Sorrento

So good...

3 hours south of Rome, nestled between the hills, is Sorrento. This region is known for its lemons and we were lucky enough to stay directly in the lemon groves. Our little apartment was a 300 year old farm house that had been lovingly restored by a brother and sister who had been born there. Our dining area had once been the room where they crushed grapes for wine.

The gardens around our apartment. The owner apologized for it's "winter" state. We thought it looked pretty good.

The "road" to our apartment.

Unfortunately the weather was cold and rainy for our 4-night visit, but we still managed to see a lot. Just walking up to our apartment was an adventure as it was a steep climb up an old roman road that would be no more than a footpath at home, but here it is for pedestrians and cars which sometimes led to eventful walks where we had to run ahead to areas that were a little wider to let cars pass. Lemon groves line the "road" and birds serenade us along the way.

Lemon groves along the way. Rain that just won't quit.

A sobering look a someone's last moment.

Day 1: We took the train to Pompeii to tour the ruins. It rained on and off all day, but it meant that we nearly had the place to ourselves. How awe inspiring to learn what life was like 2000 years ago. I had always imagined that life would have been horribly hard with no creature comforts, but they had plumbed water to their homes, many places to eat and theatres for entertainment. There were civil buildings for administration, warm baths open to the public and many communal meeting places. The plaster casts of human forms were sobering to see. When they were excavating, they discovered hollow spots underneath the ground, so they poured plaster into the hollows and then dug the earth away when the plaster had hardened. It revealed human and animal forms in the positions they were in when they died. Everyone died of a massive wave of heat from the volcano, and then were covered in ash. Children, dogs, men, and women; the plaster casts allow us to see their last moments.

A less sober moment in Pompeii

Theater in Pompeii, note the gladiator's barracks in the background.

The culprit: Mt. Vesuvius. Imagine it with a pointy cone. That's the amount of debris that covered the surrounding area.

Day 2: After going pretty hard for a week, we decided to take a sabbath and just laze around. Besides, our shoes were still wet and it was pouring outside. The choices of how to spend our time became limited when the cord for the laptop broke. No more blogging or Downton Abbey for a few days. Later in the afternoon we walked around town a bit and explored the water front. I really can't imagine the crowds of summer. These old towns aren't built for crowds. Everything is so crammed in tight, and the roads are so narrow that I wonder how thousands of people would be able to get where they want to go. Sorrento is 17,000 people in winter and about 200,000 thousand in summer!

Day 3: We decided to visit the next town on the peninsula, Positano. We hopped into the car and drove down the coast on a road that reminded us of the coastal highway in Oregon and would not be for one with a weak stomach. Cliffs on one side and ocean on the other with hairpin turns up and down the mountain. It was beautiful, but also a little white-knuckle-y at times. Positano did not disappoint, even in the rain. We meandered down to the beach and took in the view. I can't compare it to anywhere I've been before. Apparently it's pack with tourists all summer, so we decided that our jackets were a good trade off for the lack of crowds.

Good thing we packed light! It does over 50 miles to the gallon, but that's party because it's TINY!

Day 4: This morning we dragged all of our stuff down the old cobblestone road to our little Peugot. We crammed it all in, hopped in and headed off. Destination: San Giminano, Tuscany!