Weekend to Naples, Pompeii, Capri

Kyle (aunt) and Kirsten (cousin) arrived in Rome last Wednesday morning. I spent the morning with them touring the highlights of Rome. Thursday we spent the day exploring the Roman forum, where the ancient city center ruins are, took a tour of the Colosseum. As long as I’ve been here, this was my first time in either of these historical sites. Kyle, Kir and I tried a couple new restaurants, all were delicious! Can’t say that I’ve found a place I don’t like..

My program had a trip planned for the weekend to Naples, Pompeii and Capri. We left early Friday morning by bus, and drove down to Pompeii. Our group spent the afternoon touring the ruins of Pompeii. It was pretty cold and overcast, but we were able to see the highlights of the dig. We saw the ancient streets, where shops and houses used to be, along with their amphitheater and other key town buildings. We saw the room full of the bodies, pots, and other instruments they have discovered. It was pretty sad to see it all, the city was buried by the volcanic eruption. We then got on the bus again, and drove to Vico Equense, the town our hotel was in. This small town just happened to be the town Jackie and I were dropped off in by the German tour bus just a few short weeks ago.. go figure!

Saturday morning we were up early and bussed into Naples to visit the National Archaeological Museum. This museum holds many artifacts excavated from Pompeii ruins. We saw paintings, mosaics, and other house décor used in the ancient times. After touring the museum for a few hours, Jackie, Lizzie, and I went out for some real Neapolitan pizza. We didn’t have much free time in the city, so we weren’t able to do too much walking around. Our group boarded the buses again to go to Mt. Vesuvius. The bus drove us up as far as it could, then the group hiked to the top. It was very cold! The views were beautiful and we saw into the volcanic crater, there was even steam coming out! It was really cool knowing we were on top of an active volcano. We returned to the buses, and went back to our hotel.

Sunday, we were up even earlier to catch the ferry to Capri. We had free time all day. Jackie, Lizzie, and I spent the day wandering through the narrow streets, looking through shops, enjoying the beautiful island. The island was pretty ritzy, nearly ever designer had a shop there. In the afternoon, we took an hour boat cruise around the island. Unfortunately, the sea was too rough, and the tide too high for us to go into the blue grotto. The tour was awesome, got to see the whole island. The day went by too fast, wish we had more time! We took the ferry back to Naples, then bussed back to Rome.

This week is pretty busy for me, I have 2 exams. On Thursday after class, I’m off to Ireland with a few friends. We are spending two nights in Dublin, and one in Galway. Should be fun!

I’ve put up pictures from this weekend – check them out!!