After a rather uneventful day yesterday in Sicily (we drove about an hour uphill, only to find lots of fog once we got to the top), today we rolled into Amalfi ... and all I can saw is WOW! Most of the EXPLORERS travelers went on a ferry that took us to Postiano. There was not a guided tour, so everyone took to the main street to do some shopping. We then headed back to the town of Amalfi. Interestingly, both of these towns are built into the mountian cliffs. Everyone kept joking how we wouldn't find a Target or Burger King around these parts. After a tour of the cathedral, I had lunch with four EXPLORERS travelers in what is claimed to be the oldest square in Amalfi. It was positively bustling.

The best part was running into U of I folks as we ate our authentic food. People kept asking what was good, where to shop, things like that. It's so funny how you can become an instant expert just by fitting in with the locals at a little cafe. I then walked around the streets only to hear my name being called; one of my fellow EXPLORERS travelers was making himself at home with an expresso, and he looked just like a local.

Later on several of us went to the top deck of the ship for high tea. People were busy sharing stories about their time at the U of I, subjects such as what dorms they lived in, their majors. There was a heated debate about what bar two of our EXPLORERS travelers had their first date on. One gentleman recalled an evening of streaking across the quad, while another woman remembered a freshman year panty raid. It was a lively conversation.

Well, we all must get to bed early -- a tour of Rome awaits tomorrow!