summer in the city

I got all the tourism out of my system this week, and I'm ready for another side of Italy. I left Rome on friday for an impromptu day-trip to Napoli, with a friend of Natalie. I’m glad that I went, but I’ll also say that its not my favorite Italian city…it managed to make Rome seem calm, clean and orderly. Rick Steve’s (travel writer) says that the further south you go in Italy the more intense it gets. Now I understand! But we ate fantastic pizza and spent the day strolling around in some very intense heat. And how often does one have the chance to take a day-trip to Naples?

The rest of the week has been a blur. Just when I was starting to feel lonely, I made two random travel buddies (Amelia and John) and did a bunch of tourist attractions with them, including the Vatican and the Colosseum. Natalie’s boyfriend Jimmy is Irish, so I’ve spent a surprising amount of time in Irish pubs on this trip. On Saturday, Jimmy’s team hosted the Euro Pub League football (soccer) tournament in Rome. We spent Saturday night celebrating with a sunburned, exhausted bunch of soccer players from all over Europe. Lots of fun, and of course I felt very at home in a pub atmosphere with thickly accented soccer players (thanks to all the practice with Matty Pilks & crew).

I’ve been trying to get internet access (with a wireless key that just plugs into my computer) for the rest of the trip, but something about the new Mac Book is not compatible with it and its become a huge headache. I’m not sure why I feel such a strong desire to have internet access… but maybe its just because I am so nervous for this next leg of the journey. I’m trying to take this trip one day at a time and just enjoy myself, but right now the length of the trip feels very intimidating. I miss you all very much! I’ll write again as soon as I can. The farm that I’m going to work on (beginning tomorrow) is also a yoga retreat center and right now I’m wound up real tight after 5 days in Rome. I’ve decided that if my (horrible) Italian doesn’t start improving, I’m just going to pay to be a guest and spend the week doing yoga and trying to embrace vacation. If you need to get in touch with me this week, just google the farm and there are phone numbers listed on the website.