Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii

Its been difficult trying to access the internet here. On the ship connection was slow and here in Barcelona we´ve been told that there are sometimes problems with Macs. Will try to keep writing and publish when we are connected.


A tour: all three in one day. Just a tease so we have to come back. Our crazy Italian guide Luca was a trip. He made sure we were the first on the hydrofoil (“Sit by the door so we can get out right away.”), and the first up the funicular so we wouldn’t have to wait for the other hoards of cruise ship tourists. Capri is stunning. In fact the whole coast is stunning. We had lunch in Sorrento. The views from those cliffs must be amazing. Had a quick walk, and then jumped on a bus to Pompeii. It probably would have been smarter to do this in the morning…the heat was brutal. According to Luca, things are deteriorating quickly so it’s a good thing one third of it has not yet been uncovered. It was a bit different than what I expected…not really like the pics. The only bodies we saw were 2 enclosed in glass cases. Luca spent most of the time pointing out the phalluses and discussing the houses of ill repute. He thinks he was born in the wrong time.
Unlike the previous stops, no cats here just lots and lots of stray dogs.

Venice

What a treat to wake up just as we arrive in Venice and see Piazza San Marco from the ship. I had to grab the camera and run up on deck. This truly is a fantastic perspective. Usually we are taking pictures from inside the square and you can’t quite feel the magnitude of the place.
The ship docked very close to the vaporetto stop so we headed out early. Last time we were here we didn’t have a chance to visit the Doge’s Palace so that was first on out agenda. It was beyond our expectations and you can only imagine the power Venice had at that time, not to mention the parties.
It’s always good to wander around in Venice and that’s just what we did. The ship stayed in port overnight and of course we had dinner in a great little restaurant called Di Angelos. I had a fried beef dish with a red sauce (sounded awful, but it was the special and delicious). Raf had the squid in black ink pictured below.
When the ship was leaving we reserved a section at the top of the ship where we would get a great view going out. The pool band only played Caribbean music so Raf pulled out the iPod and speakers, plugged them in on the deck and we departed listening to the most beautiful Baroque music.