The Best Trip Yet!!!

view from hillside - Sorrento
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This was the BEST trip yet!! I ABSOLUTELY loved every minute of it!! The Almalfi Coast is NOW the most beautiful place I have ever been :) (I definitely thought it was Cinque Terre after last weekend)...

We started out with a long bus ride from Florence to Sorrento...it was DEFINITELY worth it after getting to Sorrento!! I spent the afternoon exploring Sorrento and all the adorable little side streets and shops! I had the BEST gelatto of the trip...a chocolatte mouse that was so delicious! Kayla and I ate at a restaurant overlooking the ocean, quite the view!! A bunch of us tried to go to a lemon grove where the lemons come from that they use to make their world-famous lemon chello - unfortunately it had just closed for the evening :( oh well, an excuse to go back!! We pretty much just spent the afternoon exploring the town with different people and then everyone headed back up to the campground, where we stayed in mini cabins to hang out for the night.

the marina...sorrento
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The next morning we set off on a boat for Capri. This was such a beautiful island!!! Marina Grande, where we arrived was a great marina with lots of boats and yahts moored out in the harbor. We took a cab to Anna Capri (pronounced CAAA-PRI, I didn't know that before going there, I always thought there was more of an emphasis on the I at the end)..anyways, this was a great little town, the biggest one on the island, it had all sorts of little shops and restaurants...I founda great right with 3 different color stones that I will alwasy treasure.

church in sorrento
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From town Kayla and I saw a sign for the "grotto azzur" and decided to walk down to it, it was a much longer walk than we had anticipated, but luckily all down hill, winding more and more towards the ocean and past beautiful homes, i really enjoyed it!! we arrived at the blue grotto only to find that no boats were running because the tide was in and the water was too rough...tough luck, you would think...not so... everyone decided that since the grotto was closed to boats it made the perfect opportunity to just be able to swim into it... the only danger is the sharp rocks surrounding the entrance to the grotto because they can cut you pretty badly. there is a chain line sticking out that the boats use to guide themselves in and if you hold onto that and keep your feet up high then you are sure not to cut yourself, that is exactly what i did., once you get through the cave opening it is wide open and calm...swimming in the blue grotto was the coolest thing i have ever done!!!the water is unbelievable in there and you are in this cave with no one else around...i think we were really lucky to be there when it was closed, and this time of year because i hear that in the summer it is very crowded with all the boats in there, and quite expensive to pay for a guide to take you in...we were VERY LUCKY....

sunset in sorrento
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even more impressive than surviving swimming through the rocky cave opening was surviving the bus ride back to Anna Capri haha, the bus drivers are CRAZY there and those roads are very narrow and curvey!

from Capri about 6 of us took a boat to Positano...Positano was also gorgeous!!! I loved this town with it's winding roads lined with shops and restaurants and markets...there aren't any cars because the roads are mostly pedestrian so it was so peaceful and beautiful...especially the beach and the view!! the cathedral there is also one of the prettiest churches i have ever seen! it has a view of the tyrranheian for one, and has a beautiful chandelier hanging throughout as well as impressive artwork. i think this is going to be my favorite church in all of italy!

Marina Grande, Capri
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we spent a wonderful afternoon in Positano exploring the town and then just haning out on the beach watching the sunset over the hill.

we caught a bus back to sorrento -- this was both the most beautiful and most sickening bus ride i have ever taken! sickening only because of the windey narrow roads, around and around the almalfi coast, but there was a full moon and all the towns were lit beautiful agains the moonlit ocean....i got some great pictures from sunrise to sundown

my mom has always instilled in me an appreciation for history so seeing Pompeii was quite the experience. i did not realize how large of an area it encompassed - 160 acres i believe. i was also very surprised by how well preserved many of the structres are..especially the homes that still show paintings on their walls. we had a 2 hour guided tour around the city, mostly just the southwestern side...our guide told us that it takes 7 hours to tour the whole of Pompeii. being here this time of the year has been nice because the tourists are starting to die down and it has afforded me a really nice opportunity to see a lot not surrounded by too big of crowds.

Kayla and I after swimming in the Grotto Azzurra
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after pompeii we took the train back to florence--- this was really the most stunning train ride i have ever taken through tuscan countryside. it was really a breataking view of the countryside and a beautiful day, the hills were shinning and the sunset over the hills only added to the romance and beauty of it!!

when i arrived back in florence on sunday night and started down via nazionale from santa maria novella i felt a sense of being happy to be home and looking forward to a nice warm shower, and a comfortable bed...it is really nice for me to be able to call florence home as well as to feel so at home here!!!

Me amnd the Almalfi Coast
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this next weekend i will be staying in florence and maybe taking a day trip to Ravenna or even Venice. The chocolate festival in Perugia is going on now, which I hear is something not to be missed so I may do that as well, more to come. Also next week I am going to go to Pisa to see the leaning tower again one day after class...how cool is it that I can hop on the train and go to the Leaning Tower after class :) LOVING LIFE!!! warmest wishes to everyone!!!