Sorrento, Amalfi and Pompeii

Sorrento, while a very busy resort town, still retains its amazing natural beauty in its cliffs, mountains and postcard views. It was to be our base for a few days, from which we could explore the famous Amalfi coast and wander around Pompeii. First we decided to visit Amalfi and began the day with easily the most picturesque public bus ride anywhere in the world. For a few Euro’s the local bus company will take you along the winding Amalfi coast to the picture perfect towns of Positano and Amalfi. Possibly more stunning than the Cinque Terre, the mix of massive steep cliffs, turquoise water and lush mountains makes this one of the most breathtaking coasts in Europe. Kelly, in her usual fashion (having seen it all before), promptly fell asleep and proceeded to softly head butt the window or me as the bus wound its way up and down the never ending switchbacks along the coastal road.

Stepping off our “air-conditioned” bus drenched in sweat we decided to head straight for the local beach. Having brought only my towel (a small tea towel sized blue thing I had picked up for a Euro in Spain) our options for sunbaking were limited. The beach, being composed of black stones, was way to hot to touch with any bare skin. So after a dip in the warm water we sat on the tiny towel drying in the hot sun. Temporarily cooled but now quickly heating up again we completed a speedy tour of Amalfi and jumped back on the bus to get to Positano, our lunch destination. After a great lunch and some time on the more spacious beach we lumbered back up the hill to get the bus home. The buses were clearly having some trouble as none came for at least an hour. When one finally did turn up it was already packed to the rafters. Not deterred by this problem the bus driver forced everyone back further down the isle and on we got. Standing like sardines we sweated and staggered as the bus hurtled back along the switchbacks headed for Sorrento. With an estimated 80 people on the bus we arrived, very relieved and only a little nauseated.

Next day we visited Pompeii and managed to snag a guided tour, which up until this point we had avoided. Getting thoroughly sick of the uninteresting and overpriced audio guides we instead paid a funny and knowledgably local to lead us around the formidably large archaeological site. Perhaps the most fascinating and macabre sights are the plaster casts of bodies in the very position they died as the town was engulfed in ash. Other top sights are the recently restored (but not operational) brothel with pictures of the services on offer on the walls and the bakery with its very own wood-fire oven (also not operational but clearly a business opportunity in the offing).

We finished our days in Sorrento with a relaxing day next to the pool of our hotel. The Michael Jackson memorial service was screening live on CNN at 7PM so we headed out early for dinner and picked up a bottle of Limoncello to console ourselves. Whatever you think of the man and his music he has undoubtedly given a lot to the world through charity and his work on songs like “We are the Children”, essentially the precursor to the Live Aid campaign.