Life's Journey

Today we had the entire day (8a - 6:30p) to explore the Napoli area of Italy. In true form we booked a private driver/guide for the day. This has truly made our experience first class - no waiting, we are at our own pace, we are not forced to see or do things we would rather not do. This is by far the best way to make the most of your time on a trip like this.

Our driver, Vinchento, was waiting for us when we arrived. He was very nice and knew his stuff. We started our day by visiting Pompei. This is a large town that is still in the process of being excavated - they think they are about halfway through. What they have uncovered represents an extraordinary wealth of architectures, sculptures, paintings, and mosaics. Mount Vesuvius, which stands above the Pompei area, erupted in 79 A.D. and buried the city with ash and rock. This allowed an exceptional preservation of the whole Roman city. They even uncovered human bodies that appeared to be frozen in time. This is a little breathtaking to see. But, quite an experience to be able to walk through this old city. We spent two hours exploring Pompei. As we were leaving busloads of people were entering the area - phew, just beat the crown to this one!

Next we drove along the Sorrento coast to the town of Sorrento. This drive was unbelievable. First, if you've never been a passenger in a car with a local driving in Italy you’ve got to try it. Its like a crazy rollercoaster ride, keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. They all know they drive like crazy people but somehow it just works. The roads are narrow and wind along the coast line. Because there is no parking anywhere people just park along the road which makes the roads even more narrow. But, that was not enough to distract from the amazing views along the drive. There were cliffs, flowers, and fantastic views of the sea. We passed many resorts and residences along the coast that were built to just hang on the side of the cliffs. We arrived in Sorrento and our driver dropped us off with a plan to meet him an hour later for lunch. The town is pretty much just narrow cobblestone walkways of shops, bars, and cafes. It was nice to window shop and stroll through the town. The area is very rich in agriculture but one of their pride crops is the lemon. These are the largest lemons I have ever seen in my life - they were practically the size of footballs. This is where limencello comes from, in fact I learned 2 things about limencello: 1 - it's actually made from the oils in the rind of the lemon rather than the actual juice and 2 - although it is crazy yummy it gives me killer heartburn. Lesson learned. The town was full of lemon items for sale: candles, soaps, lotions, you name it they can make it out of lemon. They are also know for the red coral found in the water off the coast. There were pieces of art and jewelry everywhere made from this very expensive coral. Later we met Venchento who took us to a great little local spot for lunch. Sorrento is also known for creating the pizza so we had to try it while we were here. We enjoyed local beer and calzones. It was super delicious. These were by far the best calzones we've ever had. Yum! We both agreed that we would enjoy coming back to Sorrento to visit for a few days and stay in one of the cliff's edge hotels.

We left Sorrento and drove along the Amalfi Coast to the little town of Positano. This was similar to Sorrento but much smaller and had a beach. We walked down a series of hills and stairs to get to the beach below. The "beach" was clearly man-made as it consisted of dirt/sand and small river rock type rocks. It was CRAZY hot at the beach. It's kind of in a cove so it doesn’t get the breeze. And I reached down to pick up some rocks and found that they were insane hot! The heat just radiates off of them making an area that is already hot even hotter!!!! But the people apparently don’t mind because the place was packed. The views were spectacular, there were many yachts and sailboats along the coast. It was too hot for us so we headed back up… and up… and up… so much for a relaxing day today. We pretty much walked all day! My legs and feet are exhausted. But it was totally worth it.

It was time to head back to the ship. We enjoyed a great day in the Napoli area. This was one of my favorites of the entire trip.

Hugs and Smiles,

Sarah