I'm not Dammi Cinque-ing you for that

The title of this blog comes courtesy of my lovely mother. Dammi Cinque is literally "Give me 5" in Italian, (though the actual phrase for a high 5 is "Batti il Cinque") we at the IES Center Americanized it and yell it sometimes. Cesca and I were discussing how happy we were that our 21st birthday was coming up and I told my mom to "Dammi Cinque." She isn't thrilled about our birthday, hence the blog title. haha.

Anyway, our last day in the south of Italy was dedicated to buses. We took a minibus to the small coast town of Amalfi (we skipped Positano because 847 stairs to the beach was far too much for any of us to handle) and had a few hours to spend there. We wandered around, put our feet in the Mediterranean (though it was not a very sunny day), and saw the Duomo. It was really nice and refreshing to see a more arab inspired Duomo rather than the ones up North in Siena and Florence that start looking the same after a while.

Literally driving along cliffs

beautiful cliffs, but cliffs nonetheless

Positano

Chillin in Amalfi

Gemelle love

I adore this picture of my mamma. So
proud of her for doing this trip and being
a champ about everything we put her through!

This is about 5 seconds before my sneaker
almost washed away

Duomo!

a snack shop that reminded me of my grandma
(her maiden name was Cataldo)

We also saw what I consider one of the most amazing things I've seen here: A funeral. This may seem morbid, but it was beautiful. We were in a shop and the shopkeeper turned the light of and asked us to wait as a funeral was passing by (we had been wondering why the shops all seemed to be closed). In Italy, when there is a funeral procession going through the city, everything stops. The whole family was following the car with the flowers and the hearse, and as they passed people made the sign of the cross and shopkeepers closed the shutters on their stores. It was very moving and emotional. The amount of respect that Italians have for family and loved ones, even if they are not their own, is astounding and beautiful. It's something America could learn a lot from.I was honestly moved to tears by the respect and care this entire town had for the grieving family.

After a relaxing lunch in town and a little more shopping and exploring (we had to check out the Limoncello shops, because the drink is made in this region) we hopped on the bus back to Sorrento. Cesca and I took a short walk around the Sorrento while we waited for our (late) escort back to Pompeii where we would take the large bus back home. It was a long trip but totally worth it!

The next day, mom and cesca's last in Italy, we explored a few sites in Rome they wanted to see. These included the Colosseum (which is still cool the second time around), the Spanish Steps, John Keats' House (where he died of tuberculosis), the Trevi Fountain (where I ran into a group from Ithaca including one of Casey's friends from Voicestream) and the Pantheon (which I often confuse with the Parthenon. I will therefore be calling both the Panthenon) before we headed back to the hotel and packed up.

Getting our Gladiator on

DiCillo girls at the Colosseo

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me
your ears

being cute at the Colosseum

please note the yellow "No climbing on
the ruins"sign

View from above

Just a group of gladiators chatting it up outside

Ces in front of the house of John Keats

Climbing to the top of the Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain in the daytime!

Making our wishes/guaranteeing our return
to Rome someday

Their last gelato in front of the Pantheon

They took me to the train station where we put off the goodbye as long as possible. But saying goodbye was inevitable, and we all shed a tear when I had to board my Hogwarts train (seriously, it had compartments like on the Hogwarts Express). Ok, a lot more than a tear was shed. I get used to being around my family and I loved having them here. Paola said being close with the family runs in my Italian blood and that's why I miss them so much. That must be the reason, because goodbyes are always painful.

I'm happy though, since even though the goodbye was hard, I got to show Mom and Cesca my life here and how well I've adjusted to living abroad. My mom could see that I have a great life with Paola and that I can get around on my own. I feel like I've definitely become more independent while becoming much closer to my family at the same time.

Well, that's a recap of Mom and Cesca's (hopefully) amazing week in Italy. I hope you've enjoyed reading about it as much as I've enjoyed recapping it!

My next post will probably not come until at least Sunday after I return from a Phantom-filled trip to London! Ciao tutti!!