Ciao, Massa.

We are leaving today, to go to Rome. I feel like I have been here for weeks, and it has only been four days. The things that we have seen have changed my life, they really have. Pompei was...unbelievable. The food in Napoli, and just getting to be there at all. Capri and Positano yesterday...it is nigh unto impossible for me to describe how amazing it was to go to those places last night. Laura has been the kindest hostess that has ever lived. Every morning we would wake up to find our breakfast set out for us, and every night we would come home to find our dirty clothes washed and folded on our bed. I actually had a tear in my eye once because of it. Italian love is an epic thing. (Last night, she also admitted to me in hushed secrecy that she owns a Gucci bag. "Ah, I LOVE the bags!")

Here she is, the gorgeous Laura Esposito...just look at those eyes.

Laura and her Father and her sister, Gabriela. Gabriela's daughter, Erika. And one other girl whose name I cannot remember. And Kath.


Ahhhh...Massa Lubrense is outside, that is the ACTUAL town that we have been staying in, it is one cove over from Sorrento. The residents here lovingly refer to is simply as "Massa" or "Paradiso." It is one of the most peaceful places that I have ever had the privilege of staying in. The people here still work with garden tools that their ancestors worked with five centuries ago...it is surreal. I saw one of the people working with one of the ancient hoes yesterday...it was like going back in time.

One view from Laura's balcony...where you can hear the bells.


Time is different here.
Time is different here.

Positano

Our first view of Positano, coming on the boat from Capri. MM-hm, yeah, this is where I live.

Dee Boat.

View From the bus stop.


SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GEORGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSS!!!!!! I sang in the square there tonight.

Waiting for the bus to take us back to Sorrento...

Capri

The most beautiful island I have ever seen.

When Kath and I got there, we really didn't know where exactly everything was, we hopped a bus thinking we were going to see the cliffs and where we ended up being dropped off was the most AMAZING secluded beach...almost a private beach. With the most blue/turquoise water I had ever seen in my whole life (see above picture, that is the ACTUAL COLOR of the water, no color enhancement whatsoever). We felt kind of posh. :)

My Orange...


BEAUTIFUL Houses.

Lunch; this pizza ties for first place with anything we have had so far. Ah, and the caprese...*sigh*

So very, very cool.

This one's for you, Mom. :)

The OTHER side of the island, where we thought we were going at first.

Gorgeous houses. Such tiny, little, winding streets...

Beautiful.

Kath and I had just come from the famous perfume shop of Capri, "Carthusia." My Mom wanted us to get her one of their six world famous scents, "Fiori Di Capri", I got one for me, too. It smells so gorgeous everywhere you go here. The Island of Capri has been making perfumes since the 1600's, it's the monks who made them. So incredible.

That's the old Monestary you can see there.

Pillars of the Monestary.

What a view...Capri has blown my mind.

This gorgeous ship was coming in just as we were leaving, I will never forget turning back, and seeing it sailing into the sunset...and into the harbor of Capri.

Saying goodbye to Capri, and the perfect day.

Torna Sorrento

I sang that song tonight, in the town square of Sorrento, in front of a large crowd. I have been singing it for eight years, and now, after finally getting to see this almost mythical place...I finally understand what the song really means. You have never seen so many lemon groves in your life. And the blossoms fill the air with a mist of fragrance.

Uh...it really IS true, everyone has a scooter here.

Can I get a lemon wedge for my water...?

Neapolis

Kath and I went to Napoli (Naples) today and whoa...I am lucky that I am alive. The people there don't stop at lights...they consider them to be more like guidelines rather than rules of traffic. It is the most New York like city that I have been to in Europe, people yelling at each other from widows down to fellow passersby.




We ate at the most famous pizzaria in Napoli, "Pizzaria Michele", they make reportedly the best pizza in Italy, and by extension, the world.

These famous ovens make some amazing pizza...



And we had sfogliatelli, the Italian version of baklava. It is the one place in the world that serves them hot.



We also went to the Museum of Napoli, to see more of the artifacts of Pompei, it was cool.

I saw this statue there and laughed my head off. Ah-hah-hah-hah-hah!!!! "You are SOOOOOOOOOO lame, George."

IMAGES FROM THE NAPOLITANO SUBWAY



Today was surreal. Everything was amazing. Napoli is intense, though...I am glad to be back in safe, beautiful Sorrento.
Jeanne

Pompei

I have one word...Pompei.












Kath was having WAYYYYYY too much fun. :)(I mean waaaaaaaaaaayyyyy...)








After we had been walking in the sweltering heat of Pompei for more than eight hours I swear I heard a choir start singing when we came out of the excavation grounds and saw this orange juice/lemonade stand. And who should I see there waiting in line for a cold one, too? None other than the infamous Professor Caldiero. He was there with some students taking a tour of Italy. The chances of that are beyond calculation.
*Taken by Kath*