22June2011: Wednesday
We’re off to Pompeii! From Will and Sally’s house, we drove down to the ruins of Pompeii, quite amazing. Just to think that we were walking in and through structures that were built even before Jesus was born.
Because we are a bit cheap, we didn’t get the audio tour. About halfway through our own tour, we ran into a family that was reading about Pompeii from a Rick Steves book. Great idea, why didn’t we think of this! So we kind of tagged along with them. They were from Portland, so we figured, we’re really neighbors! Getting the commentary, made the time a lot more meaningful.
Mt. Vesuvius behind us
We had lunch at a pizza place in the square, near the entrance of Pompeii. I think I could eat their pizza all day long!
After that, we headed to the culprit of the Pompeii ruins, Mt Vesuvius. We thought that we could drive all the way to the top, but when we were just about there, we got to a parking lot, where we had to pay to park. Then we learned that it was still another hike to the top, and by the way, they charged you $12 to do it. Since it was the middle of the afternoon and blazing hot, we decided that we didn’t not need to pay $12 to hike to the crater (we also talked with some other people who said it wasn’t really worth, unless you’re into geology, which we are not). So we headed back to Will and Sally’s.
Top of Mt. Vesuvius
23June2011: Thursday
Although Will had just had his surgery the day before, he insisted that he join us. So we took a ferry to the island of Capri (I think this was my favorite day). I don’t think I’ve mentioned, but Will and Sally have two little boys, one 2 and one 4 months. We the three little ones, we decided that the best way to see the island was to rent a boat. This really turned out to be a wise decision. So we all hopped in the boat and started heading around the island. It was and absolutely gorgeous day!
One of the main attractions of Capri is the Blue Groto, which is this little cave off the coast of the island. The opening is barely big enough to fit a canoe through it. But once you are inside, it opens up to this large dome. The entire cave is covered in limestone, so when the sun shines through the water, it reflects off the limestone and creates its this crystal blue water that looks like it’s from a Disney movie.
So now that I’ve talked it up, I’ll tell our story of the Blue Groto. We were starting to run low on time, since we only rented the boat for 2 hours. The outside of this place is just covered with little cruise boats and of course, we’re just a boat of 4 people and the guys with the canoes don’t want to serve us because, he might miss out on a bigger boat. Well, eventually we snag a guy that will take, although he continually comments about a tip since he just took John, Sydney and myself (they usually take 4 people). So we get in the boat and this guy starts taking us in, and if you’ve ever been to Italy, you know that you should not be in close proximity and in small spaces with an Italian man. Whew! Did he need some deodorant! We tried to enjoy the experience as best we could. He took us in, went around in a circle and then back out again. The kicker was when he complained that John’s tip of 6 euros (roughly $10, we already had to buy tickets to go in, mind you) was too small and he could even buy a cheap bottle wine with it. John thought it was plenty to buy himself a stick of deodorant!
Yummy pizza, with the whole gang
The Pilots gone Skipper
Sally and Aiden(sleeping)
Armon
Once again, Sydney's the life of the party
If you look carefully at this strange rock formation, there is a house(or something) on top that looks like it's literally unsupported
Our lovely Blue Groto guide
The crystal blue waters
Another interesting cave that we wish we had time to explore
Sydney making friends again
1 comment:
I've been traveling with you as you chronicle your whirlwind of Spain and Italy. Consider this comment as my "footprints" of having read all the posts! (A friend of mine has this arrangement with family that when they read a post and want you to know they have visited your blog, they just write "footprints." I think I will start doing this!) So sweet to capture these memories for your little family to treasure. You are all troopers! Also I'm praying for the chaos you are living in just now to make its way into clarity.
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