Italy: Day VII (Sorrento, Capri, Positano)

Monday, July 25th:

A Capri Lighthouse:

            Today was an incredible whirlwind of sightseeing in one of the most beautiful areas of the world. We woke up early for breakfast in the hostel before heading down to the Sorrento marina to meet our Capri tour guide, Andrea (a man!). He was a very funny guy and him and his friend Sebastian led us on their Ribcraft boats out to Capri. We also met a group of girls from Taos, New Mexico who were also on our tour boat. We spent most of the morning on the boat as we made the trek from Sorrento to the ridiculously stunning island of Capri. The entire island is surrounded by cliffs and grottos and crazy rock formations. We did some swimming in the water, which was surprisingly cold for midsummer in Italy, and did a trip on the boat around the island to see all of the famous grottos. We also got to pass through the really cool "Gates of Capri" rock formation. Unfortunately, we were not able to see the famed Blue Grotto as the water was too rough to allow our boat to enter the tiny entrance tunnel. I suppose I have to save some things for future trips!

The Gates of Capri:

            We had lunch next to a beach near the only part of Capri that does not have cliffs down to the water before going on the island to explore. Visitors must take a funicular elevator from the port up to the top of the island! Most of the island is tiny streets, narrow staircases, small villas, and shops. Max and I did not feel like doing a lot of shopping, so we grabbed a bottle of Limoncella and relaxed on top of the cliffs offering spectacular views. We got some pizza while we were up there as well before heading back down to the boat to ride back to Sorrento. The entire trip took about ten hours, but it was totally worth it and Capri is truly an awesome place.

The Port of Capri and Anacapri:

            The fun does not stop here, however, as Max and I decided to leave our luggage in our hostel overnight and rent motor scooters to ride the Amalfi Coast Road to Positano for the night! These things are a little scary at first, but once we got the hang of them we were flying around the hairpin turns of the cliff-top road to Positano. This is one of the prettiest roads I have ever driven on, but it can be quite frightening to see a massive cliff drop down to the ocean on the other side of each guardrail. After about a half-hour we got to Positano.

The Amalfi Coast Road at Sunset:

            Positano is a honeymoon spot for sure. The entire town is built into the side of a massive cliff, and there is only a single one-way road winding through the whole town. Naturally, Max and I passed our hotel twice, and had to wind all the way back down and up to the top again each time. We finally found the Hotel Montemare, checked in, and walked up the road to find some dinner. At night, all of Positano is lit up with very romantic dimly-lit lights and music is always playing faintly. I think I will return here later in life with my wife or girlfriend for sure! We found an awesome place called Ristorante Saraceno D'Oro where I had some Bruschetta, Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach with a Mushroom sauce, and Veal with Mushrooms. We both also drank some local white wine, and Max joked that the elderly woman hostess should come home with him to cook for him for the rest of his life! Such is Italy. We finished our dinner and hit the hay early after a really, really long day. Tomorrow we are off to Florence!

Positano:

Italy: Day VI (Sorrento, Pompeii)

Sunday, July 24th:

The Temple of Apollo at Pompeii, in the Shadow of Mt. Vesuvius:

            Today was yet another awesome day on the trip. Unfortunately, the wind and seas were too high so we were not able to go to Capri this morning. Instead, we are signed up for the same trip tomorrow. We ate breakfast at the hostel before I decided that I was going to take the Circumvesuviana train up to Pompeii. Max wanted to stay at the hostel to read and rest as he had already been to Pompeii, so I made the trip alone. I got out at the Pompeii train stop, ate a Panini and some fresh orange juice, and went inside the enormous excavation.

The Isis Temple at Pompeii:

Ruins and Mt. Vesuvius:

            I was told that I should take a guide, or at least an audioguide, but I decided to go it alone anyways. The site is very, very large and can be confusing, as all of the streets are tiny and winding, so it is easy to get lost. I spent hours wandering around the old temples and forums of the city. It is absolutely amazing how life just completely stopped in the year 79 AD from the Vesuvius eruption. The city was completely preserved, and visitors can even see a few people and animals who were preserved by the ash upon their untimely deaths.

A Petrified Body of a Pompeii Citizen (AD79):

            One of my favorite parts of the day was checking out the ancient Roman brothel in Pompeii. It was very unusual and humorous because each room had fresco paintings of the services that the women could provide, as not all customers could speak the same language! I must have spent over four hours wandering around the ancient streets before heading back to meet up with Max back at the hotel.

Brothel Advertisement Frescoes in Pompeii:

            We had some time to kill before dinner, so we decided to borrow a soccer ball and play around with some local kids at a turf soccer field right by our hotel. We had a great time booting it around and getting shown up by kids half our age before working up a big enough appetite to get some dinner. We walked across down to the cliffs overlooking Sorrento’s marina and ate at a place called La Ripetta. We ate some veggies soaked in olive oil, Green Sea Pasta with Clams, and I had a coastal fish. It was pretty funny eating the fish because, as is the typical style in the area, the fish came out un-cleaned. I am used to this and can clean a fish, but they sent out a special waiter to clean the fish for me who was an elderly man who put on his glasses before cleaning the fish in ten seconds flat! Needless to say, I was impressed by him and the fish. We walked around Sorrento a bit before having some drinks at our hostel and resting up for Capri and Positano tomorrow!

The Pompeii Forum: