Mr. Brightside...that's the song Mathieu, our tour guide, played every morning on the bus at 6am - yes, you heard correct - 6 AM!!! You get used to it, they say...

Day 1
Genevieve, Jeannine, Danielle & I checked into the lovely Hotel Cicerone in downtown Rome. Ciao Bella!!! "Here is your ridiculously heavy key to open the ridiculously huge doorknob that you will leave at the hotel desk where anyone can say your name & get your key & get into your room. Enjoy your stay!"

After the entertaining Visconti Restaurante we took a tour of the city at dawn; the Piazza Venezia and Pantheon; enjoyed the best gelato in the Piazza Navona & threw coins in the famous Trevi Fountain:
1 coin = bad luck
2 coins = you will come back with a loved one
3 coins = marriage
4 coins = divorce
Guess how many I threw...Ciao Bella!!!

Day 2
After 2 hours sleep - we took a guided tour of the Roman Forum & walked in the footsteps of the Gladiators at the Colosseum w/ a Chinese umbrella of course so you didn't get burned!

"You, you are sexy!" - that was what one gladiator said to me, then invited me to a party at his house...lol.

Okay, so as if hearing about dead people all day wasn't enough, we had to see dead people at the Bones Museum!!! "Shhhh, they're sleeping", said the museum curator. I've never seen anything like this in my life! It was so disgusting, I thought I wouldn't be able to have another gelato...nah, there's always room for gelato!

You're stomach had to be back in order for Appertivo - or as we know it HAPPY HOUR!!! Did I mention that the 4 of us were on a tour with 22 other people??? Luckily there were 53 seats on the bus, so nobody fought & there was extra leg room, but you can only imagine HH with the whole group...fun, fun, fun!

Ok, so it was Appertivo at Friends Bar - which is this restaurant lounge in Rome that I wouldn't recommend. After the waitress dropped the glass on my leg, she refused to give me a drink on the house! Besides that, the appetizers looked like they've been sitting there all week long...yuck!!!

Since I'm giving suggestions, another word of advice: Don't get drunk, kiss some boy, then decide to walk outside with him down an alley where they have weird people come over & dance with you - because those people are GYPSIES & they will ROB YOU!!! They took everything from the boy, including his passport!!! As you may have guessed, this didn't make the rest of his trip too enjoyable - not to mention how guilty the girl felt thinking it was her fault, even though it wasn't!!! Ciao Bella!!!

Day 3
The drive up the Amalfi Coast was the most beautiful drive ever! We were on our way to Sorrento, passing Naples & Avallino {where my family is from!!!}; to our left was Mt. Vesuvius - AMAZING!!!

We checked into Giosuea Mare & that's where we encountered the dog shower. For those of you who don't have a dog, the shower head is on the floor & you have to bend down to bathe yourself. Not only did you have to wash your hair practically on the floor, they gave you a dish towel to dry off with!!! {I hope you've seen a dish towel before...lol}

We enjoyed the shopping in Sorrento & after hours of searching, we finally found the home of the best mozzarella - Buffalito. That was the most delicious cheese I've ever tasted in my life!!! Not to mention the 10 minute nap in the hammock.

I ate pork again at Circolo del Fiortieri - yummy & what breathtaking views - there were so many weddings going on, I felt like grabbing one of my old bridesmaid dresses & jumpin' in...lol. Speaking of which, we actually attended a beautiful Italian woman's wedding. We even watched the private dancers they hired! Meanwhile, explosions were going off on the other side of the mountain - I thought we were under attack - but apparently they were celebrating something too! Overall, it was an unbelievable evening! When we got back to the hotel we had a beach party, com

When we got back to the hotel we had a beach party, complete with drinking games, & swam in the Mediterranean. OH MY WORD, was that not the most fabulous beach - there were NO rocks, just silky smooth sand & the water was so clear, even at night you could see the bottom!!! The continental breakfast of bread & water helped with the hangover. Just a little FYI: The beaches in Europe don't all have sand - most have rocks or gravel - way uncomfortable! What's even more uncomfortable is breaking your flip flop & having to walk on the rocky gravel.

Day 4
The following day we cruised to the isle of Capri & took a "3 hour tour" - the waves were SO bad that we thought the boat was going to capsize!!! Luckily, it didn't. The Blue Grotto - you only hear about it...the Green Grotto - we got to swim in it!!! The current was really strong, but we still had no problem diving off the boat - I mean it's not every day you get to swim in a grotto!!!

We started off in Piccola Marina, then took a cable car up to Ana Capri where we met up with the rest of the group at Da Gioa for lunch - now that's a real panini!!! But don't worry about eating too much, there are so many steps that you don't have to feel guilty when you're on your 5th panini or gelato!!!

Day 5
We visited Pompeii & toured the ancient city in the 110 degree weather!!! Best part: Brothel - haha, kidding, real best part: Suisse Restaurant for brick oven pizza! "You must pay first or we're gonna get the mob on you!!!" Oh, here comes a guy with a guitar, let's all sing together while Genevieve fights the mobster...lol.

So, broken flip-flops, mob fights and Gypsies, just when you thought that it couldn't get any worse - welcome to the overnight ferry to Greece! DISGRAZIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be continued...
xoxo...Audrey LoPresti