Our incredible adventure - the movie

A few weeks after we arrived home, I had a bit of spare time as I was waiting to get a new job, so I made this video to share our experiences we went through to all who are interested.

During our travels, as well as plenty of photo's I also took plenty of vidoes; all so I could make this film.

I've been meaning to upload this for a long time - but it's been kinda crazy since I got back home (new blog soon will explain why), but here it finally is, enjoy!

The end of one adventure, the start of another

Homeward bound - soaking up the beautiful views of vineyards while I still can

As I write this, I'm about to head home and it's made me reflect on all that's happened in these 5 crazy months we've been away. They've been eventful, up and down,amazing and unforgettable. So much has happened that I could yabber on for eternity,so instead a top 10 would be a better idea:

10. Dinner with the over 50's and a local mayor at a Buddhist         temple in My Tho, Vietnam

9. Bodyboarding on Kuta beach, Bali

8. Laying eyes upon Hoi An for the first time and feeling like we'd stepped back in time

7. Getting down with the monkeys at the Monkey temple in Ubud, Bali

6. Seeing the ruins of Pompeii

5. Stepping out into the San Siro - a legendary stadium I've always wanted to see

4. The first couple of weeks in Piedmont soaking up everything that life in northern Italy had to offer

3. Cruising on a junkboat, kayaking, climbing hills and caving in Ha long bay, Vietnam

2. The giant water fight that is Songkran

1. Watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat

There's so much more that could go in the list too - it's been that kind of journey.

Thanks

Claire posing with Virginia, Davide and Corrado - Adelaide was running around somewhere!

Firstly thanks go to the amazing Scarsi/Di Bilio family that have taken us in these last couple of months. They've been so accommodating, so understanding, so kind and so much fun to be around. They've really made us feel like we couldn't have got luckier this summer.

Claire with Evanne during the week long Canale festival

Thanks go to the friends we've met along the way - whether they're the many nationalities we met in south east Asia or a friend we've known for longer and were lucky enough to catch up with on the road. Thanks also go to the other au pair we've met this summer in Piedmont, Evanne - I feel we've all got quite close these last 9 weeks and it's been great getting to know you.

Final thoughts

A couple of months back, I considered the words from my first blog and whether I'd changed as a person. At that time I couldn't answer the question - which said to me that I hadn't. Now, as I stand on the precipice of going home I realise that I'm farther removed from that person who left England in March than I'd realised. I used to wait until my colleagues would leave their desks at work just so I could go up to the window unseen, lay my hand against the glass and get lost in thought about what was out there, where my life was truly headed and what I really wanted from it all.

Landing in Ho Chi Minh city was a real step into the unknown..

I know now that I've been there, to the real unknown. I've seen the things I didn't know existed and I've felt things I never knew I could. I've learnt more about the world, about life, I've learnt more about my own way of living and myself than I ever could at home and I'm eternally grateful for that.

When you see so much of the world, you start to think about what "wonderment" remains in the parts that you haven't seen. In that moment you soon begin to see that it's in the every day things that make up your life.  It's a feeling I doubt many people can fully appreciate unless they step outside that comfort zone into the brave new world, but when you do experience it for real - and I mean REALLY feel it - you know it's a feeling you A) can never forget and B) never allow to diminish again, as you know that now you have that feeling, that your life is more complete, more full of purpose than it's ever been.

So yes, I have changed, I've changed for the better. I've memories that I'll feast upon in my mind for a lifetime and that's more real, more precious than anything you can buy/be given in this life.
I know that my life from now on will be forever richer in spirit than it's ever been thanks to the things I've seen and experienced and that I've stepped right outside that comfort zone, I've travelled to the other side of the world, I've lived off the beaten track, I've done things not every person you'll meet will've done, I've memories that are unique to me, and above all else.... I'm happy with all of it, the good, the bad, even the strange, because no-one will ever take what I've been through from me.

I'm happy to go home and start over again with my amazing wife, to build a new home, a better home and to see all of the people I hold dear and to do the things I truly love to do. I can't wait to get started, just like I couldn't wait to go on this adventure, because I realise it's just another type of adventure I'm heading out on and I can't wait to figure out the rest of it out for myself along the way because I'll never stop staring at the horizon, wondering what's next.

Life is always ahead of you, in front of you, behind you. Life is good, so long as you have the right attitude and I'm never going to stop living it the way I want now that I've started.

Here's to the next adventure....

Turin - truly underestimated

We've been based just an hour away from Turin since June, so we've had the chance to visit the city a couple of times.

The city was the first capital of the united Italy and was where the Savoy (royal family) resided. As a result, the streets are well organised, clean and the city has an almost Parisien feel to it.
The old Savoy palace is in the heart of the city and is the focal point for one of the main Piazzas, but just around the corner you can also find plenty of culture.

Delve into the porticos and as well as a world renowned opera house, you can find beautiful old cafes - where I highly recommend a cafe con panna (coffee with cream) - along with gelaterias and quaint restaurants.

The galleria subalpina - a beautiful arcade

Just beyond this you'll find a stunning old arcade that houses antique bookshops, restaurants and even an old style cinema - it's a beautiful place that gives a real sense of late 19th/early 20th century.

Turin is one of the biggest cities in Italy, yet it's only the 8th most visited, but for those who do come to this hidden gem, you'll find that you can saunter around without the feeling of claustrophobia that places like Rome and Florence can give you with their swathes of tourists.

There's plenty to see too - we visited the oldest Egyptian museum in the world (someone debated this with me, but it was the museums words not mine!), which houses a very large and impressive collection, well worth a visit. There's also a civil war museum and the car museum - cars are central to Turin as here it's all about Fiat as this is where the factory is and always has been. In fact, not only is the Fiat factory famous for having the training scenes from the original 'Italian job' film shot on its rooftop racetrack, but I also found out that even Juventus (the famous football team - more on them later) are steeped in history linked to Fiat as they've traditionally been owned by the Fiat owners.

The Mole

Other than a piazza that boasts itself as one of the largest in the world, the city's main tourist attraction is the Mole - a big building with a pointed top that was completed at the same time as the Eiffel tower. You can see the Mole from nearly everywhere in Turin and inside it hosts a really impressive and fascinating cinema museum - we both loved it inside as it is a tribute to the history, the evolution, the art, the glamour and the wonder of cinema. This was one of my favourite museums of all.

The cinema museum inside the Mole

The people of Turin remind me of Milan - not surprising as they're only a couple of hours from each other - in that they're well dressed but casual and look like quite a few are well-to-do professionals (in the centre anyway). Further away from the center and we experienced some crazy driving on the roads as well as people literally parking their cars in the middle of the road! There's plenty to the culture, character and make up to this city.

Another footballing pilgramage - this time to the Biancaneri

Another thing I wanted to visit whilst here was one of the best and famous football teams in Europe - Juventus.

Turin has 2 teams; Juventus and Torino. Torino were massive in the old days, but they suffered a near identical disaster to the Man Utd Busby babes when their team went down on a plane in the alps and the club never recovered, whereas Juventus (derived from the Latin word for youth) overtook them and never looked back.

Juve have a proud history of success - with 32 league titles they well supported and are far ahead of all other Italian teams in terms of league titles. They've also had some of the best players in the world wear their famous black and white stripes (copied from Notts county no less), with my personal favourites being Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero.

So I was happy to cross another big team off my list when I visited as not only did I do a stadium tour but we visited their museum too. The whole stadium and museum are just a couple of years old as they knocked down the old stadium that was "too big" and had a bad atmosphere due to a running track and built a smaller purpose built stadium in its place. As a result, the stadium doesn't have the same wow factor as others - it has some big supports that are coloured in the Italian flag, but otherwise it's nowhere near as impressive as say, the san siro. Also it doesn't look big from outside as it almost merges into the ground, whereas most stadiums rise up like some sort of footballing cathedral.

Inside the Juventus stadium

The museum was fantastic though, way bigger than Milan's and there was so much to it. There were all sorts of things to see, learn and interact with plus an immersive experience of the way things are done at Juve. I doubt I'll see a better football museum - then again it is brand new!

Then it was onto the tour and I was surprised at the size of the group - about 30 of us of differing nationality. The old foundations of the Stade Delle Alpi can still be seen outside and give you an idea of how big it was compared to the new stadium, but inside things are neat, plush and well thought out.

There's a lot of simplicity in places, clearly they don't focus too much on luxury, but there are nice touches. Inside the stadium itself and I was impressed, not bowled over, but impressed nonetheless, it's only now a 41,000 capacity and therefore I thought it might be bigger considering the history of the club, but they fill out this stadium all the time and you get to hear soundclips of the match day atmosphere and that must be amazing to hear. Either way, all of these new surroundings are clearly working as they've won the title in each of the 3 years the stadium's been open!

Once again, I'd rather I visited to see a match but coming out of season I'm glad to at least tour the place and it further whets my appetite to visit the most famous football stadiums in the world (well, Europe).

So in all, Turin is city that has plenty to see and is often overlooked, but with plenty to offer, if you ever get a chance it's well worth a visit.

Piedmont part 2

As I write this it's 2 weeks until we get on a plane home to the UK, home, normality, friends and family.

Claire with Virginia, Davide and Corrado at the opening of a wine pub

Since my last post we've spent our time immersed into life here in northern Italy whilst looking after the kids throughout the week. We haven't just been sat around either, we've visited quaint towns, festivals, museums, planetariums, exhibitions, waterparks, opening of a wine pub, birthday parties to name but just a few. We've spent a lot of time at the pool, a lot of time replacing the words to songs with "bum" (Corrado's favourite pastime) and we've spent a lot of time eating amazing homecooked Italian meals. All the while we've both been sorting jobs for our return as well as doing what we can to stay fit -  although having pasta every day makes that harder!

The pool at grandma's (nonna's) house

We've learnt about local history, local customs, local languages (yes they speak their own language here in piedmont alongside Italian, but it's dying out) to which I can say "I'm full", "you're crazy" and "shut up" in Piedmontese - all the basics!

I love some of the quirky things here; like the casualness, like the attitudes between the north and the south, like when it threatens to rain you can hear cannons thundering in many directions, that shoot gas balls into the air to attempt to break up any hail in the clouds as hail can be damaging to the very precious grape vines that are abundant here. The friendliness from people in the town and neighbouring city has also been a great experience as it's made it feel like a delightful world you hear of but never actually see with your own eyes.

I've also fallen in love with the sweet wines here, having not previously been a fan of white wine, I can now say that moscato d'asti is a new firm favourite of mine. Plus there have been so many speciality liquors that I've tried that I couldn't begin to remember them all!

We've had some great times here and have also met some great people other than the family that have been present throughout - such as Evanne, the American au pair that's staying with Virginia's sister in Canale. We've had some great chats with her at the pool and over beers. Her mum came to visit for over a week at one point too and we also met the au pair Virginia has had twice before as she visited with her boyfriend, so there's been lots of new faces and stories shared.

Claire playing war with Corrado

We've learnt some great tricks along the way to keep the kids entertained and also to keep them from bouncing off the walls - especially Corrado! - which I feel is all great stuff to have in the bank for when we one day have kids (which I can say with certainty won't be yet!).

The pizza party

Davide hard at work with Gianpieri "supervising"

Last Saturday in particular was quite special because Davide (the father who is due to open his own pizzeria at some point over the next year) put on a pizza party for us and a whole host of guests. Everything was made from scratch and made in a wood fired oven they had out in the courtyard. The pizza party lasted all evening and in total he made nearly 50 pizzas with more than half being consumed by only just over 20 people - of which the neighbours came out in force for it.

Funnier still was when the neighbour Gianpieri (a lovely old man) was supervising Davide and giving advice - which was funny giving that Davide was an absolute maestro at pizza making and certainly didn't need help!

One he made in particular blew me away - salsicce e gorgonzola (sausage and gorgonzola) and I was able to say that once again, the best pizza I've ever had has once again been surpassed!!
Also amazing was Davide's knowledge of what I said was my previous favourite, I simply mentioned the pizzeria in Naples that's been operating since 1870 and appeared in a film and he said "ah pizzeria Di Michele" - a true master of pizza indeed!

The wine really flowed throughout the night, with Gianpieri gracing us with bottles of Barolo from 1970 & 1965, to which we felt truly honoured! (I think the '65 was on the turn though personally....) and eventually we ate so much pizza that I told Virginia I didn't want to see another pizza for months. Lo and behold though, for breakfast we were offered a portion of sweet pizza with nutella and pear and it was too irresistible to ignore so I was straight back on the wagon again before heading out for a really long run.... before coming home to lunch and more pizza! Ah well, only a few more weeks so as Corrado taught me "cesina frega!" (who cares).

Nearing the end of our great adventure

So with just a couple of weeks left, our thoughts are shifting more and more towards home and what lays in store for us and our future, but it's also seen me take the chance to reminisce about the last 5 or so months of travelling; all the amazing things we've done and places we've been and it's really put things in perspective and shown me how much this has been everything I wanted it to be.

Of course I've had conflicting feelings too - sometimes feeling guilty about being homesick and feeling like I'm just going back to live the same life as before - but upon contemplation and "figuring it out for myself" I see that I have changed throughout these crazy, non stop 5 months and that even if I may not change too much about the way I live my life I will have a new perspective on things, new motivation and more appreciation for what I've got.  And these things are priceless to a persons soul.

Life in Piedmont

The welcome wagon

View from Santo Stefano Roero

We arrived into Asti on the train to be picked up by Virginia - who's family we were to be staying with for the summer - and we were both nervous as this was a whole new experience entirely, even if we had got to know Virginia from email and Skype conversations.

All of the nerves were melted away as soon as we met her though and before we knew it we were at the grandparents house meeting more of the family: grandparents, aunties, cousins, nephews etc! The grandparents is a real open house where people come and go at any time, food offered constantly, pool available for everyone and we instantly got the vibe how close the family were. It was a surreal introduction as Claire and I looked at each other with a look as if to say 'this is amazing!'.

At the same time we got our first introductions to the two kids we would be looking after: Adelaide who is 10 and Corrado who's about to turn 6. Corrado gave us a glimpse of what was to come with his introduction as he was running around chasing his cousins by the pool completely naked! As I was to find out, that was typical Corrado.

Adelaide and I at the local folk festival

Adelaide speaks fantastic English and is great to get on with, she also has the touch of theatrics about her which can make things very entertaining.

A good way to keep me quiet... and Corrado!

As for Corrado, he understands quite a bit of what you say but he barely speaks English. He's obsessed by all things army and he's such a bundle of energy. I know I was a bit of a terror as a kid and as such I see I have a few similarities with him - which Claire said she could also see when we were pulling faces at each other and running around the house playing war.

The first few days were a bit of a whirlwind as Virginia was off work to show us around the area, in which time we visited local towns, old castles, art exhibitions and more. We loved every minute of it, but the few seconds we had to sit down each day were welcome as we were so tired from it all!

They really like to keep busy here, which is great as although the towns are quite small, there always seems to be something going on at one of them nearby. The place has a plethora of interesting sights to see and historical facts that seem to be overlooked by all but these proud Piedmontese. We've both learnt so much about Italy's history since being here and there's still so much more to learn such as details of the Savoy dynasty, to the world famous local Barolo wines.

As for looking after the kids, we started off mainly looking after Adelaide as Corrado still had a couple of weeks of school left. During the days we would visit places, do some sketches, play outside etc and have a great time before often (weather permitting) heading to the grandparents "Nonna Chia's" for the afternoon to lark about in the pool where there'd often be cousins around too.

Soon afterwards, Corrado became a more permanent fixture in our full days, which did up the ante - considering there's two of us, we were still challenged! But we've improved over time and things are a lot easier when the sun's out as your entertainment options increase dramatically.

On one of our first weekends we took the chance to visit nearby Turin, which I will talk about in a later blog post as it'll be the first of a few trips...

Getting back to "fitness base zero"

We both felt that our diet hadn't been the best on our travels as sometimes a combination of options and budget mean you don't eat as well as you should, however this was being put back in place here as every meal we were eating felt like a culinary delight that was also a lot healthier than we'd had before! Even though Virginia didn't feel she is a master chef by any means, we loved her recipes nonetheless - from the pasta's to the mozzarella in carriages to the homemade pizzas.

My own "preseason" training!

This was all really good as I felt eating better was one part of my plan to get fit again - these months on the road have left me feeling lethargic and sloth-like, so having time to run regularly on quiet country roads was just the incentive I needed to put my training plan into action. A few weeks in and I'm already more energetic and feeling better about myself, but I've got a long way to go before I feel I'm anywhere near my old race standard.

The last 5 weeks of our adventure

So in all, it's been a fantastic few weeks in northern Italy, with plenty of great memories, meals and drinks that I'll never forget, my favourite of all so far being strawberries from the next door neighbour soaked in moscato d'asti - I nearly slipped into a pleasure coma.

As I write this we have about 5 weeks left until we return to the UK and on the one hand we are making sure that we are making the most of our remaining time here and on the other hand we are also preparing ourselves for our return home, to a whole new chapter with no defined path.

It's a weird and contradictive feeling to both look forward to going home and realising I should be savouring every last moment until then, but then again that's a big lesson I've already learnt - realising how much I like the UK after all: yes, the old "grass isn't always greener on the other side" saying, but sometimes you have to experience how that grass feels on your bare feet to fully learn that lesson.

Even stranger that talking to Virginia and Davide - who both lived in London for a while - they experienced exactly the same emotions on their travels and by the time they returned to Italy, they really felt like they appreciated once again their way of life - something that for some people, people who have that urge to travel, cannot get unless they see what else is out there in this big wide world of ours with their own eyes first.

In the meantime, we've 5 more weeks of shenanigans with the kids, amazing Italian foods and stunning scenery to enjoy, so ciao for now!

Friends, food and football in Milan

The Duomo

Arriving into Milan was significant because not only were we meeting up with Claire's 2 best friends for the whole of our 5 day stay, but this was also the last stop on our travels before we headed to Santo Stefano Roero in Piedmont to be au pairs for the summer.

We arrived a few hours before Jess and Sophie so we scoped out the immediate vicinity and at the paninoteca a few doors down I had one of the best paninis of my life filled with bundles of salami and Tabasco sauce.

We'd both been looking forward to seeing them, but understandably Claire was beyond excited, so when the reunion happened my prediction that there'd be tears came true.

In the evening we headed straight for the center of Milan and to see the Duomo lit up, the famous galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle II shopping mall before heading for giant portions of pizza and wine. The rest of the night was spent back at the B&B on our balcony drinking far too much wine (well, me and Sophie anyway!). It was so great for us all to catch up and also so surreal to have such good friends with us in a new place.

We all decided that during our 5 day stay we would see the major sights of the city, but otherwise we'd be more than happy just to hang out - especially as this was a much needed holiday for Jess and Sophie.

The second day we headed over to castello sforza and stopped just in front if it when we saw there were a whole load of stalls selling speciality beers, wines, sangria and foods from around the globe - all of which were music to our ears. As well as this, just outside the castle is a great big fountain that became a regular stop for us during the stay as it was a great place to dip your feet, enjoy the cool spray and people watch in the 30+ degree heat.
We then headed into the castle and the park beyond it, before heading for more gelato - in fact Jess pretty much became addicted to the stuff and who could blame her!

On the way back, the girls bought cards from a stand so we could play at night over wine on the balcony - but once we got them out later that evening we realised they were not normal cards at all! The cards were only 40 in number and had some strange characters - turns out they are for a popular traditional Italian card game called 'scopa' - of which we have since learnt how to play and really enjoy. Determined to play cards regardless, we figured out a system to use the cards to play 'uno' and so it was that 'scuno' was born!!

We repeated this sequence of fountain, food, drinks, park again on one of the other days, this time having a picnic in the park whilst there was a race going on for runners and their dogs, to which I was very jealous:
a) not to be taking part
b) for not having a dog

It was such a great time as we really got to just hang out and enjoy each others company, with one of the days allowing for the girls to hang out and go shopping whilst I went on my own trip for the morning:

My pilgrimage to the San Siro

Not the prettiest outside but the San Siro is spectacular inside

So I planned one morning to head out on my own to see something I've always wanted to see since I was a kid. As a kid I grew up spending my Sundays watching Italian football on tv as it was on channel 4 and during that time I grew a fondness for both Milan teams. Now I was in Milan I had the chance to visit their stadium which is one of the most famous and impressive in the world - the San Siro.

Heading to it via a combination of metro and bus, I felt like a kid again as I was so excited to be going, something that brought back memories of my first ever football game which just happened to be at the old Wembley of all places. The best stadiums of today are the modern equivalent of the Colosseum - it's where all the action happens and where the eyes of the world are focused and I certainly want to visit as many of my favourite stadiums as possible as each one is unique.

Unfortunately the season had already finished so I couldn't go see a game which is always the best experience, but I still didn't want to pass up the chance for a tour of the stadium and museum.

Just a few of the many famous names that adorn the museum

The museum was smaller than I was expecting but did cover the things I'd expected such as all of the trophies won by the two teams and a walk back in time with all of the most famous players that have played for AC Milan and Inter Milan.

AC Milan changing room

Inter's changing room

Inside the stadium we visited the two teams changing rooms and whilst AC Milan's was plush (not as plush as southamptons I might add), I was really surprised at the contrast with Inter's; while AC had individual bucket seats, screens etc, Inter had just a basic bench and a tiny artwork on the wall as well as their badge. I really expected more but then that's supposed to be Inter's style.

The amazing inside of the San Siro

Then it was time to enter the stadium to the pitch itself and I was blown away by its size and how unique it is. I took a few moments to imagine a match going on and enjoyed the calm of the stadium (even if there were 20 other people on the tour and a team of workers setting the stadium up for a one direction concert).

Before I left I had to ask some Germans for an obligatory photo before leaving very, very happy and with a new resolution to visit more stadiums around Europe.

I returned to the center of the city to find the girls enjoying shopping before we headed for coffee & cream, paninis and more gelato. It was a great day for all!

End of one journey, start of another

A couple of days later we waved goodbye to our friends once again as we headed to the train station having had a great last few days of travelling. Milan was good to us and a great place to hang out in.

As we got on our train we not only headed away from Milan, but away from the travelling part of our journey as we were now off to the Piedmont region an hour away to be au pairs for the rest of the summer. We were ready to begin this new challenge as we were ready to be based in one place again for a period of time rather than a fleeting moment and we were excited about getting stuck into life in the Italian countryside with a family that were happy to take us in with welcome arms...

Discovering original bolognese in Bologna

This was the shortest train journey yet - just half an hour from Florence. Luckily Claire - so often the navigator throughout our travels - had found the way to the hotel by combination of bus and walking.

After the usual dumping of the bags, we headed in to town to have a look around and see if we could sample some bolognese from the region it comes from.

Bologna itself is a university town and has the oldest university in the world. The rest of the place is full of quaint piazzas and walkways under never ending porticoes.

Bolognese from Bologna!

We did sample bolognese both evenings we were there - but both times we didn't have with spaghetti as the traditional way is to have with tortellini, which is shorter, thicker and flat. When the dishes came, I was surprised that we didn't get more sauce as it was quite lacking - but yet again, the traditional way is to have with very little sauce. All of that aside though, both dishes were really, really good and I was very satisfied!

One of the many beautiful walkways that you can find in the heart of the city

On the second day we meandered around, getting a coffee here, a gelato there, before heading up the tower in the center. It was only a few Euros to enter and was much higher than we'd realised from the bottom!

View atop the tower of the city

View from the bottom - quite a climb!

There are two towers next to each other, one smaller and very unbalanced! But you can only enter the tall one anyway. Inside the climb can be daunting if you look down but the views of the city at the top were magnificent. As well as the views of the city you could see into the surrounding hills. After some time admiring the view we headed back down the tower, which was scarier than coming up!

So our stay in Bologna was short and relatively uneventful, yet it was a worthy inclusion in our travel itinerary as the architecture is so easy on the eyes.

Next we head by train to Milan for the last stop on the travel part of our journey before we head to Piedmont to au pair for the summer, but first in Milan we have sights to see and Claire's two best friends to hang out with!

Absorbing art and culture in Florence

Another nice train journey after an early start and we were in the heart of Florence.

The beautiful view of Florence and the ponte vecchio

From the second we stepped out of the station we could see some of the famous sights peeking over tall buildings, beckoning us in.
A short bus away and we were at our accommodation - a lovely little B&B where the host Leo gave us a lovely introduction as well as some great maps and advice about the city. As per the normal drill, after dumping our stuff in the room we were soon straight out the door to explore the city.

I've always known of Florence as a beautiful place to visit that's a haven for art historians due to it being the epicentre of the renaissance, but other than reading about it in the latest Dan Brown novel "inferno" I still didn't know much about it. I knew of the Duomo, the Ponte vecchio and the vasari corridor, but not much else.

On the first afternoon we visited all the major locations we knew of (not the vasari corridor of course as that's not open to the public) and were surprised that we could visit them all so easily in one day - we're clearly to uses to Rome and having too much to see!

During our 4 days here we went to most places at least twice and enjoyed the atmosphere at each of them.

The famous duomo

The Duomo is the stand out attraction of the city, standing tall above it and seeing glimpses of it's wonderfully decorated exterior draws you in for a closer look each time you see it. The Duomo - being a large church - is decorated as you would expect; beautiful stain glass windows, paintings on the walls etc. But the dome itself is covered inside with (insert name) depiction of heaven and hell and its a great sight - even if you do have to severely crick your neck to fully view it! You can pay to climb to the top of the Duomo, but for 8 euros we didn't feel it would be worthwhile.

The ponte vecchio bridge

Head down the road from the Duomo and you'll soon hit the banks of the Arno river, where you'll find the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is full of high price jewellery shops. The bridge and the views of the river are just as I'd imagined - beautiful.

Over the bridge and up a hill is piazza Michaelangelo; a large square that overlooks the whole city and offers the most incredible panoramic views of not just the city, but the surrounding hills and countryside as well. We stood here admiring the view for quite some time - especially as there's an absence of hawkers up there to hassle you so you can relax that little bit more.

As I mentioned, this place is for art buffs - of which I'm firmly NOT a part of - but regardless of this fact to come here and not visit Michaelangelo's David would be seen as almost criminal. He is at the gallery accademia and it's closed on Mondays so we decided eventually to visit on Sunday and buy a ticket that allowed us to return at a set time to enter via the advance ticket line - rather than queue down the street for what must be well over an hour. For 4 extra euros I think that's worth it!

Claire's sneaky photo of David - stupid you can't take photos freely!

The statue itself is very impressive, the level of detail on him is incredible - even if we did both think his hands and feet were disproportionately large! We both couldn't help feel that this particular sight was a bit lost on us though as we don't fully appreciate it, especially as neither of us had known its history or bothered to research it, but we did try to appreciate it while we were there.

What was annoying was that you couldn't take any photos - even without flash - which once we saw the price of the souvenirs in the shop, we realised that it was surely to make more money, needless to say I wasn't impressed given the price we had paid to get in to see one statue!

One day we headed to a nearby park for a run in the sun - which was great as it was also a big family festival in amongst it and as I ran through I could see so much going on from food markets, to jousting, to boxing rings! It felt good to at least burn off some of the carbs we've been gorging on since being here.

In amongst our days wondering around piazzas, enjoying litre portions of wine and beer and yet more amazing gelato, we discovered a little Mexican place called Ebys that became a firm favourite with 4 euro burritos that were huge and delicious - so much so that we returned on our last day.

We left having really enjoyed our time in this pretty city. Whilst it wasn't the best Italy has shown me, it certainly had a lot of charm that wasn't lost on us.

Next up - the home of bolognese sauce in Bologna!

Naples, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius

We arrived from Rome by train in a carriage with booths - first time either of us have travelled in a booth and Claire said Harry potter travelling to Hogwarts instantly sprang to mind.

Naples

Our hotel was a stones throw from the train station, so we left our bags to explore the city before check in. We headed straight towards the water and hit docks first. The sight of docks and everything around it instantly reminded me of Southampton (where I was born and bred) and we walked until we got to one of the castles that adorn the water here - castel nuovo. We couldn't go in as it was a university's graduation ceremony day there so we just headed central into town before heading back to the hotel. In that time we first wandered about, we both felt a little uneasy here; we both felt like we'd received a few unpleasant glances and overall the contrast in the demeanour of people having come from Rome was clear to see.

Even before we came, I'd always heard Naples had a bit of a reputation for crime and being a little rough around the edges in general, but having spent the week there I certainly saw that reputation come to light and then some! In our first night I popped down to reception to find a host of people consoling a tour guide who was distraught - I could tell straight away she'd been robbed and I daren't tell Claire in case she freaked out. The next day we overheard her conversations though and heard it happened just a couple of streets away and that it was commonplace here where they prey on tourists - which put us on edge. Later in the week, the restaurant next to our hotel had a mass of people consoling another girl - clearly it had happened again and this time even closer to us.

I don't like to write that we felt like we weren't safe outside for most of the week but I'd be lying if I said otherwise. As a result we felt we didn't want to explore the city in it's entirety, just a couple of places and we also decided not to go out in the dark (after 9pm).

Other than our day trips, we usually only left the hotel for pizza - the thing that Naples is famous for doing best. Claire found a place nearby that was famous for doing the best margherita and was the setting for a scene in the film that inspired her travel bug 'eat, pray, love'.

We headed to that place in particular - called pizzeria da Michele - expecting to wait as apparently people often queue for up to 2 hours to get a table, but when we arrived (around 6) we luckily only waited 5 minutes. The place had nostalgia all over it's walls and it'd been making pizza since 1870 - a long time to perfect the art! What's more the menu only consist of two items: pizza margherita and pizza marina.

We sat next to photos on the wall of the staff with Julia Roberts and another with Maradona (who is a god to people here) and all these things meant that as I ordered, I suddenly realised I had never in my life been so excited to try a pizza! When it came it was heaven. No anti climax whatsoever. To describe it would do it injustice, but take my word for it - I've had many a pizza and a lot of very good ones, but although this was just margherita, this was the best I'd ever had. I came back to Italy in hope that one bit of food would give me that rare feeling that makes you actually go on thinking about the food even after you've eaten it and I was so glad I found it.

We went to a couple more places for fantastic pizza during our time here - see this piece from Claire's blog - but for me, this place was hands down the best. We went back again one night and I was every bit as satisfied.

The only other thing we did in Naples itself was visit the archeological museum that houses a vast amount of artefacts from Pompeii. We both enjoyed the visit there as they have mosaics, ornaments, statues, household objects etc. from Pompeii that give you a real insight as to how life was there before the tragedy. There was also a particular part that showed us they had a bit of a fixation with genitalia which was certainly interesting to see.. and giggle at!

Pompeii

On our first ever wedding anniversary we decided to visit Pompeii. We both love ancient sites and to visit one where such a unique tragedy occurred had long been on our wish list.
We got off the train at Pompeii Scavi and as we queued for tickets we could see hundreds of grey things filling the air and we were slightly confused.... Ash wasn't still falling right?! It wasn't and it was just falling from a tree but the illusion added to the atmosphere.

Once through the gate and up the hill, you're immediately surrounded by the remains that instantly give you an idea of what life back then. You've ruined temples, rows and rows of houses, a forum, bakeries, public baths etc.

Unlike other ruins, it feels a lot more obvious what things used to look like here, rather than seeing just a room and being told what it was for. For example - the bakeries were obvious as the gardens still had the instruments that made the bread, as well as hole in the wall ovens. All of this adds to the "frozen in time" effect that this place is famous for (well, not frozen but you get my point!).

There are quite a few bodies that still remain on the site and the detail you can see on them is incredible: from their facial expressions, to their clothes, even down to their toenails. Staring at the bodies didn't feel morbid - it just felt fascinating to see this phenomenon and to know that you can see what really happened all that time ago. It really is a unique thing to see with your own eyes.

What we didn't know was that when the tragedy struck, the place was only just recovering from an earthquake that caused devastation a few years earlier. You could see evidence of this where some parts of houses were in the process of being replastered - so on one hand that's very unlucky for them, but these days we would've seen the quake as a precursor to the eruption!

This place was so much bigger than we'd realised and we ended up spending hours strolling the ruined streets with our imaginations flowing. By the end of the day we'd exhausted our legs on the cobblestone streets and headed for home and celebratory prosecco satisfied at a real glance through history.

Mount Vesuvius

People often do this and Pompeii in a day and whilst we decided not to (to stretch out our week), I can certainly see why people do as if you're ready to do some proper walking then you can.

You get off at the same station (Pompeii Scavi) as you do for Pompeii, get a bumpy couple of buses and then walk the last part to the crater. The day we visited was cloudy atop the mountain which meant being in the clouds themselves and therefore very chilly!

The gases still coming out of a small hole in the mountain

I found the crater itself great, but not the awe inspiring sight I thought it might be. The view right inside looked just like a hillside - there was even a few bushes and trees?! The top of the crater was just what you expected, but the inside was a real reminder that its been over 60 years since the last eruption.

That said, there was an area of rock where you could see natural gases still spewing out - at least a reminder that it is still bubbling down there. In fact we heard that scientists believe another eruption may be due in the next 20 years - so for now it really is acting as a sleeping giant. Funny that as on the way up and down the mountain we saw quite a few 60's style hotels - why build them there when the volcano is still active? It's like they haven't heard of Pompeii or anything...

I enjoyed the visit to the crater, mainly just the little things that remind you of the destructive power that lingers below and at some point will surely arise again.

The end of the week in Naples

As mentioned, we didn't exactly love Naples due to the vibes we were getting and the crimes we'd heard happening around us, but we did venture out on one of the last days to visit the museum which houses a lot of Pompeiian artefacts - and we both enjoyed learning more about it. We were particularly impressed at the mosaics that adorned their houses as some were so intricate that they were nothing short of stunning.

Art from the walls of a Pompeiian house

Other than that though, we took the chance to have a couple of days to recharge in the hotel - only popping out for pizza or local confectionery called "sfogliatelle" which I didn't mind but Claire wasn't keen on.

We left Naples knowing that even in a country like Italy that we've always loved visiting, you can't like every place you visit. Naples is at least ticked off the list though! Next stop - Florence!

When in Rome...

It had been 2.5 months in south east Asia and we had finally come back west to spend the whole summer in Italy. We arrived as the sun was setting on the eternal city and still had to find our accommodation: a spare room in an apartment of a local who we found on the website "air bnb". Luckily we had been given good instructions and it was only 10 minutes ride away from the main station termini. It was nice to stay in a home and our host made us feel instantly welcome, plus she had a gorgeous Persian cat who was also very pleased to make our acquaintance!

Me, Claire, Rome and the Trevi fountain - a history

The beautiful Trevi fountain

This is our 3rd time in Rome, having fallen in love with it the first time round and to understand why it's so special to us I'll need to digress... We got engaged at the trevi fountain on the first day of our first trip to Rome, where despite being 11pm it was just as busy as ever and to this day I still don't know how I managed to pluck up the courage to pop the question in front of hundreds of people.

I had made Claire take part in the tradition of the fountain where you throw coins over your shoulder into the fountain - throw 1 coin and you guarantee your return to Rome, throw 2 and you'll find a new love, throw 3 and you'll guarantee marriage. I gave her 3 coins, told her to close her eyes and throw them, when she opened her eyes again I was there on one knee with a ring on display. I still remember all the details despite the cheeky 2 shot of booze I'd done minutes before to build my dutch courage. As I got on one knee and got the ring from my pocket, I could hear the usually bustling location take a noticeable drop in terms of noise level and my cheeks felt like they were burning with embarrassment and nerves. Her first words after the question were "are you joking?!", to which I replied "do I look like I'm joking?!!!", but she said yes and from there on out the trevi fountain was forever entwined in the fabric of our lives.

The 3rd visit

When we've visited previously, we'd always only come for just a couple of days whereas this time we had a whole week. We'd been looking forward to our return so much already but the cherry on top was knowing that one of our friends was also due to be there at the same time and we were both glad of another English speaker to talk to, let alone a friend from back home!
The first day we set off to amble around, knowing the place quite well by now due to previous visits. We knew that of you head in the right directions you can see many famous sights just by casually walking by.

The ancient Roman forum

The Colosseum from the side - the part everyone usually sees first is having a face lift right now!

In that day we revisited the Colosseum, the Roman forum, the trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, piazza navona, the pantheon and villa Borghese. Just seeing all these places again stirred up a host of memories and emotions in the both of us - not least romance due to my proposal here nearly exactly 4 years ago - but mixed into those emotions was the feeling that although we've seen these sights countless times already, they never fail to leave us awestruck at their beauty, their majesty and at the history that lay behind each one of them. Safe to say that as we sat and observed our surroundings, we held each other's hand that little bit tighter.

Get off me!! (Fountain at piazza Navona)

In the evening we'd arranged to meet our friend Chloe - who had just landed - at a bar overlooking the Colosseum before heading to dinner at a place by the pantheon that had tempted us back by earlier promising us a free glass of prosecco. We caught up over prosecco, wine and pasta and experienced that phenomenon where an evening can skip by in a heartbeat due to having such a good time. The evening was very nearly soured for me because as we got the underground metro on the way home I was very nearly pickpocketed; in a space where you often feel a little bump against another person I was off guard due to the wine but I felt something as I was boarding the train and looked down to see a small hand creeping into my pocket. I grabbed it and gave a it a crush before turning around and seeing it was just a little girl trying to pickpocket me, I left it there along with some choice words she wouldn't have understood, but if it hadn't been a little girl when I turned around I don't like to think what my reaction would've been.

The next day we met up with Chloe again and decided to head to the Vatican - I warned her and Claire that being Sunday before 12pm it was going to be busy due to him giving his weekly address to the masses but we decided it would be worth seeing so headed with the crowds (being very alert on the metro this time!). Claire and I had been at this time on a Sunday on our first visit but we didn't realise what was going on during our first visit 4 years earlier and it was only when we were at the very top of St. Peter's that we saw a modest crowd and realised what was going on. This time was different however, the new pope "Papa Francesco" was clearly more of a crowd puller and the whole of St. Peter's square was packed to the rafters.

As we observed, we couldn't obviously understand what was being said but we fed off the great energy and feeling that was in the air. Being from Argentina, this pope draws a lot of South Americans here and they were here to pay homage to him in their numbers.Afterwards we all strolled along the Tiber chatting the day away before leaving Chloe at capitolini to discover Rome in her own way.

A day after we arrived, we saw that more people we knew - my friend Dave and his fiancee Sarah - were also in Rome! So strange that everyone seemed to be converging on this beautiful place. We managed to catch Dave and Sarah for a coffee just before they headed to the airport - as they had obviously been busy seeing all the sights - and it was great to see them again, especially as Claire and I hadn't had much in the form of company other than each other over the last few months.

Getting ready to get match fit again

One thing we did during our time was we bought new running gear. We'd shed our old gear when we hit the road in Vietnam but we felt we couldn't fight the urge to run any longer - and knowing we would be living in one place soon means that we should have the chance to run more often. It was actually quite hard to find gear for a reasonable price in Rome - basically unless you can get out of the city to an outlet, you're looking at much higher prices - but we did manage it eventually.

There was a park near where we were staying and we went for morning runs there on two of the days, which was a liberating feeling to be back out running again. The park was full of fellow fitness fanatics - most in the senior category - and I could feel the spark of enjoying running being reignited once more. I doubt I'll ever again go so long without having fitness in my life - barring injury of course.

The end of the week

After our 2nd day of running we met Chloe for her last day in Rome and headed to villa borghese for a picnic. We feasted on salad and deli meats we bought at a Carrefour, as well as downing wine. The day went in instant as we were having so much fun and before we knew it we were saying goodbye again. Afterwards we went for an early dinner and more wine before heading back to collapse on the bed, with Claire feeling the effects of wine a bit more than me!

One thing I've felt here is a calming sense of familiarity. I left wanting to absorb countless new things and I've had that in abundance, yet being in familiar Rome and even just the comfort of Europe was a feeling I wasn't expecting to encounter. Having spent the previous months in Asia, being here in a place we long for whenever we aren't here felt like being in a dream. The feeling I get here is such a sense of happiness, a feeling that arises in me from so many methods here: from sauntering down the beautiful streets, feeling the effects of the local wine, staring in bewilderment at a piece of history or even just from incredible gelato.

On our penultimate day however, we decided to do something new - we'd seen on a tv show once a beautiful villa just outside Rome called Villa d'Este which had stunning gardens and fountains, so we decided to check it out. All I can say is, if like us you've seen all of Rome, then you MUST go to this villa! About an hour away by train (only about 5 euros each I must add) in the picturesque village of Tivoli, you are suddenly far from the madding crowd and in a hillside village bursting with charm. The villa is the main attraction here, even though we hadn't heard of it much before.

The breathtakingly beautiful fountain at Villa d'Este

The villa itself is a walk through history of the Renaissance walls and fashions of the eras, but when you step into the garden out back you see what you're here for. You're suddenly catapulted into something that looks like it belongs in Alice in wonderland as fountains emerge from every corner and flowers and greenery adorn everything but the pathways.

Row of fountains - all different animal faces

For over half an hour we walked around admiring before coming to the centrepiece - a giant fountain surrounded by long mirrored ponds pumping out more water than a waterfall. If the trevi fountain wasn't so important to us it might have competition as the best fountain we've ever seen but either way this certainly takes a firm second place!

Cornetti - When you can have this for breakfast why have anything else?

On our last day we repeated what we'd done so many times before to ensure we left having lived the way we always dream about when visiting: got a cappuccino and cornetti in the morning, sauntered around more world famous sights, got some lunch, saw more sights, got gelato, got some dinner, had wine and returned home exhausted.

The drama wasn't quite over as we woke up ready to get on a 7:25am train to Naples and thought we should leave early in case of a delay. Upon leaving we thought we might get a coffee and cornetti downstairs and although it should've been open it wasn't. As we saw that, our tram approached so we dashed and just made it. On the tram we thought we would "triple check" our pre-booked train tickets and good thing we did - we were headed for the wrong station! Adrenaline and panic took over at 6:30am so we quickly regrouped, ran to the metro and got to the correct station in time and even had just enough time to get a cornetti the other side before boarding our train - I can't help but feel either fate or karma played a part in the coffee place being closed!

We left not quite believing it had been a week here, time flies when you're having fun and here the speed is cranked up several notches in that respect. To us this is our favourite city and the most romantic in the world and the fact that I now write this in Naples exhausted beyond belief should tell you that I think I've just had one of the best weeks in my entire life.
Now for Naples, exploring Pompeii, climbing mount Vesuvius, eating the supposedly best pizza in the world and the small matter of our first wedding anniversary! I bet you're exhausted just reading this...