No Pasta, No Pizza

For our last night in Terracina, my mom, Laura and I went out to eat at a restaurant, we ordered white wine and pizza, so she could try how different it is over here. The wine was soo good, the pizza...not so much. I could be biased though, I am so sick of pasta and pizza. I never want to see either of the P's again.






Our trip to Naples from Terracina was a lot easier than we expected. We woke up at 5, caught a bus around 6 and then took a train to Naples around 730. Getting off the train, my mom mentioned the unemployment rate in Naples, the city was absolutely disgusting. There was trash piled up everywhere, there was trash covering the floor of stores, and the amount of homeless people we saw was ridiculous. We caught a taxi and checked into a hostel called Hostel Bella Capri which was right by the port of Naples, so getting on a ferry for any of the Islands was super easy.




Laura in the hostel

This was my first hostel, it wasn't anything like what Imagined it to be. It was kind of gross, and I didn't want to touch the comforter on the bed but the rest of the hostel was pretty nice. The place had free wifi, free breakfast and we had our own bathroom too. There were a lot of backpackers staying there, we met some from Hungary.



Boat ride to Capri !

We left for Capri around 930am, which got us to the island early but even then it was still so crowded with tourists. I think the main attraction tourists go to see in Capri is the Blue Grotto, so there were huge lines for boat rides everywhere. My mom got us a private boat ride through a company called Whales Capri, our driver's name was Antonio who spoke only a little bit of English but was so nice!



















The boat ride was at 12 and lasted till about 330. He took us all around the island, showing us all the famous mansions, grottos, coves and beaches. He took us to the Blue Grotto first, which was absolutely crazy. There were men everywhere on little boats coming to pick people up to take them into the grotto. To get into the small cave, you had to lay on your back so if the waves lifted the boat on to the roof of the opening, you wouldn't hit your head. As soon as it was our turn to enter the grotto we laid on our backs, it was so scary seeing the rocks come just inches away from your face! Once in the grotto it was so beautiful, there is just one opening so the light shining through the entrance made the water a really pretty glowing blue. The boats inside the grotto circled around a couple of times while singing in Italian, their voices echoed throughout the cave making it sound really cool.



















We weren't able to go swimming because it was so crowded, but if I ever come back to Capri I definitely want to jump in

The next couple of stops on our boat ride were of famous houses, cliffs that looked like elephants, turtles, and even the Virgin Mary. My favorite part of the boat tour was when Antonio took us to the Green Grotto, he told us we could jump in if we wanted and swim through it. Laura and I jumped off the boat and swam under gigantic rocks through a cave that was just as pretty as the Blue Grotto. The water was glowing light green and was absolutely freezing, me and Laura tried to stop in the middle to take a picture but almost sank to the bottom while trying. We swam through to the other side and he met us there to pick us up. It was so much fun, the water was so clear but so colorful...I want to come back to Capri just to do that again.





















The last two stops were the White Grotto and a little man sitting on a rock that welcomes everyone entering the island. When you pass by him, you are supposed to say Ciao!















After the tour we went up to the town of Capri, we saw a wedding and had Coladas right by the marina :)




















So good!




Drinking a CapriSun under Capri














On Sunday, we decided to scratch our Amalfi Coast plans and visit the island called Ischia. It is the same distance as Naples to Capri, and we heard the beaches were beautiful there. We caught a 1030 ferry and took a taxi to the island's most famous beach called Maronti. It was so nice!







This island really reminded my mom and I of Tortola, BVI with the hillside houses and beautiful beaches.








Was a lot less touristy than Capri




Now back to Rome :( another test on Thursday. Two weeks of class left, then a trip to Rhodes, Greece!

Location:Naples, Capri and Ischia