Some of you loyal readers may have noticed an abrupt halt in postings from your correspondent. Luckily, it didn't happen too early, so most everywhere got at least some attention, though perhaps nowhere got as much as it deserved. In part, this reflects the general difficulty of internet access via wifi when on the road in Europe.
Most places I stayed did have some wifi, though for several it was a bit expensive, as much as 3 euros an hour. Where wifi speeds were adequate, I found an hour was sufficient to get a posting up, especially if I had the text written and the photos picked out. The bigger problem was a number of places, such as in Fierenza (Florence) there were so many people using it that my old iphone couldn't get connected at all.
Then in my final stop, Rome, disaster struck. While on the subway, somehow I got pick pocketed and lost both wallet and iphone. Losing an iphone 3 is not a major setback financially, but if it's your link to the internet it really crimps your activity. Sure, there are internet cafes, but I found in this world of hackers I was reluctant to type in my passwords. Next time I'll set up a separate account. Also, next time I'll keep my phone in a zip-up pocket with a velcro flap. (I didn't lose my passport, credit cards, or significant money because those were inside my shirt, in a pouch hanging around my neck)
Camping actually worked quite well for me, and would have been much better if it hadn't been one of the wettest springs in anyone's memory. Next time I'll make sure my tent doesn't leak! One advantage to camping and staying in hostels is that you tend to meet people from other cultures, much more than in hotels and tour groups, where you're mostly around others of your own sort.
In particular I met a lot of cyclists: Annie and Walter from New Zealand, who'd also biked all over the US and had very nice things to say about it, Stefan the turkey farmer from Austria who'd found a bike thrown away, fixed it up, and retraced a roman road across Italy, Claus and his wife from Germany who'd been biking and camping Europe for 20 years, a couple from Germany who'd been biking all over for a year including from Northern California to Costa Rica and through Turkey, Greece, Italy, and were heading back to find jobs. There were others, mostly riding tough, heavy-duty road-bikes with paniers front and back. These people were great to talk with!
There were others, like Oliver Born and his girlfriend from Stuttgart, who battled excessive disco noise in Rome. We got to be friends, shared breakfast, they both work for HP in Germany. I met an American on the train to Siena whose name unfortunately was lost with my phone, Terry Small perhaps, from Honolulu. He said he always preferred to travel alone so as to meet new people, so perhaps that's part of it. Traveling alone does get, well, lonely.
What I took with me was too much, in a word, though I could have done worse. I had heard about $6 coffee, and decided I'd better take coffee making equipment. Bollocks! Italy and Spain must be the greatest countries in the world for coffee-lovers: You can find better capuccinos and pastries in nearly every street corner shop than you'll find in the US almost anywhere, and the coffee averaged about 1.20 euros. I don't know how Starbucks manages to stay in business there, but it may be due to visiting Americans who haven't yet discovered the local cuisine.
Quite a few other things weighed down my poor aching back, but here's the things I'd take next time:
* Kindle paperwhite loaded with guidebooks, and a few paper maps
* light sleeping bag and air mattress. I had a new Sierra Designs Dri-Down bag which worked very well even when wet.
* light aluminum folding stool. This was a surprise, but was so handy I'll mention it. It weighs only about 8 oz, and makes many things so much easier. But don't consider a heavy one!
* phone/camera/eye-fi card. The issues here I've mentioned, but all in all it worked. I had the special memory card which could transfer photos from the Canon 260 to the phone for posting. Wouldn't consider depending on a phone camera.
* 4 sets underwear/socks, including what I was wearing. (wash as possible in shower.)
* 2 pairs pants, ditto
* 3 shirts: 1 light short sleeve, 1 dress long sleeve, 1 heavy flannel over-shirt.
* light umbrella. (bought there for 3 euros)
* very light shoulder bag
* toothbrush/paste/floss
* small towel/ wash cloth/ bar soap (I found this soap OK for shaving and hair washing)
* LED head lamp with fresh batteries. (don't take extra batteries)
* clothesline cord/ thread/ needles (I actually used all this stuff)
* 1 water bottle.
* swiss army knife with scissors and cork screw. (don't leave home without it)
* light weight tent and ground cloth, tested for rain proofness
* light but durable pack to contain everything plus a few souvenirs.
* passport, credit and ATM cards, some cash, and a safe money-belt type thing to keep it all in, plus a light wallet for walking-around money.
That's about it. If you were staying in hotels you wouldn't need any camping equipment, but I really liked the camping, except when it was raining, and averaged less than 15 euros a night for lodging. It is also quite safe, though I kept my passport, phone, etc with me all the time, even to the shower.
I have a few more thoughts to add later.
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