Mondays are amazing. After a weekend of finding and paying for our own food, we come back to the homemade delights that Marinella has to offer. Tonight for dinner I had spinach and cheese stuffed pasta shells with melted cheese on top. A lactate pill was more than necessary but it was worth it, they were delectable.
This weekend was a dream. We left early Friday morning. The boys, Carl and Tucker walked to the rental car place, picked up the car, and came to get us girls. They got a GPS (thank goodness) so that was extremely helpful, we named her Carmella and got on the road. We all made CDs for the ride so those entertained us and some good conversation. Kiki, Chloe and I all fell asleep at one point, but were sure the boys enjoyed their short time of silence to themselves.
The car ride took a little longer than expected because of the winding roads along the coast in Sorrento. When we found our hotel, it was locked. Kiki and Chloe had to call the number on the door, and the man drove over to let us in....not your usual hotel check in experience. We were a little worried we would be spending the night in the car at first, but the guy came and let us into our rooms. We got two rooms, each with king size beds. They were really nice, clean rooms, and we were the only people in the building. We roamed the city until dinner time and found a place called Sir Joes. A man named Joshua came out and greeted us and seemed like a fun guy so we went in. I ordered the Gnocci alla Sorrento, I felt that it made sense to be getting the dish with the city's name in it. It was delicious of course, Ive never had gnocci like it before. It was baked with melted mozzarella on top. Delishhh. We had a pretty traditional Italian meal. We sat there for hours, taking our time, eating slowly, and having great conversation. At one point Frank Sinatra began playing in the background and made my day. The boys got Italian beers and us girls finished off the meal with cappucinos. We spent about three hours at dinner, it was a great time. After dinner we walked down tot he docks and hung out there for a bit until it began to rain. We went back to our little hotel with just the five of us in it and got a good nights rest before an early morning on Saturday.
We woke up at 7am on Saturday, got ready, and were out the door by 8. Good thing, because it took a while to get to Pompeii. Thankfully, the majority of the climb up Mt. Vesuvius is a drive, which was good for us because it was cold outside. We went to the top of the mountain, back and forth up switchbacks. When we got to the top the trail was closed, but we played and ran around where we were allowed. We were literally in a cloud we were up so high, so the view from there was non existent. On our way back down, as we came out of the cloud, we stopped along the road to take a group picture and see the beautiful view of the entire city of Pompeii, most of Napoli, the ocean, and Sorrento.
From the mountain we went to the ruins. The drive was a bit hectic here because the streets of Pompeii are small, Italian drivers dont have any laws, and we got a bit confused. We found our way however, to the ruins, and by that time, the sun had come out to say hello. This made our visit through the ruins even more enjoyable because we had the sunshine. The ruins were awesome, it was really surreal to realize that the uncovered city we were walking through had existed in 79 A.D. We got a book guide and Kiki, Chloe and I took turns reading out loud to the group what each section/area/building we were passing. At the end of the ruins were the Casts. It was really intense, Kiki couldnt stay look at them. There were a few children, a baby, one man in a position looking like he was screaming and reaching for something, a person sleeping, etc. It was daunting and extremely moving. We then walked over to have lunch and each of us got and finished a full cheese pizza each.
After our late lunch we drove across the little peninsula to the Amalfi Coast. The drive there was really the most spectacular part. We were on the coast the entire time. The ocean there is a really clear, turquoise blue color. We stopped many times along the way to get pictures. We stopped at a little town on the beach, walked on the pier. We went into the town, saw a beautiful church, and went into a Bar for a snack. Carl and I got lemon gelatto, what the Amalfi coast is known for, and the other three got cappucinos. (I never used to drink coffee, this trip has begun my addiction to cappucinos...)
We drove back to Sorrento and walked around more there and stopped in a few shops to look around. We went back to the hotel to take a short break before dinner. Break ende dup being a few hours. The boys and Chloe took naps, but Kiki and I sat and talked the entire time. We talked about our families, friends, and pasts together. We both learned a lot about each other and got even closer than we already are.
We went to dinner, and once again I got gnocci. (Chloe got gnocci both nights too) It had the same title on the menu as the other place, so we decided we would taste test for the best gnocci in Sorrento. It was delicious of course. This restaurant was a little bit nicer than Sir Joes, so we werent as loud and silly and chatty as we had been the night before. It wasnt quite as fun but we had an amazing meal nonetheless. I voted Sir Joes the best, i loved that it was baked, but Chloe chose the second dish.
Kiki, Chloe and I shared a bed. This is normal for us. It was not only a money saving technique. We love all sleeping together. Kiki and Chloe are roomates and they pushed their two twin beds together for when I come sleep over. When we went to bed, Kiki was in the middle, when we woke up on Sunday though, I was in the middle. We laughed hiyterically at the situation and blamed it on Kikis tendency to roll around in her sleep and my tendency to sleep walk. We had french bread and nutella for breakfast (my new favorite meal) and went down to the ocean one last time before jumping in the car and heading back home.
The drive back was fun. We took turns telling funny stories, talking about what we wanted to do in our lives, fears, past relationships, the list goes on. We talked for hours. It was wonderful. I loved hearing them all open up and enjoyed getting to do the same.
The five of us got very close this weekend. We didnt do any bars or going out type of things, and we spent long meals together talking. We learned so much about one another, it was really refreshing. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining so we rolled the windows down and sang along to our CDs and made it back to Florence safe and sound....thank goodness.
The girls and I unpacked, did our laundry, and had chinese for dinner. Then went home, did homework, and fell asleep.
It was such a unique and special trip. The fact that we were able to rent a car and do a road trip in a different country was so special and a once in a lifetime experience to say the least.
My thankfulness continues to grow. I still cant wrap my mind around the fact that I live here and that I am getting to have this experience.

Thankful and full of love,
Ciao