Between two catsits in Geneva, Switzerland, and The Hague, the Netherlands, we took the bus from Geneva to Aosta in Italy. Aosta is the capital of the autonomous Aosta Valley region, which is bilingual (Italian and French). From the 30th of May till the 3rd of June, we spent four incredible days in the Aosta Valley. We used the city of Aosta as a base for day trips to the surrounding villages. Contents1 Plotting Our Trip + Bus Ride from Geneva to Aosta2 But First, Pizza + Gnocchi3 Taking the Bus to Cogne + Hiking to Lillaz Waterfalls4 Cogne toContinue reading
italy
I’m Taking a Gap Year from Travel to Finish University
Wow. What a pretentious title. I haven’t updated my blog in a long time because I’ve returned to university. I always knew I had to finish my Bachelor’s Degree in A Whole Lotta Crap one day, and that day has come. Back in December, I flew out of Bogotá to Madrid. Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana never happened for me. After a few days in Madrid, adjusting back to Europe after more than two years in South America, took yet another plane to go to Frankfurt . I attended Christmas dinners in Germany and the Netherlands, celebrated New Year’sContinue reading
Freecamping Amalfi Coast Before Traveling to Savona (Italy)
Those were a good 860 kilometers hitchhiking from my freecamping spot at the Amalfi Coast to Savona. Here you can see where I freecamped along the Amalfi Coast. The road here is so beautiful. If I had the necessary money and the courage to drive a motorbike or scooter on the Amalfi Coast, that would probably be the best way to enjoy it. You can see the bendy tree, and if you turn around you’ll see the hill with the transmission tower. A Fast Hitchhiking Day to Savona Savona is all the way in the north. That’s where I’mContinue reading
Sicily to Mainland Italy: Hitchhiking Cosa Nostra
This morning’s hitchhiking selfie from Taormina, Sicily. I slept outside in public for two days in a row now, but it seems like I’m not going to find a shower anytime soon. So I’m curious if people will still stop for me tomorrow. I already covered Catania (in Sicily) to Salerno (on mainland Italy) today. I’m probably headed to the Amalfi Coast to camp close to one of the hiking trails tonight. We’ll see about that. The smartest move of the day was asking around on the 3-kilometer ferry from Sicily to mainland Italy for a ride to Salerno. IContinue reading
Siracusa: Eat Pray Love Streets in Sicily
After hitchhiking yesterday from Pozzallo to Siracusa, I was feeling a little #EatPrayLove—though I REALLY dislike that movie. Siracusa has some cute small streets that reminded me of it. And somehow these streets activate the girly travel girl Instagram pose instincts in even the ones most aware of performative femininity. Makes me want to buy a dress or something? (And then I look at the photo and think ehm, you tried!) Anyway, I ate some Sicilian stuff that came highly recommended. But the only name that stuck was “arancini”, which is a sort of fried rice ball with for exampleContinue reading
Hitchhiking Failure of the Year: No Malta to Sicily
Philosopher Jagger once said “you can’t always get what you want” and that’s what happened last night. I couldn’t find a boat willing to take me to Sicily from Malta. It’s a hitchhiking failure! Therefore I was forced to use the extortionately priced ferry! After more than three weeks in Malta and almost one week at the marina, enough was enough. And I’m very sad about it. Mick Jagger also said, “but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need!” Though it was frustrating, the people from La Marina Trattoria were so kind to feed meContinue reading
A Modern Odyssey: Sailing Theatre Company in Valetta, Malta
At the marina in Valetta, I met this Italian lady who is an actor with a theatre company. That wouldn’t be remarkable without the tidbit that they’re traveling by a huge sailing boat. They’re sailing all over Europe to perform and they even carry their own stage stuff around. Fittingly, they’re doing part of Homer’s Odyssey, right here at the marina. It’s giving me some flashbacks to Greek class in high school, which was basically all Illiad and Odyssey. They let me sleep in the dressing room, which they call a ‘loft’. The cooks of the ship are Dutch andContinue reading
Ultimate Hitchselfie on Gozo! (Malta)
I’ve always wanted to take a hashtag hitchselfie like this! This happened on the outskirts of Victoria on the island of Gozo in Malta. Yep, that red car stopped right when I was taking this picture. That’s why I look so distracted. I was also torn between talking to the driver first and picking up my camera first. I chose my camera and then made a run for the car. The guy made a nice drive around Marsalforn and invited me for some guitar playing at his house before dropping me at Ramla Bay to go swimming. I hope IContinue reading
Boat Hitchhiking 101: Dockwalking
Dockwalking: many people do it in a more advanced way than I do in order to go boat hitchhiking. They print out copies of their CV, wow! I just carry a hitchhiking sign with my destination and my not-so-secret weapon: a smile. And patience… for the love of God, you need a lot of patience. [update 2020: I have embraced technology. I have a very nice profile on CrewBay and Find a Crew profile now. If you’re a boat owner, make sure to star my profile!] But I keep singing: I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay watching the tideContinue reading