Day 5

 It was an early start this morning. Bags had to be out of our rooms by 6:45AM!! After showering and re-packing my bag (although it magically seemed to have added 5 kgs!) I went down stairs to meet the rest of the group, ready to board the bus.

On the bus our travel director (not tour guide as the word ‘tour’ seems to be the devil in these groups… odd) gave us a fantastic information and safety pep talk. The bus is awesome! Michele, our driver is great and his ‘wife’ (our bus) is brand new and is fantastic. Chairs are comfortable, reclining and moveable!  They can move sideways to give people more room! It’s fantastic! AND AIR CONDITIONED! Halleluiah!

It was lovely driving through the Italian countryside, looking at the sunflower fields (used for the oil) and fields of solar panels. Fantastic!

 

The contrast of greens was amazing with produce and flowers, and of course vines. They’re beautiful, lining the hillsides and valleys with perfect lines of green leafy grapes. Perfecto!

It was amazingly different countryside depending on the way you looked. Mountains with exposed rock faces or old quarries to the right, and beautiful fields of flowers or vineyards to the left. Amazing and beautiful!

We arrived at the beautiful seaside town (well it was before Vesuvius made it about 700m away from the beach!) of Pompeii around 11:30am. We hoped off the bus, donned our great looking Trafalgar radio lanyards and earphone, and met our tour guide Enzo. A bronzed, southern Italian that was a fantastic wealth of knowledge. After a short “pee pee” stop we were off and into this ancient city that had been excavated out of the volcanic ash and mud. It was amazing to see the gladiator training hall, the theatre, the old red light district (including the paintings that advertised the ‘services’ to the sailors that would come into the port) and the city centre. It was incredibly how well preserved so much of the city         still is. Even the graffiti from the children that would use the theatre in Pompeii prior to Vesuvius erupting. Small carvings of boats and a gladiator etched into the stone walls, preserved by the ash for so many years! They were as clear as day, as if someone had just done it yesterday. Amazing!

It was mind-blowing that these were the streets that ancient  romans were living, breathing, walking along, living their lives. It was truly incredible. Take a look at some of the pictures that will show you things that I just have no words to describe!

We had a lunch and shopping stop, in which we were able to try the local limoncello! It was awesome! There was limoncello, meloncello, ‘choco-cello (well, that’s what I called it!). After stocking up on awesome 50%+ alcohol (yippee!) and having a fresh wood-fired pizza for lunch, it was back on the bus, and on the way to our next stop – Sorrento!

I can now understand why Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula is called ‘Sorrento’. The feeling in  Aussie Sorrento is similar to the Med-side town on the cliffs. It’s a bit of a beachy, chic town that is soo beautiful! Perched on top of two cliffs, which used to be separated by a small stream that cut a valley into the volcanic rock to make the two hills and is now bridged up, are many soft orange, pink-red, cream and golden houses which lemon trees everywhere! This peninsula of Italy is where true LEMONS come from! It was amazing

 We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Corallo, and had some time to unpack and relax prior to heading down the Amalfi coast to Positano! What a town! It is built in between cliffs, and led all the way down to the beach. The winding roads were very narrow and stopped halfway down and headed further south, therefore there was only foot traffic down to the beach. As you walk down the roads to the beach you are surrounded by boutique shops selling limoncello and beachwear, and above you have a canopy of beautiful flowering bougainvillea and right at the end a burst of jasmine. With the sun shining through the small gaps it made for a light purple light that lit the path down to the beach. Stunning! We saw a fascinating church that was gorgeous.
 

            

(Above - view from our hotel room!!)


The beach was not a beach like home! No sand! Loved it! No sand everywhere and all through your bags, and on your feet no matter how hard you try to avoid it and wipe it off! No sand = heaven! The water was crystal clear and cool.

After plunging my feet into the Mediterranean I began the climb back up to the mini-bus drop off point at the top of the tiny village. On the way back I looked through the lovely boutiques and limonccelo shops, with fascinating bottles shaped like Italy or female bodies or lemons! Fantastic! Despite being tempted to buy all my Aussie summer wear here, I resisted! Points for me, I must say. The prices in Positano are sky high (well according to my budget!). For a plain white, medium length cover up top for the beach it was about €70!! Ouch! So yes, I resisted temptation, thankfully, so that I could buy more things elsewhere! I’ve decided that rather than buy lots of knick-knacks I will only be buying keepsakes (well, that’s the plan!) Currently I’ve only bought a painting from Roma! So far…

 

 

After our free time to explore Positano, and paddling my feet in the Mediterranean,  it was back on the mini-buses and back to Corallo for dinner. Unfortunately, the winding roads of the Amalfi caught up with me on the way back to Corallo and I didn’t feel up to eating the onslaught of food that was coming. Instead I had a simple bowl of pasta! Delicious! The other group members chowed down on seafood salads, made with fresh octopus and lettuce, Napolitana pasta and a lemon cake. It all looked amazing!  The meal was finished off with some light music (thanks to the local wedding taking place in the hotels cliff side, outdoor function area) and a stunning sunset (picture) We will be up early tomorrow as we are taking the boat across to Capri – Pronounced Caaapri, not CaPri. Sounds like fun!