Being on a bus by 6 am is never an easy thing to do. I packed the night before to make sure I had everything with me. I walked slowly down to the cafe to grab my sack breakfast/lunch. Not even the birds were out singing as I made my way down the hill to where the bus stop was. I took an extra shirt from my backpack before I put it in the luggage compartment then hoped on the bus. I went to the very back seat stretched out and crashed. At one point I found myself on the floor, but it didn't matter because I was not ready to wake up yet. When I finally did wake up it was about mid-day and the bus was so hot! It didn't help that I was wrapped up in my cashmere sweater. After suffering for a time someone finally went up to the driver and asked for the air to come on. Instant relief! after that i fell asleep again, I mean there's not much else you can do on a bus for 6 hours. Our first stop was the ruins of Pompeii.We walked around the city for a little while. We didn't have a guide so I followed one that spoke English for a bit. Their group was small so I tried not to make it too obvious that I was listening in. I learned that the people use to eat laying down and that they had fast food restaurants. There was even one place that you could order food in the front room and then lay down and eat it in the next room.
It was a pretty interesting place and I'm sure there was more to see than what I did in the limited time we were there. I was a little mischievous while I was there though and did get to see a few extra things because I had jumped over some of the low fences to explore. I wish I could've learned a few more things about it before I went, but I can always look it up later. We found some of their tombs and a bath house. One of the coolest things to see were the people preserved in their last state. I only saw two, but they were both so different. One was on it's stomach with a look of agony while the other was in a fetal position with what seemed to be a smile. It's all very tragic and amazing at the same time.
After Pompeii we got back on the bus and headed to our hotel. The road to get there was very winding and small. I felt that our bus could go over the side of the cliff at any moment. Thankfully we had an awesome driver and our lives were spared. We stopped once at a scenic spot to get a group picture.
We made it to the bus stop a little before dinner time. Thankfully the walk wasn't very far. (You have to walk everywhere in Italy) I felt bad for people that had brought rolling suitcases or dufflebags that seemed like a pain to deal with. The place we were staying is called the Villaggio Verde. It's located in Sorrento which isn't too far from the coast. Our quarters there were so cute. There were four beds to each cabin and there was a little sink and oven inside. This is what the main lobby and our cabin looked like.
After I unpacked I went will a small group to explore the city. We went into a couple of shops and found some pretty nice stuff for a decent price (finally). After awhile we bumped into a bigger group of ours and went with them to the lemonry to taste test the lemoncello. I had gelato in my hand and didn't wan't to mix the sweet taste of coffee and lemon just yet so I held off for a bit. Then we headed back to our cabins for the night. The only place we could get wifi was at the main lobby so a lot of us hung out there for a bit. In a way it kind of brings people together. I meet an old English couple that gave some of us traveling tips and I also meet a cool bunch of Canadians that were there for vacation.
Giorno Due-
Today our group sets off for the island of Capri! Our small group makes their way down the hill on what seems to be a beautiful day. With only a few complaints from Steven.
As we walk down to where the fairy will pick us up it starts to pour down buckets of rain. While we waited to get our tickets for the fairy some of us took shelter under a tree or with the vendors who had big umbrellas covering their stand. Almost no one brought an umbrella and the rain was slightly chilly. Once we had our tickets we ran down the wet stone steps towards our designated dock. Thankfully It had a huge tent top to give us a few moments of shelter. We made the most of it. For the worst part of the storm we were already under the shelter.
We were pretty soaked though. When our fairy came we had to run to the end of the dock and hop on. At this point I just gave up trying to be dry. The rain poured down and drenched us, but the worst part is when I'd get too close to someones umbrella and rain would slide down my back. Once we got to the fairy I picked a seat and curled up. I couldn't see anything outside because the rain was plastered to the windows. I wasn't even sure we were moving. About halfway or more to the island the sun decided to come out. A loud cheer came from everyone on the boat. On the island it still looked a bit dismal and the clouds seemed a bit formidable, but the sun did finally come out.
At this point our group separated. All but four of us hoped onto a boat to tour the island. I wasn't very interested in spending the money so I stayed behind. The pictures from the others were beautiful, but I'm glad I stayed and had my own little adventure. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom and try to readjust my clothes. I put my bathing suit on because it was the only dry thing i had and I took my long sleeves off. I walked with my shirt hung over my arm so it would hopefully dry. The small group which consisted of Sopia, Masaru, Heather, and myself made our way through the small town. Eventually we found ourselves on the other side of the island. We were looking for some cheaper places to eat as we made our way along the path. Soon we came upon a grape vineyard. Because I am an adventurous spirit and somewhat mischievous I reached far over the stone wall and grabbed a bunch of red grapes. Upon seeing this others in my group were inspired as well.
Unfortunately some eyeglasses were dropped in the dirt after this. A little rescue mission was held and I think we almost got caught so we walked away as quickly as possible.The grapes held us over for a little while longer as we continued to make our way further down the path. At the very end of the path we came across what I thought was a church. Eventually I went inside and discovered it was an old villa that a Swedish man and his young boy lover had once lived in. It was pretty interesting. The decorations on the wall were made with real gold pieces (or so we were told).
(sorry they're sideways. I haven't discovered how to fix that yet)
It started to rain on us again, but this was our shelter for the time being. There were photos placed all throughout the house of the Swedish man and the young lover. By the time we left we were all pretty hungry so we stopped at this little cafe in the wall. They had the best bruschetta I've ever tasted. I am ashamed to say I even took a picture of it and posted it on a social media site. The walk back to the center of town took a lot less time for some reason. Probably because it was mostly downhill. Eventually we came back to the beach. There was no sand just stones. Listening to the waves wash up upon the pebbles and slowly drag them back into the sea's embrace was almost magical. There was a certain peace and contentment being there. I watched as three young boys gathered up the courage to run into the slightly chilly waters. They would splash one another and laugh. It was very picturesque. I decided that it was too beautiful to not take the opportunity of jumping in. I changed underneath a small overhang bridge. I was only slightly protected from the eyes of others, but it didn't matter. I was in Italy! How could I not be adventurous? I used my long sleeve shirt as a skirt for a second so I would be somewhat decent. I stood for a second in front of this vast sea soaking in the moment. I could see Mt. Vesuvius on the other side and the city of Napoli that lay at her feet. I gathered my courage and took the first into the water. The sudden chill gave me goosebumps all over. Once I was deep enough I just dove in. Heather followed me in. We swam out to where the water was about 20ft deep. You could see all the way to the bottom the water was so clear and blue. We swam in the water for about an hour. By the time we were done swimming everyone else wanted to join us. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day. Capri is one place I would love to visit again. After I got dressed again I grabbed a cup of hot coco and a little lemoncello before heading to a boarding dock. Once on the boat I stayed out side the entire time watching Capri grow smaller in the distance. To me it was like a neverland and I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I couldn't stay either.
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