Cruising through Croatia on the way back to Italy.

Ciao tutti!

Oh no!  My blog postings are out of order!  I wanted to share this one before it is too late because...  it is worth sharing!  My travel time through the coastal islands of Croatia making my way back to Italy.  From Dubrovnik I had taken a 13 hour ferry which I had imagined to be some type of pleasure cruise.  It was anything but!  While the scenery was gorgeous, the conditions were crowded, uncomfortable and hot, as hell.  Since this is all in the past I can look back at it as a lovely time :)

what it was looking like most of the time

also like this

or this, the lovely island of Korcula.  i had thought i'd have the chance to pop off the boat in our 4 ports to explore for a moment or go for a swim but, no luck.  the best i was able to do was jump off one time for provisions.  

provisions, Anni style.  the yogurt here (which is super popular and yum) is all in bottles, to drink.  i have gotten used to this but, still manage to pour it on fruit for brekkie.

possibly a more important provision, a refreshing brew.  i was really missing a nice weiss beer (or really anything other than a simple lager).  

here is the scene on the boat.  some were smart & brought a travel hammock.  

space was really of the essence because some people are taking this boat overnight up to north croatia.

one spot was absolutely overrun with windsurfers & kiteboarders.

it's a wonder they don't crash into eachother!

my destination.... Split, Croatia!

a fabulous laundry array

outdoor dining & chilling

i was inspired by seeing some old roman arches & columns...  missing my Roma

in some underground crypt

ladies are selling lavender bundles

men are selling small pictures under an old sphinx

some tourists (probably german :) are wearing completely orange outfits!!!

they do a lot of aqua culture of mussels & sea bass, etc

And then!!!  My re-entry to Italia.  I was really thrilled to be going back, was super missing speaking Italian & the people, Italy in general!  I took a 6 hour boat trip across the Adriatic, during which I slept on an absolutely lovely couch & made friend with some people with 2 nice dogs.  Then, presto!  I was back in Italy, to the port city of Ancona.  I was concerned about border control issues & such but the man checking my passport didn't even look at me or my passport, really as he stamped it & continued talking to someone else.  Oh, Italy.  I missed you.  I wandered around town for a few hours, had a pizza as a reimmersion technique & then later borded a night train to Milan.  Oh, why do I torture myself with  transportation sometimes to save a few euro??  I imagined the train would not be full & I'd be able to stretch out & sleep.  On the contrary, the thing was absolutely full & I had to sit in the small middle seat with my head rolling around on my neck through the night.  Have mercy on the budget traveler!!!

in Ancona

cathedral of Ancona perched upon a hill

main piazza, Ancona

Interestingly, I will be back in Ancona shortly, on the 20th to begin working at a winery, harvesting grapes!!  Fun!

stazione centrale in milano is pretty grand!

Milan train station, 7am

and here I arrive to my cute village of Perledo where I look out the window of my room to see this magical kiwi.

Great!  And so, I have been enjoying my time on Lake Como & getting prepped to leave in a couple days.  I have about 5 days of undecided travel ahead.  I am thinking of doing a 3 day hike to Switzerland staying at some mountain rifugios on the way.  The deciding factor may be my left big toe, which may be broken but is responding well to athletic tape wrapping.  I have never been to Switzerland so, why not go?  It is really close.

One other thing, I went bouldering with the young son of the family I am staying with a couple times & it was AWESOME!!!  A total highlight!  While I have not been climbing or bouldering in maybe 8 years I was still able to pull out some techniques and methods :)  We were doing a traverse right on the lake so when you fall or, like me... your arms/hands can't grasp, you fall about 5 meters into the lake!  AWESOME again!  Wow, it was fantastic.  My forearms have been sore ever since.

Tomorrow will be my last day of work here & I hope to harvest everything available.
More soon!  Sending you my love!
xoxo

Lake Como is beautiful!

Ciao belli amici!

I have returned to my beloved Italia & all is well.  It is so nice to be speaking my crappy Italian again!  :)  I am doing another round of volunteering, this time on a small farm on the slope of Lake Como.  They cultivate a ton of fruit, veggies, honey & other bee products to sell at local markets.  This is the harvesting season & they are BUSY so there is a lot for me to do & help out with, I am happy!  I am staying with a family, which is a bit different.  They have 4 children (one lives in a neighboring village) from 16-30 years old.  Wow, adolescent & young adult siblings can sure be... interesting.  Getting an inside view into another family's dynamic makes me remember what a brat I was when I was a teenager.  Sorry mom & dad!  Anyway, the kids are nice to me.  One of them is into rock climbing & we talk about that a lot.  I was hoping he would take me climbing one day but he just may think I am a poser/not cool enough.  We'll see.  Here is a link to the farm I am staying at:

http://www.concasandra.it/

Here is a map of Italy where you can see COMO in red at the top.  I'm way up there in the region of Lombardy where there are many large & beautiful lakes.  In fact, it is called "the lakes region".  You can also see good old Montenegro across the sea a lot further south.  The weather is MUCH more pleasant here, still warm but not hot as hell.  I start at around 8am, have a 2h lunch break & then carry on for a couple more hours in the afternoon.  So far I have been harvesting many things, a task that I have been wanting to do all along in my farm volunteering stint.  But seemed I was always ending up painting a fence or putting labels on some jars.  So this is my big chance!!  I love it.

Here is a bigger map I am borrowing from a crafty German.  You can see here where I am, in Varenna on the eastern shore.  (I am actually a 15 minute push up a steep path above Varenna in a town called Perledo)  

also of interest, the town of Bellagio at the "crotch" of the lake.  AND, Laglio down the left leg of the lake is where George Clooney's house is!!  Turns out he was here in June & no signs of him since.  RATS, could be my only chance to snare that guy.  :)

Here are some scenes & sights from my time here so far:  Enjoy!  

fancy water fountain

in the lake.  the temperature is pleasant & nice for a swim.  it's so different to swim in fresh water after so much time in the sea.  much harder without all that salt!

meno male!

small church in Bellano

 I went to assist at the market!  Wow, selling things & making change is not a vocabulary I have yet in Italian.  I was a bit slow.  But, it was fun & there were a lot of tourists speaking other languages.  Met some Germans, French & even a Finnish couple!  My dad is of Finnish heritage & I always enjoy impressing the Finns I meet with my knowledge of their language by saying Hauskaa joulua!!  (merry christmas :)  gets a good laugh, at least out of me...

I picked a lot of this stuff!

definitely picked these beauties!!

down by the lake 

snap!  ha ha, this says "you seemed better on facebook"

in the small town of Bellano

ferries are criss-crossing the lake all the time

cuteness in Varenna

a floating nun!

age face concealed with shade

took the ferry across the lake to the charming town of Bellagio, the name everyone knows because of the Vegas Casino (with the best buffet)

Bellagio

sweet dive off a sweet platform!

AH!  this was so cute.

lots of pretty silk scarves

lovely town of Varenna.  I stay up in the back/left somewhere

Varenna

here's the view from our place.  there is a huge pergola covered by a HUMONGOUS kiwi plant.  i have never seen a kiwi like this.  the other day there was a storm & the thing collapsed a bit under the weight of the kiwi.

here's a (low angle) climbing zone down by the lake.  apparently there's some traverse along here that you can just fall off into the lake.  i've always wanted to do that.

i think they use the french rating system for climbs 

a long & scary tunnel i walked through to find a beach

found!

the was so much humidity in the air when i first got here.  they (all the plants) had really been needing some rain, which we got in the form of a massive storm a couple days ago.  

here is one of the son's of the family i am staying with.  he is a falconiere at a nearby castle (falcon trainer), how cool is that???  he puts on shows there for the tourists, it was neato.

view across, i am staying in that zone on the right

one of the cats taking a pausa

the other day i picked several buckets full of elderberries.  it was great fun except for one moment when the ladder was falling & i jumped off, injuring my big toe :(

then i spent several hours with those berries turning my hands a deathly black

another task of mine, shaking the hazlenut tree & gathering the nocciole!

in the little town i am staying in, no cars allowed.  you park in a lot & walk down.

the farm!

the field of finocchio i planted :) (fennel)

can you see my purple left big toe?  ouchie.

taking a walk at sunset.  do you see the strange color my hair has turned from all the sun & sea?  orange.

che bella vista!

And there you have it!  Today I harvested green beans, rucola, parsley with the mother here.  She works so quickly, like a machine!  She gets about twice as much done as I do, a real powerhouse.  After lunch I spent a long time harvesting potatoes in the hot sun.  A million of them!  We used a plow like machine that digs them out of the soil & then collected them all into buckets & then crates.  hard work!

I am still reading the Unbearable Lightness of Being and still enjoying it but it has gotten a bit slow.  I am already looking forward to my next book, The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lack.  Also, I've watched a few good movies:  the Muppet Movie (recommended by my sister, was SO cute!), Moneyball (good) and... Dune (always good to see what's going on on Arrakis with the spice!).

In other news I am still having my stye eye problem.  It is what is called a chalazion, not pretty.  It got better & then it got worse again.  This weekend I hope to seek out a small Italian eye surgery procedure to rid myself of the nasty thing.  Wish me luck.

Tonight is the birthday dinner of the 16 year old daughter here, we will have tiramisu!
I will enjoy some for you all :)
xoxo