Amalfi Coast

Our trip to Italy’s infamous Amalfi Coast was every bit as glamorous and stunning as I could have hoped. There is a good reason the stretch of beaches and islands are famous worldwide; Hannah, Ashtyn, Hayley and I got to experience this first hand! On Friday morning we took a train from Firenze to Napoli. As soon as we got to the Santa Maria Novella station, I realized I had forgotten my camera and didn’t have time to go back for it. I was pretty bummed out but my little iPhone camera did a great job for me that weekend! From Napoli we connected via regional train to Coast! We sat with a really sweet guy who was a local electrician. People were playing random instruments and walking through the cars trying to collect money. After about 5 minutes of accordian and tambourine music, a conductor would come kick the musicians off the train. A few stops down the track a new bunch would get on and the process repeats itself. We stayed in a little village called Piano di Sorrento that connects to Sorrento. It was a charming, small little area! We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast. Bunches of grapes grew on a terrace and fruit trees lined the entire perimeter of the property.  
After a lunch of traditional southern Italian pizza, the girls and I went into Sorrento and explored! We wound up and down the streets and took in the gorgeous views. We eventually found a staircase built  into the side of a hill that lead to the beach! We played in the waves a bit and napped in the sun. It was a lovely afternoon. En route to dinner, we stumbled upon a gorgeous canyon-type thing that seemed to pop up in the middle of the city. You look a few hundred feet down and there is a green wonderland. An ancient castle and its grounds backing up into a long crevice seemed to come from nowhere. Everything was so lush and green! It reminded me of the island in Jurrassic Park. The area is called the mills and cannot be accessed by the public anymore. We ate dinner in a caffe and headed back to the bed and breakfast.

The next morning we had an AMAZING breakfast at the B&B before heading back into Sorrento to catch the ferry to the island of Capri. Once in Capri we decided to grab a quick pizza lunch and then took a boat tour all the way around the island! We saw THREE grottos (blue, green and white) and the famous arch! The hues of the water were so spectacular. It was a range of the most vibrant blues and aquas I have ever seen. The entire island was incredible and glitzy.  After the boat tour we found a beach and climbed on the rocks by the water! The waves were splashing us as we laid in the sun. The other girls hopped in for a swim but I stayed up on the rocks and took pictures because I couldn’t get my fresh stitches wet. I bought a dolphin souvenir (duh ∆∆∆) on the way out. Waiting to board the ferry we rand into these two guys that we had seen at least five separate times in random places in Sorrento and Capri. We all laughed at the sight of them yet AGAIN and they finally came and said hi. Their names are Dan and Steve from Oregon. I bonded with guys over a love of cats and we shared all of our kitty pictures. We all ate dinner together and discussed travels, veganism, conspiracy theories and the Italian language. The six of us ate dinner at a little caffe and watched the sun set.

We had our delicious breakfast the next morning and departed for Pompeii, which is on the way back to Naploi! We walked around and just explored the old, abandoned city for hours. It was incredible! The textbooks I studied about Pompeii in never did justice to the incredible town. The preservation of the buildings is unbelievable. Frescos on walls, tile mosaics and staircases stand perfectly intact after the excavation of the city. We ate our picnic lunch in an old courtyard and enjoyed the summer breeze. After a bit of a detour (we got lost and walked all the way around the edge of the city) we caught our trains back to Napoli and finally Firenze. It was a wonderful summery trip to one of the most stunning landscapes I have ever seen!