Capri- The Most Beautiful Island... Ever.

April 1-3, 2011

From the beginning of our trip we wanted to go to Capri. I distinctly recall a moment in our living room, with the map of Italy laid out on the floor, a bottle of wine, and us sprawled on the floor, Molly proclaimed, "Capri! I want to go to Capri!" She found it on the map and pointed at it, "It's here! And we're here! Let's go!" So Molly got her wish and I'm forever thankful for that evening when Molly decided it was Capri or bust.

Capri is an island off the southern coast of Italy. We took a train to Naples and from there took a ferry to Capri. Now, Naples is a very dirty city and super sketchy. We had no idea how to navigate the city, so we had to grab a cab. He took us to the port, Molo Beverello and told us where to get our tickets for the ferry. We went to get our tickets and they claimed that we had to walk to the other side of the port and get our tickets there. Confused, we made our way to the other side of the port, where we had no idea where to get tickets, and they sent us back to where we started. After much confusion, we finally figured it out and got our tickets. We had to wait for a little bit but we were on our way to Capri!

When we got there, we grabbed a latte then jumped on a bus to Anacapri where our hotel, Hotel Bussola di Hermes, was located. After a death defying bus ride, we asked directions and walked the rest of our way to the hotel through the narrow roads of Capri. When we arrived at the hotel we immediately felt at home. The women at the front desk was extremely nice and helpful. She upgraded our room to a room with a gorgeous view and basically gave us an itinerary, which would prove helpful. She told us about two different hikes we had to do and a chair lift. So we settled into our room and then went out to explore. Now when I say we "hiked" in Capri, what I actually mean is we took the hike of death. The trails in Capri our basically just hills and stairs and stairs and more stairs. Now, don't get me wrong, I would never change a thing about this trip, but I do remember thinking a few times that I might die. The first night we took a hike on the Anacapri side near the Villa San Michele. It was so beautiful and I immediately fell in love with it.

Capri is the most amazing place not just because it is beautiful and magical but because the people there are so nice. If you pass someone in the street they will say "Buona sera!" or "Buon giorno!" No where else in Italy will you find that. The pace here is completely different then anywhere else. It's slow and relaxed. No one is trying to get anywhere fast and they just love living life here.

The next day was one of the best days of my life. After breakfast we took a chairlift up to the highest point of the island. This was amazing. Not only were there gorgeous views on the way up, but when we got up there it was just completely breathtaking. If I could have my way, this is where I would want to get married. It's just absolutely gorgeous and serene. After spending at least an hour up there, we made our way back down, grabbed some pizza and started on our next adventure.

Time for some serious hiking through some seriously gorgeous surroundings. This hike was on the Capri side of the island and we got to see the Arc di Naturale, some cool caves, and the gorgeous waters of the Mediterranean Sea. We didn't get to go swimming but we did get to lay out in the sun by the sea. This hike took much longer than expected and was much more physically demanding than expected. But I would never change it, it was the experience of a lifetime. But I was so happy to see flat land again.

We were leaving the next day and we still hadn't seen the Grotto Azzuro! AKA, the Blue Grotto. We had heard that this was a must do in Capri and we couldn't leave the island without seeing it. The morning that we left we made time to go see the Grotto Azzuro. And let me tell you, I'm so happy that we did. It is the most amazing natural wonder I have ever seen. You pay these Italian men a ridiculous amount of money to take you on a row boat into the cave. You go through a way to small opening and into the grotto. They serenade you as you are just staring in wonder at the ridiculous blue water. I mean BLUE water. Beautiful blue water. Then when they take you back out, you're like wait... let's do that again! But alas, you must leave the beautiful grotto behind.

We made our way back to the Marina Grande, had some calamari, and dipped our feet into the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean. Then we were back on way to reality, where nothing is as beautiful as the island of Capri.

Pausa di Primavera

AKA Spring Break! Our Italian teacher had a hard time grasping the idea of a Spring Break, so she called it "Pausa di Primavera."

Now... Spring Break in Europe... where to go where to go.... Everywhere!

March 18-27, 2011

I started my adventure off with Michelle in Bologna. I had an extra day before I left and she wanted someone to spend the day in Bologna with because that is where she was flying out of. Now, Bologna is a very interesting city to say the least. It's supposed to be this center of food and culture of Italy... but that is not exactly what I found. Maybe we just didn't know where to go, maybe we stayed in the city center too much. I have no idea! But obviously, Bologna did not like me and Michelle very much. When I first got there, I really did like it, because it has an amazing street market. Very hippie-ish and earthy, and they had some amazing buys! I got one of my favorite rings there and some super cool scarves. One of the first things I noticed about Bologna is it is much more modern than Florence, in architecture and in people's styles. We say a few gothic girls dressed head to toe in black, you would not see that in Florence. But then we found the "nipple fountain" (yes, it had four ladies that had water coming from their nipples....) and the very interesting church, which outside of we were approached by a lady going off in Italian. Well, Bologna, maybe I will have to come back to your very interesting streets, and see if we have a better go-around.

My next adventure was Rome pt. II. My brother was flying in to the Rome Fiumcino Airport from London and I had to meet him. I took a four hour train ride to Rome (cheaper), checked into the hostel and took a train to the airport. Once I had "collected" him, we were off on our adventure. You know how they say Rome wasn't built in a day? Well, Rome wasn't built to be SEEN in one day, let alone a few hours. We definitely didn't see everything but we hit some of the main points like the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Colosseum, and a few other cool architectural finds. The highlight of the night was the delicious gelato we found. The only gelato Ben was able to have in Europe, and the best! After galavanting through Rome for a few hours, we went back to the hostel to have our free check-in drink and to check a few winks before our flight to Athens.

Athens, Greece

After a heck of a time at the Rome airport trying to get security and our gate getting changed, we were on our way to Greece! Now, Athens is not what we expected. It's a little bit too dirty and city-ish for my liking. But the ruins are cool, and having a view of the Acropolis from our hostel room was totally cool. And the food is amazing! Greek food has to be my favorite food of all time. On our second day in Greece, we took a cruise to three of the Grecian islands, Hydra (or Ydra), Poros, and Aegina. I loved these Islands. I especially loved Hydra because there were no cars and people either walked or rode on donkeys. The colors of the houses on these islands are beautiful! This is where I want to retire! Unfortunately, when we went it was very cold and windy, so not the Grecian island tour I was expecting, but still worth it.

The next day we went to the Ruins at Delphi. Just getting there was an experience in and of itself. We had to figure out the bus schedule and directions, etc. Definitely a learning experience. But boy, was it worth it once we got there. It was absolutely beautiful up in those mountains. It was such a surreal experience being where the supposed Oracle was. It was an amazing experience and totally worth it.

Other than the amazing food we had, that was the highlights of our Athens trip... onto Paris!

Paris, France

Paris, je t'aime!!! For real, Paris was one of the most amazing places. It's absolutely gorgeous! Getting into Paris from Charles de Gaulle airport and finding our hotel was, of course, an experience but we made it through. After showering and a quick nap, we went out to explore. We met up with Michelle and hit some highlights. The Eiffel Tower had some sort of perimeter set up around it by the French police. We weren't sure if it was a terrorist threat or something, but we weren't able to get close, not yet. Then we went and saw the Arc de Triomphe, which was so COOL to see up close and personal! And all the traffic around it was pretty crazy because it's just a big round-about. Then we went to the Louvre of course! This was one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip. The Louvre is just so darn cool. The building itself has so much architectural character that it just adds to the sheer amazingness of all the art it holds. Our first stop was the Mona Lisa. It is ridiculous how much security surrounds this extremely small painting. But it was definitely awe-inspiring to actually see in person, minus the annoying mob of people crowded around it. Then we made our way through a ridiculous amount of corridors and massive amounts of art. We only had a few hours here, so we didn't get to see as much as we wanted. We then had a delicious dinner, onion soup and salad with goat cheese (yum!), then went back to our hotel to get some sleep for the day ahead. The second day was full of walking around and delicious food. We hit some other sights, the Sacre Coeur (amazing view of Paris from up there), the Moulin Rouge (took us forever to find), and then some amazing street art. We got coffee and a pastry and later crepes (four cheese crepe.... yum!). Later we met up with some friends at the Eiffel Tower, Michelle, Molly, Felicia, Robert, and Nick. We had dinner (escargot and steak tartare!) and had some crazy experience traipsing about Paris. In the morning, we had to say good-bye to dear Paris. We were taking the train to London and I thought it was going to be a breeze, but I didn't anticipate two passport checks and a huge line for security. We were standing there coming up with a Plan B if we missed the train. But we didn't and we were on our way through the French countryside to London.

London, England

Merry ol' London! Can I live here please? I loved London so much. I wish we had more time here. It's such a cool city, but huge! After another nap and another shower, we were on our way. We found an authentic pub and had some fish and chips and brew. I really liked this pub a lot, I wanted to stay here for longer and just listen to all the people around me drinking beer and talking in their adorable accents. Later in the evening we went and did some exploring. Buckingham Palace. Westminster Abbey. Parliament and Big Ben. Eye of London (just saw it, didn't get to go on it). The next day was our big day for exploring. After a quick breakfast we were on our way. Our first stop was the London Tower and Tower bridge. How many times can I say the word cool? Because this was honestly cool! I loved walking over the bridge. Then we saw Shakespeare's Globe Theater (again cool!), the Tate Modern, and walked across the Millennium Bridge where we saw St. Paul's Cathedral. Then we went to King's Cross Station where we saw the Platform 9 and three quarters. So when I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 I said to myself, "I've been there!!!" Then we took a stroll through Hyde Park, where there were some crazy protests going on, but they were winding down when we got there. My only priority here was to see the Peter Pan statue, which I had always wanted to see since I was a little girl. So let me tell you, Hyde Park is gargantuan! It was dark by the time we go the statue, but I was so excited I just wanted to stare at it. But we got back on our way, had to navigate our way through the London Tube and all the stations that were shut down, but we made it back to the side of town where our hostel was and had another round of fish and chips because in the morning we had to say farewell to London.

The next morning my brother and I parted ways at Heathrow Airport. He was on his way back to the States and I was on my way back to Italy.

This was the Spring Break of a lifetime. Neither of us will ever forget this amazing adventure of gallivanting through Europe. Ben and I might not have gotten along at every moment of the trip, (I distinctly remember wanting to punch him), but those aren't the times I think of when I think of our trip. I think of all the amazing experiences we had and all the things we saw. I am still amazed to this day at how smoothly our trip went. We didn't miss one flight, we never got severely lost, and we didn't kill each other. SUCCESS!!!!