Naples

Naples wallows in cheerful chaos. The city that gave the world pizza and gelato is surrounded by the ancient ruins of Pompeii and the gorgeous Amalfi Coast. Naples seems to epitomize the contradictions of southern Italy: loud, dirty, charming, friendly, fiercely passionate, enthusiastic and dangerous.

Neapolitans seem to spend every waking moment out on the town, eating, drinking, carousing, and laughing. The people here use the city as their living room, bedroom, even bathroom. They see the city as their home, literally, and they use the parks and the trattorias and the churches to live out their lives.

The city is decorated with the laundry that hangs from every window, flapping and waving in the ocean breeze like Tibetan prayer flags. Every street seems to have at least one crooked old women peering suspiciously out of her window at the life that passes by. Young boys dressed in football shirts fill the piazzas with their games of football, played with all the intensity of a World Cup final.

Rome

All roads lead to Rome. Or in my case a cramped and crowded plane from Toronto lead me to the eternal city that is Roma. Once caput mundi (capital of the world) Rome now is a city of echoes of the past, the city of ancient illusions, and a magical experience. There is an erratic rhythm to Rome. It is like walking with history, with the old citizens from thousands of years ago, as well as with a new pulsating energy emanating from the espresso and architecture. It was the genesis of the empire that defined the Western world in antiquity. Its system of government is still imitated today, its architecture has laid the course for modern building techniques,

Anatole Broyard stated that ‘Rome was a poem pressed into service as a city’ and this rings true as you walk the ancient cobblestones. It would be possible spend a lifetime there and never completely know the place. The artistic treasures, romantic street corners the sun filled days of dolce vita (the sweet life) assault the senses as much as the noise, confusion and traffic to produce a completely overwhelming experience. Navigating the streets of kamikaze Vespas and hordes of tourists often requires the fortitude of Spartacus and Ben Hur.

Windsor Air Show

Pearl

Kayaking at Revelstoke

Icefields Parkway

Rafting the Illecillewaet River