Mediterranean Sea | Travel Log and Photographs

Tor re Vel as c a Mi l an

Singap ore B arcelona Mi l an Nice Mars ei l le R ome Sa ler no Ama lf i C o ast R ome Singap ore

Than k you Pa and Ma for g iv ing me t he opp or tunit y to t ravel af ter g radu at ing .

Singap ore - B arcelona I mess e d up. I t houg ht t he f lig ht f rom Indi a was l anding a d ay b efore t he next out. B oy, was I w rong .

K texte d me w hi le I was at C hennai - “D ude, it’s to d ay.” 4 hours p ost l anding at C hang i Air p or t, I was on anot her long f lig ht out to t he Q at ar t ransit. Than k you Mom, Yun and L for s ending us of f af ter dinner at t he ne w Hel lo Kitt y c afe.

Dress e d in my Kame e z, we ar r ive d at B ar na. Glor ious sun, and coll are d dogs e ver y w here. The cit y pl anning is s o cle an, t he summer s o br ig ht and lively. I ne ver imag ine d.

The climate was e asier t han S out h Indi a, but t he sun was as st rong or if not, much st ronger. I re a lis e d just how siest as are ext reme s che du le bre a kers. I was bur nt out f rom t ravel ling for ne arly a mont h and t hes e naps were a blessing .

Ste a k, Sang r i a and Pot ato dinner by a sma l l fami ly business Igu aza by t he co ast-side made for a happy t ravel p ar t ner.

B arcelona is quite t he ar t haven. It had b e en ages since I had v isite d any mus eums abro ad. The most memorable was L ondon and Par is w it h K and J b ack b efore universit y b egan. This t ime, it was a ls o a g re at reminder of how humourous K was b eing w hi le snapping aw kward faces in p aint ings and s c u lptures at t he Mus eu Naciona l d’Ar t de C at a lunya (L) etc.

The t ime here was shor t but sp ent most ly v isit ing mus eums - Pic ass o, Sa lvador D a li, and Gaudi Bui ldings, liv ing up to archite c tura l obligat ions. Park Guel l was b e aut if u l, and Sag rad a Fami li a abs olutely hypnot ising . 1902 - to d ay, t he pro cess of bui lding t he temple for t he world cont inues on donate d f unds.

We s at t here for t wo hours just sp e e ch less.

Arc de Tr iom f

Antoni Gaudi C as a Mi l a (L) Sag rad a Fami li a (R)

Sa lvador D a li Mus eum C ei ling (L) Park Guel l Flowers (R)

B arcelona - Mars ei l le - Nice K had star ted making punny hashtag s while on the tr ip.

Bus es and t rains were our main mo des of t ransp or t, w het her it was inter-cit y or int ra-cit y. The ro ad to Mars ei l le was a sle ep er bus t hat got us t here as t he sun ros e.

I was s o fas cinate d by Mars ei l le. O ur host was an archite c t. We wa l ke d ab out t he ste ep cit y, v isit ing mu lt iple p or ts by fo ot and f igur ing out its no oks and crannies. There is an underst ate d f l avour to t his f rench cit y s o dif ferent f rom a p omp ous c ar ic ature.

A b o at t r ip out broug ht us to v isit t he C haete au de Monte-Cr isto and ot her isl ands w it h for ts. Fami lies c ame in l arge g roups for vac at ions and t here wasn’t a c are in t he world.

The EuroCup fans broke out in f ig ht w hi le we were out at s e a, and we c ame b ack to t he p or t covere d in a bl an ket of broken g l ass. K s aid he s aw a line of men p e eing on t he mir rors of Mcdona lds. It was chaotic. L itt le did I k now t his wasn’t t he end of inter nat iona l sp or ts fans shenanigans c ausing t rouble to lo c a ls.

Unite d’ Habit at ion L e C orbusier

Onwards.

Ar r iv ing l ate at nig ht in Nice, we st r ug g le d to f ind t ransp or t at ion to t he center w here we were st aying . S erendipit y broug ht us into proximit y w it h a l ady w ho we ident if ie d to b e a s ex worker, and she c a l le d a c ab for us. I had a ls o mixe d up t he d ates of our st ay, but our host was g racious. We met w it h t he c ur rent guest w hom we chatte d w it h t i l l l ate.

I felt s o g ratef u l, I don’t b elie ve we shou ld judge p e ople but I’ve of ten b e en chide d for b eing naive.

C ent ra l Nice was r ig ht out of a comic b o ok. The r iots and ro ar ing by EuroCup fans were ramp ant e ven into t he nig ht. We ran away, to Pa loma B e ach (R), w hich was K’s favour ite pl ace of t he ent ire t r ip, w hat w it h vast sky, s e a and s and.

For me t his pl ace c ar r ies a dif ferent me aning as I made a dif f ic u lt de cision w hi le r uminat ing here. It won’t b e a d ay to forget.

O ur l ast d ay in Nice was sp ent at a v i l l a upl and. The p ets were an amazing sur pr is e.

Nice - MIl an First thought as we ar r ived at the station - Man, people here D ress Up. Pe ople watching was a lively af far.

The we at her not s o much. Merc ur i a l and unpre dic t able. K fel l sick at Mi l an af ter we got drenche d by t he sudden rain.

It was a ls o t he b eg inning of g re ater fo o d adventures since g radu ating f rom s andw iches in B arcelona. B eing in It a ly, it a ls o me ant i had to t r y t he Pomo doro. I did. It was g lor ious. And t he G el ato. Oh go d, YES. The D uomo C at he dra l (L) was sur pr ising ly l arge. The marble-t rance mash up f it r ig ht into a c u lture of fashion ants. The ro of access was memorable and not w hat I had exp e c te d, found it s o out of pl ace to b e on t he w ide ro of w it h a hundre d ot her guests.

We t rai le d t he cit y for famous l andmarks and v isite d an ar t b o ok store w hich s old pr ints for che ap. Suf f ice to s ay we b oug ht quite s ome amounts of t hem here, and t he rol ls were gett ing he av ier to t ransp or t.

D uomo C at he dra l (L) Ga l ler i a Vittor io Emanuele II (R)

MIl an - R ome A mix of e ver y thing.

There are count less l andmarks (li ke Pa l azzo del l a Civ i lt a It a li ana (L)), w it h swar ms of p e ople at e ver y pl ace. A tour ist haven, a fast r unning machine. And yet, s o much to s e e and ne ver to t ire of.

B e it a long t he outsk ir ts, w here f ields of impressionists c ypr us t re es line t a l l g rass he dges, or r ig ht in t he center of t he R oman For um, w here stor ies of yester ye ars are dis c uss e d and imag ine d.

D ur ing our st ay, we a ls o met a rest aurant ow ner, Luc a, w ho had worke d at Past a Fres c a at Six Avenue in Singap ore a fe w mont hs b efore retur ning home. The fo o d t here is ext remely memorable and I k now t he route f rom t he st at ion by he ar t simply b e c aus e we were t here t w ice in t he sp an of t he remainder of t he ent ire t r ip.

O bs ess e d.

Tarot Fanc y (L) Sant a S c a l a (R) Br uis e d at t he A lt ar.

Pant he on A Pe r fe c t Circle st ar te d pl ay ing in my he a d.

By t hen, t hes e were t he t hings I’ve t houg ht ab out on long t rain r ides: Had we b e en coincident a l ly t rai ling t he r iots bre a k ing out f rom t he EuroCup? Mov ing ab out s o quick ly on t he init i a l d ays af ter t he Brexit announcement was a litt le unner v ing .

The p ain f rom Orl ando was pronounce d.

We were on a p ast a r un one nig ht w hen Teng re cog nis e d t he c amp aig n. Uplif t ing to s ay t he le ast.

Policlinico #L oveisL ove

Fin no ch io Public Housing

R o am ing Fields An Impressionist’s Dre am

“Are you not enter t aine d? �

C oloss eum (L) R oman For um (R) Naus e a hits mid-awe.

The C at acombs.

This: D on’t t r ust t he t ransp orat ion system in It a ly. Your bur nt s c a lp is enoug h re as on. St anding at a bus stop wait ing for hours. “It ain’t coming my de ar.”

And if t hat isn’t enoug h, t he t rains may stop midway mid-d ay and it’ l l b e 3 hours of your t ime af ter a nap. That wasn’t s o b ad. The conduc tor wa l ks by and shr ugs, “It’s It a ly.” You l aug h but stop w hen you re a lis e it happ ens of ten.

And if t hat isn’t enoug h, it w i l l bre a k your he ar t t he moment you re a lis e you got s c amme d a 50 on a t rain to an air p or t.

“You didn’t get your t icket approve d at t he machine.”

It do esn’t matter w hat t he y s ay. “I underst and” shou ld have b e en “s c umb ag .”

Ta ke your mone y and r un.

C hurch of San C arlo a l le Q u att ro Font ane (L) Tre v i Fount ain (R) B or romini / B er nini

The Ga l ler y of Maps Vat ic an Mus eum

St air wel l f rom t he Gif t Shop (Gius epp e Momo)

“Cre at ion”, “Ad am and Eve” Sist ine C hap el C ei ling

R ome - Sa ler no - Ama lf i C o ast To the s ea!

On t he t hre e hour t rain r ide out of R ome, I had met w it h a lovely p air of l adies, mot her d aug hter duo, sitt ing in t he s ame row of s e ats we had. O ur convers at ions involve d issues of p olit ics, p ers ona l g rowt h, t he f uture, and dre ams. I e ven got to prac t ice t arot re ading for t hem. The y were on a holid ay w it h rel at ives, a g roup of women.

How l ovely.

We ar r ive d in Sa ler no, our home for t he next fe w d ays as we t ravel le d ab out by b o at a long t he Ama lf i C o ast and to ot her isl ands j oine d by t he water. O ur ter race home host had t wo lovely c ats, D j ango and Meg , and he was a f iest y j our na list w ho s e eks to c apture for t he ne ws issues of cor r upt ion w it hin his tow n and It a ly.

Tunnel of L ove

Ne ver wou ld I have t houg ht to one d ay s et fo ot a long t his C o ast.

There wasn’t a re as on to, or at le ast i ne ver had one. What was most fas cinat ing to me was t he hour long b o at t r ips t he te ams have to show tour ists v ie ws of t he isl ands f rom t he s e a.

As t he b o at cr uis e d t hroug h t he tunnel of love (A), I watche d a couple k iss, a b ond of t heir love me ant to w it hst and t he test of t ime. It felt st range, li ke an outer-b o dy fe eling , t hat reminds one of mag ic.

Wit h t he comp any of S, K’s sister, t he t r ip had g row n to a comp any of t hre e, and I had opt ions to de vour s e afo o d w it h anot her fan. Te ehe e.

A ls o we had Gno cchi as p er S’s re commend at ion and were dis app ointe d. The R agu, “me at s auce” had no me at in it, s aid K. I st i l l f ind t hat hi l ar ious.

C or r idors of Sa ler no

The It a li an b o at men sing as we enter t he Blue Grotto t hroug h t he shor t ent rance, ly ing dow n on t he b el ly of a sma l l row b o at. The c ave e cho es w it h de ep voices and shines of t his hue.

The y s ang O S ole Mio.

C he b el l a cos a na ju r nat a ‘e s ol e,

What a wond e r f u l t h i ng a su n ny d ay

N’ar i a s erena d opp o na temp est a!

T he s e re ne ai r af te r a t hu nd e rstor m

Pe’ l l’ar i a f res c a p are g i à na fest a . . .

T he f re sh ai r, and a p ar t y is a l re a dy goi ng on …

C he b el l a c os a na ju r nat a ‘e s ol e.

What a wond e r f u l t h i ng a su n ny d ay.

Ma n’atu s ol e

But anot he r su n ,

C ch iù b el l o, oj e ne’.

t hat’s br i g hte r st i l l

O s ol e m io

It’s my ow n su n

St a ‘nf ronte a te!

t hat’s i n you r f a c e !

O s ol e O s ol e m io

T he su n , my ow n su n

St a ‘nf ronte a te!

It’s i n you r f a c e !

St a ‘nf ronte a te!

It’s i n you r f a c e !

Q u anno f a notte e ‘o s ol e s e ne s cen ne,

Whe n n i g ht c ome s and t he su n has gone d ow n ,

me vene qu as e ‘na ma l inc u ni a ;

I st ar t fe el i ng blu e ;

s otto ‘a fenest a toi a rest ar r i a

I’d st ay b el ow you r w i nd ow

qu anno f a notte e ‘o s ol e s e ne s c en ne.

Whe n n i g ht c ome s and t he su n has gone d ow n .

Ma n’atu s ol e

But anot he r su n ,

c ch iù b el l o, oj e ne’.

t hat’s br i g hte r st i l l

O s ol e m io

It’s my ow n su n

st a ‘nf ronte a te!

t hat’s i n you r f a c e !

O s ol e O s ol e m io

T he su n , my ow n su n

st a ‘nf ronte a te!

It’s i n you r f a c e !

st a ‘nf ronte a te!

It’s i n you r f a c e !

The Isle of C apr i

Her manos (L) Ig nor Mitoran’s Ar t Works (R) Pomp eii Ruins

S a le r no - R ome - Singap ore L ast night in a home far away f rom home.

It was gett ing l ate. The buzz of t he cit y was st i l l in mid-air, b ouncing across ro of tops. What was t hat s ound?

Ar t Fest iva l? L oud and g rat ing EDM f rom t wo s ources, cl ashing but on ly a s que a k f rom inside t he ro of ter race home. On t he co ast side, a long and rat her b e aut if u l f ire works showc as e.

An unexp e c te d way to s ay go o dbye.

The Meditar ranean Tr io