Author: blakk

I woke up this morning in complete darkness, pressed the button on the phone, 8:20am! I had slept 8 hours, my jet lag has finally expired, about time. Opening the window shutters allowed brilliant sunlight to stream in. I have a theory that it’s your brain being dazzled, not your eyes. You can keep either eye open, but not both, until you have adjusted. Quick shower, since breakfast is scheduled at 8:30. As I read once, the hotel towels were so large and fluffy that it was hard to close my suitcase. (more…)

I’m sitting in an outdoor restaurant in a piazza somewhere in central Palermo. I rode 730km today, too far as it turned out. It’s 9:30pm, soccer playing on the TV, and the place is really alive. I arrived only an hour ago, from Caserta. (more…)

This morning the window shutters at Roberto’s worked so well that I slept until 7am. The room was the antithesis of Giuseppena’s. Hard concrete floor, spare modern decor, and an ensuite! It was on the 5th floor of a very nice stone building with a cavernous ground floor, marble stairs, and one of those tiny lifts where you open an external door then 2 internal doors to get into the lift, close them all again to get moving, do it all again at the destination. Almost easier to just run up the 5 flights. (more…)

I’m sitting in a laundrette in La Spezia right now, so I may as well write this. This morning Guiseppena served me a traditional Italian breakfast of fruit, prosciutto, cheese, bread, croissant with cherry jam, juice and coffee. It was a work of art, but I could not get through it all. (more…)