Amalfi Coast

Today's adventures, though the funnest of all, must be short winded and probably boring. We just returned to our hotel, it's past 11 o'clock, my eyelids are heavy, and I've got an early morning tomorrow. It started with a lovely 2 hour class this morning, which, though boring at times, I managed to pay attention to. After class I took an amazing run along the shoreline and got honked at by several cars, and I still haven't figured out why. I was on the sidewalk. Can I just say that every street here is wide enough for just one car, and yet they somehow squeeze in two cars... All the cars here are like little toy play things. Except for the big travel busses. Those things aren't playing around. And the drivers aren't either. They don't care who's coming, they just honk their horn before going around a bend and they pray that no one else is coming who didn't hear them. Because the other car would get smashed and would probably plummet off the side of the cliff and into their demise.

Anyways. After my run in the most perfect weather imaginable, I sat down with my professors for some lunch because one of them offered me half of her sandwich, and who would pass up free food? Somehow the conversation of bed bugs came up, and I told them that I had a bunch of weird bites on my legs. They immediately thought bed bugs. And I immediately thought oh crap that's gross. So Dr. Radel, the self-proclaimed bed bug specialist, came up to my room and ripped the bed apart looking for the bugs. None were found, but I will not sleep in shorts again for the rest of this trip, I'm sure. I've got on the tightest leggings I could find right now, and if one of those sneaky devils can get into my pants, then I applaud him. Because I can hardly get into these pants.

Once the bed bug issue was dealt with, we all piled into a bus and headed for the Amalfi Coast (specifically a town called Portofino, excuse my spelling). I cannot stress enough how beautiful this place is... As soon as I can transfer my photos from my phone to my iPad, I can upload some stuff on here for you to get just a glimpse of how incredible it is. 

We arrived there at 2 o'clock and were told dinner would be at 7. The rest of the day was ours to conquer. We toured a church briefly, another girl and I got gelato, and then we met up with two others to go exploring. I don't know which brilliant mind it was, but someone suggested taking a boat tour. We talked to some men about it and they said that all the tours for today had left, but we could take a private ride for a little extra cash. We deliberated at length over the pros and cons. Pros: adventure and new sights. Cons: potential abduction or drowning. We went for it anyway, and it was absolutely amazing. Our captain, Alfonso, barely spoke any English but he was the most talented boat driver i have ever seen, weaving between rocks and taking us into grottos and such... We applauded him quite frequently. Luckily that's a gesture that doesn't need translation.

Alfonso brought us back safely, and we managed to avoid a Taken situation. Dinner was fantastic, of course. Bruschetta and eggplant pasta. Photos coming soon. Mom and dad, I promise I will talk to you within the next few days.