79 AD

The reason for planning our trip to begin in Naples, was so that we could visit the ruins of Pompeii. I remember my fascination as a child with this mysterious city and now, as evidenced by our tattered, much read Pompeii children's book, my children have the same fascination. In preparation for our visit here, we took a field trip to Boston's Science Museum to visit the traveling Pompeii exhibit. We also watched a History Channel documentary on the site. We came well prepared and were not disappointed. Our travel book says that "Pompeii is not in the seeing, but in the feeling." Because we were so prepared, we were able to wander the abandoned streets, in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, imagining life here 2000 years ago. We could feel the monotony of everyday activities but our own sense of urgency for Pompeii's ancient inhabitants to flee the city was present.

We visited the forum, baths, shops, Roman amphitheater and temples.

We quietly observed the molds of the people who were not able to escape the eruption and marveled at the frescos that still decorated many of the walls.

Before we left we were determined to find the often replicated mosaic of the snarling dog and the words "Cave Canem" meaning "Look! Beware of Dog!". After searching down several alley ways we spotted it.

Now our visit was complete! Unfortunately, due to Naples notorious traffic, we didn't make it to hike Vesuvius, which we were looking forward to. It is always good to leave something for our next trip!

Celebrities and Movie Stars

The island of Capri is just a short ferry ride into the Mediterranean Sea from Sorrento. We couldn't resist experiencing what has brought the rich and famous, for thousands of years, to this little spot in Italy. Although we didn't arrive on a yacht and the island was quietly off season, we had our moment of fame, vicariously, of course.

A colorful harbor welcomed us, with wooden row boats bobbing in it's bay.

The days highlight was taking a little row boat into the Blue Grotto. This was the Roman Emperors private bathing pool. We could understand why. The light shinned under the water, creating a mystically, beautiful turquoise, which caused the cave to glow.

We then went to the little town of Anacapri, which is on top of the island. We took a lift to the top to see the views of the sea. After zipping up huge mountain in Utah on six-pack lifts, the tiny single seats of this lift added to the fun for the kids. On top, the views were gorgeous. We explored the town and then climbed some of the 700 original stairs that were the only way to get to this little village until recently.

Afterward, we wandered around the lower town on this island. It had a quaint square with a line for the one gelato shop, upscale shops, a beautiful garden, lemon groves, an old monastery, and a perfume factory that invited us in to try their scents created from the original recipes found in the monastery.

While we waited for the ferry, we skipped rocks in the clear blue sea and combed the shore for pieces of Italian terra-cotta, smooth glass and the most unique rocks.

Day One

When I started planning our European road trip, I knew that I wanted to start in Pompeii. I wasn't planning on seeing anything else in the area, until my good friend and real life trip advisor, Roz, warned me not to stay in Naples, but rather to stay in Sorrento. Great advice! Sorrento is at the top of the Amalfi Coast, an area that I wasn't planning on visiting, but am so glad we did!

After our lost bag fiasco, we didn't arrive until after midnight. When we awoke the next morning, we realized that we were staying in the most charming bed and breakfast! Villa Concetta is set in a small orange garden, with an outdoor kitchen, an authentic brick oven for pizza and four comfortable rooms for our family. I loved the arched doorways and windows. Raffaelle, our host, squeezed fresh orange juice from his trees for us each morning while he advised us on where to explore.

On our first day of our adventure, we set out to explore our charming city. We fell in love with it's fresh markets, narrow passageways, pastel buildings, street cafes and beautiful harbor.

Driving south, we hugged the coast line, on a road that clung to the cliffs, zig zagging from one tiny Mediterranen village to another. Steve had been preparing our children for gelato ever since we booked our airline tickets. Their first experience was in the town of Amalfi. We walked into a little piazza and found a shop that had heaps of brightly colored ice cream in it's display windows. The kids still say that this was their favorite gelato stop. We also stopped into a church that is said to hold the scull of Andrew the Apostle. According to legend, the Crusaders brought it back from Jerusalem.

Driving south, we found the village of Ravello. This town that is said to be closer to the sky than the sea, is full of enchanting gardens, medieval villas, quite lanes and stunning views. We met an Irish man, who made the Amalfi Coast his home. Upon mentioning that we were looking for a hike, he pointed us in the direction of a path that circled the outer ridge of Ravello and then he wandered along with us. We wandered through gardens, past tiny churches and along sweeping views of the sea.

This was a highlight for me. At night we drove back to Sorrento for dinner in a local restaurant that Raffaello suggested. This was the perfect introduction of Italy!

Rio?

When we were instructed to leave our bags at the gate because the overhead bins were full, Steve quipped, "Make sure these bags say Rome, not Rio!" We arrived at the baggage claim to find all four bags lost. We stopped at H&M for the essentials and were on our way. Finally three of our bags made it to Italy. But Steve's could have taken a detour anywhere, even Rio. His arrived just in time to put it back on the plane for Steve's return trip to the United States.

A Different Landscape

After two months on the slopes of Utah, we turned in our skis for a nine passenger Renault van in Italy. Jonathan picked up black diamonds, with Emilie and Annelise not far behind. Sophia and Ezra, who were new to the sport, turned out to be fearless, barrelling down the mountains, with me trying to catch up from behind.

These days their focus has changed to Grazies and Ciaos and trying to recall all of the European history and culture lessons that we have been studying over the past few months. So far they are doing a good job.