AI: Day 11

Ryan came up with the awesome idea to rent a smart car and drive down to the very Southern heel of Italy. Ryan describes the smart car as driving in a go-kart, cant disagree.
We stopped in Otranto first and managed to get a parking ticket. For anyone who doesn't know this makes our 6th ticket this year- awesome... We had the rental company take care of it with our money.
We walked around and had lunch in Otranto and then made our way further south. We drove through a lot of cities, my favorite was Saint Cesarea. So gorgeous!
We stopped in some small town- if you could even it call it that, and watched men catch fish for their restaurant.
We stopped in Leuca, the last city in the heel and got photos. We then made our way up through the center of the heel.
We spent probably about 30 minutes trying to navigate our way back in to Old Lecce. It's the original center of the town so it has a wall around it. There are a lot of one ways into Old Lecce and inside Old Lecce. Not to mention narrow streets that you can't even get through. We had to go back out into New Lecce and enter from another direction.
We headed back to the piazza for dinner and as we were exiting we heard bells, chanting, and saw several hundreds of people. As we grew closer to watch we saw many nuns, monks, priests, etc. There was a many holding giant speakers that were blasting something in Italian and people would chant back in Italian. I started to realize this was a Catholic procession. Soon an elaborate canopy held by 4 men came up. Underneath was a cardinal or a bishop, someone important like that with a big hat, he was holding a staff with the Eucharist in it. As he passed everyone was crossing themselves. After about 5 minutes all of the clergy passed and on came the followers. They were all singing and chanting and it was very Catholic. I found out later it was the city's Patron Saint and that was the celebration or procession.

AI: Day 10

Breakfast was awesome! Why? Because we had this nummy toast with Nutella and strawberries on it with tea.
We decided we were going to rent bicycles and take a 4 mile ride out to the beach. It was pretty far out there when actually making the ride. I took it pretty leisurely as it was nice out and a long ride. Luckily, it was all pretty flat road
We got out to the beach but decided we should eat first. We found a restaurant not too far off the road as there wasn't much at this little town. We enjoyed the food and the little English they spoke.
When we got back to the beach it was pretty windy. We laid on the concrete but sand was blowing in our mouths and everywhere else it could find it's scrubby self into. We read our books and worked on our tans. There was this rowdy group of kids playing soccer. Ryan decided to go into the water and this is the precise time they made their way towards me. I heard a lot of "Ciao Bella Signorina!" but I pretended not to understand them.
The ride back was miserable! It was late, we were tired, and on top of all that the wind was blowing against us! It was the hardest bike ride I have ever done. It was intense and exhausting and my glutes were on fire! Seriously wanted to die.
I think we made dinner that night but it was such an exhausting night, I don't really remember what happened and apparently I was too tired to write it down.

AI: Day 9

5 hour train to Lecce. When we arrived we decide we are going to walk, it doesn't seem too far. Unfortunately the route we would have taken is blocked off as they are filming a movie. But we found the apartment regardless. Super cute! It's on ground level and has the dutch doors so you can open up and enjoy people walking by.
Lecce itself is quite adorable. Quieter and the cleanest place we had been to in all Italy. Sandstone buildings and cobblestone, so pristine.
We are staying in old Lecce. All Lecce has "Siesta" or at least that's what we called it. We settled in and then set out to find food but everywhere was closed. This was very confusing until we figured out that the shops closed between 2-5 everyday. We found somewhere in their square though and felt much better after we ate.
There was a tiny kitchen so we decided to purchase groceries and cook in. 1) to save money and 2) because we needed a change in the food we had been eating.
That night however we decided to go back to the square as they were having an arts fair. There were so many booths lit up with festive lights. They were selling meat, cheeses, bread, pasta, olive oil, and Ry's favorite micro brews. We walked around tasting food and Ryan enjoying the beer. We then found ourselves some gelato and made it back to the apartment for tea.

AI: Day 8

This is the day we had reserved to go see the different surrounding cities, Amalfi, Sorrento, and Postiano. We slept in, discovered the breakfast downstairs was indeed for us and so we consumed it. Ryan loved making cappuccinos while in Italy and I enjoyed having morning breakfast tea. We made our way down to the train station but found out that it was too late in the day to do what we had intended as it would take several hours. We weren't heart broken and so just decided to take an easy day and enjoy Napoli. We ate at Sorbillo a second time as it was quite good and worth it. Truly the best pizza we had in Italy. We laid around in bed and read books, took a nap.
When we awoke we decided we needed to get out so we went and found some drinks. As we were enjoying our beverages a crazy thunderstorm hit. The wind started blowing and the rain was coming down hard. We quickly retreated to inside the café as many others followed suit. When we were finally done so was the storm.
We decided to enjoy the terrace tot he place we were staying at for a short time. Then we decided to head back to our room and read some more. This might sound lame to some of you but walking all day can be really exhausting! As we were lying around reading someone in the neighborhood set off large fireworks and so I enjoyed them from the window as I love fireworks.

drinking while we read

The door to the outside. This is inside the courtyard of where we were staying.

Courtyard at where we were staying. Old well in the center.

 Looking up from the courtyard.

View from the terrace.

Missed One

So I totally missed that after Pompeii that evening we did the underground tour of Napoli. So photos below.
Also, the hamburger with no bun. Also see below.

 

 

AI: Day 7

Today is the most epic day of the entire trip so be prepared for a jaw dropping read.
Today we are going to catch the ferry out to Capri and see the Blue Grotto. For any of you who know me you know this is what I am looking forward to the most. Out of everything in Italy it is the Blue Grotto I am giddy over. My mom and Aunt Cathy saw it and both raved about it. We decided to get up real early and venture down to the water front. We found a cute café on the street with an awesome nutella croissant.
We are walking on the sidewalk on a very busy street and decide to jump over the 2 foot wall and walk on the giant sidewalk next to the marina. This sidewalk is about 8 feet wide, away from traffic, with little pedestrians so it's quite nice this early in the morning. As we are walking my eyes are taking everything in. I am on the water side and notice a large man in a blue track suit in the water. He's holding onto a rope that is connected from the wall to a 35 foot boat. Both his feet are on the boat and he's just hanging on, not moving or anything. I say to Ryan, isn't that weird? that doesn't seem normal to me. He agree and we walk closer. As we near the man he starts mumbling words I can barely hear. I ask Ryan what the man is saying and Ryan says "Aiuto". Startled I blurt back, "Aiuto? Oh My God! That means help!" Ryan quickly strips off hParla Italiano?" She said "Si" and I pointed to the man. She began conversing with him and then quickly called Italy's equivalent of 911.
is shirt, shoes, and empties out his pocket then skillfully dives into the marina. He swims up behind the man and holds on to the rope. He then uses his knees to push the man up on to the boat. This man was so drained of energy that he couldn't help himself on to the boat, he couldn't help Ryan save him, and he barely had the energy to call for help when we came up. My guess is he had been there for a while and was at the end of his energy. Once the guy was sitting on the boat he started to throw up all of the water he had consumed. He then began mumbling and I couldn't translate it. Luckily at this moment a woman about my age was jogging by. I yelled to her "
Amazingly she spoke English and we were able to piece our end of the stories together. Soon more people started to show up and try to assist. Amongst those people were 3 Italian men. It was hard to gage their age as they dressed in their 20's, Gucci hats, skinny jeans, and high top sneakers, but their faces looked more to be in their 40's. To be honest, I was quite suspicious of accepting their help. With no sense of urgency they got the story on what happened and then tried to decide how to proceed. They tried to tug on the ropes to pull the boat closer but it was anchored down. Ryan had to climb on to a tiny ledge on the side of the boat and then haul himself up on top of the boat to get to the front as the boat itself was locked. He unanchored the boat and maneuvered his way back. The men were able to pull the boat in and Ryan lifted the drowned victim up to the flock of Italian men that appeared. They laid him down and one man in particular seemed to really know what he was doing by placing him into the proper lying position. One of the other men though tried to move the guy to his back, that didn't fly luckily. As time went on I figured out these three questionable men were the Coast Guard!!! Who knew?! They were calling Ryan a hero and got his information to send to the American Embassy. 45 minutes later the ambulance showed up and he was taken away.
The Coast Guard let Ryan shower at their building and then we walked a mere few feet to the ferries. We decided we were still going to try and go over to Capri. We didn't have to wait long and were seated and on our way over  to the island. We sat next to a very nice guy about our age who was a flight attendant from Malaysia. His name is Harrik and we are now Instagram buddies. As we were engaged in polite conversation the ferry hit several very large waves giving the large vessel some serious air- enough to create a few hoots from the passengers. As time went on the ride got worse and worse. I started to get sweaty and had to remove everything I possible could. Soon enough it was really bad, I stopped talking with Harrik and Ryan had to switch seats with me. He was actually feeling sick too! which is a pretty big deal as nothing effects Ryan. He had me focus on the island. About 10 minutes from arrival the crew came out and started handing bags to all the passengers. A few seconds passed and then everyone was involved in mass vomiting! No JOKE! Everyone is puking around me as I am trying to keep my nutella croissant down! Harrik disappears for awhile.
Finally we make it and I am ready to get the heck off that ship. *Please note that this gal did not toss her cookies!* I was still very wobbly though on dry land and my stomach wouldn't stop cramping up.
Harrik had a 3 day layover and ventured down to Napoli by himself so we invited him out to lunch with us. As we were walking we found out that he got up during the ride to go puke and he felt much better afterwards.
We found a delightful cafe on the water and enjoyed pizza. I passed on alcohol and went with a Sprite as I thought I might literally die a slow and painful death. I soon realized there was no way I was going to make it to the Blue Grotto. I had to leave it on Ryan's shoulders to go on the tour, take photos, and share his experience with me. Waiting in a little row boat on rocking water after that ferry ride???? Know your limits people!
After lunch the 3 of us rented adorable yellow scooters and rode all over the island. It was so perfect and picturesque! Clean streets and white buildings paired with a clear sunny day, simply dreamy! When we finally made it to the Blue Grotto we found it was closed for a holiday! I was secretly grateful as now missing the Blue Grotto wasn't my choice but the islands.
It really was a truly interesting day.

AI: Day 6

Pompeii! Yes, today we go to Pompeii. As always, we couldn't figure out the train system. Luckily, after walking around in circles we found someone to explain to us where and when to catch our train. Luckily though we made it and upon arrival were immediately accosted by taxi cab drivers. SUPPOSEDLY Pompeii was too far to walk to and we just had to take a cab. This wasn't the case at all once we arrived, but whatever, this was becoming a norm for us. Regardless we were going to walk back.
Pompeii was unexpected in many ways. First, the sheer size of Pompeii was really unexpected. We realize it was a city and therefore covering a lot of ground, but still...  We were hoping for more dead people though. I know that sounds morbid but it's the truth, we were hoping to see more of that instead of lots and lots of city- which was definitely cool!
We walked back to the train but had a while till the train arrived. Across the street was a tiny café and we thought, what the heck? The gal spoke very little English but we made it work with the little Italian I spoke. We enjoyed a table on the outside, few rain drops, but quite nice. We had only beverages but the waitress brought us a plate of olives, sausages, and artichoke hearts. It was just delightful.
We then headed back and decided we needed some grub. We ventured to this little piazza and decided to eat out on the patio. We ordered hamburgers, as we needed something different badly! Well different is what we got! They served us hamburgers with no buns and no condiments. Not so good, I mean, yeah, it was, but super salty. End of day, so there you go.