Day 24: Pompeii and Sorrento!

     Today I woke up at 4:45 AM. You could see a ton of stars because all the lights outside were out (the rest of the world was sleeping, unlike Caroline and I!) I got ready and finished packing for the Amalfi Coast. At 5:30 we left for the train station. I was convinced I was going to foget something, but we are only going for one night so I'll be fine even if I did (*note: I didn't forget anything!). After Luca, the teacher leading the trip, got our names, we put our stuff in the coachbus and picked seats together in the middle of the bus, nearer to the front. I slept off and on until 9:30; they woke us up by playing Back in Black, which was Awesome!

     They had woken us up so we could get breakfast. I got a broche (croissant). Yumm. The rest of the way there I was too excited to sleep. It was freezing on the bus; everyone was complaining about it. Finally we arrived in Pompeii.

     Pompeii was awesome!! It was a city that had been preserved from 62 to 79 AD, so it was so interesting. In 62 AD, there was an earthquake which knocked the town down, so they had to rebuild, and then in 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted and preserved everything in the ash. We saw bodies of people and children that had been covered in the hot ash. We also saw their 'bars'; they had a version of a keg: they took jars and filled them with wine, and then put them in the table. Once the jars were empty, they changed out the jar. They also had 'crosswalks' for when it rained because otherwise you couldn't get across the street. They were elevated rocks so people wouldn't get wet. The whole time it reminded me of Abbey Road/ the Beatles. We also made some new friends! Cassie and Kendra, who are awesome :) There's not really much else to say about Pompeii; it was a really cool visit though.

     I did see Mount Vesuvius, and it looked like a mountain, so I'm pretty much over my fear of volcanoes. While leaving Pompeii, tehre was a live band dancing around. I also tried some limoncello: crema, melone, and regulare. I liked the cream one the best, but I don't love limoncello, which is good to know! Then we took a bus from Pompeii to Sorrento. It was up a really winding road and was kind of scary! When we got to our hotel, Michelangelo, Caroline and I took a nap until dinner. The dinner was paid for through the trip. It was really nice.

     After that, we went through the city as a group with Luca, to a limoncello factory. We got to try more limoncello. After, Caroline, Kendra, Cassie, and I broke off from the main roup and explored the town. It was so beautiful, and a really great way to end the day.