POSITANO (6/3)
As we said in the last blog, to get to the Amalfi Coast, we took an overnight train which had to go on a ferry. Because of this, the trains kept moving and it was hard to sleep. We were finally able to sleep but were quickly awakened when the train stopped in Salerno. It arrived early to our stop. After a quick freak out about accidentally missing our stop, we grabbed our things and jumped off.
Still in our pajamas, we went to an open cafe near the port where we planned to take a ferry to Positano for the day. With a little bit of judgment from each of the baristas, we each, one by one, ordered food and went to the bathroom to change and “become human.”
We ferried to Positano and spent the day on the beach enjoying the sun and colorful buildings stacked on the cliff. The beach chairs were much more reasonably priced than in Mykonos, so were able to enjoy them! The beach chairs were high-tech with a shade thing to cover your face. We swam a bit, as the water was cold but still slightly warmer than Greece and very refreshing. We got sandwiches at a local deli, and after laying out to tan, we enjoyed some gelato. Early that evening we ferried to our overnight stay in Sorrento. While you’re on the coast, these aren’t beaches/towns like you would expect. They’re all up huge cliffs. So for Sorrento, because as we’ve said we’re no longer paying for overpriced taxis, we hiked up the steep hill to our hotel from the port.
So, we know you are waiting for the transportation problem of the day...WELL HERE YOU GO! After a quick dinner, we planned to head back to the hotel and watch the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Well instead of taking 4 flights of stairs up, we decided to take the elevator. And yes you guessed it, we got stuck in the tiny only 3 person elevator. See photo below. Luckily we were saved after waiting 10 minutes woo!
POMPEII (6/4)
The next day, we took local transport to the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii from our hotel in Sorrento. On the way, we chatted with a couple from Arizona who were traveling to celebrate the husband's retirement. They were traveling old school, using a paper cut-out from a book to guide their way on their trip and in Pompeii (Emily was very confused and asked if it was an app they were using. He pulled the paper out of his pocket to explain lol). We gave them a link to our blog so if y’all are reading, hi!
Anyway, we had our packs so we paid to store them in the train station; later find out you can store for free by the entrance to the site. 😒
We purchased our tickets and found a guide who was collecting a group of 12 to lead us through the ruins. Dang, Pompeii is huge! HUGE! The city was abandoned and covered in ash over the years. Interestingly, we discovered that our thoughts about how the people were killed by the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, were wrong. It was not lava flow, but instead hot steam at about 400 degrees Celsius moving at over 50 miles per hour over the city that killed and froze them in time. The city was then covered with ash, not lava, which is why there was not any lava there (we expected it to be all black lol). Also, the first eruption of the volcano happened in the early evening, so some people left right away after seeing the rocks falling from the volcano onto the towns. Others stayed to pack up their things, but were killed in the night because of the steam, which was very painful but fairly instantaneous. We walked around and saw the amphitheater, the colosseum, multiple plazas, a brothel, “fast food restaurants,” and very wealthy homes. We imagined living in the city; it seemed like it was so nice! Apparently it was a resort town for wealthy Romans (it used to be right on the water), so that's why the houses and plazas were so grandiose! You can clearly see Mt. Vesuvius in the background, which has changed over time from one peak to two smaller ones because of the eruptions. It was crazy how you’re walking through a whole abandoned city. We enjoyed seeing it and then hopped on a train to go to Rome. Emma left us at this point to head to Naples :(
Now we are enjoying our time in Rome! Blog post coming in a few days.
To Be Continued,
Grace & Emily
As we said in the last blog, to get to the Amalfi Coast, we took an overnight train which had to go on a ferry. Because of this, the trains kept moving and it was hard to sleep. We were finally able to sleep but were quickly awakened when the train stopped in Salerno. It arrived early to our stop. After a quick freak out about accidentally missing our stop, we grabbed our things and jumped off.
Still in our pajamas, we went to an open cafe near the port where we planned to take a ferry to Positano for the day. With a little bit of judgment from each of the baristas, we each, one by one, ordered food and went to the bathroom to change and “become human.”
We ferried to Positano and spent the day on the beach enjoying the sun and colorful buildings stacked on the cliff. The beach chairs were much more reasonably priced than in Mykonos, so were able to enjoy them! The beach chairs were high-tech with a shade thing to cover your face. We swam a bit, as the water was cold but still slightly warmer than Greece and very refreshing. We got sandwiches at a local deli, and after laying out to tan, we enjoyed some gelato. Early that evening we ferried to our overnight stay in Sorrento. While you’re on the coast, these aren’t beaches/towns like you would expect. They’re all up huge cliffs. So for Sorrento, because as we’ve said we’re no longer paying for overpriced taxis, we hiked up the steep hill to our hotel from the port.
So, we know you are waiting for the transportation problem of the day...WELL HERE YOU GO! After a quick dinner, we planned to head back to the hotel and watch the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Well instead of taking 4 flights of stairs up, we decided to take the elevator. And yes you guessed it, we got stuck in the tiny only 3 person elevator. See photo below. Luckily we were saved after waiting 10 minutes woo!
POMPEII (6/4)
The next day, we took local transport to the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii from our hotel in Sorrento. On the way, we chatted with a couple from Arizona who were traveling to celebrate the husband's retirement. They were traveling old school, using a paper cut-out from a book to guide their way on their trip and in Pompeii (Emily was very confused and asked if it was an app they were using. He pulled the paper out of his pocket to explain lol). We gave them a link to our blog so if y’all are reading, hi!
Anyway, we had our packs so we paid to store them in the train station; later find out you can store for free by the entrance to the site. 😒
We purchased our tickets and found a guide who was collecting a group of 12 to lead us through the ruins. Dang, Pompeii is huge! HUGE! The city was abandoned and covered in ash over the years. Interestingly, we discovered that our thoughts about how the people were killed by the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, were wrong. It was not lava flow, but instead hot steam at about 400 degrees Celsius moving at over 50 miles per hour over the city that killed and froze them in time. The city was then covered with ash, not lava, which is why there was not any lava there (we expected it to be all black lol). Also, the first eruption of the volcano happened in the early evening, so some people left right away after seeing the rocks falling from the volcano onto the towns. Others stayed to pack up their things, but were killed in the night because of the steam, which was very painful but fairly instantaneous. We walked around and saw the amphitheater, the colosseum, multiple plazas, a brothel, “fast food restaurants,” and very wealthy homes. We imagined living in the city; it seemed like it was so nice! Apparently it was a resort town for wealthy Romans (it used to be right on the water), so that's why the houses and plazas were so grandiose! You can clearly see Mt. Vesuvius in the background, which has changed over time from one peak to two smaller ones because of the eruptions. It was crazy how you’re walking through a whole abandoned city. We enjoyed seeing it and then hopped on a train to go to Rome. Emma left us at this point to head to Naples :(
"Fast-food" stand
Apollo shooting at Mt. Vesuvius
Now we are enjoying our time in Rome! Blog post coming in a few days.
To Be Continued,
Grace & Emily
I'm loving the blog, which is written so well. I love you Em! Hi Grace!
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