Donkeys & Motorbikes- Santorini

For once the boys appeared to have got a one up on us when .... was waiting to pick them up, and we were stranded. A mini van saved the day and dropped us off to our cute little apartment, a two minute walk from the heart of Fira town. We set off to explore our new turf and arranged to meet the boys later on. When we met next to the Caldera, it seems we definitely did luck out on accommodation and they were staying in the middle of nowhere- another point to the girls! Very high on my bucket list was a donkey ride up the caldera steps, so the boys, too chicken to board went and got a drink (boring!) while i set  out to achieve  my dream of being Lena from sisterhood of the travelling pants . Donkeys are definitely not the smoothest ride, and there were a number of times i thought I'd had it, as my grey haired old donkey scrambled its way down the hill. I had even planned out a mental escape route, which i immediately forgot as the donkey leader untied them and set them free to climb back up the hill. My video of the experience sounds remarkably similar to when i watch a horror movie, filled with gasping and screaming as the donkeys raced up the hill, eager to beat the one in front, or ram their heavy loads into the cliff walls (the bruises will vouch for their success). Shaken but enthralled i hopped down, rounded up the boys, and caught a bus to Oia to tick off another Santorini essential, the famous sunset! 

The sunset was beautiful, but as for the best in the world, I'd have to honestly say the hordes of tourists definitely took away the..... The pink sky symbolised dinner time but making our way through the crowds and into a restaurant seemed difficult, even harder was finding somewhere with a table for 5. The wind had picked up and the night had become quite cold but the rumblings of our stomachs overpowered our goosebumps when the only table available was on the roof. We were certainly unprepared for the wind which I could hardly bear and even snuggling Ethan and wrapping my legs in the tablecloth my teeth began to chatter. Everyone was starving and didn't want to risk the possibility of losing the only available table in Oia so we sat in silence, miserable and shivering. The final straw was when our glass bottled soft drinks and our cutlery were captured by a gust of wind and aimply blew off the table. We packed up ready for home until we realises there was a vacant table downstairs, even though we had asked to move about 10 times and were assured there was simply no free tables. Stuffed chicken breasts all around which were delicious, but the delay and frostbite quietened everyone's praise of the meal. 

A girls day was in order once the boys declined our invitation to the beach so our trio headed off to Perissa to check out the black sand. Sand and wind are never a good combination and unfortunately the wind from the previous night had hardly settled. We tried our best to brave the sand whipping on our backs but soon fled to the shelter of a restaurant for an early lunch of freshly caught seafood, cooked to perfection! In case we were still hungry we all had an ice cream and lasted about another hour in the sun and sand storm before calling it quits. A new night meant a new sunset so we hiked along the coastline of the Island, and were treated to an outstanding view the entire way before reaching the sunset viewpoint at Imeroviglia, which was just as good as Oia, minus the crowd. After our big spending at lunch we settled for a gyros dinner which the boys loved and we headed our separate ways to bed with happy tummies.

Today was the day for adventures and that meant QUAD BIKES! The boys were having s slow start so the girls set off without me and we planned to meet up at the Red Beach. Considering I had never driven a quad before, was going to drive on the wrong side of the road, and risk Ethan's life as well as mine, I was expecting a decent driving lesson before we set off. In Greece, that is clearly too high of an expectation. Accelerator, brake, handbrake, stick to the right side, off you go! And within 1 minute Ethan and I are racing down the road amongst actual traffic with Thommo following behind. Our first stop was Petrol station which immediately presented a problem, how did we indicate to turn in to the station, how did we reverse into the right spot, how did we fill up petrol?? I was already stressed and Ethan ended up pushing the bike to the pump and making the assistant help us out while I calmed down. The calm was fleeting however as the first road we headed up seemed awfully narrow and we had a lot of close shaves, Ethan realised what I had been dreading, we were going the wrong way up a one way road with nowhere in sight to turn around or get off the road. By this point I was panicking and wished that I had no license and could be a passenger like Eth, not the driver with all the pressure and responsibility. A rubbish truck racing around the corner was nearly the end of our day as I screamed and prepared to die. Having survived Ethan directed traffic as I did a U turn and set off on a more safe and less stressful course! By the time we reached the Red Beach I was feeling much more confident and excited for a dip, those helmets are boiling hot!

The red beach was unlike anything I had ever seen. The blue normal sea resided at the base of an enormous red cliff face and had a browny red gravel in place of the white sand typically found back home. It was an interesting contrast of colours but I was more interesting in cooling down than observing the landscape after a stinking hot ride and jumped straight in. Next stop was a small beach off the beaten track that our receptionist has recommended that morning, en route however we lost Thommo as he zoomed past the turn off. Mish decided to chase him and fulfil her inner desire to be a drag racer, but returned solo after a 10min chase so one member short, our bikey gang started the descent down a hill on a dirt track. The poor road surface combined with the extreme incline was quite a slippery route and my hand was aching from clenching the brake as tightly as possible to avoid rear ending Zoe, the extra weight of two people on a bike made it much harder to fight gravity. My aching palm was rewarded though when we reached the empty and isolated black pebble beach with a gorgeous little family taverna the only sign of civilisation as far as you could see. I decided on an octopus salad as was told it was freshly caught that morning by the waitors grandfather sitting a few tables away. The food was beautiful as was the view, and after this we decided to become true Greeks and have a siesta while lying on the beach. Absolute heaven! The girls zoomed off for another Oia sunset but Eth and I decided to go for a big drive and then treat ourselves to a nice dinner before another dreaded goodbye. We dined in style, shirted and dressed up, and I even was allowed to order for us! 

The next morning was goodbye time and after hours and hours of tears shed by both Ethan and I (even though he will deny it) , the boys were gone and I was a sniffling mess. To cheer myself up I decided to have a binge day and accompany Zoe to a hidden beach she had been to with her family to take my mind off my sadness. A pandora charm, 2 blocks of chocolate, 2 new books and chips and tzatziki I was feeling a bit better so we walked down to the very bottom of a cliff, clambered over some rocks and made it to the beautiful little cove/beach! After some initial difficulties trying to make my way in, I was suddenly plunged into the icy water but braved it and swam to a church perched on a rock a little way out. We dried off there and chatted to a man from Crete, our next destination and got some advice on places to go, and in exchange we put his fears of deathly poisonous spiders and snakes being an everyday sight in Melbourne & Sydney to rest (that was why he hadn't been to Australia!!) 

The only downside about this hidden beach was the climb back up in 35 degree heat. Avoiding donkey poo the whole way we stopped for lots of 'photo opportunities' aka breathers, and headed to the bus nice and sweaty. Sadly, the sweat had to stay because we were running late to a dinner date with Zoe and Mish's high school friend, Katya. I opted to spend my money on wine and settled for the cheapest dinner option, Greek salad (had to prioritise). It was a lovely meal and lovely company, and with an introduction to a new type of Greek chocolate the night was perfect. We had a ferry to Crete at 3.45am and the bus took us down to the port at 2.30. We decided to be brave and stay up so we met up with Katya's brother and cousin and had a sober night of clubbing before donning the backpacks and commencing our journey to Crete

The Ios cough

We headed to Ios with the boys and Rach and Ainslie in tow, and after a little nap and some chats we arrived in iOS and followed the pack of Australians onto the bus to Francescos hostel. It took ages to check everyone in but we chilled at reception and enjoyed the amazing view overlooking the bay. Luckily the boys and us girls were staying in the same building, unluckily we were at the bottom of the hill- nice to cruise down, but literally a hike up! After some pool time, we headed off to Mojito bar to meet Ethan's friends, and conveniently bumped into some of ours, Rach and Ainslie, so despite two separate groups forming, everyone was happy, drunk and cheering as the clock struck 12 for Zoe's birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE! To kick off the celebrations we headed to the beach do Zoe's favourite activity (and mine), tanning!! I splurged on a birthday slice of watermelon and a block of milka for Zoe, and she looked happier than when she got her 70 x more expensive present for her 21st last year! After a relaxing beach day and a seafood feast for lunch it was cocktail time and we bar hopped from beach bar to beach bar, relaxing in daybeds, hammocks, pegolas and having some sheesha which put us all to sleep practically! A huge night was in order so after beautifying, we headed to our private rooftop for drinks and went out on the Ios town to some amazing clubs, which we continued to go to every single night following this, sad I know. 

First it was the free shot at the hostel bar, then we were sheperded down to the affiliated bar, Blue Note where 7 shots got you a free singlet, and very, very intoxicated. From here we headed to Coo Bar to get a dose of Mish's favourite r n b tunes, then to jäger bar, where sevens classic old tunes were revived and we danced until collapse. Typically, food had to be part of the nightly agenda so Porky's, the local gyros shop became our regular 4am stop before stumbling home to bed. Because tonight was a special occasion, we went all out and actually paid entry to the famous slammer bar, where you pay to do a shot and as soon as you have finished it, you get smacked on the head with any nearby inanimate object, in my case a mallet, in Zoe's, a skateboard. Don't ask me why we decided this would be a valuable investment of our quickly diminishing euros..

I wish I could say we did more in Ios, but realistically every day followed this very similar format. The star girls arrived the following day and immediately hopped on the bandwagon.  Wake up at 12, gyros at 1, pool or beach, free shot at the hostel, then blue note and jäger bar, plus a visit to porkies.  This became our daily routine, and despite the repetitiveness, i was loving life. Sun, food and great tunes every night- what more could a girl need? A few little things were mixed up, for example one day Eth and I ordered hot chips, and feeling too clever to ask, Ethan helped himself to the mayonnaise and proceeded to drizzle it over the entirety of our meal. Taste tests soon confirmed it was in fact white chocolate.  sauce for the crepes..  Instead of a gyros for lunch,  we sometimes visited the local restaurant, Fiesta and without fail managed to overindulge, and crawl back clutching at our bulging food babies. There was a beach party at far out one day, the 'Annual Australia Day Party'. As you can imagine, bogans, beers and bikinis were all out to play, and despite the ridiculously drunk crowd, it was a really fun (and messy) afternoon. 

All the partying, poor nutrition and horrendous sleep patterns led to contracting the highly contagious Ios cough. All day and all night the cough could be heard from any part of the island, and considering Steph was coughing in the tune of songs, it was safe to say the iOS cough got the best of all us. Considerably browner, fatter from the kebabs, and severely ill we all left Ios 5 nights later defeated, but still smiling after a week of non stop fun and wild antics. Ios, i will definitely be back, and this time armed with cough medicine

Mykonos!

Mykonos port was packed with signs and hostel drivers ready to whisk their patrons away and as I helped the boys try to find their hostel, I was ushered away to the Paradise beach bus which I was 'about to miss', so I ran off and told the stranded boys to come and meet me later on. Paradise beach was literally a full on resort and luckily Zoe came to find me at reception or I would have had no clue where to go. We went for a feed and wifi, which was only available at the restaurant down the road!! (Surely 40 euro a night earns you some Internet!) Expense and poor quality seemed to characterise Mykonos, as my lunch of a gyros portion, smaller and much worse tasting than the one I ate in Athens, amounted to a hefty 12 euro. I was SO angry but there was little you could do to avoid the price hike, the resort was isolated and every food, drink or thing for sale was astronomically overpriced. To lift my mood I went and found the star girls hanging by the beach and travel tales were exchanged. By the sounds of things from their stories, Mykonos lived up to its reputation of a party island. I went to meet up with the boys next as we had planned at 5pm and by 6, we found each other. By that t,e the party was well and truly happening with table top dancing and blaring the music and Ethan decided he hated it, and once his mind was made up there is no changing it. We sat down and shared a bottle of wine which was the cheapest thing on the menu while I listened to Eth complain nonstop at the resort, it's tackiness, the people and the prices, which I did agree with, but when in Rome hey? Complaining wasn't going to change anything, so I just decided to attempt to ignore him and embrace the paradise life. 

We loaded up on cheap wine, blasted tunes from our phones and made plans to meet the star girls at tropicana at 7.30. The boys soon perked up a bit once under the influence and Zoe and Mish joined in the pre drinking action and before I knew it, it was 7.30! The others went for dinner but Eth and I decided we didn't need dinner, that was mistake number one. We started partying and having fun and then I decided we should do shots! Mistake number two. If those shots weren't enough, I decided for another round of show, this time ouzo. Mistake number three. By this point I was well and truly drunk and participating with the girls in the tabletop dancing we had scorned earlier on. We all went back to our room for some more drinks, don't ask me why, but luckily I spent most of my time making drunken videos with Mish and giving thommo piggy back rides, not consuming more alcohol. From there we made our way to Cavo, the big club which had a pool inside it! We had paid 30 euro just for entry so we were all looking forward to a big night. Unfortunately though, on the walk there, the true extent of my drunkness hit and I was in no state to go clubbing. We went it though purely to make the most of our money but within 10minutes I was falling asleep and Ethan carried me home, woops!

I woke up at midday the next day feeling shocking and very angry at myself for not even making it out, and wasting 30 euros on entry. I was slightly glad to hear thommo had suffered a similar fate to me and that I wasn't the only one who overestimated their drinking abilities. It was time to check out and move to our new hostel in Mykonos town for a different insight into the island. Strangely, I couldn't find my phone anywhere. The panic began to set in but I hadn't taken it out with me the night before so it had to be somewhere, but as we turned the room upside down it became apparent it was gone. I desperately emptied my bag in the hunt but it was nowhere to be found. We had to check out so angrily and upset I left the room phone less and suffered my first loss for the trip, secretly hoping it would turn up in someone else's stuff... It didn't. 

Mykonos town was exactly what I pictured Greece to be and was so refreshing compared to the over commercialised and bogan population inhabiting paradise beach. White buildings, blue shutters and roofs, narrow winding alleyways with cobblestones cute outdoor restaurants. We dumped our bags at the boys place and the girls went to look while I was googling and trying to help find a map or anything. It had been nearly an hour and I had searched my bag about 3 times for my phone. The girls still weren't back, my phone was clearly gone for good and I began to worry they were lost. I had clearly underestimated these girls as they came back about ten minutes later declaring we found it! Anyone who has been to Mykonos will understand what am incredible feat this is, every building looks the same, there are no signs or labels or street signs. Even hostel worlds directions helpfully say- ''Please call us to pick you up from the port, as mykonos is a labyrinth , it is impossible to give you directions'. Feeling like a proud mum, the girls led the way to our new home which turned out to be well worth the hunt. A full apartment with 5 beds, kitchen, bathroom and a rooftop terrace just for us with a view of all of Mykonos- for nearly half the price of our small room at paradise beach. I can't explain how glad I was we at least got one night to experience town and the real Mykonos rather than the dodgy resort! Avicii was playing that night,  but Ethan wanted couple time so I agreed to stay back and chill with him so of course, wine chocolate and lollies were purchased, a lot of selfies were taken, and we sat and relaxed on our rooftop watching the sunset and then drinking and singing the night away. I had moments of regret and massive fomo considering I had in theory missed every night in Mykonos so far. The only thing that kept me deterred was I wasn't even tipsy yet, and entry alone was 55 euro, let alone the 12 euro drinks. The constant battle to remind myself I am a backpacker with limited funds not a millionaire hotel hopping traveller was occurring again, but this time, sense won out and I did my duty as a good girlfriend and stayed home for snuggles. The girls decided they were keen and would go but as they snuck back in at 2am it was clear they too came to their senses and realised 60 euro was probably a bit ridiculous for a 2 hour DJ set. 

Mykonos was already over and my brief encounter with the island gave me a very mixed review. Paradise beach is fun if you don't care who you party with, you have money and you want to dance and get drunk! Mykonos town is beautiful and is exactly what I pictured Greece to be like, I wish we stayed here longer!

Yiassou Greece!

After a stressful flight, with customs ordeals and a very drunk Zoe, we arrived in Athens! On arrival to the hostel we found out we were actually staying in a studio apartment around the corner, which was an extremely pleasant surprise, a kitchen, lounge room, bathroom and bedroom!! I soon got a message from Ethan saying he too had arrived, and was in fact in the room above me. My heart was racing and I sprinted up the stairs, knocked on the door, but only received silence in return. after some more knocks and a few feeble calls of 'Eth?' I was confused and went back down to my room for wifi- turns out he was room 13 of the building next door, so I headed to reception, and there he was. After 2 months without seeing his face i could hardly believe it was real and he was actually  standing in front of me. I shakily walked over and gave him a huge hug before the tears started to escape me (happy tears of course). We headed up to his room and i gave thommo a big welcome hug too before the three of us went for a stroll through the local area. The entire time i continued to stare at Ethan (must've seemed like I'd turned into a creep) but purely out of disbelief, I just couldn't accept the fact we were in athens together and i wasn't dreaming. It was a strange sensation which took hours to fully shake. We stopped at a greek restaurant for a drink which soon turned into dinner. My extensive knowledge of the greek cuisine (cheers Karantzas') came in handy as i helped the boys order a starter plate and introduced them to the wonders of tzatziki, eggplant dip, saganaki, dolmades and spanakopita. My newfound love for wine was tested once again as we shared a litre of quite tasty red. Eth and I opted to treat ourselves and head to a fancy hotel and as the clock struck midnight, it was our one year anniversary, which completely coincidentally we were now spending together in Greece, fate hey?

The perks of hotels extend much further than a big comfy bed and free shampoo, buffet breakfast is the ultimate highlight to any stay and after months of a backpackers breakfast I went to town and stacked my plate with eggs bacon and every single other ire, that did not contain gluten. We met back up with the girls and Thommo and commenced mission one- the acropolis. We climbed to the top in the stifling heat and thousands of selfies later, our descent led us to a greek cafe for an ice-cold frappe (after of course, Ethan was interviewed for a greek TV station!!) We stumbled across another tourist attraction, ruins which we initially thought were the site of the first Olympics, but later realised they weren't, I'm still unsure what they actually were.. The acropolis museum which had been recommended to thommo was really interesting and my history nerd side was out to play as I read and examined every detail in the museum. We were all starving so we decided to test out the famous greek gyros which was to become my staple diet for the next month in Greece. 2.50 euro for pita bread stuffed with meat, salad, tzatziki and hot chips sounded like such an amazing deal but no bread for me, of course means get the same as everyone else minus bread, on a plate, but pay triple the price. Luckily, it tasted incredible so there were no complaints from anyone only grunts of enjoyment as we silently munched down our food. Below our hostel was a sports bar playing the Wimbledon final which was a lovely way to enjoy the rest of the warm afternoon and lead into the evening. To share in England's joy of a home grown victory, we shared a bottle of red Zoe and I had lugged all the way from Tuscany. We headed up to the rooftop bar for some more drinks and a beautiful sunset overlooking the acropolis, a huge box of hot chips to share was the icing on the cake to a lovely day.

4.40am was excruciatingly early to wake up but I'd decided to spend an extra night I'm Athens with Ethan so I had to say my farewells to the girls, despite the offensive hour. Eggs and bacon started another day (heaven!) and we walked around town aimlessly for a few hours, before another few were spent people watching and relaxing while the boys sipped on frappes. We found another ruin once again by chance and explored the old library before Eth and I checked into a hotel for the last night. The hotel was so cheap and I was confused as to why, the room was huge with a TV, free minibar and nice bathroom, yes there was a few homeless people near the entrance, but they were harmless, I had found us am absolute bargain! A few hours later we left to meet thommo for dinner and the reality  behind our fantastic 'bargain' of our room came to light as we walked past junkies injecting themselves only metres away from our hotel... Lovely. Dinner on the other hand was actually lovely, salad wine and a moussaka all for 10 euro, my tummy and pocket were both very very happy. As apprehensive as I was to head back towards our hotel, we had no option so I held Ethan's hand like a little child and we made it back unscathed.

Early starts unfortunately had been common in Greece and today was no exception as eth and I checked out at 6am and headed to the port for our first greek island, Mykonos- party central! I was excited to party after a sufficient 3 day detox post sail Croatia (even though I had still drunk every day) and with the boys coming too I knew we were in for a good time. Armed with peach Amita juice, my new greek favourite and a packed to oregano chips we boarded the boat and slept our way to Mykonos.

We're all in the same boat

Sail Croatia was without a doubt one of the most fun weeks of my life. Tanning all day on top of a boat, partying all night, and of course eating non stop, this was my idea of absolute paradise. As soon as we got on our boat it was literally filled with girls so I wasn't happy, we all know boys are more fun. And plus, none of them looked like fun girls and I immediately decided I hated everyone- turned out to be the complete opposite, but that was my initial thought. We lived in a TINY cabin on the boat which literally had room for bunk beds, our bags, and sometimes us if we sucked in. We also had a little ensuite which again was minuscule, a toilet & a sink was all it possessed plus a shower head which attacked to the tap in the sink. There obviously was no room for an actual shower so the entire bathroom got drenched every time, most of the time I sat on the toilet seat while showering to avoid sliding over and hurting myself. The food on the boat more than made up for the tiny cabins, it was amazing! Breakfast was toast, cereal, eggs, yoghurt and fruit- with gluten free options for everything, followed by a 3 course lunch starting with soup, a main (roast, fish and chips, risotto, spag Bol, chicken salad to name a few) and then finished off with fruit for dessert! Any progress I had made with shrinking my stomach and controlling my addiction to food was quickly evaporated and I shoved my face every mealtime and them sheepishly rushed my full belly onto the towel to tan my back- disguising my greediness... 

Of course the scenery was breathtaking, but the real appeal of sail Croatia was the partying. Every afternoon started off slow with a few ciders while tanning on the top deck but as the sun set, every evening escalated quickly into a full blown party on board before hitting the clubs on shore. The only rule of sail Croatia we were told on day 1 was be back on board the boat at 5am to avoid being left behind, so every night we partied until 4.59am and rushed back to the cabin just in the nick of time. The clubbing life we were exposed to in Croatia was wild- we went to 2 clubs on islands which we had to take a boat to, a huge 3 storey warehouse with dancers in cages, one in a cave and one in a jungle, as well as numerous normal clubs thrown in the mix. Every night was so much fun and the crew of our boat I had been so quick to judge turned out to be a fantastic bunch, and we all had am absolute blast. As always groups form, and our group of 9 girls were all close to tears at the end of the week after 7 crazy days and nights together. The 10 boys on our bot of 40 were extremely outnumbered but managed to hold their own and were loads of fun too.

I was extremely sad to leave Sail Croatia- what a lifestyle to lead! Wake up at 10am, eat breakfast, tan on the roof of the boat, stop at a beautiful cove or a random spot in the middle of the ocean for a swim stop, jump, flip and leap off the top deck into the water for an hour or 2, feast on an enormous lunch, go back and tan, get started on the ciders, arrive at the town and explore for a few hours whether it be a local beach or a winery, shops or a national park and then dinner, back onto the boat for pres, a wild night of partying, sitting up and watching the sunrise, and then piling into bed for a few hours sleep before doing it all over again. 

Best crew, best lifestyle and best week of fun in the sun! 10/10 Croatia! 

I went to Sorrento before Florence, but this is what happens when you get a month behind in your blog...

My final morning in Rome started slowly as i treated myself to a rare sleep in. I checked out and sat at a table in front of the hostel and soaked up the morning sun. Before I knew it (Facebook really can take up hours) I had downed 3 packets of gluten free Italian styled Oreos and it was time to go meet up with Nat for lunch! Even donning my 20kg pack I was so excited to see a familiar face I ran across the road darting through crazy Italian drivers and waving like a lunatic. A giant hug followed and we went to meet up with 2 of her exchange friends for our joint reunion. We headed to a restaurant which was way over my budget so I opted for a side of roast potatoes and suffered major food envy as their delicious salads and meals rolled out, the tough backpackers life.. After some good chats, reminiscing and a cheeky scoop of gelati (they had gluten free cones, how could i resist?!) it was time to say farewell, and ill admit it a few tears escaped me. I felt like a sook but it was hard saying goodbye to a true friend after such a short tease of a catchup and heading out solo again into the big, bad world. I quickly pulled myself together though and headed to the bus station where i boarded my bus to Sorrento! 

After 3 hours of putting up with an annoyingly stereotypical American family being loud, obnoxious and plain annoying I was finally freed and let off the bus at Sant Agnello. I was astonished at the over friendly nature of the locals who were all shouting out to help with directions and any assistance I may have needed, it was a lovely community feel and a nice contrast to the high paced hustle bustle in the city centre of Rome.  I checked in and after hearing 'rooftop bar' and 'happy hour' in the same sentence I was sold and climbed up the stairs to socialise. I soon found the group of Australians which seems standard at every hostel throughout Europe and got chatting. After a few cocktails and some free peanuts, the big group of 15 Aussies traipsed down to dinner and I joined even though my excitement over free food had left the peanut tub empty and my stomach very full. After everyone else had finished eating (for once I observed and didn't eat, an extremely rare situation) we all tried some limoncello back at the rooftop bar and I agreed to explore along the Amalfi Coast the following day  with two Melburnians, Sarah and Aileen. 

At home, putting up with my constantly late best friend Alex, is the biggest pain of my life. It was one thing I was excited to escape from but it seems these girls had similar traits. Despite agreeing to meet at 8.30am, an early start considering our 2am bedtime, they ambled down to breakfast at 9.20.. Fortunately I had made the most of my time and booked my train to Florence for a few days time which was a dismal 60euros (that'll teach me for leaving things until the last minute!) The slow start didn't finish here but I can't blame that on the girls this time. Our bus driver assured us that his bus took us to Sorrento where we could swap and catch a bus to Positano. About 20 minutes later we were hurried off the bus and left on the side of the road a 5km walk from sorrento, clearly the driver had forgotten to tell us our correct stop, so instead ushered us off a reasonable distance away.. We caught a bus back to sorrento, finally boarded a bus to Positano which took a further 45mins in the sweltering heat, no air con and mno seat, the sweat drops were accumulating in a puddle on the floor. The views along the coastline were the only constellation, the driving however was a different story. Hairpin turns and cliff edges did nothing to unsettle our driver as he preceded wildly around these turns and corners at very high speeds blasting his horn simultaneously as a warming to oncoming traffic, get out of my way or else! It was definitely a relief to depart the bus and clamber down the hundreds of steps throughout picturesque Positano, before roasting my poor feet on the scorching black pebble beach followed by a big belly whacker dive straight into the cool ocean. The ultimate refreshment. The beach was an interesting experience. I felt as though I was on a spit roast and was being cooked alive from every angle. The sun beamed down from the clear blue sky and the black rocks beneath absorbed this heat and fired it back up through your towel into your skin. As shameful as this admission is, I like to think of myself as quite a talented sun baker. Always sun-smart and piled with lotion, I could lie in the sun for hours easily without the need for a cool down in the pool like all the other girls. Positano however, definitely beat me, I couldn't last more than 10 minutes in the sun without a slick of sweat covering my body and the urge to cool down completely overwhelmed me. Ice cream was needed and my favourite treat, a magnum fit the bill perfectly. Next stop was Amalfi where I prayed my tanning skills would return and I was happily rewarded. It was a cute little town, minus the steps and hefty prices and our little sun beds were much nicer than the boiling rocks, until we were charged for them- nothing is ever free! The afternoon rushed by and suddenly the sun had disappears behind the cliff top and we headed back for another wild bus ride. Time escaped us yet again and the trains to sant Agnello had finished, so after a 20min walk to the hostel with the girls slowing me down, it was 9.30pm and I was RAVENOUS. I whipped out the gluten free pasta I had bought in Rome and with fingers and toes crossed I asked the bar whether they would cook it for me and to my delight they obliged, and even added tomato sauce and Parmesan to complete my meal for the fantastic price of FREE! Although it was rather 'al dente' /uncooked, it filled my belly and I was happy. After a free feed I was feeling rich and went and splurged on a day trip to Capri the following day on a little speedboat with the girls and a few others from our hostel, very exciting!

I had bought a box of gluten free crackers which turned out to be little individual packets of four biscuits so two of them with some stolen Nutella was a perfect breakfast. I stole a few more spreads to last me the day and packed some more crackers in my bag. We piled into a bus and braved some more wild Italian driving before reaching the port and boarding our rather glamorous little speedboat with the group of 6 from our hostel, and 4 others we quickly befriended. The day was filled with swim stops in little grottos, the most notable of which the famous,  'Blue Grotto' (which I had never heard of but pretended to know all about). For the hefty price of 12 euro you could squeeze into a tiny rowboat and be escorted through a tiny hole in the rock to the grotto, which was truly spectacular. The water glowed blue, fluorescent, electric and stood out in the otherwise pitch black cave. Despite the signs strictly banning swimming, money can get you anywhere in Italy, so we gave the sailor? 5 euros and were given the pleasure of a 20 second swim in the ice cold water before being hurried back in, money definitely well spent...

The remainder of the afternoon was back on our boat and the free wine and soft drink flowed while we baked on the helm of the boat admiring the crystal clear water that surrounded us, what a life! We reached Capri and were dropped off for 2 hours of exploration. We took a cab to the town of Anna Capri at the top of the island and wowed at the spectacular view. The others opted to take a cable car to the very peak but I was feeling poor and decided to wander the streets instead and ended up accidentally stumbling  into an old nonnas back garden! We bused back down and hopped on the boat for some final rays and refreshments before sadly, our adventure had come to an end. Back at base camp I sat on the rooftop and had a cocktail or two with a couple from our boat and them once again enjoyed some free pasta for dinner, which thankfully was marginally more cooked. A few hours of conversation with the boat gang followed during which I made plans to head to Pompeii the next day with the two Americans, so exciting!!!

Skype started the day and it was nice as always to see Mum and Pal's faces, even though it made me slightly homesick. Some Nutella quickly eased my mind, and the on time Alex and Eddie appeared and we were off on our adventure! Pompeii was not exactly as I had imagined throughout my childhood after dreaming of seeing the real thing since completing a project on it in grade four. Frustratingly, a lot of the original artefacts and objects had been excavated and taken to the archeological museum of Naples, and many of the houses still remaining were closed for visitors. Despite this, it was still an amazing day. The houses we could enter were quite well preserved, as was the main square, market place and temple. Surprisingly the most well preserved building in all of Pompeii was the brothel, whose graphic wall etchings and images were still in perfect condition. The heat was overwhelming us so after some food and water we headed to our next stop for the day, Mount Vesuvius. An army style truck led us 3/4 of the way up the volcano and the remainder was for us to hike up (I wish we could have walked more to be honest). I understood how the Pompeiians could have been so naive and not realised they were living in such close proximity to a volcano, it looked nothing like one, a hill covered in flowers and trees, it was only at the very top the huge abyss was evident, but this was only there after the eruption blasted off the top of the mountain. So sneakily disguised, Vesuvius was a ticking time bomb and a thing I could now tick off my bucket list, hooray! I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't more volcano like, with lava bubbling at the pit, but on second thoughts that's probably ideal! We walked back to the station and managed to miss the train by sitting in the shade, so had to wait an hour for the next one, idiots! A pitstop to the supermarket on our stroll home sorted out my dinner, cheese and crackers (life of luxury!) and I sat up on the rooftop with a freshly arrived tour group of 100 loud Americans and tried to calmly watch my last Amalfi coast sunset

Tuscan adventures

I arrived in Florence but surprise surprise i wasn't allowed to check in yet, so I dumped my bags, headed to the pool and who should i bump into but Lucy and James! After all my panic about trying to find them! We sat and chatted and worked on our tans (apparently I had 'plateaued'- and that simply would not do).  After some serious rays, we beautified and got into the drinks, and two cocktails later, lightweight georgie was giggling away. A Rome reunion was in order so we headed out for dinner with Megs and a new addition to the group, her infamous boyfriend Gareth. I opted for the cheapest and gluten free option of risotto bolognaise, an interesting concept, and resisted the urge to try the famous Florentine steak which didn't come cheap at 34 euros per person! Saving even more money I skipped out on the wine considering how drunk I already felt! It was a wonderful feed with even better company, and ice-cream completed a fabulous night! Some emotional farewells occurred, but luckily I was getting a new friend delivered the very next morning, express from Paris, Zoe!!!

An early start to head off to the campsite to meet Zoe but the giant hug and huge grin that met me there was more than worth it. We couldn't check it for 4 hours but they flew by as we filled each other in on our last 5 weeks worth of travel. It honestly was so surreal having company that was actually going to last and not be gone within a few days, we were both in a weird place and couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that for me, I finally had a friend from home who would provide weeks of company and for Zoe that her contiki group of 50 friends had diminished to simply plain old me. We finally checked into our glamorous room for the evening... A tent... and quickly headed out for an exciting adventure, a hunt for a gluten free restaurant (lucky Zoe!). Unfortunately the restaurant I had found on trip advisor which was RAVED about by my fellow coeliac compatriots was closed, so we settled for a place next door that happened to do gluten free pizzas, hooray! Although I will never ever complain about finding gluten free food, this pizza was far from the heavenly one in Rome, but tasty all the same! After some fuel we walked to the Duomo (huge HUGE church) and decided to climb to the top for a panoramic view of Florence. My fitness levels had definitely declined as I was huffing and puffing by the top of the tower, and I hate to say it but Zoe was in an even worse state than me. We used multiple photos as am excuse to catch our breath, and then noticed something interesting a huge festival was going on a few hundred metres away. We decided to check it out and the rain decided to make us hurry up as it began to pour down on us. We found the site of all the chaos was am annual festival which concluded with a  traditional sports match I can only describe as rugby/boxing with no rules whatsoever, use your imagination...  Or, check it out on YouTube! ( ) Zoe and I naively asked the security guard if we could please go in, we were rudely sent away and told abruptly tickets were booked months in advance, woops! We opted instead for a pub directly next door to the action where the opening ceremony was depicted on a tv inside, and the fans raucous activities and flares could be seem and heard through the windows and doors. After nearly an hour of flag waving, preparation and a lot of screaming from drenched fans awaiting the bloodshed, the famous event was called off due to the weather, what a let down! 

To lift our spirits, gelati once again was our medicine and we took full advantage of the free wifi to plan our trip to Cinque Terre the next day to meet up with my favourite Rome gang for the final time. I was being a sook and in shorts and a T-shirt honestly the last thing I wanted to do was brave the elements and walk to the bus stop but Zoe forced me into the rain and we made it there and leapt onto bus 12. After about half an hour, I realised bus 12 wasn't taking its usual route and in fact within 5 minutes of this realisation we were back where we started at the bus stop. I asked the driver 'mi scusi, what's the deal?' and he explained due to fireworks no buses could get to anywhere near piazza michaelangelo (which conveniently was where our campsite was). Our only option was taxi or a 30min walk and as I looked at Zoe shivering, it was clear our pockets were being emptied. We joined the enormous taxi queue and finally when we piled in we were refused a journey to our campsite, 'no, no, the roads are closed' while we begged ' please, please, as close as you can'. He replied 'no,no' but in the end our begging won out, and funnily enough when we arrived at the barricades and said we were staying at the campsite, the barriers were moved aside and the taxi dropped is directly at our campsite. All that fuss for nothing! However to the taxi driver, it was not nothing, and he demanded a 5 euro tip for his generosity and hard work... I was not a happy chappy. The unseasonal cold weather was not ideal for a night in a tent so I donned jumpers jeans and runners (so fashionable, I know) and headed to the terrace to watch the stupid fireworks, which in the end were absolutely incredible!!!

If the previous nights dramas hadn't been enough, today was definitely going to hit the mark. We needed an early start to make it to Cinque Terre at a reasonable hour and to make our triple train connection. I woke up and was ready to leave in 5 minutes. Zoe om the other hand was slow to get started which i hadn't accounted for in my plans, so i began to stress and subtly hurry her along. ( Much easier travelling on your own and not having to wait for someone!) I was panicking on the bus and knew we would miss our train but I was trying to remain optimistic but of course, we missed it. I decided however to sprint off and that we could simply hop on any train to Pisa and try and catch up with our original train itinerary,  Zoe was unsure but I sprinted and held the doors open for her while she struggled with her enormous pack and left her no choice to follow. We just made it to Pisa in time to jump on our original train and be back on track. Zoe was in awe of my skills, and I suddenly realised travelling solo had taught me a lot, and i had actually learnt not to panic and how to sort things out myself. Happy travelling moment! 

Our troubles were far from over though, making this the hardest 24hours of my trip to date and the worst possibl introduction for Zoe to the non-contiki backpackers life. We arrived in riomaggiore and it suddenly hit Zoe she hadn't actually booked accommodation for our nught in Cinque Terre. Homeless and hot, we trekked up the hill hunting for somewhere to stay until we came across the name Patrizia, where my Rome friends where staying! We decided to settle in there, despite the 35 euro each price tag, we were too hot and lazy to find anything else. Karma can truly be a bitch sometimes.  357extremely steep steps, three ramps later, 20 kilos on my back and Zoe still half way down the hill we made it to our room, covered in sweat.

Things took a positive turn from here. Showers, a picteresque 2 hour hike from corneglia to varnezza along the cinque terre coastline, and a stroll through beautiful monterosso before spotting the Rome gang along the road- reunited once more! We decided to go and kayak back in our home town of riomaggiore, only after some gelati of course but when we finally got there, it was closed for the day. As usual, we still managed to make swimming in the beach and jumping off rocks seem like the most entertaining activity in the world and I nearly drowned from too much laughter while swimming. Our next plan was dinner so we freshened up at the actual Patrizia, which was right next to the beach.. And headed to manarola for an incredible seafood feast- grilled calamari and fresh salad!! Another climb up the horrendous steps, and we collapsed into bed for a well earned sleep. 

Chickpea based zucchini pizza started the day and we marched on down to the station for our next adventure, Pisa. The town itself was packed with tourists but we walked through the crowds and saw the tower, did the classic cheesy photos and then turned back to make our train, which once again was a struggle to make as Zoe's backpack slowed her down (luckily she sent stuff home!) We filled the afternoon with super exciting activities like sending postcards, laundry and repacking our bags. I decided to treat myself to an Italian feast while gluten free was still a known concept, and opted for Ciro and Sons which had amazing trip advisor reviews, and boy did it live up to them. A entree of bruschetta, followed by the best lasagna I've ever had, and topped off with a choc-caramel banana cheesecake, words could not describe my happiness! 

Our final day in Tuscany turned out to be one of my absolute favourites. Our roommates mentioned they were going on a food and wine tour, and being our two favourite things on this trip, Zoe and I immediately signed on also. There was a small group of 6 of us who all piled into a minivan and sped along- literally, crazy Italian drivers- to our first stop, Montereggio. It was such a cute little Tuscan town, exactly what I had imagined. Surrounded by seemingly endless vineyards, it was a tiny little walled town with small shops selling local produce, little villas and of course a local band practising their acoustic relaxation music in the main square, I sat with a gelati and could have stayed their for hours soaking up the amazing and calm atmosphere. From there we headed to a much larger stop, Siena. My legs began to hate the hilly landscape quite quickly but we managed to score two free glasses of wine from a cake shop which lifted my mood and I could then appreciate the beautiful town. From there we went to a winery where we sampled 6 kinds of wine and 2 types of balsamic vinegar, one of which was 30 years old and was incredible. The last stop of the day was to a Tuscan farmhouse where an old Italian, Gianni prepared a traditional Tuscan feast for us- antipasto platters, spaghetti with the freshest tomato sauce and of course unlimited litres and litres of his homegrown red wine- the perfect finish to our day. The wine flowed and so did conversation, then sadly, Gianni kissed us all goodbye and said we were always welcome to return, which I think I will take him up on! Another pleasant addition to this perfect day was on arrival back to our hostel Mish was there waiting for us, we were finally reunited and ready for our next adventure, sail Croatia!