Sad to say but this was my last trip before returning home THIS SATURDAY! 4 MORE DAYS...But whose counting? (My mom mostly). Anyway this past weekend we went to Amalfi Coast with a trip organizer called Bus 2 Alps. The trip was one of my favorite trips so far due to great weather and sights. Last Thursday we departed Florence and made our journey to Sorrento a town located in the coast. It was an 8.5 hour bus ride and I was ready to jump off the minute it arrived. We didn't get into Sorrento until 2:30am. We then had to be up at 8:00am to get a head start to Capri. As you would imagine I was not in the best mood after waking up. After getting less than 4 hours of sleep we made our way to Capri where we first took a boat tour around the coast and visited the Blue Grotto (one of the seven wonder's of the world). The Blue Grotto is located on the side coast of Capri. In order to enter the Blue Grotto you must change boats and get in a 4 person row boat where you literally lay flat to squeeze under the tiny passage way. The small passage way is due to the water and waves filling the tiny opening. The entire process was interesting to watch and take photos of. Our boat rower literally laid on top of us and shimmied our tiny row boat through the cave. Inside the Grotto you are able to view the wonder which is the blue iridescent water. The natural sunlight from outside shines on the water from underneath and creates glowing blue water. It looked as though someone took a light and shined it from underneath the water. It was kinda magical looking but one misconception is the Grotto is quite small. You are only in the Grotto for a few minutes before circling and turning around to head out. After we continued our boat tour around the coast and saw a million dollar home of an Italian writer and the three famous rocks located along Capri. I didn't realize this but Entourage was filmed there as well as many other movies and TV shows. After the tour we had a torturous hike to Capri town of all uphill hiking. I wouldn't mind it if our tour guide didn't literally fly/run up the hill. But after arriving there we tasted Grinatas (a famous Amalfi drink) which consists of lemon ice and fresh squeezed orange juice. It was refreshing and the perfect drink to enjoy. Then we shopped around and I purchased custom made sandals (also know for in Capri), ate lunch, and took a chair lift up to the highest point in Capri. The chair lift ride was really neat. You were able to look over the entire city and see some amazing sites. Up top there was a huge look out point where you could lay out and of course there was a bar. We hung out and took lots of photos before returning to the main city. Later we enjoyed a great dinner in the town of Sorrento. The next day we visited Positano (a beach town) and had a beach day. The only bummer was it was cloudy and threatening to rain most of the day until we had to leave. Right as we were getting ready to go the sun came out! (Worst timing) Overall the day was still enjoyable we grabbed panini's and hung on the beach with friends. Later we strayed away from the group and went into the town of Sorrento again for a nice dinner with just a few friends. We later grabbed gelato and called it a night. The next morning we packed up and made our way to Pompeii. I was very excited to visit the town and tour the historical site. Pompeii is historically known for being buried under ash for hundreds of years after the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. We had a guide tour where I learned a lot about the city. First the city was extremely advanced for its time, they had water pipes and water systems, advance heating systems and even cross walks. I wasn't aware the town took over 200 years to uncover. After uncovering the remains of the town, they also found an even older town beneath Pompeii. Meaning that Pompeii was built on top of an even older city at that time. Another interesting fact was that Pompeii was an extremely corrupt town that had over 24 brothels at the time. We were able to view remains of restaurants, shops, houses, and brothels. After the tour we grabbed pizza and returned to the bus for our trip back to Florence. Luckily it only took 7 hours this time since we headed away from Sorrento that morning. We returned to Florence at night and I was happy to relax and later sleep!
This week is my last week in Florence! It is a bittersweet feeling, I'm ready to return home but a little sad to leave. I'm consumed with finals until Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are dedicated to packing (believe me I will need all the time I can get to fit everything in a suitcase). My friends and I are trying to eat out this week and cover any restaurants we missed as well as return to our favorites so we can fill up on all the good Italian food before leaving. I plan on giving myself a three day grace period at home to eat everything I missed (there is a lot to cover) and then whipping myself back into shape! I can't wait to return home and see everyone!
Ciao Firenze!
Hello United States!
xoxo
