Italy - take 3

Phew, I'm so behind. Here we go:

Nov 5 - Day 7
Woke up on the boat as it was pulling into Palermo. Got everything together and back in my bag and after waiting half an hour after we got in I stepped foot in Sicily. I didn't have very much money on me, needed to find a Western Union, wanted to find my hostel so I could put down my very heavy backpack, and was super excited. First, I decided to find my hostel so I walked halfway across town and found it. I was pretty excited that I found it so easily and walked the three flights of stairs to ring the doorbell and get no answer. That's when I realized it was only 8 am and probably no one is awake. Since I was hungry I used the 10 euros that I had gotten the night before and got a super cheap yet delicious breakfast of espresso and chocolate croissant. Then, I decided it would be best to do some sightseeing until the Western Unions opened (because nothing opens until 10 usually). I started walking around and saw a cool fountain, a huge church, and a nice garden. Then I decided to start looking for a Western Union. I walked for over half an hour with all of my bags and stuff so my back was hurting and I was nervous because I needed the money to pay for my hostel when all of a sudden I found one.

I went inside and got everything squared away and felt much better. I then went to the hostel and this time a girl who works there opened the door so she got me all checked in, showed me to my bed and gave me a map with sites to see and everything. After a bit of relaxing and a shower, I headed out for some sightseeing for a bit and got some lunch. After walking around a bit more (this is the area with all of the stores because it's more touristy) I window shopped some and found a good purse for half off. Then I got some gelatto, went back, and took a short nap. Once I was done I decided to look around the hostel some and found a girl playing cards with the owner. So I sat down and chatted with them a bit which was fun. The girl was from Denmark and was really nice. While playing she started talking about Backgammon which I said I had never played so after she lost to the owner, she asked if I wanted to learn Backgammon, I said sure. We got our purses and headed down to a tabacco store nearby and bought a cheap set. Then we returned and I learned how to play the game.

I had alot of fun and hope to play backgammon some more but I will have to improve because even though I won one of the 6 games we played, I'm still not that good. Anyways, after we played backgammon the owner said that everyone was going out to dinner together so we got our stuff and left. As we were walking to the restaurant (there was about 15 of us - the girl that I played with, a girl from Australia, a couple from Argentina, and a group of girls from the states who were studying in Rome) the owner kept pointing out interesting sights like places that were bombed in the world war that weren't rebuilt and stuff. Once we got there we had a delicious sea food feast! We had beer, wine, and water to drink and ate sooo much. The dinner started with a salad and for the main course we had shrimp, sword fish, calamari, and some other types of fish. It was all really good, and a little pricey but worth it. Then half of our group was going to go out to a club but the other half and I went back because we were tired. Once I got back I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Nov 6 - Day 8

Woke up well rested and got a shower. Then I got everything packed up and left for the day. I got some breakfast at the same place as the day before and walked down to the beach. It was super warm and sunny and beautiful. I found a spot to get close to the water and took off my shoes and socks so I could put my feet in the Mediterranean. The water was cool but it still felt good. Then, I put my shoes and socks back on and wandered around a bit. Then I got lunch (Bomba - a regional food that is more Arabic it has rice, cheese, and meat) and ate it on a rock by the beach. I love the sea and could have spent all afternoon there, however I had to catch a bus to the airport and then go to Venice. So I went back to the hostel and got my bag and caught a bus for the airport. It took a while to figure out which bus it was and when I finally got on there were some guys from my hostel who were also going to the airport so I sat and talked with them.

They were from Greece and we passed the time by talking about different phrases such as "...fart a fence." which actually means something in Greek. I can't remember what though but I thought it was funny. Then when we got to the airport we parted out separate ways. I went to the bathroom and put on multiple layers of clothes. For ryanair they have a certain weight limit for bags and I didn't want to be over so I wore three layers of socks, three layers of pants, three shirts, a dress, two sweatshirts and my coat. I must have looked really strange but my bag was light enough so that's all that mattered. So I got everything set, ate dinner and got on the plane. When we landed in Venice I got on the bus and got off, then a short walk later I was at my hostel. After getting checked in I walked upstairs and woke up my roommate and after a short talk got everything around, took a shower and went to bed.

Nov 7 - Day 9

Last day of my trip, how sad. Started off early, got out and went to the bus stop. Except I wasn't sure which bus stop so I wandered around until I saw the bus I needed pulling away. So I went to the stop I was supposed to be at and waited 15 minutes for another bus. Finally I got on and was on my way to Venice. When we got there I was super excited. As I started walking along the route outlined on a map I had, I fell in love with the city. I have always loved the water and the city feel and all of it together in one was an amazing experience. I saw some really cool churches and had alot of fun walking around and seeing everything even though it was kinda misting. I got to the Doges Palace and was a little sad I couldn't go in the church because it was kinda expensive and didn't accept people with big bags which I had two of them. So I wandered about, got my feet soaked because parts of the city were under water. I found the Hard Rock Cafe and promised to return when it opened. After sightseeing alot of really cool stuff I went back to the Hard Rock.

At the Hard Rock I bought some presents for my parents and a shirt for myself. Then I walked around and got some lunch. After eating my sandwich on the Rialito Bridge, I wandered around, got some gelatto and sadly walked back to the bus area. After I got a ticket to the airport I rode a bus in, went through all the lines and got on my plane. Once in Lyon, I took a shuttle to the train station where I took the train back to Clermont. It was really interesting coming back to Clermont because I kept thinking how happy I was to be going home. The fact that I called Clermont home was a strange feeling yet kind of exciting because I truly feel like I am becoming a little bit French.