This weekend we went to the Amalfi Coast. It was unbelievable. We stayed in a hotel that was only 33 euros a night, so I assumed it would be pretty low quality. Wrong. It was amazing. Im still in awe of the fact it was so cheap. It was close to the train station, it had a restaurant, free breakfast, a pool table, a nice pool, sitting areas, a bar, and our room had a balcony overlooking gorgeous mountains. Insane.
Saturday we woke up early planning to go to Capri but we had heard it was supposed to rain so we ended up staying in Sorrento. It rained in the morning but then it cleared up to be a gorgeous day. We did some shopping, then found this awesome area where you pay 10 euros and reserve your spots for the whole day. We ended up staying until it closed. Its this area right off the coast in the ocean, so your on a dock sitting in beach chairs, then you also have access to floats in the water, and we rented kayaks and spent the day relaxing on the beach. It was incredible.
Sunday morning we got up and went to the island of Capri. We rented a private boat, so just the six of us laid out on a boat as it took us around the island. We stopped at 3 or 4 underwater caves and swam through them. Afterwards we took the trolly up to the top of the mountains to see an incredible view, and had lunch overlooking the ocean. It was incredible.
After lunch and a little shopping we were all wiped out. We tried to leave early but that wasnt an option due to ferry times. Getting back to Florence was kind of a headache. We had to take the ferry back to sorrento, get our stuff, take a cab to the train station, take a metro train to the train station in naples, then get on the big train for like 3 1/2 hours to Florence.
I had heard people tell me not to go to Naples, because it was kind of sketchy. Well, our train/metro connection was there but I didnt really think anything of it. It was fine on the way there but on the way back crazy things happened.
First of all, when we got to the metro train station, we had been rushing to get there to be sure and make our train from naples to florence which we already had tickets for. So we get to the train station in naples and there is no one there selling tickets, and we have 10 minutes before the train gets there. We asked some guy who didnt really speak english and he said you had to buy them somewhere else? I dont know. Long story short, we all decided to risk it and get on the train without tickets. So we all get on, nervously, wondering if we'll soon be thrown into Italian jail. A few stops later, about 20 teenagers get on, all dressed in neon wild clothing with neck tattoos and piercings. Theyre all screaming and singing and chanting. We concluded they had to be some sort of gang. It was insane. They like took over the entire train. One kid was riding a razor scooter down the isles, three of them were smoking right under the no smoking sign then putting them out of the floor. I saw one girl kiss three different guys. They were all pushing and hitting each other playfully, then this one girl comes barrelling down the isle and stops RIGHT in front of my seat and gets into a huge screaming argument with one of the guys, of course it was all in italian so i have no idea what it was about. But she was trying to fight him and three other girls were holding her back as the guy got in her face and yelled at her. The bright side is that we figured, at this point, if the conductor or staff did come back there, checking our tickets would be the least of their worries, ha.
So it all worked out, we made our train and got back to Florence that night.
I can not believe I only have one week left here. It has seriously FLOWN by.
I havent been on the computer as much. We are trying to fit everything in that we havent done so far.
Yesterday after class I went to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum. Basically a museum of vintage designer clothes and shoes. Pretty sweet.
Tonight, I am going to see some monks that chant before a worship service. Its supposed to be pretty cool. Then we are going up to a spot in the city thats supposed to have an amazing view to watch the sunset, thennn we are going out to a fancy dinner. Because of all our schedules conflicting, tonight it the last night we are sure the 6 of us roommates will be able to all have dinner together. Florence is supposed to be famous for their Florentine steak, and one of the professors gave us a reccommendation for a restaurant that is expensive but is supposed to have amazing Florentine Steak, so we're doing that tonight.
Oh! I also wanted to write about the secret bakeries. Coolest thing ever. A select few of the bakeries start baking their food late at night so that its fresh the next morning. So, if you know which ones and where they are, you can go anytime from like 12:30 to the early hours of the morning and knock on the door, tell them what you want and pay them and theyll give it to you, fresh from the oven, steaming hot. Its incredible.
Well I just recieved news. Apparently, even after the second fumigation, one of the rooms in our apartment still has bed bugs. SO, theyre moving us to a hotel for the remainder of the week. Im not really happy about it. We have to have all of our stuff packed and out by tonight, which steps on our plans. We've lived here for nearly a month, I have a ton of stuff to move. Not to mention, Im not ready to say goodbye to our Florence apartment :(
