On Easter Sunday, I took a train from Milan to Napoli to meet up with Lindsay, Nicole, Mike, and Ryan in Sorrento. Unfortunately, the regional trains weren't running due to the holiday, so once I arrived in Napoli, I had no way to get to Sorrento. However, there were 4 other American study abroad students on my train to Napoli, and they were randomly looking to get to Sorrento as well, so we split a 90-minute cab ride. It wasn't too expensive in the end.

After a full day of travel, I met up with the guys and we had a big Easter dinner at a small restaurant in Sorrento. Then, Lindsay and Nicole made an Easter egg hunt for us in their hotel room. They had bought all of this wine and chocolate for it...it was really funny.

The next day, we went to the ancient ruins of Pompeii, a civilization that was soaked in volcanic ash in 72 AD. So many artifacts are preserved really well there (including bodies). This was the only day we had crappy weather on the whole trip. After we spent about 5 hours there, we took the train into Napoli for dinner. The city is kind of scary: a lot of crime, trash, and people in poverty. We agreed that it was probably a good thing that we only spent an evening there.

On Tuesday, we went further down into the Amalfi coast to the beach towns of Positano and Amalfi. This was one of the most amazing parts of the trip, in my opinion. The bus ride there was crazy: there is one small road that makes a lot of hairpin turns around cliffs that hang at least 1000 feet over the ocean. The view was amazing. I ate the biggest lemon I had ever seen on the beach in Positano.

I can't even begin to describe the beauty of these towns. Before the 1950s, a lot of 20th century writers from America came here to write, including Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. These places were sleepy fishing villages that became well known as artist hang outs. Now, while the tourism industry has increased, they have retained most of their natural beauty.

We left for Rome early on Wednesday morning. Since we had only three days here, we had to make the most out of the sightseeing. So, the next three days were packed. The first day we walked around a bit and saw the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. On Thursday, we had a "pious" day. We spent about 5 hours in the Vatican museum, which culminates in the Sistine Chapel. Then, we went to the top of the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica (the largest church on earth) and then looked around the inside of it. I am pretty sure it is the coolest church I have ever seen. Inside, they have the old Pope's body on display and also Michelangelo's Pieta behind bulletproof glass.

On Friday, we did the ancient Roman Forum on Palatine Hill and then we went into the Coliseum. It's hard to describe what it's like to see the exact spot where Julius Caesar was burned and where gladiators fought to the death. All in all, it was neat.

We had tickets for Friday night for a 12 hour boat to Sicily from Rome. For the cheap amount we paid, we all thought it was going to be basically a train on water. However, it was a cruise ship. A casino, two restaurants, cafes, lounges, everything: a good way to spend 12 hours.

We arrived in Palermo early on Saturday morning and found our way to the train station by a man with a horse and buggy. We took the train to the small resort town of Cefalu, where we spent the last three days of our vacation. The four of us met up with two other IES students, Anne and Amy, and the six of us got an apartment to rent for three days, right on the beach. We were able to cook there too, so it made the trip quite cheap.

The last three days were great. After the craziness of Rome, it was nice to have time to lay on the beach and walk around the town. Sicilians are so nice: they want to help you with everything. The pace there is even slower than it is in mainland Italy. All the stores close for 4 hours in the afternoon so everyone can take a nap or go to the beach. I am so glad I managed to get down there and see how they live.

Yesterday morning we flew from Palermo to Milan. It has been quite a long time since we have had school. Now is the time to dig into the major papers and projects. I think I am starting to get a little sick, so hopefully that will clear up soon.