It’s cold, the wind chill is coming from the east. You can hear the gears grinding as the they struggle to maneuver from first gear to second. They’re still people walking the streets of Trieste at 3 in the morning. We’re on the streets, the lights from the fountain blur as I daze in and out of sleep.
We arrive in the city late and have nowhere to sleep, having heard of a hostel by a local we catch the number 6 bus to the castle, close to where the hostel is. We searched for an hour by the beach for both a place to camp and a hostel but to no avail, we find nothing. We catch the bus back to the city center and try to find an area to sleep that would be quiet, being cheap we didn’t want to spend money on a hotel. I always fantasized about the idea of travelers sleeping wherever they deemed necessary. I thought it was a romantic way to marry the nomadic ways of a traveler to the land. NEVER AGAIN. Not our thing, I don’t mind camping out but when you sleep on the streets there’s a lot you have to worry about, and quite frankly, I want to sleep peacefully without the worrying.
But the city was nice, the beach was gorgeous and if you believe it or not we found the hostel the next day. We actually passed by it the night before, maybe we were honestly too tired to recognize it, I’m not sure but in any case we decided to leave Trieste for Croatia.

Tid bit for the day: always know the name of at least TWO hostels in the city you’re visiting. Trust us it’ll help.

So this is a very strange toilet in the train station of Trieste. You have to hold onto the rail and squat to pee or poo. I know my mamma ain’t squatting. It isn’t user friendly for those who have bad knees or the elderly.

We arrived In Venice after changing trains three times. We’ve learned that we don’t have to pay any additional money with the eurail pass if we take regional trains only. Unfortunately that may mean a longer train ride but we don’t mind. We left the train station and took bus 15 to camp jolly, part of the plus hostels (thank you mom for telling us about it). On our way there we walked under a tunnel filled with graffiti, or art, depending on how you look at it. A lot of Italy is covered in graffiti, I would think that they would like to preserve the beauty but maybe they want some modern touches? 🙂

We arrived at camp jolly and immediately see a gondola stationed in the entry way. The camp was like most of the other plus hostels but the pool was lovely and the restrooms had a modern feel to them.

Although we arrived later in the day and without a reservation the camp had room for us. It was 9.90 euro per person for a three bed tent. When we get to our door we hear music being played on the bench near our tent. Sitting there were two people that we would spend talking the night away until the early morning hours. Their names: Erica, from NY and her boyfriend Fergus from Scotland. The two of them are cycling across Europe with their end destination being Turkey. That’s pretty incredible. They too have a blog: thepilgrimschoice.wordpress.com.

As we all sat there drinking our rum and having a good time another traveller came to sit with us, his name: Ayoib. Ayoib was from Saudi Arabia and just finished getting his masters at Edinburgh.

The next day we had arranged to go into the city. Again, we took advantage of the bus system. The train stop was just one away from where we were staying. Venice has absolutely no cars, there are a ton of bridges to walk over or you can take a water taxi or gondola ride. The gondola ride was about 80 euros. The streets of Venice were crowded and you can easily get lost. The streets almost always look the same, one right turn, becomes another and before you know it your an hour away from where you started. If you have time it’s a great city to explore. In almost every window you can find artwork made of glass and masquerade ball gowns and masks. And if your lucky you can catch people dressed up for some social event. There’s lots of energy in this city.

Tid bit for the day: Always look at the app prices for hostels and compare it to what the hostels advertise. Often times you’ll find that the app proves are cheaper.

We woke up late in the day after falling asleep to our neighbors grizzly snoring. My calves were burning from the day before as we both woke up to greet the day light. It was sunny and very warm outside our tent, a perfect day to start our adventure of the city. But not before we got food in our growling tummies, having survived the night on Daniel’s moms granola, which we greatly appreciated, because we didn’t reach the market in time. Our meal consisted of bread, sundried tomato spread and meat (for Daniel).

Our adventure was then to begin but first we had to find a way to get there. Our favorite phrase of the day became “dove si trova?” Which means where is. The bus system or autobus works on an honor system. You’re supposed to buy the ticket before and have it valid on the bus- but there’s no one to verify, not even the driver. So sad to say but true, we took advantage of this system and got around town on the autobus for free, I’m sure we’re not the first. Although it wasn’t the fastest way and certainly not the easiest. We got lost a few times and did a lot of walking but all in all a very successful day!

Tid bit for the day: when I get lost I ask for directions, and I accept responsibility that it’s my fault, but when she gets lost, it’s still my fault. I feel like I got to see half of Rome today by foot, strong man competition here I come. Usually all guys work on their upper bodies but when I return I’m gonna be all legs no arms. All in all though a great day in Rome with my wife.

With a heavy heart we say goodbye to our families to start our journey across the world.

Starting the day with very tired eyes, we have managed to pack up half our apartment into our backpacks.

I wish I could have my last feast here in North Carolina at my almighty buffet of middle eastern cuisine but we have not the time. I am hungry as I write this.

Our Journey begins in Rome…..