Capri Part 2

The weekend after my mom and sister returned to the US, I decided to visit Capri for the second time. My friend, Annalisa, worked there for the summer season at the Palace hotel, a 5-star hotel in Anacapri. The hotel paid for her apartment and fed her all meals there. It was a great gig!

The beautiful blue waters of Capri

I took the train from Rome to Naples, then took the boat from Naples to Capri. That day, we went to Faro beach and had an aperitivo there. We saw the most beautiful sunset over the water.

That night, we went to Jerry's-a friend of Annalisa-house for dinner. He lives in Capri as opposed to Anacapri in a house overlooking the entire island. To say that it was beautiful, spectacular, amazing is an understatement. Jerry is from Capri, but lived in Scotland for 10 years up until a year ago. He's a musician/DJ.  We went with another friend of Annalisa's, Deanna, who is from Australia. She was living in London when she met a manager from the Palace hotel who suggested her to come to Capri and work for the summer.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the view from Jerry's house

Later that evening, we went to an upscale club in Capri where I had one of the funnest nights of the summer.

Annalisa, Diletta, me, Jerry, Rob and Deanna

Saturday morning, Annalisa and I went to the blue grotto and went for a swim. She had to work in the afternoon so we didn't stay too long.  I took the bus back to Faro, where I had gone the previous day, and hung out at the beach until Annalisa finished work.

Saturday evening, we met up with a few of Annalisa's co-workers for an aperitivo, then went to a disco in Anacapri and once again, danced the night away.

Annalisa and I at Faro Beach for an aperitivo

I stayed at a very reasonably-priced Bed&Breakfast next-door to Annalisa's apartment on Friday night, but they were completely booked for Saturday. I couldn't stay at Annalisa's because she lived in a house with 6 other girls, so I stayed at her friend, Ludovica's house on Saturday.  Ludovica lives with her parents at the top of Anacapri in a villa, not a house, a villa! The walls were made of stone with tile floors and every doorway was an arch. They have a gorgeous swimming pool and a very large terrace with beautiful views of Anacapri/Capri.

terrace at Ludovica's house

This second trip to Capri was a completely different experience than the first when I went with my mom.  I truly got to live the island life with Annalisa and her friends. They were all so friendly and made me feel extremely welcome. I definitely felt a little envious of Annalisa and her amazing summer adventure!

Me and Rob, Annalisa's friend

Annalisa, me, Deanna and Jerry

Siena and Beyond

This post is far too late, but I can't miss blogging about any travel i've done thus far, especially when this particular trip involves so many different cities!

Night sky in Siena

After Tom, Andy and Alise flew back to America, Mom and Abby stayed for another week. We rented a car-MUCH smaller than our "living room on wheels"-and mom braved another day of driving in crazy Rome to get us out of the city.

Abby and I in San Gimignano

Our first stop was Siena where we spent a few hours in the cathedral then had an aperitivo in Piazza del Campo, where the Palio horse race is held each year. The city is small enough to see everything in an afternoon or a full day. We stayed at the cutest hotel that night before setting off for San Gimignano the next day.

Abby in Piazza del Campo

San Gimignano was/is my favorite non-sea city in Italy! It's a short 45-minute drive from Siena. San Gimignano is known for their towers, of which they have 14 still standing, whereas in most other italian cities, the towers have been taken down in wars.  Abby and I climbed 300 stairs to the top of one of the towers.

view from the top of the tower in Sam Gimignano

We also enjoyed some of the famous wine from this region, made from the vernaccia grape.

After some hours in San Gimignano, we drove a couple hours to the seaside town of Forte dei Marmi where there is the first ever Sundek store.

Abby at the Sundek store

Our final destination that day was La Spezia in Liguria.  After a bit of difficulty finding our hotel, we finally made it. La Spezia is not a particularly nice city, but we decided to stay there because there is a train that goes to all of the towns in Cinque Terre. Our hotel was located directly next to the train station. It couldn't have been a better location.

The three of us in Corniglia, Cinque Terre

The following day, we took the train to the first of the five Cinque Terre towns, Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

It was a hot day so we decided to take a swim before going on to the next town.

Another view of Riomaggiore

We walked the Via dell'amore, which is the path that connects Riomaggiore to the next town, Manarola.

Abby on the Via dell'Amore"

Manarola is the oldest of the five towns dating back to the early 1300's. Manarola is also know for the wine they produce, Sciacchetra. 

 Manarola

We took another swim in this town as well.

water in Manarola

To reach the next town of Corgniglia, you must take the train. The path is closed due to heavy rains last year that caused a mudslide. The town sits atop a promontory. You have the choice to take the bus to the top or do as Abby and I did and walk the 382 steps up. It wasn't as bad as it seems.

Corniglia

There is a beautiful view of the sea and the other cinque terre towns at the top of Corniglia.

view from the top of Corniglia

This day wasn't full enough so we decided to continue on and visit the fourth town, Vernazza.

Vernazza

We arrived in time to eat dinner down by the water and watch the sunset.

sunset in Vernazza

The following day, we got up and took the train to the fifth town, Monterosso al Mare. This town has the least character of the five, but has the largest beach area. We wanted our final day of vacation to be completely relaxed, so we stayed in this town the entire day.

Beach in Monterosso al Mare

That night, we walked into town and had another dinner on the water followed by watching "The festival of the dragon." Everyone dressed up as pirates and marched around town.

Festival of the Dragon

All of Cinque Terre was spectacularly gorgeous.  It was the one place in Italy that I wanted to visit more than anything. I loved all the bright colors of the buildings, the blueness of the sea, and the views of these cities built directly into the mountain.

We got up early the next morning and drove 3 hours to Orvieto, a town in the Umbria region of Italy. Orvieto is known for their underground city where there lies numerous caves. We took a tour of some of the caves and it was neat to see old quarries or where people once kept pigeons to eat, etc.

Inside the caves

We stayed in Orvieto that night and it just so happened to be the "la notte bianca." All the shops stay open through the night and there were various concerts in some of the piazzas.

Abby in Orvieto 

It's suffice to say that we had a fantastic tour of Italy this second week of my mom and sister's stay. I'm so thankful that I got to see all of the cities i've always wanted to. I was so happy to spend more time with my mom and sister and enjoy their company.

Ciao from America!

Well, I'm writing this blog post from America.  I arrived on August 27th.  I had said back in my post on Dublin that I was 95% sure that I was moving back to the states at the end of September because my lease was up in Rome and that I was done teaching at my school. It is true that my lease is up and it's also true that i'm done teaching for my school in Rome, however, I am headed back to Italy this Tuesday, September 11th.

A couple days before Anna and Giuseppe's wedding, I met one of Giuseppe's cousins who happens to have the same name. He lives in a town called Matera that's 30 minutes from Irsina with his wife and 3 sons who are 18, 15 and 5. I was talking to him about how I didn't like Rome and I was going to move back to the US when he offered for me to come live with he and his family in Matera for the fall. Matera has always been one of my favorite cities and I love the close proximity to Irsina and my friends there! The family owns a small apartment on the first floor of their building complete with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom that I get to live in. They live on the 3rd floor in a much larger and more beautiful apartment.  They have offered for me to stay at their house for free and would like me to speak english to their children.  As of now, I will be tutoring 15 15-year olds in the afternoons and am hoping to find a part-time position for a company in the mornings to keep me busy.

Matera is a town of 60,000 people compared to Rome which has 2.8 residents. Matera is one of the first human establishments in Italy and dates back to 9,000 years ago. It is roughly 5 hours by car from Rome and the closest major city is Bari, only about 1 hour 15 minutes by car.

I'm very excited for this next chapter in my Italian adventure! The family has not asked me to stay for a set-period of time and have said, if I like it, i'm welcome to stay and if not, i'm free to go.  I love this flexibility, but am also fairly confident that I will love living in this city.

All of this means that I will continue to be blogging! I've had the best travel year of my life and I can't promise that my fall will be as exciting as the spring, but i'll definitely keep you posted on my adventures.

back in Rome...and an engagement!

After the Tremiti, we came back to Rome for 2 days because Alise, Tom's girlfriend had never been before. We spent Friday afternoon doing a quick tour of Rome's main sites...St. Peter's, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps.

Spanish Steps

It was at the top of the Spanish steps that Tom proposed to Alise!!!

the newly engaged couple!

We had plans to go to dinner with Anna and Giuseppe that night in Trastevere.  What better way to celebrate than with the newlyweds and the newly engaged couple. After dinner, we went for a drink down along the river where there are heaps of outside bars set up only for the summer.

such a beautiful night/view from the top of the steps

Saturday, Tom, Alise and Abby toured the Colosseum and the Roman Forum while Andy, mom and I went "bar hopping" around the area to drink many coffees.

Abby and Andy at the Colosseum

We then went to Piazza Venezia and saw the tomb of the unknown soldier, followed by some shopping down Via del Corso.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

That night, we had dinner at the restaurant that Giuseppe and Francesco work at.

Smith Family and Frankino at the boys' restaurant

Tom, Andy and Alise flew back to Ohio that Sunday. We were sad to see them go, but had a great time touring central/north Italy for the second week that Mom and Abby stayed for.  More on that in the next post!

Alise's beautiful ring!!

Tremiti Islands

The day after the wedding, we had our last lunch at the Caggiano's then set off for Termoli, Italy.  Termoli is a city that lies on the eastern coast of Italy right on the sea. We stayed at a B&B in this town because the next morning, we hopped on a boat to the Tremiti Islands.

Termoli

I had once asked Giuseppe for a suggestion of where to take my family after the wedding that he thought would be beautiful.  His suggestion was the Tremiti Islands.  He had never been before, but had always heard how gorgeous they were...and gorgeous they were!!

The Tremiti Islands are an archipelago in the Adriatic sea made up of 5 different islands that are also a natural maritime reserve, although some parts are only partially reserved.  The most touristic island of the five and the one we stayed on was San Domino. A short distance away is San Nicola, which is the most populated island and where all of the locals live.

view of San Nicola from San Domino

The other 3 islands are uninhabited. In fact, one of these, Pianosa, is 22km from the others and still has undetonated bombs from WWII therefore not allowing anyone to even step foot on the island.

Abs and I on the boat tour around the islands

Our hotel was in a great location near the center of San Domino. We had a path that led to one of the few sandy beaches on the island...it was a far way to the bottom!

view of our beach from where we had lunch

We took a boat tour around the islands and got to jump off at onen point and have a swim. The hotel gave us scuba masks so we could explore the different fishes and reefs in the clear, clear waters.

looking at the fish off our boat

Next, we stopped off at San Nicola and saw the Badia Castle and toured around that island for a bit.

the 6 of us on San Nicola

That night, we took a night boat tour around San Domino that was offered by our hotel.  The manager, Gaetano, who spoke great english, luckily for us, gave a tour in both italian and english.  He leads this tour every 2-3 weeks because the Diomedee, a species of birds, comes out only when the moon is not out.  They fly around the island and their sound is like a baby crying.

view from the castle on San Nicola

We had the beset time here and I would highly recommend these islands to anyone! It was not overcrowded with tourists and it was neat to see an island that is still highly preserved.

Going into one of the many coves of the island on the boat

I have too many beautiful pictures from this trip that it's hard to choose the best to post on here!

My favorite picture of the 6 of us

Anna and Giuseppe's Wedding

Well, I'm back from being out of Rome for almost the entire month of July.  I went down to Irsina with Anna, her mom and her friend, Megan a week before the wedding to help with all the last minute things. My family arrived the Saturday before and we had a great time that night at the Caggiano's for a BBQ in the garden with many family and friends.

All of us in Matera the Sunday before the wedding

It is tradition in Italy for the groom to serenade the bride the night before the city.  Sunday afternoon, a large group of us went to Matera to tour the ancient caves.  On our way back, Giuseppe dropped Anna and her mom off at the apartment in Irsina they were staying at, while the rest of us drove to Giuseppe's parents house.  Almost everyone who attended the wedding the next day was at his house the night before.  After we all hid in the garage, (Giuseppe's dad is a mechanic, so it's a very large garage) they had Anna and her mom come back over to Giuseppe's thinking that she had one last trial of her wedding dress (Giuseppe's mom made it!). While Anna was upstairs, we all came out of the garage and upstairs, Anna was forced out onto the balcony where she was completely shocked to see roughly 100 people below her.  Giuseppe sang her the song, "Ti Amo" while one of his friends played the guitar.  He then sang her, "Stand By Me" while all of the english speaking people chimed in. Nicola, Giuseppe's dad, popped some bottles of champagne and toasted to the couple-to-be.

Anna and Giuseppe on the balcony after Giuseppe serenaded her

The day of the wedding, the bridesmaids and Anna were up bright and early at 6am. We all had to be to the hair salon by 6:30. I had my hair done first and I absolutely loved it.  Giuseppe's uncle did all of our up-do's for us and every girl loved their hair.

Anna, her mom and brothers pre-wedding

I took the girls, at different times, to get a cappuccino and cornetto for breakfast at a bar in town and each time, someone paid for our breakfast...it happened 3 times! I was running around like a mad woman that morning trying to get everyone and everything where it had to be.  By the time of the wedding, I was completely exhausted, not to mention hot!! It had to have been more than 100 degrees the day of the wedding. The church stays fairly cool, but not that cool.

Anna and Giuseppe outside the church

The invitation said that the service was to start at 10:30, but in typical Italian fashion, it didn't start until just before 11:30. The ceremony in the cathedral was beautiful and they even had Adriano, one of Giuseppe's best friends, translate the homily into english.

Anna and Giuseppe in the church

After the ceremony and taking pictures in the church, we took a charter bus to Villa Schiuma in Matera.  It is a beautiful villa with a large entertaining space and a great patio outside. It's hard to even put into words the reception.  First, there were cocktails and appetizers on the patio.  Then, each person/family got to take a picture with the bride and groom on the lawn.  After a few hours, the pictures were ready and handed out to each person as a gift. There was then a 10-course meal, which felt like 20.  There were 3 starters, 2 pasta dishes, 2 fish courses (one being lobster), 1 meat course, fruit, cotton candy/gelato, and finally, dessert. I was full after the 3 starters! For each course, there was a presentation done by the waitstaff at the villa...they would come out and dance or do some tricks with the plates...it was really a show. In between each course, everyone danced and mingled.

Abby, Mom and Tom with their bibs on for one of the seafood starters

The wedding cake was served in a gazebo on the lawn in the dark with lights only on the bride and groom. After the cake came a surprise for everyone, fireworks!! The reception was supposed to last until 9 or 10, but people didn't leave until midnight. I know that I will never attend a wedding like this one. Even though it was such a long day, the day flew by.  There was so much planning and anticipation that went into this wedding that at the end, I wanted to go back and re-do it because I felt like the day went too fast.

Me and my Rome friends

It was a beautiful day and Anna and Giuseppe couldn't be happier together.  After all of Anna's family went back to the US, they left for their honeymoon at a villa in Sicily. I wish for them a lifetime of happiness and joy together :)

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen running on the lawn of the villa