Overall a pretty boring weekend...

Final Day of the weekend and Positano!

The last day of the weekend we took a bus along the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento to the small town of Positano. For Stephanie and Alex this meant motion sickness and pure terror, respectively. The road was extremely narrow and it wound all over the cliffs. Also, if the bus driver happened to lose control we would be taking a several hundred foot fall into discomfort (I guess this validates Alex's fear). Personally, I don't know how these guide dozens of buses down this road everyday, it was pretty incredible. Anywho, the views as expected were amazing and the town of Positano was just as beautiful as Capri. My only regret was not getting a guided tour around this place, but we didn't have enough time to hang around very long since we had to go back to Florence.

More Capri Photos

Day 2 and Island of CAPRI!!!!

Ok, this was officially my favorite day in Italy to date. Capri was incredible all around (except for how expensive it was). Imagine Newark, New Jersey for a moment, then add beautiful cliffs, water, and Italian culture, then remove all of the pollution, dirt, and crime and you get the island of Capri. Alex, Jordan, Stephanie, and I rented a private boat to take us around the island for a couple of hours which turned out to be a great value for only 25 euro each. Lorenzo our guide was a really funny guy who took us to all the important sites and let us do pretty much what we wanted to. The famous blue grotto was closed so that is my excuse for going back... However, we did go swimming at the green grotto and we boated under the famous rocks that jut out from the ocean.



This is the blue grotto. It is really hard to see, but there is a small hole to the left of the staircase. Apparently, when you go inside it opens up and you can take a boat in to see the really blue water and cave formations.

Here is a youtube video of what is inside:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcJCh-8FDS4

Also, here are other pictures from the day. And yes, the water really is that blue/clear/awesome looking. The last picture is of Lorenzo our awesome guide.

Weekend trip to the Amalfi Coast

This past weekend I took a short sojourn with my Bentley peeps to the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, and the Island of Capri in Southern Italy. The first day we got there I went to Pompeii since the weather was cooler and overcast. It was a nice experience overall, but I have to say without a tour guide all of the ruins begin looking like a pile of rocks after 3 hours or so. The coolest part of the adventure was definitely seeing some of the mummies in the houses. One of the guys (see below) looked like he was having an absolutely miserable day after Mount Vesuvius exploded. Then again I would probably be in a bad mood if I was getting covered in 3 meters of burning ash. Oh well, next time hire Pierce Brosnan from Dante's Peak to check out the volcano before you set up shop right next to it. Here are some pictures from the this part of the trip.

Forbidden photos

Sent from my iPhone

Day trip

After a few days in Tuscania we took a trip to Viterbo and the surrounding countryside. Viterbo is a small town just 20 minutes or so from orientation that is, just like Tuscania, very authentic Italian. We went to this giant villa (the name escapes me at the moment) which was built by two Cardinals and this place was amazing. It was built symmetrically with the town and on this massive hill. A stream flowed down the hill all the way to a secret garden in front of the villa with a fountain in the middle. Also, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the interiors of the villa, but lucky for you I am very surreptitious in my Iphone picture taking abilities so you will get the best views of the frescoes...lucky you.

Italy!!!

Hey all! Sorry I haven't updated recently, but Italy is very busy. So after arriving in Rome and experiencing the worst jet lag of my life we got on a bus to Tuscania, Italy for orientation. In a sentence, orientation was both a blast and a disappointment. It was great exploring a small Italian town and meeting locals (although it was difficult to communicate); however, the orientation itself was pretty dry and miserable.

First let me get the bad out of the way...if you ever go to Tuscania, Italy (it is beautiful I recommend you go) DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT stay at Hotel Tuscania. The three women that run the place are the most inconsiderate, prejudice, tramps in the entire town. They assumed that every person on our trip was a rambunctious American looking to trash their town and they treated us like we somehow were inconveniencing them by giving them our business. Just go someplace else.

The good: the town is beautiful and no one speaks English so you actually have to apply your weak Italian skills right from day one. The food is delicious and the town was alive with festivals, markets, and shows.

Some pictures from Tuscania: