Amalfi Coast

This weekend......

(drum roll please)

The Amalfi Coast!!! Which included none other than Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii!

Sorrento

Thursday April 25

We (Katie, Jenn, Will and I) headed to Naples on Thursday at noon. Because we didn't have Thursday classes this week!!! WOOHOOO!!! Gotta love three day weeks and four day weekends!

Will did have class so he caught a train to Florence after his class and barely made it on the train to Naples. The train was already headed South when I got his text that he had made it. Talk about a tight time schedule. But Will is a pro at his train traveling so I had no doubts he would make it.

Three hours later we were in Naples aka Napoli in Italian. Which I will most likely call it Napoli in the blog, since, obviously, that is what it is called over here. Apparently Napoli is really sketchy and dangerous. All I know is that the SMN train station is Florence is WAY more sketchy than Napoli's haha! awesome.

We had to change train companies to get Sorrento which the all-knowing Katie had totally figured out for us. So we were on our way to Sorrento in no time.

I absolutely LOVED Sorrento. But more on that later...

Our apartment (hostel) we stayed in was awesome. When we got there we found a locked gate and a number to call. So we called the number in which we were told "I be there two minutes!"

A few minutes later two dudes on a vespa pull up to us and say "HI!" and then kind of keep driving up the driveway. We didn't know if we were supposed to follow them or what, but they ended up being the ones with the hostel. They were really nice and our apartment was big and nice. We were able to buy cereal at the supermarket that was right around the corner and ON THE BEACH! We were literally a one minute walk from the ocean! So anyways. We saved money on breakfast with our purchased cereal!

The first night we wandered around Sorrento trying to find a place to eat. Well... we knew where we wanted to eat it just didn't exist. Until we asked for directions and realized that the address on Yelp was wrong.

It was not number 2. It was number 216.

Oh okay. Gotcha.

So the restaurant ended up being a block from our apartment. But we got to see the city. Plus Rick Steves has eaten at that restaurant. So it was worth the search and worth seeing his picture on the wall with the owners when we walked in. Safe to say the food was delicious.

Did I mention the restaurant was waterfront?... This was our view. And we saw dolphins swimming in the bay! It honestly could not get better!

Our view while eating dinner

and as the evening progressed

breathtaking

After dinner we all wanted some gelato. No surprise. So we went to a place that was recommended on Trip Advisor. All we have to say is... No thanks. One of the worst gelato places I've been all semester, and all of us agreed.

But on our way to get gelato we ran into this.

a woman playing the harp as an accompaniment to opera singers

and some booth things with food next to it. There were a lot of people out and about on the street and it was already 9:30! It was really cool!


Friday April 26

We decided to go to Capri!

Capri

We left warm, sunny Sorrento to ferry to Capri. 30 minutes later we landed in cloudy windy Capri. It was "Capri-eezing!" as Will kept saying all afternoon! That kid. Can't take him anywhere!! ;)

We spent about 30 minutes on one of the rocky beaches... and when I say rocks, I mean rocks!! I'm not talking small pebbles here folks, but big cover-the-dirt-in-the-garden type rocks! (instead of sand, obviously)

Capri

Capri. Beach Front.

Also, while we were there a dude with a harpoon walks up with his catch of 10 or so squid. Talk about a day job!

We quickly got cold on the beach and took the funicular up the mountain to the upper part of the city.

We were looking for lunch but decided that the touristy places by the port were cheaper than this top portion of the city.

So we went back down. And had lunch. Then caught the ferry back to Sorrento in the rain.
It was short lived, but hey, Capri was gorgeous!!!

We got back and Will passed out for a nap and Katie, Jenn, and I just chilled for the afternoon. We left the door to the apartment open to experience the spring rain. It was so nice and refreshing!

For dinner we went to a Pizzeria in town. It was really yummy. Got to love the Italian Pizza! And we were all really exhausted and called it an early night. This semester is wearing us all out!


Saturday April 27

POMPEII!!!!!!! IN THE RAIN!!!!

That was the majority of the day. Let me just say. Pompeii is phenomenal! Being a history buff and LOVING Ancient Rome... Pompeii blew my mind. It is an entire city filled with blocks upon blocks of houses and stores and amphitheaters and everything Ancient Rome. And it is ALL preserved!! Thanks Mt. Vesuvius.

Temple

Frescoes

Store that served warm food!

Amphitheater

theater

I must say though. Being and to see Vesuvius looming eerily in the background while walking through the city. In the rain. With big clouds letting him peek through every now and then was a little unsettling. He is a guilty mountain and all day Will and I just kept saying.."we know what you did!" He's a sneaky sneaky volcano.

Note Vesuvius in the background

So anyways. My mind was blown by Pompeii. and Will and I lasted twice as long as Jenn and Katie did in the cold rain. Thanks to our chacos and rain jackets!

We had great fun sloshing through rain puddles

I shared an umbrella with Will and an audio guide all day and it was so phenomenal!

(*side note* If you haven't noticed already, for those of you who frequent my blog, I have a very small vocabulary and reuse words over and over again to describe certain experiences. Last week for Tuscany it was "fabulous" This week for Pompeii it is "phenomenal")

Cold and wet we ate lunch outside of Pompeii and caught the train back to Sorrento to meet up with Katie and Jenn at the apartment. We all stayed in doors the remainder of the day until it was time to go find supper, and it finally stopped raining!!

On our way to find a restaurant for supper we were all stunned by this sunset

no words

We ate at the cheapest place we could find, we ate outdoors and there was NO COVER CHARGE!!! We win! By this time it had stopped raining and it was pleasant temperatures.

After our meal Will and I decided to try this food tasting cultural experience we had stumbled upon our first night. It was two streets full of yummy food and wine samples with cultural infusions, like singers walking the streets with guitars and children playing tambourines. Bands performing in courtyards.

food sample

Or opera singers on a rooftop terrace accompanied by a harp (as seen on Thursday).

Will and I's favorite.... A man handing out samples of homemade lemon sorbet. OH MY GOODNESS!!! We both died. Lemons are the thing to grow in Sorrento. It's what the city and region is known for in Italy and oh my do they grow Lemons!! Everything we tried was really yummy and it was so much fun for us to experience the culture of Southern Italy!


Sunday April 28

Finally. What we came here to do. Lay in the sun and relax.

This weekend was a very relaxing weekend. The early any of us woke up was 9 and the latest any of us went to bed was 11:30! It was amazing. And finally the weather was in our favor to do some sun bathing.

Italians are still bundled up over here in there pants and boots and scarves and parkas. I have no idea how they aren't drenched from head to toe in sweat, but they manage. So getting some sun is difficult and renting a chair on a dock in the bay was totally worth the euros spent! We sun bathed until we had to catch the train back to Napoli. Then onto to Florence and back down to Arezzo for Will.

It was an amazing weekend. And to be completely honest, I have no idea what I will be doing next weekend. Maybe Munich. Maybe another coastal town. The plans haven't been made. I might be chillin' in Florence. Either way. This weekend was full of beautiful sights. Good company. And unpredictable weather.