June 15: finally the day that we got to venture out of Rome for a few days. We woke up early, got ready and packed, went downstairs, and then we all went to the Termini so we could catch a train out to Napoli. We got a fast train to Napoli around nine in the morning. Even though we all enjoyed how fast the train was, I am sure we all wished that it was longer so we could take a longer nap. When we arrived in Napoli, things looked different immediately. Compared to Rome, the city was dirtier, smellier, there was garbage everywhere, there were more young families and there were more overweight people. It was obvious that there was a lot more poverty there than in Rome. After we got lost, went to the hotel and put our things down, and got lost again we finally made it to the train station (another one, not the same one we arrived at) and met the archeologist. We took a 45 minute train ride out to Pompeii. Once we were out in Pompeii, we went to a house that was being excavated by archeologists. I think that the most interesting things that were in the house were fresco's that were still in such good condition. These were much larger and better preserved than others that we had seen. It is amazing to think about how old they are but are still in such good condition.
After we looked around this house, we went into the actual city of Pompeii. Pictures courtesy of google images:
Pompeii is a Roman city and is partially buried because it was destroyed and completely buried when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. No one discovered Pompeii again until 1749.
The part I remember the best is the places that served soup. We saw two different places that people would go to and get their soup, this was usually for the poor. I thought this was really cool because when you think back to ancient times, you never really think of them having restaurant places.
After we walked around Pompeii for a while, we took the train back to Napoli, stopped at a bank, got dinner, then returned to the hotel.
June 16: Blue Capri. We as a group decided as a group to wake up fairly early, so we would have the whole day to spend at the beach. After we all were ready, we walked to the port so we could take a ferry out to Capri. Once we got there, most of us immediately bought tickets and went on another smaller boat so we could go to the blue grado. When we got back, about an hour and a half later, we students go a bite to eat and then went to the beach and spent the rest of the time on the island there. It was so much fun just relaxing and being there together. Unfortunately, after our lovely day at the beach, Lauren got attacked by a man on a vespa who tried to mug her. (We are all happy you're okay Lauren!)
June 17: Because of the events of the night before, none of us felt safe in Napoli anymore. Our professors and Dominica (as well as other students) did such a good job handling the situation, and we were able to get train tickets out of Napoli (to Rome) early in the day instead of waiting for night.
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