Unplanned excursions are favored among our crew. Here’s the tale of our very unplanned, very un-cultural evening in Florence:

The fountain of Neptune, Piazza della Signoria

We had planned to go to the Tuscan wine paradise of Montepulciano after camp, thanks to our Camp Director offering to leave Courts the keys to the minivan! She had the keys in her hand and we were piling in for the road trip when she realized that the car was stick shift, which she had only driven a few times. Despite my suggestion of a quick hurl around the block to get used to the clutch, she decided it was too risky so we ended up racing to Florence with Franzi and Taylor, the two other tutors we were working with that week.

So we’re on the train and a storm hits. “It’s ok,” we said, “It’s just a passing one to clear the skies.” And then came our usual reassurance of how nice the pictures will look when the Rainbow comes out! Not quite. We stepped in to Piazza Duomo which is the main square in Florence and the rain came down in buckets. We of course were again appropriately dressed in flip flops but were determined not to let it hold us back! Why does it rain in every city we visit?! Who knows! So we gave the other two tutors who hadn’t been before the mini tour, at top speed through the rain! We went from the Duomo di Santa Maria di Fiore to Piazza della Signoria on to Santa Croce.

The rainy Piazza Duomo

Then bright star here decided to try and locate what is known as one of the best pizzerias in Florence Il Pizziaolo in Via dei Macci. After circling Santa Croce and getting us lost for a while we got there and…..yep you guessed it no table til nine thirty which would lead to us getting stranded in Florence and not being at camp the day after so…..we came up with a solution. We found a pizzeria called Pizza Man (the direct translation in English of pizzaiolo, the other pizzeria!) We learned that just as one should not judge a book from it’s cover, one should not judge a restaurant from it’s napkin! Yep, the tacky looking diner with a heart shaped pizza logo actually handed out free vino nibbles and served up a top class pizza! All without meat as they believe at Pizza Man that the true pizza was made with tomato, cheese and veggies!

Don't judge a restaurant by it's napkin!

So after dinner it was decided to top it all off with an Italian ice cream. A lesson to be learned: never buy an ice cream in the center of big tourist cities! Franzi asked for a grande ice cream and was served up a mountain on a cone!! They then charged her 8.70 for the cone which was in fact half price as it would have cost 15 euro!

Then it was time to get back on the regional train to Arezzo, our home for the week. This was the most unusual trip I have had to Florence but one to be remembered!

Villa La Terrazza's billion dollar view

It’s pretty f***ing cool to have friends of friends who have friends who have villas in the Amalfi Coast.  It’s even cooler when they let you stay there as a “room filler” between their vacation bookings.  Jet Set Zero got the ultimate chance to close out our season doing just this, at the legendary Villa La Terazza in Sorrento.
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Our grandparents live in Hawaii so Perrin and I have seen enough volcanoes and dried lava to be skeptical about the appeal of the 2,000 year old ruins of Pompei, a thriving Roman town that was buried under 13-19 feet of pumice and ash when Mt. Vesuvius exploded in 79 A.D.  Since we were living in the Napoli region we decided to embrace history and check it out.

It was well worth a trip and the 11 euro entrance fee.  We were amazed at how preserved the city was and how vividly you could see what life was like for Romans in the 1st century.  You can easily spend a full day crawling through blasted doorways. I recommend the audio tour (6 euro) since there are no signs on any of the sculptures and the guide is a wealth of interesting information, from basic building facts to in-depth chapters on subjects like wool weavers and calendars.  Here are just five reasons to visit Pompei.

1. You can eat lunch in a dining room from 79 A.D.
Ok, so we’re not sure if this was really socially acceptable or not. But to preserve some cash, Perrin and I brought lunch from home. Around noon we found an ancient ruined house with some shade and spread out our Tupperware in what was once the dining room. We were even joined by an adorable dog, who ate the pasta we shared like a true Italian. While we all refueled, about five tourist groups stopped to take our picture and look us up on the map. While they searched for our audioguide number we struck a number of mid-eating poses so we wouldn’t disappoint.

Just trying to blend in.

2. The brothels.
It is surely by some sort of divine intervention that lava filled every inch of the main town brothel but you can somehow still see Karma Sutra images — with creative recommendations for clients — painted perfectly above each room.  A session with a prostitute here was the same price as “a glass of medium quality wine and went straight to the pimp” – according to my audio tour – and graffiti on the wall indicates rampant complaints of venereal disease.  Not ideal conditions.

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Turning heads as the only girls jumping off this sea-rock, greasy-haired men in Speedos, men lathering women with baby oil (a trend I swear went out with aluminum tanning in the 50s...), beautiful views and Perrin and Bogdan on the bus (I judge a country by its public transportation and so far Italy's is top-notch).

In lieu of religion, I am devoutly American but was surprisingly OK with missing the barbecues and poolside toasts back home yesterday.  Perrin, Bogdan and I are spending the next week in Southern Italy and we celebrated the holiday on a Salerno beach with beers, greasy-haired men in Speedos, 13 year-old make out fiends and women covered in baby oil for extra sun appeal.  This small city at the start of the Amalfi Coast was packed Rehoboth Beach style, but surrounded by stunningly beautiful steep hills that blow away Deleware’s fold-up Boardwalk fairs.

Look at those cute girls livening up a dreary Colosseum!

In response to our last minute request, A.C.L.E. granted Sarah and me a night in Rome between our Roccafranca and Lanuvio destinations. We had from 4pm Saturday until 1:30pm Sunday to experience one of the most culture-rich cities of both the ancient and modern worlds. 

I quickly began to feel like part of a rapid motion film montage. The trip began with a warm welcome from a “Free Tourist Assistant,” who approached us in Roma Termini station and recommended an 18 euro/night hostel. The trip ended with Sarah and me literally running through the Sistene Chapel.
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The beautiful Lake Garda.

The largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda is about halfway between Milan and Venice.  Many of the kids in Roccafranca say they have summer homes on the water.  Perrin and I  saw many 20-something jets kiers and casual boaters.  It looked like a perfect summer getaway to us.
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We can't seem to shed the Big Apple. We're using this as a transitional shirt.

The moment Perrin and I stepped out of the Venice train station a perceptive Pakistani vendor informed us we did not love New York anymore.  But was Venice so different?  We were on an island and spotted street meat carts, photo-snapping tourists and inflated prices (€2.90 for a Pistachio cookie??).  Manhattan comparisons were not such a stretch.

To ensure we were still in Italy we stocked up on some gelato and pizza and walked on.  At least for 10 minutes until I spotted a gondola and ushered everybody aboard.  I have no problem playing the corny tourist here.  We rocked the boat, knocked on doorways and requested songs from the unremitting gondolier.  The 25-minute ride was worth every bit of the €15 Euro we each shelled out.

We tipped too hard and actually thought for a moment that we were on our way into the canal.

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The beautiful Piazza in Bergamo with my adorable Italian sister Emma. I am tilting my head to show where my Italian dad proposed to my Italian mother.

After a long day of chasing 50 rugrats from scavenger hunts to Iced Lolly snack breaks there is nothing better than coming home to a hug from an Italian mother who has a warm meal and washing machine at the ready.  Between evening bike rides, pizza dinners with the Jet Set crew and World Cup viewings at the local pub I have not actually had a free moment to get my clothes in the wash and I am one day away from wearing a bathing suit bottom, but I take comfort knowing that I have a home here waiting for me.

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