Rain, rain- go away!

Ciao!

This weekend I went to the beautiful Amalfi Coast! My group took a tour with bus2alps that started in Sorrento, and went to the Island of Capri, Positano, and Pompei. We left our campus Thursday afternoon for Florence, then the bus2alps bus picked us up there and we were on our way! The bus ride was supposed to be 7 hours, getting us into Sorrento at 2:30am, but there was a detour and we ended up not getting in until 4am and had to be ready to leave by 7am! To say we were all exhausted is a bit of an understatement.

Friday morning, we left for the Island of Capri. We had to take a ferry boat to get there, and it was one of the worst experiences of my LIFE. The weather hasn’t been great, as I’ve said before, but on Friday the water was pretty rough because of the wind. The ferry was swaying and rocking so badly, EVERYONE was getting sea sick. I’ll spare you all the horrific traumatizing details, but let’s just say it was the longest hour boat ride I’ve ever had to endure. Thankfully I didn’t get sick, but I definitely couldn’t eat for a few hours after.

Besides the horrible ferry ride, Capri was great! It’s beautiful little island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea that has some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen in my entire life! We were supposed to go to the Blue Grotto, a cave that glows blue when the sun shines into it, but because of the rough water we weren’t able to. Our tour guide said you couldn’t even see the entrance to the cave the waves were so high! Although we were disappointed, we found something else to do… shop! Capri is notorious for its handmade leather sandals, so OF COURSE I had to buy a pair. You customize them by design and colors, and this cute little old Italian man makes them right there for you. We walked around the island and took the chairlift to the top of the mountain for an incredible view, but of course with our luck, it started to rain. We headed back to Sorrento, and thankfully, the ferry ride on the way back wasn’t rough!

Saturday was the day we had all been looking forward to. We were headed to Positano for a beach day! The weather didn’t look good again, but we all crossed our fingers that it would be nice. We stepped off the bus and it was GORGEOUS! We were so happy to finally relax and be in the sun! We spent the morning laying of the black sand beach, then took a boat ride in the afternoon along the coast. As always, it started to rain on our boat cruise and we had to go back. I got a little tan though, so that’s a plus!!!

Sunday we went to Pompei to see the ruins left after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. I didn’t really know much about Pompei or the history, and I was shocked to see how much of the ruins were still there! So much of the little town was still standing: houses, columns, walls, even a little town square. It’s pretty cool to be in the presence of something that was built by hand so long ago and has been preserved until now. They also had storage rooms with ancient artifacts they have discovered, such as pottery and statues, and even human bodies that have been mummified by lava. It was definitely one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had thus far in Italy! The weather was finally AMAZING too, which made it that much better!

One of the best things that happened to me all weekend was being asked by an Italian if I was from Sicily! I’m 50% Italian: 25% Sicilian and 25% Sardinian, so the fact that I look  like a real Italian made me proud to say I am!! This weekend I’m going to Rome, and I am soooo excited. I have wanted to go there so badly to see all the sites and especially go to Vatican City! It’s a much bigger city than we have been to so far, but hey, all roads lead to Rome, right? We can’t get too lost. I just hope we finally get some good weather!!!