Pompeii

 Sunday September 23rd

We departed again at ten for Pompeii- home of the ruins. It was about an hour bus ride to the center of the city. Once we got to the city we were able to buy our ticket into the town of Pompeii. I am really glad I got to see what it looked like but at the same time I wish I did more research on it because everything looked the same to me. All of the ruins blended together so I could not really tell what was what but it was still something I glad I got to see. After walking through the ruins for an hour or two we went to Pompeii Pizza and got a salami onion and cheese pizza for lunch it was really good. From there we just explored the town a little bit there was not much around but it was still fun to see what the street vendors were selling and to people watch around the city.

Positano

Saturday September 21st

On Saturday morning we departed for Positano at 10 am. I was really excited to see Positano because whenever I am on Pinterest and look at pictures of Italy, I always see the classic picture of all of the housing and buildings built up into a cliff but it was 100 times better to actually be there in person. It was BEAUTIFUL! Once we got to Positano we had to get dropped off at the top of the mountain because big buses can not find so it was about a 45 minute walk to get to the black sand beaches. It was already pretty hot so we all went swimming in the mediterranean ocean, which was really cool because the water was so clear and warm. We went to a panini place for lunch and loaded up on food before our adventure of cliff jumping and cave swimming. 
At one, we went on our boat cruise, it was the best 10 euro I have ever spent! We got to see more of the city and our first stop was cliff jumping. There were three heights you could jump from but I only did the second height twice. I was thinking about going all the way to the top one but the most nerve wracking part about it was actually climbing on the rocks, not the height of the jump. To get to the second one you lose your footing at one part and have to scale you way down to touch to get to the platform, at that point my leg was shaking pretty bad! But jumping was so much fun and it was really awesome to see the people jumping from the third distance because it was so high up. 
From there we went and stopped off at a cave and got to go cave swimming. The water was a little cooler but it was still so beautiful. It got pretty dark in there but it was really fun. The waves were crashing down on us hard but it felt like we were in a wave pool, I didn't want to get out of the water, it was so nice.  
After cliff jumping and cave swimming we went back to the black sand beaches and took a nap. We had a funny scenario happen at the beach too. First, this beach is very small and everyone had a full bathing suit on except for this boy who was completely naked! He looked a little too old to be running around the beach naked so it was funny since everyone on the entire beach was shockingly staring at this kid! We did not understand why he wouldn't put shorts on and his mom then stood up and started yelling, it was just a huge scene at the beach for this family which ended up being really funny. 
After a little nap on the black sand beaches we walked around the shops and Claire and I split this really good milkshake type drink at this bar looking over the entire ocean. And our hike back up the mountain to catch the bus was even more beautiful than walking down because the time of day was perfect and you could see the entire beach front. Positano was absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to go back some day. 

At night, many of the Bus2Alps people gathered at Seven Hostel, which was down town Sorrento--which actually this hostel was nicer than our hotel! They had a huge dancefloor/bar which was pretty dead in the beginning of the night but once people started to come it ended up getting really fun. We were able to go to the rooftop as well and sit over the entire city drinking with a bunch of new people I got to meet. Once we got back to our hotel we looked outside of our window and their were fireworks. It was such a perfect way to end the night!

Arrival in Sorrento and Day in Capri

Thursday September 19th

We left the Santa Novella Train Station for Sorrento at 7:30 pm and had a long bus ride ahead of us. It said it would only take seven hours and we would arrive at around 2:30 but that was wrong. I thought it wouldn't be too bad of a ride since I usually can fall asleep pretty easily in the car but I wasn't able to sleep at all so the bus ride for me seemed pretty long! At least they had some movies playing. We arrived in Sorrento at 4:30 am and went straight to bed because we were all pretty exhausted at that point. We had a little room with four beds and a bathroom so it was fine because we weren't spending much time in the hotel anyway. 
Our alarms woke us up bright and early at 6:30 ...two hours later. For some reason though I was not that tired, maybe because I was so excited to get the day started in Capri.
We took a half hour ferry ride over to the island of Capri, which was absolutely beautiful. From there we jumped on these charter boats and it took us completely around the entire island. It was so cool. We got to see the blue, green and white grotto, the love rocks, the big port and little port, where Georgio Armani vacations and where Beyonce was two weeks ago. From there we got to explore the Capri Town and Anacapri. There were many cute little shops but not really too much to do.
The best part of the day was when we took a chairlift up to the top of Anacapri. It was about a thirteen minute ride and we had the best view, it felt like you were on top of the world. It was cool to look down and see what we were looking up at on the boat earlier in the morning.

Movie Night!

Tonight was a total girls night lol Terese, Alex and I went to a bar near the movie theater and got appertivos. An appertivo is similar to an hors d'oevuors in American. We sat down and each got a glass of wine and then once your ready you go up to the buffet line and pick your food. They had different types of rice, chicken, salami, bread, fried dough balls(my favorite) and other little picky type foods. It was really good and filled me up! It is cool because when you pay you only pay for the drink, not the food so it's a cheap way to get some dinner and a glass of wine for not much money!

Once we were done with our apperitivos we walked right next door to the movie theater. Every Tuesday night they play American movies in English with Italian subtitles. But the theater itself was incredible--it looked like an actual theater not like Heritage movies in sandwich. We sat on big cushiony chairs and watched We're The Millers on a massive movie screen. Even halfway through the movie they give you a five minute intermission which was perfect! The movie was really funny and we ended the night with some gelato of course! My new favorite flavor is biscotti from the festival de gelato:).

San Lorenzo Market

Today I woke up nice and early to head to the San Lorenzo Market (the big market in Florence). It is open everyday until 1 pm, which is crazy to think because of all the unlimited supplies of fresh fruit, meat, pasta, and seafood they must go through everyday.  It was fun to walk through with Terese because she knew her way around and people recognized her throughout the market. It was also fun to show Kim and her boyfriend Nick around because it was their first time. It was my second time going and it was still just as overwhelming as the first. My main purchase for going to the market today was to buy dried fruit. I stopped at the first stand I saw but there were so many around I should've looked more. I purchased dried bananas, mangos, cherries, and kiwi's --it is all sooo good. Banana is my favorite. Next we went to a cheese stand and I got a decent size chunk of cheese to take back to my place so I could have cheese and crackers. Terese and Nick also got oil and cheese which looked delicious as well. As we were walking around the market we noticed a Asian television show filming. It must be for some travel or cooking show but it was funny to follow them around for a bit.

 Once we were done exploring the food portion of the market, we went outside to check out all of the purses, belts, wallets, shoes, scarves and much more. I did not buy anything big because it is so crazy and hectic but I did stop at a little key chain stand which was really cute! They are made form italian leather but it had all sorts of designs and animal shaped ones I got one in the shape of a flower and bought two more for a couple friends. I will go back again at some point to get more keychains for people because they are cute little gift to give out. From there we went to this very fancy scarf store where Terese got a scarf for Jenny and Kim was finally able to find her white high top converse shoes!

 And for lunch we went to my favorite panini place right down the road from my apartment and I got salami, proschutto, sun dired tomatoes, zuccini and fresh cheese. The best part about this place is how fresh the Ficcochia bread and all the ingredients are. Plus, the sandwiches are HUGE. I couldn't finish mine so I'm saving the second half for tomorrow. For dinner, we stopped at Bussolina Pizza. Terese and I shared a sausage and cheese pizza which was very good but I still think Gusta Pizza is the best pizza that I have had so far!

 

   

Piazza Michelanglo

After sweating and climbing up all 85 steps of Corso Tintori 19 I finally made it to my apartment.  To get some relief from the heat my three roommates and I gathered around the windows. Our jaws dropped in awe as we admired our view of the Arno. We were one bridge away from the Ponte Vecchio and across the street from something amazing. As we looked from afar across the Arno River, we noticed to our left hundreds of camera flashes.

            Since none of us did our research on Florence, we had no idea why there were massive amounts of people lined up taking photographs in the middle of a mountain. We all thought that they’re might have been a private party going on but as we checked the next day during the light, the crowd of people had not cleared.

                   With all of our curiosity wandering we decided to leave our apartment and try to find out what is at the top of this hill that people seem to flock too. As we hiked up many steps we then knew why there was always so much commotion going on. We were at the top of the Piazza Michelangelo, the most breathtaking view Florence.  My friends and I stared at the city in disbelief at how beautiful the scenery was. As it was sunset, the pink and orange skies blended with the buildings to make for a perfect painting.  As I looked around I immediately noticed three landmarks of the city. The Duomo was standing tall right in the middle, at least five times bigger than any other building. The Jewish Synagogue’s teal roof was emphasized in the Florence skyline.  The sunlight reflected off of the Arno River highlighting the Ponte Vecchico.

                After admiring the view we wandered around the Piazza and sat on a park bench to observe the crowd. As we sat there, a group of 20 girls and three boys came running from a coach bus all dressed in stiletto heels and printed black dresses. Simultaneously to our left, there were a group of Asian tourists lining up to take pictures with the view. My friends and I were intrigued because it was amazing to see how many different types of people could gather in such a small place.  Piazza Michelangelo has now become a place for us to escape the business of the city that lies below.

Fun in Florence

Thursday September 12th

The Lion's Fountain is now branded

Drinking some wine admiring the Duomo

The Duomo at night 

Once 5:30 hit it was the weekend again and I was so excited since I had so much stuff planned with the Heitzleman family. Thursday night for dinner I went over to their house and had a delicious meal filled with gnocci and wine. I brought over dessert from the local grocery store and it surprisingly was really good, I will definately have to get it more often.  After dinner, Lori, Kim, their boyfriends and I went out. We started walking around the Piazza Republica and it was Vogue's fashion night out, so we all were a little underdressed for the occasion. But it was really cool to see all of these people and their outfits. During Fashion Night out, all of the high end and designer stores stay open to the early morning selling their clothes for sale, some stores were even giving away free champagne for shopping in them. We got a bottle of wine from a street vendor and sat on a bench as Kim and I people-watched all of the outfits. I couldn't get over how many women were wearing these huge heels in the cobblestone, I do not know how they didn't fall! Once we finished our bottle of wine we went to The Lion's Fountain Pub. I love this bar because it feels like your walking into a an Irish pub in the middle of Boston. They have all American college T shirts hanging from the ceiling and if you are lucky enough you can get a sharpie and write on the wall. Nick wrote our last names(Heitzlemen and Wall) so we have officially branded the Lion's Fountain. From there we went to Red Garter where my friend Chris from home got on stage and sang karaoke. It was really fun. As they were dropping me off we met this kid Maxwell, who invited us to another bar so we went there but only for a little bit but it was closing soon and not many people were there. But he was fun to talk to because he spoke English, Spanish, German, and Italian. And I was able to find the secret bakery by myself so I got to take Kim and Lori there for their first time. I have to say the second time definately wasn't as good as the first but it was still exciting!

Vogue Fashion Night Out

Friday September 13th

Champagne and Roses

It is so nice not having Friday classes! I did some local errands at the grocery store and gym in the morning and I went back to Terese's for dinner. Expect tonight my friend Devyn came with me and we went out to Accademia (one of Terese's favorite restaurant). It is so fun going there because she is a local and all the waiters know her especially their favorite waiter, Kush. When we went on Friday it happened to be Kush's birthday. I had mushroom strudel, brusetta, and lasagna for dinner, it was delicious and after dinner Kush invited us to his birthday celebration at a club near Piazza Republica. All of us were a little unsure if we would go or not so we repeated what we did the night before and got a bottle of wine and hung out for a while until we decided why not (perque no!). We showed up at the club and it was like a VIP table outside set up with champagne, vodka, redbull, tonic water, lemons. I couldn't believe that we actually got invited to this haha it was such a fun time. 

Lucky Pig--We're coming back to Florence!

Saturday September 14th

Today we went to the American World War II Cemetery and Memorial in Florence. It was really cool to see all of the white crosses and how it was designed so symmetrically. There was over 4,000 crosses and that is just one of the cemetery's in Italy. We noticed that alot of men died on October 13th (Kim's birthday) so I wonder if there was a battle of some sort that happened that day. From there we went to Castello di Verranzzano for a wine tasting. The view was unreal, I felt like I was on top of the world looking over the entire Tuscan region. We got served three wines, one rose and two red. I thought they were good but wished we could have tried white too. For our first course they came out with garlic bread and antipasta. We tried different types of salami, wild boar, and other meats. Next we had this amazing pasta. They gave us spices and cheese on the side that made it so good, I had two big servings. After the pasta, they came out with a sausage and chicken platter with beans. And for dessert they gave us cookies that you were supposed to dip in some sort of alcohol (I forget the name) but I did not like that at all! It was way too strong. The guys then got grappa and the meal and wine were complete..four hours later! 

World War II American Cemetery

Here rests in honored glory a comrade in the arms known to God

Kim and I 

Castillo di Verranzzano

 

Secret Bakeries

Upon arriving in Florence, a few friends and I were told by prior study abroad students that there are secret bakeries located throughout the city. These secret bakeries are hidden and you are only supposed to use your nose to guide you to the smell of them. The story behind these secret bakeries is that they cook all throughout the night and into the early mornings and once the sunrise hits, they deliver their baked goods to local pastry shops located all throughout Florence. But, at two in the morning they allow people to come in and enjoy their freshly baked goods. After you have been out all evening it is the perfect treat to end your night. On Saturday night, my friends and I were determined to find one of the hidden bakeries because of all of the talk we have heard about them. At around 2:30 a.m. we began to wander around the Santa Croce area. I have to admit that we were given a little bit of a hint but at 2:30 in the morning all of the streets look like a maze anyway; so we started to sniff our way through these back allies.

Sure enough, forty-five minutes later we came across a sweet scent we couldn’t ignore. We saw two other college girls coming from the direction we were walking carrying big white paper bags. Once we saw those we knew we were close! As we walked around the corner, there was a glass door and we knew that it had to be it. So we quietly knocked on the door and a man in a white apron shyly answered. We asked for three croissants and three minutes later we had a fresh, right out of the oven croissant with chocolate oozing out of the middle. It was one of the most delicious pastries I have ever had. Only costing one euro each, we decided to go back a second time within the same night because they were that delicious.

It was fun and exciting being on the hunt for these secret bakeries and I’m glad that I got to find one the first weekend I was in Florence because for some people it takes all semester.  You will absolutely catch me eating another chocolate croissant from a secret bakery as the semester goes on!