Travel, She Wrote

While the world is experiencing a lockdown/quarantine/isolation due to a pandemic, I figure it's as good a time as ever to update the travel blog with the last opportunity we had to travel in a 'normal' world!

Brett and I have decided January is just the best time to get out of Edmonton. We also feel extremely lucky to have enjoyed one amazing trip in 2020 before things were basically turned upside down.

We stayed in Kihei, which was a great spot from which to start the beach hopping. On our first couple days, we hit up La Perouse Bay,

Big Beach,

Oneuli Beach,

Palauea Beach,

and Po'olenalena Beach.

The first full day adventure was the Road to Hana... full of waterfalls,

viewpoints,

and of course.. beaches!!

Our next big adventure was a helicopter ride.

We took a route along the upper west coast of Maui, over to the island of Moloka'i,

The vistas were incredible.

And we finished off that amazing day with yet another beach! Charley Young Beach.

Next up, a hike in the Iao Valley...

And now, my favorite day! We made the drive up to the crater in Haleakala National Park. Skipping the absurdly early morning for a sunrise, we opted for a later start and stopped at a couple viewpoints on the way up,

Then headed to the Sliding Sands Trail,

Before returning to the crater for sunset,

Turns out this is now my favorites sunset, as Brett proposed just as the crowd was dispersing. We had a beautiful moment together while the sunset lit up the sky <3

We ended our trip with a drive up to Kapalua,

A quick visit with my cousins Brendan and Sonja,

Special thanks to Sonja for taking our Maui engagement photo!

I even managed to get a couple photos with my traveling pineapple.

Beautiful, lush, warm, sunny. Maui did not disappoint!

The Amalfi Coast. The last stop for me. And I think we saved the best for last. At least in terms of accommodation. I mean, this view....

We had a few amazing sunsets,

And enjoyed all of our breakfasts and dinners with the view!

On our first day, we spent time time in Amalfi Town..

Made a quick stop in Atrani,

And then caught a bus up the hill to Ravello,

The Villa Cimbrone in Ravello also offered amazing views!

We then spent the remainder of our afternoon at Maiori beach.

Our second day was potentially the highlight.. we hiked the Path of the Gods. In terms of elevation change, the hike is not particularly taxing, however, that sun beating down on you for the majority of the time is quite a sweat producer!

The path provides gorgeous views the entire time!!

The sweatiest day of the trip but also one of the most beautiful!!

On our third day, we took a day trip to Positano.

We started with a walk around, getting some of the classic photos,

Then we spent a few hours at Fornillo Beach,

And made sure every drink we had came with a view!

(Including the classic Aperol Spritz)

The Amalfi Coast was truly a beautiful destination to end our time together. And the last of the ‘romantic’ destinations that we got to have a laugh when telling people we are siblings and not a couple!!

This short backpacking trip has been so amazing. I got to spend some time with both my brothers, we had fantastic weather, little to no travel hiccups, and just an overall good time.
Special shout out to Liam for being so patient in taking so many pictures of me! Credit to him for a good portion of the blog photos!
And that’s it for this journey, can’t wait for the next one!

Our second day trip was a short train ride out to tour Pompei and head to the summit of Mount Vesuvius.

We first caught a bus and then walked the remainder of the way to the edge of the crater.

It was pretty crazy to look over the edge of this particularly famous volcano.

The summit also offers views south along the coast and north towards Naples.

And... there’s wine at the top! My kind of place!

We then made our way back down to visit Pompei. I have to say that my expectations were exceeded. It is an amazing experience to wander through the ruins of a Roman town that is essentially frozen in time.

You can see the main square,

Remains of a ‘restaurant’ and a bakery,

Temples,

The amphitheater,

And remains of affluent homes.

There is also a section with plaster casts of the deceased,

Liam was nerding out the whole time.. (I suppose I was too but on a lesser scale than my bro)

Another successful day trip!

We took a day trip out to the island of Capri. As most websites, guidebooks or other recommendations have stated, it is a little pricey... but once you get a glimpse of the coastal views, it all becomes worthwhile.

We started our day with a boat trip around the island. We had great views of the coastline..

As well as the Faraglioni...

As it was already getting warm by about 10am, we naturally enjoyed a cold beer at the end of the ride.

After riding a bus up to the town of Anacapri, we then took the chairlift up to Mount Solaro...

For the best views of the day...

Easiest summit ever

We also visited Villa San Michele in Anacapri...

Then, heading back to wander the streets of Capri, we were content to window shop past the ritzier stores, and head to a final viewpoint..

It was a quick and beautiful day trip!

Ohhh Naples. Where to begin....
So, we left Greece for Italy, flying to Rome and then catching a train to Naples. The original intention was to stay in Naples as a longer-term location for a few days, using it as a jumping off point for day trips to Pompei and Capri, then leaving a couple days to explore the city. Little did I know that Naples itself was going to become my favorite Italian city. It is a little gritty and grungy, but if you look past that, to the colorful beauty, both in the buildings and in the people, you’re sure to be impressed. And the food. Oh my goodness the food. But we’ll get to that! First, we spent some time exploring the Centro Storico, or Historic Center.
Starting with the stone exterior and surprising baroque interior of the Gesù Nuovo Church,

Santa Chiara Church,

San Paolo Maggiore Basilica,

And the Napoli Duomo,

We spent the remainder of our first day wandering the streets...

Liam also managed to touch the nose of Pulcinella, the classic Neapolitan puppet character, for good luck,

On our second day, we walked down to the Piazza del Plebiscito and the San Francesco di Paola Basilica,

And into Castel dell’Ovo, or the egg castle! The views along the water from the castle were great!

We then spent a few hours exploring the Naples National Archaeological Museum, enjoying the statues in the Farnese collection,

And the mosaics and other artifacts from Pompei,

Our final touristy stop in the city was the views from Castel Sant’Elmo.

And now, the food!
Our first evening in Naples we went off the hostels recommendation for a nearby Trattoria. We enjoyed plates of pasta and vegetables, but it was the ball of mozzarella with prosciutto that was truly life changing.

The next day we enjoyed pizzas from Gino Sorbillo Pizzeria, recommended by Lonely Planet (and what I would now rank as the second best pizza I’ve eaten),

We also had the best seafood pasta for dinner one night,

Had more pizza for lunch after the archaeological museum,

Sampled some amazing desserts,

And ended our stay on the highest note... pizza from L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, or, the place made famous by Eat Pray Love. It has a lot of hype, and it delivers. Truly the best pizza of my life. The mozzarella, the sauce, the basil, the BEST! I will be dreaming of it for many days to come ❤️