Sorrento and Pompeii

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Ciao from the Amalfi Coast!

So after a seriously long day of travel from San Gimignano in Tuscany, Michelle and I made it down south to Sorrento which is just south of Napoli on the Amalfi Coast. We only had a short stop in Napoli (which is a good thing because it is not a nice area) and rode a glorified subway all way out to Sorrento. Seriously...this thing had 31 stops and it took over an hour (think Kipling to Kennedy on the TTC). Now normally that wouldent be so bad, but we were squished into a corner clutching our massive backpacks, sweating, pressed against a grimy subway car wall and forced to listen to two annoying texan woman blabber on about EVERYTHING.

Anyway, we got to Sorrento and it was lovely. At first glance it seems like a small town in some part of Florida, but after a bit of walking around, you find your way down to the marina where the view absolutely takes your breath away. Check out the picture for yourself. The town was fairly touristy, but it really came to life at night when the streets are flooded with people drinking, shopping at late night fruit markets, etc. We stumbled into some shop (after eating the best, and I mean the BEST pizza EVER) where some gruff old Italian man shoved cups of Limoncello into our hands. This was paint thinner, or rocket fuel with some really tasty lemons in it. Great stuff.

The next day, we hopped the annoying subway halfway back towards Napoli so we could check out the ruins of Pompeii (an ancient Roman city that was covered in a mudslide after mount Vesuvius erupted). It was really, really cool in Pompeii. You could see real roman villas that were almost 2000 years old, with original frescoes that were perfectly preserved in the mud over that time. It was simply amazing. If you have ever seen Rome, the television series, you can really see where they got their inspiration and boy did they get it right.

Anyway, this internet cafe charges a fortune so I will sign off for now.

Greg

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Photos

Sorrento Marina
The amazing view from the cliffs overlooking the marina in Sorrento.

Reading about Pompeii...in Pompeii
Me reading about the villa we were in (thanks Louis and Adelle for the totally helpful book)

Michelle in Sorrento
My belle Michelle lounging on the cliffs of Sorrento.