on Sunday i was planning on going to Naples but on Saturday I didn’t have anything booked for Naples so Saturday night i booked another night in Rome. I was staying at Jo&Joe the first 2 nights and the last night I stayed at the most popular hostel in Rome and it sucked. I have no idea how it’s the best hostel in Rome. The bathroom was so small and the layout was so weird it was not good, and the area was not great and super far from town.

But Sunday morning i woke up super early to do a sunrise run. I woke up at 5:30 to get ready. I thought sun rise was 7 ish but Saturday night in Italy it was the time change so we fell back an hour. If it was one day earlier i could have woken up way later but it is what it is. My first stop was the colosseum then to the Trevi fountain and my last stop was the Vatican City. Ever last Sunday of the month you can enter the museum for free and it opens at 7 but by time i got there it was 7:05 and the line was insanely long so i just cut my losses. By this time i was almost 5 miles into it and home from the city would have been another 2.5 miles and i was not really wanting to do that so I just took a lime bike home. It was so nice to be in the city so early because there were very few people around it was quite peaceful.

I made it back to my hostel got packed up and got breakfast before making the 30 min walk to “the best hostel in the city”. I made it there and they have free bag storage the day of check in. I dropped my bags off and started to just walk aimlessly. I was making turns for no good reason, i felt lost like someone without a purpose because I didn’t have one it was a very strange feeling. I finally decided to go back to the colosseum, i kinda knew where i was going so I just found my way there. The colosseum is so cool it never gets old no matter how many times you see it. After the colosseum I just kept wandering i i had no clue where i was going and really didn’t care i ended up at this dead end so i had to turn around and ended up in this little market thing and there was so many people in it, you could barely move. I walked around it for a while before i headed towards the main downtown area. By this time it was probably 12:15 i had been walking for a good 2.5 hours and my feet hurt, I didn’t feel good and I was hungry. I stoped at this one place and got a pizza that was so good it was just what i needed. After lunch i was trying to decide if i wanted to take the bus home, walk or bike home. The was was 45 min and the bike was 16 min. I just decided to walk because what better do i have to do and I couldn’t check in until 3. I made it back about 1:45 and just sat down a relaxed until i could check in.

I got checked in and watched football for 30 minutes before i finally got the energy to shower. I felt so much better after the shower I can’t even explain it. I watched some more football before it was dinner time I walked about 3 min to the closest spot, i really didn’t care how good it was I just wanted food. To my. Surprise it was very good i was shocked especially for the price of it. I made it back home and watched football until i fell asleep, i was really trying to stay up for the broncos game but i fell asleep at 8:45. I got some much needed sleep it felt very good.

On Monday i woke up kinda late. I had enough time to get breakfast and not fell rushed. I got to the train station at 10 for my 10:30 train but it was delayed at least 20 minutes so i could have taken my time but oh well. I think I almost got pick pocketed because i saw this lady and man were together then split up right before the lady came up to me very frantically asking if i spoke English. I immediately put my hands in my pockets because I figured it would be hard to take my stuff with my hands in my pockets. She pulled up this image of a google translate photo that really didn’t make sense so i just said im sorry I have no cash on me. Then she spoke English asking for a train ticket i just said no sorry. Then she just kinda ran away it was very odd, so it think that was an attempted pick pocket.

I got to my hostel in Naples, i was there a few hours early but luckily they had luggage storage so i could put my stuff down. I started to walk around town and it was way more gritty and resrempted itily way more than any other places I have been. It was where working people lived and had there jobs. It was dirty and fish markets everywhere just very gritty. I walked around for 3 hours and found a pizza place. The pizza was very good but in the middle it was kinda soggy but i guess that is just how they do the pizza around in Naples.

I finished my food and went home to check in and relax. I laid around from 4 until it was dinner time i did not want to get out i was so tired and just wanted food to show up in front of me. But i got up and luckily there was a burger place next door that i went to. I got a burger with jalapeños on it and bacon and fry’s for 13 euros. I was so shocked and the food was really good the fry’s were like McDonald’s, It was so good.

On Tuesday I woke up and felt so bad so i looked up for the closest pharmacy to try and find something to take. Then i got breakfast at the hostel but apparently there was a school group or something but they cleared the breakfast buffet out and it was only 8:30. I thought they would replenish it but no it was sacked through. I was so not happy because i paid extra for the breakfast and i got a few pieces of lunch meet and some type of bread. After my very ok breakfast i got packed up and before i had to check out. I wanted to walk around for a little before Mrs. Penta picked me up. I was so lazy and didn’t want to shave so I found a barber shop that could fit me in just for a shave. And it was kinda cool because I have never gotten a straight razor shave before it was quite nice kinda like a spa treatment, It was definitely worth the 6 euros.

I met Mrs. Penta at the marina for her to pick me up. We kinda had a hard time finding each other but we did it. Then we figured out what we were going to do for the day and we decided to explore the nicer parts of naples and go to the top of the hill to see the view of the marina and town. We explored for a while and took the cable car down to find a restaurant to eat at. We sat down at this restaurant and food was good but the service was quite slow and we were there for over an hour but the food was good at least.

We made the drive home and when we got to there home i was blown away, there house was so beautiful it has two wings of the house. With 18 foot ceilings and murals painted on the ceiling. They have chandeliers that is made by the same guy that made the ones in the caserta palace. It is in an old Italy town that is actually Italy and not some tourist trap town that most people go to, it is what Italy truly is. Here the stores open early but close at 2:30 then open up again at 7 for dinner. It is very odd but they make it work and that is just the Italy way of life. When we got home I sat my stuff down and that was right at Mr. Penta got home, and we talked for a while before going out to get gelato and walk around the town for a while before heading home. When we got home we decided to play a card game until bed time.

On Wednesday i woke up around 8:30 and I slept through the night for the first time all trip. I’m not sure if was because of the medication i took or i just got real sleep, nevertheless i felt great. We got ready and went to go get a coffee and breakfast. Mrs. Penta and i walked to a cafe down the street and got peanut pancakes. They were so good i was shocked. I have not seen peanut butter in Europe once so this was my first time and i was not sure what to expect but it was better than peanut butter in the states. After breakfast we walked around for a while just exploring the town and her showing me around.

On the walk we made a plan of what we were going to do for the day. We decided to go to the Caserta palace and see a roman colosseum . We got to the palace and there is huge garden area in the back of it. They have cascading ponds that they used for the palace to have running water. So we rented bikes so we could see the whole garden. There is a fish pod on one side of it that was for the king but now is not in use anymore. After the gardens we walked around the palace and learned that it is the largest palace is the largest in the world by volume. I find it very odd the measure a building of that size by volume. We finished walking the palace and it was so beautiful and stunning. I find it amazing that they managed to build a building of that size with no motors or anything it’s truly remarkable.

We got back to the house and had lunch before going to the spartan colosseum. The colosseum is right by there house so we could walk to it. The colosseum is older than the one in Rome but not as big. The area under the floor is still very well preserved. And you can still walk under the flor and see where the stored all the animals and where they would get ready for battle. Everything was very cool to see and experience. I could not imagine walking out there and seeing a lion on the other side of the arena it would be insane. After we walked home and waited for joe to come home and we had a glass of a wine and played card games all night before bed.

Thursday i was super excited for because we were going to go to the Amalfi coast. We left the house at 6:45 to get to the ferry from Salerno to Positano. Positano is a small town on the coast that is known for there shopping and restaurants. We stoped there first because it was about at hour out. We were there for 4 hours just walking around and seeing the view, we had lunch there and i got raw sea food and i was not too sure what i order so i was not sure what to expect. When food came it was 2 whole pranws and something else I wasn’t sure what it was. But i have never had food like that before and it was so strange but i had to try it.

After lunch we got back on the ferry to head to the town of Amalfi. It was a quick 30 minute ride and was so pleasant with the sea breeze and sun. We got to town and had a seafood sampler that is what the coast is known for. The town Amalfi is quite the small town and not much to do or see, so we just walked around and I got a shirt and a few things. The shirt i got had lemons all over it and the coast is known for there lemons, it is kinda a corny shirt but i like it. We got back on the ferry to head back to the car we timed it perfectly to where the sun was setting while we were on the boat which made for a really pretty boat ride.

We made it back home and were getting ready to go to dinner. Since they live on the Main Street there is quite a few options to eat at. We decided to go to one of there favorite restaurants and had a wonderful dinner. Going out to eat here is a full experience everyone gets multiple courses and dinner takes ever bit of 2 hours. But it doesn’t feel like it by any means, the whole experience is wonderful and doesn’t feel rushed or anything. They ordered a bottle of wine, meetballs, and bread for the table. It was is good I can’t even explain how good it was. And for dinner i had pasta with pulled pork and sautéed onions I can’t explain how good it was and the pasta was perfectly cooked. We had gelato after dinner and walked back home and went to bed. I was exhausted from the day it felt so good to lay in bed.

Friday we got up early to go to pompei, I have never heard of it but it is an ancient city that was buried by a volcano called Mt,Vesuvius thousands of years ago and they started to ding it out. They have excavated most if it, but are still digging even thousands of years later. It is incredibly how well preserved the city is, you can still see the paintings on some of the walls. It’s breathtaking how incredible advanced they were and how they were able to build two story houses.

Mrs. Penta sing me up for a guided tour because if I just when in alone I would have been so lost and would have no idea what i was looking at. The tour was 2 hours long and was super informative she walked us around and showed us what a bakery looked like and what a rich man’s house looked like. It was really cool to see how they lived and how only the rich houses had kitchens in them. All the food in the town were made either in the bakery’s or the rich people’s house. The poor people did not have kitchens so they would have to go out and buy the food instead of making it. They had a red light district in there little town. That line of work was a big part of of there society and was the cause of a lot of death.

They have so much to see in the town. You could be there for a week and see new things. After the tour i walked to see there colosseum and there theater. It is amazing how they built everything . I can’t imagine how long it took to build everting not to mention how long it took to develop that place to get it where it is.

have never heard of the city, granted I don’t have my thumb on the Pluse of ancient city’s and civilization. So i really didn’t know it existed but im so glad i got to experience it and see it. I will argue it was cooler than Rome.

We left and booked a wine tasting and lunch at a close vineyard. We took a tour of the how they make there wine and got a tour of the owners personal wine cellar. After the whole tour and explication of how the wine is made and bottled we had a 3 course lunch with 3 different types of wine. It was a great experience and super fun to play imposter for a few hours.

We drove home and hung around the house before we had dinner reservations at 7. Our dinner reservations were at a top 5 pizza place in the world called i masanielli Francesco Martucci. They were ranked 1 in the world at one point but now they are 4th, the pizza was so good I can’t even explain it, the pizza was paired with a beer and was delicious. I can’t recommend it enough.

We got home and i got packed and got everthing ready to leave on Saturday. I was so sad when packing because it was the first time i felt like I was home in the past 2 and a half months, it was so nice to get good sleep and be comfortable in bed.

Saturday i woke up and we had breakfast and coffee. I finshed packing and we played card games for a few hours before heading to the airport. Mr. Penta dropped me off at the airport and was the first time i had a to turn my brain on again in the past 4 days. I was very nervous about the airport because i had to check a bag and was flying a new airline I have very been on. But everthing was very easy i got through security and left the EU checkpoint and sat by the gate for a few hours.

Boarding the plane was a nightmare everyone barding the plane has no concept of a line or waiting there turn. It was a joke everyone is jumping in line and pushing there way through, they were acting like we were all not getting on the same plane and its not like free for all seating we have asinged seats. I was just astonished on how everyone was acting when trying to board this plane.

I got to Morocco and made it through customs after my bag took forever to come out but it made it. I met up with Bergen and Eli outside of the airport and we got in our ride to the hostel. We had to get out and walk 5 minutes because it was kinda down this back street with no cars. Driving here is straight jungle rules there is no laws or rules to this place it’s insane. We got checked it and put our stuff down and went to go look for food and our outfits for the trip. We found this little sandwich shop for dinner and it was only 3 USD for a meal it was quite the deal, and the food was so good.

We walked to the town center and it was unbelievable how many people were there. I mean there were probably 15 thousand people it was insane. And of course there were people trying to sell you thing left and right. But we were on a mission to find our outfits and we sure did. After we got them we just walked around and everyone was complementing us on them. Granted they did look pretty cool. We walked back home and relaxed before our adventures on Sunday.

Stock up/ Stock down

Stock to the moon the Penta’s they were the best hosts you could ever ask for. They treated me like one of their own kids I can’t begin to explain how special they made my trip. Stock up the food in Italy you can’t find better food anywhere in the world as far as im concerned. Stock down the hostel in Rome. Stock up how cheep food is in Italy for how good the food is and the great experience its very well priced. Stock up the wine in Italy it’s sooo good. Stock down the people trying to get on the plane. Stock down stinky people they just don’t understand the concept on smell i guess.

What’s next?

I will be in Marrakesh until Thursday morning then i am flying to Dublin for a few days so my visa doesn’t expire. I need to spend a few days out of the EU so i figured i should fly back with Bergen and Eli and spend a few days with them. I’m not sure when i am going to leave but it will probably be next Sunday i fly back to Spain until the end of the trip.