From Tragedy to Beauty: Pompeii to Capri
Day 9: After a short drive from Positano we arrived at the unlucky city of Pompeii. We had a very colorful (and handsome) local guide who gave us a look at everyday life, frozen in time two millennia ago. The remains of the structures were in amazing condition when you consider what occurred there and the 2000+ years that have passed since. After free time in Pompeii, we hopped aboard the Circumvesuviana commuter train bound for Sorrento, our cliff-hugging home set amongst the lemon groves. On our way to our hotel we stopped at a gelateria for a demonstration on how gelato is made. Happily this was followed by sampling the many flavors. One of the highlights in Sorrento was dinner at a local woman's residence for a homestyle Italian meal. Our host's name was Marisa. She and her husband pulled out all the stops and kept course after course of food coming. And the wine was flowing like water! This was another one of the "backdoor" touches you get on a Rick Steves tour.
Day 10: Today I opted to take the boat trip out to the island of Capri. We departed from a pier in Massa Lubrense for our full day on the island. Only a small handful of us made the trip and we were well rewarded for the long boat trek. It was a beautiful day and the seas were not too bad. However, I am glad I had some dramamine. Unfortunately it was not calm enough for us to enter the famed "Blue Grotto". We made it to the entrance of the grotto, but the sea swells were too high and took away our chance for safe entry. But that was ok. It just meant we had more time to spend on the spectacular island itself. I spent the day with Malcom and Annette enjoying Capri's remarkable views and winding narrow lanes up to Anacapri. We went up to Villa San Michele the lavish home and lovely gardens of Swedish doctor and author Axel Munthe. The villa was built around the turn of the 20th century on the ruins of the Roman Emporer Tiberius's villa. For more information on Villa San Michele see this site http://www.villasanmichele.eu/en.
Click the "Play" button below for a slideshow.
Day 10: Today I opted to take the boat trip out to the island of Capri. We departed from a pier in Massa Lubrense for our full day on the island. Only a small handful of us made the trip and we were well rewarded for the long boat trek. It was a beautiful day and the seas were not too bad. However, I am glad I had some dramamine. Unfortunately it was not calm enough for us to enter the famed "Blue Grotto". We made it to the entrance of the grotto, but the sea swells were too high and took away our chance for safe entry. But that was ok. It just meant we had more time to spend on the spectacular island itself. I spent the day with Malcom and Annette enjoying Capri's remarkable views and winding narrow lanes up to Anacapri. We went up to Villa San Michele the lavish home and lovely gardens of Swedish doctor and author Axel Munthe. The villa was built around the turn of the 20th century on the ruins of the Roman Emporer Tiberius's villa. For more information on Villa San Michele see this site http://www.villasanmichele.eu/en.
Click the "Play" button below for a slideshow.
