I never updated on my last days in Italy. My mom and I after a couple of relaxing days in Florence (exams were over, and finally I was free to play tour guide) set off to the Tuscan town of Cortona. Most of you may know if from the movie (and book), "Under the Tuscan Sun" (which my mother and I downloaded on iTunes after we left). I however know it through the eyes of a wonderful italian friend, Rosy, wife of one of the artists who has worked with my mom. It was incredible to travel through the countryside with someone who knows about it best. Rosy showed us around all of the sights near Cortona and showed us a good time with all of her fascinating friends. Eat, drink, and be merry has never been so appropriate. Cortona is a beautiful hill town the overlooks the valleys of Tuscany. You have to walk up a hill to get anywhere, but it is all worth it, as every turn is another picture perfect image. We spent hours talking with Rosy, eating bruschetta, drinking Prosecco, talking politics, etc. I tell everyone I felt like I was in the Great Gatsby when meeting the intellectuals who Rosy luckily calls friends. We visited St. Francis's cell as well as a fort that gave incredible views. It was a wonderful time spent and that was only day one.
Amalfi Coast was more spectacular than I had imagined. It was Cinque Terre on a bigger scale. Getting there was however pretty exhausting. After 3 trains and 2 bus rides we finally made it up to our incredible bed and breakfast "Colle Dell'Ara" owned and run by 3 brothers. It was in the mountains above Positano to reach it we had to hike up about half a mile. The views were absolutely amazing. My mom and i both agreed that we were glad we chose something away from the town, as it gave us a different viewpoint of the land. That night, we had an awesome dinner at a local restaurant "Fattoria La Tagliata" where they have a set menu fit with antipasti, primi piatti, secondi piatti, and dessert. By the end of it all we could not move and the hike up to the bed and breakfast was harder than expected. Luckily, the next day our stomaches had settled and we were able to set out into Positano and explore. It was a cloudy and cold day, so we spent our time looking at shops and hanging out drinking tea by the shore. That night we relaxed at the bed and breakfast and instead of stuffing our faces we decided to pick up some cheese bread and tomatoes for dinner.
The next day, we set off to Capri at 9:15 in the morning. We were able to catch a boat there and it gave us a tour around the island. When we got there, we found some friends we had met on the bus ride to Positano from Chicago, so we sat and talked and ate pastries before setting off into the town.
My mom and I decided to skip the ritzy areas of Capri and hike on the outer part of the island to The Natural Arc and other trails. I still can't get over how incredibly beautiful it was and how blue the water was shining through the canopy of trees and rock formations. After a couple of hours, we were back to the main stretch of the city and we thought we would check out another trail to another lookout point. However, the directions didn't come as easy this time and we ended up taking back roads down to the Small Arena. Still, it was beautiful. We were fortunately able to take a bus back up the island and had a small late afternoon snack and enjoyed the sun. It was then already time to head back to the boat. Oh... but wait. Where did we get off the boat? It seems that both my mom and I were too in awe of the beauty of Capri to make sure we knew where to get back on the boat.
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Finally we hopped on another that was headed to Positano and 5 minutes later I was passed out. The day took a larger toll on me than I expected and a cold was started to set in. We finally arrived back to Positano after another beautiful boat ride (that I was half asleep for) and had the meal I had been waiting for in the south of Italy. Seafood! Pasta! Wine! My mom ordered pasta with shrimp and I had linguine with clam sauce. Of course, we shared each others and barely had time to talk between the mmm's and the eating. It was my first time having clams, and I was not disappointed!
We headed back up to the bed and breakfast for another early night (after another long and eventful day) to get ready for the next day. This was our last sunset in Positano and we were sad to wave the beautiful scenery goodbye. In the morning, we packed everything up and set off to hike the "Sentiero Degli Dei" or the Path of the Gods. We only could hike about an hour in because we had to catch a bus (then another bus, then a train, then another train, then another train, then a shuttlebus....) for Rome. The path was incredible and we were sad we could not go further, but it left us some imagination and the need to come back someday. The rest of the day was spent traveling (7 hours of it, to be exact) and finally I went to bed for the last time before heading back to Charlotte in the morning. It was an incredible end to an incredible semester. I still have images of mountains, renaissance art, good food and sunsets dancing in my head, or is that on facebook as I retreat to the pictures of summer study abroad students in Italy? Both, I guess.
Well... I guess this is goodbye for now. See you soon with other adventures to come. Ciao Ciao!
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