Honesty and Royalty
It's a long one:
Tuesday was our last class day for week three. Wednesday morning found us up before the sun. The day had much in store for us, as we ventured to Pompeii and Naples. I find it hard to explain the surreal feeling that accompanied this trip. To see the remains of an entire city that was destroyed 2000 years ago is unbelievable. It was truly heart-wrenching to see with my own two eyes the actual casts of the very men and women who died because of that terrifying day long ago. (I speak of the day when Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed all of Pompeii.) I hope my pictures can tell something of the story.
Our next stop, Naples was a little dirty, but I liked it. If you wipe away the film of pollution that covers the city, it is a beautiful place. Massive buildings cover the main square and little boys are everywhere, running circles around you as they try to score a goal for their makeshift soccer team. I couldn’t help but kick my leg out in the middle of them and steal the ball…it was a great play, if I do say so myself. Who says heals, sports, and cobblestones don’t go together? I think it’s the perfect combination.
We stopped into a famous bar in Naples for a treat. (Side note: Here, any place that sells coffee, gelato, candy, cokes, whatever, is called a bar. Places with alcohol and loud music are called Pubs or Disco-techs. I must confess that I’ve been to both. I’ll get to that later, I’m getting ahead of myself.)
Back to Naples, we visited an incredible museum that was dedicated to all remains discovered in Pompeii after Vesuvius erupted. It may have included some other things as well, I’m not sure. I saw the original “Atlas.” So cool! Please tell me you know who Atlas is, nobody with me knew about him. (He’s the guy that held the whole world on his shoulder.) It was really neat, but I don’t know why I was so captivated by it.
The statue of Hercules was… [I have no words, so I insert an open mouth here]…gosh, I think my jaw hit the floor. The men who created these statues were made of raw talent and pure genius. I can not comprehend making something with such detail and realism. Amazing.
From Naples, we took a ferry to Capri, where we spent the remainder of the week and weekend. Here we go again, my alternate lifestyle began to wake up as I boarded that big boat. First of all, I was on a huge ferry, crossing the Mediterranean Sea…at sunset. Oh my gosh, it was wonderful! I’m easy to please, I guess. I stood outside on the top deck of the boat wearing my hat and cool sunglasses, with my awesome backpack that makes me look like a professional mountain hiker (thanks, Mallory!), and listening to my IPod as I witnessed the most incredible pink, orange, blue, purple, grey, navy, and yellow sky I have ever seen. Well, it might not have beaten an Auburn sky. Somewhere between Jason Upton and John Denver, I realized that I’m getting 16 hours of credit to live like a movie star for three months. Good grief, what did I do to deserve this?
45 minutes later the boat I was docked in Capri’s main port and was welcomed by (oh my gosh) a port full of sail boats and yachts and an island full of homes, shops, and restaurants, all of which were merely bright spots against the night’s silhouette of breathtaking cliffs and mountains. The reflection of the lights at dusk in the ocean was so pretty. I immediately felt at ease and was so excited to see what the morning would bring. We stayed at the Bussola di Hermes, a hostel that was nicer than the hotel in Ariccia. We had about a 10 minute walk from where the taxi dropped us off to the hostel through tiny little streets. On either side were these amazing homes, all of which had gardens and vineyards full of fruits, herbs, and grapes, cascading over their property walls.
Thursday morning, we slept in until about 10, got up, put on our swim suits under our clothes, and headed to the coast. If you’ve never heard of the Blue Grotto, let me tell you about it. It is this cave in the side of some cliffs that you can go into via a TINY opening by boat, and the water inside is a shade of blue you’ve never seen before. The natural light from the opening makes it look like your pool water does at night when you turn the light on in the deep end. Make sense? We got in a canoe and had to lay down in it so that we wouldn’t hit our heads on the rock when we went in…yeah. I definitely conquered a little of my clostraphobia-phobia. Haha. Once inside, we took pictures and jumped in the water. I SWAM IN THE COLD SALTY WATER OF THE BLUE GROTTO! Probably one of the coolest things I’ve done in the nature girl department. Then we went, ate lunch, and went to the beach (Piccolo Marina).
For the rest of the sunny afternoon, I laid on a Pebble beach in disbelief and counted my blessings and fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves. You have good reason to be jealous; I’m not going to lie. We made friends from Austria. That was exciting, but I was disappointed that they didn’t know the Von Trapp family. I sang my version of their national anthem and they were amused. They left and we stayed and sat on these jagged rocks that jutted out into the water and waited for the sun to set. The bumble bees were bad, so we left.
That night we ate dinner and went to a (here we go) disco tech called “Underground.” It was fun! Megan, in an underground disco tech, in Capri, Italy; Can we take a moment of silence and picture this?
I am 21 now, so I confess, I ordered a drink…but, it is really more hilarious than harmful. I’m not an alcoholic, don’t worry. Read on.
I blame my grandmothers, who make really good deserts with kaluah in them. I also blame my friends, you know who you are, for trying to buy me kaluah flavored cigars. What is it with these people who try to corrupt me? I don’t know…
So anyway, I ordered something called a B52. It had kaluah in it, so I thought I might like it. It also had Irish Crème and Grand Marnier in it. That meant nothing to me, but when the bartender set my drink in the cute martini glass on fire and when the flames were blue, I knew I was in trouble. Hahahahaha! I blew it out and took a sip. Let’s just say that it killed any form of germs that might have been in my body. Sick! It was SICK! I paid for it though, so I kept sipping and finished half of it before I said forget it.
I must be made of steal, because it had no effect whatsoever. I have been named “the hoss.” Go, me, go. Oh, gosh. (Or maybe, I’m just covered in the blood of Jesus and He was protecting me from getting deathly ill. Not sure. Either way, it will be a great story for the grand kids someday.) We spent the rest of the night dancing with locals. It was fun.
This is getting long. Very long. I’m typing in word and I’m now on page 3. Is anyone actually reading this stuff? I hope you aren’t bored. We came home Saturday and crashed late. It rained again Sunday. What happened to fall being the best time to come to Italy? It is fa-reezing and wet. I have no warm clothes or shoes. Trying to cram everything into one suitcase for three months was not the best idea.
I got to talk to my friends on the phone Saturday! That was one of the highlights of my trip so far!! I miss them so much. If you’re reading, thanks so much for my “War Eagle, Hey.” I was so excited to hear your voices that I jumped on my bed. Good thing I didn’t break it, it isn’t very stable. Love and miss you all.
GOOD NEWS: Thank you for your prayers for my grandmother. I found out that it was not her heart! I’m not sure what’s wrong, so keep praying, but I praise Jesus that He heard our prayers and protected her from danger. You have no idea how much your faithfulness means to me.
self explanitory
It's a long one:
Tuesday was our last class day for week three. Wednesday morning found us up before the sun. The day had much in store for us, as we ventured to Pompeii and Naples. I find it hard to explain the surreal feeling that accompanied this trip. To see the remains of an entire city that was destroyed 2000 years ago is unbelievable. It was truly heart-wrenching to see with my own two eyes the actual casts of the very men and women who died because of that terrifying day long ago. (I speak of the day when Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed all of Pompeii.) I hope my pictures can tell something of the story.
Our next stop, Naples was a little dirty, but I liked it. If you wipe away the film of pollution that covers the city, it is a beautiful place. Massive buildings cover the main square and little boys are everywhere, running circles around you as they try to score a goal for their makeshift soccer team. I couldn’t help but kick my leg out in the middle of them and steal the ball…it was a great play, if I do say so myself. Who says heals, sports, and cobblestones don’t go together? I think it’s the perfect combination.
We stopped into a famous bar in Naples for a treat. (Side note: Here, any place that sells coffee, gelato, candy, cokes, whatever, is called a bar. Places with alcohol and loud music are called Pubs or Disco-techs. I must confess that I’ve been to both. I’ll get to that later, I’m getting ahead of myself.)
Back to Naples, we visited an incredible museum that was dedicated to all remains discovered in Pompeii after Vesuvius erupted. It may have included some other things as well, I’m not sure. I saw the original “Atlas.” So cool! Please tell me you know who Atlas is, nobody with me knew about him. (He’s the guy that held the whole world on his shoulder.) It was really neat, but I don’t know why I was so captivated by it.
The statue of Hercules was… [I have no words, so I insert an open mouth here]…gosh, I think my jaw hit the floor. The men who created these statues were made of raw talent and pure genius. I can not comprehend making something with such detail and realism. Amazing.
From Naples, we took a ferry to Capri, where we spent the remainder of the week and weekend. Here we go again, my alternate lifestyle began to wake up as I boarded that big boat. First of all, I was on a huge ferry, crossing the Mediterranean Sea…at sunset. Oh my gosh, it was wonderful! I’m easy to please, I guess. I stood outside on the top deck of the boat wearing my hat and cool sunglasses, with my awesome backpack that makes me look like a professional mountain hiker (thanks, Mallory!), and listening to my IPod as I witnessed the most incredible pink, orange, blue, purple, grey, navy, and yellow sky I have ever seen. Well, it might not have beaten an Auburn sky. Somewhere between Jason Upton and John Denver, I realized that I’m getting 16 hours of credit to live like a movie star for three months. Good grief, what did I do to deserve this?
45 minutes later the boat I was docked in Capri’s main port and was welcomed by (oh my gosh) a port full of sail boats and yachts and an island full of homes, shops, and restaurants, all of which were merely bright spots against the night’s silhouette of breathtaking cliffs and mountains. The reflection of the lights at dusk in the ocean was so pretty. I immediately felt at ease and was so excited to see what the morning would bring. We stayed at the Bussola di Hermes, a hostel that was nicer than the hotel in Ariccia. We had about a 10 minute walk from where the taxi dropped us off to the hostel through tiny little streets. On either side were these amazing homes, all of which had gardens and vineyards full of fruits, herbs, and grapes, cascading over their property walls.
Thursday morning, we slept in until about 10, got up, put on our swim suits under our clothes, and headed to the coast. If you’ve never heard of the Blue Grotto, let me tell you about it. It is this cave in the side of some cliffs that you can go into via a TINY opening by boat, and the water inside is a shade of blue you’ve never seen before. The natural light from the opening makes it look like your pool water does at night when you turn the light on in the deep end. Make sense? We got in a canoe and had to lay down in it so that we wouldn’t hit our heads on the rock when we went in…yeah. I definitely conquered a little of my clostraphobia-phobia. Haha. Once inside, we took pictures and jumped in the water. I SWAM IN THE COLD SALTY WATER OF THE BLUE GROTTO! Probably one of the coolest things I’ve done in the nature girl department. Then we went, ate lunch, and went to the beach (Piccolo Marina).
For the rest of the sunny afternoon, I laid on a Pebble beach in disbelief and counted my blessings and fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves. You have good reason to be jealous; I’m not going to lie. We made friends from Austria. That was exciting, but I was disappointed that they didn’t know the Von Trapp family. I sang my version of their national anthem and they were amused. They left and we stayed and sat on these jagged rocks that jutted out into the water and waited for the sun to set. The bumble bees were bad, so we left.
That night we ate dinner and went to a (here we go) disco tech called “Underground.” It was fun! Megan, in an underground disco tech, in Capri, Italy; Can we take a moment of silence and picture this?
I am 21 now, so I confess, I ordered a drink…but, it is really more hilarious than harmful. I’m not an alcoholic, don’t worry. Read on.
I blame my grandmothers, who make really good deserts with kaluah in them. I also blame my friends, you know who you are, for trying to buy me kaluah flavored cigars. What is it with these people who try to corrupt me? I don’t know…
So anyway, I ordered something called a B52. It had kaluah in it, so I thought I might like it. It also had Irish Crème and Grand Marnier in it. That meant nothing to me, but when the bartender set my drink in the cute martini glass on fire and when the flames were blue, I knew I was in trouble. Hahahahaha! I blew it out and took a sip. Let’s just say that it killed any form of germs that might have been in my body. Sick! It was SICK! I paid for it though, so I kept sipping and finished half of it before I said forget it.
I must be made of steal, because it had no effect whatsoever. I have been named “the hoss.” Go, me, go. Oh, gosh. (Or maybe, I’m just covered in the blood of Jesus and He was protecting me from getting deathly ill. Not sure. Either way, it will be a great story for the grand kids someday.) We spent the rest of the night dancing with locals. It was fun.
This is getting long. Very long. I’m typing in word and I’m now on page 3. Is anyone actually reading this stuff? I hope you aren’t bored. We came home Saturday and crashed late. It rained again Sunday. What happened to fall being the best time to come to Italy? It is fa-reezing and wet. I have no warm clothes or shoes. Trying to cram everything into one suitcase for three months was not the best idea.
I got to talk to my friends on the phone Saturday! That was one of the highlights of my trip so far!! I miss them so much. If you’re reading, thanks so much for my “War Eagle, Hey.” I was so excited to hear your voices that I jumped on my bed. Good thing I didn’t break it, it isn’t very stable. Love and miss you all.
GOOD NEWS: Thank you for your prayers for my grandmother. I found out that it was not her heart! I’m not sure what’s wrong, so keep praying, but I praise Jesus that He heard our prayers and protected her from danger. You have no idea how much your faithfulness means to me.
self explanitory
posted by bargame at 2:25 AM
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