Saturday morning we left at 6 am and went on a tour of the archeology site in Pompeii. It is crazy how much they have discovered over the years...there are even people's bodies that have been preserved in casts! The site was huge and we only covered about 2 and a half hours worth but we got to see a lot still.
After our tour we drove to Sorento to our hotel. It was a nice change from hostels and we had a pool and a balcony...fancy. We also had dinner made for us at the hotel and then we all walked to a store that had a lemonchello tasting for us. Sorento has the best limoncello because their major produce is lemons.
The next morning we had a big breakfast and then took a ferry to Capri. When we arrived to Capri we got on a smaller tour boat and took a tour around the island. Unfortunately, the blue grotto was closed. The blue grotto is a small cave that you take a little boat to. The water looks like it is the bluest water in the world..or at least in the pictures it looked like that.
This boat tour was not my shining moment for a few reasons...1- I get sea sick and we had already been on two boats that day with rough waves and 2- we couldn't do a lot because of how rough the water was, so our tour guide asked us if we wanted to make the complete circle around the island or go back in. Everyone wanted to see all of it, so we continued but the guide said the sea would be a little rough for a few minuets while we made our way around. I thought " Ok no big deal, it's not bad at all"...well I spoke too soon because we were suddenly in a tsunami and I was TERRIFIED! I was sitting on the top of the boat and more than once I thought we were done for. I finally decided that I had to go to the bottom of the boat so I somehow held on and made it down the stairs..some of my friends that were already down there said they could really hear my "southern" accent because I was freaking out that bad...and then I got sea sick sitting on the bottom of the boat...no fun.
Other than that fiasco, I loved Capri! It was so beautiful and all of the people were very friendly. We went to a really good restaurant there and a lot of celebrities go there as well..the entire place is full of celebraties pictures and there is a shrine of Mariah Carry there. The food was some of the best we've had so far! We also had amazing gelato and went to a garden that had a view of the entire ocean. We also hung out at the beach for awhile and then headed back to the port in Naples on our final boat ride (thank God).
The weekend was relaxing and really fun! We are going to Ireland next! Ciao!
Pictures:
1-5: Our tour guide Lucca! He is the best..he's very knowledgeable and very patient (he was the only tour guide for 90 students). The other pictures are ruins that we saw at the beginning of the tour.
6: This is self explanatory...but this is a frequent site around Pompeii because it was a sign of good luck and fertility, which meant that the owners of the home or store would have good fortune.
7-8: These are casted bodies that still hold bones from people when Mt. Vesuvius erupted..it's sad and also crazy that they were able to preserve them after all of this time.
9: This was their form of a gym. It had a swimming pool on the inside but it's hard I see in pictures. Gladiators would train there and then walk across the street to the amphitheater.
10-11: This is the amphitheater that put on the same shows as the coliseum did in Rome.
12-15: More ruins..the picture with the object that looks like a circle statue is a tool they used to make wine and the second last picture is what their bars looked like.
16: Abbey Road in Pompeii? They had these stepping stones for when it rained...they didn't have a plumbing system obviously so when it rained the streets were filled with things that people shouldn't step in.
17-18: This is basically the Red Light District of Pompeii...the bed was is where the slaves who worked in the brothel would bring their "customers" and their were carved symbols on the ground to show the way to the brothel.
19-21: This is the town square in the middle of what was the city of Pompeii.
22-23: The view from the bus on our way to Sorrento and the view from our hotel room.
24-29: The dinner we had at the hotel..everything tasted better than normal because it was free!
30-36: Walking around Sorrento at night and our limoncello tasting..it was much better in Sorrento than Florence because it's creamy.
37-40: The next morning on our way to Capri.
41-43: The marina in Capri..also the calm before the storm..
44-54: The view from the boat on our tour. The rock with the hole in it is a symbol of love and when you pass through it you are supposed to kiss the person you love for good luck. The water is actually that blue and there were a lot of jellyfish visible. All of it was beautiful and then it got windy and it all went downhill from there.
55-59: This is the village of Capri..you have to take a tram from the marina up the mountain to get to the town.
60-70: The restaurant we ate at..it was awesome! I split a pizza and a sample Platter of, as they called it, "fried delicacies". It had fried zucchini, rice balls, ham and cheese rolls...a bunch of stuff. I felt like I was eating with Mariah Carey due to the shrine dedicated to her. The owner was really nice and says they are good friends and I believe him because the proof is all over the walls. We also got amazing gelato that tasted like kinder bars, which is my favorite candy here.
70-82: Views from the gardens in Capri..one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!
83-87: More sites around the town and from the beach.
88: Steve Carrel!! Not really..it's Sergio the bus driver and he looks and acts exactly like him! We tricked a few people with this picture...we sat in the back of the bus and would turn around to watch him drive the other bus and we're not sure if he was looking at the road half of the time.
