody’s word for anything. Honestly, you would think after that many years the owner’s and people who worked at the villa would have a legitimately accurate assessment of the family. I found that not once in the entire week was there even a hint of ANY of the qualities of this family that had been described to me. That being said, these people pay A LOT of money to bring their family all the way from England and have all meals provided and all the perks that come with staying at a place like Villa Michaela. So needless to say, they are entitled to high expectations and getting what they want. This was the first year they had had their meals prepared by Fred the Frenchman and they said in all of their years it was the best food AND service they had ever had. So maybe in the past everything had sucked, and the team working for them this year was just better. What can I say, I take pride in anything I do! Haha. It clearly wasn’t just me.
I just find it hard to believe they could really have been so bad in past years. Sure you had cranky uncle what’s his face and crabby granny every now and then, but I am telling you, what I was prepared to expect was a week of pure hell and I have to say I enjoyed myself throughout the week and getting to know the family and working with them. Must have had a bunch of amateurs before last year.
The next 2 weeks were pretty uneventful. However, I did conquer something that had been on my list of goals since I had first arrived in Vorno. When you drive into the village at night you can see a bright light at the top of the highest mountain within the village. One can’t help but immediately be curious as to what exactly that bright light is. Once you enter the village it becomes clear that it is a cross. The structure was apparently put in my nuns years ago. I mentioned in is the highest point in the village, but to be honest it really isn’t that high up. I wasn’t aware before I made the hike that there were any roads that led up to the cross, but nobody from the villa had ever considered taking a car- everyone had always walked. So, after making about 80% of the walk I came across a road, but I wouldn’t have known where to go to find the road leading up there because it is definitely not in the village….just goes to show how how small each of the villages in that region are. There were so many trail entrances, it was hard to tell which one was going to lead me to the summit. I actually entered a few paths in which I found were so overgrown, I had to turn back. I eventually found the top and the feeling of victory was mine! The view was absolutely amazing and luckily I took my camera and posted those pictures, as I always did, on facebook. The entire area I was in had a peacefulness to it, but the top of this mountain was a whole other level. There were old chairs and fire pits from people who had come and camped out, something I think would have been a lot of fun! I took my time and remember vividly thinking to myself how unbelievably lucky I was and how I better savor moments like this because they don’t come often enough in life.
As I made my way down the mountain, I realized that the path I had taken up wasn’t the safest and that it probably would have bee smart to tell someone where I was going. Oops, glad I made it out. They would have never found me! But what a great day of exercise and taking in the beauty of such an amazing area. Man how I loved that place!
The following weekend arrived and a lot of the family was set to be at the villa. Mike’s family in the south of France was actually headed to the states, leaving the French villa empty. I took advantage on a Sunday afternoon and hopped on a train. As I learned during my great train adventure, you don’t just hop on the train and go, unfortunately. There are switches all the time and you always have to keep your eyes open. The time tables given are rarely accurate and you can easily end up where you do not want to be, really fast. So, it was a little more stressful of a day that I would have hoped, but finally arrived in the Cannes train station late that night. Mike’s youngest sons who I have mentioned that are 9 and 11 at this point, have a nanny from NZ. She did not make the trip to the states and was picking me up. We were set for a week of freedom and lying in the sun.
Neither me or Bex, or Rebecca, had a lot of extra cash at this point. We kind of knew that we wouldn’t be doing much during the week. Fortunately, we had one of the most amazing views you’re ever going to find, anywhere, and were ok sticking around the house for a few days. We cooked and layed by the pool and just kind of hung out and chatted for the time I was there. I did a bit a helping around the house with Bex, but for the most part it was a relaxing week. My only, regret was not being able to go out and do much exploring. Luckily, in my time spent at the house earlier in the year, I had done a pretty good amount of exploring and was satisfied with all that I saw.
This week took me into the beginning of September in which I was really excited because my great friend Daniel was coming to visit in a few short weeks! At the same time I was entering the last quarter of my trip, time to live it up!!

Barcelona: Round II

You know it is taking me so long to do these posts that I should probably review some of the things I’ve said previously as to not repeat common themes and bore you to death.  The whole reason for writing this is to keep you interested and enjoying it so I do try to keep it fresh.

I knew upon arriving in Italy that most of my time in the summer would be taken by work and I was completely fine with that.  However, I was lucky enough to take one trip during the summer back to a place I had previously attempted to see.  As I wrote back in January, me and 4 others drove through Italy and the South of France to Barcelona, Spain for New Year’s 2011.  It didn’t end up how we would have hoped or expected, but we did our best to make the best of it. 

I arrived in Barcelona for the second time by plane in mid July by myself. I had the chance to meet up with someone I had met traveling previously and my brothers good friend, Nick, who was in Europe for 2 conferences related to his PhD program at UK. These were big factors in my going back to Barcelona. I had wanted to go back ever since our first trip and very much wanted the opportunity to share the experience.
The second time around definitely changed my perception completely from what I had previously been exposed to in Barcelona. On this occasion I got the experience the food, the beach, the sites, the night life, and the many locals and tourists. All of these being things we missed out on the first time! Though, in all fairness, some of that had to be because of the seasons.
I arrived in the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful July Wednesday. After navigating the train from the airport which is outside of the city. I made it to a station where I had to take a taxi. After showing the address of my hostel to a few different Spanish cab drivers, one finally recognized the address and said he would take me there. Shortly after arriving, I met my travel buddy for lunch at a place she was quite fond of near my hostel. Afterwards, I did some exploring on my own, and then headed back to the hostel. After some dinner, my friend and I went to a pub to listen to what ended up being some really good live music that I would classify as somewhat reggae.
The following day it was just me. I took my time to get up and headed to the beach. Let me just say, I love European beaches. I’ll leave it at that. I took my book and set up in a pretty busy part of the beach. I have never seen so much being sold on a beach. Soda, water, mojitos, massages, beer, sandwiches, all by people walking around yelling what they had in Spanish then English. I stayed for 3-4 hours just taking in the sites, got in the water, but refrained from any beverages in the hot sun. I didn’t get much reading done, either.
That night I was able to meet up for dinner with both of the people who I went to Barcelona to meet up with who I have previously mentioned. We went to a very non-touristy place for tapas. That was the secret, to go to a place where the locals go and the three of us shared between 5 and 7 plates and all were very good. In Barcelona, everything gets started even later than it does in other parts of Europe. For the most part, Europeans don’t eat dinner until at least 8. It’s actually quite cool because the attitude is that the meal is main part of your evening and it’s meant to be taken slowly and enjoyed through the night with plenty of wine. I can say this particularly about the Spanish and the Italians. I LOVE this approach to life and food.

Friday it was just me again and I made my way through the Gothic Quarter, which is a famous old area of Barcelona where I Was staying. I had heard of a free tour given through one of the traveler bars and was eager to take part. It ended up being one of the most interesting and informative tours I have ever been on. I learned so much cool history about the city/region through the ages. One of the most interesting things I learned was that before the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona, it wasn’t much of a tourist city. The Olympics really put them on the map and really exposed Barcelona as the culturally rich and interesting town it is known to be today. This was definitely one of the coolest things I did in Barcelona simply because I learned so much and got to see so much of the most historic part of town with some included context and not just as an uninformed tourist taking pictures. I went out with my brother’s good friend, Nick, that night for some dinner then joined him and a few of his new friends from his conferences for some drinks. This included a girl from Poland, and girl from Denmark, an Italian guy, and a Spanish guy. I always loved eclectic cultural experiences whenever the opportunity arose!!
Saturday I remember being a very beautiful and mild day. I met Nick on La Rambla which is a very well known street of Barcelona known for its street performers and many shops and restaurants. Our plan for the day was partake in a “self-guided” tour that has become very popular in Barcelona for tourists. That is, walking around town on our own finding all of the buildings designed by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi who is known for his extravagant and avant garde style in architecture. Doing this tour is not only a way to see this amazing architecture, but also a great way to see a large part of the city as a whole. It made for a long day, but we saw so much of the city and ended up walking over 10 miles all together including up to a really cool park that overlooked the city. It was an absolutely worthwhile way to spend a day in Barcelona and I would definitely recommend it. Again, I learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it!
My last day I took the afternoon to walk all the way down the beach to a place that had been recommended to me for paella. The coolest part of walking down the beach which was probably knowing that it was “man made.” By this I mean before the 1992 Olympics the entirety of the distance I walked (probably a little over a mile) was industrial docks and factories along the water. They cleaned it up and brought in sand from the Sahara Dessert to make a really nice beach. There are nice sidewalks and places to sit and eat, etc.. The restaurant I went to was in Port Olimpic (spelled correctly in Spanish), which was also created for the Olympics and had a lot of big boats and cool architectural pieces to decorate the area. I had a nice sit down lunch that included a refreshing beer and a large portion of delicious paella which I had been waiting for my whole trip. I had great paella when I went to Madrid in March and I had been craving it ever since! This time really hit the spot!
After taking my time to head back to the area where I Was staying I went out to dinner with my travel buddy, a meal that wasn’t terrible but definitely not memorable. She was feeling sick so turned it in for the night and I went out on my own. I ended up at the Irish bar we had been to the first night. I actually ended up chatting with these 3 guys from Iceland and their new Swedish friend. It really boggles my mind that Scandanavian’s speak English so well. It makes total sense considering their native language is only spoken by them, so it only makes sense to know the most widespread language out there (I think?), but still their English is perfect. We ended up talking about stereotypes and so they asked me about KFC and I couldn’t help but mention D2 The Mighty Ducks. It was funny because THEY brought it up and I started laughing hysterically because that is EXACTLY the first thing I thought of when I thought of Iceland and it was awesome. We all ended up going to some crazy rager club in which they had wristbands to already and somehow we managed to sneak me in for free, which was sweet. Then we all proceeded to drink in excess and act like we were going to hit on girls, in which did not end up happening. I ended up leaving a little early (probably 3am which is way early in Barca) because I had to be up to fly out the next day and as soon as I stepped outside I was greeted by pouring rain. It ended up being a fun yet wet walk back to the hostel. An entertaining end to a great trip.

If you didn’t gather, I really enjoyed Barcelona. Learned a lot, saw a lot, had some great experiences in a really cool city. I was glad to spend some time with some familiar people and also meet some new people. Barcelona is definitely on the list of places to return to on my next trip to Europe!

July Happenings

When I first arrived at the villa in December of last year, all I heard were the legends of summers past. At these types of places—destination villas all over Italy, Spain, Greece, the South of France, etc., people in their 20s are in and out all the time working the same type of jobs I did. The summers, as in most such places, are the busiest times. There were still people around when I got to Italy who had been around not only for summers at this villa, but even been in Europe for summers at places similar over the past few years. I heard stories about all kinds of wild parties that would take place after all the guests had turned in for the evening or even things that happened with the guests- ridiculous shenanigans that seemed like a lot of fun.
So, needless to say, I had been waiting since December for the summer to deliver on some of these mythical tales of fun and debauchery. Well, unfortunately, I guess I picked the wrong summer. There were not a lot of guests booked into the villas and those who were booked were mostly quiet families with some slight exceptions. Furthermore, because of the lack of guests there was also a lack of people who were around to work, which means less people to be around to participate in the previously mentioned craziness. Se la vie.
In the beginning of July Olly came back from being away traveling again and being at home in England. Shortly after he returned, a few of his friends came in who were on summer break from college and traveling Europe- something quite common and clearly, awesome.
They were good people and we were able to go into Lucca for their annual music festival that always brings in some pretty cool acts. Though we did not have tickets, we were able to hear Elton John perform from just a little ways away which was pretty cool.
It was nice having some young people around who weren’t guests and that made for an enjoyable 2 weeks or so in the beginning of July. It was too bad there wasn’t any traveling or bodacious events going on, but it was relaxing and enjoyable. What was cool is that after they left I got to go back to BARCELONA!!!

June

Well, here I am, in November, writing about things that happened almost 6 months ago. The idea was to keep things fresh and people updated…so much for that. I always end up getting caught up and forgetting or just not really feeling like writing. All in all, it’s my loss. Every now and then I get the urge and today is one of those days, so I am going to try and run with it.

Each month I had been here leading up to June involved projects and daily tasks around the property. It makes sense that the closer we got to our main period of guests that things began to get more serious. Unfortunately, the guests in May did not get to experience this “serious” preparation. The people ended up missing out things not being ready because we didn’t prepare early enough. This was one of the many lessons on how NOT to do business that I have learned while I have been here. There were numerous.
After the May wedding, the place emptied out and we had a few weeks to REALLY put the final touches on everything for the busy season. For 1 week, I ran the property. I got to call workers such as electricians, plumbers, pool guys, etc. to get them to come repair things or whatever. It was nice, I felt some pretty big responsibility and I felt like I did a nice job for the short period that I had a chance to run things. I have done more of that in recent months, but it’s usually been Fred, the chef who has worked for my boss for 15 years, but lives in France.

On another subject, in the second week of June a few of us who were working- a Kiwi named Alice and a Brit named Oliver, were asked by the masseuse who works for the villa, who is German but speaks Italian and English, if we wanted to go to a barbeque in the mountains a little ways outside of Lucca. We were very excited at the opportunity to get out for an evening. We first stopped at her friends place so we could follow them through the mountains. The apartment we stopped at was in a very rundown area with some crappy factories. There are so many old buildings in Italy because they rarely let them tear buildings down and rarely let them build. Not everything gets updated regularly. Anyway, my point is that we walked in to what we thought to be a an old rundown house. When we walked in we felt like we had just walked into a studio apartment in Manhattan. This place had been transformed into one of the most contemporary designed places I have ever been in. Everything was just hip and funky and like nothing I have ever seen. It’s hard to describe, but the image in my head just screams cool. I was dumbfounded and apparently the friend of hers who lived there did all the designing himself- and he was a wine shop owner, not even a builder or architect or whatever. I was impressed.

We left and took a nice drive through the mountains at dusk. We made our way up and stopped at the back of a very quaint house that wasn’t too far up. Some people at the party spoke English, some none at all. They had a nice brick barbeque going and, as is traditional, we were immediately offered wine and aperitivo. We later found out that these guys were wine makers and we had the opportunity to try quite a few of their wines. We sat down after awhile and to our surprise, almost every single item of food that was passed around was meat. Liver, pork chops, sausages, steak, chicken, other cuts of steak, it was unbelievable, but delicious. And why not, all I ever eat is pasta anyway! A nice change of pace! The highlight of the night was towards then end when the hosts went down to their cellar and brought out a 1985 bottle of wine! The year I was born!!! I mean, I guess you had to be there, but it was cool. I do not have a cultured enough taste to really understand the intricacies of wine and its accents and flavors, etc. and I wasn’t any better at deciphering the difference in an old or new bottle of wine. I have learned a lot about wine, I must say, but I still have a long way to go. Anyway, I “chewed” and swished every sip of that wine just trying to get the essence of it and really try to taste the grapes. Eh, it was a good wine, but that’s about all I could come up with! Regardless, I got to drink a bottle of wine from my birthday year, so I was happy.

This was a very fun experience and we met some cool people and just had a really Italian experience. I mean after dinner there was dessert and coffee was handed out, then after dinner drinks. I love the Italian culture, I must say.

So, this was something like a Wednesday, I think. Oliver and I had been working in the 90+ degree sun pulling weeds for 8 straight hours all week. When Thursday came, I had a bit of an issue. Let’s just say eating only meat does not do well for ones gastrointestinal well-being! So, the moral of the story, I was “late” to the garden by about 30 minutes. To be clear. I was right at the 6 month mark of working in the villa and had almost never before been given particular hours to work. However, every single time I was asked to be somewhere at a certain time, I was there. I was yes sir, no sir, polite, respectful, punctual, and so on and so forth because that is how I was raised and that’s how you treat a job. So we are back to me being late. After my rather unpleasant morning, I go to start some laundry before heading out and no sooner than I open the washing machine I see an angry Frenchman marching towards me like a charging rhino. You see, I have never been the victim of the Fred rage. I had seen it, but never been the brunt of it. I knew how it worked though. It was 0 to 100 in 2 seconds. There was no reasonable “Where have you been?” No sir. It’s an immediate “WHY AREN’T YOU IN THE GARDEN WHEN I TELL YOU TO BE?!?” Needless to say I was prepared for the barrage of anger and was not going to sit and take it. I told him my exact reason (as he is yelling) and this is where it just gets darn right funny and I am not even trying to be asshole. Let me remind you, I am always on time, always respectful, I always do what I am told with no questions asked. Without provoking it turns into a mudslinging contest. Fred says things like “All of you backpackers are the same. You are all lazy and you don’t care.” “You must leave, either you leave or I go back to France” “You have no respect, you are immature.”—————- Um…excuse me WTF????——I finally get a chance to rebuttal with things like, “Do you really think a Manager can behave like this?” “I WAS TAKING A SHIT!” “When have I ever not done what you have asked me to do?” “You are a child and you won’t go back to France and I am not going anywhere either” “You are a fucking chef” “You must be kidding me that a 42 year old man acts like this in a professional setting.”
It was an unbelievable 30 minutes of screaming (not to mention kind of funny considering his accent and occasional loss for words-not nice oops). Stemming from…????? I had been annoyed by Fred’s attempts to turn the villa into Nazi Germany with his rules– even though months before we all agreed some things needed to change. He knew I wasn’t all for it even though I had gone along with it. I was on terms with Mike (owner) not Fred so when Mike was around it was his jurisdiction and Fred did not like that. Anyway, as I do best, I escalated the situation until it exploded and the craftily brought it back to center and we apologized and carried on. As you might imagine, this put a bit of a damper on the summer, but luckily we were busy enough to avoid more verbal brawls.

That incident was mind-boggling. I had really never dealt so seriously with such an unreasonable person. As I got to know him through out the summer, I understood more. Unlike EVERYBODY else around the villa, Fred is all business. He is a nice guy and genuinely a good man who almost ONLY cares about his family. He was here most of the summer without his wife and son and this clearly took a toll on him. The last thing he needed was some a-hole American, as I am sure he saw it, messing everything up. I never thought that was what I was doing, but I think maybe our battle was him establishing how it was going to be. I didn’t like it, but because I respected Mike and where I stood, I continued to do what I was doing and not fight city hall anymore (the 1 time I did!!). A lesson in dealing with ALLLL the different kinds of people in the world. I can never expect others to adjust to me. I must adjust myself. Adapt. And I did!

There was another week and a half before guests arrived and it was pretty dull. For the entire remainder, we did the same thing, picked weeds in the garden in the heat for 8 hours. Not exciting. However, an amazing backdrop to look up to every now and then for a little reminder that it could all be much worse.
The group that came for the last week of June were great. A family originally from NY who had spread throughout the country ad the grandfather has arranged this trip for his 7 (I think) children and their kids. I think theere were 22 or so of them. I did what I had done for the cooking school: I gave rides from the airport, served meals, made sure they had everything they needed, etc. There were a few college age grandchildren that Oliver and I hung out with during the evenings and that definitely made the week a lot more fun. Each day they family had excursions to places within driving distance: Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, and Siena, so the days were quiet. I really enjoyed meeting the family and hanging out. Throughout my time I always have found it cool to just meet people in such a random place. I’m in a remote part of Italy and I met all sorts of people from my own country. All of them interesting and cool!

That about wraps up June. It was pretty standard as it goes. Eat, sleep, work, etc. July got a little more funky, but not too crazy.

The end of May: cooking schools and a wedding.

Only a few days after returning from another great trip, it was time to start with the first wave of guests coming through the villa. The way the cooking schools work is that everyone arrives and gets settled then there is a meet and greet with a traditional Italian welcome of prosecco and aperitivi (light appetizers:priscuitto, cheese, olives, etc.). Then they go over their schedule for the week which involves excursions, cooking lessons, and some down time apart from their meals together. I acted as the excursion driver and part tour guide in some places as well as serving dinner each night and helping with the cooking demonstrations. Needless to say I got quite a bit of time to interact with people and it’s really cool getting to know people from all over. When I say all over, I mostly mean the US because most of the guests come from the states. Either way, it’s always a diverse crowd and I’m always learning from people and it’s a lot of fun. It’s sort of ideal, in that, it doesn’t feel like work a lot of the time which is something I definitely strive for in my eventual career- passion and enjoying a job so much that even if it is hard work…it doesn’t feel like it. Call me idealistic, but I don’t feel like anyone should settle for any less.

Some highlights of the 2 weeks were:

- A forest fire on a nearby mountain the first week (that included ONLY women) which did not pose any danger to us, but they seemed to think it did. So, I taxied them WITH their suitcases to a bar that was passed this mountain on the other side of the one road that leads in and out of the village we are in. They were there for 2 hours before I went back and they were half drunk and decided it was OK to go back.
- 4 of the 6 women work for are associated with Ted Turner on his properties all over the country. One of them is a former CNN anchor and the other was one of his multiple girlfriends. Interesting crew, but mostly annoying if I am being honest.
- Second week we decided to drive to Cinque Terre and ended up driving around for over an hour before we found parking. Not necessarily an exciting fact, but something that very much stood out to me.

Other than that, they were pretty uneventful. I enjoyed the time, but nothing too exciting to speak of in these weeks.

The following Wednesday after the 2nd round of cooking schoolers left the bride and groom from central London showed up to prepare for their Sunday wedding. After we got them settled in, they were kind enough to take the staff out to dinner. It was a nice gesture before their guests and families began arriving and we all felt appreciated for the busting of our asses that they knew we would be doing.

It did end up being quite hectic. Lots of running around and serving and cleaning, but the people were extremely cool and kept encouraging us to join them in the partying/drinking and festivities, treating us like we were guests! It was nice to be treated like that and we did have some fun with them. It was a lovely wedding and dinner and then reception. There is a chapel at the villa up the road that my bosses ex-wife owns. They get along and sometimes just book both villas for events like this. They had about 80 guests which is the maximum both places can hold. They had the ceremony at the villa up the street then got a little 3 wheel buggy thing that are very popular to pudder around the village in the hills in Italy to take the couple down the main road to the villa I live in for the dinner and reception. Quite a cool way to do a wedding if you’re into destination weddings.
Dinner was served soon after they all made it down the road. It was me and a couple other English speakers and then some Italians. It was pretty funny because it reminded me of my restaurant days. You always have your know it alls and over achievers on staff and the token asshole and token bossy person. The Italians they had for the wedding filled all of the spots! It was so obnoxious but made me laugh. There was one guy who was the knowledgeable one and kept everything organized and on track which was definitely needed, so having that was good. After all the courses and speeches the music got going and people got drunker and we finished working and joined in. It was a different angle to be at a wedding as the staff, but not bad. Worth the perspective. The cops showed up, as they do because the sound echoes in the hills and it was a Sunday so they moved everything inside and carried on. I’d say it was a success and the couple was happy with it. Great meeting them because they were such a great pair. Their friends were just as cool. I could see it having been a lot worse.
The next day it was a mass exodus as cabs showed up every 10 minutes and eventually everybody was gone with the place left in somewhat of ruin. Some of the family members stayed for the following week and we got to hang out with them a bit more. Very fun folks.

Then there was nobody. Staff moved on as people do at these places and we had 2 weeks before more guests would arrive.

Naples and the Amalfi Coast

I returned from my epic train trip on April the 18th which was a Monday. There were guests at the villa as well as a few birthdays of friends to be celebrated that week. Beginning the following Saturday, was a group of 20 people from Canada who now reside in Geneva, Switzerland. The main guy was one of the first people to “invent” online marketing (the small adds that run along the sides/tops/bottoms of websites) in the late 90′s and has since made his billions. Now he is creating business in Africa and monitoring it’s operation, growth, and expansion which I think is a really cool thing to be doing. It was a fun week and I made a 500 euro tip at the end so I wasn’t complaining.

The week after I had planned a trip a bit farther south in Italy than I had been before. My good friend Brenna had a trip scheduled through her MBA program at UL and decided to come over early to get to see a bit more of Europe before she had to go to Greece and then Morocco for school related stuff. Because my previous trip was so long and expensive, I had to go somewhere relatively close for this trip so I convinced Brenna the Amalfi coast would a worthwhile place to see. After much back and forth planning, we decided I would meet her in Naples, Italy which is just a ferry ride away from the Amalfi coast.

When I finally made it to the hostel in the late evening, Brenna was already there and after a nice greeting and some catching up, we headed for some dinner. We had no idea where we were going and ended up sitting down at some random restaurant and actually having a pretty good meal. It was the middle of the week and there wasn’t much going on so we settled on some wine back at the hostel before heading to bed in preparation for a big day.

We got plenty of rest and headed out to see the city. We got some lunch at a place that came highly recommended for pizza. After all, Naples is THE place to get pizza how pizza is supposed to be. It was indeed, amazing. We toured the city and saw a lot of the old landmarks. Naples is one of the oldest settlements of peninsula of Italy, becoming a Greek colony before even Rome was established. So, needless to say there was a lot to see, not to mention that technically Naples has the largest historic city centres in all of Europe.

Personally, I wasn’t all that impressed. It’s overly crowded, dirty, and the historic landmarks…not all that impressive. Definitely, worth the trip if you’re ever in the area to see Alalfi or Pompei, but not really a place to stay too long. IMHO.

We were up early the following day to take our ferry ride across to Capri. A stunningly beautiful place, Capri is definitely more of a destination for the rich and famous. It has ridiculous amounts of high end shopping and restaurants and a destination one could easily feel out of place. We enjoyed it for the day, taking a nice tour around the island by boat and having lunch on a touristy street at the top of the island. After lunch we did a bit of exploring and trying to find the best angles for pictures and we definitely found some gems. Definitely a paradise island with phenomenal views, but very very expensive. I shall return when I make my millions.

On the same day, we arrived in Positano without a place to stay. We looked online at a local bar as soon as we hopped off of the ferry. It was something like 5 or 6 o’clock at night at this point, maybe later, and we realized this wasn’t a big area for hostels. We settled on paying 50 euro’s a piece at this pretty nice place and even though it wasn’t ideal, it was all we had. We got in and quickly made it back out to have a wander around the gorgeous town. We ended up having a pretty typical Italian feast near the water and the night was saved. Well, so we thought.

We make it back to the room to pick up some money to go back out and have a couple drinks. Now, this place was very nice but very quaint. Nobody on duty after like 10. We got 2 keys, one to the room and one to the actual building, both on the same ring, as you might think. So we decide we are ready to take off and we walk out. Oh shit. I had left the keys in the room and it locked automatically behind us. Brenna had no reception on her phone. We also didn’t know the number. This wasn’t a regular hotel. I don’t even know how to describe it honestly, but there wasn’t a normal reception where we could have found a phone and number. So, we are now stuck in the hallway because we can’t get in the room and we can’t leave the building. It seems deserted like they’re weren’t even other guests. So we are just thinking WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO???

So I wander around awhile looking for any potential outlet when I realize there is a hallway window that opens into a courtyard (we’re on a high second floor), but this window also happens to be next to our window that is also open, running perpendicular. There is ledge, drain pipe, and large awning involved in this situation. It was completely possible for me to climb over, but REALLY dangerous. Possible, by the way, does not imply easy. No good grip anywhere and a LONG way down. However, seemingly our only option. After debating for quite a period of time, I decide this is our only option so I hop up and take it really slow. At this point, I’m thinking I just want in to effing room and so I’m bound and determined. I have tried to build up the suspense, but to be honest, I hopped right over and it didn’t end up being too bad of a maneuver. Nonetheless, my heart was pounding and I defied death. Haha. We went out for drinks and the keys incident ended up being the highlight of the night.

The next day Brenna and I found some nice paintings and pottery that we both ended up sending home. Conveniently, my mom’s birthday hit right as they arrived home, as I had planned and she really liked it all (so I hear). We took the ferry to Amalfi, which is a beautiful town, but very small and not requiring of too much time. We saw the sites and ended up heading to the hostel we booked in Salerno- a decent size town that we stayed in on our way to Pompeii the following day.

Honestly, there isn’t a whole lot to say about Pompeii besides of how amazing it is. You almost have to see it for yourself. The fact that it has been excavated the way it has and how they have preserved so much is incredible. You walk around the streets and through the rooms and just wonder what each one could have been. You see all of their technologies that have been dug out and can’t help but be fascinated with what they were doing all those centuries ago. Seeing Mt. Vesuvius in the distance makes it all that much more surreal. You look over the city and see the massive volcano and it’s hard to imagine that it was once the cause of the eventual demise of the city. It’s definitely a place to see if you ever get a chance. Very cool to see such preservation of a city that existed almost 2000 years ago.

I liked this trip a lot. If Brenna had not come, I may not have made it down that far in Italy. It’s really interesting to see the diversity of another country besides my own. I’ve been all over Italy and the regions and the people and even the culture is adapted so differently. It’s all similar, but so different as well. It was also great fun to hang out with a Brenna. We have traveled a bit before together so it was nice to do it again!

Following this trip is when the summer season started. Cooking schools, Bed and Breakfast guests, people in and out constantly. There was a lot of work to be done, but to call it work is a misnomer. It was a lot of fun and I stayed busy. A summer unlike any other I have ever had or will probably ever have again. Stories to come!

Drew

Thoughts on my travels

Some of the best conversations I have had while abroad/traveling have been about exactly that, traveling. It’s seriously unbelievable the places some people have been and they make the traveling I’ve done seem domestic. The things I have seen, the things I have learned, and the people I have met have been life changing. I am not talking in the drastic revelation kind of change, but just the expansion and enhancement of personal perspective. It’s hard to imagine the people who have been all over the world and how they’re lives have been changed by their experiences away from home.

I have never been outside of the States (except for a cruise when I was 13 which I don’t really count) until this trip. My thought in traveling was to get out of my comfort zone and really challenge myself and see what I was capable of when not surrounded by the safety net that I had fallen back on my whole life. When I first entertained the idea of traveling, I was in an ideal place in my life to get away. I had no girlfriend at the time, no career (I had a job but not a career, to be clear), no mortgage or rent, and was basically, (serious) commitment free. I had always regretted not studying abroad in college and it suddenly dawned on me that there would likely never be another opportunity to travel like I envisioned, ever again.

At the time, I did not have a clear career path, either. When I first thought to travel I was 23. At that point, I didn’t know if I wanted to pursue a career along the path of my college major of psychology or if there was another road I wanted to go down. I felt so much pressure right out of college that I was supposed to rush into a career, buy a house, get married, and that whole bit. The pressure I feel American society sort of puts on people….and I was 23 years old!!!! Does anyone else find it a bit troubling that we’re meant to figure out our whole lives by that time? Yeesh.

I have been enlightened to a lot of lessons regarding this subject over the past year. We all have our own path. Different people will go through different steps of their lives at different paces and not everybody will do the same things. In my case, some people said I was running from my life and from growing up and from responsibility. That’s all well and good, but I wanted to see what my options were. I wanted to see what people really different from me were like and enrich my life with a bit of culture and variety. I don’t feel as though I need to make all of my big life decisions before I am 30 and I feel if it does take me that long, it doesn’t make me a failure or someone who just couldn’t get it done.

I have ended up in a paradise I could have never dreamed up. Getting here was really a testament to how valuable networking is in life. I inquired to the Bachelor’s Club which I had been a part of for about a year and it was there that I got all the advice I could have needed and where I was able to get in contact with the villa I am staying in now.
The village I am in has less than 1000 people and is right smack dab in the middle of the mountains of Tuscany. Each time I think I am having a bad day, all I do is stop, look around and take a deep breath and I rest assured it could be a lot worse.
My jobs have included things like dishes as I have mentioned before, as well as gardening, shopping, helping guests with baggage or serving meals for them. I have even done a bit of management type stuff. It’s all been mostly easy and what I get in return makes the job a no brainer.
I have been here 8 months now and hope to be here until December, which would meet my original goal of a full year over here. I have become attached in that amount of time. I love my room and the people I live with, the wacky locals and feel that I have become one, as well as all of the culture I have been engulfed with.
One day, I will have a big time job, lord knows what that will be, but I will have one. I will do the family thing and all that comes with it. All of this because I want to. But for the time being, I love where I am and I am glad to have had all the support and well wishes from home.
As in love with this place as I am, I do actually miss home. When I come back I will be thrilled. Then I might leave again. There is a whole big world out there and I was to see it!!
I am not getting any younger you know!!!