Amalfi Coast

Friday was one of the days I was most looking forward to.  It was the day we ported at the Amalfi Coast, one of the most beautiful areas of Italy!  Our plan for the day included a bus trip to a small farm and have a demonstration on the making of mozzarella cheese and olive oil.  The road to the farm was unbelievably gorgeous.  Beautiful old buildings were nestled in the lush green mountains, all with a stunning view of the sea below.  

When we arrived at the farm, the owners were there to greet us and to show us the ins and outs of how to make delicious homemade mozzarella cheese.  They use the milk from their cattle on site and use both the curd and the whey to make two different kinds of cheeses.  It was only minutes before the cheese was made and we had the opportunity to taste it along with some fresh tomatoes, farm-cured salami, crusty bread with farm-pressed olive oil, and of course, some wine.  It's amazing how tasty this simple plate of food was.  High quality, home-grown food sure tastes good!

The olive oil press

They had an assortment of cured meats hanging from the ceiling in the cellar.

After our food tasting, we had a few minutes to wander around the farm.  We visited the chickens and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  One thing that I noticed is that they had a variety of different kinds of fruit and olive trees, but they all grew together instead of it only being an orange grove or a lemon grove like we would see in the States. There were lemon trees, olive trees, and orange trees all growing together and producing beautiful fruit.  This area was also known especially for producing Limoncello from the lemon crop.  

Our next stop on our tour was the city of Sorrento.  We first went into a Cameo shop, where they carve beautiful Cameo jewelry out of sea shells.  It is quite amazing to see the many designs and the detail that went into each piece.  Once we finished there, we headed out into the streets of Sorrento to do a little shopping and sightseeing.  Once again, the views were simply stunning.

We didn't have a lot of time so before we knew it we were off to our final stop on our tour, Pompeii.  The city was built sometime around the 6th century BC and was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  The entire city was buried under 15-20 feet of volcanic ash, causing most of the people to perish.  Before we arrived I expected the city to be rather small and for the ruins to be in terrible shape.  I mean, they're thousands of years old and were covered by volcanic ash, right?  I was shocked to see how huge and complex the city was.  There was an amphitheatre, a gymnasium, a brothel, and temples to various Roman gods.  It was fascinating, but it was SO HOT.  It was 100 degrees and still, with no breeze, and we were on the side of a mountain with no shade.  We were so hot and sweating so terribly that it was so hard to focus and listen to our guide. 

Icarus by Mitoraj in Pompeii's forum

I think we were actually melting.

Mount Vesuvius

Hermanos

Gymnasium

Gymnasium

Original frescos inside a temple

Temple ceiling

These stepping stones allowed pedestrians to cross the streets, while allowing the sewage and water drainage to run down.  You can also see the ruts in the road from the horse drawn carts.  

A borrowed picture, but one that gives an idea of the size of the city with Mt Vesuvius in the background.

It was a really neat place to explore; I just wish the weather would've cooperated more.  It was so hot that I don't feel like we were able to truly soak in all of the history of this unique place.  Even still, our day on the Amalfi Coast was wonderful and it truly is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.