Ending our Summer in Paradise (a.k.a. Italy)

After saying goodbye to mom and pop Wessel, we had only one day left in Dublin before taking off for Italy. In Ireland, it’s potatoes and pints; in Italy it’s pizza and pasta. Here it’s “lashing down rain by half-two;” there it’s “bask in the sun until it sets.” Here it’s a Full Irish Breakfast, there it’s coffee and croissant. Here they love good craic; there it’s amore. We were off for our week of wonderment in Italy!
But first, we threw a going away party at our flat on Thomas Street. It was great to see everyone one last time, even if it left us a bit knackered for our day of travel to Rome. Our late flight got us to the hostel past midnight, so we went to sleep to load up for the exciting day ahead.

The first thing we learned is that the Italians aren’t big on breakfast. They demand a strong coffee but are otherwise content to eat a croissant. After an tiny breakfast, we set out for an epic day of touring. With only 24 hours to take it all in we purchased tickets for a hop-on-hop-off bus tour, assuming it would be the easiest way to see the sights. Unfortunately, in our panicked excitement, we chose the bus that toured “Christian Rome,” meaning it stopped at every basilica but deemed other things unimportant such as, say, the Coliseum. So we ditched the bus and became our own guides. In one day we saw the Forum, the Coliseum, San Pietro, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Circo Massimo and Piazza Navona. We ate lunch in the shade and hijacked several walking tours to catch free glimpses of historical information. We signed the guestbook at the Pantheon, drank water from the fountains near the Trevi and walked the streets without aim, reveling in the endless amounts of fascinating sights. Rome is an awe-inspiring city. It oozes history and screams culture at every corner. Once we felt we had satiated our curiosity thoroughly, we made our way to the top of the Spanish steps where we met up with Ben, our good friend from Dublin. Like us, he was from the states, worked in Dublin for the summer and was now traveling. It was nice to have good company. We bought a bottle of wine and shared it as we watched the sunset over Rome while being serenaded by opera pouring from the church behind us. Because no self-respecting Roman eats dinner before 9:00, we fought off hunger until then and made our way to an awesome pizza place for dinner. It had been suggested to us by Mariano, an Italian friend from Dublin, and his local advice turned out to be excellent. After dinner we enjoyed a glorious round of gelato which we ate all the way home, crossing beautiful bridges with views of lit-up castles. What a city!

We awoke early the next morning to start our travels to the coast. With our combined Spanish skills and a heaping portion of hand language, we translated our way through public transportation all the way to Sant’ Angello, a small town north of Sorrento. We walked to Hostel Seven which is easily the most amazing hostel in all of Europe – just ask anyone staying there. The owner is a flamboyant Italian man who can be seen in full linen suits smoking cigars and making sure his guests are enjoying themselves. His theory: “Everyone deserves beauty, no matter how old they are or how much money they have.” So he created this gorgeous hostel that feels like a 5-star hotel on a hostel budget. A restaurant within serves lunch and dinner for only 5 euro a piece. Guests can lounge on the three rooftop terraces, swim in the pool or relax beneath the circle cabanas overlooking the sea. The two bars – one near the courtyard on the first floor and the other on the terrace – are open late at night, so guests are encouraged to stick around and meet one another. This made for three great nights of meeting loads of people from Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Switzerland. Truthfully, we could have chilled out there for our entire stay, but there was much to see!

The first afternoon we sunbathed at the Sant’ Angello beach where our Ireland-bleached skin stood out dramatically against these southern sun worshippers. After the sun set we walked into Sorrento for one of the most memorable dinners of summer. We sat at a cozy table for two on a patio listening to an accordion player, drinking wine and eating delicious pastas. The manager befriended us and on more than one occasion came to say, “Hello ladies. What you need? Tell Tony. He take care of you,” dramatic Italian hand gesticulations and all. With happy bellies, we strolled home, picking grapes off of vines on the way. We watched the sunset from the terrace and went to sleep. (This was the first of many moments in Italy where we realized how much the romantic atmosphere necessitates being there with a fiancé. Haha at least we have each other.)

Day two in Sorrento was downright amazing. We took a ferry out to Capri and ported at Marina Grande. This island deserves its reputation as being a hotspot for decadence, wealth and beauty. The shops were not the quaint marketplaces of Ireland. They were Prada, Feragamo, Fendi and other such champagne-budget stores. The women were dressed in expensive dresses and the ports were packed with enormous yachts with brown bodies lazing about on their decks. We decided to avoid the extravagance and opted a day of adventure. It began with a hike up and over the island to the other side, a 3-mile trail with a sharp incline and some serious heat. At the opposite side, we rented a double kayak and set out to sea. We paddled around ¼ of the island, through narrow caves and in and out of coves where the water glowed a bright blue. We eventually docked at a quiet shore, climbed the volcanic rocks and spent a few hours cliff jumping into the refreshing sea. During the grand finale jump, Mer got stun in the throat by a jellyfish. While most people may have panicked at this point, we decided to celebrate because – c’mon! How many people can say they’ve been stun by a jellyfish while cliff-jumping on Capri? Only slightly spooked, we hopped back in the kayak sang Disney songs all the way back. After a cheap pizza dinner in Sant’ Angello, we spent another fantastic evening on the rooftop hanging out with ten Aussies and swapping stories of travel and adventure.

Our last day in Italy and indeed, our last day of adventure and freedom, came too soon. We took the train to Pompei and spent the morning wandering around the city. It was surprisingly large and well-preserved, making it possible to imagine what life was like for them. As is custom for us, we didn’t pay for a tour, but rather hijacked onto bits and pieces of other people’s. Among the highlights were the brothel with erotic frescos on the walls, the amphitheatre with an adjoining open-air lobby and the Gladiator barracks. It was a great dose of history and an amazing sight to see. The afternoon was spent on the seaside town of Positano which we reached by the most frightening bus ride ever, swerving down the winding roads while the cliffs dropped precipitously next to us. Unlike most of the Amalfi coast, Positano has a sandy beach so we laid out, read our books and basked in the perfect Mediterranean breeze. Back at the hostel we ate dinner with girls from Seattle and Vancouver. Ben got into town that afternoon and stayed at the same hostel, so we were excited to hang out with him once again. The five of us spent the evening on the terrace. We were so enthralled with the perfectness that we decided to sleep on the coaches. Imagine the most perfect weather possible – great temperature, slight breeze and no bugs. We slept in heaven.

We woke up yesterday morning and spent the entire day traveling. It took a train to Naples, a train to Rome, a bus to the airport, plane to Dublin, a bus home and about 12 hours before we were back to the flat. We packed up everything we owned, nudged in three hours of sleep and woke up at 6 this morning to fly home.

Now we sit in the Philadelphia Airport, a bit flabbergasted to be back in the country. There is no way we could sum up our summer, the things we learned and the experiences we loved. All we can really say is how grateful we are to have been able to go and how much we’re going to miss the life of adventure. Thanks for keeping in touch with us all summer. Cheers, slainte, luck and love,

Mer and Al