Weekend on the Amalfi Coast

Ciao all,

This weekend was absolutely amazing. One fun thing after another for a solid 3 days! After an awful day of stressful tutoring on Thursday, our bus left the station at 6:30 pm for Amalfi. We watched a bunch of movies during the trip (there was a TV) and also discovered the hard way that there were no bathrooms on board. We stopped at an autogrill for a little dinner around 9:00 pm and then continued the journey. Around 1 am, we started to get into the Amalfi Coast area, as I awoke to the bus taking some ridiculous curves on this road which was dangerously placed on a cliff. It was a little scary, but the view was gorgeous.

Around 2 am, we finally arrived at our hotel in Sorrento, completely destroyed. We had traveled about 8 hours, so the second we were assigned our rooms, we crashed. At 7 am, we woke up for breakfast and had to be walking to the ferry for Capri at 8 am. Needless to say, it was a rough morning. Cassandra, our awesome tour guide, led us all the way down a windy highway (most certainly a very dangerous thing to do with 45 American kids in tow) and we made it to the marina within an hour. On the way, I was excited to pass The Bristol Hotel, where my parents had stayed on their honeymoon and where my Grandma had the same room every year that she visited. It was only a half mile down the road from our hotel! What a coincidence! Anyway, when we arrived at the marina, we waited for about 20 minutes and then hopped on the ferry over to Capri. The ferry took about 45 minutes and was filled with old people. I guess Capri is a pretty popular destination for the elderly. When we arrived, we were a little disappointed with the cloudy, ominous skies. It rained for about 10 minutes and then remained cloudy for quite a while.

During that time, we hopped on another smaller boat to take a tour around the island and see the Blue, Green and White Grottoes. For the entire duration of the journey, we had pretty significant cloud cover, but we dealt with it and I took about 100 pictures anyway. All of the cliffs were so different from one another, and all equally breathtaking. Our first stop was the Blue Grotto, which was indescribably awesome. In order to enter the Grotto, we had to get off the bigger tour boat and into small wooden rowboats, 4 or 5 at a time. Our tour guide was a riot, so he made the smooshed conditions within the rowboat exciting and fun. With me in my rowboat were Maggie Wright and Maggie Rossi, along with a couple in our group that would not stop hugging, kissing and touching each other. It was a little awkward, but I guess that's besides the point. Anyway, all the little rowboats lined up to get into the Grotto, whose entrance is a tiny hole about 3 feet high. We were lucky that the Grotto was open to the public because it appeared as if we were nearing high tide, when people can no longer enter. We were all instructed to lay as flat as possible in the rowboat while our guide pulled us into the hole with a chain that was attached to the Grotto rocks. The interior was absolutely breathtaking. I was amazed at how enormous it was, as the entrance hole was so unassuming that it would never be able to reveal the secrets inside the Grotto. The water was lit with a beautiful blue (hence the name) that naturally comes from the reflection of the sun on the sand. All of the tour guides in the different rowboats sang the typical songs of Napoli (O Sole Mio, etc). The whole experience inside the Grotto lasted all of 8 minutes, when we squeezed back out into the daylight. Needless to say, we were very satisfied customers. Words really cannot describe the uniqueness and beauty of this Grotto. I am just amazed that the whole thing is completely natural!

The rest of our boat ride consisted of visits to the Green and White Grottoes and a little snooping of the summer houses of Sophia Loren, the Gerber family (Mussolini's former residence), Donatella Versace, and Giorgio Armani. When we arrived back on land, we took one of Cassandra's lunch recommendations and found a great restaurant down an alleyway, pretty close to the main piazza in Capri. We were the only ones there for a good while, and we loved it that way. The place was very cozy and trendy, with white couches and green pillows, and beautiful wooden ceiling beams. We all ate very well. We shared fried calamari and prosciutto and melon. I had pasta with tomato sauce, mozzarella and eggplant for my main course.

When we exited the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised to see bright sunshine. I guess Capri is a lot like the Vineyard in that it needs some time to burn off the morning haze and rain clouds. Carla and Grace split off from Jeff, Maggie, Maggie, Kevin and myself in search of Caprese sandals high on Anacapri. Our little group of five got some lemon granitas and then walked all over the island. We saw the beautiful gardens of Capri and from there, took a winding path down the side of a cliff, all the way to the bottom. There, we dipped our feet in the water and I collected a ton of sea glass. When we had finished there, we took the bus back up to the main area of Capri and stopped in a limoncello store for some souvenirs. Then, we coincidentally ran into Grace and Carla and together, went to a bar to drink some limoncello together.

Our whole group (all 45 of us Americans) met back at the port and took the ferry back to Sorrento around 6:30. We filled in the evening by showering and prepping for the nightlife. At 8:45, we had our included dinner at the hotel which consisted of bruschetta, pasta, salad, oranges and unlimited wine. It was pretty good. After dinner, we let Cassandra lead us into town for some drinks and fun. We hung around at this English bar for a while and then, around 12:30 headed right upstairs for some dancing. The discoteca part of the bar was soooo awesome because it was outside and the terrace was covered with trees and funky lights. It was a great atmosphere to dance. At this point, Grace, Jeff, and Maggie Wright had decided to go home. Kevin, Maggie Rossi, Carla, Cassandra and myself hung around and danced for a few more hours. We had a blast and took the long hike back to the hotel around 2 am.

We were able to sleep in about an hour longer on Saturday, and left for Positano around 10am. We took a 30 min bus ride that took us along the beautiful coastline road. We drove right along the cliffs for the whole way and it was a little scary, but absolutely gorgeous. Despite being exhausted, I couldn't close my eyes for even a second because I hated the idea of missing the view! When we arrived, the bus driver was in a sour mood, so he dropped us off at the very top of the cliffs, about an hour walk from where we wanted to be in Positano. But, va bene. The road we conquered on foot had a continuously beautiful view, so no one felt the need to complain too much. Before braving the walk, we stopped at a quaint fruit stand and bought some mega-lemons (I bought one for Maria Pia, and one to squeeze in my hair) and other fresh fruits. We walked down the winding road for about a half hour and then reached the famous stairs of Positano. However, when I say famous, I don't mean one special flight of stairs. I'm referring to the fact that Positano has no roads and that the townspeople and visitors get around using stairs to climb up and down the side of the cliffs. So, after finishing with the road that circled just above Positano, we took about 60 flights of stairs to make it to the bottom area and beach community. Our legs were completely destroyed when we finally made it. Who thought that walking down the stairs could be so difficult!? We sat on some benches to soothe our legs and they violently shook for as long as we put a little weight on the balls of our feet. So weird.

Once I was half-recovered, I re-traced my steps back to a cobbler that Cassandra (as a reminder, our tour guide) had pointed out. I fell in love with a pair of white leather sandals with gold grommets and good old Giovanni made them right there in front of me! He fitted my feet and everything! It was so cool and everything was so well and reasonably priced. My plan had been to buy a pair of sandals for my Caprese souvenir, so I'm glad I found what I was looking for. Even if I hadn't gone to Giovanni, I'm sure I would have found sandals at the hundreds of other places that I saw hammering and nailing the similar sandals, though. After my purchase, I met the rest of the HC gang on the beach. I set up camp and then hopped off the sand to get a personal pizza. All the good ones come from the Naples area, so I knew that I had to try one. I bought a margherita pizza with onions on top and ate it on the beach. My friends' mouths were watering, and this salivation was completely legitimate because the pizza was delicious. We did nothing all afternoon but relax and catch some rays. The temperature was perfect enough that I didn't break a sweat or have to jump in the water. Thank goodness for that because the ocean was pretty chilly.

Towards the end of the afternoon, we cleaned up camp and headed off the beach for some yummy granitas. Just for the record, they were better in Capri. Then, we walked up a few flights of the Positano steps and met the rest of the 45 Americans at the bus stop. The bus was able to drive us up the cliffs and closer towards where our tour bus had dropped us off that morning. Once we scaled the mountain road with the great view, we made it to the tour bus. We arrived at the hotel, showered up, and had dinner. While the dinner was alright, I would most certainly say that the first night's was better. Our second night consisted of pizza and then a weird fish that seemed a little too slimy to be fully cooked.

After dinner, the HC kids and myself went downstairs to our rooms for a few glasses of wine and a hangout session. I tried to learn how to juggle, and almost had it when I lost the 3rd orange. Oops. That was the end of that, but it didn't matter because we headed off to the club for a little dancing and fun! The rest of the interested Americans had already left the hotel, so the 7 of us met everyone in downtown Sorrento at the same place that we had been the night before. The dance terrace was pretty dead when we arrived and people were wallflowering it like crazy. Since 7 was a pretty ample number of people and we really didn't care what other people thought, we were the first to step on the floor and start dancing. We weren't there alone for more than 15 minutes when everyone else in the club felt comfortable enough to join us in the disco festivities. A few hours later we, the very own party-starters, were inadvertently kicked off the dancefloor as a result of lack of space. At that point, we called it a night.

On Sunday morning, we checked out around 10am and then walked around downtown Sorrento and bought amazing sandwiches for the trip. We left Sorrento at noon and succeeded in getting the 8 bus seats right up front, which was a huge feat. People were literally pushing for them (because it's easiest to see the TV from those spots). Grace wouldn't have let those seats slip out of her way. She's good like that. So, we settled into our comfy seats and ate our enormous sandwiches. We were happy as clams. I passed out on the bus and about an hour and a half later, we arrived in Pompeii, the stop that I had been awaiting the entire weekend. The usual 11.00 euro entrance fee was waived that day because it had been La Settimana di Cultura, so we were thrilled about that. We only paid 5.00 euro for an optional tour guide that came with our travel package. Great deal!

As soon as the tour started, it began to downpour. I stayed as optimistic as possible and really enjoyed seeing everything that I had learned about so thoroughly in my Archaeology of Pompeii class sophomore year. We saw the Pompeian restaurants, one of the theaters, wealthy and poor homes, brothels, temples, the baths, the bodies, and the forum. I loved it! I would have loved to have been able to explore more on my own because the House of the Faun and the large Amphitheater were on the other side of the town and I had really been hoping to see them. But, by the end of the 2 hour tour, I was thoroughly soaked and, though optimistic, I couldn't bring myself to walk all the way to the other side. I guess it just means I'll have to go back! I was a little disappointed because my friends didn't seem very thrilled to be there. It would have been nice if the sun had been out. I know they would have enjoyed it more had they not been soaking.

Either way, it was awesome to be able to recognize everything in Pompeii that I had learned about. Capri, Positano and Sorrento were breathtaking, so this trip was most certainly worth the money. We only paid 200 euro and got a hotel, 2 dinners, 3 breakfasts, transportation to Capri, reduced transportation to Positano, and reduced boat tours. When I come back to Italy, this area is the first place I'll be returning to.

Today, I received the good news that I have been chosen as a Fall Orientation Leader for incoming transfer students. I am so excited! Class registration was this afternoon, and I got everything that I had wanted (with a little extra pleading on one of the them). I'll be taking Dante, Italian Women's Autobiography (in Italian), Kids Today: Perspectives on Development, and Psychology of Adolescence. My adviser says that I may even be able to count the Women's Autobiography towards my Childhood Studies minor, because it discusses mother-daughter relationships and growing up. That would be AWESOME!

Chelsea is coming on Saturday and I will be meeting her in Pisa, where she flies in. I'm really looking forward to it and I have lots of plans for her!

I'll update the next time I have a spare moment.

A dopo!

Dad's fun-filled vacation

Ciao a tutti!

If I were to write and describe everything my Dad and I did in the last 10 days, I would miss dinner tonight. So, I'm going to make a concise little list and inform everyone that we had a fabulous time at everything we accomplished! No negative experiences to report!

Here's more or less how it went:

Dad stayed in my extra bed at Maria Pia's house, which worked out just splendidly.

Day 1 (Florence, Tuesday):

• Santa Maria Novella pharmacy- Dad loved it!

• Delicious dinner at Maria Pia's.

• Pub Night at "Dexter's Laboratory" with my friends. Dad bought everyone drinks. What a guy.
  

Day 2 (Florence, Wednesday):

• Galleria Palatina in Palazzo Pitti.

• Sandwiches at Antico Noe. Dad was crazy for them.

• Gelato at Vestri. Another place that Dad loved.
  

• Bargain shopping in San Lorenzo Marketplace.

• Dinner at Alberto and Maria's with Benedetta, Antonio and Anarita. Antonio and Anarita wanted to see my Dad before they left for Vienna the following day.
  

Day 3 (Florence, Thursday):

• A few random errands.

• Had cappuccinos on the rooftop terrace of Rinascente. Took some great pictures of Dad "living the life."
  

• Bargain shopping again in San Lorenzo Marketplace.

• Mercato Centrale meat market. Fascinating and disgusting.

• Italian Literature tutoring= damper on the day. Dad shopped around for an hour in the bookstore downstairs from CLIDA.

• Lunch at Natalino. Warm and deliciously toasted sandwiches.

• Gelato at Grom. Yummm.
  

• Piazzale Michelangelo. It had been raining all day and then cleared up. The view was perfect.

• San Miniato church on top of the Piazzale.

• Dinner at Maria Pia's. Dad brought beautiful flowers.
  

• A walk around the center and a Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

Day 4 (Venice, Friday):

• Took a VERY early train to Venice and arrived around 10:30. 

• Dad bought a TON of glass souvenirs.

• Used Rick Steves' tip to cut the line and see St. Mark's Basilica. (His tip: Use the free bag check that not many people know about and get a card that allows you to skip ahead of everyone else).

• Found a nice family from Wisconsin and took an amazing gondola ride through the canals. Split the price 6 ways instead of 2= very key.

• Tried to get to Murano island to see the glass museum and demonstration, but discovered that it was too far away.

• Got the last train home.

• Ate dinner at La Giostra at 9:30. OUT OF THIS WORLD, as usual. Dad loved it.

Day 5 (Florence, Saturday):

• Dad bought beautiful suede shoes. (I insisted that he buy some Florentine leather for himself)

• Boboli Gardens. We were glad to have waited because the previous two days were cloudy and rainy. This day was perfect.

• Lunch at Antico Noe, again.

• Train to Siena for an evening visit.

• Saw the Duomo and Piazza Il Campo, famous site of "Il Palio."

• Searched for about an hour for Uncle Roger's dinner recommendation and failed because Maria Pia and Andrea had misread us the information on the business card which we had left at home.

• Had a pricey, but lovely dinner right in the piazza.

• Took the train back to Florence.

Day 6 (Florence, Sunday, Easter):

• Decided to skip out on the Scoppio del Carro outside of the Duomo because we really needed to avoid sickness and get some sleep. (The Scoppio del Carro is an Easter tradition where they throw a plaster dove at the Duomo and then light off fireworks. Oxen are also involved, as I understand it.)

• Leisurely bussed into the city center around noon, got cappuccinos, and walked around San Lorenzo.
  

• Met Maurizio (Alberto and Maria's son who still lives at home) who brought us to the Easter celebration at their house.
  

• Celebrated Easter from 1:30 until about 9:00 at night. We ate for about 4 hours non-stop and at the 9:00 mark when we were preparing to leave, Maria was in the process of making dinner. She was confused as to why we were leaving, and we were confused as to why she was making dinner after a 4 hour meal. No hard feelings though.

Day 7 (Rome, Monday):

• Took the 9:15 am train to Rome.

• Settled in at our hotel near the Vatican.

• Found one of Paul's favorite sandwich places from his study abroad experience. The sweet lady was still there and made us some fabulous sandwiches.

• Spent a lot of time walking around. It started to pour. 

• Walked to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and all the way to the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument.

• Soaked, we stumbled upon one of Paul's favorite bars from his study abroad experience. We went in for a drink.

• Upon emergence, the sun was shining brightly, thank goodness.

• Searched for an internet cafe (our hotel didn't have wireless) so that I could check my email on interview updates with the Citi Performing Arts center in Boston. Didn't receive anything.

• Walked all the way back to the hotel and stopped briefly.

• Walked all the way to Trastevere.

• Ate a fabulous dinner at Dar Poeta.

• Stopped for some twilight pictures of the Vatican on the way home.
  

• Went home, exhausted.

Day 8 (Rome, Tuesday):

• Woke up at the crack of dawn and walked to the Vatican Museum.

• Skipped the line because I had made reservations.

• Spent 3 hours touring the museum and saw the Sistine Chapel at the end.

• Broke for sustenance in the Vatican Cafe.

• The weather was perfect, so we walked to the Roman Forum.

• Almost forgot to eat lunch, so we just grabbed one of those terrible sandwiches from a cart vendor and shared it.

• Toured the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill with the help of my trusty Rick Steves book.

• Skipped the line at the Colosseum because we had bought our tickets in the Forum (thanks to Paul's suggestion).

• Toured the Colosseum and filled Dad in on the history.

• Dragged our aching legs and feet to a Rick Steves recommended cafe, Cafe dello Studente, and had a light snack because it was too close to dinner for a big lunch.
  
  
• Stopped at an internet cafe. No word at that point.
  

• Opted for a cab back to the hotel.

• Attempted to walk to dinner, but only made it half way before running out of time and taking a cab.

• Had some incredible fried zucchini flowers and spaghetti at a spaghetteria called, Archetto.

• Took my Dad on Rick Steves' "romantic night walk." (Campo dei Fiori --> Piazza Navona --> Pantheon (where we stopped for gelato at the famous, and crowded Giolitti) --> Trevi Fountain --> Spanish Steps (where we were harassed by an Indian man selling roses).

• Took a cab home and went to bed.

Day 9 (Rome, Wednesday):

• Got up early, once again. (This time, we were incredibly tired and sore).

• Took a cab to the Borghese Gallery, whose tickets I had reserved a week before because they only allow 360 people in per time slot. What an incredible museum. Bernini is a genius.

• Walked around the gorgeously green Borghese Gardens.

• Took a cab to Basilica di San Clemente.

• Toured the Basilica and were amazed by the underground passageways and Pagan altars.

• Had lunch on Via Cavour and soaked in the sunshine.

• Found the bus near Circus Maximus and took it outside of the Roman walls and to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano.

• Toured the Catacombs. SOOOOOO COOOOL!

• Took a bus back to the center and found an internet cafe to check my email for an internship response.

• Received a rejection from Citi Performing Arts Center (thumbs down).

• Proceeded to walk towards the area of dinner, but stopped when we saw video cameras and people outside of a governmental building near Vittorio Emmanuele II.

• Discovered that Berlusconi was inside.

• Waited for 45 minutes and decided to leave, laughing to ourselves about the amount of film that had been wasted on Berlusconi-less cars with tinted windows.

• Stopped in Piazza Navona for a cappuccino.

• Became the first guests, with a 7:30 reservation, at a restaurant called Tre Archi. 

• Ate a wonderful final dinner.

• Bought gelato from a gelateria that was blasting techno music.

• Walked home.

• Went to bed early.

Day 10 (Rome, Thursday):

• Got up at 6:15.

• Had breakfast with Dad and then put him in a car to the airport. :(

So clearly, we had a very full vacation together. It was a wonderful time, and I'm so glad that he was able to come and see and understand my life in Italy. When I arrived home this morning, I checked my email and received something from the Avon Foundation in NYC. Turns out, their first person had turned down the position and so, they offered it to me! For my whole train ride back to Florence alone, I had been thinking about my career and getting used to the idea of spending another summer on the Vineyard. Looks like that's all changed and I'll be part of the workforce this summer in NYC!! At this point in writing this entry, Dad doesn't even know yet because he's still in the air. I've left him two voicemails that he will check when he's on his layover in D.C. I know I'll be getting a call. It's too bad I hadn't checked my email just one more time yesterday. The email came through at 10:30 pm last night and I would have been able to celebrate with my Dad. Oh well, he'll still be very happy.


Now, it's back to work mode. I have a lot to catch up on.


Ciao!!