After twelve hours of traveling yesterday we finally made it back to Munich. And now I have to study for two midterms and write a twelve page paper. But since I'm the worst blogger ever for not updating in weeks I will finally sit down and share all of the craziness I have been living.
I will pick up where I left off... The boat cruise was beyond breathtaking and I cannot even explain how lucky I feel to be seeing and doing all of this. We boated all the way around the Island of Capri, and towards the end we got to the rather well known site, the "Rock of Love." You're supposed to either kiss your boyfriend or girlfriend underneath the rock or make a wish about them. So I made a wish about my dog Junior. Tehe just kidding.
When we got back from the boat cruise we hiked up towards the center of the island and the views got even better if that is even possible.
There's me after hiking up the mountain sweating for half an hour!
Since we were sweating and starving to death after hiking for in 100 degree weather, we decided it was time for an authentic Italian lunch. Literally might have been the best pasta I've ever had. I'm drooling right now thinking about it. We shared a caprese salad and then I had gnocchi. Oh my god. Italian food is every bit as good as it is said to be.
So delicious.
After lunch we had to somehow get back down to the bottom of the mountain, and we had two options; pay more money than I had left to take a chair lift down.... or walk. Now, walking down a mountain might not seem that difficult. I assure you if you think this you are very wrong. Apparently this mountain is where Tiberius used to throw slaves off the top of the cliff during the days of the Roman Empire- or something like that. So yes, it was high. And terrifying. And very hard to walk down.
But I reverted back to a lesson from my dad- when we were in Israel we hiked up the Masada instead of taking a chair lift. It was a strenuous three hour hike, but it was a million times more rewarding in the end.
So we took the long way, which was much more rewarding, and got to see some of the best views on the Island. But even better than the views was our new friend Salvatore.
On the way down, there was an art gallery made by the cutest little man in the world. He showed us all of his favorite pieces, shared with us his letter signed by Prince Charles (that he was very proud of,) and whipped out his guitar and played a song for us that he wrote about leaving his heart in Capri. So precious.
Anyway, some more pictures of the view:
When we finally made it down, sweaty and disgusting, we went for a swim in the pee-temperature water and then passed out on the beach.
Later that night, we went for dinner at another small Italian restaurant in Sorrento. Dinner was comprised of wine and pasta... I could definitely get used to the life of an Italian. We went to an American bar afterwords with all the Bus2Alps kids. Too many shots of tequila later, we made it home. In the morning I looked on my camera and discovered this picture:
All in all, it was a successful day.
The wake up at 7 the next morning on the other hand was NOT so successful. But, off to the beautiful city of Positano we went.
If any of you have never heard of Positano (I hadn't before this trip...) it is a BEAUTIFUL little town embedded in the mountainside overlooking the Mediterranean. In order to get down to the beach you have to walk through narrow little alleyways filled with shops for souvenirs, unique little clothing boutiques, and lots of gelato. The sand is black and the floor of the water is covered with smooth black rocks.
Honestly, the views are breathtaking.
We went on another boat tour around the island. But before-hand we stocked up on wine and the best turkey sandwich of my LIFE with the freshest mozzarella and tomatoes and omg I'm drooling again.
This picture is just screaming perfection.
The boat was a major success. Wine flowing, hair blowing, okay this is getting corny but basically it was awesome. We ended up swimming around this area for a while and it was SO scary but sooooo so cool.
In the back left corner of this picture you might see a ledge to go cliff jumping off of. Obviously anyone that knows me knows I did NOT take part in any cliff jumping of any kind. However Barbara did, and I was very proud of her.
When we got back to shore we walked around the shops for a while--- and Mom, guess what? I found your chicken that was stolen off our front porch three years ago!
Here's a pretty picktcha:
(Yes, I went shopping. Sorry Mom.)
Later that night the four of us got all dolled up, only to sit and talk over a few bottles of Limoncello and not do anything until like 2 am. But eventually we made it up to the bar on top of the hostel (almost everyone was gone.) Actually, everyone else was gone. But there was one champ standing. I honestly couldn't tell you his name because I don't remember it at all. But he was an Australian guy who has literally spent the past six months of his life, and plans on spending another fourteen, traveling by himself throughout Europe. Talk about adventurous. His stories about traveling, people, places, how to avoid being a tourist, were extremely memorable, and thanks to him I scratched a few American-tourist spots off my travel list and will try to venture out elsewhere in Europe.
The next day was our last day, and before heading to the airport we stopped in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. I was absolutely blown away by some of the information our tour guide gave us.
First of all, here is a picture of the known center of the city:
And now for some fun facts. Mt. Vesuvius is the large volcano seen in the background of the picture. It erupted in 79 AD and was the largest eruption known in history. It has erupted 106 times since then. Humans have began uncovering these ruins since the 1700s, but still to this day, there is about 50% STILL uncovered.
Before the volcano erupted, Pompeii was one of the most advanced Roman civilizations. The population was about 20,000 and it was a main Roman port because of how close it was to the sea.
Now, some pictures:
Creepy.
These guys used the 3rd dimension in their art way before 3rd dimension was around. What clever fellas.
Ok and now for the part that I was absolutely blown away by: How advanced Roman technology was over 2,000 years ago.
You see this little hole in the wall on the left side of the picture?
It was for insulating their walls to keep them warm.
They had irrigation systems, LAUNDROMATS???, art work that was WAY ahead of its time, a Red Light District, Penises drawn on their sidewalks so sailors could find the way to the Red Light District (I swear I'm not making this up,) PIZZERIAS!, 60 bars throughout the city with wine cellars below-ground, absolutely beautiful architecture, etc etc. I was completely amazed by this.
This was in the living room of one of the villas. I wish my living room had artwork like this.
Our adorable little tour guide with one of the many fountains throughout the city.
The girls in front of the brick oven in the pizzeria!
The Red Light District aka Whore House
The "Menu" in the Whore House
Cheeeeeeeeseeee
There were two things I thought about a lot while in Pompeii. One was how interesting it is that the Romans were so advanced technologically, yet they conquered and killed unreasonable numbers of civilizations and peoples. And probably the only way they could have been the amazing Empire they were is because of this. I suppose that is just a reflection of their values- power over life?
The other thing was that as much as our world has changed, we still have SO many of the Roman technologies incorporated into our every day lives... that maybe things haven't changed all that much. I don't know... just some food for thought.
That's all for Pompeii folks.
..........
Ok so then after Pompeii we sat on a 90000 degree bus for four hours, finally got to the airport, decided we needed a drink, downed a bottle of Absolute Vodka, and that is that.
I hope you enjoyed my summarized weekend in the beautiful Amalfi Coast, because I sure as hell know that I did. I will try to update soon with an Oktoberfest post. But Thursday, I'm offffff to Ibiza. Such a jet-setter.
Now, wish me luck on the fourteen million hours of school work I'm about to do.
Miss you all, mi familia y mis amigos. Thinking about you always.
Xoxoxoxo,
Yarden
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