Jocko's Journey
with Ryan Giacomini
June 28, 2016
Well, a lot of time has gone by sine the last update. Ryan is still in Italy, and nearly escaped being the second "Wanted Man" from our family in Bologna. (He was a hair away from having to dine and dash on a restaurant when he was completely out of Euros...not our recommendation on eating cheap, that's for sure). Though the food was terrible, Ryan is a man of integrity and gave the waitress the keys to his hotel room. Now at first that may seem "forward" but really he was just giving them to her as collateral so he could run out to find the nearest ATM without the big, burly guy behind the counter putting the hurt on him!
He did get a chance to go meet up with his cousin, Amber, in Montepulciano for a couple of days, after a brief stay at a hostel in Florence. Now let me tell you, we all need him to give up the name for this hostel, because evidently is was actually nice, and they fed him the best breakfast he's had this entire trip! He said all the other places have pretty much just throw a piece of toast at him and pointed him to some water. (I started to get worried that he may be in jail, for a moment)! But this place had an amazing spread...he mentioned it was the most full he's been this entire trip. (Not what a Mama Bear wants to hear, that's for sure)!
So now he's made his way to Venice...which as many know, is MY most favorite place in the whole world. But he's sicker than a dog and refuses to go get medical attention. DAMN STUBBORN KID! UGH! And though he's doing a lot of resting, he is trying to make the best of it. So he's laying low for the next few days before he treks off to London. $$$
June 22, 2016
CUTENESS WILL ONLY GET YOU SO FAR-Ryan says he's adding just one more night to Rome, but that's it, cuz he's ready to move on. (LUCKY BRAT)! He said he was on his way to Naples, and he just couldn't bring himself to sit on a train for 3.5 hours. So, he plans to pay homage one more night to his favorite cheap eats pizzeria and gelatoria, and then be on his way...but new plans (at the moment) are to head east to Rimini and get his butt to the beach! This means he's zeroing in on the Giacomini homeland..getting closer and closer to where his roots are from!
Stay tuned, for all we know he could end up in Istanbul tomorrow if he meets another cute girl along the way! ;)
June 21, 2016
ROMANCING THE ROME-So Ryan called to tell me that he isn't going to Naples today. WHY?, you ask. Because he met a cute girl, of course!!! And the way I "heard it in my mind" is that she batted her beautiful Austrian eyelashes at him and pleaded for him to stay on a longer Roman Holiday with him. So he is. Awww, so romantic! (Probably not the reality of how it really went down, but I like to think so).
June 20, 2016
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER...AND GELATO, LOTS AND LOTS OF GELATO-Ryan is of course loving Rome and says he thinks he can find himself living on gelato as a great cheap eat while there. (Must be nice to have a 21 year old metabolism)! LOL!!!
He checked in yesterday and says, "I absolutely love the rain, but when you step outside and it's hot and sunny outside, you don't typically expect a huge thunderstorm. Even the weather app didn't expect it. Luckily, this thunderstorm allows me to post up on my Rome adventure so far! All I have left is to see the Vatican, head back to the hostel for some cheap pizza and some gelato, and plan my day tomorrow to Napoli!"
That rainstorm he was referring to did come down in buckets! So much so that a friend of mine was sharing that she has friends in Rome and they reported the same thing at the same time as Ryan...Ryan said he just "put a hop in his step" and got moving to the nearest gelato shop! LOL!!!
Buon giorno, Ryan!
June 19, 2016
TO ROME OR NOT TO ROAM, THAT IS THE QUESTION...and the answer!
Ryan called at 2:30am PST this morning to say he not only decided to make his way to Italy, but had just landed in Rome. Ya just gotta love the cheap European airfare! He shared that he had learned that hard way that you don't always luck out wen staying in hostels...that some have been a little less desirable, and his roommates from the night before were a nightmare! On on hour of sleep, draggin' his butt through Roma and devouring gelato like there's no tomorrow! (My favorite cheap eat there too)!
One week in, and he has decided to spend a good chunk of it in Italy...he says he just feels more at home, and after spending lots of time in a nearby gelatoria, his Italian is coming back a bit. YAY!
June 18, 2016
MOVING ON TO PLAN B, OR SHOULD WE SAY BACK TO THE REAL PLAN A?-Ryan ditched the cheap route, and is headed to his favorite, Munich. He explains, "Well, my plans to go to Slovakia fell through, with that Budapest, Hungary is out of he question. I think I need to take a break to let this one sink in. I'm thinking the Hoffbrauhaus in Munich will suffice. I shall be taking a two hour train to Munich and drinking a cold one in Americas honor! (Or just because I can while I'm there)."
Basically, he told me the thought of being on a train for 7+ hours again today was just not setting well with him. Great choice Ry! PROST!!!
June 17, 2016
STEPPIN' IT UP IN STUTTGART
Ryan says the jet lag is still trying to get the best of him, but he's rallying in Germany now! Ryan share that he is basically living on pretzels...food is really expensive for this young solo traveler...good thing he loves pretzels! Ryan explained that his goal is to stay at or under his $50 Euro per day budget, so with that in mind, he thinks he's heading to less expensive countries, and skipping his favorite, Munich. Plan now is to head off to Bratislava. Slovakia and then to Hungary. (Probably because he's hungry)! ;)
June 16, 2016
NOTHIN' ROTTEN ABOUT ROTTERDAM-(Except it was boring, according to Ryan). Ryan reported that he spent the day exploring the Hague in the the Netherlands today with travel buddies Ahmet and Eric. He says, "We saw the international peace palace and ate a good meal at a place in china town, topped off with a quest for Ice cream, which ended in a dinner at Burger King. 'Twas a good day with some good people!" But now he's already ready to move on.
June 14, 2016-
DOIN' IT UP IN DUBLIN-Ryan said good-bye to two new friends today, Jasmine and Jack. He's been staying at the Barnacle Hostel and says it's pretty good, and extremely close to EVERYTHING! From what he's told me about the place, my guess is he'll be back!
Peace out, Boy Scout!
If only Ryan wasn't so serious all the time!
Today the three set out to explore the the city. He says, "Dublin was fun as we were Shamrockin in the music stores and we definitely didn't hear any crickets, although we did stumble across a game being played!" He added that it was great to just sit at a pub and watch the game. I asked him if he figured out how to play and he pretty much said no, that it just looked like a ball being throw at some sticks. Sounds like he had the best idea by just kickin', tippin' & watchin'!
Is that a cricket near your beer?
Ryan had a great tip that the country has "state museums" and they are all free to visit. So the trio checked out the WWI Museum, and in his words, "Yeah, it was pretty cool." They also checked out a cafe and enjoy incredible Cappuccinos...so jealous!!
Music and cappuccinos, can life get any better than this?
Ryan's explored Brussels before, so he says he think he may head to Rotterdam and check out the sights and scene there. Stay tuned...
I guess the Irish are very competitive? Oh my!!!
June 13, 2016-
So he did. We dropped him off at the airport curb at noon yesterday, while we were whisked quickly through (we think it was due to heightened security...and our prayers are with all those affect in Orlando this weekend). And off he went. Through a series of layovers, I finally heard from him at 5am this morning. The poor guy was grumpy, tired and fighting a migraine (probably due to lack of sleep...which was resulting in his grumpiness). The worst part, he was only in Amsterdam at that point...aye!!
Several hours later he touched down in Dublin. He arrived at his hostel where he said, "Irish I was sleeping right now but I'm LUCKY I'm in Dublin grabbing a Guinness with my new friend Jasmine." He said he enjoyed his Guinness and is now going for some grub then a good night's rest.
Hopefully we'll get to follow more of Ryan's adventures more as he checks in! I've asked him to give us some tips on cheap eats, cool sights and anything funky he comes across!! :)
Ryan and new friend, Jasmine in Dublin
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