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Published: April 2nd 2008
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Pompei - directions
So, to direct people to the red light district there are these symbols everywhere. But they are also everywhere as a symbol to promote luck and fertility so, no i'm not just taking grotty pics... The Tour
Day One - the first real day anyway!
After an early wake up call and breakfast, it was into the bus and introductions to Fabio - NOT, the most beautiful man in the cosmos - our coach driver, and the day song, which was Starz in their Eyes, a much questioned choice. After a great deal of time where Fabio attempted and eventually succeeded in reversing the coach out of the hotel gates, we were off, driving to Pompei and then our final destination of the day, Sorrento.
Sitting at the back of the bus, it was soon clear that the Aussies were going to bond, with a lone American joining the mix, the back of the bus soon became the place to be for humour, gossip and complaints about the dodgiest music ever - except for the Madonna and Lenny Kravitz tunes, but that is a story for later!
So with Nessa, Holly (Qld), Jess (Vic, but living in London), Ashley (Vegas), Bob (NSW), John (NSW), Angie and Sami (Qld), as well as me, the back of the bus was complete and the laughter began. After getting stuck in traffic, which strangely enough,
seemed to be mostly made up of hearses, we made it to Pompei.
Now, because of the traffic, our guided tour of Pompei was rushed, despite actually being about an hour and a half, which was a point of contention for many of the tour group because the guide got a little cranky and rushed us out instead of letting us wander around a little longer.
Pompei was magnificent, and I'm so glad we had the tour because it explained so many of the ruins, buildings and symbols. For those of you who have no idea of why Pompei is siginificant, it was uncovered a few hundred years ago, a siginificantly preserved roman city, which was lost after the eruption of the nearby volcano. The city was covered in volanic ash which preserved much of the city, even to the extent that air pockets that were left after organic matter decomposed allowed archeologists to create moulds of the spaces and discover bodies of animals and people who had died as a result of the eruption.
After visiting Pompei and having pizza with Lauren and Jeff, an awesome couple from Vancover with some hair raising adventures, we were
back in the coach for the trip to Sorrento. Twisting and turning around the hills, the coach teetering on steep cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples, we past Bikini and Famous Beaches - why the hell are they called that? - taking in some phenomenal views. Steep hills covered in orange and lemon trees and gravity defying homes, we made our way to our hotel which was just outside of Sorrento. Overlooking the ocean, this was a pretty fabulous spot.
We travelled into the town of Sorrento for a free evening, finding our own dinner and exploring the town. After heading to an internet cafe/bar and sorting out our accomodation for the end of the tour as well as having a very large beer, it was off to find dinner with Bob and John. Somehow in our attempt to find somewhere vaguely authentic for dinner we ended up walking out of the place where we ate - yum, gnocchi! - only to realise that it was an faux English pub! We wandered back to the meeting spot, running into a couple of particularly amorous teenagers. Once at the meeting spot, I discovered that I had left my hat behind
Pompei - Roman amphitheatre
And the reason you can tell it's a Roman theatre is because it faces the ocean and is only a half circle, not a complete circle around the stage. (only because i was bitching about the cold, if i am perfectly honest!) and had to do the bolt back, through windy alleys, turning left at the mauling teenagers and giggling once again at the randomness of the shop that was advertising that it sold "typical products", God-knows what they are!
Day Two
After another early wake up call, breakfast and the drive back into Sorrento, it was off to the dock to take the ferry to the Isle of Capri. With everyone pretty tired, the allure of just curling up on the ground and sleeping the day away right there was pretty strong, but going against my current hobo status, I stayed strong and got on the boat! Once on the boat, I was amused to note that it was a Wavemaster boat, built in WA! Can't bloody get away from it, hehehe! After thinking I was going to make it to Capri without getting sick, about 10 minutes away, I got all hot and did the bolt outside! Lucky for me, that was all I needed, some cool, fresh air, but some of the others weren't so lucky :/
Anyway, after hightailing back onto dry land
we were off to meet our guide, Mario. So we pile into these little buses and hurtle up the hill to the town of Anacapri, which is at the highest part of the island. From here you can see almost everything, especially if you take the chair lift to the top, which due to the weather, i didn't. And no, before you start to call me a wimp, there was bloody fog everywhere! And, i'm so un-co i would probably have fallen off anyway.
Anacapri is the second township on the Isle, with a population of about 6000. It is really the local area of the island, whereas Capri is the more touristy destination. And, when it was first founded, because there is little water on the island, those people living in Anacapri had to walk down about 1007 extremely steep stairs everyday just to get water. After lunch at the Contiki recommended restaurant (go find your own place, people) it was off down the hill to the town of Capri. Oh, and Miss Nessa had a pair of shoes handmade for her!
Now the pic's don't really capture it, but it was damn cold and windy so
we struggled along to the other side of the island to see the two stones that are the iconic symbols of Capri. Although now the place that the rich and famous come to play - hence the absurdly expensive shops and a strangly huge Salvatore Ferigamo that has outlets on both sides of the street- until the end of the war, Capri was quite a poor place with no tourism, other than the grant toursits that came to paint/draw or explore the geography of Capri. Capri was also the place where Eisenhower and Churchill had what i am choosing to call a love nest during the war. Totally amazing looking building with phenomenal views. I'm sure the soliders would have approved...
Beacuse of the time of year and the weather we could go to the famous Blue Grotto, but most of the group did go on another boat ride to explore the island from the water. Instead of joining them, 5 of us decided that a cup of tea (yes, i know, i'm so outrageous) was in order so we settled in to a cafe in the central area of Capri and watched the world go by. Plus, we
needed to recooperate after our training for the next Empire State Building stair climb - i swear, I have actually lost weight and my legs are starting to look anatomically correct, I can even make out my knees now!
On the ferry back to Sorrento, it was an outside seat for me and funnily enough I felt fine despite our boat sliding around the water like it was attempting to cross ice. The views of the cliffs of both Capri and Sorrento were phenomenal. After toddling around Sorrento for a bit longer, it was back to the hotel and our staple pasta and pizza dinner that had everyone raving about how they wanted vegetables!
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