On day 7 we were off to Pompei for a sightseeing tour of the ancient ruins. I was excited for this- I've wanted to see the ancient ruins of Pompei ever since I thought it would be a good idea to take up Latin in high school. I don't care what anyone else tells you, Latin does not help you with the SATs. I hardly remember any of the language, but for those of you who care, the word "stercus" is Latin for "shit." You're welcome- you learn something new everyday.
On our ride there, I looked out the bus window to find what seemed like millions of sunflowers- my favorite flowers. Where one sunflower field would end, shortly down the road another would begin. They were gorgeous. They made me smile. I knew that day was going to be great when I saw them. When we arrived in Pompei we sat down to eat at a restaurant nearby the ruins. I had yet another caprese sandwich. This one was the least impressive of the bunch, but I was ravenous so you know I polished my plate. My favorite part of the meal came as a surprise after we had finished our sandwiches. Refer to exhibit A- the most delicious yellow plums in the universe. They were out of this world juicy and sweet. So juicy in fact that when I bit into my second one, I made it rain all over poor Kevin sitting next to me- refer to exhibit B. Sexiness captured. |
All of a sudden it started to downpour. The rain came down in sheets, which was fine with us since we were nice and dry inside- with the exception of Kevin post-plum incident. We had nothing but hot, sunny weather all week, so in my opinion it was kind of nice to see some rain. All the windows and doors in the restaurant were open, so it was cozy watching and listening to the rain from inside. The rain subsided and we were off to meet our tour guide, Sasha, who would take us through the ancient ruins of Pompei. He was a funny guy with an accent unlike any other Italian accent we had heard yet. He was from Naples- I guess the make em different there.
The ruins were gorgeous. The sky hadn't cleared completely, but was beautifully eerie and matched the mood of this historic site. My favorite part of Pompei was looking at the frescos, which portrayed scenes of everyday life. For the people of Pompei, these images were essentially what television is for us- a source of entertainment. It was difficult to make out what the frescos were depicting exactly, though. Well, I take that back. The frescos in a brothel we went into were vividly erotic and for obvious reasons. Sasha half jokingly but seriously shared that going to a brothel was kind of like going to a McDonald's- they would walk in and ask for a number 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. (referring to each of the wildly sexual frescos on the walls.) He also pointed out a relief of a penis on the side of a building and in the middle of the road. He explained that people would follow the penises to get to the brothel- kind of like the yellow brick road but not at all.
After Pompei we were off to beautiful Sorrento. I was a very happy girl in Sorrento. I'm always exceptionally happy when I'm near the water. The Mediterranean was beautiful, as you can see. I couldn't wait to jump in!
We arrived in Sorrento with just enough time to get settled in our hotel and head out onto a patio for some selfie action and a nice dinner.
We arrived in Sorrento with just enough time to get settled in our hotel and head out onto a patio for some selfie action and a nice dinner.
It was a gorgeous night in Sorrento. It was warm, breezy, and the sky was clear. We ate outside for dinner. I had a white pizza with ricotta, porcini mushrooms, and prosciutto on it- yet another delicious pizza. As we did before all our dinners, we made a toast to a good night, which it was! After dinner we went out to shop around in all the little stores. Leila, Alexa, and Kev ditched us for some Nutella crepes at one point- they can't be blamed. A group of us followed Mike to a Limoncello shop, which was another little piece of Heaven on Earth. It didn't hurt that they gave us free Limoncello shots. Gabby and I were all about the free samples. We also tried dark chocolate Limoncello shots, which were divine, and some chocolate balls with Limoncello in the center. Mind. Blown. We made our way back towards the hotel to lounge around outside by the water in great company and with drinks, of course. It was a bar with a lounging area that was basically a big dock in the water- SO nice. A bunch of us got cozy on a big bed they had on the dock. It was a relaxing end to a great day. |
Except the night wasn't over because we were in Sorrento and it was time to dance. Alexa, Leila, Kev, and I all went out in search of a good bar with music. We had forgotten that it was a weekday and spent a good amount of time wandering the streets of Sorrento like lost puppies listening for the sound of a good time. This foursome of party animals was sure to find it somewhere, though- and soon enough we did.
Eventually we found an awesome bar where they were having a luau and an amazing DJ. We had so much fun that night. There weren't very many people in the club when we got there, but we danced our way down the steps onto the dance floor out of sheer excitement that there was a dance party anywhere in Sorrento on a weekday. The little ones (Leila and Lexi) got in trouble a few times with the old guy who managed the bar because they were being free spirits dancing on the couches. Sorry for having fun. After a long, exciting day and night it was time to turn in and sleep like real people. After all, the following day would be a big one- our excursion to my favorite place on Earth: Capri! I needed as much sleep as I could possibly get. Tomorrow was going to be the best day of my life to date. :] |