"But why Albania?!?"

This is what nearly everyone who I spoke to about going to Albania, said to me...especially the italians!! haha...and my response..."But why not?!?"

Despite all of the sceptics, I stuck to my guns, booked my 'sleeper' (by myself thanks to the lovely guys at the ticket booth who organised it with the guys on the boat), and hopped on the boat farewelling a very drizzley and wet Brindisi.


I boarded the boat about 20 minutes before the scheduled departure time and was shown to my cabin and wished a goodnight. I watched out the window of my cabin the endless line of trucks to be loaded...

And then I thought it best to go to bed as I only had about 5 or 6 hours of sleep available...I thought we were due in Vlore at about 7.30 or 8am but I was advised that sailing time was only 5 and half hours...so I hopped into bed and set my alarm and went to sleep...


I then woke every 2 hours or so and noticed all felt clam and flat and so checked out the window to see we were still at the port in Brindisi...we ended up leaving 7 hours late!!

By the time I was sick of sleeping on and off and it was a reasonable hour in the morning to wake up properly I noticed we were well and truelly rocking back and forth!! Well I had actually noticed it well before as soon as we left Brindisi but it continued endlessly for the whole trip and was a bit like a show ride in my opinion...I was just glad I have a strong sea stomach!!



I finally arrived in a very rainy and stormy Vlore!!

I made my way off the ferry with all my bags...a lone traveller...and was given a grilling by the young, female, english speaking guard. I think her aim was to scare me...and she did a bit...but I didnt let her see that!! Haha

I had no hostel or hotel booked and had planned to just find something when I got there which ended up seeming a lot more daunting when I arrived...

Thankfully, I had a lovely italian speaking Albanian man come to my rescue!! He drove me around and helped me to find a hotel, negotiated a price for me and then drove me to show me where I had to walk the following morning to get my transport to Tirana (the capital)...he was a champion and a real gentleman...thanks Nik, wherever you are!! Oh, and left me his phone number in case I needed assistance at any point!!

I didnt do much in Vlore for that afternoon and evening apart from walk back to the bus stop that I needed to go to the following day and find some food...

But I found the 'Luna Park' of Vlore...


I dont think it really has anything on Melbourne's Luna Park!! haha

It was a bit sad really with bad music blaring, no one in there and empty and broken rides!!

The next day I did the trek to the bus stop with all my bags!!...Well actually it was a "furgon" stop. And a furgon is basically minivan that line up at the stops and the drivers call out where they are going. When they are full they leave.

My destination was Tirana and I made it quite successfully...

And then I trekked through the busy busy streets of Tirana to the hostel I had booked (this time I knew where I was going...the one and only hostel in Tirana)...

And then I passed out for a while!! haha

I had a great first night out in Tirana with the other three people staying at the hostel...an Australian couple from Adelaide (My-my and Jason) who were in Albania buying an apartment in a southern coastal town (and having problems) to eventually turn into a hostel, and a Finish guy (Pekka), who I ended up spending a day and a few evenings looking around with...it was good to have some company!!

We went out and had some Albanian food and then funnily enough, we went to have some beers at an Irish pub!! haha...there is an Irish Pub wherever you go in the world!!

At this point, let me just say that Tirana is fantastic!! And I highly recommend it to everyone!!

The very interesting thing about Albania though and which I think made it so much more appealing to me (and can sometimes be a postive and sometimes a negative) is that the Albanians arent quite ready, used to or prepared for tourists yet. But they are very friendly and generally helpful people who are very proud of their country.



Tirana is a beautiful and very busy city surrounded by big mountains...and I was very fortunate to get some amazing weather whilst I was there!!


The very big and very busy main square and heart of the city...notice all of the people and cars...and this is only a corner of it!!

And lets not forget about the change in food which I was VERY excited about after 3 months of pasta and pizza...


Byrek, which is the very easily found and extremeley delicious Albanian (and generally Balkan, in all of the Balkan countries) fast food...

They also love their kebabs or souvas but I didnt try one of those with too much other good food to sample.

One thing I didnt sample was a Kolonat burger...yes, McDonalds has not penetrated Albania, but ehy have their own version!! haha...It is called Kolonat, something which I find very amusing...is it aluding to it not being very good for your Colon?!?


They have even tried to mirror the McDonalds logo...but they also serve pizza as they Albanians are also a little obsessed with italian food!!

Then on my second day, Pekka and I took the gondola up the biggest mountain to the west (I think) of the city and had a walk around up there. There were fantastic views of Tirana under its fog and pollution and we got to see many of the indestructibly designed bunkers from their years to war which are obviously still there as they are "indestructible"!! Haha...apparently many young Albanians have lost their virginities in them!! haha


Oh...and then there was many stalls on the street and a whole market dedicated to stalls of pre-used and preloved clothes and shoes...piles and piles of them!! Apparently they get it all from Italy and bring it back to Albania...and it all seems to sell as there are constantly people serching through the piles!!


Used stockings anyone?!?

Or how about someone elses' smelly shoes?!?


I sadly had to leave Tirana to keep moving and headed north to Shkoder also in Albania, just for one night to then head over the boarder into Montenegro the following day...

Ci vediamo
Jo xox

PS - Oh, and I cant forget the very cute line up of old ALbanian men in the main square chatting away in the Sunday morning sun...

WWOOF WWOOFer, I am in Puglia

I left Napoli in a bit of a rush and a flurry...oh, and I stuffed up my train ticket in the process, so that I was going to have 3 hours at an outer suburban train station in Napoli from midnight...

Hang-on, hang-on...let me start from the start!!

I cant recall if I explained before, but since I had already studied for 2 months in Italy and had entered on a regular tourist visa where they just stamp your passport at the airport without many questions, I only had a month of travel time in Italy before I should legally get out at least for one day. Now Im sure no one would have chased me if I hadnt left but I didnt want to leave and then them realise and then say to me "Well now since you have overstayed your welcome you cant return for 10 years!!"...particularly just after I have begun to master the language!!

So by the end of my time in Napoli, I had only about a week left before I needed to leave (and the plan was to catch a boat across The Adriatic to Albania...but that is another tale yet to come) and wanted to see some of the south-east, ie Puglia or Basilicata, but I hadnt had any cities recommended to me and nothing was jumping out at me in the guide book...my Bible!! haha
Before I had left Melbourne I had an idea planted in my head and an organisation recommended to me as a different option for cheap travel and different experiences which sounded interesting to me...

It was WWOOF...Willing Workers On Organic Farms...and it exists in many countries throughout the world. So I researched and liked the sound of it and joined over the interent...it was all very easy.

Basically the deal is that once you join you are given a list of farms (for me all in Italy as I only joined the Italian WWOOF Organisation), in every region with a blurb about each farm and what they produce and who they are and then you, as a "WWOOFer" contact them with when you are wanting to visit them...the longer the better!! Once you recieve responses and decide which one to go to (if you get multiple responses that is), you head to the farm.

Once on the farm (or maybe I should call them rural properties as they are always in the countryside but sometimes an "agriturismo" is run from there also which is basically a farmstay type accomodation for tourists), as a "WWOOFer" as we are referred to, you help out with whatever needs doing, whether that be pruning trees or picking fruit or olives or nuts or weeding or tending animals or helping in the agriturismo with cleaning or cooking. In return you get accomodation (generally inside a house but it was clear that in summer it was sometimes in a tent) and all of your meals...and of course some time off to see towns and sights nearby.

After going through this process (and getting mostly negative responses as being directly after New Years and the Italians normally holiday from Christmas to Epifania on Jan 6th), I ended up at a farm in central Puglia (the heel of the boot of Italy).

I caught the train and was met at the station by the man in the operation of this farm, Toni, who I had spoken to a couple of times to organise my arrival. He drove me straight to the farm, and after arriving and having a small tour and settling in, I began to see it wasnt quite what I expected...

AND THEN, things only seemed to get worse!!




And the highlight of the tour...


The drop toilet!! Outside and in the cold with a flip lid and a bucket of compost that I had to put a shovel of in the hole everytime I used it...


Now before you start saying "Oh Jo, you princess..."...I dont think I am that precious and had thought that there could be these kinds of conditions...AND, as many of you know I was once a Scout and a Venturer and so am not new to this kind of situation, but what made it worse was the COLD (and I write that in capitals because it was BITTER!!) And whenever I went out to that toilet and squatted, the two dogs would come over to see what was going on and would nuzzle at me for some love and attention and some pats...really not the time!! haha

Bob...Toni's dog...

The neighbour's dog who spends all his time and gets fed at Toni's house...

And then there was Toni...I could say a lot about this man, but I think it better to keep it brief, also from the point of view of my karma!! haha

Toni is a man who lives his life the way he wants to which I think is very admirable, as he pretty much lives on basically only things which he grows or creates. Or swaps with friends who have other farms that grow and create other things. He also tries to use as little energy as possible by heating the house only with the fire, that then heats water for the wall furnaces and for the TINY hotwater system that he created...it creates about a bucketful of hot water at a time!!

Toni standing next to one of the other dwellings on his property...there are a few of these and I think that originally when him and his wife bought the property they hoped others would buy parts of it off them and they could form a bit of a commune...like some of their friends in other parts of the region.

It was very interesting to learn things from him about the way he lives and eats and prepares food and approaches life...but in my opinion he was a little TOO closed to other ways of life and other ways of doing things and thought his way was the BEST way...and wasnt very willing to accept the way other people lived and see the reasons for that!!

But the WORST part of my time there was THE COLD!!!!
And my terrible hand and feet circulation didnt help with this!!

I was assured by a few locals that the cold and rain and wet that I experienced was extreme for the region and for that time of year...


Me trying to warm up by the fire...it is very dark as he liked to avoid turning on the light.

But with the lack of heating in the house, it was particularly bad, especially when we returned in the evening, in the dark, and the fire obviously hadnt been on all day and there was NOTHING warm about the house.

This happened quite a few times, as another one of the good things about the time was meeting quite a few of his many friends in the region. A few friends dropped round to say hi and ended up staying for lunch with us, one of whom was a quite elderly german man who sounds as though he has been a bit of a nomad for all of his life and has done and experienced a lot...and he told me many interesting stories when Toni left him with me for about 45 minutes when he went to collect some olive oil from his wife's house.

We also had a meal at the commune which I mentioned before where around 20 people live (including children) and they all contribute to produce food and goods (bread, biscuits and wine for sale) and to make meals for everyone as they all eat together. This was particularly interesting to experience and to meet all of the different people living there...


And we also spent all of Sunday at another friends' house, a young couple who are reconstructing a trulli (traditional Pugliese hut) to live in, off the land...


Oh...and I was there at the farm by myself...so it was just me and him for most of the time...apart from when we were with his friends.

It wasnt all bad and maybe I am making it sound worse than it was, but let me just say I was VERY happy to arrive in Brindisi (from where I was catching the boat to Albania the following evening), to find a room, to have a long hot shower and to wash all my clothes...

The best description is that it was an "EXPERIENCE"!!

Here are a few photos of Toni's property...it was very beautiful and puglia is another very different region of Italy!!


All of the olive trees lined up with the circular clearings below each from the collection process of the olives...



Me and most of the animals...

Despite this experience not being the best, I can still see how wonderful WWOOFing can be and would love to give it another try, and maybe for longer, sometime soon...and DEFINITELY in warmer weather!!

Ci vediamo
Jo xox

Napoli for New Years

Napoli, Napoli, Napoli...Mamma Mia!! What a city!! haha

It is just as crazy as they say...or as I like to say, it is the Hong Kong of Italy...if it is possible!?!


With the fish tubs out on the street and all like Hongkers!!

People, cars, horns, rubbish rubbish rubbish, over-flowing bins and skips everywhere, scooters without helmets, smog, action, dark narrow streets, young people, old people, people from all over the world trying to sell you anything they could, trying to sell you iPhones by walking up to you all sneaky like and mumbling "iPhone, iPhone" in a strong italian/foreign accent, pizza (the Neapolitans' pride and joy and claim to fame!!)...and a fantastic hostel!!



Classic night time street scapes of Napoli.

Once I had decided that Napoli was the place for me for New Years Eve as I figured in a big city with such a big reputation, there must be something going on somewhere for me and there would definitely be a decent hostel that was in the centre of things with other people there for me to socialise with and talk to, I did my homework...

I worked out which were the good hostels and emailed them in italian to ask whether they had anythig special planned for NYE...the one that I ended up choosing, Hostel of the Sun, which had been voted 2nd best hostel in the world for the last couple of years running on the HostelWorld website, assured me that there would be fun to be had; a free dinner for all to eat together and then there would be a group heading out to see what was going on in the centre...

But of course, the first thing that I had to do when arriving in this overwhelming city was to try this thing that they were all so proud of and precious about...their margherita pizza!!


The next day I spent wandering around the crazy streets of the central storico area and watching everyone getting prepared for the evenings festivities of NYE...and this meant that every man and their dog was out and about...also because it was a beautiful day.

Setting up the stage in the main piazza for the free concert that night before and after the countdown.

Everyone buying their fair share of fireworks from small stalls on every street corner. And all day, but especially once the sun went down, the loud bangs throughout the city of fireworks of every shape and size being let off in the streets...and mainly by young children!!

Apparently every year the hospital in Napoli gets a huge number of people injured by fireworks on NYE and so they prepare themselves especially for this!! Haha

The constant bangs actually became a bit scary, especially once it got dark and you were in narrow streets on your own and you didnt know if someone was going to drop one near you as a joke to give you a fright!! But I was fine.

Oh, and on the issue of personal safety for NYE, we were also advised at the hostel to avoid the narrower streets, especially in the Spanish Quarter, around 12am as there was a tradition of throwing things out of the windows at 12, and not just rubbish and paper, but things like fridges and furniture!!

And of course buying that special red lingerie from a street stall for that special someone to discover at the stroke of 12!! HAHA...no jokes!!
Even my host Mum in Siena advised me that I would have to buy something new that was RED to wear for NYE as it was tradition...and she said as though I should already know this, as though this was obvious.

And of course on my wanderings I had to try one of the sweet treats of the region..."sfoglitelle"...which I ended up falling in love with...flaky but crunchy pasty with a thick custard inside and they are traditionally served warm...mmmmmmm!!

Then the evening itself...

Was a bit disappointing as there really werent many people that into the spirit of things at the hostel and so I started drinking by myself...oh what an alcoholic!! haha...until the crazy Napoletan guy working at the hostel started offering everyone wine and they started drinking.

We all had dinner together and I chatted to a few people and then a group of about 9 of us headed out to see the free concert in the main Piazza...and then the countdown and eventually the fireworks show on the water which wasnt until 1.30am!! WEIRD!! haha

Not only were there a few fireworks at 12 aswell but plenty of champagne being sprayed around!!

It wasnt a big or late night and by the time the big firework show started it was drizzling so straight after we headed back to the hostel.

But I did do a lot more whilst in Napoli other than NYE...considering I ended up staying at the hostel for 6 nights in all...(with a break in the middle)

I first took a day trip to Pompeii...woah, what an amazing site...a town that was buried by volcanice ash and a lot of it preserved in this way. Unfortunately most of the many interesting artifacts that have been found, including mosaics, have been moved from the site to the Museum in Napoli.

The weirdest and creepiest thing by far was the plaster casts that were made from the hollows left by some of the inhabitants of the town from their bodies when the eruption had occured...

I got an audioguide for all of the excavations and am glad I did as you wouldnt have known what you were looking at if you didnt. I spent 5 hours there and was absolutely exhausted and starving when I was done as there arent any food outlets within the ruins themselves.

The second day trip that I took was to the world famous Amalfi Coast!! And I was lucky enough to get an amazing day...

The best part of it all was sitting on the bus and driving around the coastal road (which for the Aussies is a bit like The Great Ocean Road but higher and cliffs without beaches...and more spectacular in my opinion!!). I was on a bus and had a ticket that I could get on and off with and so first got off at the town Amalfi...and ended up spending most of my time there sitting in the sun and enjoying the day...

I then reboarded the bus and got off in Positano but by then it was getting late in the afternoon so I looked around a little bit but it was a VERY steep little town and walking down meant walking back up so I didnt go far and hopped back on the next bus for Sorrento to then catch the train back to Napoli.

I think the best way to descirbe the day to you is with photos...so here you go...

And then the break in my Napoli stay that I mentioned earlier was an overnight trip back to Rome...the reason for this was two-fold in that the hostel was already booked out for my fifth night in Napoli and I had only booked for 4 nights and I had missed out on seeing a few things last time I was in Rome, in particular the Sistine Chaple and the Vatican Museums...

So I caught a morning train to Rome with my little back-pack and left my big bag in Napoli and then returned the following evening.

Unfortunately, but also a blessing in disguise I think as it meant I actually looked at everything with my eyes rather than through the lens of my camera, I left my camera in my bag which I had to put in the bag-check when I entered and so dont have any photos of in there, but I spent most of my day there the day that I arrived.

After 2 and half months of italian food I decided Rome was a good chance to have some different food and I found a great african restaurant...but not as good as the ones in Melbourne!! haha

The second day I wandered to the Spanish Steps which I had only seen breifly and from the bottom last time, and being such an amazing day with the sun shining, I had the chance just to chill out and enjoy the sun...oh, and watch all of the italians out parading up and down with their families as it was a Sunday,,,and not to mention all of the tourists...

Not to mention the old man asleep in the sun oblivious to it all...haha


Ci vediamo
Jo xoxo

Perugia...bring on the chocolate...

Next stop on the "viaggio" through Italy was Perugia...the so called "university town".

I had originally planned on having New Years Eve here as I thought being a university town might mean that there was a bit of young nightlife going on and a bit of fun celebrating to be had. But when working out my movements so that I could cover as much of Italy as possible before I had to get out of the country (when I entered Italy. I only entered on a regular tourist visa which is what you get when you just arrive and they stamp your passport, and those are always for 90 days only and since Mike is coming over to meet up with me in Milan in mid-February, I didnt want to risk over-staying my welcome and then them not letting me re-enter in Feb), I realised that I would need to move south a bit faster than I had originally planned, and that was when the idea of Naples for NYE popped up.

In the end I am glad that I chose to pass through Perugia before and then be in Naples for NYE as perugia was nice but very quiet in that time between Christmas and New Year because obviously all of the university students had gone home to their families for the holidays!!
It was also extremely cold when I was in Perugia and I even woke on the second morning to snow!!



This was the view from the balcony walkway at the hostel when I stepped outside my door...

Talking about the hostel, this was another downer on Perugia and what made it not as enjoyable as other places. The hostel was a HI hostel which are notoriously large, baren, hospital-like and lifeless. They are often too big to even meet or talk to anyone also. This one was also outside of the main town. Thank god they have recently finished construction of the MiniMetro line which has a stop right near the hostel and takes you all the way UP into town...you definitely wouldnt want to walk.

The MiniMetro was little carts (almost like gondola cars) which ran on wheels and a cable on a track that ran above the streets. The carts arrived every couple of minutes and it was very efficient, so I was very impressed with that as the centre of Perugia is high up on a hill and something you wouldnt want to climb to and from everyday. But it was the best way to get back to the hostel and it stopped running at about 9pm every night!!

As with all of the other Italian cities that I have visited it was decorated up all nicely with Christmas lights...

I did a lot of wandering around and exploring when I was up in the town of Perugia and didnt go and see any museums (partly because there werent many, and none of interest to me). On my final evening there I managed to see a beautiful sunset whilst having my ear talked off by a very enthusiastic italian guy who was very excited about me being Australian and being able to talk in Italian...especially without an Aussie accent!! haha

OH...and the CHOCOLATE...so I heard from a girl I met at the hostel in Venice that the thing to do when in Perugia is to visit the Perugina Chocolate Factory to see the museum and do a tour and hopefully taste some choc!! Perugina is now a part of Nestle but is the brand under which Baci chocolates fall amongst many others.

So as soon as I arrived at the hostel (it was a Saturday) I enquired about this factory and the tours and was given a brochure and told it was only open during the week...so Monday my last day it had to be!! The hostel were nice and called and organised it for me and I had to catch a 45min local bus to get there.

However I got there and looked around the museum whilst waiting for some other people to arrive for the tour to start and it ended up that the tour was only of the museum as being holiday season the factory wasnt actually operating at that time. It was interesting though and I did get a few pieces of free choc and a free KitKat!! WOO HOO...haha.

The most exciting part about my time in Perugia was my day trip to Assisi...

Assisi is a beautiful city, but what made it even more beautiful and enjoyable was that it was snowing all morning and so everything was covered in white!!

And I even managed to get a few photos of me cos there were two lovely mexican girls also staying in my hostel room and the night before they invited me to go to Assisi with them the next day. So the three of us spent most of the day together looking around...but I also wandered off on my own for a bit too...

I'll leave you with Assisi train station...the sign just didnt feel right to me...but I know it is fine.



Ci vediamo
Jo xox