InterRail Part 6: Italy

Only a couple of months since I last posted part 5.. but here is the final installment, Italy! To get there from Croatia we had to take the overnight ferry from Split to Ancona which was tiring to say the least, though Chris was generous when it came to sleeping arrangements as we had agreed to swap half way but he let me have the bed the whole time, like a gentleman! Despite this we were all extremely tired when reaching Ancona, a place that is far from the highlights of our journey, and upon locating our hostel we realised it was in the not so desirable part of town. This was made worse by an error at check in where the receptionist, who spoke no English, refused to acknowledge that I was also booked in for the room. This meant that Chris and I had to traipse around Ancona with little sleep at around 7/8am to find an internet cafe that had a printer so we could prove we were all booked in. Our mission failed but luckily Hannah, Rachael and Katie composed a vague sentence from an Italian handbook to indicate that there was an error with our check in, thankfully it all worked out only for us to be thrown out the hostel at 10am as it is closed pretty much all day! Though Ancona had a fair share of rundown buildings there was a nice side to it too, we went up to a church which did have great coastal views and there was also a market but overall there are plenty of other places I'd visit before returning here! As our InterRail ticket was coming to an end, we decided to make the most of the last evening and take a train inland to Fabriano. To be quite honest I barely remember anything about it, especially as it was dark so we only really found a restaurant to eat in and then had a walk around the streets, was pleasant enough though.

Our train from Ancona to Rome was around 12€, very cheap I thought! However we couldn't get straight into Rome so we spent one night on the outside, in a business hotel which wasn't that bad at all though too far away from the city itself for any kind of sightseeing. Upon arriving in the capital, we left the train station (filled with many who appeared to be prepared to sleep with their luggage outside) and only had a short walk around the corner to Pop Inn Hostel. Much like Hostel Veselova in Ljubljana, the rooms were colour coded and overall I highly recommend it if you are visiting Rome in fact Hannah liked it so much she stayed there on a return journey. As in Paris, we had a big list of attractions to visit and of course the most well known is the Colloseum, the huge structure was incredible and made even better by the special 1€ May day price! This famous landmark surrounded by various Piazzas and of course the Roman Forum, an expanse of architectural ruins that are really worth seeing. Of course there is plenty of other attractions too, such as the Pantheon, the Spanish Stairs, the Trevi Fountain, the Mouth of Truth, the Baths of Caracalla - I saw them all and more! Unfortunately it rained a fair amount of our stay but not during our 'Dark Heart of Rome' tour that informed us of the macabre past of the city, another worthwhile decision. I think it was earlier that day that we technically visited another country, Vatican City. Such sites we explored were St. Peter's Square, the Vatican Museum and of course the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. As you can imagine, the strict religious feel runs deep and there was even no compromise when I lost my friends in the tombs of the Popes and wasn't allowed to find them, still secretly hold a little grudge for that.. Despite the rain, Rome was immensely memorable and a great end to an amazing trip. Of course it couldn't have happened without the friends I went with so many thanks to them and all the little characters we met on the way!

 Images by KLV

Palmathedrium/Aquathedral

As I mentioned in the previous post, whilst away in Majorca my Mum booked a trip to Palma Aquarium. It turned out we couldn't find any English excursion companies so booked with a German one and their tour guides were warned that we'd be on the coach though we were sat next to a French family so weren't the only non-Germans onboard. After the hour and a half to two hour journey, bulked up by the many pickups, we reached Palma Aquarium and for once my teenage Brother showed some enthusiasm! The leaflets boasted it to be 'Europe's Most Spectacular Aquarium!' and though I'm not sure how you judge how spectacular something is, it was great and I've been to a fair few for comparison. The first section of the building was filled with Mediterranean species from the 'Old World' as they put it which was succeeded by the 'New World' consisting of mostly tropical fish. Following that you are lead outside to their Mediterranean gardens with mostly children's entertainment though there are some more tanks around, there's a restaurant here too which we came back to at the end. The next part was one of my favourites, the mostly openair 'Jungle' which is apparently the second largest rooftop garden in Europe, houses piranhas, catfish as well as some reptiles and amphibians with an abundance of tropical plants of course. The last section is dominated by the 'Big Blue' which features several shark species, the largest of which is the Sand Tiger Shark, as well as countless other fish. Also in this area is an exhibition dedicated to the endangered Blue Fin Tuna and a series of Jellyfish tanks. It was a really pleasant morning which was followed by an even nicer twist as though our excursion only included the Aquarium we managed to get back on the coach in the afternoon to continue the day in Palma for no extra cost! The trip cost 37€ which worked out great for the two destinations as if you went independantly to the Aquarium the entrance costs around 18/20€ and the buses to Palma cost around 15/20€. As we pulled into the old town in Palma we could instantly see the magnificent Cathedral, something that I was really interested in seeing whilst in Majorca and the construction of which spanned three centuries! Spanish architect Antoni Guadí and local artist Miquel Barceló have both been instrumental to aspects of the interior. The surroundings were quite enchanting, I love the old style of Mediterranean architecture with fountains and courtyards all around! We didn't venture outside of the cathedral's shadow in the three hours we had in Palma but I definitely don't regret that!

Insula Maior

 Latin for 'larger island' also known as Majorca which I've recently returned from and I can without a doubt say that I had a great time! I caught a bus to Southampton airport, so hassle free when compared with larger ones, to meet my Mum and Brother to continue the journey by air over the Channel Islands, the Pyrenees and Barcelona to Cala Millor, a tourist destination on the East coast of the island. Overall the weather was very pleasant with a couple of exceptions as we did enjoy a large portion of sunshine but there were two half days blanketed in clouds and on one occasion joined by rain too! Cala Millor itself is mostly what you would expect of a Spanish coastal area, that isn't to say I didn't like staying there as areas of the coastline were beautiful. On the first morning we decided to wake up earlier to have a little exploration of the town and seafront, after noticing the queues of people and series of boats arriving to collect them Mum booked a day trip for us which not only featured the boat trip but also entrance to one of the most intriguing attractions on the island, The Caves of Drach. The glass bottom boat we boarded later that morning took us to or past Sa Coma, S'illot, Porto Cristo, Cueva Del Pirata, Cala Romantica and Cala Varques but then returned to Porto Cristo so we could make our way to the caves inland. After some very basic map reading skills were put in place, we made it to the caves with time to spare. After descending many steps into a valley and continuing into the earth, we were met with countless beautifully lit stalactites and stalagmites. It all seemed so surreal and otherworldly, as if it wasn't natural at all, and upon descending further we reached Lake Martel where the stillness of the waters were only broken by the paddles of three small boats which carried performers of classical instruments who played in this utterly unique and timeless setting. However, the only thing that wasn't timeless was the wait for everyone to be seated to watch this concert as there must have been hundreds of people on the tour! The tiring but exciting first full day was succeeded by an equally busy schedule, this time to Palma. After the caves and boat trip, we decided to have a look around Cala Millor to inquire about day trips and unexpectedly booked a day trip to Palma Aquarium which was followed by Palma Cathedral, a seperate post about Palma will follow due to the amount of photos I took! With all four activities that the three of us really wanted to see and do, we spent the remaining days mostly relaxing with frequent walks into the town. We stayed at Hotel Club Simo which turned out to be very tennis orientated but the pool area was nice and the food though tending to be quite repetitive was fine too, testament to that fact was the amount I ate! One late afternoon, after some lengthy persuasion by my Brother, I joined him and Mum for a four seated bike trip where we were allowed the contraption for an hour to cycle up and down the promenade. I must admit I did enjoy it but panicked slightly with Ryan, my Brother, at the wheel! Our final trip out was by bus to Cala Rajada and though the bus routes were sometimes confusing, often backtracking and taking many side roads, we reached our destination, enjoying several hours by the coast and though it wasn't sunny the seas were rough which made up for it entertainment wise. Overall I had such a great time, mostly because I spent time with family but the day trips in Majorca are really worth it too. 

 The view out of the plane as we passed over the Pyrenees Mountains, unusually clear I thought! This is accompanied by my new favourite fragance 'Eternity' which my Mum bought for me at Southampton Airport, I'm pretty sure this fragrance will continue to remind me of this holiday much like Joop 'Go' reminds me of my family holiday to Egypt. 

The three of us after walking the promenades and not long before booking the boat trip to Porto Cristo at about nine something in the morning of the first full day. 

 Photos taken on the Illa Balear boat trip, the turquoise waters and rugged coastline were so beautiful that it felt that we were much further away than Majorca. 

Cala Romantica, again the colours of the sea and the pale sands did enhance the experience. There were many arches and other eroded structures in the rock as we sailed by. 

The view as we entered Porto Cristo, though we past this jetty and docked just by the small beach. The town itself seemed quite charming and we saw what we could in our half hour walk to the Caves of Drach. 

The very bike we used to get around Cala Millor hired from 'Papa's Bikes'. It was pretty hard work at times!

Ryan in Cala Rajada, around the corner we stopped for hot chocolate and though it wasn't really that cold it was windy so it seemed like the right thing to do. The sea was very tame here compared to behind the photo and past the port where the waves were reaching enormous height.

In the reception of Hotel Club Simo.

 These photos were not taken at the Caves of Drach as that wasn't permitted but I took photos of the booklet we bought instead. These images almost do the caves justice, they were truly spectacular. Top left: The Flag, Top Right: Lake Martel (including the boats providing the lake concert), Bottom Left: Diana's Baths and Bottom Left: Close up of the Ceiling.

InterRail - Part 5

Our next stop carried on into the fringes of Eastern Europe, in Zagreb the capital of Croatia is where we made our first stop. The accomodation was very different compared to past hotels or hostels as we had a flat in a villa which was self contained, included all facilities and on first appearances it seemed great! Zagreb overall was probably the least exciting destination but saying that it was rather relaxing, we spent alot of time walking around much like in the other cities but found there to be less attractions, either that or we just couldn't find them! However, we did visit an art gallery of what I believe was contemporary art but having searched online I'm still not sure of the name. One place I am sure of the name is the Croatian Museum of Naive Art, a pleasant enough collection of art but a not so pleasant curator who criticized our lack of Croatian language skills! We also ventured into the Natural History Museum to wander down halls filled with taxidermy followed by a walk round the Botanical Gardens, encountering some kind of mysterious giant pale turtle barging around in the pond, but I think if properly planned a trip to Zagreb would be much more eventful than ours! During the time we spent in the villa itself, we watched much Murder She Wrote (with Croatian subtitles, the best way to watch it of course) and drank some kind of flavoured spirits with a series of own cooked meals. We did make a habit of walking around as much as we could, throughout both the old town and the new town, meandering around various streets and shops with a visit to a Croatian church too. When we did actually attempt to make use of public transport, we ended up being thrown off a tram due to ticket confusion! However, we still managed to make it outside the city centre to enjoy some sunbathing by a river on the outskirts.

As we made our way to the city of Split, situated on the Dalmation coast, we enjoyed the Croatian landscape and at that point were very ready to be moving on. Since our hostel trouble or lack there of in Ljubljana, we learnt to book ahead and luckily ended up in a great little hostel right in the centre of the city, not only that but it was inside the Diocletian's Palace which is the oldest and most beautfiul architecture in Split. Chris and I shared a room and the girls had another down the hall, the hostel was small but well kept and as I said the location was brillant! Despite one day of heavy rain, we enjoyed some very high temperatures during our week long stay and walking along the coast in the afternoon always provided some very picturesque sights. We went for a swim on one occasion but I ripped my shorts in a very inconvenient place, so had to walk back through the town in a towel! Another dilemma took place on Marjan hill which is the densely wooded park that overlooks the city and it was here that I lost my wallet leading to me cancelling my cards, not ideal! Despite that, I really enjoyed our stay which included a visit to the slightly unstable church tower within the palace, a tour around the basements of the palace which features a market place, a day trip to the out of season town of Supetar on the nearby Brac Island and general wandering around the ideallic surroundings. There was also some kind of boat festival on at the time, which would have been great if we were interested in boats though it did bring even more life into the promenades!

Images by K.L.V.