Capri and Sorrento

Thank you for this lovely paradise called Capri. I woke up early this morning and had a lovely day planned with Allie, Maggie and Donna. Our goal for the day was total relaxation - and man did we succeed. We woke up and had our lovely breakfast on the roof top garden and mapped out our day. Allie, Donna and I headed for the train station from Naples to Sorrento. We met Maggie at her amazing hotel in Sorrento called Hotel Majestic - we dropped off our luggage and started our walk to the ferry. This walk is gorgeous - nothing but cliffs and beaches and Sorrento! Oh my goodness! it is this great, quiet, peaceful, touristy town that really captures the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean. So we find our way down the cliffs and it is this huge staircase cut out of the rock wall - a little scary for those with vertigo. Once we descend the stairs and finished down the winding road we end at the dock and buy our tickets with only two minutes to spare. As we turn the corner the horn sounds and we have to run all the way to end of the dock - now this is no ordinary dock, it is a huge dock that holds nothing but large tour boats, ferries and such. And compared to the Disney ferry - this thing was like 5 times bigger and our boat was at number 13. So we were running like race horses going for the triple crown. Alas - we make it because they see up bolting out there and we start our journey to Capri.

This island is such a getaway location - freaking stunning. Armani lives there! Anyway, it happens to be sprinkling and it doesn't look good. So we land and this man says last call for boats to the grotto! We are like what?! We run over to the counter and they told us - since the weather is raining, the grotto will be unavailable soon so this is the last boat out. - So we hopped on and toured the island via boat. It was great - Allie just bought a bottle of Limoncello (since they make it in Sorrento) and we drank some of it on the boat as we toured. Eventually the rain let up a bit and then we enjoyed the rest of our tour. Capri is gorgeous - the water is extremely blue  - which is my favorite color - and I couldn't get over how clear it was. You could see everything! And the caves! there are caves... so fantastic. however the grotto was impossible to get to because the high tide had come in and we were barely able to see the opening.

So we finish our tour with the lovely Italian man guide person (all the gorgeous men live on Capri) and our cheesy "when the moon hit your eye like a big pizza pie.... that's amore" song playing the background. It was fantastic.... we headed around the island and had some lunch - I enjoyed a huge vegetarian bruschetta. YUM. then we headed back to Sorrento where we had the most amazing cannoli ever! OMGoodness I never dreamed of them tasting like that. Holy cow it was amazing. Then we wandered back to the hotel to pick up our stuff and the pool looked rather tempting - so we all hopped in and then soaked up the sun afterwards. It was the most relaxing day I have had in a very long time. The ladies wanted some cafes so we went to the bar and the bar-man kept bringing us free powered-sugar cookies. They were a great treat to top off our day.  

to Pompeii and back....

Ah this entire day was rough. We were scheduled to meet at 8:30-9:30 on the roof for breakfast. So I shower the night before and plan to wake up at 8am because my roommate reassures me they only need 15 minutes to get ready. So I head up stairs once I'm ready and get some lovely croissants, cafe, and pesca yogurt (peach). Then we try to pay for the hotel and all hell breaks loose. The owner didn't realize that all of us were paying separately which ended up causing a lot of chaos and confusion. Since my roommate and I were staying two nights we were told we could pay the next day, so we felt fine with that. So then we all get taxis and head to the train station - where we see our train leave the station as we walk up, so we wait for the next one.

By the time we get to Pompeii it is high noon and hot. But we wander and learn and enjoy. Dr Murphy had to cut the trip short for those leaving around 3pm but about half of us stayed and explored Pompeii with Prof Gaddy and Diaz. After we all decide to head for Sorrento to see about catching the ferry to Capri. The trains are really cheap and it only cost 4 euro to travel. When we land in Sorrento our jaws dropped - figuratively. It was gorgeous - especially compared to Naples (which is really sketchy and dirty). Sorrent was quiet and comforting and just rather enjoyable. The group was a little jealous Maggie was staying in Sorrento for the night. So we missed the ferry but we were able to see these beautiful cliffs, beaches, and mountains over looking the Mediterranean. Oh! Carolina got lost - somehow separated from the group and we searched for her everywhere. Finally, Amanda, Kenneth, and I hopped in a cab and went back to the hotel - where they said Carolina stopped in to say hello, went to grab some food and then was headed back. So we sat and waited and were thrilled to find her. The four of us went out for dinner, tried some Limoncello (which is made in Sorrento, Italy) and then headed to the train station to go to Naples. (Regarding Carolina - we all thought "thank god she speaks Italian" she thought "ha! they lost the only person that speaks Italian). It was interesting. We all end up on the same train and get in taxis and head to the hotel.

When we arrive at the hotel there is some confusion with the rooms and everything gets crazy all over again. Carolina translated and tried to fix everything. Still ended up with more chaos and confusion. Eventually Carolina and Lizzy take the room Will and I were being charged with for two nights and Lizzy's luggage accidentally got sent to Rome with the earlier group - so she had absolutely nothing to wear or wash with. More and more chaos.

I got sit on the roof top for a bit and then head to bed - it was just one hell of a long and draining day.

Napoli

So this past weekend there was an excursion to Napoli (naples) and man what an adventure. So we wake up super early and head to the train station in Roma. Our train left around 7am. so it was a nice relaxing journey to Napoli. I sat with Emiley and Maggie and we had a conversation with a nice man from Rome, who works in Naples. Anyway - we check in at the hotel and then hop the next train to Herculaneum. That place is so amazing! Absolutely fascinating. I mean Pompeii was great but Herculaneum was just excellent. If you don't have all day to spend at Pompeii, Herculaneum is worth it. They preserved a good section of the city and there is still more to uncover.
Then we ventured back to Naples and headed to the archeological museum. This museum has the best preserved frescoes and whatnot from Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was completely amazing. I did not bring my camera in there so I will have to get some photos later. On our way out it was pouring rain... and they pushed us out of the museum so we had to run across the street in a frenzy. As we entered the next building a begger tried to take money from me and Maggie just yelled NO! and they scampered off. It was quick thinking on her part. So then we rushed through the rain and found a place that advertized pasteria (a Neopolitan dessert) and it was delicious.
Across the street we found a little restaurant and sat to eat dinner and get out of the rain. Ashley, Donna, Angela, Natalia and I ate some yummy food. I also tried some house white wine which was super cheap and yummy as well. - I would like to say that most Italian food is really delicious (probably because of all the natural ingredients) and cheap - which is extremely helpful for a small student budget. The waiter would not stop hitting on Ashley so we asked for a photo of them both. Right as this happened one of our groups walked up and Ashley turned bright red, I think there were about 10 people photographing the moment. It was hilarious. Anyway we made it back to the hotel with minimal soaking and chilled out for a bit on the roof top garden and then passed out in bed. Over all - a long and interesting day.