South of Italy

Just two weeks ago I traveled with the program group to southern Italy. It was my first time to be in this area and I could definitely tell a difference. The first stop was in Naples (Napoli). The crime rate is higher here, so we were strictly instructed to be aware of our belongings and to not draw attention to ourselves (well, try our best…we do look like foreigners no matter what we do). We got a tour of Palazzo Reale there. It had fancy rooms, paintings and statues. Also we had some free time for lunch to try out the original pizza! I definitely had the best pizza in Italy here. The bread was thicker and the sauce and mozzarella cheese was so yummy!

During our long weekend trip we stayed near the coast in Sorrento. Our hotel restaurant overlooked the ocean and we got a great view of Mt. Vesuvius. Outside my window was the area where they grew lemons and oranges; the ones they gave us to eat. Lemons, and other citrus fruits, are prevalent here. The lemons were huge and some were bigger than coconuts! It was common to see every area of land being used to grow something. If a house had a small extra area, something was being grown there. The area here has a very Mediterranean feel.

The next day we went to visit the ruins of Pompeii. It was so sunny and warm! The ruins were awesome to walk through. They are still excavating. It was built in 9-8th century B.C. There were remains of a forum, houses, market areas, fast food places of the time, and theaters. The people in the city didn’t know that Mt. Vesuvius was a volcano until 79 A.D. when Vesuvius erupted covering the town with meters of ash within a few hours. That afternoon I went with a smaller group to climb the only active volcano on mainland Europe. The bus actually took us up a good part of the way, but it still was a workout walking up the sand-like steep mountain. I had a blast up there! The view was great and the volcano was fun to play around on!

Day 3 brought on a beautiful drive along the Amalfi Coast. I’ve never seen anything like this. It was completely picturesque. The cliffs were beautiful with the blue-clear water crashing into the coast. I honestly don’t thing I can describe it with justice! The windy, vespa sized road showed us charming white housed built into the cliffs. In Amalfi we visited a church and got some more free time to explore. The streets here were typical to many Italian towns and were small with lots of character. Colorful clothes were hanging from the windows and people had small lemon and fruit stands. Here I ate a seafood lunch and had swordfish and mussels. (very good!) I got to play in the crystal clear ocean for a little bit and see the cliffs up close. That evening a few friends and I watched the sunset over the coast in Sorrento.

On our way home the last day we stopped in Caserta to see La Reggia “The Versailles of Naples.” It was very similar to Versailles in France. The rooms were elegant and the gardens were beautiful too. It took a good 40 minutes to walk from the palace to the end of the gardens. Along the way were fountains and pools filled with fish. It was a very open area with plenty of grassy areas to rest in.

Southern Italy is a beautiful area and is a place I would love to go back too. I didn’t get to visit Capri or Ischia so maybe that will be on the itinerary for next time!