Day Trips to Pompeii and Capri

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Our first day trip from Sorrento was the ancient ruined city of Pompeii. Having both been to Rome and seen the ruins of the Colosseum and the Forum, we were struck by the grandeur of the city and the condition in which it is preserved. We spent a long afternoon on foot touring the city and - with nearly no tourists around - were able to get a fairly intimate look at ancient Roman life. To put Pompeii into words is challenging, as it’s an experience that is easy to live, but difficult to describe.

Our second day trip took us to the resort island of Capri. With Joe having been in Europe for 10 days now, and Mike much longer, we had had enough of the ‘continental‘ breakfast and decided we needed some real sustenance. So we made a quick stop in central Sorrento at the English Inn for a “full” English breakfast: eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, English breakfast tea... just the kind of fortification one needs to scale the hills of Capri.

We then enjoyed a very scenic ferry ride from the Sorrento port, which landed us in the main marina of Capri. Unfortunately, the famed Blue Grotto was closed, along with many of the shops, but this was a blessing in disguise. We were able to see Capri through the eyes of a local: walking through otherwise desolate streets, people-watching at a cafe in the piazza, and listening to the serenade of a local man on his siesta break. This kind of small town encounter would have been impossible during the summer.

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