Sorrento to Pompeii to Rome

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July 20 Thursday
I got up at 5 am to get out to get some morning photos of the sunrise at the veranda. It was nice and cool outside. I had the park and the terrace to myself unless you count the two cats hanging out. The sun was rising behind the hillside so it gave the sky a nice pink color. I then headed back to the hotel to finish packing. I had internet access but couldn't upload my photos to my blog. I then headed down to breakfast. Almost everyone was eating outside but there were no clean tables available so I sat inside by myself. Once again it was scrambled egg soup, cut hot dog sausages, and barely cooked bacon. Fruits, breads, cereals, deli meat and cheese were also offered. I grabbed some ham and some cheese as well as croissants. I used the cherry jelly again. After eating I boarded the bus and we left at 8:15.
Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples, in the Campania region of Italy, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumicein the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
We ran into heavy traffic all the way there. We had to pass through the long tunnel again. We reached Pompeii at 9:30. We had a two hour tour with our local guide of the ruins of Pompeii. I, of course, as usual, took off on my own but still within hearing distance of the little speaker boxes we use so that I can overhear what he was saying even though I wasn't in the same area as the rest of the group. I was really excited about seeing the ruins since I have read about Pompeii since I was in the 5th or 6th grades. Unfortunately we only spent two hours there. The place is extremely large and also once again very crowded with tour groups. Although I was disappointed I got to keep reminding myself that this is just a quick tour of Europe so I know what I want to do when I come back to Europe in more detail. We only got an hour to grab something to eat. The choices were very limited: it was either pizza or ice cream! I tried a square slice of pizza that was very thick and they had to nuke it to warm it up and then it still wasn't very good. So I grabbed a cup of vanilla ice cream and a bottle water. We boarded the bus at 12:45 and headed to Rome.
Rome is the capital of Italy and a special comune (named Comune di Roma Capitale). Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,877,215 residents in 496.1 sq miles, it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber River.
I fell asleep a couple of times on the way there so not much to say about the countryside as we passed it. What I did see looked like what I saw on our way to Sorrento. As we drive from the outskirts of Rome to the inner city, the architecture became more and more classical Roman. Our hotel, which we arrived at about 3:10, is near an university but not from what I could tell. The neighborhood looks dodgy and unkept. Scott warned us again not to expect American standards for this hotel. He used the term that I used for last night's beautiful hotel: Classic Italian. This Hotel is classical crap or "crapical". Not much in the lobby to speak of. I'm on the 2nd floor. My room looked like a poor man's version of Italy. Bad drapes and bedspread. Cigarette burns were under the varnish from where people left their cigarettes burn to long. This was the worst looking hotel I've ever stayed in. When I research the hotels before I left America, trip advisor had mentioned that quite a few former guests had found bedbug bites in the morning. First thing I did was the pullback all the covers and check for any bugs. I did find a few specks of dirt on top of the sheets. The restroom looked great until you looked closer and noticed some of the rust spots on the fixtures. We had about an hour and a half to relax. I went across the street to see if I could find some sort of energy drink. They didn't have any but regular Red Bull. I looked around in their electronic section and found another power strip for Europe. The one I had bought increase quit working in Italy. It only has two prongs to plug into the outlet and I need three prongs for Italy. It was only €7. It worked. I was able to grab a few minutes rest before leaving at 4:45 to head out to see Rome.
Our local tour guide, Donatello, was great. Lots of sights to see including the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. We passed a few obelisks and many fountains. We stopped in the Piazza Navona for dinner on our own. This time I just picked the closest restaurant to eat at. I ordered bruschetta (FYI: the ch is pronounced as a /k/ sound not a /sh/ sound.) followed by penne arrabiata. They brought some cut bread in a bag right before my main meal arrived. I used some to clean the leftover sauce from my plate. When the waiter came to clear the table before bringing me the check, I told him to take the bag of bread. He was surprised and want to know why I didn't want to take it. I told him I was already full and didn't need it anymore. The waiter was upset I didn't want to take the bread with me. I told him it was good bread it's just I didn't want it. He replied before walking away moodily, "Of course it's good. We make it every day." After paying for my bill and walking around looking at souvenir shops, I went to get the free ice cream that Scott provided for each of us. I sat looking around the plaza looking at people and working on my blog. We then headed back to the hotel and arrived about 9 o'clock.

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