You asked for hot girl European summer (okay, I asked) and I delivered. When I say everything works out for me, I mean literally everything works out for me.
Now I know you are not at all surprised on the fact that this final Summer 2023 blog post is a full two month lates. We are all well aware of my forgetfulness by now and I have simply embraced that character flaw at this point in my life. Well, friends, let’s dive in!
Buckle up, because Hattie and I had a TIME and a half during our two weeks hopping around the Amalfi Coast and Split, Croatia. We met at the train station in Salerno, Italy, our town of residence for approximately six days. A quick grocery run and a change into swimsuits later, we found ourselves at the nearest beach. Only a 5-minute walk from our Airbnb, we were in heaven. Since we didn’t get to the beach until later afternoon, we only got in a couple hours of sun and surprisingly, a local beach soccer match. Salerno is a smaller, more secluded town on the coast, so there is minimal English spoken. We got the gist from the local teenage boys though when they made us move our towels in order to set up their makeshift pitch. One goal later, we made our way back to the Airbnb and freshened up before stepping out for the night. Best way to beat jet lag - don’t stop moving! (That is for the sake of Hattie just landing from the US). Since we were in Italy, we had to indulge in some pasta ASAP. My stomach was willing to take the risk and I had heard from so many of my gut health Instagram girlies that the food in Italy didn’t upset them, so I figured I was safe. We found ourselves at our safety restaurant Gli Impastati… and found myself my first Italian “novio.”
First, I am still drooling over the carbonara from this first night! Hattie and I split an appetizer of grilled octopus and a bottle of wine, as well as our pasta dishes, and had a great time catching up. We both thought our waiter was a cutie, and took guesses on how old we thought he was. Over the course of dinner, we progressively talked to him more and more, and I think he purposely checked on us more often just to chat in broken English and Spanish (he knew a little Spanish). Why, my friends, I was right! While asking for local drink recommendations, he told us his favorite spot, then turned to me and said, “And I’ll need your number.” GASP. Obviously I gave it to him. We texted the majority of the time that H and I were in Salerno, though we didn’t get the chance to meet up again.
Our first full day on the coast brought more pasta and a little motion sickness on Hattie’s part. We took an early ferry over to Amalfi, then hopped on a bus to Agerola, a small agricultural town about 1.5 hours from Amalfi by bus. That bus ride went through so many sharp curves, which played a large role in that sickness… You never would have guessed her illness, though, during our amazing pasta making class!
We were expecting a group of people, yet it turned out to be just us and the owners. All good fun, though. We made ravioli and some other noodles, as well as tiramisu, which gave us a good carb-load for the rest of the day. Also - we made it on their website with the below picture!! There was still plenty of time for a photoshoot with the dazzling landscape in the background, as well as to swim in the tranquil waters in Amalfi. I cannot tell you how many times we laughed while wading in the water, exclaiming that we truly live the BEST lives.
That night, we explored a bit of the Salerno nightlife and checked an item off our bucket list. For Hattie - pickles sure are a good snack, yeah?
We took a much needed rest day following the nightlife - we are on VACATION, after all - and just shopped around town a bit. I bought a dress I had been eyeing for a full month, and just needed that push for someone to tell me I needed that in my wardrobe. We sat down for some pre-dinner Aperol Spritzes and just had a nice “girl dinner” later on. I’m still not totally sure if I really enjoy an Aperol, but while in Italy, right? Hat and I parted ways for the night to scope out the local prospects and grab a drink with our respective men. She had a more successful night than I, and thus began the Italian boyfriend romance. Go bestie!
The next day, we had planned to go to another coastal town, Positano, but the ferries were down due to the rocky waters. Disappointed but still trying to make the best of it, Hat shot off a text to her man and we all found ourselves at a local beach for the day. Those rocky waters were no joke, and I took a tumble in the waves with my little body. I resigned to my beach towel and book, then later convinced Hattie and Marco (her man) to play some beach volleyball. Back at the Airbnb, we dressed up for dinner and indulged in more pasta and wine, then met Marco for a post-dinner Aperol. The three of us shared many laughs through a “would you rather” game in a mix of English, Spanish, and Italian. Thank the universe for translation apps!
Our original plan for our final full day in Italy was to take a ferry to the island of Capri, but again, the ferries were a bit wacky and we didn’t want to risk it. In a roundabout way, we ended up in Positano and enjoyed a lunch of pizza, salad, and some lemon sorbet. Our main item of business for the day was beach, and we set up shop for a few hours before heading back to Salerno. Another bucket list item: get matching tattoos. We found a shop and got the most adorable little pinky tattoos to commemorate our time. A small “A” for Hattie and a small “H” for me. Marco helped translate to the tattoo man. We spoke to Marco in Spanish then he spoke to the man in Italian haha. I let them have their last little date and headed back to the Airbnb for an early night.
Before leaving the coast, we made one last stop at the cutest local winery, about 10-minutes from Salerno. Again, it was just the two of us, but it made for an intimate and personalized experience. We were given a wonderful tour through their vineyard and barrel room, then treated to the most delicious and fresh “snacks.” The website description had told us light snacks would be provided, yet it was basically a full meal with bruschetta, mozzarella, homemade lemon jam and more cheese, and a few other items I cannot name. Of course, we were given wine, and each got to try a full-bodied red and an organic rosé. Wow. Utterly incredible! I wanted to buy a bottle, though we had a flight to catch in a few hours and only backpacks as luggage. I would definitely go back in a heartbeat, though!
A bus, train, airplane, and Uber ride later, we arrived in our next destination: Split, Croatia! After checking in to our hostel, we met up with a girl I had been messaging on Instagram from the Hostelworld app. The three of us got some burritos, Desperados beers <3, then a couple of drinks from the iconic Charlie’s Bar. We all quickly made friends with a group of lads from London who invited us to their Airbnb since they had a pool. The plot was not plotting today, though, and we said no and retreated back to our hostels. I make safe choices sometimes!
For our first full day in Split, we roamed around the city with our new friend, Cynthia, and chilled by the beach for a short amount of time. We all wanted to take a bit of a siesta, then Hattie and I headed back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Meeting up for dinner, another girl from the app, Ada, joined us since we had gathered a group to make our way to Plitvice Lakes the following day. I had seen a TikTok of a couple who had rented a car and arrived to the National Park right at opening, and essentially had much of the park to themselves and a small number of other tourists for a few hours. We all agreed this was a good idea, and woke up at 4:30am to start our drive to the lakes by 5:00am.
I consider myself a bit of a pro at driving by now as I’ve driven all over the Southeast US for work, the 16-hour drive from North Carolina to Iowa in one day, and not to mention driving through Spain last year. Needless to say, I took the wheel for the 2.5-hour drive and got us safely to the lakes around 8:00am. Getting there early was definitely a good idea, too, since there were maybe just a couple hundred people in the entire park during our time there.
Oh. My. Gosh. Plitvice Lakes is an absolutely breathtaking experience! It literally felt like I was in the Avatar movie, surrounded by greenery and intriguing turquoise waters. We walked around the park for several hours, taking it all in. I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
We were even happier for our early departure when we emerged from the trails and saw the crowds and crowds of people arriving in tour groups. We finished our park adventure when they had just arrived! Thank you, TikTok couple.
There was still some time to kill before needing to return the rental car, so we stopped at a beach on the outskirts of Split. Hat and I dropped off our friends, then returned our rental car and headed back to the hostel to get ready for the night. Ada came over for a small pregame, then we met Cynthia at Charlie’s Bar again. Split is iconic for being a party city, so we of course had to check out one of the clubs. Definitely cool, but we also got a bit overwhelmed and decided to leave after only an hour or so. A smart decision, though, since the real party began the next day…
Now, Hattie and I had been planning this trip for MONTHS. We had a timeline of when to book things; each doing our diligent research on activities. Back in January or February, a TikTok or two were shared about a boat party in Split and Hattie and I each immediately said yes to booking that
We found ourselves aboard the Split Boat Party and had told all of our friends that we were going on a yacht. It turned out to be something that was not quite a yacht, but two stories nonetheless. We quickly made friends and sailed away for the next several hours, with a swim stop about an hour in. I’d been gearing up for this spot all summer, and became one of the first people to leap off the boat into the brilliant blue water. Hat and I also had our fair share of photos, and I have some on my film camera that I am so curious to see once they’re developed!
While onboard, we had made friends with one of the workers, and she shared another boat party opportunity with us for the following night at half the price. We decided to go for it (who says no to being on a boat?) and it took us to a small island where the only people on land came from the boats. There was a DJ with some good vibes and cool lights going, and of course, we made more friends. This time, we found ourselves absolutely surrounded by French people, many of whom didn’t speak much English. We stuck with a group of three guys who were such a fun time, and thankfully, fluent in English haha. We taught each other some games that are apparently cross-cultural, as many of our games were already similar to theirs. At the end of the night, we witnessed a “classic French party move” in which they all lined up on the floor in sort of a row boat position, and took turns body surfing over each other while chanting some French song. It was an experience.
Ultimately, our last day came and we took the ferry to Hvar Island for the day. The island is a cute spot, yet very touristy and pricier. Hat and I both splurged on some clothes, though, with our mindset being we can tell people we bought them on an island in Croatia. We walked around the main town area, then trekked to Mustačo Beach for a few hours. We had to get in a last sip of our favorite Desperados beer before heading back to Split and to the airport. Our flights required us to stay one night in Rome, so this is where we said our goodbyes.
I spent a couple of more days in Seville to gather all of my belongings and have a slow goodbye to my favorite city. The universe works in some pretty cool ways, too, and I had a nice chat with an older lady about her experiences living abroad. She has some connections in the city, so we exchanged WhatsApp numbers and decided to keep in touch. My ultimate goal is to make it back to Spain, preferably Seville, in 2025 to live permanently. At least for a few years :)
This was a long one, so if you made it through, thank you for sticking around. I know it was a bit chaotic, but that’s just me! Sneak peak for the next trip: think green.
Besitos,
Amanda