Today, for my first "official" day in Italy, I went with a group of about 15 other teachers to the island Capri.  Today is one of about 4 days that are free during the next 4 weeks, so we wanted to do something more touristy and relaxing.  Capri (which means "goats" in Latin) is a beautiful little island nearby, so we took a ferry at 8:30 this morning over and spent the day rambling around the cute streets and pebbley beach.  Although I've been to Capri (emphasis on the "a") before, I had not taken a sailboat around the island and seen the famous "Blue Grotto."  I was so excited do see something new, and here are some pictures of our trip around the island:

While not the most exciting picture, I love the story behind this cliff.  The emperor Trajan (who was the 2nd Roman emperor) built a palace on the top of this cliff and eventually moved here permanently and let his advisor rule in his place at Rome.  If, however, someone made him mad (and Tiberius was crazy, so this happened often), Tiberius would have that person shoved off the edge of this cliff!  The cliff in Italian is called "Tiberius' Jump."

The famous cliffs of Capri (we sailed under that tunnel to the right)

The "Blue Grotto," which receives its name from the electric blue color of the water.  And just a side-note, we almost got stuck in the grotto on our way out!  You have to take a small rowboat into the cave, because that entrance is so small that we literally were ducking our heads as our captain rowed us in.  Apparently right after we got into the cave, these high waves started rolling in so that the next boat nearly got smashed into the ceiling.  We had to wait for the waves to subside in order to row back out, but it was worth it.

We go to Pompeii tomorrow!