Naples and the Amalfi Coast.. different worlds a train ride apart

Countless people had warned me about Naples "Be careful there, Its like a different country!"  "See that dumpster over there? Go jump in it because thats all youre going to smell in Naples"  "Chelsea, why do you want to go to Naples, there is garbage everywhere and the Mafia is there!!! "  "Don't go out at night, its too dangerous!"

So obviously, I arrived in Naples feeling SUPER excited and SUPER safe.

But it wasnt as bad as I thought. Naples did have a lot of beauty to it, especially the coast, the history some architecture, and of course the PIZZA!!!!

But yes, I also felt unsafe at night, but perhaps that had something to do with people influencing my ideas? Peer pressure strikes!!! As beautiful as Naples is, it also made me really sad to see so much grafitti, and so much deterioration of the city, and knowing that so many people were suffering there. Naples could be a beautiful thriving city, but that's politics!

I only spent one day in Naples, but I spent 3 nights there. The rest of my days were spent in Sorrento, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. (Ill save Capri for a separate entry)

One of the highlights of this trip, was my day trip to Positano. After bashing Naples, everyone said you MUST visit the Amalfi coast, and you MUST visit Positano! And for the most part, I do as Im told, so off we went!

My aussie friend Grace and I boarded a bus to Positano. The views were breathtaking. The big giant bus traveled along the edge of the mountains of the coast, sometimes allowing you to see 3 or 4 small towns in the distance. 

The town was very small, and very touristic (thats what we get for traveling in august!) but it was very pleasant and easy on the eyes. Just the views of and from the town were worth the trip there. Positano is also the home to all those pretty white dresses everyone wheres, some lemoncello, and lots of leather and bedazzled custom sandels! 

Detox in Venice

Let me begin my first describing how I came to arrive in Italy...
After a long last night in San Sebastian and 2 hours of sleep, I boarded a 7 am bus to Santander (duration: 2.5 hours) Once in Santander, I boarded the airport bus. Then I flew 2 hours to Frankfurt Germany for my layover.... for 6 hours. After a long wait which included reading, lunch coffee, and soft baked german pretzels (yumm!!) I boarded my plane to Venice and arrived at about 1030 pm. What a long day but maybe its good that I had many opportunities to nap!

When I arrived in Venice, I crossed my fingers that the person I had only talked with through emails would be there to pick me up, and a las she was! This mystery woman is the daughter of my mothers co-worker. She moved to Italy about 15 years ago, married an italian and now has 2 bilingual children. I want her life.

I was welcomed with open arms by her, her two adorable children, and their dog. I stayed with them at their beach house and used my time there to detox from pinxos and wine, and I switched to Gelato and pizza.

From there I had the opportunity to visit Venice. Venice is a gorgeous picturesque city, and its everything i've imagined and seen in the movies. However, there were way too many tourists, and not enough Johnny depps falling into fruit stands (seen The Tourist?)

Palace in Piazza San Marco

Venezian traffic jam

And no, I did not go on a Gondola... I'll wait until I can share that romantic experience with a significant other... or my best friend!

I spent the rest of my time in the area hanging out with Shelly and the kids, and at the beach. I mean c'mon... I AM on Vacation... and Im the worst tourist ever.... but whatever makes me happy, right??

"Holidays"

So after a very difficult goodbye to Valencia, I had a lot to look forward to. One major excitement was that the girls from New York City were coming to Madrid, and leaving Valencia meant reuniting with my guapa girl Jen, who I "studied" abroad with 2 summers ago. The plan was madrid for one weekend, San Sebastian for 3 days, then off to Italy!
However, time with Jen normally means lots of late, crazy nights and unforgettable stories and adventures... this time was no different.
After reuniting with our Madrileño friends (some unexpected old friends...) it was time to explore new territory!

2 pajaras con 2 pajaras

San Sebastian was as beautiful as everyone warned me. However, it was also colder than I expected! But I toughed it out for the 3 nights I was there and warmed up with plenty of dancing, pinxos and wine.... 

OOOOHHHH the pinxos and wine! How I miss them already! Pinxos are these little tapa like foodthings, perhaps on a piece of bread, perhaps not. Each one normally costs around 1.50 euros to 3 euros.. the fancy ones hike up the price a bit. But they are delicious. We enjoyed ordering multiple, and trying bites of each one.

mushrooms (setas), ham, and peppers

an array of deliciousness

revuelto- scrambled eggs with mushrooms

the winner!!! sun dried tomato, goat cheese, and jamon serrano.... two please!

Other San Sebastian Highlights:
*having Empire State of Mind play for us when we walked into a bar
*drinking out of the big glass
*taking on the job of promoters
*Getting lost at 3 am and having a police office tell me he's too busy to help!
*Getting free t-shirts
*ham, cheese, and tomato pinxos

After filling up on pinxos and making friends with almost every bartender and promoter  in San Sebastian (and I must say, Jen and I are excellent promoters as well)... it was time for me to bid farewell to the ladies of New York but also time to say Ciao to Italia!

Up and Coming

As i am currently homeless and laptopness... i am traveling a bit throughout spain and italy! Please hold tight for my next few blogs in mid august which will include
*guapa girl reunion
*a trip to san sebastian where i overdosed on pinxos
*a glimpse of Venice
*a new american/italian family adquisition in treviso/jesolo
*surviving the hood... aka napoli and conquoring the pizza
*a trip to capri which included a boat, a capri sandwich, seasickness, and getting stuck in an elevator...
*a trip to florence
*return to New York!

Lots of excitement to come!