In the Shadow of Caesar: Spring break 2011

Hey everybody!
These last two weeks have been an absolute whirlwind! My friend Shaili and I set off right after classes two Wednesdays ago, excited but not quite sure what to expect from our ten days in the Almalfi Coast and Sicily. Luckily, southern Italy did not disappoint- the trip was filled to the brim with natural beauty, man-made wonders, great food, good conversations, early nights (I loved traveling with another morning person!) and lots of fun. If I tried to tell you about it all at once it would exhaust me and overwhelm you. My plan to solve this dilemma, which I hope you will find fun, is to update you in a couple shorter posts over the next couple days. I'm not going to lie, the post I'm probably most looking forward to the one in which, I will I tell you about my amazing food we ate! Below are two lists to get you started

An overview of my trip-

Day 1- Paestum

Day 2-Almalfi Coast

Day 3-Capri

Day 4-Neopolitan pizza, mcdonalds, and an overnight train to Siciliy

Day 5- Taormina and Catania

Day 6-Syracuse

Day 7- Mt. Etna

Day 8- Agrigento

Day 9- Palermo

(Day 0 and 11 were saved for traveling)

Five Random great moments

Who would of thought I would go all the way to Italy to touch an American monument that hit home? Waiting for the train to Paestum, in Pompeii we found a September 11 monument in the town square, and I got to touch a piece of the World Trade Center- unreal does not even begin to describe that moment!

The lovely other travelers we met (most of whom were not under 28). Especially the wine sommelier from Vermont, and the avid German environmentalists.
Being blonde and wearing a red coat. Though I stick out some in Rome and the other parts of Italy, I swear when i was in Sicily, some people looked at me like I was from an Alien race. Our first day in Taormina we thought maybe an Old Lady must just have thought that I looked like someone she knew. I think I finally figured it out on the bus back from Mt. Etna a couple days later when a local women moved in front of us and started a conversation with us by asking me what the date was. I, being enthralled in my Marcus Didius Falco book, unintentionally brushed her aside, and Shaili leaned over a whispered, "I think she just wants to talk to you."

In case you forgot about my hair. Or my red coat. Oh, and the rainy days with my flower umbrella probably didn't help either.

We spent our first two days only semi-impressed with Catania due to our tired bodies and an extremely questionable busride. Luckily, our last night in Catania we walked back from the Train Station and we came to the realization that Catania is one of the most cities! The streets and Piazzas were wide, the architecture was so interesting and they had the most beautiful lights lining all the buildings and streets. It was the most amazing feeling to suddenly have our eyes opened, and to realize how much we'd let our feelings rule our expirience.

The main square all lit up

A beautiful park around the corner

did I mention our window looked out on a Castle?

The days we spent among the clouds. Seriously, we spent two days walking in clouds. The first was on the Almalfi coast, where we were enveloped by thick fog. At a garden in Ravello, known for its view over the sea, we stood at the look at point and could literally not see more than a foot in front of your face. Standing at the edge of the terrace, it seemed as if our world ended right in front of us. The second time was at Mount Etna. When we reached the top (by cable car, I'm not that hardcore), we could see clouds surrounding us, moving around the plains and peaks in our view. While walking around the top we were engulfed a couple of times by the clouds, and one lucky time, after emerging from our lunch in the warmth of the lodge, we got to walk above the clouds. And now- cloud pics!