ITALY - DEC 2024
During the 2024 holiday season, I traveled with a friend to Italy, starting in Napoli.
Rome was wonderful. It was the holiday season, so the city was crowded—but beautifully so. Lights everywhere. Decorations on every street. Italy really knows how to do Christmas.
And despite the crowds, it never felt overwhelming. People were everywhere, but somehow it all flowed. No pushing, no chaos. Just the energy of the city moving together.As always, I brought film. A lot of it. My main camera was my trusty Contax G2, mostly loaded with Fuji 400. It was also my first time shooting slide film—Kodak E100 in 35mm. I’ll share more thoughts on the film below, but the short version is I wasn’t impressed. 
We also made it to Pompeii. What a treat.
It’s a truly spectacular place—one of those places that makes history feel very real. And we got lucky. It wasn’t crowded at all, which made it even more special. Plenty of space to walk, explore, and take it all in.
After Rome, we headed south to Salerno, where I stayed for almost two weeks. I fell in love with it quickly. Salerno isn’t built for tourists. No big resorts. No polished version of Italy made for visitors. Just a beautiful coastal city full of working-class families going about their lives. People were warm, welcoming, and the food… the food was incredible. Honestly, the best part of Italy for me was the food, coffee, and desserts.
I can’t say enough about how much I loved Salerno. What a place to live. Quiet, but loud with its beauty.
The Amalfi Coast is a quick drive away—ten minutes and you’re in another world. And the Mediterranean was a real treat. I’ll never forget the color of the water at sunset. Very different from the Pacific sunsets I grew up with. Softer. Warmer. It stayed with me.
