Day 8 – Pompeii and Sorrento

The pace was slower today and the weather was great. By noon we were in Pompeii sitting down to a pizza lunch in the place where pizza was supposedly invented. It was awesome, so they might have their facts straight. The tour of Pompeii was amazing, but at two hours long we could only see a fraction of the city. The ruins are so complete that you hardly need your imagination to see how normal Romans lived and worked in the first century AD. Walking in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius (an active volcano) was also something we’ll never forget.

The short drive to Sorrento from Pompeii is the most beautiful scenery we’ve seen so far. Every view is a postcard. We followed a winding road along the cliff running along the coast. We’ve run out of words to describe it all. This region is lush with greenery, with lemons and oranges growing in every backyard. The lemons here grow to volleyball size and are used to produce the famous Limoncello.

Deals are still being had as we’re in downtown Sorrento, with wonderful shops in narrow cobblestone streets. A large group of students made it down to the water to wade in the Mediterranean and look for jellyfish, starfish, and eels.

Today we took the opportunity to celebrate the three birthdays we’ve had take place on the trip. While we couldn’t find any birthday cakes in Sorrento, we managed to get three gigantic chocolate Easter eggs as a substitute. The group sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, first in English, and then in Italian, led by our tour director Riccardo with some of our waiters joining in.

With more time in the hotel we took some time tonight to get together as a group to share stories and highlights. The laughter and the tears flowed freely while people remembered their funniest stories and favourite stops on the tour. We had to shut it down after an hour or we’d be talking all night, not a good thing with a 6.00 wake-up for our trip to Capri. Everyone we’ve asked has said the trip has been more than worth it and would tell anyone to save their money and do it if they have the chance.

We’ll try to post one more time in Rome tomorrow night before we get to the airport for our 10-hour flight to Toronto. You’ll be able to find us in the airport in Winnipeg – we’ll be the ones in the Italy shirts passing out from exhaustion. And no one wants to see any pasta for a while – consider The Hut for any welcome home meals you might be planning.

And Paul: Chicken cutlets - 0, Turkey slices - 2, pasta marinara - 8.

Day Seven - Rome

We enjoyed another wonderful day in Rome. The rain held off and we managed to take in all the sites plus enjoyed tonnes of free time on the streets of Roma. The day began with a visit to "Mr. Colosseum". It was one of the most anticipated sites and it lived up to and exceeded expectations. Most students are still wondering how on earth the building was accomplished. The structure could hold 75,000 people, so it is as large or larger than most modern stadiums.

From there we hopped across the street to the Roman Forum, originally an open-air gathering spot for the early city, which evolved into a collection of religious and government buildings. Most of the area was buried through the centuries, with much of the building materials pillaged to build some of the other monuments in Rome. We then toured the Palatine Hill, the site of the palaces of the Emperors.

From there students split up for free time, some going to an art museum, others perfecting their deal-hunting. It's a tough day when you have to choose between beautiful artifacts, eating gelato while you shop, or sitting at in outdoor cafe while you listen to a street quartet, complete with upright bass and saxophone.

Supper was a neat experience as we were sitting in a Roman Bath, the remains of which were in the restaurant we were at. Sitting around and eating in the middle an artifact over 1800 years old was cool and bizarre at the same time.

Today we also lost our first bus driver; not to the traffic although it would likely kill a weaker person. Andrea's contract was over and we get a new driver tomorrow. Hopefully he's just as good.

We can see the confidence and navigational skills in our travelers increase every day. They had no trouble finding the Del 'a Plama, the gelati place we went to last night. Everyone quickly branches out on their own to explore the side streets full of shops and sights.

Not everyone has natural bargaining talent. While Stacey has been learning from the experts like Kelsie, she still hasn't found her edge. "If I give you 4 Euros for this, would that be okay?"

Today saw the first group breakdown and go North-American for lunch. Brooke and Erica et. al. bypassed the pizza, spaghetti, and fettuccine for a good old bacon-cheeseburger at McD's.

Luggage problems are still showing up as scarves, purses, and the odd wooden sword continue to pile up. Good luck to Laura fitting that in.

More good news: all those rain-ponchos and umbrellas you bought were finally used today, although if we had been at home in a rain like this people would have teased us mercilessly for the 6 drops we managed to avoid.

Today ended early which suited most people. This is the part of the trip we warned everyone about - the feet are tired, the sleep is short, and the brain is overwhelmed. Tomorrow the pace slows as we move south in Italy to Pompeii, and then off to our hotel on the Mediterranean coast.

Three sleeps and we're back on the plane.

Day 6 – Wow.

Our toughest day since landing, but also our most rewarding. We’ll try to post something a bit more interesting tomorrow but we’re tired and will be heading to bed soon so you’ll have to live with the highlights.

Today it was one more beautiful work of art or architectural masterpiece after another. We started the day with a 6.30 wakeup and a great breakfast. By 9.30 we were in line at the Vatican and toured the Vatican museum on our way to the Sistine Chapel. After that we toured St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s square. A quick bite to eat and some shopping and we were off to the Pantheon and some free time. We ended the day with a brief tour of Rome at night where we saw the Colosseum for the first time. To say that we were a bit overwhelmed today would be an understatement. Words like spectacular, amazing, fantastic, gorgeous, breathtaking, and awesome were all used today, but they hardly capture the feeling of staring up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or the dome of the Pantheon. Our pictures don’t do any justice either.

You can tell that a general lack of sleep is starting to catch up with us. A few colds have sprung up and we’ve also had an upset stomach or two, but so far everyone has powered through. The smiles are still constant, but where we were running to check behind the next corner when we started the tour, now more of us are happy to take the time to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Us old people are starting to think this younger generation doesn’t have any stamina – we have to make them stay up long enough to do bedchecks.

One more day in Rome, then a travel day with some time in Pompeii, and then our last day in Sorrento and the Mediterranean coast. Hard to believe we’ll be home in a few days.

Oh, and Paul – 6 days without a chicken cutlet.