Bus Tour in Southern Italy

Ciao !  

A packed couple days from our two-day bus tour to Naples, Pompei, Sorento and Capri!

Ruins of Pompei

Mount Vesuvius, Sorento 

The Faraglioni of Capri

Naples

Unfortunately, due to a lack of cooperation from the weather, we didn’t have a walking tour in Naples. We drove by a castle built in the second half of the 13th century.

Rain, rain, go away...

That crane is digging up ruins that they recently found while digging a new subway tunnel. We only spent an hour here and continued on to the Pompei ruins.

Pompei

In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvuis erupted in southern Italy, covering the 160 acre city of Pompei in a sea of ash. The 10 000 inhabitants were asphyxiated. The town wasn’t rediscovered until 1599, then again in 1738, when the largest archeological dig in Europe began, and is still continuing to this day. Get ready for Pompei!

Blue skies in Pompei!

For almost 2000 years old, Pompei was a modern town. Multiple story buildings, spas, restaurants are spread throughout the town.

Their technology was incredible. This sauna used radiation to warm the building. The heat from an outdoor fire passed beneath the building. The ceiling is painted in reds and oranges.

Sauna floor

Spa ceiling

Over 100 little restaurants have been found so far. They had counter tops with built-in pots to serve meals. A large collection of pots and cooking items have been stored on site. Ovens were found as well, some even containing bread!

Fast food restaurant counters

Restaurant pots (and a little lizard on the left side)

A large collection of pots and supplies

An oven that was found containing bread

They found theatres and a courtyard where slaves would train for “gladiator battles”, like the ones at the coliseum.

Training grounds

Theatre

It would take a few days to walk through all the streets of Pompei. You could see deep grooves where the carts would ride (there was even a standard cart size). The sewage system was above ground, actually it ran down these streets, so they had stepping-stones every so often as crosswalks. Incredible eh?

Deep groves

Stepping stones / "Cross-walk"

Their communal fountains had plumbing made from led pipes, so it wasn’t the healthiest water.

Fountain - check out how warn the edge is from where they'd place their hands

We were able to see a home of a wealthy family. The front door had a picture of a dog made from tiles, which our guide said would have acted as a “beware of dog” sign. Rainwater fell through a square in the ceiling and was collected in a shallow pool in the floor. The tiny kitchen had an oven and a toilet (this was normal in the town). Walls were painted in vibrant colours.

"Beware of Dog"

Rainwater collection in the centre of the house

Oven

Painted walls

It’s sad to think how many people suffocated here from that volcano ash. These are moulds of bodies that they found. 

A scared slave

A pregnant woman

This was such a cool site. It was great being able to see it with my Mom, Aunt Mary and Breanne!

Sorento

Back on the bus! We’re heading to the sea!

Sorento cliffs

That night, we stayed at a gorgeous hotel with a view of paradise!

Our balcony

Giant room

We dined well (i.e. stuffed our faces) at the hotel restaurant that night for Easter dinner. Mom and Aunt Mary finished off a big bottle of wine.

Salad table. Just salad.

Easter sheep made of cheese!

DINNER.

Enjoying their wine

The next morning, Mount Vesuvius was snow-capped (very weird for this time of year).

Mount Vesuvius (the volcano that covered Pompeii)

Mom and I walked down to the town (Sorento)…

…while Breanne laid in bed texting. Haha, just kidding. Sleeping.

Back to the restaurant for a lovely breakfast, and we were ready for day-two of the tour!

Hotel restaurant

Breanne, Mom, Aunt Mary and me at breakfast

Easter lamb made of chocolate!

Capri

We caught the ferry to the beautiful island of Capri!

Ready for Mom’s Brave Moment # 3?

Yeahhhhh go Mom! Worth it for the view right?

We were originally going to go to the Blue Grotto, a cave that you reach by ducking in a small boat and letting the waves push you through the tiny opening, but it was too windy. So our guide surprised us with this instead:

We went from 300 to 600 m.a.s.l.

Hold on Mom!

The town is super wealthy. Our guide said if you want to buy a square meter, it costs about $35000. Or maybe that was to rent? Anyways, super expensive

Beautiful pedestrian streets

The local highschool!

The square where many celebrities dine.
Capri has had visitors such as Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez,
Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson and Grace Kelly.

We went to a garden with a lookout.

Thanks Mom for taking us on this beautiful tour! Thank you Nonno as well :)