Some guys take a long vacation to throw a ring into a volcano.

After the traveling of yesterday, I was still pretty groggy when I got up, packed, and made ready for breakfast. I thought it very nice to have waffles available and poured a ladle full of battery stuff onto the hot plate and closed it up before going to grab a drink. Imagine my surprise when I came back to check that the batter wasn't getting cooked as I expected and then I looked over to other tables to see people eating the batter out of a bowl. It turns out that this 'batter' was really just yogurt and the hot plate was simply a toaster for things like, you know, bread. Yeah, I was realizing it was not one of my best trip moments as I cleaned the hot plate and resulting mess in the sink. I still swear it looked exactly like the typical waffle stations I'd seen at other hotels when traveling.

I previously had planned to take the train to Pompeii and wasn't looking forward to the long hike back to the station, but in talking to others in the hostel last night I learned that a bus left the nearby port's station just down the road directly for Pompeii, so within a few minutes of leaving the hostel, I had my ticket and was on board. I ended up being the only passenger, but it was nice to relax a bit while getting dropped off right at the doorstep of the ruins for Pompeii.

Pompeii is of course very famous for having been essentially buried when the nearby volcano, Mt. Vesuvius blew its top and buried everything nearby in dirt, pumice, rock, and ash. Until it exploded, apparently no one had any indication that it was a volcano. I bet that dropped property values. I was impressed by the extensiveness of the archaeological site. Most ruins I have ever visited tend to be little more than a pile of rubble with maybe a few structures out of hundreds that may have once stood. though only 75% has been excavated, the whole area really does seem to be a snapshot of a point in time. as the ash fell, most roofs collapsed, however the walls tended to remain standing, thus preserving the very footprint of this once bustling city. I spent about 3.5 hours walking around and taking in the sites. and checking out many of the buildings that were open, though apparently many that were once available have been blocked in order to preserve them as much as possible from all the foot traffic.

Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.

This day was also a continuance of the good news/bad news day from yesterday's travels.

Bad news: I got up a little late this morning and ran to the train station with just enough time to find the storage lockers, run to find change when I was just .1 euro short, run back to the lockers, stow my gear in a locker and then get a bus ticket from the train station for the 8AM departure to San Marino
Good news: I boarded the bus with 3 minutes to spare. Whew!

The draw for me to this small country was that it would be another opportunity to technically visit a new, independent, nation as well as take in some nice views relatively cheaply. While the Holy See had been given its own location at one time that ended up becoming a legally separate country, San Marino has always been independent, mostly because it was in a remote, uninteresting part of the country. It was nice and quite cool out and since I was on the relatively empty first bus up, it was pretty quiet as well. I was one of the first to the castles, the main tourist destination for the San Marino area, and had a nice chance to relax and walk around while taking in the views of the coast and surrounding Italian countryside. I had a great little lunch at the top of the ridge with an excellent view and then strolled among some of the shops. San Marino does not have a VAT (value added tax) like the rest of Italy, so it is a good place to get some supplies such as film or batteries and even weaponry (swords, guns, crossbows, etc) that are otherwise illegal in the rest of Italy. The city reminded me overall of Assissi with the narrow, winding streets in the hillside construction. I wasn't able to get a stamp for my passport since they of course do not require them and I didn't want to spent the €5 for the one they sell to tourists. Passport stamps used to be the big thing for travelers as a means to demonstrate where they have been or as a goal to collect (it was a big plot point in the movie 'While you were sleeping' I believe); however most European Union countries do not require them any more when traveling between nations once one has already gained entry into the EU. With the age of digital cameras to document one's travels, I really don't suppose they are that big of a deal any more.

Bad news: I got my ticket to Naples and rushed on board, however I seem to have gotten on the wrong train. Apparently both trains on either side of the platform were leaving for their respective destinations at the same time, however I took the wrong one in my rush to make it aboard. I thought it strange that the train actually left 3 minutes earlier than scheduled, but it was a bit late once it started moving.
Good news: The conductor was understanding of my predicament and spent some time finding a schedule for me to still make it to Naples. After that was sorted, I was able to really enjoy the shoreside trip down the coastline towards Ancona on the fast train. I was originally suppose to get into Naples at 21:00, however when I got to Ancona, I was able to get a new ticket for just €4 more that got me in at least an hour earlier.
Bad news: I stepped out of the train station in Naples into a dark, scary madhouse. All the guidebooks had warnings regarding pick-pockets, fake taxis, and other scams. There was major traffic congestion all around (like rush hour in times Square), trash everywhere, and plenty of noise from car horns, yelling, and idling buses. I had quite a distance to cover and was able to make my way to the hostel with the aid of the GPS. I figured I got there much more quickly than if I tried to wait for a bus in all the chaos of the traffic.
Good news: Finally found the building in which the hostel was located.
Bad news: I had the most scary elevator ride of my life. The elevator was so small that I had to walk in backwards with my pack so I could still get to the controls. Until after I got in and hit the floor button, I didn't notice that the single elevator light was out. I had a slow, cramped ride up 7 floors in pitch blackness. I got out and realized after some search that I was in the wrong wing of the building with the only way between them being the ground floor. I decided to walk down the step this time, cross over, and then took the correct, light, elevator to my correct location.
Good news: The hostel itself was normal with several international travelers hanging about and it had free wi-fi and breakfast in the morning.

The good news is that the bad news is not much worse than usual.

This was a definite day of good news/bad news. I don't think I've ever before really recognized such a distinct pattern of one after the other in a single day.

Bad news: Last night when chatting with some folks I loaned a pen to someone and forget to get it back before I left.
Good news: Enjoyed a nice final breakfast on the Grand Canal as I waited for the train to Rimini and found two pens sitting on the tray when I boarded the train.
Horrible news: Just after leaving Bologna, our high speed train apparently hit someone on the tracks. I was in the third car and it felt and sounded like one was driving over a piece of road debris on the interstate, or when a tire suddenly goes flat, as something was bouncing along undercarriage. I wouldn't know if it was suicide or unintentional as the trains do travel at about 100 MPH and can get to you before you react if not paying attention. We had to sit there for two hours as the police finally made it out to the middle of nowhere and dealt with clearing, and cleaning I suppose, the scene.
Good news: Finished my first audio book of the trip, 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King.
Bad news: Arrived in Rimini too late to take the bus and tour San Marino. I had originally planned to get in much earlier so to check out San Marino and then take the overnight train (with a few track changes though) to Naples. So my late arrival left me with no plan or lodging.
Good news: Found the tourist information place near train station right before it closed. Got a list of hostels and with the aid of the GPS and map, found one less than a mile away as the crow flies, but since this crow had to walk around the train compound, it ended up being a bit further.
Bad news: I walked a good distance with everything I owned (on this continent at least) to make it to the it to the Jammin Hostel in hopes they would have available space.
Good news: The place was about empty (tourist summer season hadn't started yet). The cost was only about 15. That price included free wi-fi, sheets, small breakfast, and even bicycle rental! Since barely anyone was staying, there were plenty of bikes to be had, so after setting up my stuff, I headed out towards the beach. The bike was key in being able to enjoy this little city today and I was able to see a lot that I would have otherwise missed due to the distance. I went by the Titus Arch, rode on and along the open beach, ate at a nice brewery/restaurant called Booty, and stopped by a supermarket to pick up some fruit and supplies.
Bad news: Although pretty much the entire place was empty, the staff placed all the residents in one room to save on cleaning time/costs. So it seems 6 of us were in the entire place, all of us were in one room.
Good news: No one snored!

More government is like a recreational root canal

A week or so before I left, I got an e-mail from an old hashing friend of mine about her relocation to Italy with her husband; so I sent over a note saying I was going to be there shortly. We communicated a bit back and forth and finally decided to meet up in Venice. Pic, Medicinal HJ, and her husband took the train down to Venice to meet up with me in the morning. After finally finding each other, we wandered to the Jewish grotto area for a little shopping so MHJ could get some supplies. Afterward, we proceeded to get hopelessly lost through all the dead-ends, lack of visible landmarks, and streets terminating at a canal. It really doesn't take too long for that gentle laugh, the one that screams embarrassment with a touch of anxiety, to turn from "hey, look at us Americans, we're lost in Venice, this is funny..." to "holy crap, weren't we just here 10 minutes ago, I swear we've seen that bridge at least twice before". And it was fun. I think Venice should be shut down once a year to turn it into a massive urban paintball field. What a nightmare it would be to have to navigate this area constantly. with the occasional aid of the GPS (whenever it could lock onto the satellite signals) we finally made our way to the waterfront and St. Marks square where we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe nearby. I don't know why I'm so enthralled with such things, but the bathroom here had the first Dyson Airblade hand dryer that I had ever seen. I almost washed my hands twice just to get to play with it. At about $1300, I doubt I'll be getting one for my bathroom soon, but it was neat to see it in action. I had seen it mentioned on a couple of tech sites a long while back and even if it was loud, it worked quite well and didn't require heating the air or wasting paper towels. Strange how such things continue to amuse me, but I'm guess I do miss the strange monkey at times. After dinner we wandered more (still the best way to see the city) hitting a few beer stops or pastry stand along the way. We even stopped by a Hell's Kitchen wine bar, ov Gordon Ramsay fame, but it was unfortunately closed for the afternoon.

After they took off, I got a day pass for the vaporetto so I could see more of the Grand Canal. I took a ride over the bay to church on San Giorgio Maggiore. I arrived a little too late to be able to take the tour to the top of the church dome in order to get a sweeping view of Venice, but there was enough time to sit for a while and reflect prior to the building's closing. I walked along the marina for a little bit to get a couple of panoramic shots from just above the water. Unfortunately it was pretty overcast much of the day, so the pics are kind of bleak as a result. After leaving the church, I took a ride for a while to relax and enjoy the sunset while heading back to the hostel. After getting cleaned up I chatted with the hostel mates for a while before we decided to get out and have a few drinks before heading back in after an hour or so. While an interesting place to visit, I don't think I'd want to live in a place like this when having to deal with constantly flooded streets, throngs of tourists (with the season barely having started it was already quite crowded), and small spaces. It was definitely beautiful though in a Renaissance kind of way.

Veni, Vidi, Venice...I came, I saw, I took a gondola ride.

After another early morning wake-up, I took the train to Venice. The hostel was extremely convenient to the train station, so I was ready to start exploring soon after arriving. Venice is Amsterdam meets Florence, with all the fun of the Dutch canals and all the beauty of the narrow Italian streets. For a place like this, it is easy to get lost, but then again, that is part of the whole point as any guide here would suggest. I had maps downloaded into the GPS, so fortunately I could easily find my way to waypoints with turn-by-turn directions on even the pedestrian streets whenever I was able to get an actual signal in the urban canyons between the buildings. I spent a couple of hours just wandering, checking out shops, and getting completely lost. It was wonderful and felt like I was playing a game of hide and seek between me and myself. When I booked the trip in October I already planned to try to recreate a particular shot that a once close friend of mine had created a long time ago; only I didn't know where it was taken. That picture had a beautiful church in the background with a well situated gondola, though it was marred in composition by another gondola's bow breaking the frame. I walked the whole waterfront and was excited to finally see the church across the water, only to find the spot I thought it was ended up being on the wrong side of the Grand Canal. Even though the other side of the river is just a few hundred meters away, it can take a long detour to reach the other side. There are only two main bridges that cross the Grand Canal, however besides the vaporetto, the Grand Canal water bus that zig zags the main waterway. This is public transportation at it's finest, without any pesky rules of the road. They know and you know they are the biggest thing on the water, so nobody is unaware of their position in life. These things pretty much crash in and tear out of the stops with much abandon. During my visit to Venice I felt like a hobo hopping on and off old train cars in motion whenever I was on the vaporettos.

There is a local secret of which few seem to be aware outside of the area residents. In several strategic points there are gondola stations called traghettos that for only a half euro will take you directly across to the other side. If one doesn't want to pay the €80-100 euro, minimum, price for a more traditional ride, these offer great values so one may truthfully say they rode a gondola in Venice! Apparently by law, designed so the nobles of old wouldn't constantly be pimping their gondola ride by excessive colors as a way of bragging, all gondolas must be painted black. There area about 400 licensed gondoliers in Venice with rights only passing on to family when one passes on. Anyway, I made my way to the bay once again in my mission to find the correct site. Of course once I got to the right spot it was obvious, but recreating shots can sometimes be hit and miss to get the angle right. I've read stories of people trying to recreate Ansel Adams shots having extreme difficulty finding the right spot where one might think it would be easy. I stood there for at least 85 minutes waiting for just the right shot. Yeah, for some reason it was that important to me. There was a lot of transecting going on by tons of boat and gondola traffic whenever I got close that just messed it up. I actually whooped when I thought I got it and noticed, though I no longer have access to the original inspirational shot, that by sheer chance, I seem to even have captured the same operator.

After getting the shot I listened to the Rick Steves audio guide of Venice and St. Marks Square. Apparently the Ponte dei Sospiri, Bridge of Sighs, was given the name by Lord Byron. The name came from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. I was disappointed in seeing the famous 'Bridge of Sighs' pretty much covered by an advertisement, but eventually noticed it was just to cover scaffolding that was presumably renovating the buildings. In giving the name, Lord Byron wrote, “I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs; / A palace and a prison on each hand.” After taking the wrong water bus, I should learn to consult transportation maps more often, that went all the way over to Lido (though a nice ride anyway) I finally made it back to the hostel after a 90 minute long, but scenic, detour late in the evening. Venice definitely is one of the most scenic places I've ever visited. It was a complete haven of photographs just waiting to be turned into desktop wallpaper.

Bridge of Sighs

Italian men are sexy.