My weekend on the Amalfi Coast

Friday morning Erinn and I ate breakfast in our hotel over looking the Mediterranean with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. At 8:30 sharp, we left the hotel with our group to meet the other group, who was staying at another hotel, before we got on the ferry to Capri. The 30 minute ferry ride to Capri was beautiful. It was a sunny, beautiful day and from that I knew it was going to be a wonderful day.

Once we docked in Capri, we immediately got on another much smaller boat to take us on a tour of the island. On our tour took us around the entire island and our guide pointed out all the good spots and gave us the history of Capri. The captain took us super close to a lot of small caves so we could be as close as possible to the beautiful blue, clear water. I couldn't believe how blue the water was. It was so beautiful. As we passed the Blue Grotto we found out it was closed for the day and we wouldn't be able to go. Bummed we couldn't go but amazed by everything else we saw, we got off the boat and went to find lunch.
From the port, myself and a group of people from my school took the bus up to the main square in Capri. Some people stopped at the first restaurant they saw once they got off the bus but I knew that'd mean an overpriced, tourist meal. I kept walking, accompanied by my friends Katie and Kailee until we had found ourselves in the middle of local neighborhood at a little place called Michel'angelo Ristorante and Mozzarella Bar.
I'm so glad we kept walking because this is the second best meal I've had in Italy. I had  Gnocchi with mozzarella, tomates, and basil served in a parmesan bowl. It was so delicious that I didn't even pick out the tomato chunks. I ate every single tomato! That's a big step for me and I usually don't like tomatoes if they aren't made into a sauce or hidden inside something. The waitstaff were so kind and made us feel right at home.
We finished our lovely meal and headed back to the piazza. While sitting enjoying the view of Capri, my friend Gavin appeared out of nowhere. I invited him to come down to the beach with us and he happily accepted. We joined with another group of people from our school and headed down to the beach. Instead of taking the bus we walked down all the way down. It was a great walk. We found a snake, a beetle, and a few lizards along the way.
Once we got to the beach, half of the group went in the water and half stayed on the shore to relax. I stood in the water up to my knees looking for sea glass and aquatic life. The freezing water got to me pretty quickly so I sat on the beach in the sun, reapplying sunscreen regularly, till we got back on the ferry to go back to Sorrento. We were on our own for dinner so Erinn, Kailee, Jamie, and I went to dinner at the restaurant next to our hotel. We had a great dinner before heading in for the night.
Saturday we were free to do whatever we wanted. Everyone but Angelina and I went to Positano to tan and drink on the beach. Angelina and I went back to Capri so see the Blue Grotto. We took the ferry back to Capri and got on a small boat headed to the Blue Grotto. Once we arrived outside the Blue Grotto, we got in an even smaller boat. With only 4 of us in the boat, our guide rowed us into the Blue Grotto and we were both immediately stunned. 
The Blue Grotto is absolutely stunning. To get inside, you have to go through a small opening to the cave which you need to lay down to get fully through without hitting your head. Once inside, the sunlight illuminates the water turning it from a deep blue to an iridescent, turquoise. The men rowing the boats all sing the same
song while inside the cave so all
their voices echo around creating
a magical atmosphere.
You're only inside the grotto for a little less than 5 minutes but it's completely worth it. The little boat took is back to our boat which took us back to the dock where Angelina and I waited for our ferry back to Sorrento. With half the day left and wanting to explore more, Angelina and I took the bus to Positano.
We arrived with just enough time to walk all the way down to the beach, put our feet in the sand, turn right back around, and hike back up the mountain. The walk up and down was worth it and just what Angelina and I wanted to see. We were waiting for the bus and 2 buses passed us without stopping because they were packed to the brim. All seats and standing room full. But the third bus was our lucky charm as there were seats for all of us.

Since we couldn't get on the first 3 buses, we were slightly behind schedule and had to rush to get ready for dinner. We met up with our school group in the lobby to walk to dinner. My school organized a group dinner for all those that went on the trip. It was delicious and well deserved after a long, wonderful day. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to go straight to bed as we had an early start for our next adventure.
Tired but excited for the day ahead, Erinn and
I got out of bed and got ready for the day. We packed up our bags and headed downstairs to get on the bus to Pompeii. I napped the whole bus ride and arrived ready to explore Pompeii. We were split into small groups for a guided tour of the ruins. The ruins were fascinating and I'm so glad I had a guide to tell us all about them. Our tour ended a little early, giving us extra time to use the restroom and I have lunch before getting back in the bus to go to Mt. Vesuvius. Again, I napped on the bus.
Mt. Vesuvius is a dormant volcano and I was beyond excited to hike it! I've always wanted to look down into the center of a volcano and I did this past Sunday. The hike up had no shade and the ground wasn't to stable but it was so worth it! And it felt so great to hike again. I didn't realize how much I missed hiking. From the top of Vesuvius you can see for miles. I wish I was living closer to there so I could hike it again. With a train to catch, I hiked down Vesuvius and got back on the bus to the train station.
Now I'm back in Florence going to school and doing homework until Thursday when my next adventure starts. 

Little fish, 7€ wine, and a free haircut

Monday and Tuesday were weirdly long days. Neither day was bad but it wasn't entirely great either. Wednesday made up for both days.
Yesterday in both my Business classes, we went on a field trip. The first field trip was to a jewelers shop. The owner has been making jewelry since his father taught him when he was a young boy. He and his wife own a shop around the corner from the Duomo. Both are extremely passionate about their work and have made pieces for celebrities and royalty around the world. The most recent famous client is Prince Charles. Prince Charles and Camilla were visiting Florence this past weekend and he gifted them with some jewelry. My second field trip was to a vintage shop. The owner has dedicated his life to accumulating and buying the finest vintage clothing to have in his shop for his customers. His shop is so wonderful and filled with lots of name brand vintage clothing.
Once our field trip was over, I needed to run some errands and my friend Katie tagged along. Our first stop was the Frescobaldi Wine Bar and Restaurant to make a reservation for that evening. Katie, Kailee, Jamie and I were assigned Frescobaldi for our business project. Our teacher suggested that try a few Frescobaldi wines for research. We walked in and were greeted by Primo, the house manager and coordinator. He very excitedly took our reservation and was looking forward to us coming back in order  to help us with our research.
Our next mission was to find cheddar cheese. We looked in 6 different grocery stores before we found it in a specialty store. We were beyond excited when we found it as we've been looking for it since we got here. All we want it for is to make some good mac'n'cheese. From there our next mission was hair scissors. My roommate Melony is a licensed hairstylist and offered to cut my hair if I got a pair of hair specific scissors. I've been looking for weeks. After what seemed as if we had checked every farmacia and hair care store in Florence, I headed home to do homework before Katie, Kailee, and Jamie came over for mac'n'cheese before we went wine tasting.
I walked in the door to my apartment and walked right back out. As I set my stuff down on my bed, Erinn popped her head into my room and asked if I want to get my feet eaten by little fish. Confused but intrigued, I agreed. 10 minutes into our walk to the fish place, I saw a large pharmacy across the street. With a little hope, I popped in to see if they had scissors. And they did!! I was so excited because that meant tonight I was getting a haircut.
The fish feet place was a few minutes past the pharmacy. We walk into the small room and there are 5 tanks of small fish strategically placed around the room. The lady working there greeted us with a smile and began to explain the process. First we washed our feet and put on paper sandals to walk to the tank. You sit down, take your paper sandals off, and put your feet on the footrest on the top of the tank. Once you're ready, you put your feet in and the fish immediately rush to your feet.
The sensation of the little fish taking the dead skin off your feet is weird at first. Once you're used to it, it feels like a small jacuzzi jet against your feet. We sat there with our feet in a tank full of small fish for fifteen minutes before we carefully pulled our feet out of the water, making sure we didn't take any little fish with us. With our smooth feet, we happily walked home.
Just as I sat on my bed once Erinn and I got home our buzzer rang, meaning Katie, Kailee, and Jamie had arrived. We all sat in the kitchen and chatted as we made mac'n'cheese. With just enough time to make it to our reservation, we walked out of my apartment and to the wine bar.
When we arrived, Primo happily greeted me and introduced himself to the other girls. He took us to our outdoor table and let us look over the wine menu before explaining how this would work. He said he'd bring us wines to try and explain the history and winemaking process of each wine as we tasted it. He brought out the first three wines and gave us each a small pamphlet on all 15 of the Frescobaldi wineries. In total he brought out 12 wines for us to try. 

Kailee, Jamie, Primo, Katie, and I

We tasted 2 whites, 1 rose, and 9 reds. Each wine was just fantastic. Surprisingly, as whites are usually my favorite, all my favorites were reds. The Pomino Pinot Nero and Pietraregia were my two favorites. The Pomino is aged in the bottle for 1 year and 6 months.
Primo was such a fantastic host. He took time out of his actual job to share his knowledge of wine and Frescobaldi with us. He was an amazing host and to put a cherry on top, he only charged us 7€ each. Definitely the best 7€ wine I've ever had.
I arrived home excited for Melony to cut my hair. I hopped in the shower, got dressed, and sat down in my kitchen for my much needed trim. Melony is so good at cutting hair! My hair feels healthy and wonderful again. 
Today was uneventful until I got on my train to Sorrento about 5 hours ago. It was a little over 3 hour train ride with an hour bus ride afterwards to the hotel. I slept on the train and listened to an audiobook on the bus. Now I'm sitting in my hotel room, tired but ready for my fun and sunny weekend on the Amalfi Coast. 
P.S. We researched the fish thing online once we got home from it, which in hindsight we should have done before we went, and found out it's been banned in 10 different countries so we won't be trying this again anytime soon.