Lemons, Sun, and Mount Vesuvius!

This past weekend I traveled to the Amalfi Coast for my birthday! It was really fun. We stayed in Sorrento but we spent the days in Positano, Capri, and Pompeii. I went with the same group of girls I traveled with last weekend, a mix of U of M girls and Colorado Boulder girls. We went through Florence for Fun a student travel group and we ended up staying in a 4 star hotel which was a really nice change from hostels.

We arrived on Thursday night after a long ride there since our bus got hit by a car...everyone was alright but it definitely delayed the trip! It was cute too because the bus sang happy birthday to me at midnight.  We took a day trip to Positano. Positano is a little beach town with lots of shopping, restaurants and really beautiful scenic beaches. We had amazing Neapolitan style pizza and relaxed on the beach with Peroni beers. That night we went to a local bar to celebrate my birthday. Other people from my program were at the same place, they played some fun music and overall I had a really fun night! Another girl was there who was turning 21 and we were wearing the same dress which was really ironic, we had to take a picture together.

The next day we went to Capri. We took a boat tour and saw the Blue Grotto which apparently is one of the 7 wonders of the world. We looked it up and are not quite sure if this is true, but it was really amazing to see. Capri was also so beautiful! Definitely really touristy but I loved being in little beach towns. It was really relaxing. We also had a limoncello tasting, I tried meloncello, cream limoncello and regular limoncello. All were delicious! Also, the Amalfi coast is also famous for their granitas and citrus fruits. So we had lots of lemon and orange granitas during our stay, they were soo good! The two girls leading our trip bought me a little bottle of limoncello for my birthday too, which was really nice of them.

Climbing Mount Vesuvius

On Sunday we traveled to Pompeii. We had a really cute old Italian man tour guide who brought us through the old, historical city. He was really fascinated by the brothels they had during this time and showed us exactly where they were. I felt like we talked about brothels for a lot of the time but we all thought it was funny. It was really interesting to see the 3 bodies and a dog that were on display. They were covered in rock materials but almost all had there hands covering their mouths and eyes to protect them from the gas that swarmed the city. After that we climbed Mount Vesuvius! I didn't know what to expect climbing or seeing what the volcano looks like but it was really cool. All of us felt really out of shape as we saw babies and old men and women climbing vesuvius, as all of us young girls were panting the entire way. The view was really spectacular and it felt good to get in some exercise and see a famous historical site!

We had great weather all weekend sunny with a light breeze and I didn't even get sunburned! It is now really coming to the end of my time here and it's starting to be a scary thought. My psychology teacher says we will never be the same person again after studying abroad. I am anxious to see my friends and family, but I know I will miss Italy more than ever. I might have to take up my chances to go to Belcastro in the summer from now on. My parents arrive in one week! I will be spending this Saturday and Sunday in Cinque Terre. I found a really great price for a private apartment in the city of Monterrosso Al Mare and I am really excited, I will be traveling with my friend Ellen (fellow foodie as she likes to say). My next post will be my last as a student, but I might share some stories and photos of my time traveling with my parents to visit my family in Italy. Can't believe it's almost over! Anyone want to join me in Europe next time??

Right now I unfortunately am sick with probably the worst sinus infection ever. I have been staying in at night, and doing homework has been hard to focus on. Finals next week too! I am going to a doctor to get antibiotics so I am hopefully better by Saturday when I leave for Cinque Terre.

I also got a chance last night (Tuesday) to go out to dinner with my 72 year old Italian landlord and his wife. They have been more than kind to us bringing us desserts or gifts throughout the semester so we thought we had to take them out! It was great seeing them interact together, and they even challenged us to only speak in Italian for part of the time! They are so wonderful and have lived through a lot of Italian history, it was great to hear their stories. I will definitely miss Franco but he did give us his email address so we can stay in contact for next time I come to Florence.

Well, I am off to the doctor now...lets hope I get better soon!