School is out!

And it's about time. Of course to start off the three week break, my feet decided not to mind me, and tripped over a rock. I'm pretty skint up and I landed on a case of canned dog food that I was carrying. My chest bent the cans on one side. Luckily, it doesn't appear that I've broken anything. I just hurt like a son of a bitch when I move.

Why did I buy dog food? Well, we rescued a seven pound chihuahua mix. Some stupid bastard had dumped him at the corner near where we live. He's a cutie (and I don't even really care for chihuahuas, but when the universe gives you a dog, you gotta take it). He wouldn't eat the dry food our lab eats, so I went to the pet store and bought him some Evo canned food. Then I was carrying it to the garage, and bam!

I'm leaving on Tuesday to go to visit my mother and sister in NC. Hopefully my bruises will be on the mend by then. I'm such a klutz. 

Tips on Backpacking and Staying in Hostels

If you've never stayed in a hostel before, it can be an intimidating experience. It's really not much different that sharing a dorm room at college with someone, except that sometimes you're sharing a room with many other people. If you want peace and quiet, but can't afford a private room, booking a dorm with fewer beds is a good idea. I tend to try to book four bed dorms. Six at the most. When I was younger, I once stayed in a 22 bed dorm. Talk about an experience! I don't suggest doing something like that, except for maybe a single night.

Make sure you bring all the toiletries you need. Some hostels will have soap dispensers in the bathroom and in the showers, but not all of them. Also, make sure you bring a towel, as they are usually not provided. Some hostels will rent you a towel for the duration of your stay, but not all of them.

Don't bring a sleeping bag. Most hostels don't allow them for health reasons.

In order to keep your pack smelling as good as possible (and let me tell you, it won't smell that great even so), you'll want to wash your underwear and socks every day. Taking time to wash them in the sink is a pain in the ass, so I suggest doing what my sister taught me, and that is washing them while you're in the shower. I bring a little vial (or two) of actual laundry soap to do this. Regular soap or shampoo or body wash, does not work very well. I will put a little drop of laundry soap on my socks and underwear and scrub them while I'm in the shower. You can hang them to dry over night. Most of the time, they will be dry before you have to leave, even if it's the next morning. Most bunks will have bars on them, and this is a great place to hang wet stuff, like your towel.

Beware of damp rooms though. Even the thinnest of wet laundry won't dry in a damp room, even if allowed days to do so. Sometimes you can alleviate the dampness by opening a window if possible. Be sure to close the windows by evening though, to avoid mosquitoes.

Try not to rush to too many places too quickly. After a while, you won't care about another Roman ruin, or another classical painting, no matter how cool it is. Bring moleskin and band-aids. You're going to need them. And aspirin and glass wipes (if you wear glasses). Your feet and legs are going to hurt like a son of a bitch, even if you have been walking a lot at home. You're going to wind up walking more than you have been, no matter how much you were doing before you left. I had worked myself up to walking five miles before most of my trips, and I think on average I walked 12-15 miles per day during these last two trips.

You will want to get a small pad lock, so you can lock up your pack or other valuables if there are lockers. Most hostels do have lockers, some big enough to fit your pack. Others only have small lockers. Don't leave valuables lying around. In hostels without lockers, keep your stuff zipped up and under the bed or something, out of sight. Better yet, don't travel with anything of value. Leave your iPhone and tablet at home. The first time I went backpacking, I didn't even have a cell phone. Nowadays, you can purchase Sim cards that will fit in an old unlocked phone in order to be able to call home. The great thing about buying a European Sim card is that you can accept incoming calls for free. Your family can get a cheap calling card and call you for much less than using your American cell phone there. In '09, I spent $400 on phone calls with AT&T. Don't give the evil empire your money!

Look for hostels that have 24-hour reception. This might not seem like a big deal, but if you ever have a problem in the middle of the night, it's nice to have someone to turn to.

Some hostels have laundry facilities. You can travel with less clothing if you plan when you will be able to do a whole load of laundry. Having to lug a heavy pack of clothing around will put a damper on your day. Don't bring enough clothes for six months, even if you're traveling for that long. Besides what you are wearing, two pairs of pants, two shirts, and five days worth of underwear is plenty. When you change out of clothes, be sure to hang them up in order to air them out, so they will not smell when you wear them again. I usually wear clothes for three days, and I hang them up in between (or throw them over a rail or bed if there isn't a wardrobe with hangers). If you have to change hostels, hang up your clothes as soon as you can after arriving. I usually try to wash right after my initial arrival at the first hostel. I refuse to wear airplane clothes two days in a row, they always smell terrible. When you get ready to do laundry, don't forget to wash your towel and pajamas. It will feel refreshing to have clean stuff.

Wear 8" boots. Yeah, it sucks having to get them off and back on in the security line at the airport, but they can save your ankles (and your trip) if you turn your foot on a cobblestone. My sister brings flip-flops to wear to the shower. I don't. I still have my feet and to my knowledge, haven't caught any diseases.

Despite your attempt at cleanliness, you will smell. You won't notice it however while you're traveling. If you're concerned about smelling like the road and the hostel, bring something to counteract it, like good smelling perfume or febreeze. I had no idea how horrid my pack smelled until I had been home a couple of days. It would knock your nose off. And I'd tried to keep everything clean and washed up.

Take the reviews on Hostelworld with a grain of salt. If you're on a budget, know that you get what you pay for. It ain't going to be the Hilton if it's €15 a night. Most hostels are clean enough for most people. If you're really picky about everything being perfect, maybe backpacking isn't for you. Save your money longer and pay for better accommodation. However, you will never meet anyone in a private room. I've met some really cool people while backpacking. 

While I think it's safe to associate with other backpackers, as a general rule, do not engage random strangers. There are all kinds of scammers and criminal-types attempting to sell you fake goods or pick your pocket. Don't look at them. Don't talk to them. Keep walking. Don't be afraid to offend. For the most part, traveling alone as a woman is safe, but you need to use your head. Don't go out drinking with people you don't know at three o'clock in the morning. Don't meet someone you met online in a secluded location. These are not good ideas. When I travel alone, I am back at the hostel at dark and I get up early because I'm interested in the historical and archaeological stuff. If you're wanting to party and pub-hop, I suggest getting some friends that you trust together to go with you so you can watch out for each other. 

Good luck and have fun backpacking!

Journal Entry: Chewable Aspirin

I’ve had dinner, I just ate pizza here and had a Hoegaarden beer. Cost me €10. That’s not too bad. 

It’s not even 9 and I’m whooped. All the walking has just about done me in. I had originally planned to take it easy in Nice. Hah! So much for that. 

Oh! A funny story. This morning. I had run out of Aspirin yesterday so I had bought some at the Pharmacy by the train station. I opened them last night and they were very big. I thought they were dissolvable tablets, like the “Goody’s” at home. That you drop them in a glass and then drink it. Well so, this morning I get a glass at breakfast and put them in some water, but they don’t dissolve. So I mixed them up with a knife, but they didn’t really dissolve. I thought wth? Am I supposed to swallow these things as big as they are? Well I licked the knife, and it was sweet. They were chewable tablets. LOL!

Anyway, I am going to read some Rick Steves. I hope Andy is feeling better. He was having a rough time of it with me being away.

Journal Entry: More Hostel Shenanigans

I returned to my room to find my pajamas on top of someone else’s luggage and my blanket had been moved around. I don’t know what the fuck was up with that. It’s also quite damp in here. I have opened the door to hopefully air it out a bit. I do like the bathroom here. The ensuite is very nice. That’s the only thing I like about this room. The hostel itself is good. The bar and kitchen are amazing. 

 

Remains of Roman Amphitheatre in Nice outside Archaeology Museum

So anyway, I was going to go to Cap Ferrat today, but I think the time trials for the Grand Prix in Monaco started today because it was absolute bedlam at the train station. So I scratched that idea. Instead I went to the Matisse museum and the Archaeology museum. They were both free today but I’m not sure why. They usually cost money. 

After the incredibly long walk, I went to the old town and ate lunch at the same kebab place as yesterday. I then was going to take a stroll on the “Promenade des Anglais” but it looked like rain, so I went to the Contemporary Art museum. It was free too. 

I walked very far today, and my feet are sore. 

I leave for Marseille at 10:57a tomorrow morning. I hope the hostel in Marseille is nice or I’m going to the Hilton. I’m kidding. Or am I?

Journal Entry: Hostel Room Mix-up

I made it to the hostel. They mixed up my room reservation, and I am not in the room I requested. There is no ensuite bath. They said they would move me to the right room for the next two nights. I had pizza and beer for dinner. I probably shouldn’t have, but I didn’t feel like anything else, and certainly didn’t feel like looking for something and wind up eating pizza in the end anyway. 

 

Nice in the Evening - from Hostel St. Exupery

I got a sim card for my phone. It was €15 for the sim card and €5 worth of time. It is €.80 to call home but I can receive incoming calls for free, and the rate for Jan’s calling card is less than it was for the Italian one. Apparently the rates vary by city. 

What am I doing tomorrow? I’m not entirely sure. I guess I’ll go to the market and maybe to the castle hill. The shuttle doesn’t run to and from the hostel between noon and five so I better come up with something entertaining.

Journal Entry: Genova Train Mix-up

I got off the train at the wrong station. They had announced Genova… Principe on the intercom, in Italian and English and so I got off. Then I notice my train to Ventimiglia is not on the board, so I ask at the desk, and the lady was like, “you are at the wrong station.” She told me to take another train to the other station. Luckily, I had plenty of time. I am waiting now for the next train. I was at Genova Brignole. And, I wasn’t the only one that got off at the wrong station. An Italian man I asked about the other train, since there was no sign (surprise!) told me he had done the same thing. Glad it wasn’t just me being stupid. I usually check the station signs too. He was from Florence, and I chatted with him while we were coming into this station.

The train ride was nice. I was in first class on the Eurostar City train, and the car was nearly empty, so I could sit by the window and look out. There were marvelous views of the Mediterranean Sea, and of the mountains too.

From the train window - the amazing blue color of the water is lost

Journal Entry: Pisa

I am in Pisa. I have seen the leaning tower and paid €2 to go in the church. I did not pay to climb the tower. 

This morning at 4a my phone started beeping because it was dying. It probably woke everyone in the room. The nice guy at reception let me charge it in their lock box. Very nice feature of that hostel. Again the only problem with that hostel was the water not staying hot. 

This morning it was still raining. It had rained hard in the night. I t finally stopped a bit and so I went down to the “souvenir market.” I bought a leather jacket! It looks fantastic on me. It had been €690. I haggled the man down to €175. They had a store but also a stall on the street. 

It feels like very nice leather. I hope I made a good choice. [I did, I love this jacket, and everyone says it looks great on me.]

I managed to save some money this evening. I went to the store to buy breakfast and lunch, well dinner for tonight. I had two hamburger patties with a fried egg on top. For breakfast tomorrow, I will have pancetta and eggs. Cost me €7, plus I bought a stick of butter for cooking and two bananas. Not bad! 

The hostel is very clean, but Spartan. No saop in the bathroom. That’s how a lot are in the UK. I am in a three bed dorm. And the bath is ensuite! No one is in here so far. Could I be so lucky to have the room to myself? I dare not hope. 

Hostel Common Room

It stopped raining about half way to Pisa which was nice, because it was a very long walk to the leaning tower. 

I leave on the train to Nice at 9:31a tomorrow morning. 

I had weird dreams last night. I dreamed of Zech and Jacob when they were children. There was more to the dream but I do not recall it. I lit a candle (an electric one) for Zech in the church here in Pisa. I’m still sad. 

 

Pisa Cathedral

I did not go in the Duomo in Florence, except the cupola the first night, because  the line was around the building.