Precious Pompeii Pups

Avatar is on! I love that movie.

Today we went to Pompeii and Sorrento! It was so fun and different; reminded me of Capri, but less expensive and bigger!
Sometimes we can go do whatever we want and not come back for days, sometimes we go on trips through the program and follow a tight schedule. Both of these options are great and I wouldn’t have it any other way! But one of the hard parts about the trips through Semester at Sea is that it usually starts super early. We got on a bus around 8am and drove 30 minutes to Pompeii. I slept on the bus ride so honestly I don’t remember the scenery, so I can’t be descriptive!

When we got off, there were stands everywhere of souvenirs, food, drinks, and most commonly, lemon stands! I guess they are known for their lemons over there? The lemons were the size of our faces! It smelt so good and everyone was buying lemon chills and lemon candy, gelato, and plain ole slices of lemon. We walked into a building where a man was carving the elegant faces into shells and jewelry pieces. I think the process is called cameo? Cameo jewelry? Anyways, it was beautiful and he was very talented. All of the jewelry was pretty expensive but luckily there was a student discount and a discount for being in a tour group, so Shea and I each bought a little necklace charm. We actually picked out the same charm out of hundreds without knowing! Once we got to look around and shop a little, we went into the gates of Pompeii. The best way I can describe it is narrow, cobblestone streets with brick walls and weeds growing out of everything. It was a little creepy knowing that so many people had died there or fled from their homes, but it was a beautiful sight. There were dogs everywhere. The dogs weren’t gross or mangy, just a little tattered and scruffy, haha. They would follow groups of people and we had about 3 follow our group! They would walk with us for a while, and when we would stop to see things and take pictures, they would sit down and wait until we started walking again! Precious Pompeii pups.
There were chariot ruts in the cobblestone from being worn down and huge rocks going across the streets at intersections. The rocks in the middle were stepping stones for when it flooded. The sides of the streets were higher than the street, which was about 6 inches lower. We walked around and saw columns, pottery, kitchens, and many more things that were left over and uncovered. There were painting on walls in the market where they had chicken and fish (according to the painting). Another amazing thing was this huge brick room, a sauna! They made their own sauna and it was for men only. There were male statues (about 3 feet tall) holding up the ceiling, bordering the walls. There was also a massage room that was very cold inside. These two rooms were right next to each other and looked the same, but were total opposite temperatures! How in the heck did they do that!! It is just incredible to see it in person and stand where they stood. There was a fountain with carvings and paintings on it where hands were washed before meals, and there were small houses with beds made out of solid rock. It was so cool and I seriously think Pompeii is one of the most unique things that I’ve seen so far. Like I said, it’s creepy in a way, but so interesting. Oh and we saw bodies that were cast in ash. The skin was obviously not there, but the bones were still in perfect contact with the entire body, and they were posed as if they were suffering. I can’t describe the weird feeling you get when you see a body made of bones that was not put back together, it was found like that. There was also a dog in bones that was solidified. It was sad but fascinating! The pottery that was found was beautiful and so were the details on the columns and walls. It is just so difficult to imagine a time that is not like ours today. It is so hard to grasp, but Pompeii let’s you do just that.

After that once-in a-lifetime experience, we headed to Sorrento for lunch and free time. It took 30 minutes or so to get there (and I slept again…) but I woke up right before the top of the mountain! The views were to die for. I can’t wait to show pictures. When we got to the top, we started roaming around and shopped for a few hours. Shea bought an apron that we saw for 3 times less than the price of the exact same one in Capri. Capri is a money trap, but worth the trip :). I bought a cute leather purse for a decent price! The owner gave me a little lemon key chain made of leather for free! The purse is pretty small, light brown, and has a metal thing on the front that says something in Italian and then ‘Made in Italy’. It’s perfect. At lunch, we had Fanta, sparkling water, pasta, ham with potatoes seasoned with rosemary (random, but delicious) and then lemon creme cake of course!! YUM. I saw a wedding going on and they were all in kilts. Someone told us that the Irish like to come to Sorrento and get married. Who knows what that’s all about! Next, we hoped on the bus and headed back to Naples, just in time for the 4th of July cookout!

Everyone was out on the deck, burger smoke filled the air, music was loud, and everyone was just having a good time! This was the first time in about a week that everyone has been on the ship at the same time. so it was nice to see people that I haven’t seen in days! Tonight we leave to Croatia so we all had to board the ship. The cookout was delightful and the cake was sooo good!! Now I have to read and study for our first test tomorrow, and classes start back up bright and early at 8am. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you are enjoying it!!
P.S. I miss the chiropractor!

4th of July!

Happy 4th of July
Today was amazing!!
Shea and I headed to the ferry to travel 45 minutes to the island of Capri! I slept the whole way because I have been so exhausted, and I take every chance I get to sleep, haha. When I woke up, we were pulling up to the island. Let me tell you, it was beautiful!! It was just like the postcards (you’ll hear me say that a lot). There was the crystal clear, bright blue water, leading up to big rocks with small boats tied to docks. There were shops and houses that climbed up the hill that were painted bright colors! It was sunny and hot, and you could see the clouds surrounding the top of mountains on Capri! We got on a bus that took us up to the very top of Capri, known as Anacapri. The bus ride up was the scariest thing of my life! It was a one-lane street, a crazy man driving super fast, cars coming head on and slamming their breaks, honking, steep edges, and sharp curves. The trip back down was just as scary. When we got to the top, there were a few cafés and shops, and mainly tourists. Capri is muchhhh nicer and cleaner than Naples. We got on a chairlift (one at a time) and rode 12 minutes up to the top. You could almost see the entire side of the island from the lift, along with boats far away in the ocean and the tops of houses and buildings below. It was breathtaking and I got some great pictures! Once we got off at the top, it was incredible. It’s not like a huge mountain top where you walk everywhere with no steep ledges or anything. No, it was a small mountain top about half the size of a football field, with rails around the edge, dropping off straight into the deep blue Tyrrhenian Sea! There were some tall mountain points of Capri that were covered by clouds, which made it look so much cooler! There was a small bar that served lemon cello (which they are known for on Capri, and we tried some and it was great!) and gelato and other snacks/drinks. We sat and hung out, took pictures, and then got back on the lift down and headed to lunch. Half way down we stopped by a random set of stairs. When we walked up, there was an outdoor restaurant full of people! The view was amazing and the food was great! We had cokes in bottles (always tastes better), ravioli and pasta with basil and tomato sauce, then fish with a salad, and then sweet cream gelato! It was very filling and relaxing. We took the bus back down to the bottom, and decided to take a boat tour. It was about 15 Euros and 10 of us piled on a hydrofoil. We toured around the island and just soaked up the sun. After rocking on waves and going at a fun speed, we went under an arch formed from the rocks, went in a cave, and saw people jumping off of cliffs. We stopped for a little while and jumped off the boat and swam! The water was such a different feeling than any water that I’ve been in. It was really salty and much easier to float. It was so clear and smooth! It was also refreshing from being in the heat. We went back, shopped around and hung out. In one of the stores, there were samples of these delicious almonds covered in toffee and chocolate. I took a handful and then later we went back and snacked on them some more. I saw a small bag of them for sale and it was 10 Euros!! I think I ate about 15 Euro worth in samples… Hehe. Then we hoped on the ferry around 4:30 and headed back to muggy Naples.

After resting a little in the cabin, we went to a restaurant close to the ship. We didn’t want to walk very far and we were starving! It was called Trattoria Medina. We had the Caprese pizza again, and it was just as good as the other place! Italy’s pizza truly tastes better than pizza from anywhere else I’ve gone! I wish I could share some to those who haven’t experienced it! We aren’t allowed to bring leftovers onto the ship, only prepackaged and sealed items :(

This is the hardest experience of my life. The way I am treated is definitely nothing I’m used to or have experienced. This is all worth every penny and minute of it, but I can’t wait to get back to America and be in my comfort zone. This trip gets you completely out of your comfort zone, even if you attempt to stay in it. I miss everyone so much! This is so hard to do and it’s only the second country. It’s only going to get harder and I hope I’m ready for it. It goes by too fast to take in!! All of these changes in clothes, food, communication, money, and the general lifestyle just shake me up and make me so scared and uncomfortable sometimes. It’s an experience that I will never forget, and the things I learn on this trip will never leave me, and I will always be grateful for what I have in America. It’s like when you go to camp, with new friends and a new schedule, you adapt to a new life and you are on your own etc., but 100 times bigger and more realistic. You get a glimpse of what the world could possible be like in other countries that we won’t even be traveling to. I can’t imagine (literally, it’s impossible) what it’s like to know what’s out there in this world unless I go and experience it for myself. Thanks Mom and Dad for making this amazing opportunity possible! It has already been a learning and growing experience and it’s only the second country!