April (almost) Showers

Walking back to school this storm came out of nowhere! 30% chance of rain my foot!

 This flooded within three minutes of the start of the storm!

 Poor girl didn't know what to do!

Yep, that's hail on the ground. Let's just say I am incredibly grateful for the umbrella my Dad lent me!

Jumprope Drive

 Monday in my travel writing class we were given the assignment of creating a secret map. In our minds we have secret maps of the places we are most familiar with. These maps defer from person to person because these maps are marked by significant moments and/or events that took place. I decided to make my secret map on the family cabin in Twain Harte. My secret map had locations on it such as Rabbit Hole, Sunshine Cave, Seaweed Cove (the creek where my cousin Dan once chased me with seaweed) and Jumprope Drive. The short vignette below is about Jumprope Drive.

The sound of children playing in the sun reaches my mother’s ears, causing her to forget the time and the dishes in the porcelain sink. Sunshine floods her hazelnut eyes as she pushes the cabin’s screen door open with a squeak. Pine needles crunch under her worn Birkenstocks as she walks the length of the weathered deck her grandfather so lovingly assembled during one of her teenager summers. Peering over the acorn-covered railing she sees three small girls laughing as the jump rope tangles their feet together in a symbol of sisterhood and love. A small, sandy haired boy runs from the lazy creek beyond to join in their game. The two oldest girls, their wet, red hair tied back from a day at the lake, turn the rope over and over for the two younger blondes, singing “Cinderella dressed in yellow…” The laughter bubbled up from these four sprites to the adults who had joined in my mother’s gaze from the deck. The laughter continued as the years moved forward. Worry lines mingled with my mother’s laughter lines as the four young children became four carefree adults. A rare moment in time when those always wanting to be taken seriously and seen as adults slip back into the sand-covered sandals of childhood. A fifth member moves slowly down the deck’s steep stairs toward the laughing group. Pulling his perfectly pressed beige pants above his ankles to show off his stark white tube socks, he charges the circling rope with one graceful movement. My mother gasps in surprise as she watches her quiet father shed years with every skip of the rope. A simple piece of rope, under the magical spell of laughter, bridges the years between reserved poise of age and the childish innocence of youth.

Southern Field Study

Day One: A very short trip in Naples complete with our first sampling of a real Naples pizza. Honestly though, I was not all that impressed. We went to the Archeological Museum and then pretty much had to get back on the bus for our ride down to Sorrento where our hotel we would be staying in all four nights was located.

 A new favorite: Fried pasta dough-what's not to love?

 A Moment of Contemplation

 Glass eyes=Creepy!

 The amazingly balanced porcellino

 First Beware of Dog sign

Day Two: Pompei and Mount Vesuvius

We had a guided tour of the well preserved city of Pompei. None of the buildings have ceilings because when Mount Vesuvius erupted 24 feet of ash and rubble covered the town causing all of the roofs to collapse. Most of the walls however are still standing. Our tour guide pointed out which areas used to be shops and which were at one time someone’s home. The most fascinating part of the tour was the theater. Center stage there is a spot, discovered through the use of geometry, which naturally amplifies your voice so everyone in the theater can hear you clearly even at a whisper.

The sad history of this city did not hit most of us until we were shown the preserved bodies of the locals who apparent by their facial expressions died a most painful death.

Our next stop was Mount Vesuvius, the cause of the destruction we had seen below. Hiking this volcano was not easy as the pathway is completely made of loose ash and pebbles. Many people fell and slid in their attempts. Reaching the top, my legs and lungs were burning. The hike was well worth the view, both around the volcano and inside of it. I’ve never been on a volcano before and I can say the experience is thrilling and terrifying at the same time because as our tour guide put it, this volcano is still very much an active one. Sadly, if Vesuvius were to erupt, millions of people would die because there is no evacuation plan for the cities below.

 Falling in! Oh Dio!

 The wind was fierce and we only had just enough time to walk one stretch of the volcano’s rim before we had to begin our descent.

Day Three: My favorite day of the Field Study. In the morning we explored Sorrento and then took a ferry to Capri. As soon as we stepped foot on the island we got in line to be taken to the Blue Grotto. Once we arrived in the small cove, we had to get into these small canoes which were steered into the grotto. In order to fit through the small opening in the cliff, we had to lay down flat in the canoe as our driver pulled us through with one “heave ho!”. 

 Pictures didn't turn out that well unfortunately

Inside, I was speechless as our driver began to sing in Italian, steering us around the small cove so we could see the most brilliant blue any of us had ever seen before. The color is something I will forever remember.

After we got back to the mainland, we decided to explore and hiked all the way to the top of the island where we found a natural arch.

 I went into this store and bought some little trinkets. The owner makes everything shown. She gave me a delicious cookie and when I was leaving wanted me to join her for a cup of coco cola haha.

 I love my blue doors!

 Of course we did some shopping in the local shops and then joined more of our group to relax a bit before heading back on the ferry to Sorrento. On the ferry ride back I wasn’t feeling too great and the next morning even less so.

Day Four: Amalfi Coast

In the morning, I did not feel like going down to breakfast with my roommates and when I finally forced myself to get up for the day I actually fainted. There was no way I was going to miss going to the Amalfi Coast and so of course within twenty minutes of getting on the bus I was asking if anyone had a plastic bag. I was relieved when we reached Amalfi, but not excited for the day’s tours. We toured the main cathedral of the town and then were free for a bit before lunch. At lunch I attempted to eat a Cabrese salad, but ended up allowing everyone else to sample off of my plate instead. 

 Similar to Porcellino in Florence, apparently if you rub this guy's face you will have good luck for the year.

After lunch we went on an interesting tour of the oldest paper mill factory in Europe. We were able to watch how paper is made and also view the different machines produced and improved over the years. The entire mill is run of off the natural element of water, which runs downhill to other factories and is recycled there for other purposes.

After the tour we had to head back to the bus where we had to wait for Miguel, a student who somehow is always lost. I have to say that the drive back to Sorrento was my favorite part of the day. Rather than going back up the coast to Sorrento, we went down the coast and then cut through Naples to come back. The drive down the coastline was not only beautiful but incredibly thrilling. The tight curves are enough to make anyone sick (thank goodness I was sitting in the very front of the bus thanks to my previous bout nausea) and the crazy drivers are enough to make anyone want to pee their pants! I took a video to show just how crazy it was.

Day Five: Caserta

In Caserta we explored the royal palace and gardens. Walking the entire length of the garden would take you all day! We didn’t have enough time to walk all the way to the top where this beautiful fountain was so we actually took a bus. I wanted to rent a bicycle but they were closed for the day. This fountain is depicting a hunter who has been turned into a stag after a bathing goddess caught him spying on her. His dogs turned on him, tearing him to pieces for his offense.

 Such a happy little guy!

 Reenactment, we do such a good job.

 The bus ride home was slow going because of strikes that were going on causing traffic delays and because of the stomach flu that was quickly spreading through the bus causing several stops along the way. Pulling into Viterbo was such a relief. As we disembarked and dispersed to our different Italian lodgings, I was surprised by the amount of trash on Viterbo’s streets. It was almost as bad as Naples! Apparently while we were gone there was a festival in town and the Viterbese went wild! Unlike Naples however, all of the trash was gone by eight in the morning on Saturday restoring Viterbo back to its small town charm.

Next up: Barcelona!