Italy on Kelvin Nicholson

A Tale of Two Cities

Sat, 18 Dec 2004 10:30:00 +0000

Once again, we had internet access and many stories to tell. We left Stockholm on good terms, feeling great about the people we had met and the city in general. On our final night, I stayed up fairly late talking with Malin, which was quite uplifting. Casey and I woke up, packed, and started our next journey. We made our way to the central station and then took the bus for an hour and a half to the airport. We boarded the plane to Milan and, as you can imagine, I slept the entire way, so it felt like a quick flight. We arrived in Milan and both agreed that, well, we wouldn’t want to live there. Being stubborn, we walked for about 30 minutes to find the hotel. Since it was late and we were tired, we went looking for some wine, but at 22:00 no shops were open. We met our third roommate, Herbert, or something like that. He was from Hong Kong and spoke decent English. We taught him how to play rummy and played a quick game to 300. We all fell asleep, and apparently Herbert snored all night. Casey couldn’t find his earplugs, so he used small pieces of paper to try to muffle the racket. We woke at 8:00, showered, and ate one of the best breakfasts ever. It put a budget motel’s continental breakfast to shame. We walked to the train station, bought tickets that were twice as expensive as expected, and boarded the train. Once again, I slept most of the way.

Beep Beep

Sat, 18 Dec 2004 10:30:00 +0000

The computer started beeping, and because it was in German I had no idea what it was saying. We got on the train and I slept again. Casey talked to a French man, I think he was French. The last stop before the Swiss border was a tiny town. The train stopped, and we both saw people board with bags of food from a local store. Since we like eating, we got off the train, assuming another one would come later in the afternoon. It was 12:00, and the next train did not come until 16:00. We wandered around town for a while looking for food, found a good grocery store, bought a lot of food and a lot of 1.35 euro wine, and left. We found the only park in the city, which was closed, but we snuck in. After that, we walked back to the train station and started drinking a bottle of wine. Without a bottle opener, we pushed the cork in. Next to us sat a woman, and Casey said our mission was to talk to her. We talked for a while and I learned quite a bit about her, including that she lives in Bern. The story gets more interesting from there. For the rest, look at Casey’s Dec. 19, 2004 post.

Old and New

Mon, 25 Aug 2003 10:30:00 +0000

It has been quite an eventful couple of days! As I sit at the Colosseum typing and reflecting, people give me curious looks. Do I care right now? Not at all. Why? Let me explain. The story begins a few days ago, with Kelvin hungry, lost, smelly, and effectively homeless on a train going somewhere he did not know. I got off at Garrista, or somewhere with a similar name, but because it was urban and had no beach, I took another train to Civitavecchia (I planned to confirm the exact names later). I got off, found the beach, and was immersed among locals. By this stage of the trip, I could rarely go anywhere without hearing English, but for about 15 hours I heard none at all. I bought some food and sat in what appeared to be the town’s fashionable area, a beachfront community seemingly built in part around industrial manufacturing. Eventually, I made my way to the beach, curled up on a pile of rocks in my sleeping bag, and fell asleep. Concerned about my safety, I did not sleep particularly well, but morning eventually came. I jumped on another train to Rome and, after arriving, headed to the Beehive near the station. But wait: it had moved. I went to its new location on the other side of the station, but it was full. The staff suggested a few alternatives, and I stopped at one advertising free internet. Promising, but it was also full. I tried another place that seemed less likely, though after sleeping on a beach I was not especially picky. An American man there told me that the hostel was full, but another property owned by the same people had space. I went there, once again on the other side of the station, and checked in. I dropped off my bag and immediately headed to the Vatican. The metro system was not nearly as pleasant as Barcelona’s, but it got me there. I bought a little food and toured several churches around the Vatican. I had no money left for admission, but I still enjoyed myself. Being young and energetic, I walked through much of the city and reached the Pantheon, which was extraordinary. I met a woman from Malta, and we talked for a while. She spoke some Maltese to me and used my map to show me where Malta was. How many people have had Maltese spoken to them? Good times. A tour group has now gathered around me, perhaps amused by the sight of someone typing at the Colosseum. Enough of that! After the Pantheon, I wandered back to the hostel and arrived around 6:30pm, just as food was being served. Pizza for everyone, and plenty of people to meet. This was where I started making friends. I met several people in my room and organised all but one of them to join a pub crawl. Two English women and then two English men also came along. I was the only American. The crawl included a tour, drinks, and a late-night stumble home. George and Louis were there, and I snogged George (the word still sounds funny). She was very cool, so all was well. I woke, ate breakfast, met two Mexican women and another Australian, and went to the Colosseum with BJ. It is extraordinary here, but I am only halfway through exploring. For now, I bid farewell. Adios!

Goodbye #1

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 10:30:00 +0000

I am alone again, on an ICE to Venice.

After going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, we returned to the hostel, made some food, and went to bed. I fell asleep fairly early, while Ana stayed up longer to write in her journal. The next morning, we did not really know what to do. I needed to reach Venice eventually, while she needed to visit Amsterdam and London. Once awake, we wandered around Paris for quite a while, got some food, and had some film developed. She called her parents a few times, and we went to the train station to make reservations. We had also visited the Moulin Rouge the previous night, by the way. Eventually, I emailed my friend Christy to say that I would not reach Venice the next day but would arrive on the morning of the 10th. Ana and I collected our belongings and went to the train station at 23:00 for the overnight train to Amsterdam. We arrived early the next morning and wandered around for a few hours. We returned to the Red Light District, had breakfast, then spent several hours at the Van Gogh Museum. Ana loves Van Gogh, so you can imagine how happy she was. We went back to the station because my train left at 15:00 and hers at 16:00. I boarded my train, we said goodbye, and I left. I hoped to see her again in London because our flights departed from the same area, although I did not know whether our paths would cross. My journey took me from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, then Munich, followed by an overnight train to Venice. One interesting thing did happen on the way south: a group of Scotsmen effectively took over several train carriages, including mine. They were starting their celebrations early for a football match. Occasionally, bagpipes sounded over the train’s intercom, and at one point the entire carriage sang a Scottish song. It was an amusing experience, although I was exhausted after the previous night and all the walking in Paris. Each day there, we had needed to change rooms by 09:15 because the hostel was nearly full. Oh well. I am now almost in Munich, and soon I will be home. Time to email Casey and make sure he can pick me up; he owes me at least that much. I also need to find a beer mug for him…

I Get Lost. And Found.

Wed, 23 Jul 2003 10:30:00 +0000

I have a couple of days to cover, and they have been quite adventurous. Two days ago, I eventually arrived in Monterosso after a few detours and losing track of my friends. The first thing on my list was food; I was very hungry. After eating and practising a little Italian with the waitress, I headed down to see the beach. I met a few women nearby and mentioned that I planned to camp there. They told me that several American women were planning to do the same. Good luck! I walked onto the beach in high spirits and saw one of them sitting in a chair while three others were in the water. I asked, "Are you the Americans I heard were going to camp on the beach?" She replied, "I don't know about either of those. Who is asking? Oh, wait, are you Kelvin?" At first, I assumed Sibyl and Ash had told these women about me. Then I realised that the woman was Laura, whom I had met in Barcelona. After we talked for a while, she offered me a place to sleep in the apartment they were renting. Could I complain? No. I also met Michelle from the United States and two Canadians, Jolien and Jenn. Both were very funny. We swam for a while, then eventually returned to the apartment and fell asleep. The next morning, we set out to hike the Cinque Terre, five towns spread along a section of the Italian coast that is popular for good reason. We began at the first town and, after losing track of the two other Americans, made it back to the fifth in about five hours. It was one of the most impressive places I had ever seen; the scenery was extraordinary. Everybody was tired when we returned, but after a brief discussion, we bought wine, one bottle per person, and went in search of food. Somehow, Sibyl and Ashley had also found me on the trail; we simply ran into each other. All seven of us went to a pasta restaurant and enjoyed a substantial meal. Afterward, we went to the beach while Sibyl and Ashley tried to find two Irish men they planned to invite back to their hotel. After waiting for an hour without their return, we became impatient, found our own bottle opener, and released the corks. Two Swedish men nearby tried to open a bottle but broke the cork in half, so I helped them out. Throughout the day, we had invited several people to join us on the beach. Jolien and I met even more while getting additional wine and invited them too. In all, 20 people came, which was not bad considering I had known only two of them a few weeks earlier. We drank wine, played games, jumped into the sea, and went home. I won’t go into detail, but Jenn and I kissed that night. It was unexpected and became one of the highlights of my trip. I hoped I would see her again.

Lost and Found II

Wed, 23 Jul 2003 10:30:00 +0000

Not much happened, so I decided to catch a train somewhere. I did not really know where, and did not particularly care. I boarded a train to La Spezia, or somewhere like it, then changed trains and continued beyond Pisa. The funniest part was seeing Jenn at a station from the train when it stopped. Ha! She looked great, as usual. Now I am on another train heading somewhere south. I still do not know where, and still do not mind. I am in a comfortable cabin with several people, and nobody is asking me for money. As I did two nights ago, I plan to sleep on the beach, although tonight’s destination does not have one. What shall I do? I will get some food when I leave the train, and everything will become clear. Until later, my friend. Good night, and sleep well.

Lost on Rails

Mon, 21 Jul 2003 10:30:00 +0000

Well, I woke up and got a little food from a pastry shop. It was so good. I checked my bag at the train station, while Sibyl and Ash kept theirs at the hotel. At about noon, we caught a train to Monaco, then a bus to Genoa (I think), followed by another train. This is where things started to get interesting. In Genoa, we boarded a train headed toward one of the Cinque Terre towns, but I climbed into a different section from Sibyl and Ashley. The train travelled one stop and then simply stopped. I met two women from Florida, Rosie and Marxy, and we claimed some first-class seats. After a while, the train began travelling in the opposite direction. Oh no! A few other passengers were also wondering what was happening. We spoke to the conductor and learned that the train was heading toward a town in France, not where we wanted to go. I got off in Genoa again and, ten minutes later, boarded another train to La Spezia, which would drop us at one of the Cinque Terre towns. I'm now sitting with the two women from Florida, having travelled for six hours across southern France and into Italy. Looking back, I really enjoyed the bus ride through the small towns. The scenery along the way was awe-inspiring, with the French Riviera looking just as it does in the books. The ocean is amazing. Now I'm on the last train to my destination, which somehow seems to be spending more time in tunnels than above ground. So I bid farewell, not knowing where my travelling companions are and facing a 90% chance that I will be sleeping on the beach tonight and showering in the ocean tomorrow.