hi guys im now in northern italy, in the dolomites in a wellness resort called the adler. if youve ever been to oreillys in the gold cost hinterland - its like that, but on steroids!!
its expensive but all activities are included. dad & anthony (one half of the couple travelling with my parents) are here too and tomorrow were going for a walk up in the hills followed by a cable car ride back down. theres a gym here too & heaps of pools, saunas & spas. breakfast & dinner are included, free mountain bikes, nordic walking sessions, and free internet but not qwerty - so a bit difficult.

anyway, since my last post: my last night in kythera was great. dinner by the beach with vince (& a grest view of the castle nearby, all lit up) followed by a scenic drive & some shoppinng. then on thurs, went to my fav beach - kaladi. it is gorgeous: pebble beach, in a cove, surrounded by rocky headland, crystal-clear water. and the best thing was that when we went (9am) it was empty!! fantastic. then had to leave kyth for italy. was quite sad to leave vince & his family. it is a beautiful island, vinces family really looked after me & i had a great time.

so back in athens for one night. met up with marie (from nz) & her fiance feleki. i met marie in thailand in 05, she was on her way to england at the time. so shes been there for a year & a half & i finally saw her again in athens!! so cool. they had a hotel room booked & graciously let me stay with them - we had some beers, played some cards, it was lovely catching up.

then friday (yesterday - its now 9:55pm sat night)... came my crappiest flight experience so far - bloody Air One! had to fly to rome then wait for 3 hours for flight to venice. thought id have some time to find internet, read a book etc. but no. got in 1/2 hour late, then had to wait 1 1/4hr for baggage - what the hell were those italian baggage handlers doing? so by this time, didnt have much of it, and had to check in again (too hard to get a straight through ticket obviously). then plane to venice was 45 min late - wouldnt care normally but had to find accom and it was 9pmish. anyway, wallked around venice & found a great hostel, that gives discounts for isic card (found a use for it - oh i got 1/2 price into the acropolis, so very good!). ut they were full. they rang ahead to another place & i scored an awesome room with big bathroom & tv for €20. they were very helpful.
what more coulld i ask for - venice!! very cool. and by night = great! had spag bol for dinner (6€) and coke (€4 - ouch; did they make a mistake?). enjoyed a walk with a norwegian chick i met on the bus, so that was nice. then this morning caught train over to the mainland venice (mestre, only 1€) to meet my parents. weird to see them pull up opposite me at the train station. so great to meet them in italy.

then began the 4hr drive north to the town of Ortisei. and here we are. the only aussies in the place - everyone else seems to be italian (the noisy ones, with screaming, singing, yelling kids - THAT SHOULD BE IN BED RIGHT NOW RATHER THAN DISTURBING ME ON MY FREE INTERNET) or german.

anyway, thats where im at now.
thanks for reading. hope you are well. fill me in on whats been happening!!!
xxoo claire
(sorry for spelling mistakes & lack of capitals, this keyboard is a real sh:-)t. (but its free ~ heaps better than bloody 4€ for so for 15mins at rome airport. )