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Day 36 - Sorrento & Pompeii
We found our train to Naples and the ride south went smoothly. Once in Naples, we figured out how to get to Sorrento on the local "Circumvesuviana" line. Once in the train station at Sorrento we stored our luggage at the coffee shop (thanks to an internet friend for that wonderful tip!) and hopped back on the Circumvesuviana to spend the afternoon at Pompeii, which we passed by on our way to Sorrento.
After freshening up, we had a wonderful dinner at the hotel restaurant and then headed to bed for the night. |
  
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We
hopped on the extremely crowded metro during this morning's rush
hour. We, just like most everyone else, had to push and shove our way on and
off the car. We almost didn't make it off at the correct stop, just because
the mass of humanity was too thick to move through - yikes, that was crazy!
Before
entering the ruins complex, we grabbed sandwiches and drinks from a
road-side stand and had lunch in the shade of a tree in front of the ticket
office. We purchased a Pompeii-Herculaneum package ticket and wandered into
the ancient ruined city of Pompeii. We spent almost 4 hours wandering the
streets and buildings of this once populous and thriving town. Included with
your ticket is a good map with and guide booklet describing many of the
ruined buildings and sites. It was amazing to see the theatres, homes,
amphitheatre, street-side shops and bars almost 2000 years after they were
buried by the violent volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The volcano stands
prominently in the distance and it is hard to imagine the catastrophe that
happened so long ago.
We
stayed at the ruins until after 5:00pm and then took the train back to
Sorrento, retrieved our luggage and arranged for the hotel shuttle bus to
come pick us up at the train station. Many of the hotel residents were
returning for the day and the shuttle was very full. We arrived at
