Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii

On Wednesday we sailed into Naples, Italy for the beautiful sights of the Campanian coast. We started our morning on a jet-foil bound for Capri. Here we walked around the magnificent isle of Capri. We walked to the Piazzetta, all designer stores housing the best Italian designers and managed to visit the Augustus Gardens with breath-taking views of the Blue Grotto and the coast. We also managed to stop for our first gelato of the day at 10am and discovered that Capri is one of the producers of Limoncello, interesting isn't it.

Our next stop was Sorrento. The city was beautiful. We walked along cobblestone streets which brought us to various alleys and side streets spending endless hours touring local shops and cafes. We visited some local woodworking shops with hand carved furniture, that is a lost art, and did some shopping. We dined at a restaurant serving a traditional Italian lunch (pasta course followed by some chicken with potatoes and peas - or so they say).

Our last stop of the day was Pompeii, need I remind you that this is the city buried under the volcanic ashes from Mount Vesuvius (still an active volcano). Let me just say that this was by far the hottest city on tour. Not hot in "good times", hot in heat, although it was a good time and very informative. We wandered through the preserved town of Pompeii, visiting the former shops and homes while even seeing the remains of a local peasant. Let's just say that we now know how value meals started. We visited a brothel and noticed on the walls pictures of services that one can order. So, McDonald's was not the first establishment to offer a No. 1 meal. Back in the day a local person could enter the brothel and ask for a service based on the graphic pictures on the wall. Imagine that, you didn't even have to know the local language, just point to what you want, No. 3 please. It was sweltering hot and although I enjoyed the ruins of Pompeii I was about to lose it. If another person brushed their wet arm against me I was about to go Ninja on them. The only way to cool off...........that's right, with a Lemon Gelato!

We had a great day in Naples and the surrounding towns and visited sights that we read about in books. I remember reading about Pompeii in 5th grade from Sister Roberts and thought, "wow, imagine that" and to say that I actually made it there. I guess learning history in school is important.

We returned to our ship for a night of sushi, wine, cigars and much needed sleep!