Sorrento and Pompei

Once again, I am behind on blogging. Although my trip to the Amalfi Coast was 3 weeks ago, it is still one of my favorite trips so far. I got to go to Sorrento and Pompei through my school as a free trip. We took a 7 hour bus ride down south and unfortunately the weather wasn't great when we arrived in Sorrento. It was cold and rainy but it was wonderful to be at the sea! We had the afternoon in Sorrento so we took a walking tour (thank goodness for Rick Steves!) of the town. We saw some of the churches and walked down to the beach. Even though it was chilly, I loved putting my feet in the Mediterranean Sea! After walking around Sorrento, we checked into our hotel and went out for a pizza dinner. Pizza comes from the Amalfi Coast so I couldn't wait to try it. We tried 4 different types of delicious pizza, including one with french fries and hot dogs on top! After a filling meal, we went to bed early to be ready for the next day in Pompei.

The weather was perfect when we woke up and saw amazing views of the sea and Mt. Vesuvius. When we got to Pompei, I did not really know what to expect and I had no idea the ruins were an entire city! The sun was out and I was comfortable walking around in just a t-shirt.

A little history: Pompei was a very advanced Roman city with a population of about 20,000. On August 24, 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius erupted twice without warning and covered the city in 66 feet of ash. The whole city was preserved because of the ash and wasn't rediscovered until the 1700's.

It was incredible to see how the city was preserved because of the ash. We saw homes, markets, government buildings, a brothel and an amphitheater. You could even still see frescoes and paintings on the walls of the homes. In one area, they had a few of the fossilized bodies of people and a dog. Seeing the people, it was hard not to try and imagine what they were thinking at the time of the eruption. More of the people and artifacts are now in a museum in Naples.

I loved Pompei but my legs and feet were so tired by the end. The cobblestones didn't make it easy to walk around! It was so enjoyable to be outside and see so much history in one place. Pompei was amazing to visit and I'm so glad my school took me because I doubt I would have made it there on my own. I would love to go back to the Amalfi Coast to enjoy the beach and hot weather.