Day 16 - July 15

 Friday!! After arriving in Sorrento at about 3:30am and getting about 2 hours of sleep it was time to explore the beautiful island of Capri! We took a short bus ride then had to walk about a mile to get to the ferry. And for those of you that know that I get carsick...well bus sick is even worse. The ferry ride was awful and there were probably about 10 people that were throwing up all around me. I didn't get sick but I didn't feel good the rest of the day either. We eventually get off the ferry and walk just to get on another boat. Great. No, but this time we were sitting outside and it was a smaller boat so it was much better. We took a tour around the island. OH MY GOD.

I have never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. The island was so cute and built right along side the mountains and the roads were all on the very edge of all the curves that went with the landscape. We saw romantic caves, and an archway where you are supposed to kiss someone when going through it, and crystal clear blue ocean for miles, and small statues sitting throughout the rocks that have been there for years, and Georgio Armani's house built into the side of the mountain, and the Blue Grotto which is one of the 7 most beautiful natural wonders of the world. So obviously I was overwhelmed with everything and loved it all! Unfotunately the tide was so high and crazy that we weren't able to actually go inside the Blue Grotto, so I just looked from the outside. Once the tour was over we headed onto the actual island of Capri. Then...we walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. I can't even tell you how many stairs and steps I took to get everywhere this weekend, but I am positive that I burned off every calorie that I ate in the entire weekend just in the first day alone. Anyway...we set off to explore the lemonchella tasting, which is a lemon/vodka smoothie type thing that they are very famous for. Gross. I was very unprepared for a shot of vodka when I tried it, so it was not my favorite. Then we also got to see a man making handmade shoes in the street where a lot of girls bought some, but I did not because they were not only kind of expensive, but they were pretty flat and if I was going to pay that much I want something a little more comfortable. We had some lunch where I got my first thing of gnocchi also! Delicious...of course. The next stop was Ana Capri where we could take a chairlift to the very, very top of the mountain to see the most amazing view you could ever dream of.

Words are impossible to describe how awesome it was to see the ocean and sailboats and everything. Everyone needs to go there, and everyone needs to see this place for themselves. It is the only way to really understand the true beauty of the place. Even my nice camera with great photos don't do the place justice. The view literally took my breath away multiple times. Especially while going up and down a single person chairlift along side the mountain, dangling over nothing but the city and a bunch of rocks :) I survived though!! When it was time to go, I was exhausted seeing that I had no time to sleep,  but the day was far from over. We headed back to the hotel we first were in, but had to switch over to the hostel so we could be rooming with our group. THANK GOD FOR THAT HOSTEL!! It was so much nicer than any of the hotels I have stayed in so far while being in Italy. It was one of the nicest hostels in all of Europe so I guess you can say I have been spoiled now. It was called Seven Hostel, there was a restaurant, lounge, and rooftop bar where you could have happy hour while watching the sunset. So awesome. As a group, there were about 80 people that booked this trip through the same program called Bus2Alps, we went to dinner. I thought I ordered pasta with Italian sausage and broccoli. I didn't. I got baby broccoli, which is so not the same thing, grounded up sausage that looked white in color, and little circular noodles. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was good all the same. We also had a little wine...ok we had a more than a little. But I mean what else are you supposed to do when in Italy? Eat...drink wine...and enjoy!! Afterwards we went to this pub with the entire group which was in the middle of the downtown area. It looked a lot like some cities at home but it was much friendlier than downtown St. Louis and people everywhere. Only thing was that it was 45 minutes away from our Hostel...walking. So we left early to leave with the guides to go back. At night, however, the place is not as friendly. That is why we walked with our tour guides or people took taxis. Italian men just are not very trustworthy and pretty much are sleeze balls. So it is nice to have people that speak Italian with us to steer them away too. Finally after a long, exhausting day I get to lay down in my top bunk bed with 10 other girls and get some sleep. Air conditioning and quiet rooms...best sleep I have had since I have been to Italy. Hands down.