The chairlift on Anacapri

Waiting for the boat at the dock

On a boat tour around Capri

On the stairs down to the port of Sorrento to visit Capri

A Little More About Day 7

Salvete omnes,

As El's poem suggested, yesterday (Thursday, 12/18) was yet another busy and amazing day. We hiked up to the top of Mount Vesuvius, visited an interactive museum of ancient Rome, the Mav Museum, and then toured the imperial villa at Oplontis. 

The weather was absolutely perfect for hiking; the sky was bright blue, the sun was shining, and the air was cool and refreshing. A good portion of the group wished we could hike up Mount Vesuvius from the very bottom, but the bus ride up was still fun. There were so many hair-pin turns that it was almost like riding a roller coaster. Our bus driver made the tight turns effortlessly; we're always impressed by his driving skills. Once we reached the top, it was a ten minute trek up to the volcanic crater. A mountain man and his dog, Fritz, led us there. The guide was hilarious and the dog was adorable and affectionate, and the view was breathtaking. We came back down to where the bus was parked and ate lunch in a little cafe/gift shop before driving back down the mountain. Most of us napped on the bus.

We really didn't know what to expect when we got to the Mav Museum. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and was unlike any museum I'd ever seen. The rooms were dark, with screens that you could interact with on the walls and the floors, depicting ancient Roman architecture and statues. There were even hologram-like images of ancient Roman artifacts that seemed to be floating in mid air! We watched a 3-D movie about the Vesuvius, in English. Exhausted from the hike, we were disappointed to see that there weren't any seats. But since we seemed to be the only people in the entire museum, we decided it'd be okay to sit on the floor. Little did we know that it was really a 4-D movie, and the floor would shake when Vesuvius rumbled! 

The imperial villa was incredible. There were elaborate paintings on the walls, and beautiful courtyards surrounded by ancient stone columns. Walking around, we imagined what the villa would have looked like in ancient Roman times. This was made a lot easier by our wonderful tour guide, Anna, and by the fact that the site was so well-preserved.

By the time we got back to our hotel Sorrento, we were exhausted (but not too exhausted for a little shopping, of course). We had dinner at the hotel, and it was, as usual, delicious.

Ciao for now!

Felicem Diem Natalis!

Happy 18th Birthday Sophie!

Capri- Day 8

                We began our day at our hotel, tired from yesterday’s L-iad. Our wakeup call came at seven am, and by eight-thirty am, we had set off on our new adventure. We walked down the streets of Sorrento, and when we came to the main square, we took an unexpected climb down from the city, across old walls, to the shores of the Mediterranean. We were allowed to shop around for a bit before embarking on our boat, and spending an hour crossing the sea. When we arrived on the shores, we were greeted by the picturesque view of Capri’s white stone mountains. They were covered in pine trees, and surrounded by a deep blue sea. The island was speckled with small Mediterranean homes.

                After another small stop in the shops, we met with our tour guide for the day, Anna, who along with Linda took us around the island. First, we began with a boat ride. We travelled around Capri, marveling at the white cliffs, and the deep blue sea, speckled with cyan coves, and full of small fish and a few jellyfish. We stopped in the coral grotto, which was full of (as you may have guessed) bright orange coral. We continued on, through a giant natural arch of stone, and past Tiberius’s main villa. Upon returning to the shore, we went on a bus ride to a small town at the top of Capri, Anacapri. From there, we took a chair lift up to the top of the highest peak of the mountain. On the way, we saw two cats sunning themselves on the grassy hills below, and upon reaching the top, found a whole family of grey cats. However, the cats were the least impressive things there, because when we looked away from them, we saw a spectacular view of Capri. On one side, perilous cliffs and jagged white mountains rose from the deep blue sea. Gulls flying below appeared to us as if they were the size of ants. The view was breathtaking, and my words, and the photos on the blog, don’t begin to capture the beauty of that sight. On the other side, the whole of green Capri could be seen. The white houses speckled the forests of the island.

                We came down from this height, and went to lunch. Unfortunately, the Blue Grotto, the most beautiful place on the island, was closed. Fortunately, this meant that we saved enough money for a group meal. We ate at a nice place, and afterwards we took a bus to a different part of the island. We decided to finish up our time on Capri with a trip to the gardens of Augustus (modern, only named after him unfortunately). The gardens provided us with the classical view of Capri, a perfect postcard image. We then took a brief stop at a special place on the island. A shop that makes Capri’s signature perfume. After a purchase there, our group decided to split up. One group went down the ancient stairs carved into the side of one of Capri’s mountains to reach the harbor where our boat was. The other group chose to instead use the far more modern and comfortable cable cars. Both groups reached the harbor around the same time. After a brief shopping spree, we went back to our boat, and returned to the hotel, ready for another adventure. (no epic poem this time… sorry)