Dave & Meredith’s Travel Blog

We used Sorrento as a base for our day trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as Positano on the Amalfi coast. We got to come back to the wonderfully friendly town of Sorrento each night. Yes, it’s touristy, and I *loved* it. One night we ate dinner a fuori (outside) and a musical trio consisting of an accordian, a guitar and an upright bass played the hit parade of Italian and Italian-American songs (they even threw in “When the Saints Go Marching In” for some reason). It was cheesy and fantastic.

I have done some research for the trip online, and there’s a traveller’s message board I have used for tips, accomodation reviews, etc. One person posted a negative comment about staying in Sorrento as a base for Pompeii and Herculaneum, because they were “disgusted” by the toursty kitch of Sorrento. They said that they would never recommend staying there if you were “well educated and sophisticated” (the implication was that the person who posted this was both of these things). He or she just sounded like a snob to me who didn’t know how to embrace the atmosphere and have a good time. I delighted in the fact that this “well educated and sophisticated” person had a grammatical error in his or her post.

On Wednesday, we took the public SITA bus from Sorrento to Positano on a twisty, turny, “white knuckle” ride along the cliffs of the Amalfi coast. Positano was a beautiful town in a beautiful setting. We spent a lazy day walking around town, sitting in cafes, enjoying snacks, coffee, wine and lunch by the beach. And we might have eaten gelato twice, but who’s counting?

Here are some great pictures Dave took of Positano:

- Meredith

We went to Pompeii and Herculaneum in one action-packed day trip from our hotel in Sorrento. As we walked among the incredibly well preserved villas, apartments, bars, and temples of people who lived (and died) almost 2000 years ago, I found myself saying over and over again, “Wow, this is so amazing!”. I said it so often, that I got tired of hearing it, but every time I promised I would say something more descriptive and/or demonstrative that I have *some* grasp of basic English vocabulary words, I’d see something that blew me away, and out would come those words again.

For example, when I saw THE ACTUAL “Cave Canem” mosaic in Pompeii that I’ve seen in books, I opened my mouth and said, “wow, this is so amazing!”. Same thing when I saw incredibly well preserved statues, frescoes, clay jars, graffiti, etc. You get the idea. Below are some great pictures Dave took of some of the sights in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. We didn’t do either site justice by going to both in one day, but I did do myself and Dave a favor by limiting my incessant chant of “Wow, this is so amazing!” to only one day.

For those with delicate eyes, you’ll want to avoid the pictures of the frescoes found in the brothel in Pompeii, as well as the fresco found in the entryway of a villa showing a man weighing his schwanz on one side of a balance (there’s a money bag on the other side of the scale). For those of you who *don’t* have a delicate temperament, make sure you check out the frescoes found in the brothel in Pompeii as well as the one from the villa with the man weighing his schwanz on a scale.

THE Actual “Cave Canem” Mosaic in Pompeii

A view of Herculaneum with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

A beautifully preserved mosaic in Herculaneum

Statues from a Bath in Pompeii

Looking down a Pompeii Street with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

Pompei Mosaic of Birds

Fresco from a Pompei Villa (Schwanz on a Scale)

Fresco from a Pompeii Brothel

Fresco from a Pompeii Brothel: Canem Style

- Meredith

Here is the view from our window in Sorrento (such as it is):

The place we’re staying is really great, but no view. We are about a 5 minute walk from the seaside, and a 10 minute walk from the center of town. And at 30 Euros per person per night, who cares that we overlook a wall?

- Meredith