Well.. it was another great weekend for the bus2alps crew! With over 100 students en-route to the Amalfi Coast and day trips running from Florence to Tuscan Wine tasting & Cinque Terre, it was an amazing time had by all.
The weekend set into action on Thursday, as Florence and Rome students headed to the Amalfi Coast! On Friday, we woke up early and ferried to the island of Capri. After some boating, we relaxed with some lemon granita slushies, which turned out to be the perfect fix! The group then explored the town of Anacapri, which has only 4,000 residents. After checking out the famous custom sandals and limoncello, we hopped on a ferry back to Sorrento for some dinner and dancing at a local bar!
Saturday was filled with beach-time, cliff-jumping, and cave swimming in Positano. The sun came out as we hit the beach, maing for the perfect place for
everyone enjoyed relaxing on the black sand beaches and exploring the town. We then topped of the evening at Seven Hostel, and hung out on the roof-top terrace that overlooks the city of Sorrento.
The Amalfi crew then headed to Pompeii on Sunday to tour the famous historic city. Students checked out the well-preserved figures, houses, and even what was once the local bar! It was another gorgeous weekend spent enjoying the scenic beauty and picturesque towns of the Amalfi Coast!
On Saturday, the Bus2alps team led the Big Tuscan Wine day trip where we traveled the Tuscan countryside to tour a winery in Montepluciano, explore the palace in Pienza, and of course enjoy some wine tasting in Montelcino! Our day started off in Montepulciano, a quaint little hill-side town that is now famous for its appearance in the Twilight movie: New Moon. After taking our necessary vampire pictures, we toured a local winery in the town and saw first-hand how the wine is made and stored.
We then stopped in our second town, Pienza. We first soaked in the gorgeous views of the little town then toured the historic Palazzo palace and the three famous streets: The Street of Love, The Street of Fortune, and the Street of the Kiss! We finished the town with a stop to an outdoor trattoria for some local specialties.
Our last stop was to the winery Alte Sino in Montelcino. After our personal tour of the facility, we explored the vineyard and enjoyed some wine tasting of the different types of Brunello wine. Many students even opted to take home bottles of the famous local wine!
Sunday, our Florence crew headed to Cinque Terre for the day. Once we arrived, we took a group hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola on the beautiful path of Via Dell’Amore. The sights from the path are some of the best because you can see the coastline as it runs down all of the 5 towns with the beautiful beaches of Monterosso (the final destination) in clear view. After the hike, we toured the small harbor town of Vernazza. The group then broke for lunch and enjoyed the famous pesto pizza that Vernazza prides itself on as its most delicious dish.
After everyone enjoyed the local Cinque Terre cuisine, a group headed to Monterosso to soak up some sun on the beach, while some more serious hikers headed to the back trails from Vernazza to Monterosso and took in the absolutely breathtaking views. After our hikers joined the beach crew at our final destination of Monterosso, everyone got a chance to splash in the ocean and sip on the refreshing frozen drinks that Monterosso has to offer. Overall, it was another great day in Cinque Terre!
