Rome is a city to behold! It is a living testament to the glories of ancient empires, religious leaders, brilliant artists, and forges on as a modern western capital.

We spent a good week in Rome and enjoyed the many historical sites and churches. The Vatican was quite amazing, especially St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. In the corner of St. Peter’s Square, there’s a portable type building that serves as a Vatican Post Office. This is run by the Swiss, so the service is much more efficient than the regular Italian postal system. Some stereotypes are true… in any case, be sure to send your mail from the Vatican instead of the Italian post!

We made the rounds to the main destinations, including the Pantheon, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, etc. These are all quite fantastic! We also hit our fair share of beautiful Cathedrals, Basilica’s, and churches. I’d say my favorite was St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. It’s worth the metro ride out!

Well, this is the end of the Euro trip! The next destination is Bangkok, Thailand. It’s hard to believe that half a year has already passed on this journey. We’ve met so many amazing people along the way, and had some fantastic experiences!

A whole new set of adventures await in Asia! Onward and eastward!

Cheers, Shawn

Florence is truly amazing, and one of my favorite destinations so far! There is a charm about the city that makes you feel welcome, and the architecture is a joy to take in. The city has a sizable population, but is very easy to get around and explore. Even the street signs are fun to check out. Florence has a tradition of turning boring street signs into entertaining forms of expression – check out the photo below.

It goes without saying that Florence has one of the best art collections in the world. Highlights include Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, the Dome of the Cathedral, and much more. It’s worth taking your time to explore the many museums and galleries to fully appreciate their magnificence!

We learned about the city’s history, such as how rivalling medieval lords would compete by building ever larger/taller defense towers. Throughout the old city, you can see many of these towers still standing – but are now part of apartment buildings, shops, and restaurants! So cool!

All-in-all, Florence was a blast. I’m kind of sad to leave, but have Rome to look forward to next!

Cheers, Shawn

Why, you may ask, did we camp in this most exquisite destination? The reason – Venice is insanely expensive! Our camp site was off the island of Venice, about a 15 minute bus ride away.

I had mixed feelings about Venice. On the one hand, it is a beautiful city and a definite must see for any traveler. On the other hand, much of modern-day Venice is built solely for tourists and is priced for visitors wanting (or at least willing) to unload an obscene amount of cash. Perhaps a few more cities like this and the European economic crisis could be solved!

Enough of the soap box! It was a lot of fun to hop a water taxi and zip around the canals. There are multiple islands to explore, each with its unique flavour. I’d also recommend taking a day to walk around the main islands on foot. You have a 98.7% chance of getting lost, but that’s half the fun! Take in one of the few cities left where the water rules over the road!

The journey goes south – Florence awaits!

Shawn

There is no city on the planet like Naples! The chaotic buzz of the city has such an energy, and was at first unsettling after the tranquility of Matera. But we embraced it, and took a walking tour to check out this metropolis bathed in history!

Naples is unique in that many of the ancient buildings were not destroyed – instead, new buildings were just built into the old! Walking down a street you can see a multitude of architectural styles, and a Roman gate overarching a modern street. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before!

And the food! I’ve eaten the best pizza and ice cream in my life while in Naples. Hmmm, so good! Another very interesting sight is the Greek/Roman aqueduct underneath Naples. You can wander around the aqueduct and get an insight into ancient civil engineering. A fun fact – this aqueduct was also used as a giant bomb shelter for the city during World War II.

While in Naples we took a day trip to Pompeii. This is the Roman city that was destroyed and buried by the volcano Mt. Vesuvius. It’s quite a feeling to wander around the streets of a city that was destroyed nearly 2000 years ago. In one of the photos below, you can see a plaster cast of one of the victims of the eruption. It goes to show the respect we must still have for Mother Nature!

Next stop is Venice. Until then!

Shawn

The ferry ride from Croatia to Italy went smoothly. The seats were reclining and allowed for a pretty good rest. We landed in Bari, and found the train to bring us to Matera.

Matera is a magically distinct place – it’s an ancient city built right into the mountainside, has the relics of medieval monasteries, and has such a distinctive aura that modern-day film makers seek this area out to capture some of the magic! Check out the photos.

We checked out several cave churches with medieval frescoes painted by monks. It was really fascinating and felt like stepping back in time. One day I wandered around the hiking trails surrounding Matera, and took in the views of the valley. Very nice!

And obviously, the food is fantastic! The pasta, pizza, and ice cream here in Italy are to die for! As Matera is off the mainstream tourist grid, the prices in Matera are very reasonable. You will have to plan your eating and shopping schedule, though, as the riposo (siesta) is taken very seriously. Plan to eat lunch from 12pm-2pm, and dinner from 8pm-10pm. With this knowledge you’ll do just fine in this beautiful city!

Cheers, Shawn

For our last stop in the Balkans, we arrived in Dubrovnik. Like Kotor, Dubrovnik is based on the Adriatic Sea and is surrounded by a city wall. Unlike Kotor, Dubrovnik is much larger and has a long-standing history of being an independent nation-state. Obviously nowadays it is part of Croatia, but from 1382 to 1804 it maintained independence.

Dubrovnik actually competed against Venice as a key naval trader. Back in the day, the Ottoman Empire (current day Turkey, more or less) gave Dubrovnik full trading rights within the Ottoman realm. This gave Dubrovnik a unique advantage compared to other Christian nations in Europe.

For most of our time in Dubrovnik, we were pelted with quite a bit of rain. We were able to get some good weather on our last day and could enjoy the views. I spent time wandering around the city, enjoyed a local dancing show, and met some good friends at the local Irish pub. Good times had by all! On our last day we hop on a ferry and cross over to Bari, Italy. This is an eleven hour boat ride. Hopefully the seats are comfy!

The Wandering Shawn

Along the Adriatic Sea, we find ourselves in the stunning Bay of Kotor! This is a sight to behold. High mountains enclose the bay, sparkling blue water dotted with boats and kayaks, and a once mighty fortress overlooks everything!

The old city is enclosed within the walls, and is very well-preserved. I spent a bunch of time just walking around the city and taking in the Venetian style architecture, and climbed up to the fortress that overlooks the city. On a trail going towards the fortress, I came across a herd of goats that gave me a bit of a stare down. Once they realized I wasn’t going to bother them, they let me pass without a hinderance!

One day while in Kotor, we took an “All Montenegro” tour. We traversed a large chunk of the country (as you can see on a map, Montenegro is quite small). Some highlights were the Njegos Mausoleum atop Mount Lovcen. There are 461 steps to the mausoleum, adorned with beautiful sculptures, and enjoys a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains. Amazing! Njegos was a king, spiritual leader, and national hero of Montenegro. He received a burial-place made for a king!

Another stop was Lake Skadar, a bird sanctuary and national park. Our group took a 1.5 hour boat ride along the reserve, enjoying the scenery, many bird species, and the tranquility of the Montenegrin countryside. From here we headed back to Kotor. One more stop before we cross the sea to Italy!

Cheers, Shawn

We hopped a shared taxi to Shkoder, a town in northern Albania. From there we caught a ferry to the beautiful Valbone Valley. This ferry took several hours, and provided amazing views of scenery and a glimpse into the lives of the local people. We past several little villages and farms along the way, who’s only access to the outside world was the ferry that I riding. I can imagine that you would have a unique perspective growing up in a place like that!

Once off the ferry we made our way to the guesthouse, which was surrounded by amazing views and mountain peaks. We took a stroll around, and had a sumptuous Albanian dinners. To finish off, we had a glass of Rakia, a strong brandy type drink!

The next morning the real hike began. We started early in the morning, and got lost! It was rather embarrassing that we couldn’t find the trailhead, haha! After 45 minutes of meandering, we found the trailhead and met up with some fellow travellers and hiking buddies.

The terrain to cover was climbing up the mountains that surrounded the Valbone Valley, crossing the pass, and making our way down towards a town called Theth on the other side of the mountains. The trek from Valbone to the pass was quite cloudy, so we were bummed out about missing the views. Then we crossed the mountain pass – it was like night and day! All the clouds were held back by the mountains, and we had a spectacular view of the Theth side of the mountains. It almost seemed like something you’d see in a Lord of the Rings movie – some powerful force holding back the wrath of the storm! Very cool!

We made our way down to the little village of Theth, and stayed the night there. The next morning we took a van back to Shkoder over a crazy mountain road. From there we head into our next country – Montenegro!

Cheers, Shawn

Not many travellers consider visiting Albania – I highly recommend that you do! The pace is relaxed, and there’s plenty to see and do!

Our first stop was in Tirana, the capital. We learned about the unique history of this country, such as previous to 1990, there were only 5,000 vehicles in the entire country! The country used to be controlled by an extremely reclusive communist dictator who didn’t want western influences. Instead, he built over 700,000 concrete bunkers all throughout the county. The theory was that in case of an invasion, any able-bodied person should grab a gun and head to a bunker to protect the country! On top of this, the Albanian communist party even cut itself off from the USSR and the rest of the Eastern Bloc, as they weren’t communist enough! Albania was cut off from every other country in the world! Demands for change resulte in the gradual shift towards democracy and a new republic. Fascinating history.

We spent a little under a week in Tirana. Upon first impression, the city seems a little intimidating – it doesn’t have the refined feel of other European capitals. But there is a huge benefit, no one was trying to sell us anything! As tourism is relatively new, the locals just let you go about your business. They are very friendly and helpful if you need directions, but otherwise just go about their usual lives. I recommend that travellers visit this beautiful country before tourism hits with a greater force!

In Tirana we mainly relaxed, chilled, and drank the great local beer. We stayed at a very homey hostel, Trip’n’Hostel. We met up with some fun fellow travellers, and recharged for our upcoming journey into the mountains! Off to northern Albania!

Cheers, Shawn