End of the trip.. and back home..

So I guess it's time for the summary post..

My last 2 days in Rome were lovely. My last day in Italy was a holiday- Immaculate conception day.. (only in Italy..), and not expecting to meet any more people to hang out with, I was delightfully surprised to meet 2 canadian girls who were just in Israel on Birthright and loved it so much that they are coming back for more. We had a great talk about Israel, being Jewish and so much more. As it turns out, the travelling hostel community is pretting small. After talking for a while we realized we have a mutual friend (I met him in Florence and Michelle met him somewhere else.. I forget where..). We made plans to get together in Israel, and I think it's such a fine ending to the trip, meeting people that can tie over the trip to coming back home..

My flight home was wonderful, and everything went well leaving the city, so I won't go into that.. I guess now my next few days and weeks will be telling the stories, and that means I have to think about how to sum it all up myself, before I tell it someone else. I can honestly say that I tasted Europe- Italy the most. I tasted it, smelled it and enjoyed it with every sense. Florence, Tuscany, Napoli and Positano were absolutely my favorite parts of this trip. One of the funniest moments was when I went to the cheese guy (don't know the technical term..), asked for Buffalo mozarella in my lame english. The following day I came back and didn't even have to ask, he already knew what I wanted and we smiled at each other.. I realized that the Italians are very similar to Israelis, and in that sense I felt very close and comfortable with them. So many great moments to tell, and I hope to tell them in person rather than here. Italy was as apiritual a place for me as anything else, and I know I will return..

I'm so glad I took the time, made this a priority in my life and went. The purpose of this trip wasn't to "find myself", sort out my life or anything like that, but to explore these places, see new things and meet new people, see how I do with one bag and no privacy for 8 weeks, I must say I did very well. People are asking me what now-- not sure. I'm still taking my time, bcause now I'm building a new life and there's no need to rush. I'm happy to be back with my family and friends, and I'm very excited to see what this next stage in my life brings- new people, new realizations and hopefully only good things.

every person I have met throughout this trip has been precious to me, whether I met them for one night or for several days. they all made this trip what it turned out to be- fantastic!! I'm sure there's more to say, much more. Right now I'm content.. eating popcorn with my parents, watching "Under the Tuscan Sun" (how fitting..), and in the next few days I get to see all my friends- the ones who helped send me off and wait for me to return from all my little adventures. They are the real true friends that are always there, which is why I'm glad to be home. There's so much, and so many, to come back to..

Thank you all for joining me on this ride, reading up on my stories and sharing your thoughts. Don't know if anything will come out of writing this blog one day (maybe collecting it all and making something of it..), I'm so glad I made it a priority to write something every few days because I now have it forever.. I promise to put pictures up in the coming days and then you can see the pictures that match my stories, and how the pictures tell their own stories as well..

So this has been me- Tasting Europe.. and I did..

Let me tell you about the last 2 days..

I arrived in Naples yesterday, only to find it a little dirty, pissing down rain and not that friendly, and absolutely crazy drivers. We immediately went to the original pizzeria, established in 1870, that only has 2 kinds of pizza- double mozarella or margarita. Naturally we ordered both and had a fantastic lunch. I decided that going to Pompei for the day and walk around in the rain is not something I want to do, so instead I left my new found Australians and went to my hostel.

This is by far the best hostel I have stayed at this whole trip. It was originally an old monestary, the old structure is still there on the outside but theinside is new and has an amazing vibe to it. A beautiful kitchen, a couch with books and a DVD collection and wonderful people working at the desk who smile at you right away and help you with anything you might want or need. Valerio- a guy who works here, offered to make us dinner if we bought the ingridients. He wrote everything out in Italian and sent us off to the butcher and market to find everything. It was a funny challenge- basically going up to vendures, showing them the list of what we need and communicating with mostly hand gestures and smiles. Valerio made us proper, pure pasta with bolognese (spelling?), I made a salad to go along with it with the freshest vegetables and it was a fantastic meal and so fun talking to him about the difference between north and south Italian food and cooking.

Today we went to Positano, in the Amalfi coast. A 2 hour journey from Naples, and worth every minute!! Part of the trip includedabus ride along the hilly coast, really high up, all you can seebelow you are rocks and the water. Absolutely stunning. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and pure happiness. We decided to have a picnic on the beach so we stop at a little market, bought some bread, cheeses, including buffalo mozarella (AMAZING) and sandwich toppings, clemetines and lemon gelato for dessert. Just a peaceful, sunny afternoon, absolutely perfect. I took so many pictures (to be shared when I get back home), just kept finding another amazing view or something beautiful I wanted to capture and want everyone else to see whatI am seeing. This is absolutely a place I plan to return to.

More in a couple of days, right now I'm just happy..

Rome

I arrived in Rome from Florence via train. As the train was rolling in I saw the intense rain I was about to encounter outside the station. Without an umbrella, and knowing that my hostel is only 6 blocks away I decided to NOT buy an umbrella from one the 20 guys right outside the station selling them, and walk. The wetter I got, the better I felt actually, it's funny when you know that you can't get any wetter after a certain point. I arrived at the hostel, and immediately felt that the cold and cough I have been dealing with since London is back..:( So I spent my first day in Rome cooped up in bed in my hostel room.

I managed to venture out for dinner and met a couple of really nice Australian girls, had dinner with them and decided to join them in sightseeing for the next day. We spent 10 hours walking the city. Luckily the rain went away, the sun was out and it was hot and absolutely lovely. We saw all the major sights today, Pantheon, Coloseum, Vatican city, Piazza Nevona (where we had really good pizza and gelato of course..). An absolutely lovely and memorable day. I can't really believe that in 6 days my trip is over and I'm going back home. I'm starting to look back at the different places I've been and the people I've met, and I feel so blessed..

More to follow in a few days, Naomi

Ahhhhh... Tuscany..

The last few days have been so nearly perfect, I really can't think of anything missing from them (besides the people I love to experience them with me..). I spent one of them seeing the real David (20+" high)- such an impressive, amazing masterpiece. The gallery it is in doesn't have a lot of other art to see, so all you want to see is the David. I took out my sketchbook and started sketching, felt very therapeutic. Then I went to another gallery and saw a lot of Da Vinci and Boticelli. It's amazing to hear about these works of art, see copies of them over the years, and all of the sudden- you are there and it's the real thing.. Lunch that day was gelato of course- I found a little square and enjoyed every bite..

A word about my thoughts on the art I have seen. Obviously the old art works were all commisioned by the church, and that's why they are all religious, but it seems like all the paintings I see are about the birth of Jesus, or the death of Jesus. Art at that time was meant to tell the story and pass on the message to the people who couldn't read, so it was meant to scare and intimidate. I don't remember seeing many Jewish art growing up or in my travels, and I don't think that it was part of the culture and the tradition. It's just a little wierd being in countries that are soooooo catholic, and churches are such a big part of daily living..all part of exploring a new place in the world. And it is beautiful I must say.

I spent the following day touring a bit of tuscany- a tour group that took us to 3 towns, Sienna, San Gimignano and Pisa, and we had the best lunch at an organic farm, including 4 wine tastings. The weather was beautiful and I could see the Tuscan countryside at its most beautiful. It was such a wonderful, peaceful day, and again I felt so lucky to have the oppurtunity to be where I am, do what I do. In over 5 weeks of travelling and hostels, I am staying at a fantastic hostel here in Florence, with a pool and a turkish steam room. I stay in a 8 bed mixed dorm and I get to meet a lot of interesting people from around the world and I get to hear their stories. And this time around I am lucky enough to have 3 fantastic guys in the room with me. These are American guys, working in Italy, here in Florence for a little vacation. I met them after my fantastic day in Tuscany, and we spent the next day walking the city together, and I have to say that I haven't laughed this much in a long time, perhaps the most in this trip. Matt, Richard and Julian- You are my little Italian family!!! Thanks for making my stomach ache from laughing so hard!!

I spent today at a little town 2 hours south of Florence called Ovierto- a town that was built on a volcano. Walked the cobblestone streets, walked into the shops and had some really good pizza. Just a very peaceful day, it's really fun touring in the off season because there aren't heard of people everywhere and the prices are low..

That's it for now-- I'm taking tons and tons of pictures, all to be displayed when I get back home and have time to sort them all.. I have 12 more days here in Italy, don't know yet how I'm going to spend them all, I'm not worried.. For now- I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and spent these days with their loved ones.. I love you all, and think about you often. Naomi

Venice.. and Florence..

There are funny things about this country..
1. every pizza place/supermarket has asian people behind the counter.
2. A few drops of rain makes everyone panic and reach for their umbrellas, even though the "rain" stopped after 30 seconds.
3. The Italians don't ever have coffee to go, most of them walk into whatever cafe, order a single shot of espresso, drink it in one shot while standing up (becuase the price goes up if you care to sit down and have a coffee with ease), and leave. It was especially funny watching the gondola drivers walk into a cafe, take the shot and go back to their shift, striped shirt and funny hat- the works.. Speaking of coffee- I have learned to enjoy a very small cup of really good strong quality stuff, finish it in a few sips and move on with my day. I don't know who invented take out coffee (Starbucks??), and I don't know which is better, but.. when in Italy.. (haven't reached Rome yet so I can't fully use that clichè..).

There is something very relaxing here. I don't know if it's just me, finally being here so I'm taking my time, not rushing through any street or site,or if it is the people and their way of life. I arrived in Florence last night and reached my hostel, and was taken out to see the city at night by some people I met minutes before. The city is truely beautiful and at times really took my breath away. And it was so much fun walking the streets at night because it was practically empty and so quiet. There is an outside statue area that has a fake "David", not really sure why, but it's there, and quite big and very impressive. I spent some time just walking amongst these replicas, trying to figure out which song or bit of music is right for this moment (which is something I always do when I think I'm in a "movie" type moment, so perfectly right that it should have been scripted somewhere..).

I woke up this morning and ventured out to see what it all in full daylight. My first order of business was to buy a new sketchbook and pencils, which I did even before my morning coffee.. I took my time, walked around some of the famous sites. Found a bench, sat down and started to sketch something, nothing good, still fun. At one point in my walk, I'm not sure where I got to, but it was so beautiful with the rolling hills in the background, the sky was changing color and I actually had tears of pure joy. I have basically been smiling since I got to venice 5 days ago, things that would otherwise bother me don't, and I'm just happy to be here.

The last bit of Barcelona, and a bit of Venice..

Seems like it´s been forever since I´ve sat down and written something here.. so I need to say a few last words about Barcelona before I move on to Venice..
I was all ready to disregard Barcelona. Yes- I had seen some great architecture, gardens and met great people, and yet I wasn´t LOVING it there. And something happened on my last night that I felt a shift in attitude, met a few more really great locals and travelers, and started to feel comfortable with the city. I think it took me time to get over the Paris snatching, tell the story with a sigh and a smile and nothing beyond, and be able to enjoy what Barcelona had to offer.I spent the last day with a guy travelling from England, we sat on the beach (first time in this trip that I got to walk in sand..). Jake- thanks for the day, the talk, and sharing a fruit smoothie with me.. you made my last day really great..
And then I left Spain and landed in Italy..
Many of you have heard me say many many many times over the years that going to Italy is my dream. I got out of the train station inVenice and had to find my way to the hostel I was staying at, and even though I kind of got lost, was carrying a heavy backpack and was tired from travelling, I was going up and down these little bridges and looking around with amazement-- I am actually here!! Living my dream!! How fantastic!!
I´m staying at a great little hostel that is actually anold house. There is one guy who manages it, cooks, cleans and deals with everyone coming and going, works all day and does it with a smile- talking to him for 2 minutes I knew we would get along and that this is the right place for me.Lucas-- you are awesome!!
I walked the streets for 2 hours when I decided to have my first pizza- spinach and ricotta, YUMMY, followed by my first geltao, also really good. In Venice you can buy either glass, handbags or masks inspired by the Venice festival that is heldevery February..won´t find much else. I have spent 2 days walking the streets, getting lost, and taking in the beautiful sights of this rare place. It smells great here, no stinky water.. I walked around the residential area and it was so quiet and peaceful, and I really felt blessed to be there.
I have met some lovely people here, travellers and locals. I find that the Italians talk like Israelis- few words, more hand gestures, so talking to people isn´t that hard, and most of the time I understand everyone..
Next stop is Florence and I can´t wait to see it all. Because Italy is my last stop I am really taking my time, walking slower, not planning ahead at all what tomorrow is about but really living the now, just like the locals..
More to come in a few days, thanks for checking in.. I love you all!!! Naomi

Let me tell you about the last couple of days

I found a Labyrinth park in the barcelona university yesterday. Not many people know about it so it was basically empty, I was able to let go of my bag for a bit and not worry about someone grabbing it from me. I walked into this little park, and felt like I was somewhere else, with flashbacks of "Great expectations" (remember the house where they met as kids..). It was such a unique place and experience, it completely filled me with energy and joy, and I felt so lucky to be where I am, doing what Im doing, and seeing these beautiful sights. I found a bench, took off my shoes, took off my long sleeve shirt (the sun was shining and it was a beautiful afternoon), read my book for a bit and then shut my eyes for a few minutes. It was the best way I can imagine to spend an afternoon, and if and when I ever come back to Barcelona- this is absolutely my first stop!!

Today I went to Montserrat, a  very old little town up in the mountain about an hour from the city, with the oldest boys choir and oldest printing house in the world. I hear the choir sing for 5 minutes and then walked around this really beautiful place for a few hours. Hiked around for a bit, soaked up some good freash air and got an amazing view of the entire area. My Ipod was playing Yehudit ravitz during the hike, and at the perfect moment my favorite song came on- "Shir lelo Shem", and it was absolutely perfect and quite the spiritual moment. Again I felt so full of joy and energy and so lucky to be where I am right now.

Im here for one more full day and on thursday I leave for venice to start the Italy part of this trip, soooo excited. Right now though Im just to be here, Ive been lucky enough to meet some really amazing people in this city.

Elisha- my aussie partner in crime, Ive only known you for a short time and you are so precious to me. Thanks for dinner, sangria and the great night discussing everything under the sun.

Thank you all for tuning in to read what I have to say. I love you all!!!