Italy
(Picture: Isola Bella, Sicily)

Ok, I know, it’s been ages since I wrote here… I was just too busy to use the internet much! Plus it was quite expensive!
After Rome I spent a few days in Naples, using it as a base to visit the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the beautiful island of Capri. Approaching Capri by ferry is something special – the sheer rock faces rise out of the bluest ocean I have ever seen. I even splashed out on a one hour boat tour of the island, to see all the rock formations, although unfortunately the famous Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto) was closed due to rough seas.
After Naples I headed down to the Amalfi coast, where I stayed in a lovely small town in the mountains called Agerola. The view across the ocean was amazing! There were hardly any tourists in this town (it was about 40 min by bus from Amalfi – the most scenic bus route!), and every evening the locals would take a walk down the main street, saying good evening to everyone, eating ice creams, there were old people on their balconies and verandas, young people in the street café… it was really nice and relaxing. I visited Amalfi (I even walked once! 10km downhill!!), Ravello, Positano… all very beautiful small towns. It’s really hard to describe the sheer physical beauty of this area, so you’ll have to visit it yourself!
I then spent one night in Salerno, and visited the very well-preserved ruins at Paestum. I then took a train down to the ‘end of mainland Italy and a ferry to Sicily. I stayed for three nights in the small town of Taormina on the east coast, which is very popular amongst Italians to spend their summer holidays. The beach there (Isola Bella) is spectacular, have a look at the photo!! It was the first time I really relaxed, so it was great.
I had planned to go further south in Sicily (Catania and Syracuse), but unfortunately I couldn’t find accommodation. So, I went straight to Palermo, the largest city on the island. To be honest, Palermo is pretty crappy, but it was probably worse than normal because I arrived just before a big public holiday (Feast of the Assumption) so everything was closed for the week. Palermo is quite dirty and not safe at night. On the plus side, I spent one day at the lovely beach of Cefalù (very crowded though), and I visited an amazing cathedral in nearby Monreale.
I was keen to leave Palermo, I had planned to go to Sardinia but unfortunately the ferry only went once a week, and I didn’t want to hang around. So I coughed up a huge amount for a one-way plan ticket to Milan. I was only there for an evening, it seemed nice, the church there is really amazing.
I then spent four days in the stunning Cinque Terre region, which is along the coast roughly between Genoa and Pisa (north west if Italy). There are five tiny villages perched on sheer cliffs overlooking the ocean, it is really beautiful (again, see the photos!). I stayed in the town of Riomaggiore. I did the famous walk between the villages, I think its about 12km, a lot of uphill and downhill, I was exhausted at the end! But it was a very picturesque walk and I took lots of photos.

Switzerland
On a whim, I decided to go to Switzerland. The original plan was to go to Greece, but since I spent so much time in Italy I didn’t think it was worthwhile to go all that way for one week. Plus Switzerland was on the way to Paris.
I started in the town of Zermatt, in southern Switzerland at the foot of Mount Matterhorn (which I believe is the tallest mountain in Europe). It was very beautiful, of course very different to Italy. The air was fresh and clean, the mountains green and snow-capped… amazing. I took the scenic railway up to Gornergrat, with views of more snow capped mountains and Mount Matterhorn.
I then spent two nights in the small town of Lauterbrunnen in central Switzerland. Lauterbrunnen is nestled in a valley with 72 stunning waterfalls, the view from my room at the hostel was incredible! I took a cable car up to Mount Schiltorn, where a James Bond movie was shot in the 1970s (I think it was ‘Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ or something like that). It is the longest cable car in the world, very steep, and as we kept going higher the temperature kept falling until it was below zero! At the top there was even a light covering of snow on the ground. I was quite excited, it being only the second time I had ever seen snow! However I was freezing, having brought mainly summer clothes – I think I had about five layers on! Although it was cloudy I still got some amazing photos. On the way down I stopped at a few of the small towns on the slopes, including Gimmelwald, which were very picturesque – straight out of ‘Heidi’!
I then spent one night in Lucerne. The afternoon was sunny and I saw most of the town, which is situated next to a beautiful lake. Unfortunately the weather turned and it started raining, I got soaked (even with an umbrella), so the outdoor music festival that was planned for that night was rained out.
I ended my trip with two days in Zurich, where I met up with an Australian girl who I had met in Riomaggiore. I’m glad she was there, because Zurich was a bit boring! Again it was grey and raining, which didn’t really help. I think if it was sunny it would be nice, because there is a huge lake next to the city, and you can rent bikes for free. There was a street festival the one night which was quite good. We even tried a traditional Swiss cheese fondue – I didn’t realise that they actually melt the cheese with white wine and cherry brandy! It was ok, I prefer chocolate fondues though!

Paris
Ashley and I caught a train together to Paris, where I met my friend Mathilde. I am staying with her and her family in the suburbs just outside of the city, which is nice because I am experiencing how it is to live in a normal French family. I am especially enjoying the three and four-course meals!!! And having my own bedroom after all that time in hostels. The weather has been mostly sunny, so I have done a fair bit of walking around the city – I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe (8 lanes of traffic all going around in a circle!!), the outside of the Louvre. Yesterday I went to see Sacre Coeur in the late afternoon, it was very beautiful. I have also met up with a couple of people from Melbourne Uni who are here on exchange, there are four others: a girl (Mel) and a guy going to my uni, and another girl and guy going to a different uni. I have now got a French mobile number (I sent an email out about it), although I still have to set up a bank account etc. But most importantly, I need to find my own apartment! I am hoping to share with some other students. I’ll keep you posted!