Bon Voyage: Capri, Italy

After a long train ride to Naples (yes, we still had to go there to get to Capri) we finally made it to the port in time for the 12:00 ferry to Capri, the home of Limoncello on the Amalfi Coast! We were all definitely the most excited about Capri, simply because of all the amazing pictures we had seen, and when we got off the boat, we were amazed by the natural beauty of the island. Everything was sunny, blue, beachy, and there were lemon and orange trees EVERYWHERE (basically, my idea of heaven on earth)

 Our precious Villa owner, Carlo picked us up from the port and drove us back to his hostel, Villa Eva, located in Anacapri, about 15 minutes from the port of Capri. It is a super small island, so you can get pretty much anywhere in about 20 minutes. He showed us Anacapri city center, which is where we spent most of our time, and then took us to our beautiful villa. We had a house with 6 beds, a terrace, and beautiful views. To say we got lucky with our hostel choices is a massive understatement!

We walked into city center to get some lunch, and it was so precious! There were little shops that had gelato, Limoncello, linen clothes, basically anything that an islander would need! They also had amazing Italian food, of course, and my first meal in Capri was ravioli, such a solid choice. The sun was shining brightly, so we sat at a piazza and ate gelato and watched the school children play soccer while we got some much needed vitamin D (and farmers tans, unfortunately) all in all, perfect first Capri day.

The next day we had a wonderful breakfast at the villa, and headed into city center to take a chair lift to the top of the mountain. It is the best view of Capri, and also really scary. You basically sit in a chair, where there is a bar restraining you, and take a ride up the mountain where you are let off at the most amazing view you have ever seen in your life. At the top of the mountain, we took some pictures and had a few drinks while we enjoyed the amazing view and unknowingly got super sunburnt. We took the chair lift back down after a few hours and then laid out on our terrace (can you tell we haven't seen sun in 4 months?!) All the while, I was picking thorns out of my hands from where I grabbed a cactus thinking it was a fig, thats what too much sun mixed with alcohol will do to ya! That night we went out for one of our final dinners, where I had a wonderful mussel and clam pasta with home-made pasta, y'all, it was delicious. Seriously, my mouth is watering just thinking about how great it was.

On our last day in Capri, we took a bus down to the port and rented a boat for an island tour. Of course, we were all severely sunburnt by this point, so the ride was a bit uncomfortable, but beautiful nonetheless. I have never seen more clear water in my life (even in Mexico!) and no matter which way you turned, it looked like a postcard. We saw the coral, white, and green grottos, lighthouse, and basically every inch of the outskirts of the island. The last stop was the infamous blue grotto. Here, you lay in a small row boat where a driver rows you into the grotto, and the whole inside is blue. The light reflects on the walls and the water is the most pure shade of blue you have ever seen. Definitely worth seeing at some point in your life (be careful though, our ride was about 2 minutes for 12 Euros, total rip off) At that point, we headed back in from the port and went to Anacapri city center for lunch and gelato, and hung around there most of the day. That night, we all took showers and packed for our early morning of traveling.

After waking up at 4, and taking 6 modes of transportation (taxi,ferry,bus,airplane,tube,train..whew) I am finally back on London soil, much more tan/sunburnt and missing Italy so much. It was definitely my big trip while studying abroad, and to say that I loved it would again, be a huge understatement. The people, food, environment, and exquisite scenery were more than I could have ever expected and every minute was full of a wonderful experience. I cannot wait until I can explore more of Italy and everything it has to offer again, but until then.. Ciao beautiful Italia!!

Next up on my study abroad agenda: PARIS on the 25th! Until then, unpacking, laundry, homework..