The land of Limoncello and all things touristy. That is where I went this past weekend. To the Amalfi Coast, Pompei, Sorrento and the Island of Capri. A long five hour bus ride to Sorrento was grueling and involved pretty much sleeping the entire way. We left Thursday afternoon around 3:40 pm. We arrived at the campground around 11:00 pm. The lodgings for this weekend’s trip was very different from our typical set up. We were camping, European style, which meant not camping in tents but in trailers. These trailers were small little green boxes that had three beds (a twin, and a bunk bed) and a small bathroom that was too small to be considered a bathroom. For the next three nights these little boxes would be home. It was not a great start to our weekend trip, since all we were provided for linens was a thin blanket to supposedly stay warm in the cool October evenings. The first day in Sorrento was a ferry trip to the town of Amalfi. The beautiful town of Amalfi was one of my favorite cities that we toured through. It was a small quaint town at the base of a tall cliff. I ventured with two friends and our Jesuit, Fr. Paul. We toured through the old town after embarking on an hour long ferry ride. 
We bought an all day bus pass and hopped onto a city bus that was too small to accommodate forty passengers up the narrow and winding roads of Amalfi. We took the bus to the small town of Ravello which is perched a top the cliff above Amalfi. It was a beautiful view from atop and we walked through the old piazza, an old Franciscan Monastery and a small Limoncello factory. It was a nice resting place and a place a far from the 130 other Gonzaga students in the small towns.
After visiting Ravello, we climbed back onto the small city bus and took it down the mountain to Amalfi. There in Amalfi we toured through the Cathedral, where we saw the relics and bones of St. Andrew in the crypt.
Instead of taking the expensive ferry back to Sorrento, we used our day pass and road the bus back home. The two hour bus ride was exciting and hair raising. I am so amazed at how skilled the bus drivers are here, especially when the roads are only one lane wide and the buses are over filled with passengers. It was a great start to the three day weekend.
That evening we dinned in a restaurant near the campground. Our campground was a twenty minute walk above Sorrento. The restaurant was affordable and I ordered an unique American dish of a sausage pizza with French fries. It looked interesting but it tasted great! An ingenious idea!
The second day, we wandered around the Island of Capri. A thirty minute ferry ride from Sorrento the Island was a tourist trap. Thousands of tourists from every nation was there. It was a beautiful place; however, due to the flood of tourists this was not my favorite place to visit.
We caught a bus to Anacapri which is located above Marina di Grande where we landed. Here we chose to walk down to the Blue Grotto. After walking down hill to the place of the Blue Grotto, we arrived where there were hundreds of tourists waiting in boats and line to see the natural wonder. It was a sight to see. Twenty to thirty small little boats each commandeered with a tour guide the Blue Grotto seemed too much of a hoax than a museum. We loaded into one of these small boats that held only five at a time. Low in the water, we entered the Blue Grotto. It was an amazing sight to see, but also a disappointment at the same time. 10 Euro was not worth the five minute visit. Oh well…..oh yea…women were the center of attention too for all of the guides. They blew kisses to them, threw water at them and sung to them, of course all for a kiss or a nice tip at the end. It was a little over the top. Oh well…..tourist things are sometimes something you just have to do.
After the Blue Grotto we took the bus up to Anacapri where we took a chair lift to the top of Mt. Solerno. A top of this mountain was a beautiful vista point and an unbelievable view of the Italian coast.
After disembarking from the chairlift down, we headed to the ferry terminal and returned to Sorrento.
That evening in the Marina di Piccolo of Sorrento a large Fish Festival was being held. We headed down around 8 pm and stood in line to claim our five euro plate of freshly fried Calamari and fish. It was a good taste of traditional cuisine; however, it was a little bit too salty. Well a perk was that there was free wine. Our group of 130 students definitely stood out and were the only ones singing and dancing. The band playing seemed to enjoy our attention and continued to sing American songs. The Italians were great observers to our dancing and singing. The night ended with a wonderful fireworks show.
Our last day in Sorrento we headed to the city of Pompei. This was my favorite part of the trip. We had a short three hours to explore the city and wonder through the ruins. It was amazing and awing.
I will post some of my photos of Pompei and let you see visually what I saw during my visit.
We returned to Firenze around 10:00pm and I immediately crammed my homework and slept after a long night of studying.
We bought an all day bus pass and hopped onto a city bus that was too small to accommodate forty passengers up the narrow and winding roads of Amalfi. We took the bus to the small town of Ravello which is perched a top the cliff above Amalfi. It was a beautiful view from atop and we walked through the old piazza, an old Franciscan Monastery and a small Limoncello factory. It was a nice resting place and a place a far from the 130 other Gonzaga students in the small towns.After visiting Ravello, we climbed back onto the small city bus and took it down the mountain to Amalfi. There in Amalfi we toured through the Cathedral, where we saw the relics and bones of St. Andrew in the crypt.
Instead of taking the expensive ferry back to Sorrento, we used our day pass and road the bus back home. The two hour bus ride was exciting and hair raising. I am so amazed at how skilled the bus drivers are here, especially when the roads are only one lane wide and the buses are over filled with passengers. It was a great start to the three day weekend.
That evening we dinned in a restaurant near the campground. Our campground was a twenty minute walk above Sorrento. The restaurant was affordable and I ordered an unique American dish of a sausage pizza with French fries. It looked interesting but it tasted great! An ingenious idea!
The second day, we wandered around the Island of Capri. A thirty minute ferry ride from Sorrento the Island was a tourist trap. Thousands of tourists from every nation was there. It was a beautiful place; however, due to the flood of tourists this was not my favorite place to visit.
We caught a bus to Anacapri which is located above Marina di Grande where we landed. Here we chose to walk down to the Blue Grotto. After walking down hill to the place of the Blue Grotto, we arrived where there were hundreds of tourists waiting in boats and line to see the natural wonder. It was a sight to see. Twenty to thirty small little boats each commandeered with a tour guide the Blue Grotto seemed too much of a hoax than a museum. We loaded into one of these small boats that held only five at a time. Low in the water, we entered the Blue Grotto. It was an amazing sight to see, but also a disappointment at the same time. 10 Euro was not worth the five minute visit. Oh well…..oh yea…women were the center of attention too for all of the guides. They blew kisses to them, threw water at them and sung to them, of course all for a kiss or a nice tip at the end. It was a little over the top. Oh well…..tourist things are sometimes something you just have to do.
After the Blue Grotto we took the bus up to Anacapri where we took a chair lift to the top of Mt. Solerno. A top of this mountain was a beautiful vista point and an unbelievable view of the Italian coast.
After disembarking from the chairlift down, we headed to the ferry terminal and returned to Sorrento.
That evening in the Marina di Piccolo of Sorrento a large Fish Festival was being held. We headed down around 8 pm and stood in line to claim our five euro plate of freshly fried Calamari and fish. It was a good taste of traditional cuisine; however, it was a little bit too salty. Well a perk was that there was free wine. Our group of 130 students definitely stood out and were the only ones singing and dancing. The band playing seemed to enjoy our attention and continued to sing American songs. The Italians were great observers to our dancing and singing. The night ended with a wonderful fireworks show.
Our last day in Sorrento we headed to the city of Pompei. This was my favorite part of the trip. We had a short three hours to explore the city and wonder through the ruins. It was amazing and awing.
I will post some of my photos of Pompei and let you see visually what I saw during my visit.
We returned to Firenze around 10:00pm and I immediately crammed my homework and slept after a long night of studying.
Currently there is a bug with the software on blogger. I will post more photos soon!
