Friday — April 13
It may be Friday the 13th, but in Italy that's not an unlucky day, so I tried to keep that in mind. We woke up and went upstairs for our free breakfast which consisted of a couple croissants and juice. There's a reason it was free, but it was something to start off the day at least.
We met everyone in the lobby at 8:15. The tour guides were going to lead us into Sorrento to the Marina. Today was supposed to be filled with a lot of beautiful outdoor activities, but unfortunately it was icky and rainy. I didn't know what to expect from today.
As I was walking with the group down the road, I was having a war with the wind and my umbrella. It popped inside-out a few times, but I was persistent and didn't want to get wet.
When we were getting close to the marina it got windier. I had to close my umbrella when we walked down a plethora of stairs because it was just way too windy.
When we finally got to the marina, we hopped on a ferry which took us to Capri. I was exhausted and fell asleep on the 30-minute ride.
When we got there I was really excited to see the place, despite the fact on how cold it was and how rainy it was. I have always wanted to come here after seeing pictures. This place also holds one of the seven wonders of the world, which I really, really wanted see — the blue grotto.
We all piled off of the ferry past people waiting to get on it to go back to Sorrento. We went to a souvenir shop in hunt for ponchos and Michelle for a sweatshirt.
Lydia asked me if I wanted a pull-over one or a button up one. I said the button up one would be fine. Mistake. When I put it on, I buttoned the wrong ones and then when I tried fixing it I ripped one.
So since the hood of my poncho wouldn't stay up, it was kind of pointless, but oh well.
The first thing on today's agenda was to take an island boat tour around the island, and if it was nice enough out we would be going into the blue grotto. They told us right off the bat we weren't going to get to see the blue grotto because the water was too high because of the waves and rain. They said even when the water is calm you have to lay down in a tiny boat for four people to get into it.
When we saw what boat was taking us on the tour we wall laughed. It was small and it looked like we were going to have to stand outside and it was raining. This was going to be interesting.
The first boat took the first half of the group and another boat came, which Michelle, Lydia and I got on. Thankfully, there was enough room under a hood where the entire group of people could sit and not get wet — not that we weren't wet enough already.
When the boat pulled out, the ride wasn't too bad. It was still raining and the water looked a bit mean and intimidating, but I didn't think much of it. Despite the fact that it was really icky out, I could still see how beautiful this island was. I could see how blue the waters were and how pretty it was.
-Lydia and Michelle-
A little into the boat ride, things got a little rocky...literally. The waves were getting more rough and I grabbed onto a pole. I was doing fine, a little nervous, but I was doing fine until the boat seemed like it was basically on it's side. There were times when we went right into a wave that crashed on us. There was one point when a wave came on my side and crashed into us, tilting the boat.
Michelle and Lydia were having a blast, taking pictures and enjoying the excitement. I as having fun, however, I was brainstorming how to swim back if we went under. I was clearly not having as much fun as them. There were times Lydia snapped pictures of me that weren't even posed:
It was definitely a ride of a lifetime.
I figured though that the drivers knew what they were doing and we wouldn't be out there if it wasn't safe. The driver was pretty impressive too because on top of his skills, he was still talking about what we were seeing and passing. There was one point when the waves crashed so hard that I ended up in a guys lap. I started laughing because this was getting ridiculous. I sat down and held on for dear life after that.
Thankfully on the other side of the island, the waters were much calmer. I'm not sure why, but they were. The driver showed us where the blue grotto was, which was really cool, but I was really bummed we couldn't go in it. I could see why though you can't go in if the water is too high. The entrance is so tiny!
On our boat ride was also passed this beautiful waterfall that spilled into the sea, which was gorgeous.
When we got back to the mainland, I was thrilled to be on land. We were led to an incline which took us to the top of the island where there is another part of the city. From up top the view was gorgeous. You could see how blue the water was in some points. I could also sense how high up we really were because we were basically in a cloud!
Since we were up higher, it was obviously much more windy.
Since it was raining, the tour guides found something for us to do inside. They said there was a perfumery in Capri called Carthusia, which was supposed to be interesting. We weren't required to go here, but we wanted to be inside for a bit.
On the walk I had to fight with the wind again. I finally gave up because it was pointless and I allowed myself to get soaking wet. By the time we got to the perfumery I was dripping. I felt so bad for walking into the store like this, but then I realized everyone and their mother looked just like me.
The perfumery smelled AH-MAZING, of course. It was really cool to see the bins where the perfumes were made. We tried a bunch of different scents. They all smelled so natural and pretty, but I didn't want to get anything because it was super expensive.
When we were there Michelle ran into her boyfriend Ryan and his friends. I knew a few of them, so we all hung out after that. We went in hunt for food after the perfumery. When we were walking a man sort of summoned us in and told us we could have pizza for €10. I had packed my own lunch, so I wasn't planning on getting anything beside a drink. We decided to stay and he led us upstairs. It was Lydia, Michelle, her boyfriend Ryan, and his friends Dan and Ryan, who I knew already. Dan and I lived on the same floor sophomore year and Ryan lived with Carolyn here in Florence.
We all felt kind of awkward sitting at the table because it was super quiet and it seemed like it was a really expensive place. And that it was. I ordered a €5 hot chocolate because I was so cold. I thought the price was ridiculous, but I needed warmth.
We stayed inside as long as we could because it was so cold and rainy out. Ryan, Michelle's boyfriend, made fun of the people outside because they were getting rained on and then Dan said we would be those people soon enough, and that we would.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon we tried staying inside cafes and stores to stay dry. It was kind of depressing because I really wanted to see the beautiful island like I've seen in pictures, but the weather was not permitting it.
We had a lemon cello tasting at 3:00 that Florence For Fun had set up. We had accidentally stumbled upon it earlier in the day and ended up staying there until then. I'm not a huge lemon cello person, but I figured I'd give it another try. There were other flavors too like strawberry and mango, but I still didn't like it. The after taste is just so icky. I don't know how mom loves this stuff. At the tasting though there was a lemon chocolate that we tried and I fell in love with. It was soooo good and so different from things I've had before. Lydia and I ended up splitting the cost of one bar.
After the tasting we ventured around for a bit and then found a cafe to sit at. I ordered a cappuccino, which was expensive again. I was quickly learning that Capri was a bit pricey. We ended up staying there for an hour and a half to kill more time while trying to dry off a bit.
-Dan and I-
We were supposed to meet the guides at the Capri marina, where we started our day at, at 6:00 p.m. At 5:30 we walked to the incline and took one down. We ended up getting down there earlier than we wanted, but we saw a ton of people from Florence For Fun waiting in restaurants and such.
We walked in and out of souvenir shops to kill time while we waited. Finally we went to check in and get our ferry tickets. After another 15 or so minutes of waiting the ferry finally pulled in. While we were waiting these old Italian women pushed through us quite rudely. I was surprised because they were grandmas and you imagine them to be friendly, but these women most definitely were not. I was thinking calm down women, there are plenty of seats on this boat for everyone.
During the ride back to Sorrento, I wasn't as tired as the ride in to sleep. I watched some girls from Florence For Fun be obnoxious and pass a bottle of alcohol around. They were clearly wasted and a lot of people were watching them shaking their heads. No wonder some people think all Americans do is party.
When we got back to Sorrento, we had to walk a little bit, but thankfully the busses were there to drive us back to our hotel. I didn't want to walk all the way back because it was ll down hill this morning, which would mean I would have to walk up hill the entire way home. Plus my shoes were nothing bu puddles of water, so I just wanted to get home as fast I could.
When we got back I changed into my yoga pants and sweatshirt. I had never been comfier. We went upstairs for our free dinner that the hotel provided for us. It was a two course meal with dessert, which I was excited about because I was starving.
The dinner was quite filling, but of course I saved room for dessert. When I tried mine, which was white, it was good, but different. There was a chocolate looking pie that Michelle got and the waiter must have heard me say something about it because he brought a piece out for me. He was too kind, but I tried telling him I was way too full to eat two pieces of pie. But it made me smile.
After dinner I was pooped. My body was so tired from shivering all day and being wet, so I just relaxed in the room with Lydia and Michelle. We watched Crazy, Stupid Love before falling asleep, which made me quite happy.
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