Died and Gone to Heaven...

Ciao!

Sitting here in my hostel at a130 am trying to catch everyone up! So quick update...landed in Rome and had a tough start trying to find our hotel for the first night. Having traveled 24 hrs with maybe 3 hrs of sleep can be rough on ya. But it was quite an adventure to  start off with! After a night of catching up on sleep, Ian and I made our way south of Italy to Sorrento. Sorrento is absolutely beautiful. It is like something out of a movie. We checked into our first hostel called Seven. Met a nice canadian couple as well as a couple from Florida. Today we traveled with both of them to Positino and Amalfi Coast. Took a bus ride along the cliff ( praying that we make all the tight turns and show up in one piece) to Positono and then a ferry to Amalfi to see the view from the water. I have to keep pinching Ian and telling myself I am in Italy. The views are absolutely breathtaking. Tomorrow we plan to go with some friends from the hostel on a boat excursion to the island of Capri. It will take us there to explore and then snorkel in the caves! Excited to swim in the Mediterranean Sea!!

A few lessons I've learned along the way:
1. My 30lb backpack can be quite tiring on my 5'4 frame. However, its an adventure getting on and off the trains. As well as comforting seeing other backpackers. I'm thinking of dumping some stuff by week 4 or 5 so I can shop a little and bring goodies back! Oh how I miss the days when my mom would bring me back stuff on the jet! How fortunate we were!
2. It is so interesting meeting other people in the hostels and listening to their stories about where they have traveled to and where they are going. It is not only interesting, but they also provide helpful tips on things worth seeings as well as great restaurants and bars to go too! It is fun spending the day with other people from the hostel, but at the same time as the group gets bigger it becomes more of an annoyance  in making decisions.
3. Be very cautious when walking in the streets. The italians are crazy drivers and do not stop for pedestrians.

Alright, that is all for now. Its 2 am here and need to get caught up on some much needed sleep! Sending my love to everyone!

Ciao!