The Almafi Coast: Our Final Weekend

On Thursday night, we departed for Sorrento and arrived at our hostel around 3:00 a.m.. We woke up around 6:45 to leave for the island of Capri. We took a small ferry over to the island, where we drove around the perimeter for a tour. One of our first stops was the famous Blue Grotto. It's a small, enclosed grotto that glows neon blue in the dark. It hadn't been open lately, so I was very glad to have the opportunity to see it. We loaded four or five people at a time into very small rowboats directed by paid guides. We had to lie down in the boat to enter the grotto without bumping our head on the opening. When we got inside, the water was an iridescent, electric blue that shown in the dark. It was truly an incredible sight, and we rowed around the small space before exiting into the daylight. Later on the tour, we passed the green grotto, which has greenish water, and also the white grotto. The white grotto is named for the white stalagmites in the cave. One of them is particularly famous because it naturally looks like a statue of the Virgin Mary. We also learned that countless millionaires and celebrities have houses on the island, and that the famous Dolce and Gabbana Blue Perfume ad was shot on some of the rocks there. Some other fun facts we learned are that the caprese salad and Capri pants originated on Capri. After the island tour, we docked in Marina Grande and took a trolley up to Capri Town. We used the ATMs here and shopped a bit before taking a bus to the town of Ana Capri. Ana Capri was a cute village with restaurants, sandal shops, and coral jewelry artisans. We ate lunch at a small cafe there, where I made sure to have a caprese salad in addition to my swordfish. After lunch, we walked around and shopped before getting crepes and ice cream at another cafe. After we finished, we took a public bus down to Marina Grande where we all shopped around and purchased Capri crew-neck sweatshirts since it was unfortunately cold and rainy. After waiting around for a little longer, we took the ferry back to Sorrento.

Opening to the Blue Grotto

The Blue Grotto

One of the most famous and important lighthouses in the world

The White Grotto with the natural statue of the Virgin Mary

Marina Grande

The next morning, we took a ferry into the town of Positano, which is another city on the Almafi Coast. After arriving, we ate lunch at a really great restaurant on the water called Chez Black. I had wonderful seafood pasta, vegetable soup, and a lemon cake dessert. The seafood was fresh and wonderful, and the Almafi coast grows lots of lemons, which made the dessert taste especially good. After lunch, we strolled around the pleasant town. Lemoncello originated in Positano, so there were many lemons and Lemoncello shops everywhere. All the stores were very beachy, and it seemed like it would be an amazing place to vacation in warmer weather. There were also a few modern art galleries that we walked through in the afternoon that were interesting. At the end of the day, we took a ferry back to Sorrento.

Sunday morning, we loaded the buses before stopping in Pompeii for a few hours to visit the ancient ruins and have authentic Napoli pizza. I really enjoyed the tour of the ruins, and it was fascinating to learn about the life of the community that was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. We saw old houses, apartments, bakeries, roads, brothels, and government building that had been buried for centuries before being uncovered in the 1700s. The most interesting and chilling artifacts were the people and even dogs cemented in the ash, still posing to cover their faces from being suffocated. After the tour, we sat down for pizza at a nearby restaurant before heading back to Florence.

Fresh lemon and orange juice

Original mosaic in Pompei

Naturally preserved victim of the eruption 

Naturally preserved dog

Naturally preserved person

Pregnant woman

Bathrooms of Pompei

Although it was a pretty rainy and cold weekend, I was still glad I had the opportunity to experience such famous and beautiful places in Italy. Someday, I definitely want to return in the summer months to enjoy the beaches. This was my last trip of my time abroad, and it's crazy to think that I'll be in America this time next week. I'm so excited to return to my family, friends, and daily routines, but I know I will also miss the constant adventure and beauty of living in Italy and traveling Europe. This week, I'm definitely going to try to soak up everything about Florence and make most of my time here.