Parta Due!

Continuation of the weekend!

So we pick back up on Saturday morning with a brusque 6:45 wake up call, thank you IES (no sarcasm). I slept like a baby in a large comfy bed and got to wake up to the prettiest view. *sigh* I miss that place already! We went down to the restaurant for a breakfast buffet… oh yeah, REAL breakfast!!!!!!!! They gave us (very un-American tasting) coffee in full portion sizes along with breads/croissants and jam, fruit, cereal, yogurt, eggs, omelets, potatoes (HIENZ KETCHUP!). They provided juices and even some Prosecco for making mimosas. I did not take part because all day was going to be spent out in the hot sun.

After the best breakfast I’ve had in Italy, we all went for a ten minutes stroll down the steep cliff to the port of Sorrento. We caught the ferry to Capri, but they ran out of outdoor seating by the time we got on so we sat at the round couch/table set up (think piano bar style?) indoors at the bow. It was an odd experience since the largest boats I’ve been on were something like the Sloanstrosity. The ferry only took maybe 20 minutes, not too bad, and we hit a couple good stomach-dropping waves right before the port. At Capri the port isn’t too interesting so to explore we went up the funicolare (think tram/incline/train up some BIG hills). Once at the top I follow Giovanna, one of our leaders, on a tour of a profumiere. Capri is known for the scents that can only be produced from the fauna that grows on the island. I liked the scent made for men the best actually. I was happy when Sophia bought it.

Top of the funicolare at Capri

Hiking down 

 The whole day was ours to spend on Capri so after the profumiere I didn’t have anything special planned. A group of us went off in hunt of a beach. Hiking down a serpentine slope for twenty minutes and then walking for another ten minutes can work up a sweat! We were happy when we found a cute little private beach club. We paid 5 euro for the beach, showers, bathrooms, changing rooms. It was a good deal. The beach wasn’t sandy like we were expecting though!! It was made up of smooth white stones the size of rubber bouncy balls, but oblong in shape. They were a little painful to walk on but surprisingly comfy to lounge on, and once you were in the crystal clear brilliant blue water nothing else mattered. The water was warm when I got in…. I’ve never experienced such a weird sensation! There were boats everywhere along the coast with people anchored and swimming and “yachting” if that can be a verb? All the Italians are suuuuuuper tan right now, but my teacher claims in the winter everyone turns snow white. I don’t really believe it yet.

Beach Group

 After the beach we bought some ice cream treats and started the hike up to the top of Capri. After a couple sweeps back and forth I realized it felt a lot like climbing up Bright Angel Trail at the Grand Canyon! I was the “John” in my group and booked it ahead of them, setting a brisk pace. We rewarded ourselves with a quiet simple lunch on a terrace at the top. We were in the shade with a breeze, cold water, and fabulous pizzas. It’s funny how only 3 hours difference changes the pizza! The crusts were a little thicker, like only HALF the thickness of American crusts instead of an eighth. We caught the funicolare down to the port and met up to swap stories with the other students before boarding the ferry back to Sorrento.  Some students went on a boat tour around the island. Some went on boat tours into the Blue Grotto, which is just the perfection of Mediterranean blue water times a thousand! I was interested in the grotto tour before I heard the time commitment and price. One thing I am sad I missed out on was a looong hike and short visit to one of Tiberius’ villas. Apparently it wasn’t quite worth the walk but I still would have been interested.

Back to the hotel we showered and napped then hit the town! Before dinner Tom, Sarah, Sophia, Alexi, and I went into town to check out the shops and town life. We might have stopped to buy a couple bottles of wine for un digestive after dinner also O:)    Then back to the hotel to freshen up for excellent dinner: round two! When I was dressing for dinner (thank you Amanda for the dress loan!) I noticed how incredibly tan I am!!! I am as tan and blonde as a summer on the bay! It’s crazy because I wasn’t really planning on going to beaches or bronzing this much. No complaints of course, I like my hair blonde.  Dinner second night didn’t offer as many droolworth options but my dish was voted best! I had some form of eggplant, zucchini, and cheese in little balls (fried maybe?) with a sauce. It was good but no super outstanding flavors. For dessert I got the fruit salad which included pears, apples, pineapples, coconut, and maybe one or two things (I’m forgetting already!!!!!). That was fresh and cool and light and the perfect end to dinner.

The ladies

After dinner Sophia, Amanda, and I all invited two or three friends to mingle in the room and enjoy some wine. Our group and many other IES groups got together that night to hit up the discoteca by the port but I was feeling extremely tired from the day in the sun and stayed behind. I’m glad I did because that night or the following morning I realized I’ve developed a cold! The achy, getting chills, stuffy/running nose, headache kind of cold. Thankfully I got my fill of Capri without any symptoms. All that was planned for the next day was a bus tour and going home to Rome. Home to Rome! I like that phrase!

Don't forget my hotel view 

Whew!  That’s Saturday for ya! I went on a field study to la basilica della santa cecila this morning and it was wonderful. I liked  the church but my teacher was going over basics for some students that I’ve already learned so that was a little boring. Thankfully it was only Renaissance and Italian today! After class I tried my hand at some rosemary lemon chicken (it’s not bad but my mama can cook far better). One super exciting awesome piece of news: Snoble sent me a letter!!! I got it in the mail yesterday and it made me so happy :)  I love my roomie and was happy to hear about her life and adventures even though we’ve managed to catch up two or three times since I’ve been here. My Italian hippo was so cute and made me smile Snoble so thank you!