Amalfi Coast in the Rain

I never thought I would have so much fun at the beach in the rain. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of taking a bus2alps trip to the Amalfi Coast. Specifically, we went to Sorento, Capri, Positano, and Pompeii. In case you are unaware, bus2alps is a trip organizer that caters to study abroad students. They provide all transportation and lodging, and organize most of the activities that you would want to do anyway, all for a flat fee. It's a great company and I hope to go on more trips through them. Anyway, back to the trip; we left rome at 8:00 pm on thursday and went straight to our hostel in sorento. I was fortunate enough to stay with some friends, as bus2alps lets you pick your roommates for the hostel. We didn't go out at all that night, as we had to depart for Capri the next morning at 9:00 am, which is really, really early for a group of college students who are on vacation from their vacation. I'm glad I did sleep, because I was able to stay awake for the bus ride, which was absolutely incredible. Think of James bond driving along the side of a mountain, hugging the curves and blasting around corners while overlooking very steep cliffs and amazing views of the sea. That's how the drive to Capri was, except we were in a coach bus, not an Aston Martin. Technically, we drove to a dock, and then took a ferry to Capri. Once at Capri, we did a lot of sightseeing, though the rain did prevent us from doing a few things, such as going inside of the Blue Grotto, but we were still able to walk around and take in the sights. The rain did not prevent us from taking a chairlift to the top of the island for some incredible views. Check Facebook for some pictures of the views. (Side-note, there is a bar on the top of the island, but it was closed due to the weather). For lunch we ate in a really authentic italian restaurant, and I bet you'll never guess what I ate. OK it was pizza, but it was definitely in the top five for pizza I've had in Rome so far. Our departure from Capri is where the rain really started to make this trip interesting. We were required to meet at the dock so the ferry could take us back to Sorento, but surprise! The water was too rough for the ferry to dock there. The bus2alps crew put their problem solving hats on and arranged for more private buses to take us to the other side of the island where the water was calmer and our tiny little ferry boats could dock safely. Once we finally were on the ferries, I had the most fun of the day. Sure near the dock the water was calm, but in the open water there were some substantial swells and waves. The boat nearly capsized on more than one occasion, and it was awesome. (Yes Dad, there were lifejackets on the boat, but in typical italian fashion, we didn't really worry about putting them on). We finally arrived  back at our hostel and got in a much needed nap. That evening we went our to a delicious steakhouse and I finally got to eat some meat; don't get me wrong, I love pizza and pasta, but I need some red meat every once in awhile. The evening continued at a club, agin pointed out by the bus2alps guides, and it was a lot of fun. It was outdoors, so the rain forced everyone under a small covered area, but I still had a blast dancing to the 90's rap. The next day, we took another exciting bus ride to Positano for some fun in the sun on the black sand beaches. However, it was pouring rain. That didn't stop us though; we rain through the rain and dove right into waves that were big enough to shut down any American beach. Seriously, it was scary at times. I opted not to swim out very far, but there were definitely some brave souls that went out far past where their feet could touch the sea floor. After that initial dip in the water, we spent most of the day sightseeing around the city, and even did a wine tasting. It was somewhat similar to Capri, except for the beach, so I'll move on to the evening festivities. At night, my friends and I had planned to hang out at the hostel, as it essentially becomes one big party at night. However, we were informed by our bus2alps guides of a club within a cave back in Positano. The hostel arranged a private bus for students that wanted to go, and the club did not disappoint. It played great music, had great views of the water, and really was inside of a cave. We got back to the hostel later than I care to mention in my graded blog and tried to get a little sleep. On the final day of the trip, we went to Pompeii. If you are unaware, pompeii is an ancient city that was completely buried by ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted. Today, the ruins are available for tourists to walk through as the ash kept them very well preserved. There are even fully preserved bodies of people on display. I know you are excited to read more, but I am going on a guided tour of Pompeii in a few weeks, so I'll save more of the fun info for that blog post. Overall, I had a really awesome weekend, and realized that even when things don't go as planned, just go with the flow and you'll have a blast. I knew that to be true already, but to truly live it was a great experience. Check out facebook for some pictures of the trip. Bye for now