Ciao Italia!: aprile 2011

On thursday night we went to meet the bus2alps tour group at the train station to head to the Amalfi Coast. Since it was Easter weekend we had monday off so all the trips were completely booked. We got to the train station to find out our trip had over 300 people on it just from Florence and hundreds of other people from Rome, Barcelona, and London. We got to Sorrento within 6 hours and were surprised at how nice the hostel was.

Friday morning we woke up at 6:15 to catch a ferry to Capri. We were really excited to see celebrities since I always see photos of Beyonce or Jennifer Lopez hanging out on yachts in Capri in US or People Magazine. After we got to the Capri marina we separated into different smaller boats to see the island. It looked very similar to Jurassic park with the massive cliffs everywhere. We went to the blue grotto which is a cave in Capri that can only be accessed by row boats. So we switched boats again to go inside. The blue grotto was absolutely amazing looking and the water was glowing even more than my pictures show. After the grotto we went back on the island and explored the different parts. They had sandal making shops everywhere and people would get custom made sandals to their feet. The Amalfi coast is known for their lemoncello and there are literally lemon trees everywhere. After a little shopping Tiff and I got in a taxi and asked him to take us to the best beach. We had already seen the one our tour guide said was good but we wanted to see if there were any better ones. He took us to a different side of the island and we could see a bunch of yachts in the water from where he dropped us off. The view was absolutely amazing. We laid on the beach for a few hours and realized that Capri is the vacation spot for millionaires because they have yachts. The actual beaches in Capri are really small and don't fit a lot of people. We found it really amusing to watch the Italians come to the beach. They would come in full winter coats and boots and walk in the sand like it wasn't 80 degrees out. Another big difference we noticed was the southern hospitality. Everyone was genuinely nice and happy to have you there. There are no snobby vibes like you can get in Florence. We met back at the ferry later on to take it back to our hostel in Sorrento. We were so exhausted when we got back from all the boat rides and staying in the sun all day. We went to an early dinner and ended up crashing before 9.

On Saturday we took a bus from Sorrento to Positano, another beach town on the coast. Once there we walked straight down a cliff for about a mile to get to the beach. We saw Americans arriving on vacation as they lugged their bags with them all the way down the paths to the beach and hotels. Once on the black sand beaches we sprawled out and laid in the sun. We laid out and shopped in the town for most of the day until we took the ferry back to Sorrento later that night.

On Sunday morning we woke up and took a bus to mount Vesuvius. I was actually really excited to see Pompeii and Vesuvius after hearing my latin teachers obsess about it in school. We of course forgot to bring sneakers so we had to climb Vesuvius in flip flops. Once at the top we got to see the massive crater which was still smoking in certain parts. We walked back down the volcano almost falling about 15 different times. We then took a bus from Vesuvius to Pompeii which was about 5 miles away. Pompeii was absolutely massive. We both weren't expecting something that big. It was also amazing how the archaeologists could excavate something so huge and that old. It was an actual city and we got lost in it a few times. It was cool to see the bodies that were frozen in volcanic ash and still perfectly preserved. There were tons of different houses, bath houses, central areas and even a brothel. We got to see the preserved art work and pottery throughout the city as well. Its crazy that they have excavated the entire city, yet there is still 40% of the Roman Forum that has yet to be excavated in Rome. Once we were done touring Pompeii we were ready to go back to Sorrento because there really isn't anything else there. Our tour guides kept telling us that the hostel had been planning a huge Easter party for weeks and that half of Sorrento would be there. We went to a nice cheap dinner and decided to take a nap after word. We woke up at midnight to a blaring bass and all of Sorrento in the lobby and the different terraces. We went down stairs and ended up having a lot of fun, but it was a very different easter than usual.

On monday we drove to Napels before heading home to Florence. We were supposed to try the pizza because Naples is the birth place of pizza. Since Sorrento is so close to Naples we had already tried the pizza. People had told us that Naples is absolutely disgusting and they were right! There was trash everywhere and it was really dreary looking. They said its so crappy because the city is torn between government officials and organized crime. We only stopped for lunch and to walk around a little and then we were on our way back to Florence.

Were only home for 3 nights this week and then were off to the French Rivera on Thursday!

Capri

The green grotto

Entrance to the Blue Grotto

Taking the row boat into the blue grotto

the blue grotto

again

only one yacht

on Capri

Leaving Capri

Positano

beach in Positano

Walking around Positano

Hiking up mt. Vesuvius

dying hiking

The crater

In front of the crater

walking through Pompeii

Standing in Pompeii with Mt Vesuvius behind us

one of the frozen bodies (covering their mouth from smoke inhalation)

in someone's kitchen

the massive lemons

Mt Vesuvius from the bus

This past weekend we took our last trip to a city and went to Amsterdam. A lot of people we know studying in Florence don’t get to go because the flights are so expensive and because there aren’t any bus trips offered. We were very excited to go from what people said about the city.

We left Friday morning and connected through Rome. We didn’t get to Amsterdam until around 6:00 pm. We got a hotel again for this trip, and it ended up being a lot fancier than expected. Tiff always says we are so confused as to who we are because sometimes were in a hotel that treats us like royalty and other times were in hostels with mold everywhere and Europe’s weirdest people.

On the flight over we sat between an older Dutch man who gave us some tips on Amsterdam. “Tips” basically means where and what to eat. He said they were famous for their sauerkraut and Chinese food. Always a good combination.

After hearing so much about Amsterdam at home and in Italy, we had crazy expectations for the city. We were wondering if instead of leaving chocolates on your pillow they leave a complimentary joint, or if people would be running around screaming on some sort of drug. They were much more strict about drugs than expected. People we talked to said that alcohol still causes more problems in Amsterdam than Marijuana. It was such a unique experience to visit such a relaxed city. On our first day there we were waiting in line at a McDonald’s and a man came up in the line next to us and said to the cashier “I would like a BigMac”. We weren’t paying attention to him but we saw the cashiers freak out laughing. We looked over and the man was completely naked and still saying “I would like a BigMac”. It was hilarious but absolutely disgusting at the same time.

On Saturday we woke up early to go see the Anne Frank house. This was very disappointing from the outside because it was totally redone and very modern looking. We continued walking around Amsterdam and got to see a much prettier side of the city than we saw on Friday. The canals and buildings give a very cute story book feel to the city. I have never seen so many bikes in my life, literally everyone rides one.

We still had yet to see the red light district, and since reading Dutch street names is one of the hardest things ever we had trouble finding it. We realized we were there when Tiff said “oh my god there’s like a 400 pound black woman standing in that window!” This was the most shocking part of Amsterdam by far. The girls stood in the windows trying to lure men in any way possible. Tiff and I wondered what the equivalent job to a prostitute in the red light district is in America since it is legal. Probably a neurologist or something like that.

For the rest of the trip we enjoyed the good weather, good shopping, and good food. We ended up having so much fun because it was much more laid back than the rest of our trips.

We flew out of Amsterdam on Sunday and had a connecting flight through Rome. When we landed we had 10 minutes to get to our flight. Tiffany and I always make fun of the douche bags sprinting through the airport, and this time we were them. By the time we got to our gate the shuttle to the plane had already left and they wouldn’t come back for us. There were another 10 people that were supposed to be on that flight that missed it as well. Since they were Italian, they didn’t sprint to the gate so we were the only ones sweating profusely in the Alitalia Customer Service line. They said that they were going to give us a hotel and dinner and we would fly to Florence at 9 am the next day. Everyone was freaking out saying they had work, school, or something to do. Tiff and I were both laughing because we have no Monday commitments and were more excited about getting 2 free meals than we were upset about missing our plane. It turned out to be a much bigger ordeal than expected and our hotel wasn’t as 5 star as we imagined. We still couldn’t complain though because we didn’t lose a dime and didn’t miss class.

Now that all of our city trips our done, were starting our beach vacations! Were spending our long Easter weekend in Capri, Postitano, and Pompeii. Almalfi Coast here we come!