So after we went around the island and Cassandra pointed out all the famous people's villas and palaces (yes, the Gerber family has a palazzo on Capri...I know it's redic), we ventured over to Marina Picola for lunch and lying on the beach. Swam in crystal clear water and got all salty. Seriously, I could have licked the salt off of me. Accidentally did when I put my finger in my mouth. Haha. Such a relaxing day. Got back to the marina and took the ferry back to Sorrento for the night. Had dinner at the Hotel Cavour (where we were staying...such a cute little hotel and the staff there was so nice and so patient with all 71 of us crazy American tourists/students...we were trouble!) and then headed down to the English Inn in downtown Sorrento. I know English Inn?? Buuut Cassandra's been there a million times and they love her there. I love that place. It's my favorite out of all the places I've been as far as pubs. Mainly because it's a pub downstairs and then an outdoor club upstairs. So if you want to dance and have some fun go upstairs. But if you need a break just head back down the stairs and people watch on the street. People watching in Italy is so so entertaining. Mainly because of the variety of people and states of dress. Seriously, sometimes we wonder if some of these people have a mirror in their house. Or they just don't like looking in it because they know how ridiculous they'll look.
So the next morning, we got on the bus again and headed about a half hour away to Positano. Such a relaxing day. Literally layed on the beach all day and had the most delicious lunch with complimentary wine because I ate with Cassandra and Jenn (the two tour guides) and again, they go quite often and always eat at the same place. So nice to know people =). The weather was alternately sunny and hot and overcast and warm, so it was a good day. Went back to the hotel, had dinner and went back to the English Inn. Unfortunately, I got another case of Bronchitis this weekend (found out yesterday and don't worry I am on meds already. thank god) So I really wasn't feeling well. Walked home with Jenn, Cassandra and Brendan. And thank goodness. One of the coolest lightning storms was happening across the bay over Vesuvius and it just lit up the entire sky. Absolutely gorgeous. I loved it. I love thunder and lightning (I'm a little strange what can I say) and then right when we got back to the hotel, it started pouring. Like torrential down pour. LOVED it. haha.
Oh another little note about Sorrento. To get down to the beach from where our bus dropped us off, we had to walk down 801 steps. Yes 801. Thank god we ponied up a little money and got a bus back to the top at the end of the day. That was ridiculous. My legs were jello by the time we got to the bottom. And that's why Italians are so damn thin over here. They have to walk up and down mountains just to do their daily business. Absolutely ridiculous. But the beach felt oh so wonderful after. And even though the water wasn't nearly as clear as on Capri, it was still fantastic. I love the Mediterranean Sea. I could seriously live by it the rest of of my life.
So after enduring the lightning and thunder storm Saturday night, Sunday morning found us bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for Pompei. Took us about an hour and a half to get there and we immediately went into the ruins for a tour. Well Mother Nature must have been having some personal issues because she made it POUR on us the first 5 minutes which were of course uncovered. And most of us were in shorts and tank tops with no umbrellas to speak of. Oh well it felt nice and the sun came back shortly after. Now, I was in Pompei last when I was 9 years old. All I remember are the plaster casts of the people, dogs roaming everywhere and how damn hot it was. The cool weather was not unappreciated by me. I loved it. And now that I am older and was armed with a camera I will remember even more. It's just so crazy to think of how old that place is. The tour guide was spouting off years that were BC, acting like they were just in the late '80s. Nuts. And to think that these buildings, although completely ruined and still not completely excavated, are original just blows my mind. So so much history in this gorgeous country. I find European history so much more fascinating than American history at times, mainly cuz there is sooo much more to learn about.
The tour of Pompei took around an hour and a half then we had about an hour before heading off to wherever we were going next (more on that in a second). Jenn suggested Hotel Suiss to us and thank goodness. I LOVE pizza here. And since we were down there, people were talking to us asking how we liked southern Italy. I mentioned that had family down in San Giusseppe and omgoodness the guy that was helping us got SO excited, that he dragged 3 pour male waiters over to introduce to me during our lunch because they're from there. They were so confused and I couldn't really explain because A) i was stuffing my face with delicious pizza and B) i didn't know quite exactly how to explain haha. But sheesh they were cute. I like Southern Italian men.
So after lunch the original plan was for us to take the bus up to Vesuvius and hike to the crater. Unfortunately that little storm from the night before was still brewing and if we had gotten stuck in the rain up there, it would have quickly turned into a not so fun trip for all of us. So instead we jumped back on the bus and headed home about 3 hours earlier. Thank god because we got back to Florence at 10 pm as it was. By this point, I figured I had Bronchitis again ( I swear I can self diagnose by now...when I get home I'm going to a specialist and telling them to fix me...3 times in a year is a little ridiculous), and I just wanted to get home and sleep.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Met some new friends, some of which I've already run into around Florence. It's always nice to make new friends. We're all here together but when we get back to the States, it's just another friend to visit =).
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