109 Days of Italy: Yes Mom I survived cliff diving in Positano

It just keeps getting better! This weekend we spend three days tanning on the Amalfi Coast. Thursday night we drove 7 hours to Sorrento where we stayed in a hostel which was nicer than some hotels i've seen in my lifetime. It was a room with 4 bunk beds and felt like freshman year with communal showers and bathrooms but for 3 days it was a lot nicer than expected. How can I complain when they gave us croissants every day for breakfast?

We headed to Capri Friday morning and spent the day on a boat tour around the town and let me tell you the water is definitely bluer than the Hudson. We did the Blue Grotto which was awesome! Its an extremely tiny opening so you have to lay one your back in a tiny boat and get pulled by a chain into the cave, but once you are inside it is totally worth it. The sun reflects through the tiny hole to the bottom of the cave and it is a brilliant blue. Once we were back on land we took a chair lift up to the tippy top of Mount Solaro (you rode by yourself and I was freaking out). We felt like we were absolutely on top of the world once we made it to the top. I've never seen such a view.

Saturday we spent the day in Positano tanning on the beach and soaking up the culture around us (men in tiny bathing suits included). In the afternoon we took a boat to some cliffs where we went cliff diving! Of course we had to scale the cliff before jumping in and I am not much of a height person, but our motto here is "no regrets"..so there was no chickening out of this one. Mom wasn't too happy about it but I lived to tell her about how awesome it was so no worries! (love ya Mom) We also went cave swimming which was pretty cool. We had to swim pretty far from where the boat was allowed to go so it really tested my swimming skills, but I made it. Saturday night we headed out on the town in Positano and went to a bar which was in a cave called "Music on the Rocks". Overall Saturday was a jam packed day but completely worth the lack of sleep.

Sunday we somehow managed to wake up without too bad of a hangover and headed to Pompeii for the day. I've always wanted to see Pompeii and it was better than I expected it to be. I was under the impression Pompeii was a tiny village when in reality it was a huge city! It was so intriguing to walk the streets of the lost city and see actual bodies and buildings that were stopping in their tracks when Mount Vesuvius erupted. It was a great weekend and so far my favorite place besides Florence in Europe.

Back in Florence it has finally cooled down a bit and I am actually sleeping at night now that I've learned to drown out the music and blaring ambulances (I learned there is one of the first hospitals ever in Florence right around the corner). Went into the baptistery of Florence today which is right next to the Duomo to look at it with my art class. Classes have been great and not too much work yet. Made spinach risotto, pumpkin risotto, and warm chocolate melting cake today in cooking. YUM!

We leave for Munich Germany Thursday! Can't wait to let you all know what the Oktoberfest experience will be like!!