Friday 31 May 2013

Sicily

We are currently staying in an unnaturally large apartment in Agrigento having been upgraded by the excitable owner we found through hostelworld. Five days since leaving Chester and I have already lost track of time. It feels like we have been in Italy for weeks and we already have a slightly familiar expression when we clamber into the picturesque, grandiose train stations ready to be whisked away to the next location.

It's a surreal feeling traveling through somewhere you have heard so much about. It doesn't feel like true reality until you get lost through the crumbling back streets, until you try that sensational pasta norma or until you try that famous gelato looking out over the Mediterranean. I like Italy, but I'm still working my way through the first impressions and it has yet to fully sink in.


Towns and cities so far include Palermo, Cefalu and Agrigento. Highlights include seeing a concert at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (apparently the 2nd biggest in Europe), the dramatic backdrop to the beach at Cefalu and experiencing the strange Thai/Vietnam/Hong Kong-esqu nightlife we experienced in Palermo. Heading North through the city in a group of 15 travelers, we were shown where the nightlife in Palermo was centred. Giuseppe, the owner of the hostel, pointed us to bar where we purchased the obligatory €1.50 bottle of Forst beer and then we headed outside to the street where a few hundred people were gathered. I loved the atmosphere and the range of conversations that followed with the Australian/Canadian/Israeli travelers that surrounded me.

Having traveled with Joe last year it has been interesting to see how the dynamics change now I'm in a group of 5 (Issy, Lucy, Emily and Anil). Everyone has different plans for after ranging from Au Pairing in Spain to a trip to Zambia and I'm looking forward to these next few weeks before we all head our separate ways.


Next we head to Catania and then the looming prospect of an overnight train to Napoli. We could have easily spent more days here in Sicily which I don't mind as it will be an excuse to come back at another time!

Palermo

Monday 27 May 2013

The Start

I like the anticipation, the build up as you get everything ready before you leave. From finishing on Friday, to leaving Edinburgh on Saturday and to setting out today, it's been a pretty busy few days.

Although I'm not going as far this time, the plan is less concrete. Oxford, London and then a one way ticket to Sicily. After doing a year of Italian, myself and 4 friends from my course are going to interrail through Italy. I'm looking forward to a slower pace of life, reading again and hopefully discovering the beautiful Italian countryside that I have heard so much about.

Couchsurfing and hostels will be the accommodation and I think I might try my first workaway at some point over the next couple of months. A friend recommended an organic farm at Castello di Pontentino in Tuscany which I might check out.

I will keep some thoughts on here as I go along. Here are links to instagram and tumblr.
  
Arrivederci!

Thursday 16 May 2013

Edinburgh Sunrise | Revision Zone Out

Here is a link to some of the background revision music I've been listening to.

A few of my friends had birthdays last week and we decidedly to go up Arthur's Seat at 4am to see the sunrise.



Memories and nostalgia are more powerful than we realise. We can selectively remember the good or bad, polarising whatever was the overriding feeling. Looking back in a few years I don't think I'll remember that morning from the cold temperature or how I felt having 2 hours sleep but I think I'll remember it as a slightly surreal experience shared by 20 people who were all experiencing the same thing for the first time. 


                                                                              Credits to Rachael Gilfillan
The year finishes in one week. After negotiating Boccaccio's Decameron and some tricky Italian grammar next Friday, the whole Summer will lie ahead. I'm looking forward to it.


Edinburgh