Train Strikes, Naples, Sorrento and Capri.

My traveling adventures have officially begun. And please note that that backpack I am carrying in the picture is all I brought with me all weekend! Anyone who knows me will be proud! Our plan for the weekend was to leave for Sorrento early Friday morning. But as we all know, nothing can ever go as planned. Thursday we learn that there will be a train strike and no trains will be traveling on Friday. So....we all packed up as quick as possible, and head to the train station for Naples (the connecting train to Sorrento). We get to the train station and think we have a whole hour to get to the train and grab a bite to eat...but nope it was leaving in 5 minutes. We quickly got our tickets and sprinted to through the train station. It was seriously like a movie, because we got on the train just as it was leaving. Priceless moment and lots of laughs.

We arrived in Naples at about 9:30 and were off to find our hotel for the night. Now Naples is a city of rich history, but not necessarily the best place for five American girls to be walking around at night. We quickly found our hotel and checked in. Our luck began to turn around because we were put in a suite since they gave our original room away. Then it was off to find some food, because we were five very hungry girls by this point. Kim, Laura and I went off to find the closest restaurant, leaving anything of value up in the apartment with the other two girls. We walk out of the hotel to find hookers on the side of the road, literally working the corner. We quickly hustled into the restaurant across the street. We found the owner and his wife and father sitting outside enjoying a glass of wine. Luckily the owner spoke english! So we ordered 5 plates of pasta, a liter of house wine, and some bread, and waited for it to be prepared while we chatted with the owner, who also gave us free homemade lemonchello shots! Finally we brought the food back, had a nice family dinner with wonderful pasta and our slumber party begins there.

In the morning we headed to the train station to catch what we thought was a train to Sorrento. Only to be told that regional trains and buses were also not running. Luckily with no help from anyone in the train station we figured out that we could take a ferry to Sorrento. We headed to the docks to catch the next ferry not knowing at all how much this would cost us; but, at this point we didn't care because we were just trying to get out of Naples. Well our luck turns around again because it was only 10 Euro and a quicker trip.

Finally we arrived in Sorrento. We checked into our hotel and had lunch. Then it was up to the pool for some relaxation time. The hotel in Sorrento had a pool on the roof as well as downstairs and was absolutely wonderful. After a day of laying in the sun we cleaned up for dinner. We decided to have dinner down by the water while the sun was setting, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Sorrento is probably the second prettiest place I have seen. Capri is the most beautiful place I have ever seen...but that comes next.

The next day we went to Capri, a little tiny island in Southern Italy. It was so beautiful. There were these houses and buildings built into the side of the cliffs, and the clearest water I have ever seen. We were hoping to lay on the beaches but it turns out Capri doesn't really have beaches but we made the best of it and laid by the ocean for half the day. Taking breaks only to float around in the beautiful water. Kristin and I purchased goggles and went exploring. We basically only saw little tiny fish but it was still fun.

Our last adventure in Capri was taking a chairlift to the top of Ana Capri. This was the best part of the trip I thought. You could see all of Capri and the surrounding areas. It was breathtaking, I will never forget that view.

Then it was back to Sorrento where we had a wonderful dinner. I had this delicious lobster and pasta. I was skeptical of eating lobster that wasn't Maine Lobster, but I must say this was great lobster...and a great treat since all I have really eaten since I got here in Italy is pizza and paninis.

Our last stop on our journey was Pompei. This is another favorite of mine. I have always been interested in Pompei so this was really exciting for me. The five of us spent hours navigating the streets of Pompei and trying to give ourselves a self guided tour. It was a really great time, even though we were exhausted. If I even went again I would probably hire a tour guide though just to learn more about the sites; but, either way it is an amazing place to see. Excavations on Pompei have been going on for 300 years and are still not finished so you can imagine how much there is to see. The picture above is of the Forum, and you can see Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

 This picture is of Kristin and I trying to Navigate through the ancient streets of Pompei. I believe we are trying to find some famous Brothel, and the public baths at this point.

This coming weekend it is off to Switzerland, for some adventure in the Alps. I will try to blog again before I leave; but I have a ton of homework to do this week so I am crunched for time.

Ciao!