[P] Amalfi Coast. September 24th - 26th. Sicily. October 1st - 3rd.

Over the span of two weekend trips I visited the south of Italy and experienced many of the classic Italian stereotypes, both good and bad. Amazing food, mafia type shenanigans, Italian stallions, and both Napoli style strikes and pizza.

The weekend of the 24th I headed down to the Amalfi Coast with several of my roommates and other Study Abroad Italy students. Our weekend of sun and surf was unfortunately interrupted by rain but we still managed to have a good time. A bus drove us down the coast to Napoli, which is known for its dangerous streets, garbage strikes,  and as the home of pizza. We experienced a little of this when Mt. Vesuvius' workers decided to go on strike and the part of our group planning on hiking the volcano had to change their plans. We also got to see some taxi cab-bus driver coordination that gave us a further taste of the South. Our first stop was the island of Capri. We used it as a home base and traveled by ferry to the coastal town of Sorrento and later back to the bay of Naples. Back on the mainland, we traveled to the ancient of Pompeii and even stopped at a Buffalo Mozzarella factory on the way home.

 

 

The next weekend I headed to the island of Sicily to spend the weekend in Siracusa. Continuing the theme, we stayed in the historic center called Ortigia, which is an island within the island of Sicily. It is an extremely interesting area historically. Founded by the ancient Greeks it has been under, among others, Byzantine, Norman, Roman, and Spanish control. Saturday morning we toured and tasted our way through a fresh market and spent the afternoon on a farm riding horses at the base of a mountain. Sunday was spent at an archeological park that included an ancient rock quarry, the Ear of Dionysus, and probably the biggest Greek alter. However, our true activity was eating. I have never had so much delicious food in my life, not to mention the best lemon gelato I have ever tasted. Sicilians have a different take on traditional Italian cuisine with refreshing takes on pasta and lots of seafood. They are also the original cannoli makers! I am officially obsessed.