Took the train up from Sant Agnello to Napoli today, then Napoli to Roma. Very annoyed because the hotel I was supposed to be staying at had a flood in my room (apparently) and so now they put me in their sister hotel which Sanford, I believe you actually stayed in... Hotel Nizza. It's not bad but it's not what I was expecting either. Leaving was tough... I know I will be back to Sant Agnello and Sorrento but I just don't know when. It's a bit of a shock going from there to a big city again... luckily I'm going [View Full Entry]

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Haven't updated for awhile because of the siesta... whenever I have a spare moment, all the shops with internet are closed. Oh well, I didn't come all the way to Italy to tie myself to a computer! I can't stress enough how much I love it here. Oh the food!!! Seriously... if anyone wants to do cooking school, this is the one! I have learned how to make limoncello, biscotti, bread, stuffed bread, pizza dough, fresh pasta, ravioli... the works. As the girls from the GAP/Intrepid tour would say... it's divine... plus the wine! I've been drinking a bit of the [View Full Entry]

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Quick entry just to keep in touch. learned lasagna today, as well as some fabulous stuffed bread. Went to Ercolano or Herculaneum for the afternoon and it was amazing. Have some great shots that hopefully I'll be able to upload soon!!! Going to Positano this weekend, then a boat cruise with the gang around the bay of Naples. Perhaps heading to Naples on Sunday for some wandering, then cooking all of next week. Having a blast. The people here are amazing - my roommate is a 69 year old lady named Lorraine who is just so vibrant and well traveled. Age [View Full Entry]

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I KNOW HOW TO MAKE PIZZA DOUGH!!! Life is good. Very good. Gotta go soon since class is in half an hour but here's a quick recipe for you guys... take a firm eggplant... and slice it into discs with a 2mm edge or so.. cut some good emmenthal cheese, also into thin slices cut some ham into thin slices (or get your deli/supermarket to do it) in between two slices of eggplant, put one piece of cheese and one piece of ham... make sure that the fillings don't go over the edge of the eggplant. take an egg, mix it [View Full Entry]

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So yesterday was FUN FILLED. yah... right. The final dinner for the Intrepid tour was Saturday night, and this girl Melinda and I went to the restaurant/lounge Photo again to pick up a cd from the DJ. It had turned into a lounge and as soon as we got there, it started to pour outside. So naturally we decided to drink out the storm... haha.. the place is still fabulous but I found that there were a lot of pretentious people there, but Mel and I had an awesome time. We were the only ones dancing so of course we got [View Full Entry]

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Came into Sorrento yesterday morning and I love it already. This is the kind of place though, that is slowly becoming overrun with tourists and people who are not going to appreciate the culture, but rather who just want a nice beach to go to and a place to moor their yachts. I still love it, the energy of the bay and the people... I had a very successful afternoon shopping in the markets and many many purchases were made... some sandals, some bags, some limoncello - that potent liqueur... Drinks on the rooftop patio of the hotel with the group [View Full Entry]

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Quick entry, will write more later. Climbed to the top of Vesuvio... it's truly incredible. We had this beautiful picnic lunch up there of marinated mushrooms, fresh bread, four different types of cheese, olives, wine etc. It's amazing that something that is really just like a big pimple caused so much damage and instills so much fear. The government of Naples is trying to give people incentives to move away because they're afraid it will erupt again and this time even worse - kind of like the fear of Mt St Helens. I'm still trying to get my thoughts in order... [View Full Entry]

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I know I am writing this on the 15th but I wanted it to go in order of city that I've visited. After Rome we took the train to Pompei and it was very very different. It was going from a huge city to a smaller southern one and especially since the whole town is based on the ruins as a tourist attraction, it was a very different feel. Enough of that. So the ruins.. in 79A.D., Pompei, Ercolano and a few other towns were heavily effected by the explosion of Mt Vesuvius or Vesuvio as they call it. Excavations only [View Full Entry]

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Note: had some time, so I added photos to the Second Day in Rome entry. Believe me, they're pretty. Very early start this morning. We left the hotel at 7:30am to make our way to Vatican City and St Peter's Basilica. Arrived about 8:15am, and the line was already all the way out the door, and around the corner, and halfway down the curved wall. Doors opened at 8:45am, but the line was already at St Peter's Basilica only 10 minutes later. The line moved quite fast, and here we were thinking that Mel was crazy for making us wake up [View Full Entry]

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Met the tour group last night and they are awesome. Advice for anyone - if you're traveling to a new place that you don't feel too comfortable with, book a GAP adventure tour or an Intrepid tour. Mel, the tour guide is so funny, and everyone else here is just really really cool. Amazing dinner of ravioli and salad, which started off with champagne, then a great white wine, and then limoncello for dessert. Believe me, I slept really really well! Walking tour today of Roma... train to Barbarini to visit this crypt where the order had taken all the bones [View Full Entry]

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