kyle week, part two

So after Kyle had his first gelato experience, we hopped on a SITA bus and headed towards our destination. At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted, and trusted that our bus driver, who knew where we would going, would announce our stop, as he did everyone else's. Well, I trusted wrongly. I closed my eyes for two seconds, and when I looked up, we were already past the main stop in Praiano, where the hostel was. Somehow I got him to stop, and we found ourselves on this road that runs along the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean (if you remember last year, Josephine, Kelsey, Kristen and I took the same bus during our week off in Naples). We had a moment where we just stood there and looked up at the town above us, and then I finally had the sense to ask someone how to get to Via Umberto I. Turns out, the only way to get there was to take a long, steep, narrow staircase straight up. With our suitcases in tow.

Thankfully, Kyle was a gentleman and carried both our suitcases. I was still exhausted though, so I can't even imagine how he felt afterwards. We followed the narrow pathway to another staircase, and I asked an old man nearby which direction it was to our street. He said he would take us, but started talking to a banana tree halfway there, so we just sort of ran off. Finally we arrived at the street, after about 15 minutes of walking, but then it kept winding upwards, so it was probably another 10 or 15 minutes until we found our hotel.

Once there, we found a delightful scene. The place appeared to be abandoned, with doors and gates unlocked. I went inside, asked if there was anyone around, went around to the back balcony, came back inside, went up the stairs and bumped into the maid. I told her we had a reservation, and after a few moments of confusion, she found a room for us (it couldn't have been difficult, as the entire place looked empty). Then she took our passports and disappeared.

The room in itself was a revelation. I've spent a lot of time in Europe, and I generally think that I know a thing or two about how they do things in this continent, but I have got to tell you that I could not find the shower in that bathroom to save my life. It wasn't until I looked up and saw the shower head coming out of the wall that I realized that this was a type of shower I'd never encountered before. There was a drain in the floor for the water to leave by, but no actual recess. We also found a little surprise in the toilet which we wouldn't flush, even when we tried. At least we had the fantastic view of the coast to appease us.

After a long nap, I gave in and used the shower, being careful to keep water away from the door. Then we headed down to the beach, to a restaurant just a few meters from the water, to have dinner and check out the beach. Kyle tried pasta alla sorrentina or something for the first time, and also some penne. I also ordered him a Moretti so he could try one of Italy's most famous beers. Afterwards, we hit up a market on the way back to the hostel and I bought Kyle his first peach not out of a can.

The next day, we headed back to the beach. I'd heard a lot about the Emerald Grotto, a cave which was originally only reachable by swimming underwater, so when I saw a stand for a boat which would take us there, I signed us up. Before the boat left, we took advantage of the beautiful beach and I used my 'waterproof' camera quite a bit (it's working for now).

I'm falling asleep but I promise to write more tomorrow! I'm trying to catch up from 5 or 6 weeks of no wi-fi, sorry!