Capri

Friday was extraordinary! Ahhh, Capri was just so much fun! We started off with breakfast at the hotel, around 7:15am. In order to do this, I woke up at 6:30am.  Yup, a mere three hours after I’d gone to sleep the night before! I was exhausted and decided that Friday night was not a night for me to go out. We met the bus at 8am to go to the Sorrento Marina. Before leaving our hotel that morning, I talked with two girls, Kat and Victoria, who are also on this trip without friends. Naturally, we bonded over that. They were both super sweet, and that made things instantly better. Kat has these peculiar shoes that have spots for all of your toes to go into; so funny! Those shoes were quite the conversation starter… with everyone she encountered! I forget their exact name, but it was something like Vibrant Toes. I may or may not be making that up. We hung out at the dock for a while, waiting for the ferry to arrive in Sorrento!

The ferry ride was low-key, and I stood outside on the deck watching the water. So peaceful and calm. While we were waiting to arrive, I began talking with these two girls named Lisa and Angela. I am having the most difficult time remembering names here. It is absurd. I told those two that I was alone on this trip and they said that I could tag along with them. I was soooo happy to hear that! Kat tagged along too, and the four of us made a day out of Capri.

Capri is just as, if not more, beautiful than I remembered it being. The gigantic lemons, the limone granita, the limone gelato, tutti sono limoni! It was fantastic. You might not know this, but I absolutely LOVE lemons. Basically, Capri was paradise for me. I went a bit crazy souvenir shopping that, but in no way, shape, or form do I regret it. These are the days that I’m living it up, that I’m making every moment count, that I want to remember for years and years to come. I bought a souvenir for myself; a small green bracelet adorned with the lucky bell of Capri. I’ll add the little legend in a bit. I bought something for my apartment back at Elon. I bought something for my parents. I bought a few postcards to send back to friends and family. I bought something for Molly.  I bought something for a few friends back at home. Like I said… I went a little crazy. I typically have intense buyer’s remorse… but this time, I feel completely satisfied with everything I bought. No regrets, just happiness.

The island was absolutely gorgeous, though the weather did take a turn for the worse as the day wore onward. The clouds set in, the rain begin to pour, and the smiles turned to frowns. Note: a smile was present on my face the ENTIRE day. I am absolutely in love with this whole “traveling by yourself with a tour group” thing. Everyone has been soooo welcoming to me, and I’ve made several new friends.

We went on an optional tour of the island (by boat naturally), and elected NOT to enter the blue grotto on account of the sub-prime weather. Rain, fog, and choppy waters do not make for a fun time. We shopped absolutely everywhere, as is evidenced by my purchases of the day. Kat bought an exquisite music box and Lisa and Angela both bought their own custom designed necklaces. Lisa’s had an anchor, a heart, and a cross, symbolizing work, pray, love. Angela made hers with a heart, an anchor, and a bell, symbolizing love, work, and Capri! I absolutely love my bracelet and am so glad we stopped in there.

After trekking up to the centre of Capri, we were pretty much ravenous, so we went to lunch at this adorable, if slightly overpriced, restaurant. Kat and I both ordered a spicy pizza, while Lisa and Angela ordered a Pizza of the Sea (seafood pizza, essentially). We all claimed to be absolutely stuffed, but clearly that wasn’t the case, as we later had gelato (pineapple and strawberry for me), and pastries (a pinenut cookie for me). Another gluttonous day, surprised?

We arrived back at our hotel in Sorrento around 7:30pm. I attempted to nap until 8:20pm, as dinner was being served at 8:45pm. I napped for about ten minutes, in total. :/ I went upstairs for dinner, and was delighted with the bruschetta, spaghetti, salad, and fruit. Our table asked for Parmesan, and we were instantly brought some. We asked for fries (because we saw people on the other side of the room receiving them, and soon were brought a heaping plate of fries and roasted chicken. The servers at this restaurant were so helpful and appeasing. It was a beautiful day.

I can’t believe that my birthday is on Tuesday. My 21^st Birthday. In the US, this day would be celebrated with more booze than one should ever imagine… but here, I don’t even want to celebrate it. I love my friends at Elon so much, that I can't imagine celebrating such a monumental birthday without them. Another girl on this trip (I completely forget her name) has her 21st birthday on Thursday, so we agreed that we should both go out this weekend in celebration of our upcoming birthdays. That should be fun.

Sunday… Positano!! It is supposed to rain all day. I guess time will tell how the weather turns out!