Day 11... Pompeii and Sorrento

It was an early morning after our festive Roman dinner and time to leave the city to head south to Sorrento. However, first we would stop for a tour of Pompeii. Unlike Rome where we experienced wall-to-wall people in a frantic pace to get everywhere right away, Pompeii would be quiet and frozen in time. The reason for this is that Pompeii is the famous city that was completely buried when  the volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted in 79 AD.

For a city during that time, it was thought to be very modern and very populated. It was a port city, with a thriving economy, social structure, government, architecture and industry. All of this has been discovered as archeologists have uncovered parts of the city. In fact, it is one of the largest archeological finds of its kind and it still a working site to this day. There are many parts we couldn't see because it was an active dig site.

The streets had ruts from the chariot wheels. Since there wasn't any sewage system, they used the stones in the streets to walk when it rained. The chariot wheels fit perfectly between them.

We walked the streets with our tour guide hearing all the stories of this ancient city that was stopped in time. In fact, the volcanic ash had preserved so much that there were even vacant air cavities left by bodies.

Those are the real teeth!

No matter where we went, Mount Vesuvius loomed over us. the scary reality is that it has been dormant for some time and so they expect the next explosion to be massive. There are towns that will become like Pompeii and literally be burned off the map.

Um, Neil??

Painting on walls of what is thought to be a very high-class home.

It was truly a fascinating place. You could spend a ton of time there... much more than just our few hours. However, we had to get on the road and keep heading South and towards Sorrento. We were all excited when we got our first view of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea... 

Sorrento is home to lots of wineries and their other major crop is lemon. Not just any lemons, MASSIVE lemons! So stopped for a quick lemon treat... a lemon slush on the the side of the road!

 When  we checked into our hotel, we quickly found that our rooms had balconies and a view of the ocean! A funny thing happened... EVERYONE came out at the same time!

The Sea in the distance and lemon trees.

Phyllis & Jerrilyn were next to us (our Lousiana friends!).

Neil and Stephanie were one more room down and then Alex and Jeri..

Then all the Aussies came out too!!

After enjoying a little free time at the pool with Neil, Stephanie, Alex and Jeri, the group headed into the city center of Sorrento.

Downtown Sorrento

We were given quite a bit of free time and we roamed the shops. Now, I must remind you that we were in the land of Italian leather. I must also remind you that I am not typically an accessories girl. I don't have tons of shoes, don't even own a belt and typically use one purse until it breaks or goes horribly out of style. Until we walked into a leather store and there it was... it was like the clouds parted and sun shone directly on it. And I had to have it...

My wonderful husband spoiled me once again. So, I can proudly say that I am the owner of a real Italian leather purse. I love it and everyone that I show it too comments about how you can still smell the leather... it is so fun! Brad didn't go unspoiled though... he came home with a leather wallet!

Dinner was in this modern restaurant and included several courses. Including "Neopolitan Pizza" since we were in the region of Italy that claims to have invented pizza! A guitar player who also could have passed as a Stand-up Comedian walked around and entertained the guests.

Dinner with Alex, Jeri, Neil and Stephanie

Jeri and Alex being entertained.

Bogi singing.

It was a wonderful night... we headed back to the hotel for some rest because the following day brought one of the things we had been looking forward to since booking our trip... The Island of Capri!!!