...continuation

From Popolo, I knew the general direction that I was going to need to travel in. From the plazza, I headed to the Spanish Steps, Mausoleum of Augusta, the Trevi Fountain, and stumbled upon the Pantheon (best stumble of all time). It was later in the afternoon, so the sun coming through the oculus was intense. It fell right on a sculpture of a woman pointing outward. Fantastic light quality. I was pleasantly surprised that it was free to enter here.

After being amazed by the Pantheon for awhile, I moved along to the Piazza Navona, then down to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. It is going to be a struggle to capture in words how much was packed into this city. I know I didn't see it all, and I know I can't possibly do it justice by explaining each and every one in a blog. All I can say is this city is rich with history and varying types of treasures.

Day 3 was spent checking out some of the "new" architecture in the north side, including Hadid's new Maxxi Museum and Piano's Auditorium. The tour of the Auditorium was not open during the weekday, but I did get a chance to check out the new Maxxi Museum. There was a large exhibition of architecture competitions that added to the experience.Similar to the MoMA (since the MoMA and Maxxi are in a partnership), there is a competition for the design of the outdoor courtyard during the summer time. This year was a series of floating islands of perfectly green grass that would never grow in this climate without being watered and must need to be cut with scissors since a lawn mower could never work on this (quite literally) rolling landscape. It was great to see the exhibition of the different types of work that were presented for a competition of social architecture initiatives throughout much of Europe.

That afternoon, I hopped the train for the next leg of the trip in the Sorrento/Amalfi Coast area, home of the most spectacular day of the trip, hands down. I think this is best addressed with key words:


*Great group of people
*Great food
*Perfect weather
*Beautiful landscape
*Private boat rental




The best day began in the computer room. I heard two girls talking about what to expect the next day and inquired after listening to what they were referencing. That is when Paige, a lovely gal from Toronto, offered for me to accompany the next day on a private boat rental to tool around where we wanted. How do you say no to that? So the next day, I joined 4 other solo travellers and one couple for a perfect day.

The day began with a heart pumping drive to Sorrento from Sant Agnello. These Italian drivers are out of their minds (more to come in regards to that later). We safely made it to the harbor, boarded the two boats and took off. The weather was perfect, the water was awesome, and we were no longer in danger of crazy Italian drivers. The landscape here is comprised of cliffs, beaches, grottos, mountains, and sea. Everywhere we turned was like a postcard and we must have said 100 times "I can't believe this is how we are spending our Friday!"

We arrived to the Island of Capri and walked around for awhile exploring. This is one of the most expensive areas that I have visited, but you can see why. The setting is out of this world. Everyone has to boat in and out of the island to get to the mainland.

After this, we took off toward the famous blue grotto. However, we all decided waiting for over two hours to spend 5 minutes in the amazing cave was not worth it when we could keep driving and go to the green grotto. We would up in a little cove prior to the grotto. We almost had it to ourselves. Jumping off the boats, floating easily in the water because of the high concentration of water, and just having a good time. This cove was incredible, as was the green grotto. The cliffs rose sharply above us, the water was clean and clear, and there were few people. What more could we ask for?

We took our time in the cove and the grotto before heading off to the town of Positano. This town is another coastal town that sprouts from the cliff. The roads are notched into the mountains or hang from the edge precariously. Definitely nausiating for those with a weak stomach for buses on windy roads. But for those who can handle it, pretty awesome.

That night we grabbed some grub, served with a little lemoncino appertif, cleaned up, and enjoyed lounging on the roof of the best hostel of all time. A little history of Seven Hostel: it was made as a nice hotel. When the market could not sustain the hotel, it was converted to a hostel with free internet, a restaurant, two bars, rooftop patio, and sometimes nightclub. Luxury hostels without a huge luxury rate. (I now expect dividends from the increase in business due to this posting).