Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii and Positano!

Well this weekend was exhausting but SO much fun! Maddy and I had been waiting for this trip with my school (but we still payed for) since the program first began. I remember thinking how far away it was, and BAM now it's over :( but it was so fun and beautiful I can't complain!

First really quickly, an update about last week, I saw 3 people from TU in one day!! I had lunch with two girls I know back at school who are studying abroad in Scotland right now and came to Italy for their spring break. Then I ran into Robbie, a guy Maddy and I know from back home and we ended up taking him to Pitti Palace and then out to dinner at Dante's. It was a fun and unexpected week!

Not done really, but getting there!

Florence River Arno sunset :)

So Friday morning Maddy and I wake up at the crack of dawn to meet the busses taking us to the Almafi coast at 7 am. The bus ride was about 5 hours, but I had a good book and good scenery, so it wasn't that bad. When we first arrived the busses took us to Pompeii right off the bat. It was so much bigger than I imagined! And I learned only about 60% of it has been excavated so the entire city is gigantic. We had a 2 and a half hour guided tour through the ruins. They had brick pizza ovens, tons of wine bars, and a lot of brothels. And their lucky symbol was a penis, so there are penises on everything (the ground, sides of buildings, etc.) They were not a very moral city 2,000 years ago... ha! Mount Vesuvius, which caused the towns destruction, is also still alive and active right behind it, so that's a little frightening... But overall the city was fascinating. Best part? Seeing the bodies that were preserved in the volcanic ash, still in the positions they suffocated to death in. It was crazy! A little creepy, them being 2,000 years old and all. When it was time to leave, the area outside the city where we waited for the bus was festering with nasty men that stare at you like you're a piece of meat. Nothing new.

Outside walls of Pompeii 

A 2,000 year old wine bar! 

The old pizza oven... 

And there you have it. A penis on a wall.

Inside the home of someone wealthy

Body in the same shape he died in...

 He still has teeth!!                      

That night we all ate at a restaurant in Sorrento, where our hotel was, that brought us all types of traditional Italian pizza, yum! And then we had a 25 minute walk back. But that's okay, it was beautiful at night on the ocean! The next day we took a ferry to the island of Capri, and it is my favorite place I have been in Italy. I can't wait to go back sometime in my life! The water is so blue, SO blue, and the mountain of an island is just unbelievably beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. We got to take a boat tour around the entire island (which we never wanted to end) and also go to the blue grotto. The blue grotto is actually a small cave with an even smaller entry. How you get in is you take a big boat out to where it's located (on the side of the island in the water) and then you climb into a very small canoe that holds 4 people. A guy who paddles the boat brings you to the cave entrance, then you lay down while they propel the boat into the tiny opening. A little frightening, but AMAZING inside! It's dark, but the water literally glows neon blue. Something to do with the water, rocks and algae I think, but it's so cool. The water glows! After the tour was over, Maddy and I immediately headed to the beach, grabbed lunch and a Corona, and laid out for a few hours. We decided after about 3 hours we were probably as toasted as we should get, considering how white we are, so we packed up our stuff and hopped on the trolly thing that takes you up to the top of the island, the town center. It had great views, but we couldn't really shop because it was all designer stores. But I did manage to get quite a few little gifts for people back home :)

Sorrento at night!

Capri!

That would be the entrance to the Blue Grotto...

Blue Groto!!

We headed back to Sorrento at 6pm with our group and got ready to go to dinner. It was not as good as the first night's dinner, but it was still fun. We were exhausted though, and that meant we headed straight back to the hotel for bed. The next morning we all waived goodbye to Sorrento and moved along to the little coastal town on a cliff of Positano. It was a cloudy day, but the town is definitely on my list of favorites. It's hard to explain why, but the atmosphere and stores and feeling you get being there is so nice, you just want to walk around all day. We ate Pizza at a great little restaurant and picked up a bag full of fruit called kumquats... I had never seen them before, but they are little oval looking oranges, you can stick a whole one in your mouth, and the outside is sweet and the inside is like a lemon. Strangest thing ever, but for some reason I spent 50 euro cents on a half a bag full. I think I'll eat some tonight. But anyways, I was bummed when it was time to head back to Florence after 5 hours in the town, but I know I'll be back someday soon :) OH I forgot to mention, we had to climb 454 stairs back up to meet the busses from the city. Yes, we counted.

Positano!

KITTENS EVERYWHERE!!! This one is perfect :)

Lemons the size of your head!

The ride back was LOOOONG and we got back to Florence very late, but we made it. Today I decided to wake up early and go workout in the Boboli gardens. I then went back there with Maddy and laid out to get some sun and read. A pretty lazy day, trying to get my energy back and get ready for a busy week or starting papers to write. Oh school... how you get in the way of my life here. *Sigh* I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Ciao for now!