Amalfi Coast

Sorrento at 8 AM

If you ever want to avoid getting any sleep for a couple weeks, go to the Amalfi Coast the weekend after you go to Oktoberfest and turn 21. I have been alternately traveling and attempting to catch up on work nonstop for the past couple weeks, but it's been completely worth it. The Amalfi Coast trip was another of the best weekends, and I definitely want to go back some day. 

About to get on the boat (which I kept calling a bus all weekend)

We left Thursday night, again, and got in pretty late/early Friday morning. We immediately crashed at the hostel and then had to be up in time to leave at 7:20 in the morning to go to Capri. Capri was one of the places I was most excited for, but it could not have gone less according to plan. It started off beautifully: we took a gorgeous boat tour around the island and saw the major sites (although the tide was too high to go in the Blue Grotto) and then docked at Capri and hiked to Capri Town to look around and go in a garden with scenic outlooks. Unfortunately it started to rain while we were there, which was just the beginning of the weather altering our plans for the day. We went to lunch, where I had amazing pizza and Ravioli Caprese (amazing), and then looked around at the handmade sandals and limoncello. We still had a few hours left, so we decided to take the chairlift to the highest point on the island (the top of Anacapri) to see the views, even though it looked a little foggy. Little did we know that the "little fog" would soon turn into the craziest lightning storm I've ever seen. Long story short, once we got to the top, we went into the little coffee shop, and watched the drizzle turn to pouring turn to hail, and then listened to the loudest thunder I've EVER heard, while lightning flashed overhead. Suffice to say, when the electrical sockets started smoking and the workers were freaking out, I've never been more scared in my life. But, moral of the story, we lived! Even though the chairlift broke in the storm and we had to hike down the mountain. 

The Green Grotto -- the most gorgeous color of water!

Lover's Tunnel

View of the coastline from the gardens

Custom-made shoes

Chairlift on the way up

Post-storm -- we survived!

Hiking down the mountain and finally seeing some views

That night, we went to one of the most delicious restaurants I've been to where I experienced Nutella pizza for the first time....something everyone needs to have before they die. It was called Nutella pizza but was really more of a calzone, and was, simply put, the most delicious dessert ever. Then we went to this outdoor bar/club where we danced for awhile until heading back to the hostel. 

Nutella pizza. To die for.

One of my happiest eating moments

Our group of the weekend, plus a random Italian man

The next morning we got to sleep in a little bit before heading to Positano for a beach day! We went out on a boat shortly after getting there to go cliff jumping, which was a big highlight of the trip. There were two different cliffs to jump off of, one of which you had to scale the side of the cliff to get to, but was totally worth it to jump off a higher ledge. The weather got a little iffy after that, but at least it didn't rain and we had a lightning-free day! That night we just stayed at the hostel's bar where there was a live band, which made for a really fun atmosphere. 

View of Positano walking down from the bus

Getting to the beautiful beach

Molly and I on the boat to go cliff jumping

Pre-jump

Here I gooooo!

I can't get over how pretty the water is!

As we were leaving -- the clouds made for a gorgeous sunset

At the hostel's bar

The next day we headed to Pompeii before going home. Seeing Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius was really cool, but it was very cold and got progressively chillier and windier, which made me ready for the tour to end. But overall it was very interesting and I'm definitely glad I got to see it.

A preserved man who died when Mount Vesuvius erupted

Ruins

It must have been such a pretty city

An amazingly well-preserved house and pretty garden

We made it back to Florence by 8 or 9, and as sad as I was for the weekend to end, this really does feel like home. I love that when I go on vacations here, I'm just as happy to come back as I am to have been on the trip. I can't even imagine what it's going to feel like to move back to America after living here; this apartment and city have a place in my heart that I don't think will ever be filled by another place.