This week, Natalie, Danielle, and I headed off on another adventure to southern Italy. We began our weekend in Napoli, origin of pizza. It was a cloudy and rainy day, but that didn't stop us. Armed
with Rick Steves, we set off to love the city that most people do not enjoy. We made our first stop at Pizzeria Trianon, where I had a Caprese pizza. Though not the best pizza I've had, it was really good. We continued on towards the harbor. Along the way, we stopped in Piazza Bellini. After posing with statues of medieval kings, we continued on towards the end of the street. At the end of the street, their was a great viewpoint of Mt. Vesuvius. As it began to rain again, we quickly made our way back to the train station.
We finally found the Circumvesuviana, which connects Naples to Sorrento, in the train station. We bought our tickets, found the right platform, and twenty minutes we were on our way towards Sorrento. After a fifty-five minute ride, we were officially in the Amalfi Coast. With only two hours in Sorrento, we quickly made our way to the town center. The town itself was adorable. Built high on the cliffs, it offers a beautiful view of the water. We wandered down a narrow street and came upon a string of shops. We did a little bit of souvenir shopping and Natalie bought her first pair of boots. We made it back to the bus station just in time, and with the help of some local Italians, found the right bus to head to our hostel/campsite. It was a very curvy, hour-long bus ride, but we made it to the right bus stop. The Italians have been very helpful with helping us find the right bus stop and talking to the bus drivers so that we are able to get off in the right location.
We stepped off the bus and arrived at the campsite. We stayed in a cute two bedroom bungalow. Starving, we headed up to the restaurant for a late dinner. I was very excited because the region is known for their lemons, and lemon risotto is one of my favorite dishes to make at home. Looking over the menu, I found their lemon risotto dish; it was absolutely delicious. We headed to bed to arise for an early morning departure to the island of Capri.
At 9:00 AM we set off for Capri. It was a fun boat ride with breathtaking views. Other than Cinque Terre, I have never seen anything so beautiful. The cliff edges and the different blue hues of the water combine to create a picturesque paradise. We arrived at the island and continued on a tour around it to view the different grottoes. Unfortunately, the water was too choppy to enter the famed Blue Grotto. We arrived on the island, and unaware of the buses, began our trek up the side of the island. It was definitely worth it, though, as we were able to take in the view and observe the different style of homes. When we finally reached the top, we caught the bus to Anacapri. Although it does not have a view of the ocean, the town itself is very cute. We went shopping and found a beautiful ceramic store. The owner creates all of the ceramic pieces, and they are all hand-painted. We decided to have lunch there before moving onto the main town of Capri.
The view from Capri was astounding. Hundreds of feet above the sea level, we could still see into the water. We wound our way through the town, which is very much like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It is lined with every designer store imaginable. After enjoying the sights, we hiked our way back down to the Marina Piccola where we were meeting the boat to return. We had two hours to spare and decided to go for a swim. The water was very cold, but refreshing after a long day. Afterwards, we laid on the rocky beach and fell asleep under the sun. On our way back, we finished our tour of the island. On the boat, we met several students from Iowa State University that are studying in Rome for a semester.
After returning to our bungalow, we headed out to the pizzeria recommended by local fishermen. The pizza was delicious, and we ate in steps that led down to the ocean. We had some down time, and decided to head down to the beach. We met a fisherman we had talked to earlier, and wanted to go fishing with him and his mate. But they were going to be gone for more than three hours. We talked to them for a little bit, then headed down the beach to relax and watch the harbor. It was a very relaxing evening. When we headed back to the hostel, we met up with the students from Iowa State. After a fun night of conversation and cards, we headed to bed to prepare for the next day.
We were happy to be able to sleep in for a little bit. We left around 10:30 and headed for the Amalfi Coast. Little did I know, we were headed for the most beautiful but sickening drive I have ever been on. The coastline is absolutely amazing, but the road is extremely long and curvy. Being prone to motion sickness, it did not bode well with me. We arrived in Positano and ate lunch. An hour later, we were on a bus headed to Amalfi. Unfortunately, we had to catch a train in just a few hours and had to hop right back onto the bus once we arrived in Amalfi.
We really enjoyed our time in this area of Italy. It is a beautiful region rich with history and breathtaking views.
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