Day 14: Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento, Italy

Day 14 (July 13, 2004) Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento Italy

Despite not getting enough sleep, we got up to the sounds of our wake up call and got ready to leave Rome. We went towards Naples Italy, home to Gigi. He was nice enough to take us up to his apartment in the downtown area. We walked up four flights of stairs (the 45 of us) and got to see his flat.

It was very nice 7-8 room apartment with a nice terrace outside. That is one of the nice things about living on the top floor. He had all different types of plants and a covered with a table inside it. There were some painters there painting his apartment while he was with us. We went through the place, taking pictures and admiring the photographs he had taken. We watered his plants and took group pictures with him, one with the adults and one with the students. 

Gigi at his house being invaded by the Americans

A view from Chez Gigi at his garden and Naples

We got back on the bus and traveled outside Naples to Pompeii. We stopped at a restaurant that served pizza. Similar to my first school journey years ago, the group got their first taste of pizza from where it was first made in this world. I think it was a success.

The ladies in red eating pizza from Naples

Tasting pizza from was where it was originally made

From there we walked to Pompeii's famous ruins, the city that was buried under the ashes when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. Our guide Antonio pronunciated in english very well, which was commented on by the group.

Highlights of the things he told us:

1. The sea used to be one kilometer from the front entrance to Pompeii. Thanks to early eruptions from the volcano, it's now about 10 kilometers.
2. We got to see how Pompeii showed where special areas were without language. They used universal pictures and symbols to help point out where things were.
3. Pompeii was a strategic area for trade between Mt. Vesuvius and the Pyrenees Mountains for the Romans. Once the city disappeared, they didn't want to try to build and invest in another city.
4. When they found a ruin, the excavators pumped a type of foam to help preserve the bodies and things in them.

The group really liked the explanations and tour itself. I think that it was better because there were no museums or churches they had to go through.

Mike Cahoon, our guide Antonio and Meggan Wiles at Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the back ground

We hurried on the bus to get to Sorrento in hopes of getting some beach time. We arrived at 6:00, got out of the hotel by 7:00 and walked a long 10 minutes to a spot in the sea protected mostly by rock walls. In other words, we had our own swimming pool with a narrow inlet to the sea. The kids got in and had a blast. They could climb up to a spot on the rocks above and jump down about 20 feet in the water.

After so much fun, 8:00 rolled around and we walked home for our 8:30 meal of chicken and fries. Dessert was watermelon.

Afterwards, some kids explored a little outside the hotel, but there was not much to see. It was too far to see the center of Sorrento, so they came in content and ready for bed and the next day.

Upon reflection, I almost forgot to mention our stop at the Curio manufacturer. The demonstration was still interesting but the kids didn't buy much. Some are starting to run out of money to buy the expensive curios. I also noticed that they didn't do music boxes any more. I think they would have more business if we would have started the trip here instead of ending it. It's hard to believe that we have one more full day of Italy and our trip. Some of the kids are ready for it.