The group touring Pompei with Mt. Vesuvius in the background
Since my last entry, we’ve learned a lot and experienced so much!
On Friday morning, we had a 6 am bus waiting to take us to Mt. Vesuvius and the city of Pompei. We were supposed to climb Mt. Vesuvius, but sadly too much snow kept us from being allowed to hike. It was a let down, but we made up for it! We still got a great tour of Pompei. Pompei was the city that was destroyed and buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. They have excavated most of the city and it’s incredible how much of it has been preserved! Original marble floors, original frescos… it’s just neat to see how well made all of it was so long ago that it still lasted through a volcanic eruption.
We ate lunch at a pizza place in Naples- the city in Italy known for their thick-crusted, homemade dough pizzas! I got a caprese pizza- tomatoes, mozzarella and basil on a cheese pizza. Don’t worry, I’m writing these down to make them at home. From there we visited an abbey overlooking Naples- some of the most beautiful paintings of the birth, life and death of Christ! Sadly I couldn’t take pictures inside…
Now the fun part! If it could get better… While majority of the group went for a spa weekend in Ischia, 6 of us stayed in Sorrento for a relaxing weekend.
- We rented a bungalow for super cheap-with a kitchen! We made dinner and breakfast for each other.
- Slept in late and woke to the crashing waves of the Mediterranean.
- Walked around the quaint town where free limoncello was offered at every corner.
- Gelato out of this world, called “X-Factor” if that gives any clue as to how extreme it was (Chocolate and Peanut Butter gelato with Pay Day and caramelized almonds mixed in).
- Walked through the maze of cobblestone alleys and finally came upon the sea! It was so glorious!! We finally took our coats off (it was thankfully THAT warm!) and just sat at the marina for hours.
The beauty of the weekend was relaxing, being in a smaller group of girls, which allowed us to get to know each other on a more personal level, and save some money even though we were in paradise. These are the times when I have to pinch myself…
