Brandon O'Brien

Monday, October 14, 2013 @ 4:44 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 110

I went to the train station and bought my train ticket for Naples which departed Florence at 11am. It was a direct train down to Naples that only took about 3 hours. It was nice not having to worry about connections and changing trains.

Naples is a giant city. I didn't really realize just how big it was going to be. I walked from the train station to the hostel and it seemed like the entire city is one giant melting pot of cultures, food and shops. Naples is also a coastal city with a big port that cruise ships use as a base.

Upon checking into the hostel, I was given a map and shown quite a few places to visit in the city as well as information on how to get to Herculaneum and Pompeii. I have 4 full days here so I'm not sure when I'll head out and visit those sites but I plan on spending at least one full day out exploring Naples and eating pizza.

I walked around a bit but it was really busy again here so I bought some groceries and came back to the hostel to get dinner ready. I'll probably take it easy tonight since I've been staying up pretty late the last few nights in Florence.

Tags: daily journal, naples, italy

Posted from: Italy

Sunday, October 13, 2013 @ 4:16 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 109

Wine time last night was another success. There were about 8 of us and we went through 6 liters of wine through the course of the night. I went to bed around 1:15am and got up around 9am.

After breakfast I thought I'd give walking around town another shot to see if maybe it wasn't going to be as crowded today. One thing I didn't account for was some sort of 5k charity run/walk that seemed to bring in thousands of people. The entire city was filled with people wearing these yellow shirts and who had just finished a run. Between all of those people and the normal tourists, the city was mobbed.

I walked around a little bit more but didn't feel like dealing with the mess of people so I found a park and relaxed there for a bit and had lunch before coming back to the hostel. Back at the hostel I've just been doing work and more research on Paris information as well as where to visit when I'm in Naples starting tomorrow afternoon.

Florence is a beautiful city but with these kinds of crowds I just can't enjoy it. I didn't even make it into any of the museums that contain some world famous artwork and statues because the lines were taking an hour and a half just to get inside, then you have to contend with tour groups and tourists all trying to see the same things. I'm really hoping Pompeii and Herculaneum down by Naples aren't as crowded.

Teaser photos:

Busy streets in Florence

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Tags: daily journal, italy, florence

Posted from: Italy

Saturday, October 12, 2013 @ 6:58 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 108

Last night everyone stayed up pretty late talking, eating snacks and drinking the free wine produced by the hostel owner's grandpa. It's really nice to be in a small hostel full of fellow travelers instead of giant groups of people.

I didn't set an alarm this morning and got up around 9am, ate and then hung out at the hostel for a while. The forecast was calling for rain all day which is why I wasn't really in a hurry. When it looked like it wasn't actually going to rain I went out and started to walk around Florence.

Florence itself is pretty big but most of the big sights are within the old city walls and within easy walking distance. The closer I got to the Piazza del Duomo, the more and more people were out. By the time I got there it was basically wall to wall tourists everywhere. I walked around the leather markets where there were more massive amounts of people, then headed over to the Ponte Vecchio (the famous old bridge) and again, tons and tons of people.

It was a big mix of huge tour groups, people randomly stopping or changing direction in front of you, people trying to get photos across extremely busy walkways, street vendors trying to sell you stuff, mopeds and bicyclists flying all over the place and police and other random vehicles making their way through the streets.

I was thinking about getting a leather jacket here since Florence is supposed to be famous for its leather work but all of the stalls in the leather market had the same stuff and the stores just seemed to be filled with pushy sales people. If I had a better idea of what I was looking for it might have been easier but instead I didn't want to deal with the mess.

In order to avoid some of the crowds I walked up a big hill overlooking the city called the Piazza Michelangelo. It had some great views of Florence so I hung out there for a little while before heading down. On the way down I ran into one of the guys from the hostel who told me about a really good gelato place up the street. Since I hadn't had any gelato in Italy yet I decided to go get some.

I had some kind of dark sesame flavor and another flavor named after their establishment. I ate the gelato by the river then plowed my way back through the crowds to get to the grocery and then back to the hostel.

I answered some emails and read a little while before making dinner. A few new people showed up at the hostel so tonight I'm sure we'll have another good wine time.

The weather tomorrow is supposed to be really nice but I really don't want to deal with more tour groups and clogged up streets so I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.

Teaser photos:

Ponte Vecchio

Baptistry of St John

Florence from Piazza Michelangelo

Gelato from Santa Trinita

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Tags: daily journal, italy, florence

Posted from: Italy

Friday, October 11, 2013 @ 7:26 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 107

I arrived in Florence on my flight from Vienna but immediately jumped on a train to Lucca so I didn't really get to see any of the city other than from the air and train.

My train from Riomaggiore today didn't leave until 10:45am so I took my time getting ready. I had breakfast, packed up, bought a few pieces of artwork from the guy named Oliver who lives at the hostel for 5 months out of the year to sell his paintings, then had a real early lunch of focaccia bread with cheese and pesto which was abnormally delicious. I'm going to have to start making that when I get home.

The train went from Riomaggiore to La Spezia, then from La Spezia to Pisa and finally from Pisa to Florence. All of the trains were pretty much on time and I arrived to a nice sunny day in Florence around 2:00pm.

It was only about a mile walk to the hostel so I did that rather than take a bus. The hostel doesn't really have any sign out other than the name on a door buzzer but it was easy to find. I checked in and the staff gave some great suggestions on where to visit in the city and highlighted a bunch of spots on a map.

The hostel itself is really small and has some great vibes. There are only enough beds for 12 people split among a couple rooms which is also nice. Another great thing about this hostel is every night at 9pm they do a Tuscan wine tasting with some snacks for free. There's also a book exchange which I've been missing the last several places I've stayed. I still think you can tell the character of a hostel based on the kind of books it has in its exchange (if there even is one).

I went down to the grocery and bought some food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next couple of nights. There isn't a full kitchen here but they have a refrigerator and a microwave/oven combo which is more than enough for me.

The market had some pre-made spaghetti that I could microwave so I had that with some sauce, bread as well as some peas and carrots that I could microwave.

Since then I've been doing more research into Paris and making sure all loose ends are tied up for when Holly arrives.

The forecast is calling for rain all day tomorrow which is a shame. Fortunately on Sunday it's supposed to be perfect so that'll be at least one full day of exploring. I'm planning on heading down to the leather markets tomorrow if the rain lets up to check out the supposedly world famous markets. I've been jonesing for a leather jacket for years so I might buy one if I can find one for a good deal.

No pics today since it was just a travel day and I didn't get to see any of the sights in my walk to the hostel. It also feels liberating to have access to wifi and a data connection again. It's funny how reliant we are on a constant connection to the world, whether it's for maps, researching destinations, running language translations or just keeping up with Facebook and my blog.

Tags: daily journal, italy, florence

Posted from: Italy

Thursday, October 10, 2013 @ 6:44 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 106

The forecast was calling for a pretty high chance of rain all day so rather than get soaked or deal with more closed trails, I just stayed here in Riomaggiore for the day.

After breakfast I used the wifi of a bar to upload all my photos from the last few days then walked around town taking some more photos. Since the weather was sketchy and the seas were really rough, the ferries between the villages were shut down which meant there weren't many tourists walking around. It was nice to explore without dealing with crowds.

I bought a pepper and some green beans and cooked it up with pasta, spices and olive oil for lunch (and also dinner). I enjoyed lunch on the balcony at the hostel overlooking the village with a glass of wine.

After that I just kinda lounged around on the balcony watching the views and taking in the sights. I went back and looked at all the photos from this trip as well as the motorcycle trip Ryan and I did last summer. It's crazy how much I've seen on this trip so far.

Without having any real connection to the internet, being the only one in the hostel today (aside from the long term guy who has his own private room) and the town basically shutting down after around 7:00pm, there really isn't much to do at night. It would be the perfect place to read a book but unfortunately the last couple hostels I stayed at either didn't have any books or all the books were in Italian.

Tomorrow I head to Florence where I'll spend a few nights. I think I'm going to try to do a day trip down to Siena to see that town. I was originally planning on staying the night there but couldn't find a cheap place to stay. I'd still like to see the town though.

Teaser photos:

Rough seas at the Riomaggiore marina

Cloudy in Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Lunch I made in Riomaggiore

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Tags: daily journal, italy, cinque terre, riomaggiore

Posted from: Italy

Wednesday, October 9, 2013 @ 4:55 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 105

It was overcast when I woke up which I was fine with. It meant that I wouldn't be burning up like I would have been yesterday in the full sun. The train I was waiting on to take me to the next town of Manarola didn't leave until around 10:20am so I wasn't really in a rush.

When I got to Manarola I walked to the start of the coastal trail but saw that it was closed for whatever reason. Since that trail was closed I had to take the much more elevation intense #6 trail up to Volastra and then cut over to Corniglia. What should have been a 30 minute hike had the coastal trail been open turned into a 2 hour adventure to go to the same place.

It was a pretty intense hike up the steep side of vineyards but awarded me with some spectacular views that I wouldn't have seen if I was closer to the coast. I passed through the small town of Volastra and then cut down to Corniglia.

During this part of the hike I started to run into a lot of other hikers. There were huge groups of people slowly hiking and trying to pass them on the extremely narrow trails was a challenge. It also made for slow going when you came across people going the other direction because you had to find a spot wide enough for both groups to pass. At one point I ended up getting stuck behind a group of about 30-40 french people who weren't the fastest hikers. Of course it was also on one of the steepest parts of the hike so I really upped my heart rate jogging past them when I had the opportunity.

Eventually I got down to Corniglia which is situated at the top of a cliff and is the one town that doesn't really connect directly to the water. I had a pressed sandwich here for lunch and took a little break before continuing on.

When I got to the start of the next part of the trail there were a bunch of people all lined up. It was a bit frustrating being stuck behind these huge groups or chunks of groups because all you feel like you're doing is passing slow people or moving over for oncoming hikers. The weather was also turning a bit for the worse here and some light rain started to come in and out the rest of the hike.

After Corniglia was Vernazza. This is where I spent some time yesterday and seeing the town from the south side was really nice. The town was packed with tour groups from cruises who take up the entirety of the tiny streets when the tour guide stops to say something. It's a bit frustrating when all you want to do is get around them and they seem to have complete disregard for anyone other than themselves or the group.

The views around Vernazza were the best of the whole hike though in my opinion. The town is very picturesque and there are some great viewing areas on the hiking trails around the city. All of the towns sell these little spice mixtures that are great for pasta, fish, meat, bruscetta, etc so I bought a couple packets and I'll try to recreate them when I'm back home. I'm going to try one of them with my pasta tonight.

Continuing on, next up was the final town in the Cinque Terre of Monterosso. It took about an hour to get between the towns, mostly because of the huge amount of people also on the trail and the trail being at its narrowest and least passing-friendly. Monterosso is definitely the most resorty of the five towns. It's the only one with a true beach and everything built up around it is geared more toward vacationers it seemed like.

I was planning on hanging out at the beach with a beer but didn't really want to deal with all the tourists. I saw there was a train due to arrive in about 10 minutes so I went to the train station and waited for it. While waiting, two giant tour groups also came up and were waiting to board which is a pain since the age demographic of the tour groups means it takes each person a bit of a struggle to get on the train.

I was also overhearing a group of ladies talking about similar experiences to mine hiking today. Very few people at the beginning but the farther north you got the more people were out.

I'm back at the hostel now and I'll probably have a beer before showering and having dinner. The hike was good but didn't really wear me out the same way hiking in Snowdonia or Breckon Beacons did. That being said, I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight.

Unfortunately for my last day in the Cinque Terre tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day. Depending on what the weather forecast says in the morning I might try to get out for some more hiking. If not, I'll just hang out here and enjoy Riomaggiore.

All in all aside from the massive amounts of people on the trails, the views of the cities and coastline were fantastic. This is one of the most beautiful areas I've been to the entire trip (tossed up between the Cliffs of Moher, Snowdonia and the Breckon Beacons). The photos for today are amazing and once I have a true wifi signal again I'll upload them all for everyone to see.

Teaser photos:

Manarola from above

The hiking trail between towns with Corniglia in the distance

Corniglia

Monterosso - the more resorty of the Cinque Terre towns

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Tags: daily journal, cinque terre, italy

Posted from: Italy

Tuesday, October 8, 2013 @ 5:02 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 104

We slept with the windows open in the hostel last night. It got a little chilly but after I got another blanket it was great having the fresh air coming in at night. In the morning I got up and had breakfast downstairs at the bar where the owner of the hostel works. I had a marmalade filled croissant and a cappuccino.

Since I didn't want to spend the next several days buying beers at the bar across the street to feed my need for internet connectivity, I bought a 2 day Cinque Terre card that gives me unlimited access on trains between all the Cinque Terre towns as well as the ability to hike between the cities.

With my pass I went to the big city that isn't really part of the Cinque Terre called La Spezia. They have all of the big shops and phone stores there that I'd need to get another SIM card. Last night I was talking to Oliver (the guy who lives here 5 months out of the year selling his paintings of the Cinque Terre to tourists) and he mentioned the phone company WIND and told me where to go to get a SIM card.

I showed up there and tried to get a new card but their internet was down and they wouldn't be able to do anything for a couple hours. Bummer. Next, I headed down the main shopping area and found another shop. Unfortunately they were all out of SIM cards. Bummer #2. I went to the 3 Store (the company of my prior SIM card) but they were closed for some reason. Bummer #3. I walked around some more and found another phone shop. The guy didn't speak any English but between my very very limited Italian and a lot of pointing and repeating of basic needs, we were able to get things figured out. The SIM I'm using now is from a different company and seems to be a bit spotty in the Cinque Terre towns (not that my 3 SIM was much better).

After getting that taken care of, I boarded a train to the town of Vernazza. I walked around there for a while, paid to climb up a big castle tower for some amazing views, had some lunch and then got on a train for the town of Manarola.

Manarola is the next town up from the one I'm staying at (Riomaggiore) and it's the starting point for all the hiking between the cities. I went on some of the paths to get some shots of the town but I'll leave the full hikes for tomorrow and Thursday. I think of all the towns so far, Manarola is probably the most beautiful. Like most of the towns, it's surrounded by cliffside vineyards and the town is nestled in the cliff side working its way down to the sea. In Manarola people were swimming around in the marina. It was very tempting to get in since it was pretty warm today. I might get in tomorrow or Thursday if the weather stays nice like this.

I hung out there for a while and looked through some of the shops. All of the towns sell their locally produced wine, soaps and spice mixes for pasts. I'll probably buy a few packages of the spice mixtures. One of the other guys staying here used it last night in his pasta and it smelled amazing.

Now I'm back at the hostel on the balcony working with some wine and amazing views all around me. I think tonight once it gets dark I'll head down to the marina and see if taking any photos of the city at night look good.

Since I have a limit on the amount of data I can use for my SIM card, I won't be uploading my photos until I get to my hostel in Florence. If you want to see some of what I'm up to, check out my Instagram feed at the top right side of my blog.

Teaser photos:

Vernazza from the marina

Vernazza

Manarola

Manarola and vineyards

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Tags: daily journal, italy, riomaggiore, cinque terre

Posted from: Italy

Monday, October 7, 2013 @ 7:36 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 103

I had a few options to get to Riomaggiore today but I opted to take the first train which left at 10:30am. I had two different connections but I finally made it to Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre around 12:15pm. After arriving in the train station you have to walk through a tunnel to get to the main part of town. I checked into the hostel and then walked around town for several hours.

The check-in experience is the weirdest so far. The guy who owns the hostel (which is basically just an apartment with a bunch of beds in the living room and two private rooms that can be bought) also owns a bar where you have to go to check in.

All of the beds were full in the main room so for the first night I'm sharing a private room with a guy named Oliver. He lives and paints here for 5 months out of the year and speaks about 4 different languages. A really cool guy!

The town is amazing. It's situated on the cliffs that lead down to a marina. I walked around all over town for a couple hours taking quite a few photos. I came back to the hostel around 3 to shower and met a guy named Adam from Australia who has been here a few nights.

All of the markets close down for a few hours in the middle of the day for a siesta so I couldn't actually buy groceries for dinner until around 5pm. Adam and I talked for a bit about our travels (he's currently living and working in a hostel in Edinburgh) and this has been his first real trip in the last 3 months since he got there.

I got some pasta, sauce, a big bell pepper and some wine at the market and then came back to cook it. I also made a huge mistake. In order to charge my phone quicker, I turned it off and put it on the charger. After dinner I turned the phone back on only to be prompted to enter the PIN code I was provided when I bought it. This wouldn't normally be a problem but I threw the pin card away this morning when I left Lucca. I didn't think I'd have to use it again after entering it the first time. It's a real pain because the hostel here doesn't have WiFi either. I think tomorrow I'm going to head back to La Spezia and get another SIM card. Not having any connection for the next 4 nights isn't really an option due to CCB emails and stuff.

On Wednesday I'm planning on doing some hiking between the towns in the Cinque Terre. Unfortunately a few of the sections are closed due to landslides so I'll have to figure out which ones are open and hike on those.

Teaser photos:

Riomaggiore from the marina

Riomaggiore from above

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Tags: daily journal, italy, riomaggiore, cinque terre

Posted from: Italy

Sunday, October 6, 2013 @ 10:25 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 102

I used some heavy duty ear plugs last night and slept like a champ. I woke up this morning and went out for some kind of caramel stuffed croissant and a cappuccino for breakfast then went to the train station and got a train to Pisa.

The train ride from Lucca to Pisa is only about a half hour and it leaves every hour from Lucca. At the Pisa Centrale train station I was greeted with beggars and people trying to sell stupid trinkets. After making my way past that nonsense I finally crossed the river and made my way to the tower and cathedral that the city is known for.

There was a big market going on that had the same stuff I saw yesterday here in Lucca. Eventually I made it to the tower but they had closed off several of the sidewalks and paths for construction so there were tons of people all crammed into a few spots which made picture taking and viewing a bit of a pain.

I hung out there for a while and then after the crowds started to bug me I went to Knight's Square which is one of the main squares in Pisa. Some of it was under construction but it was still a nice place to see. Form there I headed to a garden where there were people constantly walking by trying to sell lighters and other crap.

One thing I've gotten good at over this trip so far is keeping my head down and saying 'no' or simply ignoring people who come up to me and start talking. It's sad that it has to be that way, but pretty much anyone who randomly walks up to you in a public area is either begging for money or trying to scam you. It's just something you end up getting used to after a while.

I walked around a little bit more and had lunch at a random cafe. I though the trains were running to Lucca every hour but apparently the schedule was messed up since it was Sunday so I had to wait around for an extra 20 minutes for a different train to depart.

Back in Lucca I went back to the hostel and grabbed a half bottle of wine that I had left and went over to the wall to enjoy it in the nice weather. After finishing the bottle I went over to the big market but it was closed and then I went to a different one but it was also closed. Not feeling too optimistic I walked around town a little more but found another store that had some local wines and bought another bottle of locally produced wine.

I came back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit and had some more wine before heading across the street to a pizzaria and getting a pizza for dinner. They've got a big oven that they cook the pizzas in. This was my second one from them and both of the pizzas have been great. I'm not even in the pizza capital of Italy and the pizzas are still fantastic.

Tomorrow I head to the Cinque Terre to a town called Riomaggiore. It's situated on some cliffs along the coats and should provide some great views and hiking opportunities. I'll be there for 4 nights before heading to Florence.

Teaser photos:

Torre pendente di Pisa (The leaning tower of Pisa)

Pisa Cathedral and the Tower

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Pizza vending machines. Can't say I tried them.

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Tags: daily journal, pisa, italy, lucca

Posted from: Italy

Saturday, October 5, 2013 @ 8:36 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 101

One of the guys in the room last night was an extremely loud snorer. The forecast was calling for rain all day so I wasn't really in a hurry to get up. Unfortunately everyone else in the room got up and was making plenty of noise where it was worthless to try and sleep in.

Since I was up, I ate and then looked outside and saw it wasn't raining. I figured I'd take advantage of the lack of rain to go for a walk. I went around the entirety of the city walls and also found a market that was going on. It was mostly women's clothes with a few fruit and veggie vendors thrown in.

After completing the perimeter of the city I went and walked around the streets a little bit. The sky was already cloudy but it was getting darker so I came back to the hostel to eat lunch, answer some emails and have some wine.

Sure enough it started raining and hasn't really stopped since. Before dinner I went out and walked around a little bit since I didn't have any food here and needed something to eat. It was sprinkling when I started walking around but eventually started raining pretty hard. I took that as my cue to duck into a pizza shop and buy a slice of pizza. It was a little earlier than I would have liked to have dinner, but I didn't want to keep wandering around aimlessly in the rain.

The forecast looks a little better for tomorrow so I'm going to head to the train station and catch a regional train to Pisa in the morning to try and get there before the rain really starts coming down. There are trains that depart every hour around the 45 minute mark so I'm planning on getting the 9:45am train.

It's really a pain in the butt staying in a hostel that doesn't have any kind of kitchen or cooking/food storage facilities. I didn't realize how expensive eating out for pretty much every meal can be, even if it's just cheap pizza or sandwiches.

Tags: daily journal, italy, lucca

Posted from: Italy