So on October 12-14 I was sailing the Mediterranean and it was amazing! so Friday night we set sail with 20 of us and three sailboats from the port in Ostia ... it was a little cloudy at night but the amount of stars we could still see was amazing. the 8 of us on the boat stayed up till about 2 in the morning talking and enjoying the sound of the water. We sailed pretty much all night and in the morning i woke up to the lovely sound of the anchor being raised because I have the bedroom on the bow of the ship .... never have I been so startled in my life! so that morning we just anchored and swam in the med right in the middle of no where! and nothing for miles but water. and the water was soo clear that you could see the bottom even though it was 50 ft down (look at my pics it looks like 2-3 feet but it is 50) of course i spent most of the time in the water and eventually a bunch of us in the boat swam over to this volcanic rock in the middle of the ocean and climbed it and we found a place to cliff dive! it was about a 20 foot jump (like from the top of our foyer at home) I did it like 5 times soooo fun! eventually we swam back to the boat had lunch played some cards and then we took a small dingy into a bunch of caves it was soo cool. we went through a natural arch like in capri and there was an blue grotto that would be exactly like the one in capri except no light comes in from the top.
Later that night we went to the Island of Ponza and walked around a bit saw an amazing view of the ocean. I picked up Aviana's birthday present and 3 hours later we were back on the boat and docked in a cove to spend the night. I have never seen sooo many stars in my life and i also saw 5 shooting ones :) ! it was breathtaking!
Sunday morning I woke up in the most perfect way jumping in the ocean! we did about an hour of swimming then it was time to start heading home. However in the middle of our trip home our captain slowed down the boat threw a rope into the water and then said to jump in but make sure we grab the rope because if not the boat would leave us haha! after about a half hour of that we were back on the boat and watched the sun set into the ocean. I have to say that was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen in my life.
we were back in the port by 9 and monday morning I died a little inside not waking up on a boat!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
"You need more shoes maybe I come to you in the US"
So we get on the the port at 7:15 find the ferry we need and buy our tickets and it starts to drizzle. The ferry took about and hour but dont worry I was very entertained by this Italian man wearing bright pink pants. He and his friend had a bunch of packages so I was convinced he was a numbers runner for the mob... they just screamed sketchmister. And of course not even half way into the boat ride they try to talk to Katie andI and do not know one word in english. So all I got from the conversation was that he and his friend had scooters and wanted to take us for a ride. In which we said no but they kept trying to talk to us but finally found some group of american girls that were more then happy to talk to them and left us alone.
So one thing that you have to understand about Capri so my story doesnt confuse you is that the Island is called Capri but the two towns on the island are Capri and Anacapri. and when you land at the port you are on the opposite side of the island from the town.
so when we landed at Capri it was cloudy and overcast and i was hoping it would get better. We took the funiculare(cable car) up to the other side of the island to get to the town of capri. and upon arriving katie said "this place looks familiar i think i have been here before" ..... yeah she had been there like 5 years before when she came with a class and totally forgot ... she is a smart one!
So we walked down to an old monestary and we get to the court yard and I start noticing a large number of teenage boys. We didnt think much of it at first because it could be a school tour group or something but the boys kept peeking out of this door. It was funny because every few minutes the group of new boys would peek their head out and go back in this doorway and then another group would come out. so we happened to stumble upon an italian high school.... yeah only I would be able to find a high school in the middle of Capri. So we left and found a trail that lead to a beautiful look out! you could see the arch and everything!
after taking in this amazing view we went to find the beach! which was a rock beach... non conducive to walking but what evs. So we get in and the water is absolutely amazing and we notice all of these italian kids climbing this huge rock in the middle of the water and then jumping in.... so what do i do? of course figure out how to do it too! It was about a 10 foot jump and soooo fun!
After that I was determined to accomplish my only only goal for this whole trip.... HAND MADE SANDALS! so we took a bus to Anacapri and walked around for a while went to the famous limoncello place and sampled it. Then we went to Antonio Viva!!! He is the sandal maker and has been a shoe apprentice since he was 10 and have had this shop for years! He is the cutest old man ever. mine are silver with a little wedge heel. He tightened them to my foot and everything! They fit perfectly!
After this we got on the ferry to go home just before it started to rain... got to the train station and got on the train back to rome ... the only probem was it broke down for a little which made a 2 hour train ride 3.5 hours! .... i wasnt amused!
But an AMAZING trip none the less
So one thing that you have to understand about Capri so my story doesnt confuse you is that the Island is called Capri but the two towns on the island are Capri and Anacapri. and when you land at the port you are on the opposite side of the island from the town.
so when we landed at Capri it was cloudy and overcast and i was hoping it would get better. We took the funiculare(cable car) up to the other side of the island to get to the town of capri. and upon arriving katie said "this place looks familiar i think i have been here before" ..... yeah she had been there like 5 years before when she came with a class and totally forgot ... she is a smart one!
So we walked down to an old monestary and we get to the court yard and I start noticing a large number of teenage boys. We didnt think much of it at first because it could be a school tour group or something but the boys kept peeking out of this door. It was funny because every few minutes the group of new boys would peek their head out and go back in this doorway and then another group would come out. so we happened to stumble upon an italian high school.... yeah only I would be able to find a high school in the middle of Capri. So we left and found a trail that lead to a beautiful look out! you could see the arch and everything!
after taking in this amazing view we went to find the beach! which was a rock beach... non conducive to walking but what evs. So we get in and the water is absolutely amazing and we notice all of these italian kids climbing this huge rock in the middle of the water and then jumping in.... so what do i do? of course figure out how to do it too! It was about a 10 foot jump and soooo fun!
After that I was determined to accomplish my only only goal for this whole trip.... HAND MADE SANDALS! so we took a bus to Anacapri and walked around for a while went to the famous limoncello place and sampled it. Then we went to Antonio Viva!!! He is the sandal maker and has been a shoe apprentice since he was 10 and have had this shop for years! He is the cutest old man ever. mine are silver with a little wedge heel. He tightened them to my foot and everything! They fit perfectly!
After this we got on the ferry to go home just before it started to rain... got to the train station and got on the train back to rome ... the only probem was it broke down for a little which made a 2 hour train ride 3.5 hours! .... i wasnt amused!
But an AMAZING trip none the less
Monday, October 15, 2007
"85 people were killed in Naples Last year 81 were mob related"
Sorry to everyone for the lack of posts ... school has been really busy and the time that I usually use to post is now taken up by studying cause unfortunately I have to go to school here.
So the last weekend in September I went to Naples and Capri! So we left early Friday morning and took the train in to Naples and got there around 10:30. The ride through the country side was breathtaking. However when we got into Naples it was a whole different story because the skyline looked like the average American city. It was weird to see all of these modern buildings in between old castles or monuments. Because in Rome they kept all of the original architecture and just converted the inside of the buildings. I was also surprised how dirrrty everything was and not like Rome is dirty because Rome is the dirty because it is old but Naples has that Philthydelphia dirty feeling.
So once we got to Naples we hopped on the metro and got to our hostel only to find that the online bookings got messed up and we didn't have a room there. But the guy was nice and found us a room at a more expensive hostel for the same price. So we walked to this other hostel and in all honesty it was a downgrade so I dont understand how they charge 20 euro more but whatever. So we want to get checked in and get out which usually takes 30 mins tops but... no!the owner sits us down for an hour and 30 min lecture on Naples and why we should like it and blah blah blah. however the only thing good about it was the highlighted map of Naples that showed what areas we should stay out of and which routes we should travel and when the cheapest ferry is to capri. So as soon as we are done with his talk we so to the famous pizzeria Gino Sorbillo who it is said invented the calzone and had one wife and 19 kids (I KNOW!) so we had pizza which was amazing! then we set out for ercolano and saw Mt vesuvius... we didn't hike up it cause it was too close to closing time but we did go to the ruins which are much smaller then pompeii but are said to be better because there are two story buildings and the winds miss ercolano where as the beat on pompeii. But the place was awesome you could see the original paintings and tons of mosaics and a bath house.
after the ruins we went to see if we could get to the water. however we just ended up getting lost in the not touristy section with us looking extremely touristy.... probably not the best idea. but whatevs i am still here. so we find our way back to the metro and get back to Naples by dusk and get dinner at this really cheap and locals packed restaurant which was so delicious! and then we went back to the hostel because we had to wake up at 6 am to catch the cheap ferry to Capri at 7:35.
So in my italian politics and society class we just learned about the mob.... and I was wondering why there was sooo much trash in Naples. It was just piled up against buildings .... huge mountains of Trash that were higher then the dumpsters themselves! And I just learned that the Cammora (napoli mafia) is thwarting the states trash collecting efforts to gain a civil service contract from the state because they own a bunch of "illegal" incinerators .... Cause I guess swimming with the fishes isnt cutting it anymore! haha anyway this summer apperantly it was at its worst! the trash was past the windows on the first floors of buildings and almost to the second floor in some parts!!! Crazy!
So the last weekend in September I went to Naples and Capri! So we left early Friday morning and took the train in to Naples and got there around 10:30. The ride through the country side was breathtaking. However when we got into Naples it was a whole different story because the skyline looked like the average American city. It was weird to see all of these modern buildings in between old castles or monuments. Because in Rome they kept all of the original architecture and just converted the inside of the buildings. I was also surprised how dirrrty everything was and not like Rome is dirty because Rome is the dirty because it is old but Naples has that Philthydelphia dirty feeling.
So once we got to Naples we hopped on the metro and got to our hostel only to find that the online bookings got messed up and we didn't have a room there. But the guy was nice and found us a room at a more expensive hostel for the same price. So we walked to this other hostel and in all honesty it was a downgrade so I dont understand how they charge 20 euro more but whatever. So we want to get checked in and get out which usually takes 30 mins tops but... no!the owner sits us down for an hour and 30 min lecture on Naples and why we should like it and blah blah blah. however the only thing good about it was the highlighted map of Naples that showed what areas we should stay out of and which routes we should travel and when the cheapest ferry is to capri. So as soon as we are done with his talk we so to the famous pizzeria Gino Sorbillo who it is said invented the calzone and had one wife and 19 kids (I KNOW!) so we had pizza which was amazing! then we set out for ercolano and saw Mt vesuvius... we didn't hike up it cause it was too close to closing time but we did go to the ruins which are much smaller then pompeii but are said to be better because there are two story buildings and the winds miss ercolano where as the beat on pompeii. But the place was awesome you could see the original paintings and tons of mosaics and a bath house.
after the ruins we went to see if we could get to the water. however we just ended up getting lost in the not touristy section with us looking extremely touristy.... probably not the best idea. but whatevs i am still here. so we find our way back to the metro and get back to Naples by dusk and get dinner at this really cheap and locals packed restaurant which was so delicious! and then we went back to the hostel because we had to wake up at 6 am to catch the cheap ferry to Capri at 7:35.
So in my italian politics and society class we just learned about the mob.... and I was wondering why there was sooo much trash in Naples. It was just piled up against buildings .... huge mountains of Trash that were higher then the dumpsters themselves! And I just learned that the Cammora (napoli mafia) is thwarting the states trash collecting efforts to gain a civil service contract from the state because they own a bunch of "illegal" incinerators .... Cause I guess swimming with the fishes isnt cutting it anymore! haha anyway this summer apperantly it was at its worst! the trash was past the windows on the first floors of buildings and almost to the second floor in some parts!!! Crazy!
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