Where do I begin with today?! We had a fabulous day traveling from Naples, to Pompeii, to Positano, to the Amalfi Coast & then back to Sorrento. Everything was incredible. I'll start with the fact we had the most amazing driver EVER! Umberto was his name, and he was the absolute coolest! He even invited us to stay with his family if we come back! He taught us the Italian alphabet (which I will actually remember) & several Italian sayings. Here is some of what we learned and what they mean (I'm just spelling the way it sounds, not sure if that is the correct way though): Grego= your welcome, ba fancoola= fuck you, andiamo= let's go, avisto= you see. Umberto is also the driver for a large number of famous visiting Americans. He had pictures with so many people... Lionel Richey, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Brooke Shields, etc. Okay, so moving on.....
We will start with Pompeii. Pompeii was a place I wasn't sure if I would like or not- we are talking more ruins, and we have had a lot of those already. It turned out to be our favorite of all ruins we visited. Kyle and I both really enjoyed it, and were shocked by the size of the town. A short background on Pompeii.... It is a really old Roman town that was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt.Vesuvius. When digging up remains of the city they found people buried in ash held in the exact position they went down in. They made cast of some of the people and animals which are also part of visiting Pompeii. If you have not seen the movie Pompeii you should rent it. It is not a history movie... Think more gladiator love story, but it still is a story during the Roman Empire here and the effect of the eruption.
One thing I am noticing about the Romans is how horny they were! Everywhere we go we learn about the brothels, and in Pompeii you can see their artwork on some of the walls.... Many of which are men & women in different sex positions. In Pompeii you will see penis carvings in the stone pathed streets which point the direction to the brothel (see right). Really?!?!
More pics of Pompeii are below:
One thing I am noticing about the Romans is how horny they were! Everywhere we go we learn about the brothels, and in Pompeii you can see their artwork on some of the walls.... Many of which are men & women in different sex positions. In Pompeii you will see penis carvings in the stone pathed streets which point the direction to the brothel (see right). Really?!?!
More pics of Pompeii are below:
After Pompeii we started the drive to Amalfi, and this is where it got spoiled with the most amazing views of the Mediteranean! The road curves along the edges of the mountains surrounding the sea and that provides gorgeous views! We were also listening to Umberto's Italian music & he was singing for us too (how come Italians seem to all be good singers?! Speaking of, he did tell me he thinks I could be an amazing singer because I have the type of voice for it and I speak very clearly. Hmm, guess I need to keep practicing!). Anyways, we drove up Montepertuso and stopped for lunch at the cutest restaurant, La Tagliata, with a breathtaking view! As if this wasn't enough the restaurant grows all of their own fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc., so all of the food is fresh and all ingredients grown in their own gardens. It was the most incredible authentic Italian I've ever eaten! And they had wine, limoncello, and other alcoholic tasters all included. Umberto had told me we would be meeting his boss and that I should shake his hand and say ba fancoola! Well when I did that his boss was totally shocked and so many people looked over at us. I blamed Umberto and said he told me it meant pleasure to meet you! It got lots of laughs and he ended up giving me a free bottle of wine and told Kyle he was scared of me, lol. Here are pictures from the drive and from lunch:
After Positano and the Amalfi region we headed back towards Sorrento. Sorrento was another cute beach town. Our goal here was to find good limoncello since they are said to have the best. We found plenty of it, and also got Kyle an Italia soccer jersey & both of us American flag sunglasses (for the work cup game). At this point it was time to start heading back to the boat, unfortunately. We thoroughly enjoyed our day, and Umberto finished by giving me his mix cd of Italian music.... Very pumped about this!!!
On the boat we watched the World Cup game (what an annoying game!) & then went to bed as it was late!