Sleeping under the stars

My flight across the 15,000 km between Perth and London was once again surprisingly easy. This is the second time I have done the world’s longest flight and although 17 hours seems a long time to be sitting in a flying metal machine, it goes by oh so quickly. I much prefer it to via Dubai where you get off, walk around for a few hours, and then it takes forever to board again. Boarding is super quick on the gorgeous Dreamliner as there are far fewer passengers on board than the A380. The humidity levels are set to how many passengers are on board and the windows are really cool. You can see out until the seatbelt sign goes off and then they are adjustable from light to dark just by pushing a button.

I arrived in to Heathrow 4.20am early and caught a train and then a cab to Goodge Street. I stayed there on my last trip and it is a great location and super comfortable. A quick shower and I climbed in to bed for a couple of hours and slept soundly. Booking a hotel room, the night before, was the most sensible thing I have done in a long time and a shower and short sleep really set me up for what was going to be a super busy time.

I had brought a close friend’s passport with me as she is studying in London and she needed it for a US study tour. I did wonder what they might think if they searched my luggage and found a passport that wasn’t mine, but all good, the passport arrived safe. Had planned a nice lunch in London (cause students are always poor). Carol was in London on sabbatical after a fabulous couple of weeks in Iceland. It was so nice to see her as had missed our restorative tea. We emerged in to the most amazing weather. I think London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world when the sun comes out – almost like she has her party dress on and is glistening as she twirls. Well this trip the party dress and been changed for the most amazing ball gown as the city looked the most brilliant that I think is possible. The sun was pouring down as we headed off to the lovely restaurant at The Tate. A gorgeous Sunday lunch, a stroll through spectacular sunshine, and fantastic company made it a totally fabulous day.

After a great trip back from Europe yesterday, what a way to start today. Joining the London rush was a bit frenetic but the views were worth every moment. Lovely breakfast with a friend to finish off what has been a great trip. It was a little odd having ones handbag scanned to enter a restaurant but when you get up there it is perfectly understandable. London reminded me of the kids train sets when they were little. I could have sat for hours and hours but I have a plane to catch !

My first time also in Bologna and what a lovely time I have had. The first time on my Italian soiree that I have only heard Italian voices. Most people seemed to be locals or holidaying Italians. The two towers, leaning Asinelli and Garisenda, are so distinctive and I used them as my landmark so I didn’t get lost. Bologna is quite small and lovely to walk around as the whole city is one covered walkway promenade. The ever helpful Wikipedia tells me that the elegant porticoes cover a distance of 38 kilometres in the city’s historical centre and I think I have walked all of them in the last couple of days. It has been so lovely to have a rest from cobblestones and uneven flags and instead be able to promenade (well stroll) along the oh so even surfaces. Of course the porticoes also means you can be spared the vicious Italian sun. I have so enjoyed my time. I stayed right in the historic centre of Bologna and the medieval defensive towers and style of architecture reminded me of beautiful Siena. I walked from Porta Saragozza (gate of the ancient wall) for hours and hours. There was something sedately civilised about Bologna and oh my goodness the food.

The bridge is Ljubljana, and the two canales – one of course overrun by tourists, the other exquisitely quiet. Left gorgeous Ljubljana and headed south again. The Flix buses have been consistently late but the backpackers don’t care as most I chatted to have nowhere to be. I have met a few lovely grey haired backpackers and have been entertained by their experiences. Many have been a bit shell shocked by their first European soiree but how cool that they have avoided the Trafalgar tours and just gone off on buses to explore Eastern Europe.

The bus between Ljubljana and Trieste is lovely and cool but I wouldn’t want to stop on it for much longer than the hour and a half it takes. The bus was going all the way to Venezia Santa Lucia but I don’t think I could have managed the extra few hours in a smelly teenage bedroom – teenage boys feet were well and truly everywhere.

I wasn’t in a hurry to get to Bologna so just had little detours all day. I spent a few hours wandering the streets of Trieste. This trip was my first time there and what a totally gorgeous place it is. There was barely a soul on the street and it was almost like a combination of the Amalfi and Venezia without the hordes of tourists. The population is only a bit over 200,000 and it superbly reflects its important strategic position. These Italian, Slavic, Croatian and Germanic influenced cities and towns are just so beautiful and seem to bring together the best bits of each. The Canal Grande was just beautiful and I had it completely to myself. The history of this area is so very brutal but it now seems to  have an inner peace. The seafront and Piazza Unita d’Italia were stunning and I can’t wait to return to explore this entire region.

I stopped off for a loo stop and gelato lunch in Venezia San Lucia just because I could. The Intercity train arrived in to Mestre but it was an easy ten minutes across the bridge to the hordes of tourists. I sat on the Grande Canale and stuffed limone gelato in my mouth – my daily lunch. A quick trip back to Mestre and jumped on my next train to Bologna. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

I am hardly left speechless but this exquisitely beautiful tiny city would have to be one of the most gorgeous places I have ever visited. I was sitting on the edge of a wall outside the university and a lovely young local medical student gave me a history lesson. Alex told me that the people here are incredibly friendly and I don’t think I have ever visited anywhere friendlier. Ljubljana was originally a Roman antiquarian city called Emona. Many of the beautiful buildings reflect the Habsburg rule. There was a massive earthquake here in the late 1890s (or perhaps a dragon attack) and many buildings were destroyed. It reminds me a little bit of a more beautiful Vienna or Salzburg (if that is possible) but guess that is not that far up the road. There are also many beautiful Venetian buildings but then that is just down the road. The symbol of the city is the Ljubljana Dragon and there are dragons everywhere and the bridges that line the Gruber Canal are just stunning. It is still cheap so guess that is what attracts all of the young people.

I went up on the funicular to Ljubljana Castle and was again convinced I could see flying dragons. I did expect to see Daenerys appear at any moment. The city is full of beautiful bridges: The Dragon, Butchers, Triple, Fish, Cobblers, Trnovo and Hradecky. It is quite easy to walk around the whole city in a couple of hours. After last nights rain, it was a bit overcast this morning but there was a basketball and tennis carnival on in the main square so there were lots of young people around. It does feel like an incredibly young city, but then as my young history teacher told me, it has one of the best universities in Europe, especially for medicine, and of the 200,000 population, almost a third are bike riding students.

I do love a good hotel and the Hotel Cubo has to be one of the loveliest I have ever stayed in. None of the dry toast, cheese and boiled eggs for breakfast here. The food is amazing. By far the best Eggs Benedict that I have ever eaten with crispy prosciutto. The service is fantastic, the coffee lovely and the comfiest bed ever.   if I was a beer drinker I could just sit here sipping out of the ‘free’ mini bar all day staring at the beautiful buildings and the dragons that would be definitely out there if I emptied the mini bar. I will definitely be back as the stunning Lake Bled is on the list for next time. Car hire is incredibly cheap and the lack of traffic means even I could take to the other side of the road.

I am highly superstitious when it comes to Roma so went back and threw three coins in a fountain. The first, of course, is the most important – to ensure I return. I threw the other two to make triple sure I return, not for love and not for marriage. I should have just thrown one, but then thought I wasn’t prepared to risk my luck.

I am still thinking about the lovely dinner I had at Lucifer last night. The owner could have been an older brother of my lovely builder Dan. The ham was the most beautiful I have ever eaten as you took a bite and it just melted, and the service was wonderful. My wine bill was crossed out at the end of the night by the owner – his treat – but guess it is worth the wine for the great reviews (which I will do). Of course, I left a healthy tip anyway cause the service was brilliant.

Yesterday’s train travel was fabulous but a long day. I left Roma at 9.50 am on the super fast Frecciarossa. The speed hardly moved under 280km an hour the whole way. It was just lovely to sit in the air-conditioned carriage. About three and a half hours later I got off in Venezia Mestre. The time went so quick as the Wi-Fi is super-fast so caught up on some editorial work. From Mestre to Trieste on the border took just over two hours. Trieste is so beautiful. It was my first time there so dropped the bag for a euro and had a wander. It sits on the most beautiful bay and has both a medieval old city and a neoclassical Austrian quarter.

The bus to Ljubljana was filled with twenty year old backpackers. It is still a slightly tricky place to get to. There is a new train service but it only runs at very odd times. The bus took about an hour and a half but we crossed the border into Slovenia quite quickly and the scenery was just beautiful. There are lots of trees, so very green, and every now and then a Habsburg spire just appears out of the greenery. Slovenia is only tiny, and it was clear that it is very sparsely populated. We arrived in to Ljubljana late afternoon and it was a super easy walk to one of the nicest hotels I have ever slept in. Dragons are everywhere in this gorgeous tiny city. I think I must have had one too many of the wonderfully cheap cocktails as there was an almighty storm when I went to bed. I have beautiful buildings outside my window and just before I closed my eyes I was convinced I saw a great roaring dragon with fire coming from his mouth – hmmm more likely just the shadows and lightning but much more exciting to think about dragons.

I have settled in to a lovely eating pattern. Rocket fuel coffee for breakfast with cheese and nuts, gelato for lunch, and the most fabulous Italian food for dinner. Walking 20km a day should be making me fit but the lovely big cone of gelato that I have each day is replacing the kilojoules. I do find Trip Advisor so fantastic for dinner suggestions and have never found a disappointing eatery with a good review. Last night in Naples it was the fantastic bruschetta al pomodoro and the best carbonara I have ever eaten at Trattoria Don Vincenzo.  The night before it was fantastic pizza on the street. Tonight, I have had the loveliest dinner in Roma at Cantina Lucifero. I wouldn’t ordinarily eat a big plate of prosciutto di parma but it was amazing. The pasta was also sublime and the wonderful waitress picked the most perfect wine. I am now sitting with a cocktail on the roof of Hotel Campo Di Fiori on the most magical evening with Roma below me. I am looking for Ed and Andrea cause I can hear the most exquisite version of Perfect below – I keep pinching myself how lucky I really am. I am definitely on holidays.

Going from kick ass Napoli to the Amalfi is the oddest contrast. Napoli, a big agro city that is apparently one of the most continuously inhabited places in the world and the Amalfi, a place inhabited by loud Americans. There is no doubt that the Amalfi deserves its UNESCO World Heritage status. The 40 km Strada Statale 163 would have to be one of the worst and best drives in the world. Seriously stunning scenery but oh dear the winding road and sheer drop. Every turn was like a film set. Some of the most stunningly beautiful coastline I have ever seen. Going continuously from gasping in awe at the scenery to gasping cause I thought I was going to die. The terraces filled with lemon trees line the road, but I just kept wondering how many of these mad drivers have drunk litres of limoncello before taking to the wheel. Positano was filled with holidaying Brits and Amalfi full of very loud Americans. I stuck my air pods in my ears and had a lovely day sunning myself in the wonderful Mediterranean sun listening to the joyous book, the Bay of Noon (thanks Nick for the fabulous suggestion).

I can’t find the Circumvesuvian amongst the great train rides of the world but it should be.   If you google the Circumvesuvian train you will read all sorts of warnings about the dangers of travel with the locals. I have decided that the Napoli stories are to make the English and Americans spend more money. Now it is really clear that Napoli does not have the elegance of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Roma. It is more like a really pissed off, gritty, angry older brother but OMG I love it. Roma was warm but Napoli is on fire. Oh it is so hot.

The streets are grotty, the buildings crumbling, but the kids playing soccer in Piazza Dante are fabulous and I have never seen so many young children (little kids) screaming around on motor bikes.  Everyone rides straight up the middle of the footpath and if you don’t move you get run over.

The Circumvesuvian is a graffiti lovers canvas. It reminded me a bit of the trains we used to ride on as kids except it looked like it could fall apart at any minute. It was hot as hell, hard to get a seat, full of every dodgy character in the world, but the people watching was fantastic. I traveled to Pompeii and was quite disappointed to leave the train. Probably the best two euro of entertainment I have ever had. The train rattled along at a million miles an hour and at every stop more and more people got on. The diversity was fabulously entertaining. I left the train at Pompeii and thought I might just pass out in the heat. I kept looking up at Vesuvius as I was convinced that the 400 degree tephra was on its way down the mountain as the heat was so bad. Vesuvias just sat there like a bit of a non-descript green, and not that big hill. Once I slurped my way through a large limone granita I decided the heat only added to the atmosphere. It was just awesome. I had to keep reminding myself that the city was destroyed in AD 79. Obviously sitting under 25 metres of tephra is good for a city (definitely not its inhabitants) as it really looked like they had just packed up for summer holidays. The bread was a bit burnt but the frescoes on the wall looked like they had just been painted. I was surprised how huge it is and I spent hours strolling the beautiful roads.

So my Napoli adventure begins. A fantastic but crazy driving cab ride to Termini. My great cabbie has a brother in Princes Hill not far from Al. I love cabbies all over the world and this one was no different. Whining about the heat, the motor bikes, the tourists and Trump. Must admit I did think it was his mission to kill a few motor cycling annoyances and I did cover my eyes a few times. The cool train to Napoli was just so lovely. I did catch up on some work because those trains move so damn fast it is hard to see anything out the window. Since the days of the Godfather, I have had it in my head that Napoli is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Of course I googled – will I get murdered in Naples? I figure I survived the murder capital of Canada, so maybe I would just survive Napoli murder dudes. Climbed off the train and had read so much about dodgy cab drivers I decided to brave the equally dodgy trains full of murderous pick pockets. So my crime lord fantasies were destroyed as I scanned the carriages. They all looked like pretty ordinary commuters. I popped up at Dante station after my 1 euro 10 train ride to the most fabulously gritty piazza. The hotel that I had booked, Santa Chiara,  had sent me directions and it was a great 10 minute walk along the most uneven paved streets. I quickly decided I was unlikely to be murdered in the streets but was likely to have an old lady fall and break my hip on the oh so uneven paving stones or get hit by an eight year old mentally riding a motor cycle at great speed down the middle of the footpath.

Thank god I had left my suitcase in England as I wouldn’t have wanted to walk those streets dragging a swish case. Arrived at a set of massive wooden doors. Standing in a gritty street and scratching my head trying to figure out how I would break down the massive wooden doors that looked like they were from the film set of Game of Thrones. A lovely Italian woman came to my rescue and punched in a code and I entered through a door built for medieval marauders. Inside was a wonderful reprieve and up a tiny lift to the most gorgeous hotel. I was desperate for a shower but the very lovely Gennaro wanted to talk all about Lygon Street. It was clear he was so well read. I assumed he had been to Australia but no, just a massive fan of Underbelly. He assured me that I was much more likely to get murdered by Alphonse Gangitano (except he is dead) than get murdered in Napoli.