Kusadasi
Kusadasi Ephesus, Virgin Mary, & Basilica of St. John One of the stops on the cruise was a city called Kusadasi. Unlike Istanbul, I had never heard of this city before but I’m so glad I got the opportunity to tour some of the amazing …
Tag: Travel Blog
Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius
Pompeii
Pompeii was such a crazy experience for me. I have never seen something like this in all my travels. I don’t know much about this city (besides the obvious, of course), but I found it very exciting as well as heartbreaking.
Seeing those people and animals frozen to stone made me feel a little emotional. When I learn about history like this in school I don’t think much of it. I just see it as a lesson on the exam, and a place I will probably never go to. But now, after having gone to Pompeii and Vesuvius, I have completely changed how I look at these places. The best way to learn the history of a country is to go to those places and walk on the same paths where history took place. That’s something I really love about Europe in general. I could walk on almost any street and the history we learn about in textbooks probably took place right where I’m walking.
It makes me wonder why in American school we only have the option to go to a different country for a field trip in our language classes. I guess because it’s expensive and a liability for the school… but I believe even history classes should go on international trips. It will make students retain information in a much deeper way.
A little history lesson from my travel pamphlet: “On the morning of August 24th, 79 AD a deadly cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius overtook the Roman city of Pompeii, engulfing the city in suffocating black clouds and catching the prosperous residents by surprise. Mere hours after the eruption, stately buildings, works of art, and human bodies were sealed in hardened casts of ash; these natural tombs would remain undisturbed for centuries.
Since excavation efforts began in 1748, archeologists continually turn up new discoveries in their ongoing mission to understand the daily life in the Roman era. Pompeii today is Italy’s most popular tourist attraction, receiving over 1.5 million visitors every year.”
Mount Vesuvius
Travel Tips:
-Pompeii/Vesuvius is a large site with lots of walking/hiking; wear comfortable shoes.
-Large purses, backpacks, & wheeled carts are not recommended or permitted in Pompeii.
-Bring a hat, water, and sunscreen if you go in Summer.
–Since there isn’t many places to protect you from the rain, bring an umbrella if you go in winter.
–Always watch your belongings!
Apparently, I was risking my life for this picture. My friends and I hopped the fence around the volcano to take better pictures. See that opening in the photo above? Yeah, that is the inside of the volcano. Thank God we didn’t slip and fall into the volcano! Not sure if we would have slide all the way into lava or if it is enclosed with rocks and ash, but i’m glad I didn’t find out.
If you find yourself in the Sorrento or Naples area, I highly recommend making a day trip to Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. Go with a tour so they can explain to you what the different buildings are in Pompeii. Or else you may get bored looking at a bunch of stones and not knowing what they were for.
Here are some tours with great reviews:
From Naples: Pompeii Ruins and Mount Vesuvius Day Tour
From Rome: Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius Full-Day Trip
From Amalfi Coast: Pompeii and Vesuvius Full-Day Tour
From Sorrento (what I did): Pompeii and Vesuvius Tour
If you have any questions, I would love to answer them in the comments.
-Ayla♥
Affiliate links may have been used in this post.
Sorrento & Capri
Remember my travel diary about the Amalfi Coast? Well, the day before I went to Positano and Amalfi I was on the Island of Capri. Infamous for being the luxury vacation spot for the rich and famous. Since staying in a hotel on the island …
Positano & Amalfi
While on my adventures through Italy, I was able to travel to a few beautiful beach towns. Last week was Cinque Terre. This week I thought we could discuss Positano and Amalfi.
It was Spring so the water was too cold to bring crowds of people to the beaches. This is wonderful since crowds can make it difficult to enjoy the place you’re visiting. However, we were packed into a bus like a can of sardines going from Positano to Amalfi. Not my favorite way to travel, but if you plan to go to Italy for months or even weeks, you better get used to the adventure that is Italian public transit.
Positano
No Italian was swimming in the water. While the Americans were jumping in the water using bras, underwear, and scarves as bathing suits. I am not kidding. Americans can stick out like a sore thumb in Italy. Did I mention they also brought boxed wine to beach? No? Well, they did that too. What can I say? We like to enjoy ourselves everywhere we go.
I decided to do as the Italians do, I suppose. Sit on the beach fully clothed, then walk around the shops.
Positano had a lot of cute small shops. The clothing was all so beachy with its pastel colored lace and loose fit. I thought about buying something, but decided I probably won’t find myself wearing that particular style of clothing very often. See-through clothing isn’t my thing.
SHOPPING TIP: It’s a good idea to look at a clothing item before buying it and imagine where you will wear it. If you can’t imagine wearing it to something or some place you will be going to in the next 5 months, take it out of your shopping cart.
To get to the beach in Positano, you have to walk down a lot of steps. I mean A LOT. Not joking in the slightest bit. Everyone’s caves started twitching before we got to the bottom. But once we saw the view of this gorgeous town from the steps, we knew it was worth it.
After spending a few hours at the beach, and looking at all the cute shops, we climbed up the hill to the bus stop. The bus ordeal to get to Amalfi was a nightmare. First, we had to wait at the bus stop for an hour and a half. This was time we could have spent at the beach. Right before the bus came, groups of people started arriving to also wait for the bus. When the bus finally arrived, it was already half full! People who had just arrived and only waited 5 or so minutes tried to get on the bus before everyone else who had already been waiting for an hour. Do people like this have no compassion? Only care about themselves?? I can’t relate.
In the end, my friends and I squeezed on the bus…Standing in the middle of the aisles all the way to Amalfi.
Amalfi
Besides this Cathedral, a few gelato places, and a restroom that cost a euro to get into, I did not see much in Amalfi.
-Ayla
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre was absolutely adorable. Such a cute and fun place to see and take pictures. It’s not necessarily exciting like Rome, where there is always fun things happening. But it is a great weekend destination to take photos and relax. I wasn’t able to go …