Amalfi & Walk of the Gods

the view out the apartment window in Amalfi

It was hard to decide what town on the Amalfi coast to shack up at (they are all amazing and close) so after too much consideration we settled on the namesake. I booked a little apartment overlooking Amalfi's little harbour complete with kitchen that I made terribly good use of the first night. One of my better pastas yet.

 We headed up the hills to a small town called Ravello the next day. Yet again a place for the rich and famous complete with a famous amphitheatre that hosts top line acts every summer, 300 odd metres up overlooking the never ending bluest of oceans.

We got back down to nearby Amalfi in time to roust up the ingredients for Rhi's very handy fish risotto. A suitable meal considering we hit the hills hard the following day. Bus tripped a couple towns north to the large Positano and headed up the several hundred steps to a small town where a game of amateur soccer was underway. This work well for us as a rest was needed. We joked on our bananas several times, most memorably when an old (guessing 60-70 year old) broke into an amazingly quick stride to tend to a cramping striker. The game was predictably at nil-nil so the frustration and accompanying language entertained us greatly. Unfortunately we didn't know what was ahead of us for the day so we jumped back on the road, onwards and upwards. Soon after we started the 'Path of the Gods', a very well known hike along the Amalfi coast hills and cliffs. Words fail me. We have been travelling since mid October 2011 (May for me) and this for me was one of the highlights so far. It was 23 degrees in the beaming sun, the ocean was clear and the general serenity of the hike was first class, bullshit, amazing!! I will never forget this hike.

A...MAZ...ING!

fav little mate strolling on the busy main street

Soccer in the hills

If you are ever in this area in good hiking weather (even if not) get up amongst the Amalfi hills. That night we had earned a meal out in our small town. We were not disappointed, and for that matter haven't been by food since arriving in Italy. The following day we bussed south to Salermo to board our train to Sicily.

Naples, Pompei and Sorrento

best looking cops I've seen

We caught the comfy train from Rome downy to the apparently dodgy Naples. Eventually found our hostel and relaxed before heading out for a pizza, naturally. We also checked out and purchased some coffee, melon and lemon-chello. The next day we walked the street markets, drank the coffee, explored the retail and climbed the castle.

view from the castle above Naples

Pompeian

Pompei

That was Naples done and we train to Sorrento the following day, stopping at Pompei on the way. If your planning on visiting this historic joint do a pre-visit documentary as we expected a partly covered town and a bunch of mummified Pompeians. Instead we found a completely reconstructed town and only two ash covered chaps. Don't get me wrong it was impressive, I guess that we must have just been a bit over ruins since Rome. I would of appreciated it more though if I had done some pre-study. What was cool was the hoar-house! Yep I'm not joking. One of the hundreds of buildings they have doug up is a legit bang barn complete with concrete beds and a pictorial menu. Pay per position. Other highlights included the amphitheatre's, one of which we saw a unusual live act. The Glee Club was in town (don't think it was related the show) and busted into a lovely little harmony number brought abruptly to an end by the most confident solo shithead of the bunch. We jumped back on the train and continued onto the coastside-hillside town of Sorrento.

decisions, decisions at the Pompei meat market

We arrived at the traino and called our hill dwelling host Ugo for a lift up to his villa. We settled in after a some photos (stay here and you will see why). We bumped into some fellow guests (Tom and Leanne), hit it off and bussed it down for a wonderful dinner for 4 which included much comparison between Australia and USA (Philadelphia) where the guys are from. We said goodbye to the honeymooners the following morning and then caught a bus to Marina Del Cantone for what may still be the best meal we have had in Italy. Freshly caught Fish and Calamari overlooking the sunlit pebble beach chatting to the waiter about today's Italy.

Unfortunately not all is swell in the land of food. The restaurant and general food service regulations are making it hard for the locals to live and eat fresh and as traditional as they have became famous for. They also have a government in place that they did not elect. Its an 'emergency' government full of the countries wiz-bangs to see them through the GFC. Interesting. Rhi knocked up a mean minestrone and I watched the greatly anticipated Naples v Chelsea champions league game with our other host Luigi. He swore and cursed his way through a disappointing loss. Its a shame because If they had won we would of been out the door watching the fireworks over the bay. The next morning we were ready for a day on the island of Capri. Some of the views from this island are some of the best we have seen. Cable-car, bus and chairlifts got us around the island aswell as an infamous 1000 step staircase that defends back to the main port. Very cool little island that we could imagine is home for many of the rich and famous in the summer months. Before checking out the next day we got out Ugo's dodgy clippers and did the deed that I had been building up to for months. Thankyou for everyone that donated to the leukaemia foundation for me to shave of all my average looking face and head hair. See below on this blog for the video.

Top of Capri

Descending Capri

After

Before

Rome

I cant remember when I fell in love with everything that is Italian but it was probably almost a decade ago. So to be landing in the capital was very surreal and exciting. 15 hours and many stairs with bags subdued my excitement as we made our way to the hostel. We arrived late afternoon, showered and got all the info from the very friendly staff at Hotel Lodi. One of the best bits of advice we got was to try the area of Trastevere. This is the least touristy area with the best authentic food. So we set off in hunt for a good meal after being on planes, trains and buses. We were not disappointed as soon as we bit into our first bruschetta. It was then we knew we were in the best food country on the globe. Rhi is keeping a food file on her facebook if you wanna see all the delights we have eaten since (link to gallery). The next day we headed for Vatican country and did all the must do's. Started with the basilica and then moved onto the museum which included many fine arts and of course the Sistine Chapel. Religious art is amazing but repetitive in this, the smallest country in the world so if your not one of the many that are across the fictional wonders of Mr J and Mr G you will find your way through this museum in a couple hours.

 We returned to the basilica for an afternoon climb up the cupola (the viewing dome above one of the worlds largest churches) which gives you a great view of greater Rome city.

From the Vatican we trained over to the main strip in town and made our way through the skinny streets to the Trevi Fountain. The size of the piazza that houses this cool waterworks is smaller than you will expect.

We grabbed another great pasta meal and cheeky gelato nearby and then headed home via the glowing Colosseum for some classy pics. The next day we did a tour of the amazing amphitheatre as well as the neighbouring Palatine Hill and got a great imagination of what Rome was so long ago.

This included an exclusive hill for the 1st class peoples with a 250,000 seat chariot race course and 75,000 seat gladiator stadium. These guys didn't do anything half-baked. Unlike today, they took their time, had better materials, had a shitload of slaves and no budgets. You walk around these parts wishing you had a time machine to travel back if only for 20 seconds. After these two we walked down to the Pantheon (again amazing) and then headed back to our favourite Trastevere suburb for our final meal in Rome.

All in all we found Rome amazing. We both could imagine though that the experience wouldn't be as delightful in summer (tourism & heat) so visit either side of June, July and you will love ancient Rome as much as we did. MAH 

The Worlds Greatest Shave - Sorrento Style

We were staying in the hills behind Sorrento hostel by the wonderful Luigi and Ugo. Over the 7 years they have open their property to the public Ugo believes he has not heard a more weird question than "do you have hair clippers?". Lucky enough he did so we sat up on the balcony overlooking one of the most beautiful regions in the world and shaved it all off. Many thanks to Ugo and Luigi and everyone that has donated so far. More donations now that the deed is done would be greatly appreciated.
Love. MAH.

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/markhambley

Aspen (& NYC)

Due to very white road conditions we rolled up in the Limo very late to Basalt. This small town 20 minutes out of Aspen is where some of Rosie's (Rhi's mum) friends ave set up several businesses including some small cabins for rent.

our ride for a day through the rockies - comfy

 We were lucky enough to get 2 of these little log creations for our stay in the area. We checked out aspen the first morning and then had dinner with Robyn and her family, Warwick, Lexi and Charlie. The next day we hit up the local hot springs and Walmart. One very relaxing and the other not as impressive (not to say we didn't get the walmart freaks as expected). After another dinner at the big household we hit the mountains slopes the next day. First Robyn started Rhi and I off slowly at the beginners mountain (where they just held the winter x-games mind you) and soon realised she had underestimated our ability. Off to the main mountain we went and met up with the rest of her family.

D&D inspired

Snowmass is the big mountain in Aspen and by the end of the day after some great runs we agreed it was one of our best snow days on the trip so far and a great way to finish before mailing the gear home (FYI- parcel coming Jane) and heading for Europe. Our stay in Aspen soon came to an end and off to NYC we flew (thankyou Robyn and family for a great time).

We flew into NYC and showed Rosie, Sammy, Mitch and Maycee around Manhattan whilst fitting in a good thai feed (9th av somewhere around 36-37th st - very good) and times square wander. The next morning we strolled in strawberry fields and down through central park to wholefoods for our final lunch with the Assetta mob. Goodbye we waved and made our way to JFK for our flight to mainland Europe. ROME!

strawberry fields (central park)

T.Square

Vegas

The inside of the modern Boeing plane resembled a cocktail bar complete with bright pink and blue neons. The alcohol being consumed by the simple blond dynamic on the flight also enhanced this nightclub feel. As the pilot announced that we were descending into Vegas the screams and general noise being made by the bimbo crowd was like nothing I have seen on a plane before. Being the unlucky one of our group I was sitting next to one of these twats and heard her clearly talk to herself. Some of the drip from her gob was hilarious with my favourite being "Vegas baby yeah, I cant wait to get naked".

We touched down and made our way to the Bellagio and settled in with a meal and a gamble. The the next day we explored Caesars Palace and had lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaretta ville (biggest nachos in Vegas and that vie ever seen). Later that evening the girls went for a Cirque Du Soleil show complete with massive pool for aqua inspired magic. Us lads explored the other end of the strip and drank at Planet Hollywood, watching the freaks and drunks walk by. The next day we checked out  the Venitian and its fake yet impressive gondola. Next we walked through the newest of all hotels in Vegas know as the Wynn. It takes a long time to walk anywhere in Vegas. A lot of the roads you are unable to cross and instead are forced to walk into the connecting hotel and through its shop lined overpass. A clever designed city, in terms of getting people through the shops and casino's.

That night we all met up at Hooters for dinner and then made our way to the amazing Aria theatre (the facilities in Vegas are second to none) for Cirque Du Soleil Viva Elvis. For someone who has not delved into the epic collection that the King left us I was in awe of his life story and accompanying soundtrack. All through these travels I continually think of everyone back home. Shed like this. or he'd love this. The whole show I loved but wished my great mate Denno Tillbrook could be sitting next to me. Later that night I downloaded Elvis's top 50 collection. The old footage that they had digitally reconstructed to fit massive projectors were fantastic and the music was at the volume I like good music to be played. Perfect show and thanks has to go to Rosie for the best seats in the house. It was an early wake up the following day for Rhi and I as we boarded our tour bus to the Grandest of Canyon's. The world wonder is like nothing else! A final dinner and gamble that night wrapped our Vegas visit and we piled into a Limousine the next morning for our day trip to Aspen.

San Fran

 We arrived in the early evening to the USA hostel in downtown Sanfran. This lived up to its reviews as one of the best in the US. A quick walk up and back through Chinatown was welcomed after a day cooped up in the S.U.V. The next day we headed straight for the Golden Gate bridge for photos ops and a great brunch at nearby Sausalito. After that we headed for the big park by the same name and checked out the ducks, squirrels, Japanese and Segwayign tourists. Sammy was keen as to visit Muir woods and the amazing redwood giants. So after that drive we had travelled over the big red bridge 4 times and ended up at the well known Bohemian Haight st for a very nice tapas dinner at Cha Cha Cha's. The next day we jumped back in the big ford and headed out of town to the scenic Yosimite national park. All the mountains, cliffs and waterfalls are well worth the drive.

 The following day we checked out what shops the city offered and spent lunch and the afternoon exploring the numerous pier's SanFran boasts. Before flying out the next day we returned to Haight st to check out a breaky bar and all the quirky, cool shops before making our way to the airport to board a very colourful flight to Sin City. Sanfran is a must if your visiting this area. It stands as one of my favourite cities in the world.

 

L.A

Rhi and I flew in and made our way to our neat Hollywood hostel for a night before meeting Sammy, Rosie and Mitch at our apartment to share down the opposite side of town. We did the obligatory walk down Hollywood Blvd checking our all the stars, freaks and preparations for the Oscars.

After that we jumped in the big ford renta and headed to Santa Monica for the evening. A great food hall stuffing at the amazing shopping centre near the beach followed by a venture down the pier and back completed our night. Since I had done Disneyland during a previous trip I elected to try something different for the next day. A walk and lunch along Venice beach it was. Freaks, skaters, TV sets and sunshine a plenty! The next day we all went to 6 flags rollercoaster heaven. Adrenaline flowed freely as we tumbled on some of the biggest and best coasters in the world. That night we trained it into central LA CBD and to the Staples Centre to watch the Lakers win easy against the Trail Blazers resulting in 2 free tacos each for the capacity crowd. The next day we set off early for the long and windy drive up the picturesque highway 1 to San Fransisco.

Canada

Hard to keep up to date on the blog when your Snowboarding, eating and drinking.....

Well from Nassau in the Bahamas we flew to Vancouver and headed straight out to Whistler. Fresh off the winter Olympics this place is considered on of the best ski resorts in the world. We settled into our cool little apartment complete with fireplace and spa access. After a quiet day there we headed into one of the village pubs for the triple j hottest 100 countdown. With the time difference and a village full of young party loving aussies Australia day celebrations start on the 25th eve with the countdown and follow though until the end of the 26th. So after a relaxing time in the Bahamas we both found ourselves very inebriated and passing in and out of the top 10 at about 3am on the 26th. The start later that morning was slow to say the least and we arrived at the major Aussie day pub party at around 11:00am (late considering the die-hards were there from 9am). Quite a unique way to drink on Oz day. A chocka block pub full of young Aussies drinking the day away with the chairlift to a mountains of snow a mere 20 metres away. So a messy day it was as you can imagine. The next 4 days was all mountain. We got a couple of good days and a couple of crappy days weather wise. All in all Whistler was great fun and great to catch up with Rhi's cousin Deano who has been in town for a couple of snow seasons.

We headed back into the city momentarily before heading on the ferry out to Vancouver Island for a couple of nights in the cool little town of Victoria. We explored the city and agreed it would be even better in Summer when the killer wales are jumping. The Ocean Island Hostel was a great place complete with cafe that hosted an open mike night whilst we were there. The host had got all his OMN mates together and the 100 crowd crammed the small cafe for 20+ acts on the card. I ended up on stage with a full band doing one of the lesser impressive versions of 'How to make gravy'. Earlier that same night we went to some local Ice Hockey which was very entertaining with prizes given away every minute in various entertaining ways and the solid hits on the ice also made for good viewing.

We returned to Vancouver and spent 3 days checking out all that this very cool city has to offer. We enjoyed the cool bike ride around Stanley Park and also a visit to Granville Island markets. I also had my first superbowl experience at the hostel bar which was great considering that my Giants (I watched NY weeks earlier when they chose me as a supporter) had a great victory. There was also great restaurant strips not far from our hostel and one night I hunted down one of the best deserts ever to cross my lips. It was a fancy donut jobby with a butterscotch dipping sauce.

After Vanny we headed for 'Big White' mountain to catch up with Mark (Box) Bennet. We had a great couple of days there carving up the awesome snow that has some great variety and tree runs that we both enjoyed. We had a couple of dinners and plenty of bevies with the box and met all his great housemates along the way. He has a great place there, only 1 minute away from ski-lifts, pub and spa. Everything a single box could need. One evening we all got a lift from Box's landlord in his bus down to Kelowna city for some more brutal local ice hockey. The last night there we had dinner at a place famous for their gun-barrel coffee's. A coffee is poured, creme and a couple varieties of grog and then added and the final selection of boose is lite and poured down a double barrel shotty. A great mountain and village Big White is and a great choice for Aussie's who want to do a season on the slopes.

 Another long Greyhound ride took us to Lake Louise where we met up with Sian and Dan (friends of ours and the Bunbury crew). We decided to have the first day off as a rest from the slopes and the 4 of us hiked up to the Lake. We had a wholesome pub lunch and then spent hours skating on the lake. I hired a stick also and played plenty of Hockey with some locals. The following day we jumped on the mountain and concurred its every face.

 A small bus ride away and we rolled into Banff. We relaxed and checked out the local shops. The girls spoilt themselves on valentines day by hitting up the local hot springs for a manicure. We also visited the local movie theatre and Indian restaurant. All in all Banff was a relaxing couple of days for myself.'

After saying our goodbyes to Sian and Dan we headed for our last stop of Canada, Calgary. Lisa (who for a period I lived with in London) and her family took us in to their lovely home and treated us as one of their own. She showed us the cool parts of town as we explored pub by pub and tapas by tapas. So after plenty of white snow we were ready for some lovely LA sunshine.