First Travel Break: Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri

On the dreary Monday morning of May 27, 2013, Katie, Amanda, and I set out on our first travel break together. We did not know what adventures, lessons, and experiences that were awaiting us the next few days, but after the long week we had just experienced we were more than excited to set out on our own journey. The three of us girls were in route to Sorrento where we would visit also visit Capri and Pompeii.

Our nauseating bus ride got us into Arezzo a little after twelve o’clock. We had just enough time to activate our rail passes and grab lunch before our train left for Rome at one o’clock. As we waited in line to get our rail passes activated we were confronted with our first cultural barrier. The lady behind the help desk did not speak any English; therefore, when Amanda and I handed her our rail passes she had no idea what to do. Luckily, Katie happened to go to another teller where who to our advantage spoke English and knew how to activate a rail pass. The hardest part of living and trying to travel around Italy is the communication barrier. It is so hard to express what you need or want when you cannot connect in a common language. I know that it is so frustrating when I am trying to communicate to an Italian in another language that is often unfamiliar to them. However, until the moment at the train station I had not thought of how they must have felt and are feeling. Every Italian that I have asked for help or directions has tired their hardest to help me, so it is not like they do not want to help. So, when they cannot help us because they do not understand what we are asking and we do not know how to communicate, I would assume that they feel somewhat embarrassed and frustrated. From this recollection I have learned that I am not the only one feeling the consequences of the language barrier. During this process, we also realized that we would need to upgrade our train tickets because we were getting on a faster train. I did not mind paying three euros at all if that meant our travel time would be faster. After we ate lunch in the cafe at the train station, we found our way to platform three to wait for our train’s departure.

After boarding our train, we found our way to our seat which to our surprise was a nice little cabin. Thankfully no one else was seated in our cabin, so we were able to stretch out and relax on our ride to Rome. Our nice relaxing ride got a little hectic when arrived at the Rome station. Since we had to upgrade our trains on the first ride, we assumed that our second train would also require an upgrade. We were not surprised when we check the departure boards and found this to be true. Upgrading the tickets was a lot harder in Rome than it was in Arezzo. As we searched through the train terminal for help, we found ourselves in a very long line with only fifteen minutes to our train’s departure. My nerves were getting the best of me and all I could think about was missing our train which would put the whole travel schedule behind. My mind was racing with all the work and configurations I had down with the two different train systems I had to use and then the bus schedule timetable. All of these things that I had no access to anymore due to my lack of Wi-Fi. In pure desperation, I searched the train station to the closest employee and asked him if we could upgrade our tickets using the kiosk. Thankfully, we were able to use them to upgrade our ticket and were once again on our way.

Once we arrived in Naples, I would find true all the warnings and horrors of the train station. As we made our way down the local train depart, we found ourselves surrounded by beggars and other who came across as quite scary. The train we took to Sorrento from Naples was covered from top to bottom with colorful graffiti. There was no way that the number of people on the train was under the maximum capacity. Katie, Amanda and I found ourselves crammed in a small corner of the train, standing for the fifty minute ride. I was more than happy when I heard the announcement saying that we had reached our final destination of Sorrento. We all pilled out of the train and headed for our taxi ride to our hostel.

Because of the long distance we traveled and our late arrival to Sorrento, we had no option but to take a taxi to our hostel. Little did I know that seven kilometers was a forty minute drive. As we rode down the curvy roads toward our hostel we got further and further away from Sorrento and civilization. When we finally reached our hostel, I was not very happy. Although it is embarrassing to admit now, I kind of went on a rant. There was no cell phone service which I found to be quite sketchy. I also felt like I was in some part of Mexico because all of the cottages were painted bright colors. We made our way to our little cottage which was actually kind cute. 

There was a kitchen, sitting area, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. One bedroom had a king bed in it which we used to put all of our bag. The second bedroom had three twin beds in it which we slept. After we got acquainted with our cottage that we would spend the next three days, we headed down to the restaurant to eat dinner. The restaurant was really good, but my feeling with the hostel was still not that great. Back at the hostel, I tried to go to sleep with an open mind about our next day’s adventures in Pompeii and Sorrento.

Tuesday morning I woke up with an open attitude as we boarded the nine o’clock bus to Sorrento. After we got into Sorrento, we found a nice pastry shop to dine in for breakfast. In the corner of the counter display, I spotted a huge sugar covered donut. The donut and coke light was a great start to the day! Back at the train station, we boarded our train to Pompeii. When we got to Pompeii we were swarmed with tourist attractions, but we found our way past those to the real attraction.

After we purchased our tickets into Pompeii, we head into ruins of the once civilization. As weird as it may seem, it was so amazing to see a glimpse of what the Roman town was like before the volcanic eruption. It was so astonishing to think that the town was so preserved after such a traumatic event. There were so many people walking around the Pompeii that felt as if we were the new civilization. I wonder how it must have felt that day to see the smoke and ash filling the air. I cannot imagine the feeling of worry and concern that must have overflowed through the community. After doing a little reading, I found out that only 2,000 people were killed from the eruption itself. The death total seems quite small compared to the other natural disasters that have plagued the world in my lifetime, but I must remember that times were different back then. I wonder if these people, along with other civilizations, had some type of warning system. I would like to assume that the presence of the volcanic ash and the earth trembles they would have known something was to follow. However, I must also ask myself if these things were common to the volcano; therefore, the plume of smoke and ash was nothing to be afraid of.

As we continued to walk through the ruins, we came upon a caged in artifact area with pottery, pieces of columns, tables, and a few bodies. The pottery and other everyday pieces of life resembled those of the present day. All of the preserved artifacts were fascinating. However, there was one particular body that still haunts me. The body seemed to be that of a man in a position that resembled a man praying. His knees were pulled into his body and his hands were pulled together in front of his face. It was a very haunting thought that swept my mind, I couldn't help but wonder if the man was praying for help. Since the Romans believe in the Greek god’s I believe he must have been calling on the god’s to help him during his suffering and to help the others around him. Pompeii left a dreary and heart wrenching thought in my mind. It was a mix of emotions and wonder. I could never contemplate the feelings of those who experienced the tragedy that day nor could I come to any solution about what I would have done in the final moments.

After leaving the city walls of Pompeii, we found a outdoor cafe with Wi-Fi which made us all more than excited. As we ate our lunch, we checked up on all that was happening on social media and made plans for the rest of the afternoon. When we had gotten off the train earlier in the morning, we had seen advertisements for bus rides up Mt. Vesuvius. We were all on board with the idea of climbing a volcano. I mean how many times do you get to climb up a active volcano and look into its crater? Not many. So, after we finished lunch we headed back to the train station to find out more information of the Mt. Vesuvius trip. Sadly, we were not able to take the bus trip because it was a three hour trip and we needed to be back in Sorrento by six. Although it didn't work out, we still kept our hopes up and took the train back into Sorrento to spend the rest of the afternoon looking in shops.

Once we arrived back in Sorrento, we were graced with warm weather and beautiful skies. We made our way from the bus station with high hopes of the novelties we would find. Sorrento is so beautiful and colorful. The air smelled of fresh pastries, gelato, lemon, and the ocean. After wondering in a few shops, we found ourselves inside of a painted glass shop. An elderly man ran the shop and was so proud of all the glassware he had in his little shop. He knew every detail about the color, design, style, and artist who painted the glassware and dishes. All of the pieces were absolutely beautiful. I could tell how much time the painter spent on each piece, making sure that no detail was left out. For some reason the atmosphere of the shop and the passion the elderly man reminded me of the southern hospitably in the south. Even though we were confronted with a slight language barrier, I could feel the welcoming and care the man took toward his customers and his shop. It is so nice to know that you can find reminders of home even when you thousands of miles way.

Along the streets of Sorrento, we found ourselves surrounded by the fragrant smell of lemons. Little did we know that the Sorrento was famous for their limoncello productions. It seemed as if there was a limoncello factory around every corner. After a long day we made our way back to our hostel, were would be adventurous enough to cook dinner!

On Wednesday we woke up early and took a boat ride to Capri! Other than the sea being rough, the forty minute trip to Capri was absolutely beautiful. The shallow water was such a beautiful and clear blue.

Once we arrived on the island, we made our way to a cute little pastry shop where I devoured an extra large sugar donut and a diet coke. As we began walking around Capri we found ourselves stuck in the mist of some very nice shops that aren't exactly in a study abroad student’s budget. Therefore, we took a bus to Anacapri which was a more touristy part of the island. There were many shops similar to the shops in Sorrento. They were all filled with painted glass, linen clothing, and limoncello. As we had been instructed to by our professor, we purchased tickets and headed to the chairlift. The chairlift took us up to the highest peak of Capri. Along the ride we were able to see the island for all it’s beauty. Our chairlift experience was interrupted the cloud we found ourselves in as we reached the top. 

Nevertheless, the view and ride was a great experience. After the chairlift, we found our way to a restaurant that just so happened to serve cheeseburgers. I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally get my hands on a good ole cheeseburger.

After our late lunch, we made our way back to the marina to continue our tour back around the island and head back to our little cottage for the night. The next morning, we woke up super early to make our way back to Sansepolcro!