On the 13th of June we joined a Busabout tour group for a three day trip of Southern Italy. Our first stop on the trip was to Pompeii. Pompeii is an ancient Roman town which was destroyed and completely buried during an eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Excavations began in the 18th century and the town is now fully exhumed and open for tourism. We were given a guided
tour of the town, learning some intriguing facts about ancient Roman life. Many of the buildings have maintained their external structures, giving you a real sense of life in Pompeii over 1900 years ago. Many of the frescos are still intact, in particular a brothel which has its walls lined with frescos of varying sex positions. The most moving part of our visit to Pompeii was when we got to the artefact section. In a caged off area there are many vases, pots and personal items which have been excavated, but the pieces which gain the most attention are the plaster moulds of people which were petrified by the ash of the volcano. These plaster moulds capture the pain of these people as they died. Two of the most moving are a person hunched up with their hands covering their face and a pregnant lady lying face down, both trying not to breathe the ash.
After we left Pompeii, we continued our drive down the coast of Italy past Napoli (Naples). Naples isn’t a very nice town, with many people living in almost slum conditions, though it is rich in history. However it has an amazing backdrop, situated on the coast by the Gulf of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the distance. We arrived at our final destination for that day, Sorrento which is also situated on the coast of Italy, amongst high cliffs and mountains. The region is famous for its Lemon industry and “Limoncello”, a strong Lemon liquor. It is the Lemon industry of Southern Italy and Sicily which gave rise to the Italian Mafia. Sorrento is a beautiful town with a great Italian feel with its small roads littered with cafe’s and pizza stores. We were lucky enough to be there during the Euro 2008 tournament so there was a real buzz around town, with every restaurant having a television playing the football. We spent our first night in Sorrento having a group dinner then a cocktail at a local bar.
On our second day we all caught the ferry out to Capri to visit the famous “Blue Grotto”. When we arrived at Capri we were told that the Blue Grotto was closed due to the strong winds making the waves too choppy to enter the cave. This was very disappointing as this opportunity would surely not present itself to many of us ever again. When all hope was gone, along came “Jerry”, a local 72 year old man who hasn’t spent a day of his life out of the sun. Tipping 5 foot with leather skin and wrinkled eyes Jerry approached us and offered to take a group of us round the sheltered side of the island to see some of the smaller grottos and the rest of Capri by sea at only 10 Euros. Given the Blue Grotto was closed and would have cost 25 Euros, many of us jumped at the opportunity. Two boats o
f 10 people headed out and we were lucky enough to be on Jerry’s boat. He gave us an amazing insight into the history of Capri, speaking of famous people who have visited and those who have shaped its history, also showing us the natural landmarks and the stories and myths behind them. The sea was something I have never seen before, giving off a rich dark blue colour, and in the shallow areas it was a light green colour which you could see through to the sea bed. The trip took about an hour and afterwards we spent the day exploring the rest of Capri by foot. We went to the top of Capri to the main shopping district where you could have a 360 degree view of the island. The rest of the day was spent swimming in the Mediterranean Sea before heading back to Sorrento.
Our third day was the last day of the tour and we headed off early and continued south along the Amalfi Coast to Positani. Our time in Positani was spent lying on the beach soaking in the rays before we headed off to our last stop, Ravello. Ravello is situated high in the mountains, accessible by small winding roads not made for large buses. It was quite off-putting swerving along a hillside road with nothing but a small railing between you and the ocean. We spent our two hours in Ravello walking around town square and eating huge mozzarella and prosciutto rolls before we headed back to Rome which saw the end of our trip.
tour of the town, learning some intriguing facts about ancient Roman life. Many of the buildings have maintained their external structures, giving you a real sense of life in Pompeii over 1900 years ago. Many of the frescos are still intact, in particular a brothel which has its walls lined with frescos of varying sex positions. The most moving part of our visit to Pompeii was when we got to the artefact section. In a caged off area there are many vases, pots and personal items which have been excavated, but the pieces which gain the most attention are the plaster moulds of people which were petrified by the ash of the volcano. These plaster moulds capture the pain of these people as they died. Two of the most moving are a person hunched up with their hands covering their face and a pregnant lady lying face down, both trying not to breathe the ash.After we left Pompeii, we continued our drive down the coast of Italy past Napoli (Naples). Naples isn’t a very nice town, with many people living in almost slum conditions, though it is rich in history. However it has an amazing backdrop, situated on the coast by the Gulf of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the distance. We arrived at our final destination for that day, Sorrento which is also situated on the coast of Italy, amongst high cliffs and mountains. The region is famous for its Lemon industry and “Limoncello”, a strong Lemon liquor. It is the Lemon industry of Southern Italy and Sicily which gave rise to the Italian Mafia. Sorrento is a beautiful town with a great Italian feel with its small roads littered with cafe’s and pizza stores. We were lucky enough to be there during the Euro 2008 tournament so there was a real buzz around town, with every restaurant having a television playing the football. We spent our first night in Sorrento having a group dinner then a cocktail at a local bar.
On our second day we all caught the ferry out to Capri to visit the famous “Blue Grotto”. When we arrived at Capri we were told that the Blue Grotto was closed due to the strong winds making the waves too choppy to enter the cave. This was very disappointing as this opportunity would surely not present itself to many of us ever again. When all hope was gone, along came “Jerry”, a local 72 year old man who hasn’t spent a day of his life out of the sun. Tipping 5 foot with leather skin and wrinkled eyes Jerry approached us and offered to take a group of us round the sheltered side of the island to see some of the smaller grottos and the rest of Capri by sea at only 10 Euros. Given the Blue Grotto was closed and would have cost 25 Euros, many of us jumped at the opportunity. Two boats o
f 10 people headed out and we were lucky enough to be on Jerry’s boat. He gave us an amazing insight into the history of Capri, speaking of famous people who have visited and those who have shaped its history, also showing us the natural landmarks and the stories and myths behind them. The sea was something I have never seen before, giving off a rich dark blue colour, and in the shallow areas it was a light green colour which you could see through to the sea bed. The trip took about an hour and afterwards we spent the day exploring the rest of Capri by foot. We went to the top of Capri to the main shopping district where you could have a 360 degree view of the island. The rest of the day was spent swimming in the Mediterranean Sea before heading back to Sorrento.Our third day was the last day of the tour and we headed off early and continued south along the Amalfi Coast to Positani. Our time in Positani was spent lying on the beach soaking in the rays before we headed off to our last stop, Ravello. Ravello is situated high in the mountains, accessible by small winding roads not made for large buses. It was quite off-putting swerving along a hillside road with nothing but a small railing between you and the ocean. We spent our two hours in Ravello walking around town square and eating huge mozzarella and prosciutto rolls before we headed back to Rome which saw the end of our trip.
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