Sorrento/Pompei/Amalfi Coast

After a tough morning catching trains out of Rome to Naples, and then from Naples onto Sorrento, we were pleased at our choice for accommodation - A campground called Santa Fortuna, 5mins outside of Sorrento. We checked into our large tent and went exploring around the campground. It was a beautiful setting on the side of the hills, with the grounds running all the way down to the water. We walked past the pool and headed on past the fitness centre (a small room with a treadmill, weights etc), which has probably the best view of any fitness centre than I could imagine as it looked out over the blue mediterranean water and across to Mt Vicuvius. But we clambered down the steps further to find the beach, and to our surprise we had an awesome little spot for swimming. It wasnt a beach as such, but was a rocky enclave with a roped off swimming area equiped with a lifeguard, a snack bar (with Peronis for 2 Euro!) and floating plastic lilos. It was an awesome way to start our time in Sorrento, and the most relaxed I had felt in ages. 

Another great part of the campground was the restaurant which we went to on the first night. To start we had a 3Euro cocktail which was pretty heavy duty, and then had a one of the local specialties - a local Gnocchi pasta dish, which was amazing as well.

The next day we headed off to Pompeii. Pompeii was a city that was buried under the rubble of ash and remnants of the eruption of Mt Vicuvius. It was another piece of incredible architecture and design considering the time when it was built. The city was so well designed and spread out with rows of houses, 2 amphitheaters, churches, piazzas, and a sports area (that was also used as propaganda for military training of young boys). The excavation and the detail of the ruins was similar to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, with probably less religious significance. Considering the eruption was in BC, it seemed as though it could have been much later given how 'fresh' it all seemed. After visiting Pompeii we loaded up on some of the tasty pastries that the Italian bakeries have, and called it a day.

That night I had planned on watching the Germany v Brazil world cup game, and said to Louise I would head up just after it started. About 5mins in we heard a massive cheer from the Restaurant (where a busload of young Germans were watching), and realised it must be 1-nil. Then there was another cheer, and another, and another. So I quickly checked the halftime score to see it was 5nil, and decided to call in early for the night. Fortunately though I was able to check out hte Argentina v Netherlands game, and was stoked to see the Argentinians pick up the victory. 

The stunning Amalfi Coast was the next next stop, and we got up early to again catch the public buses to the first little town on the coast called Positano. The roads from Sorrento and along the Amalfi Coast are very narrow (you can barely fit 2 cars if you edged past), but the bus drivers have no worries flying around the bends even with the oncoming traffic of other buses, cars, and scooters. I unfortunately had to stand on the public bus and felt crook within a few minutes of leaving. I was able to hang in there, but it wasnt the best bus ride ive ever been on especially with the dozens of hairpin turns. and dodging of other vehicles.

Positano and Amalfi are famous for their Italian villas and houses that are situated on the hillside (see cliffside) that looks out over the blue Mediterranean water. The towns have lots of little alleyways with shops, markets, and eateries. We spent most of the day wandering and stopping only to eat great pizza, and drink coffee.
Our big adventure for the day started when the ferries back to Sorrento were cancelled because of rough seas, so we had to take a bus back along the windy roads again. We still had a public bus ticket to use, but it was chaos trying to get on the buses as everyones pushing and fighting for a seat. But I went and asked the siteseeing bus if they had any spare seats and how much it would be to upgrade to their bus, I was expecting it to be plenty of Euros, but it ended up only being 4Euros each! So for the chaos and hassle of the other buses, it was an easy decision.

I was sad to leave the campground at Sorrento as it was such a unique and fun place to base ourselves, but time to head off to the island of Ischia for a few days to treat ourselves, and celebrate Louises birthday.