Yes, it's true; I left my heart in Sorrento when we left to visit the island of Capri; and let me tell you: it was a painful experience. Always keep all major organs within your body at all times.

Once again, I will catch up all of you who are behind the times: volcano exploded, covering a city that a study abroad group ended up visiting some thousand or so years later.

Hennyways, our group was offered the chance to go to the Island of Capri (or is it Isle? no idea, really) to drink limoncello and eat fancy green chocolates. Half our group said, "Ay!" and so we hopped on a boat and went off. As we sailed along in our little boaty, we all leaned back in our lovely chilly deckchairs (it was, after all, February) and pretended we were part of some v. luxurious exploration. It really was quite charming, seeing the hills of Sorrento lazily drift away as we sailed on to our destination. The sky was bright after a bit of rain that night before, and the day was clear and crisp.

We all "huzzahed" a little as the boat docked and we got off. Then, as we stepped foot on the island and began to look around, I had a strange sense of deja vu. Then I realized: Capri looks strikingly similar to Catalina Island, a small island off of California that I've traveled to many times (and on the same type of boat, as well). Good grief! Had I come 8,000 miles to visit an island exactly the same as the one I had grown up going too? No; there was a difference! THIS island was famous for it's lovely limoncello liquer (and chocolate)! So merrily we set forth once again.

Now, I don't know what it is about study abroad groups (or maybe it was just ours), but Italians really seemed to enjoy sticking us into rickety old buses and driving on the edges of cliffs. Which, to be perfectly honest, is not as lovely as it seems. Especially when you are in a crammed short bus. However, we proceeded onward, with reckless abandon in the concerns of our personal safety.

We got to the top of the island (okay, almost: you need to ride a ski lift to get to the top) to a cute little area that had sweet little roadways made of cobblestones and lined with shops that sold little glass miniatures. Also, as it was the season of Carnivale, little girls ran down the streets in princess dresses, followed by little boys dressed as Spiderman. Our tour guide offered to take us to lunch for 12 euros, but since I had only brought 60 euros for this particular trip to Sorrento (and 45 was spent going to Capri!), I turned it down. Besides, I had brought crackers and cheese from our breakfast buffet, so I was settled. One of my roommates also declined lunch, but it turns out we were the only ones to do so. Everyone else set off, so we wondered the small town via a back alley covered with a roof of leaves. It was actually very charming until it started RAINING. We ducked our way back into the stores that lined the streets, and some kind shopkeepers offered us our first taste of limoncello to warm us up. It was actually very strong, and not as lemony as it's title might suggest.

After our group rejoined us, we continued through the city. We traveld to the back of the island, which was incredibly beautiful; but sadly, we did not get to see the turqouise waters of the grotto that the island is famous for The area around the back was eerily empty as we walked around, and our group was one of the few that was out. As it turned out, most of the island's shops were closed, as it was not the high season for tourists. Actually, the only stores that were really open were the liquer and chocolate ones. However, this chocolate made it all worth it: as I mentioned before, it was green and delicious and with just a hint of lemon. So after we finished eating and drinking, we took our pictures of the gorgey place and headed back to Sorrento; a little soaked and a little drunk.