Alas, the European dream came to an end almost seven months ago.
The end was spent rushing around Spain, the South of France, and Italy.
Here is a little taste of every place I visited:
Madrid
Sitting in the police station after being pick-pocketed. My wallet was snatched from my bag in a supermarket Luckily, the security guard noticed and came running after me. The guy was still in the store. They tried to bring him down but he escaped. They called the police and within 5 minutes their were undercover cops on the scene, running and cycling and combing the area. They caught him. He had tossed the wallet but kept the cash, about 300 Euros. So other than the inconvenience of having no Visa or bank card, nothing of any value was lost. I had to go to the station and fill out reports to get my money back. I was very impressed by the attention I was given by the Madrid Police because this type of thing happens every minute of every day.
Madrid was okay but our time there was plagued by inconveniences.
Seville
Watched Spain beat Italy in a bar full of Italians in Seville
Fell off a communal bike on our way to the train station. We biked 30 minutes in sweltering heat and realized we were at the wrong bus station. We took a bus to the right one.
Many thanks to Anna, Juan, Léon and Linus for putting us up in Seville!
Nerja
Fresh Sardines on the Southern coast
Barcelona
Spain wins the European cup.
We were obsessed with the delicious mojitos.
Montpellier
Eating fresh figs at a medieval garden attached to an old monastery that produces delicious wine, which we tasted. and tasted. and tasted.
In an ancient walled town where they still maintain their own postal system and police force...despite a population of only a few hundred people.
I lost.
Ventimiglia
Day trip on my way to Florence. I was so excited to see actual waves for the first time. I bodysurfed for almost 2 hours. I almost lost my bathing suit bottom. This was the last picture I took before my camera broke. I desperately went to the 4 camera shops in town to no avail.
'Tuscany
Took a walk around the Tuscan countryside. The film from the first disposable camera I bought seemed to be tinged pink.
Firenze
Sitting on the triangle off one of the bridges. If you've been to Florence you know what I'm talking about.
We went into the Duomo and they threw paper shawls over our shoulders because we were wearing sleeveless shirts. Inside, however, we noticed that there were men wearing sleeveless shirts and they hadn't been given shawls. We brought this up on our way out, but they had no valid explanation. We cheekily asked if they allowed gay people into the church.
This was the state of my shoes about 3 weeks in.
Venice
Halfway into our first day in Venice the sky grew dark and the winds grew strong and we were forced to seek shelter from one of the biggest and strongest rain storms I've ever seen. We were especially surprised to see hail the size of grapes. Apparently, they have a storm season every summer. We sought shelter in a small tunnel.
Our camping ground outisde of town had overbooked the tents, so we were given a mobile home with a fridge, A/C and our own bathroom for the same price.
Apparently there's been a huge crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods, especially purses. There were posters up everywhere discouraging tourists from purchasing these things. We were constantly seeing these guys, mostly illegal immigrants, packing up their wares in garbage bags and running when a policeman was approaching.
Cichetti-bar hopping in Venice. Cicetti are little snacks and finger foods
(salami and other cured meats, marinated veggies, little sandwiches, olives etc.) eaten with a glass of the bar's own wine or an Apero or Campari spritzer, usually cheap and sometimes free with your drink. If you eat enough you can replace dinner. Basically its a general city-wide happy hour where people walk around the bars and pour out into the streets with their drinks in their hands.
Best place ever. You bring your own plastic bottles (they have some there too) and they fill em up with local wines for a very fair price. We tried the sparkling red.
Chrissy left, and I spent my last few hours in Venice walking around the tiny Jewish quarter. There are about 50 Orthodox Jews left in Venice that run a few businesses here. I met and had drinks with an Artist from New Orleans and his globe-trotter friends.
Salerno
This was my favourite restaurant in all of Italy and the best and most memorable thing about Salerno. Deliciously simple pizza with fresh arugula tossed on at the last minute, wondrous little pots of vegetables simmered in the pizza oven with mint, basil, and other herbs, and it just keeps coming.
Salerno's a good base to visit Pompei and the Amalfi coast and it's right near Naples.
The Amalfi Coast
I thoroughly enjoyed the ferry ride from Salerno to the Amalfi coast.
Napoli
This city is walkable in a day or so. There is so much to see and do and best of all there are no tourists. Because of all the trouble they've had with garbage and garbage removal (something to do with the mob), it's gotten the reputation of being unclean. But now it seems fine.
In one 1/2 days I saw all four castles, climbed the hill, visited Virgil's tomb, visited the oldest aquarium in Europe, visited the opera house museum, ate at the most famous pizza restaurant Da Michele (only serve 2 kinds: Marguerita and Marinara. I got 1/2 an d 1/2), went to the Contemporary art museum (when I walked in I was informed in was 'free' day!), browsed through some junk sales, and got grossly overcharged for some drinks in the Piazza Bellini.
Rome
Besides forking out money for the touristy stuff (when in Rome...) I also saw my first opera, The Magic Flute, which I had a children's version of on audio cassette when I was little. It was splendid.
No more pictures after this point, but I will mention the lovely multi-cultural dinner in Genoa I somehow got convinced into getting off a train for on my way to Milan. I also ate some delicious but questionable berries off a tree. I learned how to make Satay, Kefta, and a Chinese seafood stew, before almost missing the last train to Milan, from where I was to fly back to the Netherlands. I realized I had to spend yet another night in the train station to catch my early morning flight. I made a friend, and we spread our sleeping bags out in the middle of a nearby park. We tried moving many times but couldn't get away from the urine smell. Because there were no trees, I had to go to a nearby strip-club to pee. Early morning came, and I boarded a bus.
I had managed to 'score' a day in Prague because it was the cheapest way to fly back to Amsterdam. I oohed and aahed at the fairy-tale city for a few hours and spent my last few euros to buy crowns to eat an unfortunately mediocre late lunch (I chose the wrong restaurant). Then I went back to my home away from home.
And 3 days later, I came home.
