Day 15 to Tunisia

I woke up 10minutes late and kept getting later and later. I made it to the plane 5 minutes before boarding time. 

Plenty of time.

I've met some really interesting people this trip. Yesterday at breakfast up stairs was quiet and I got to know a really interesting boy who is studying art. He's a dancer. 

In Tunisia I discovered they speak French when I arrived and Tunisian Arabic. I've been studying Italian. But my friends all speak in Italian. If i concentrate very hard i can pick up what they are saying.

I also discovered that my luggage didn't arrive with me. It is fortunate that I was wearing a pretty dress with butterflies on because we went out to dinner and dancing at a night club. 

It was amazzzzzing! First there was a band. They played so well. Then me and Anna and her friend, Diago came with me to wade in the pool. We were at a resort. It helped my feet to recover. They aren't used to so much walking, miles & miles & miles every day.

I feel so loved. We dance and hold hands and dance all together. These are my girls. It is strange to have to come so far for a girls night out, I don't know why it is but it just is. It is so wonderful to see them again and meet new girls with us too. I love them all. 

And the boys are Youssef's friends from Lebanon. And some family friends. We danced and drank and sat on the wall and talked and laughed and we're all together so happy.

I sat with with Wiwa's brother Karim, in the back seat of the car coming home but they took him away from me before we arrived. Sad face. I love Karim.

Day 14 Last day in Rome

The group was splitting up and moving onto different cities. A couple of them had a few hours to fill in but it was super hot outside, too hot to wander around. I suggested we could go up to the Borghese gardens where the leafy trees make it lovely and cool. They liked the idea but needed a few more minutes to get ready.

I went back down to my room to do a few things like hanging my washing to dry in a different spot and put on deodorant. When I went back up to meet them, they had gone without me. I was a bit hurt. I had taken such good care of them. I gave Natasha pawpaw cream for her mosquitoe bites and insect repellent and I'd given them both Indian head massages and I went out and bought them all pizza before getting in the fountains. But we had such a fun time in the fountains.

Anyway, my true gang was there, Danny arrived and Minu made us yummy scrambled eggs. I thought of going to the forum or shopping but it was too hot. I packed my suitcases and slept most of the day. It was good. And I did a session of yoga for Minu.

We had a plan for the evening so I needed to save my legs and my energy.

Me, Minu and Danny set off to find our way to the highest spot in Rome. We would have preferred to go on the bus but we ended up walking or we would have missed the sunset. It was a pretty long climb and we made it just in time to see the entire city laid out below turned orange.

Coming down was definitely easier than going up. We had dinner at Trastevere again, it's the nicest part of the city, more for Roman's than tourists. 

My tiramasu tried to kill me! All day long Minu had been trying to convince me that it is easy to die and I disagreed. And then I inhaled the cocoa on top of my desert and couldn't breath! But I lived to tell the tale. Though now I must agree, it is easy to die!

We stopped to listen to some beautiful music. I bought their CD'S for us for yoga and talked to the girl for a few minutes. It was another one of those instants that a spirtual connection is formed in a moment.

We walked down to the edge of the Tiber where they have music and stalls. It was really great. We stopped to smoke shisha. 

We were lucky to get the bus back and there was an adorable baby who blew kisses to every single person on the bus. She was so cute.

Ben had asked us to meet him at the hostel to drink wine but we didn't get back in time.

Minu had to stay up to wait for a check-in that didn't arrive. We went to bed early for once at 1 o'clock.

Day 13

In the morning after frolicking in the Roman fountains we all gradually surfaced and we made a plan to go to the caro comes.  But as it took Natasha so long to get ready and we didn't want to leave her behind, time gradually slipped away and we wouldn't have had enough time to see them before they close for lunch.

I had a brainwave that we could go to castelo St Angelo. We were at the right bus stop and then a lovely shaded walk along the Tiber.  

We had plenty of time to explore the fort and met Patrick on the terrace under the angel at midday. 

Then we went to Trastevere all together for lunch. A big happy bunch of travellers. All different personality types and from different countries. It was fun.

We spent the late afternoon back at the hostel resting - well that's what I  did. 

In the night Minu cooked us dinner and they drank wine and vodka, playing drinking games. I had beer. I got a bit sick of drinking by now. 

I sent Wiwa a message saying I would see her tomorrow and she replied she thought it was the day after. She was right. I had entered the wrong day in my diary. I wasn't leaving, I had another whole day in Rome. Lucky that she made me check or I would have gone to catch the plane!

Day 12 Ostia

I was so proud of myself, I found my way to Ostia all by self. I got the metro from Barberini, changed lines at Termini, changed to a train then got on a bus (because everybody else was) and ended up the beach at Ostia.

They have a funny attitude at the beach, they just lie around on deck chairs under umbrellas. No one swims and if the do they just stand in the water, which is not very deep. I did not like this attitude so I had a swim far out and back then caught the bus back to the train.

I travelled 4 stops to Ostia Antica and walked to the ruined city. It is like Pompeii but much better preserved. There are many buildings to see, street pavements, mosaics and some headless statues. Lots of stairs to climb and alleys to explore. I spent quite a few hours walking around in the sun under my blue parasol quietly exploring.

When I came back to Rome we spent the evening in the hostel together drinking wine. We kept wanting to go out but not going. Eventually about midnight I got starving and took off to buy pizza. I brought them back to share. I was overwhelmed by their love! Because I brought back pizza! Haha. I had a beer too because I was a bit sick of wine.

About 3am we did go out for some fresh air and ended up bathing in the fountains. We tried to get in the Trevi Fountain but we only got as far as our feet before the polizia stopped us with their whistle, though we tried to pretend not to hear. We went and found some more friendly fountains. We had so much fun 😂😂😂

Day 11 Rome

Today is short. I went to my most favorite place in the world. The Villa Borgese Gallery and gardensee.  This gallery is the best I ever been in. It never disappoints me, I am always surprised and refreshed when I come.

I was never allowed to take photos before and had to sneak them before the guard came up saying "no photos".
this time I was allowed to take as many as I liked so I have hundreds.

And as I stayed till last I even had me time alone with my favorite sculptures and slipped in a little bit of yoga. That took guts! I put the camera on timer an a chair. Just once I asked a Chinese couple to take one for me with my favorite painting. I didnt think they would mind because Chinese people love to tare photos.

I had lunch in the gardens then slept the rest of the afternoon.
In the night I went with my friend Anna to her work at a hotel, she was waiting for a family to check in. We ordered pizza on the way and they brought it up for us.

On the way home we went through Piazza Navona, home of the fountain of the four rivers. It is unbelievable that in all my visits here I have not been there before. I feel better now that I have. It is the picture on my favorite place mat at the studio.

We called in for a gelato at a shop with 100 flavors and walked all the way back to the hostel and bed.

Day 10 Athens then Rome

In the morning after I packed, I went to the cafe at the end of the street for a good breakfast again.

I decided to walk up to join the my tour guide again for the first half of the tour. I would have liked to have gone to the museum but I would be talking with someone and learning more this way. I will have to come back again, I didn't have enough time, I love the ancient history of this place.

The universe set it up so it was only the two of us for the tour in the morning. It was about the foundation of democracy, the philosophers and the some other interesting stuff about religion.

There was a byzantine church that he suggested included parts of the other ancient temples as a symbol that they they weren't trying to destroy the old religion but include it. All religions come from the same source.

There was is much cross over of the religions. The Assention of Mary, is a huge festival over here when Mary went died and went to join her son Jesus in Heaven.  It coincides with the same time as the festival of the Virgin goddess Athena who the Parthenon was built for and I was on Delos praying to the pagan God's the Virgin Artemis and her brother Apollo.

Dimitris & I really like each other. It was awful to have to leave him but I had a plane to catch to Rome. We are going to write. Especially as I knew Wiwa wasn't going to be in Rome, she has gone to Tunisia to prepare for the wedding. I wish I could have stayed but I couldn't afford to waste my plane ticket. And my accomodation in Rome is free. Haha, it must be because of all that praying to chaste goddesses!

Anyway I arrived in Rome and was swept up by the moment. Everyone at the hostel was having a great time together, like we travelers do. Drinking wine and sharing stories and thoughts.

I went to an amazing event that a tall young man from USA had heard about. A piano concert at the Theatre of Marcellus, a grand piano set at the foot of an ancient stadium. The music included Mozart, Beethoven and Gershwin.  Fabulous and exclusive as it was, it only cost €15.

And then the full moon came up. We walked to see it above the Colloseum & caught the metro back.

Day 9 Athens: The Parthenon

There are cat's everywhere in Greece. Not scardy alley cat's, but walk around, laze around cat's of every colour. Back and white ones, orange ones, black ones, gray ones, mousy ones. I was walking along one of the beautiful shopping alleys in Paros a little cat jumped out of nowhere, batted me playfully around the legs and ran off again. It was so cute and soft and gray. I think the cats own Greece actually.

I had the most amazing day in Athens yesterday. I went on the hop on hop off bus to see over the city then joined the walking tour. The guide was so great and the girls in the group were so interested and interesting. He was so clever and handsome and passionate about Greek history and culture and philosophy. All the things I love to know about. We learnt so much! And I was in Athens, the home of the Olympic games while the Olympics were on hearing about the battle of Marathon.

We didn't want the tour to end, we walked for 5 hours and two of us took the guide, Dimitris for a beer afterwards. We had earned it, the weather continues to be perfectly blue hot summer weather every day.. When the other girl had to go to the Parthenon and a diner tour, Dimitris and I talked a little longer then walked back to catch the bus to the foot of the Parthenon where he had to leave. We planned to meet later but he got back too late from visiting his mother in hospital. 

I scaled the tall steps all the way up to the Parthenon and stayed there till the last. At sunset we were the bad tourists who had to be herded out of the monument.  I met a Chinese girl, her nick name is Meow and we took photos for each other as we came down. 

Having learnt all about the reason for the structure, the building materials and the history along with the light on the stones at sunset made it an incredible experience. 

And when we came down the full moon came up. Meow had no plans and I was starving so we continued the evening together. We walked and walked till we found a beautiful spot to eat. Meow wasn't hungry but we had such a fun time together and after I finished, I wasn't hungry any more.

It was too far to walk back so I hopped in a taxi and Meow went the other direction to locate her friends. I got back to the hotel and crashed.