the world as i know it.

It’s still weird that “home” to me is a ship.  It is even weirder that I really do consider it home and feel like it is home when I am on it. You have no idea how good it feels to walk up see our huge blue floating home after a long, miserably hot and sweaty day of touring a country. I have never loved air conditioning more in my life. Granted, it is freezing allllll the time, but you really appreciate it after melting all day. And even though the beds aren’t all that great…you still love them a million times more than any hotel or hostel bed or after sharing a bed with 3+ people haha. Really though, this ship is starting to feel like a home and the piano lounge is our living room and the huge dining rooms are our dinner tables and everyone on here is your family, whether you know them that well or not. And even though I’ve only known these people for like 3 weeks now, it feels like you’ve known them your whole life…AND you have a totally different relationship with your professors when you eat breakfast with them in your pajamas before class…or fall asleep on them on bus tours (maybe that’s just me though hahaha). It’s really different (in a good way) and definitely not like anything I’ve ever experienced before. August 21^st is going to be a very, very, very sad day. 

ANYWAYS, the second part of my Italy experience was much, much, much different than the first. Who knew that northern and southern Italy were like opposite worlds? Before we came down to Naples, I got to tour two really cute small towns in Tuscany called Tuscia and Tarquinia where everyone knows everyone and it’s just really quaint and quiet…much different than any of the other big cities I was in before. I really wanted to do that because one of my Mom’s favorite books is Under the Tuscan Sun so I wanted to experience that for her and now I really want to actually read the book myself. There wasn’t all that much to see, just the atmosphere was the important part I think, but we went wine tasting at one of the little vineyards and had olives right off the trees which was really neat.

Once we got to southern Italy (Naples), I looked out the window and knew immediately that it was nothing like Rome whatsoever. It was so sketchy and dirty and disgusting and there was trash everywhere and everything was just ugly. It was definitely a buzzkill. I didn’t have anything planned to do the first day except explore Naples, but I learned that that was not such a good idea reeeaaal quick. I walked like two blocks of the entire city and had to step over like 5 people just lying in the middle of the sidewalk (asleep I’m guessing? Or dead…I’m not so sure) and then other sketchballs selling stolen iPhones and iPads on streetcorners. Everyone was just gross and rude. So Steph and I just ended up finding a somewhat safe looking café right near the port that had free wifi so I just got to use the internet for like 7 hours and download the Bachelorette so I was a happy camper. I think Naples is mainly just used as a connection city to other better cities like Sorrento and Capri and Pompeii because it definitely does not have much to offer and anyone would be crazy to spend more time than absolutely necessary there. Supposedly it is where pizza was born but we had some pizza and it wasn’t all that great. Kind of disappointing. Pizza Hut is still better in my opinion. BUT, I did get to have lots of amazing bruschetta and gnocchi (the best) in the other cities so the food in general was great (tough competition for the amazing restaurant in Raleigh, Ron). I’m pretty sure I was on carb overload for multiple days and I think I started having pasta withdrawal yesterday.

The next day Steph and I went to the island of Capri (Italy’s version of Catalina Island, but better) and it was about a 45 minute ferry ride. That’s when we really got a taste of the Napoleans…they are terrifying. And they do NOT like Americans. At all. They just push you out of the way and cut in front of you like it’s their job. It’s disgusting…but you don’t want to fight back because you seriously might get a knife pulled on you…no joke. Anyway…Capri was beautiful and we got to see a lot of really neat things while we were there. We toured both the city part of it (Capri) and the village part in the mountains (Anacapri) and took a single person chairlift to the highest point just to look around. They had a bar at the top that just served limoncello (because that’s where limoncello originated and they have tons and tons of lemon orchards everywhere), which was absolutely delicious. I wanted to bring some home with me so bad. We had lunch at a restaurant called Capri Moon that was great and I tried mussels AND squid and wanted to die afterwards, but I’m being brave and trying new things, right? The cars in Capri are pretty much all smart cars and vespas except for the buses, which are like smart car buses (totally not safe whatsoever) and they still drive like crazy people. We were driving on winding roads down a mountain at like 80 mph and taking the turns like it was nothing even though it looked like we were going to for sure fly off the cliff, all while the driver is singing That’s Amore at the top of his lungs (I have this whole experience on video too…terrifying). After that we took a boat out and toured the island from the water and went to the Blue Grotto (which Capri is most well-known for other than limoncello). The Blue Grotto was…indescribable. Luckily, I took videos and pictures so hopefully I can post those at some point in time. I really wish I could post tons and tons of pictures and videos but it takes foreverrrrr and this internet on the ship is too slow. I’m going to find a good internet café in Croatia and get on that though. But, the Blue Grotto is basically a cave on the opposite side of the island that you have to take a ghetto little wooden rowboat into because the opening to the cave is literally 3 feet tall, maybe even less. So you pile 4 people on these little planks of wood and have a crazy Italian native take you into a cave…sound insane, but totally worth it. Everyone has to lay down, including the driver man, and he has to time the water just right so we don’t get stuck to get into the cave. Once you get in you see the most incredible shade of blue you have ever seen in your entire life. It’s something about the way the light reflects the water into the darkness of the cave, but it’s like a neon blue color, it’s crazy. Then we all got to jump in and swim in there for a little (the Mediterranean is SO salty, oh my god. You could see the salt on your skin and taste it for the rest of the day) and then you get out, which is scarier than getting in. I would recommend that everyone put “swim in the Blue Grotto” on their bucket list. After that…nothing was that cool.

On the last day…yesterday…we took the train (another sketchy Napolean adventure) to Pompeii. I’ve never felt so hated in my entire life. Not to mention the train was covered in graffiti and just gross to begin with, ew. Quick history lesson because I don’t think anyone knows what Pompeii is so this will mean nothing to them: Pompeii is an old, old, old town…like BC…that was one of the first civilized towns in Italy. It was built next to the volcano, Mount Vesuvius. The volcano erupted in 79 and covered the town in ash and everyone just forgot about it until the 1700s when they went to build an aqueduct and realized there was a town underneath 25 feet of ash. So since then archaeologists have been excavating (and still are) this ancient town. It doesn’t sound that cool, but when you’re there it’s pretty sweet to see an entire preserved city from thousands of years ago. Some people died immediately just from the heat that their bodies were preserved under the ash so they have molds of people on display there that you can see. I don’t think I would ever want to go back and see it again, but I’m glad I saw it once.

Now we’re on our way to Croatia for the next 2 days and have class for the first time in two weeks. I have a midterm tonight and one tomorrow…so not motivated to study for either one. Croatia will be good…there’s not much to see or tour so we’ll probably be spending our entire time on the beaches (which are supposed to be breathtaking) and snorkeling and jetskiing and such. The only thing I reaaalllly want to do is walk on top of the city walls because the entire city has a huge wall around it and there is only one opening to leave. Kinda cool. Apparently the main food in Croatia is pizza, pasta and seafood (who knew?) so that makes me happy since I will be anorexic in Turkey, Egypt and Morocco. Just kidding…kind of.

I miss Taco Bell.