ITALY- PART 2 (AND MALTA)

Our arrival in Rome was beautiful. Hot. Very hot, but beautiful. Blue skies and sunshine welcomed us to the historic capital. We settled into our campsite outside of Rome and cooled off in the pool after lunch. That afternoon we caught the metro, that like the city its itself- is ancient, and walked to the Spanish steps. Unfortunately due to poor timing, much of Rome was under restoration. To our disappointment the restoration included most of the main sights including the fountain at the Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain and even the Colosseum.  However, Rome is filled with so many stunning monuments that there was still so much to see. We jumped on a free tour that night and were guided around the city wandering through churches, marveling at architectural masterpieces and even learnt inside theories into the creation of the unbelievable Patheon dome. Our tour ended just after eight and the two and a half hour walk left us starving, so we found a cute little restaurant close by and dug into some pasta before following it with delicious gelato from the famous San Crispino, a favourite amongst the locals.

The following morning we woke bright and early and headed into the city toward the Vatican in an attempt to beat the horrendous crowds.  We climbed to the top of St Peters Basilica and admired the view of Rome and then slowly made our way through the cathedral gazing at the incredible art and intricate features. Although I have been to Rome once before, as a fifteen-year-old, most of the sights were lost on me, so it was great to return with more appreciation for the finer details. Once we immerged an hour or so later, we couldn’t believe the enormous line that had filled St Peters square, and were relieved that our timing had been perfect.  We walked back through the city to Lango Argentina, the ruins that now house an unofficial cat sanctuary, although due to the heat the cats were no where to be seen, hiding in the cool of the shadows. We walked past the Mouth of Truth before continuing through the Roman Forum towards the Colosseum. We admired the view, at least of the side without scaffolding and moved on to enjoy at late lunch at a stunning osteria in the city where I ate one of the most delicious gnocchi dish of my life- and it wasn’t even my usual gnocchi quattro fromaggi! Unable to handle the incredible heat any longer, we headed back to our campsite for a swim, dinner and enjoyed sangria at the bar while socializing with some other young campers. The following day we had good intentions of heading into the city for more sight seeing, but the heat had become too much that we settled for laying by the pool and relaxing instead. That night we watched the world cup in the campsite bar making friends with two Australian couples who we enjoyed dinner with.

The following day we decided to head into Rome again, we walked around the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, winding through back streets. Another exceptionally hot day meant we didn’t last in the city long heading back to the campsite at lunchtime. We drove to a skatepark for the afternoon where Matt skated while I read. We headed back for another swim in the pool before joining all of the young tourists at the bar for a drink and to watch the soccer.  The campsite had a hostel feel, so it was nice to interact with some young people.

 

The next morning I woke, with a pounding head from a little too much wine, and we packed up and started our journey to Naples. We drove for hours through winding roads on cliff sides before arriving at our campsite in Sorrento, a mere hour from Naples city. The following day we journeyed into Naples on the train from Sorrento, we walked the tight cobbled streets and ate incredible three-euro traditional margarita pizza. We decided to stay another night in the incredible campsite with views over Naples bay, so the next day we visited Pompeii and wandered around in awe of the remarkable ruins that survived Mt. Vesuvius’ power. That evening we watched as the German soccer team thrashed Brazil in a campsite filled with German tourists, let just say the atmosphere was euphoric.

Our next day was spent driving the incredible Amalfi Coast, winding on the terrifying road, that boasts some of the most astonishing views in Italy with citrus and fig trees and brightly coloured flowers perched on the cliffs between little towns. We drove almost all day, stopping only for lunch, heading towards Reggio Calabria in the bottom of Italy. We stumbled upon a campsite in who knows where, which at this point was almost impossible, and decided to have a look. Half way down the winding dirt road on a cliff, we decided we were either going to die by driving off into the water or be stuck. We persevered, finding a simple campsite with incredible views situated right on the water. We made dinner and enjoyed it while the sun set in magnificent shades of orange over the sea. We dozed off to the familiar sound of crashing waves, almost half expecting to wake up in Kiama.

The next morning we began our drive to Sicily again, boarding a ferry at lunchtime, we arrived in Messina to be greeted by crystal clear turquoise water. We drove until we found a little town called Milazzo where we stayed in a campsite for the night. We woke early, and jumped on a minicruise tour of the Aeolian Islands.  The sea was choppy due to high winds and the swell huge, making for a terrifying journey to Lipari. Once we arrived safely (barely) in Lipari, we walked around the stunning island town before stumbling upon a little patisserie that made Cannoli. We had been holding out, waiting for real traditional cannoli and this looked like the real deal. Empty cannoli shells sat waiting to be filled with the mixture of sweet ricotta and mascarpone. Our first cannoli did not disappoint, it was incredible, marking the beginning of my addiction with the popular pastry. Our tour continued to the Island of Vulcano, famous for its… you guessed it, Volcano! The smell of sulfur was strong in the air and the beach was a juxtaposition of black sand and ice blue water. We visited the sulfur mud baths, the natural healing springs, although the smell was overwhelming so we didn’t last long. We spent the rest of our time exploring the island and swimming at the beach. Our ferry arrived late in the afternoon to take us back to Milazzo were we stayed at our campsite another night enjoying dinner in the restaurant by the water.

The next morning drove to the town of Taormina, which was bursting with charming tight laneways and awe-inspiring views; we ate all of the Sicilian street foods- cannoli, arancini and granite- in one day!  That afternoon we drove to Catania to a campsite on the water where we spent the next day exploring the city and swimming in the ocean. Waking the following day, we headed to the town of Syracuse, an unassuming town that surprised us with picturesque travertine buildings and an amazing produce market. We were on the search for yet another famous cannoli spot when we stumbled upon a delicatessen within the market, selling all kinds of cheese and meats with the owner, an elderly man, making sandwich concoctions for the bargain price of four euro. He uniquely made each sandwich, with the perfect combination of market fresh produce, meats, cheeses and a lot of Italian love. The best sandwich of my life. No joke. After that life-changing experience, we continued Pozzallo where we waited to board a ferry to Malta.  

Malta! Our holiday within a holiday. Leaving Kermit safely locked away in Pozzallo we boarded a ferry to Malta, the motherland. Matt was bouncing in his seat like a child on Christmas Eve as we were a mere two hours from the country that gave him his heritage.

Expecting a little island of old stone buildings we were surprised by the sight of a beautiful built up tourist hub. Stunning clear blue water and picture perfect skies setting the backdrop for the ultimate island getaway. With everything already booked and organized, we arrived to our hotel and relished in the simple forgotten luxuries of crisp clean white sheets on a double bed, that felt like a king after months sharing a single, and an ensuite (that was sanitary!) with fluffy white towels. The next four days were spent relaxing and exploring, we rented a scooter and rode around the island. We ate traditional pastizzis and enjoyed a drink and a night out in Malta’s “Kings Cross” equivalent. We ate well and relaxed in the sunshine, it was the perfect retreat. Before we knew it, and much to Matt’s disappoint and pleas to stay and live there forever, it was time to head back to the harsh realities of camping life in Italy. Hard bed, mosquitos and no personal space were awaiting us.

We boarded a ferry back to Sicily and picked up Kermit, who of course was very happy to see us, and drove to Palermo. We stayed in a campsite just outside of the Sicilian capital and visited the city and Trapani before it was time to board yet another ferry, this time a lot bigger. We boarded the ferry in Palermo and after a long 21hours on the sea; we arrived in Genoa in the north of Italy. We spent the night in a campsite in San Remo near the border of Monaco. After six weeks of travel through Italy we were more than ready to move on. Having eaten excess amounts of pasta, pizza, cannoli and gelato (foods that I thought I could never tire of) I was craving anything new and different. I was ready for a change of scenery from copious amounts of Roman ruins and churches, crazy drivers and dirty streets. Bring on Monaco and the French Riviera!