Hi everyone, sorry about the big mass email and lack of updates recently. Internet in Italy is extremely expensive!

Italy has been really amazing. I’ve been to Venice, Rome, Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi, Florence, San Gimignino and now I’m in the beautiful Cinque Terra.

Venice was really beautiful, absolutely loved it, one evening I hopped on the Vaperetto (Water Bus) and just cruised up and down the grand canal taking millions of photos. I met two American girls that had been studying Art History in Paris so they took me on a very well informed tour the one day.

Rome was good but due to a bit of bad planning I only had one full day there, and it was a Sunday! So in one day I did a walking tour of Ancient Rome followed by a trip to the Vatican. I couldn’t go into the Sistene chapel because it was closed but St. Peters Cathedral was breathtaking. Visiting the Vatican made me realise just how much power the Catholic church has over the world.

Next I went on a 3 day trip down to Southern Italy. We visited Pompei (very interesting. Our guide started a phrase that stuck for the next couple of days, Yoo Hoo Busabout! I cant write the accent properly but use your imagination! The people on the trip were really cool. Lots of Aussies of course, some Canadians and a sweet girl from Klerksdorp! We stayed in a fairly dodgy campsite in Sorrento, but the place was awesome. We had amazing Gelati (Ice Cream) and tasted Lemoncello (a pretty vile lemon liqueur). One evening we got drinks and just sat on a lookout point admiring the view.

We made a day trip off the Sorrento Coast and went to Capri. The island was very busy with tourists (but the whole of Italy is!) I went inside the Blue Grotto, it was short lived but really cool! We had to climb a crazy number of steps to get off the top of the island but the swim at the end was worth it!

Our last nite in Sorrento a few of us went swimming at night, it was strange being in the sea at night but it was a secure area and I’m sure there are no critters in the sea here. Although the Canadian girl had never been in the sea until this trip so she was very jittery!

Florence was really good, I liked it more than Rome in fact. Saw Michaleangelo’s David and lots of impressive artwork. Its a beautiful city. Then one day we made a day trip to San Gimingano. Its a lovely Tuscan town with stacks of towers that overlook the entire countryside. Bellisimo!

Now I’m in Cinque Terra (The 5 Villages) its an amazing coastal stretch with 5 little fishing villages. Yesterday I set off on my own but luckily bumped into Busabout mates on teh way, we hiked 17kms thru all the villages. It was really tough at times but so worth the views and stopping for a swim every now and then. I took 130+ photos yesterday! Today I’m chillin’ a little, been sitting on the beach and eating pizza, taking it easy.

Tomorrow Ill hop on a train to Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland, looking forward to that. So my 2 weeks in Italy have really flown by. I did learn to say Ciao Bella (Hello Beautiful) but I haven’t used it often enough!

Thanks to everyone that emailed me, good to hear news from home. Ill try get back to you all personally in due time, I promise.