If you've been following my blog at all you know that I have definitely been busy, mostly with travel, so I am not complaining. This past weekend I got to go somewhere truly spectacular. With one of my Florence housemates, Brianna, and one of my SNC housemates, Caimyn, I got to go to the Almafi Coast! To clarify a little more, we didn't actually go to the city of Almafi, but instead spent time in Positano, Capri, Pomeii, and stayed in Sorrento.
We left Florence in the evening on Thursday, March 31, to drive through the evening and early morning to the coast. We got in at about 2:30am so it was a long day of travel, but we got to bed when we checked in to our hostel and had a great day ahead of us. Friday was our beach day. We left Sorrento for a little city called Positano, and basically had the day there to do what we wanted, with one of the main attractions being the black sand beach.
(Positano, Italia)
We did a little exploring and shopping as we waited for the sun to warm up the beach more, and I was completely enchanted by the adorable town.
When it had eventually warmed up more we changed into our swim suits and, after sticking our feet in the water, took a nap on the beach. The sun was lovely and so refreshing after dealing with plenty of March rain in Florence. I ended up going "swimming," which was more like me standing in the water getting swallowed by the chilly waves.
The weather was pretty good for us while we were there, which was great. We did have some cloudy skies for a while but somehow we still left sun-kissed. The water on the other hand wasn't quite as forgiving as the clouds were. Being from Wisconsin, and having swam in Nagawicka Lake at home in October and November, I just had to jump in. The roughest part of that was how cold my feet were, and how they were taking a beating from the stones in the undercurrent. Though it was a short lived experience before I walked with sandy feet back to our towels, it was fun and I am glad I braved it. I will hopefully be doing the same this weekend in Split, Croatia!
Our second day we took a ferry over to the island of Capri. Upon our arrival we moved over to smaller, private boats where we got a tour of the entire island. I think this may have been my favorite part of the weekend, but it's hard to choose. They played music for us and got us right up into multiple grottoes, close enough to touch the cliff walls in some circumstances.
We got to go under the Faraglioni, which are the "Love Rocks" featured in Dolce & Gabbana's ads. I guess the best way to put it is that when passing through them you are supposed to kiss the person next to you to avoid a struggling love life, so Caimyn and I decided we had to take the opportunity and each got a kiss on the cheek.
(Marina Grande, Capri)
(Faraglioni, the two arches to the left)
We were apparently some very lucky ones, as our guides spotted goats on the cliffs during our boat tour! Goats are what Capri was named after, and though they obviously live all over the island, people don't often see them because they are doing what goats do... Climbing way up high in remote places avoiding human contact.
At the end of our boat tour we had the option to pay to get into the Blue Grotto, an open cavern through this little itty bitty opening in the coast's wall. Four of us piled into a little rowboat and ducked down as our guide pulled us under the rocks with a chain. When we got all the way through we were in awe of how truly blue the water glowed. It's not quite right in the picture below, as things like this can be impossible to capture entirely, but it was an incredibly beautiful turquoise color.
(Blue Grotto)
When we got back to port, we took the twenty minute hike up to Capri Town, where we stopped to get a Granita, which is a lovely little slushy drink often made with fresh lemon or orange juice, two things the region is known for.
When we had all arrived there, we got busses up to Anacapri where many of the restaurants and tourist places exist on the island. Soon after we got up there, Caimyn and I took the chairlift up to the highest point of the island, Monte Solaro. I had a couple of minor freak out moments on the lift, as it was very tall, but it was gorgeous and such a good decision.
The views at the top of the island were absolutely incredible. It was impossible to capture them with a camera, even though Caimyn and I took two loops around the area to at least try. My favorite part was the birds. It's difficult to see in the picture below, but throughout certain sections of the island, the sea gulls just drift along in happy loops, all over the place, and it is stunningly beautiful. I took a video of it that I have a feeling I will be watching often.
(The massive tourist lemons are too much to resist a picture)
We had lunch in Anacapri after taking the chairlift back down, and continued to do some shopping. I got myself a thimble and Caimyn got some custom-made sandals, and the three of us continued to soak up lots of sun before taking this beautiful but somewhat strenuous trek back down the the marina.
That night we had dinner close by the hostel at this cute local place, were we all had delicious meals that were cheap, making it even better.
The next morning we checked out of our hostel and drove to Pomeii for the day! We had a guided tour of the ruins, which were incredibly crowed because the public could get in for free. It also became intensely hot, which was fine, but got tiring after a while.
We got to see lots of interesting things, including the castes of a young child, an adult, and a dog who perished in the end of the city in 79AD. They were fascinating to see, but I was hoping and expecting to see more of them. The city was also much bigger than I had expected, and I learned that a third of it still has yet to be unburied after the eruption. It makes me happy knowing that people of past generations thought about it enough to leave a large chunk of the ruins under the ashes and rubble of the volcano in order to preserve it for future generations.
(Caste of the dog in the glass case to the left, and that of the adult through the shelves on the right)
Pompeii was the end of our weekend on the Almafi coast, and we left from there to head back to Florence. As time has been moving so quickly, I am actually ready to leave on my next trip for this weekend, Split Croatia. This will be the second country outside of Italy that I will have visited throughout my semester (the first being San Marino). I am very excited, and you will hear about this little adventure when I get home!