Finally, I reach what must be Scivu, as sand, sky and water meet the road’s end.

I am crossing cultures, becoming an Italian for a semester.

Sunday, August 2, 1998
I woke up this morning with the realization that me and my New Zealand girl would part. I’m on a five hour train to Venice that is filled with reserve seats, therefore, I’m on a small seat in the aisle for the first time. I’m slightly worried about getting a room at [...]

The following journal entry was written Saturday, August 1, 1998:
Today I woke up early in order to get to the Vatican before any lines formed. Well, there ended up being no wait at either the church or the museums. The walk across Rome to the Vatican City only took about 50 minutes. The piazza and [...]

The following journal entry was written Friday, July 31, 1998:
I met a whole bunch of friendly people last night from all over the world: Australia, Canada,England, Scotland, and Norway. The 18 year old Scottish guy was traveling with his skateboard, so I asked him about what that was like. One of the Norwegian girls was [...]

The following journal excerpt is from July 29, 1998:
This morning we woke up early to avoid any lines at the Duomo. We ended up getting there around 10:30 AM, and waiting in line anyway. Eric, Sam, and Dave had to wait at the train station to reserve a spot on the train to Barcelona which [...]

Monday, July 27, 1998
So we’re on a train to Florence right now (minus Bill). I finally tended to my feet today. I only have one blister, and it isn’t bothering me. What is bothersome are my two sandal friction cuts which I bandaged. I’m also on my last role of toilet paper. This problem [...]

Saturday, July 25, 1998
I rushed back to the hotel, and we checked out around 12:15 PM. The people there screwed us, but I really didn’t care about that. The fact was, everyone wanted to leave after three days and two nights, and I wasn’t going to be able to prolong our stay. For this [...]

The following journal entry was written Friday, July 24, 1998:
With no air conditioning, and five people in one room, last night was hot and uncomfortable. I slept well, especially after taking some cold medicine procured at a local pharmacia. Today, I learned our stay in Venice would only last two nights. For this reason, I [...]

The following journal entry was written on Thursday, July 23, 1998:
When we arrived in Venice, I was still feeling ill. It was about 9 AM, and we had a full day ahead of us. After mulling around the train station a bit, we decided to find a place to stay right away. A man approached [...]