View of a street in Pompei, the city destroyed by the volcano was so much bigger than I thought it would be.

My first lesson was that I’m not as good at packing for trips as my mom:) I did a good job of packing light, fitting all my stuff for three days into a backpack and purse, but I forgot many important items like sunscreen, a waterproof pouch for when we went to the beach, extra clothes, etc. So hopefully the next trip I go on I’ll be more prepared.

Capri was by far my favorite place and was also the only city where we were on our own for the entire time. In the beginning it was very stressful trying to find our way around this new place with little direction or guidance. I went with a group of students on a boat tour of the Grotta Azzurra, which is a grotto in Italy where the water is so blue and lit from underneath by the sun’s rays. It was neat and very pretty, but definitely overpriced. After the boat ride we wanted to grab lunch at a grocery store we had heard was cheap, but after asking for directions in broken Italian we found out we were actually very far away from the center of Capri and would either have to walk uphill for at least 30 min. or take the cable car. I’m glad we took the cable car because it was much faster and provided a beautiful view of the coastal town.

After lunch we were all so hot that we decided to look for the beaches on the opposite side of the island, which were supposed to be a little less crowded with tourists. Again, after wandering on our own and occasionally stopping to ask and make sure we were heading in the right direction, we found the beach. The water felt so nice, but the beach was very rocky and was still pretty crowded so we decided to leave and meet up with a boy from our group who had gone off on his own to look for a more secluded place to get into the water. In order to access the secluded rocks on the coastline another girl and I had to climb down a very steep hill without a path and cross under a gate with a sign that said “danger falling rocks.” The trek was well worth it though! The water was such a pretty, clear blue and very warm. Also, because of its somewhat difficult access, the only other people around were Italians who lived on the island so we got to swim with them and experience a small piece of their culture without any interference from other tourists:) 

I learned so much from this little adventure in Capri. I was reminded once again how lost you can feel sometimes in a country where you only know a little bit of the language. Also, I came to appreciate exploring in a small group away from lots of other tourists because the sights you can see become so much more enjoyable! Overall, I was really happy with how the trip turned out:)