[Last Weekend in Italy]

My last and final weekend in Italy was spent in Positano and Capri. Gorgeous. Enough said. 

Positano, Italy

Optimistically we packed our sunscreen, bathing suits, and beach towels and left Friday morning for the coast. Friday didn't turn out to be the best day for weather. It ended up raining and was on the chilly side but that didn't stop us from enjoying our first night there. We had a group dinner next to the ocean and enjoyed seafood and wine with the sound of crashing waves in the background. The swimsuits and sunscreen stayed in our suitcases for the entire weekend, but the weather did pull through for us for the rest of the weekend. At 10am on Saturday we took the ferry to Capri, an island off the coast between Positano and Sorrento. I kept thinking about my mom on the ride over. She would have tossed her breakfast over the side if she had to even look at the boat rocking docked. I guess because of the wind and rain the night before the Mediterranean was a little choppy and by a little I mean a lot!  
Capri was a little touristy but perfect at the same time. The scenery was immaculate! I never saw water so blue, lemons so big, and the large amount of gorgeous people in one place. The girls said the gelato was the best in Capri that they have ever had, some actually got it twice (I resisted). The shopping was all high-end. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Prada to name a few. If the stores weren't name brands I knew their prices were on the same level as those I did. I can't justify spending the money on any of that stuff, but it would be nice if I could (one day). Late that afternoon we headed back to Positano making some Auburn connections with a mother and daughter from New York. Her son graduated from Auburn last year, small world!

Capri

That night I went to dinner with a few of the girls up the street from the hotel and ended my night with an intense game of Kemps. {{The object of Kemps is for one member of a team to accumulate all four cards of a single rank in his hand and to have his partner recognize that fact aloud by yelling "Kemps!" before another team realizes that his team has four of a kind. The winning team, after each hand, receives a letter (beginning with K, then E, M and so on). The first team to spell K-E-M-P-S or P-I-C-K-L-E wins. However, with other variations of the game, a target number of wins may be predetermined. Prior to the game, partners confer to create a signal to indicate when four cards of a rank have been accumulated.}} The night took me back to 7th grade at the Dallas Rec in my home town. We'd play kemps for hours outside in the summer. This time was just like that except I was in Southern Italy with my Chigi girls crammed in a hotel room! (I liked this time a lot more.)
Sunday morning I packed my bags, had breakfast, and ventured on a walk with Megan and Casey. Wondering why there were tons of people outside walking with olive branches had us skeptical until we realized it was Palm Sunday and instead of palms they used olive branches (a little more prevent around here than the States). We ran into the crowd of people outside the center church receiving a blessing. It was neat to see another culture celebrate a traditional Catholic ritual when I'm so used to something different. For the next hour the three of us made our way up and around the opposite side of Positano, more the 'local' side. It's amazing how people build houses on cliffs and travel up hundreds of stairs to get to their homes. Or how beautiful one place can be in any direction of view. We met up with some of the other girls to sit on the beach until it was time to meet the bus to go back to Ariccia. 
Positano was a great way to end the past 3 months; a great location with a great group of friends.

Positano, Italy

Positano by Night

Ticket

Positano from Boat to Capri

From Boat to Capri

Capri

No Horn (first time i've even seen this in my life!)

Lemons in Capri (huge!)

Expert of the Days:
{Positano}

• it is a small town in which the main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.
• split in 2 by a cliff bearing the Torre Trasita (tower).
• the west side has the smaller, less crowded Spiaggia del Fornillo beach, and is less expensive.
• the east side has the Spiaggia Grande beach, backing to the towns center.
• Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta is a lofty, ceramic tiled dome, and is the towns most famous, and pretty much only, major sight.
• the Blue Star, on Spiaggia Grande, has small motorboats for about 55 euros per hour to rent, and organizes excursions to Capri and Grotta dello Smeraldo.
• Spiaggia del Fornillo has Centro Sub Costlera Amalfitana which offers dives for 60 euros for 2 hours and also has lessons!
• Nocelle is a tiny, still isolated mountain village that has some of the most spectacular views on the entire coast-- easiest way to get there is by public bus (1.10 euro, 30 minute ride).
• Praiano is an ancient fishing village and has one of the coasts most popular beaches, Marina di Prala.

(via Rae Ann Boswell)

{Capri}

• Described as Luxuriant, extraordinary, and such a mild climate.


• Capri is a Mediterranean island of calcareous origin that has been visited over the centuries by intellectuals, artists and writers, all enthralled by its magical beauty. A mix of history, nature, worldliness, culture and events that daily blend together and bring the Legend of Capri to life; a legend that sees no comparison anywhere in the world.

• It is an Italian island in the Tyrrenhian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy.  It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.

• Features of the island are the Marina Piccola (the little harbour), the Belvedere of Tragara, which is a high panoramic path lined with villas, the limestone cliffs called sea stacks that project above the sea (the Faraglioni), Anacapri, the Blue Grotto(Grotta Azzurra), and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas.

• Capri is part of the region of Campania, Province of Naples. The town of Capri is the main center of population on the island. It has two harbors, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande (the main port of the island). The separate commune of Anacapri is located high on the hills to the west.

• The etymology of the name Capri is unclear; it might either be traced back to the Ancient Greeks (Ancient Greek kapros meaning "wild boar"), the first recorded colonists to populate the island. But it could also derive from Latin capreae (goats). Fossils of wild boars have been discovered, lending credence to the "kapros" etymology, but on the other hand the Romans called Capri "goat island". Finally, there is also the possibility the name derives from an Etruscan word for "rocky", although supposedly the Etruscans never actually ruled the island, making that etymology less likely.

• Things to see:
• Blue Grotto
• Church of San Michele Arcangelo
• To Eat:
• Capri can be quite expensive but there are many supermarkets you can grab and pack a lunch for the beach.
•  Shop:
• Capri’s Via Camerelle is tantamount to fashion addicts heaven, a spectacular open-air catwalk which commences in front of the Grand Hotel Quisisana and concludes at the start of Via Tragara, lined with boutiques in which to admire the extravagant creations of all the world’s greatest clothes and jewelry designers.
•  Safety:
• Be sure to be aware of your surroundings because it can be very rocky and dangerous in some places.

(via Taylor Deen)