Day Four

After a good night sleep, breakfast was well received. The usual was on offer; bread rolls, crunchy cornflakes and pastries washed down with a glass of orange juice, but today there was an espresso machine - so hot chocolates and REAL coffee were on offer.

Tiziana our guide stayed with us overnight so we had somewhat a late start to the day. Our tour started with a 9:45pm pickup with a smaller bus (similar to the Mitchell High School bus) destination - Positano. The students were anxious about the steep and windy road trip ahead, however, we were at ease to know that our bus driver Victor was a pro and did this for a living and wow did he do a great job! The traffic on the roads over here is chaos. They don't follow road rules and the mopeds continually weave in and out of the traffic. You would think that we would see many accidents on the road and when there is only two lanes of traffic, which really only ONE car can fit at a time, trying to get a bus through requires real technical skill. There were many times that we thought that we wouldn't be able to fit, or that the bus would be side swiped, but it didn't happen. We arrived to the destination without a scratch.

Positano was beautiful, as you can see by the pictures. It is situated on a cliff face. I don't know how they were able to build so many houses here, let alone having a swimming pool and a tennis court. When we left the bus, we were able to explore Positano. The downhill roads are inter-weaving with many shops on either side. Some students took the opportunity to purchase souvenirs and gifts for their family members back home. Others took the opportunity to have MORE pizza, pinni or gelato. Many of us went to check out the beach. You don't realise how beautiful our beaches in Australia are. The sand here is not golden with fine granules, it is black and gritty (from volcanic ash from previous explosions) and as you get closer to the water, there are many pebbles. Not very appealing!!!!!!

Later in the afternoon after we returned back to the hotel, the students were divided into four teams, where we played an Amazing Race activity, seeing the sites of Sorrento, improving our Italian skills and getting familiar with the locals. This activity was well received by the students and became very competitive, especially for Mrs Depalo's group. After this activity, the students were able to continue seeing the sites of Sorrento, some found another SOCCER store, where they did more shopping and the rest went to relax in their rooms.

Before dinner, we went through the answers of the amazing race, where the winner will not be revealed until tomorrow on the bus ride to Florence. The students enjoyed a tomato based pasta, and chicken and potatoes for dinner. Many of the students retired for an early night. Some students continued to stay for dessert and played a game of UNO. Others stayed up to watch the soccer game against Napoli and Lazio. Tiziana is a mad Lazio supporter - she jumped up in the air when Lazia scored in the first half (1-0). Unfortunately Napoli scored in the second half (1-1), followed by another (2-1) and another (3-1), then another (4-1).

Many of the students are not looking forward to the LONG bus trip to Florence tomorrow with an early start ;(