Sorrento/Capri/Pompeii

Pompeii

My food was staring at me!

Really cool rock formations!

Capri!

From the top of Capri

On the boat

Outside our hotel in Sorrento

Sorrento was the perfect place for my mom and I to end our Europe trip. After rushing around to see all of the sights in every big city we were ready for a slower pace.

We flew from London so we had a very early flight and arrived in Naples around 11:30. Then we had to get on a bus that took us about 2 feet around the cliffs to Sorrento. We got to our hotel and it was so beautiful! Our room had a great view of the water and all of the orange and lemon trees. It was pretty different than all of our other hotels I would say!

We got changed and walked around the town which was so cute. It is not big so you can basically walk everywhere and there are shops on every street with lots of lemons and pottery. We ate at a cute outdoor restaurant and then were too tired to do anything else so we just went to bed.

The next morning we had a private Capri tour so we were picked up at 8:30 and again driven over the scary cliffs to a marina where we were picked up by our guide Francesco with a few other couples to go on our tour. The weather was gorgeous so mom and I sat on the front of the boat and enjoyed the waves.

When we got to Capri we were dropped of for 3 hours so we bought tickets and took the funiculare (basically an uphill bus) to the top of the island where we did a little shopping and had lunch right on the edge looking down at the island.

We ran into a nice british couple who spoke italian on the way up and chatted about the differences in the school systems. Then Francesco came back and got us and we boated around the island, swimming in caves and climbing up the sides of rocks. Some guys were cliff diving and it was cool but also pretty scary!

We were on the boat for probably around 5 hours and mom wasn't feeling well when the boat wasn't moving so by the end she was glad to be back. We also think she may be allergic to mussels because after she ate them she started having a lot of problems with her allergies. When we got back we showered and went out for another great meal in town.

The next day we went to the beach nearby and layed out all day. The chairs were really cool because they had an extra piece that went over your head so that you would only get sun where you wanted it. They had a restaurant on the beach so mom and I ate there and I was able to try all of the local fish which were great!

On our last day we took a tour to Pompeii where we saw all of the city and burned up in the heat! It was worth it though to see how well preserved everything is and actually experience what a town like that would have been like. Our guide was a funny italian man and his commentary in English was cute.

After Pompeii we had the best lunch at the quaintest little restaurant by our hotel where above the tables was covered in vines with real flowers and grapes growing on them. It was incredible and like something out of a movie! I had the best homemade gnocchi there and mom had more of the local fish.

For our last night we bought some souvenirs and I answered all of my emails and found out that I had an official offer from the American Embassy in Rome for the Public Affairs Office and so I accepted and am now just waiting for security clearance!

Today I left my mom at the airport in Rome and it was very sad knowing that I won't see her again until April, but we had an amazing trip and something we will remember forever!

Now I am in Castel Fusano, just outside of Rome by the beach for a 2 week intensive Italian course before I start classes in Arezzo on the 28th!