When you take vacations with your family as a child, you are very much along for the ride. They probably pick the place, make the plans, book the flights, the hotel, the activities. They take the trip into their own hands and as a kid, you get to benefit off their organization and hard work. I never realized how much goes into it all until being faced with having to do it myself – in a foreign country – on a budget J. Having planned ten days in Italy, I can fully appreciate my mom’s intense agenda for our trip to Las Vegas and Arizona, my step mom’s hand made guide to Disney World (we always knew to go left in the line….) and the money and effort it takes to vacate your daily life for another temporary and exciting one. This trip was certainly time consuming, thought consuming and stressful to plan, but in the end, everything went so smoothly, and even the kinks made the adventure of it all so much more worthwhile. Four American, twenty year old girls took on five cities in Italy, saw the exquisite sights and historical landmarks, learned, laughed, played and relaxed – and maybe even left a mark. And, while this all may seem average to the experienced traveler, for us, it was an accomplishment we will cherish forever.
After our tiring, yet beautiful day sailing the waters of the Mediterranean surrounding Capri, we had a really solid nights sleep. Turns out jumping off a cliff and landing wrong is not so easy on the body- so I definitely crashed…literally in the water, and mentally in bed. In the morning, we woke up just in time before they closed breakfast downstairs at 9:30 am, which is sleeping in for us since we are usually always on the go and up quite early. We had cereal to the sounds of MTV Italia, which plays every morning on the flat screen TV’s in the breakfast room. Then we headed back upstairs, still exhausted, and rested in our beds for another hour before finally getting ready for the day around 11am. It was our last full day in Italy and so we thought we deserved some rest and relaxation before, what we could only imagine, would be a long travel day (turns out we were very right….but we will get to that later).
After getting ready and having a delicious chicken cordon blu at the hostel (we still cannot get over these gourmet meals for only 5 euro) we ventured up to the terrace, since we had only seen the view at night. It was a beautiful, warm afternoon with just the right amount of fluffy clouds in the sky skimming the tops of the mountains. We took some pictures and enjoyed the view and then headed out onto the streets of S. Agnello to find the bus stop to catch a bus to Positano – a small coastal town about 15 minutes away, esteemed for its incredible views and sights.
We had, of course, checked the bus schedule beforehand – the problem was, some of the directions that the general manager at the hostel gave us got a bit lost in translation and we ended up at the wrong bus stop. We bought our bus tickets, asked for help – trying to explain to over eager Italian men where we were trying to go, and then trying to understand through the whistling what they were trying to tell us (I actually did get an invite to get a ride from a man on his vespa, which as we know by now is my dream…but I of course declined because that would not be safe AND because he was…well….. probably three times my age J), and so we finally, after getting on a bus, getting off a bus, and then waiting at a bus stop for an hour for a bus that NEVER CAME, decided to give up and travel instead into the city of Sorrento, which was just one stop away on the over ground for a reasonable fare.
By this time it was already 3:30pm, and we were all a little annoyed that the bulk of our last day in Italy was spent trying to figure out the friggin bus system – but it actually became kind of comical. On our way to catch the over ground to Sorrento, a bus driver who had circled a couple of times and tried to help us called out – “Hey, it’s the Positano girls!…” and we all laughed. Not to mention, any frustration quickly disappeared as we arrived in the heart of Sorrento.
With each shop we ventured into – and of course, each subsequent purchase, my spirits were lifted. The equivalent to medicine for the ill is shopping for the female, so all irritation was quickly cured. There were narrow side street full of markets and we shopped for hours picking up things for family members, bargaining, and scoping out the many gelato shops before finally deciding to buy a cone from a really famous gelateria right off a busy shopping street. There were tons of pictures on the wall of the owner and famous people – none of who we recognized – but it was clear this gelato was going to be good – and oh…my….goodness…. it was the best we had by FAR! And what a perfect place to have our last taste of true Italian gelato…. well, for a while at least. If I was rich, I would have that gelato imported to me on a daily basis (and I could do this, because I would also have a personal trainer to work it off… J… and a mansion on the island of Capri….and my own VESPA! oh a girl can dream :)
With full tummies and smiles on our faces, we headed down too the harbor. It was a stunning 15-minute walk as the sun set upon the beautiful homes, cafes, shops and hotels nestled into the mountainside of the coast. We strolled the winding road all the way to the bottom, where we took pictures along the water, sat on the bench and watched the sun fade behind the mountainside (Monica and Ike - this time is was ACTUALLY a mountain, as opposed to a cloud…), leaving only a faint golden glow along the water.
There was a small café right along the harbor, and so we stopped in for a drink before heading back up the big hill to catch the over ground back to the hostel for dinner (while there were tons of great restaurants in the heart of Sorrento, you can’t beat a 5 euro meal J plus, we loved our hostel – it was so beautiful that we were anxious to get back and spend time there before having to leave it all behind in the morning). After dropping off our bags in our room, we sat in the restaurant and had the most delicious fettuccini alfredo with shrimp, while talking about our favorite parts of the day (a nightly ritual) and toasting to our final dinner in Italy.
The hostel hired an Italian band for the guests, as well as for many locals who were invited to check out the location and amenities offered – the hostel has only been open for four months, and so it was a way to promote the business as well as get its name out there (which I am sure they will have no problem doing after word of mouth spreads among the backpackers of Europe). Jen and Katie were tired and went to sleep, but Laura and I first went up to the terrace to hang out with some newcomers, and the two great Australian girls we went on the boat trip with. Then we headed down to hear the band. Of course, we had no idea what they were singing about, but we gathered it was funny because the locals kept laughing… and we just sipped our wine and played along. After the band packed up, we ended up going to a wine bar with some of the people we met. It was a blast to get out of the hostel and feel really immersed in Italian culture and nightlife, not to mention, the wine bar was really cute (and appropriately called The Wine Bar - they said that naming it an English name draws attention, which I thought was funny. Different cultures really do influence one another, even to the point of emulation. This name that would be so boring in America, becomes a marketing tool in Italy, and I am sure there are examples for the other way around – just kind of interesting… but I digress…).
Laura and I had a blast with the locals and headed back to the hostel after a fun and interesting evening. And then four hours after putting our head to the pillow, it was time to wake up and say ciao for now to our beloved Italy.
Here is our long and tiring travel day in bullet form: woke up, breakfast, walk to the bus stop (which we thoroughly mapped out before hand to avoid any confusion), wait for twenty minutes, catch the bus to the Naples airport, which was an hour and half journey. Arrive, wait in the long line to check in, customs, security (where one of my gifts that I had in my backpack was confiscated for being considered a sharp object…. Apparently I look like a terrorist who is going to use a packaged decorated pizza cutter from Capri intended for my sister to hijack the plane…ugh, total BUMMER…sorry sister….), wait an hour to board, wait an hour in the plane to take off, 2 hours and 45 minutes later we land, tram to the terminal, customs, baggage, buy train ticket, ride the Stansted express 45 minutes to the Liverpool tube stop, ride the tube to Baker street, switch tubes to the Bakerloo line to FINALLY arrive at Warwick Avenue 9 hours after starting our day. Luckily it is daylight savings time here (which means for now we are only four hours apart, yay! I feel closer to you all already), so we gained an hour and were settled and unpacked in the flat around 6pm. Laura and I, practically fasting to make up for all the food we ate over the trip, made a vegetable and chicken stir fry, showered, and called family and friends. Which of course led me here – my faithful blog.
Our fall break is now over, and I have overcome another rite of passage – the planning of my own vacation! Don’t laugh – no, it is not quite as momentous as puberty or graduating high school, but none the less, I am proud! I think it is really cool that we researched, planned and paid for the entire trip, made all of our flights, trains and buses on time (with the exception of the Positano confusion), explored five different cities in Italy (from Pisa, to Florence to Rome to Sorrento and the island of Capri) all the while only knowing three words in Italian – Ciao, Grazzi, and Prego! Be impressed J. It was an amazing adventure, one that I will never forget. So for the last time in Italian,
Love and hugs,
Jenny
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