Pompeii and Overnight Ferry to Greece

On the morning of July 5^th we left Sorrento and made our way over to Pompeii. Pompeii is an ancient Roman city, which was destroyed by the volcano Vesuvius in 79 AD. The eruption covered the city with lava, rock and ash, preserving the Roman city extremely well. The ruins of Pompeii show theaters, marketplaces, temples, stores and houses, all very well preserved from their construction before 79 AD.
The gate to the city:

All the columns and structures are originals from before 79 AD, except for the statue, which was placed there after excavations began in 1748.


Since the volcano blast happened so fast, people were unable to rush to safety, and almost everyone died. Bodies covered in hardened volcanic lava were found in their original positions.
A crouching body:

Body of a person lying down and covering their face, protecting it from the ash and lava:

We also saw the ruins of the Roman baths. I remember learning about all the different rooms and procedures of Roman baths in my 4^th year Engineering History class, and it was so interesting to walk through the ruins of what used to be a real Roman bath! The Roman baths were a sort of “spa”, where the men and women were separated. They went through a series of rooms, some for cooling off, some for heating up, others for relaxing, and they always had a beautiful garden in the middle.
Some photos from the baths:



It’s incredible to see all the structures so well preserved after almost 2000 years! The whole layout of the town is visible, and we were able to walk through the streets. On either side of the narrow Roman roads we could see the ruins of what used to be shops and houses, divided up into individual units.



We went inside the ruins of what used to be a very large house, and saw 2000 year old frescos on the walls:

We were able to see the ruins of a brothel, where male and female prostitutes were available for service. A sort of graphic “menu” of services was displayed on the walls in the frescos:

Beds were provided for convenience:

It was so interesting to walk through the streets of what used to be a Roman city almost 2000 years ago. Actually, the ruins of Pompeii were one of the key locations providing historians vast amounts of knowledge of the lives of ancient Romans.
From Pompeii we drove to the city of Brindisi, on the Adriatic Sea, to board our ferry “hotel” for our overnight trip to the Island of Corfu, in Greece.
The ferry reception looked just like a hotel, and we were all given room keys to small rooms with ensuite bathrooms. The ferry had a restaurant, a bar, a sitting area, and a top deck. We spent our 8 hour, overnight ferry ride hanging out in the numerous areas and finally attempting to sleep in the rather uncomfortable beds. Unfortunately I took no photos of the inside of the ferry.
We arrived in Greece at 5am the next morning completely exhausted from the trip, and were able to witness the most beautiful sunrise:

We were ready and excited to begin our adventure in Greece!

Sorrento and the Island of Capri

On July 3^rd, we set off bright and early to drive from Rome to the city of Sorrento. The drive was about 4 hours, and it was just beautiful!! The view from the bus was incredible, as we did part of the drive right next to the water.

Once we arrived in Sorrento we had time to explore the very cute city. It is known for its production of Limoncello, which is a lemon liquor. We all had a chance to try it out at a limoncello production store, and it’s pretty good!!
Since Sorrento isn’t a very large city, it was easy to walk around by foot, and I spent a few hours checking out the shops and eating delicious gelato!
That night we had dinner at a very nice restaurant overlooking the sea. The view from our table was so pretty:

That night we woke up to a very unpleasant and disturbing surprise in our hotel room. My 2 roommates and I were fast asleep in the middle of the night when we heard loud banging on our door. We decided not to answer the door for safety reasons. A few minutes later we heard a key in the lock, the door opened, the light turned on, and a man peeped his head in!! We were all shocked!! He then started questioning us about whether we had changed rooms and how we got this room, etc., and to top things off, he then let another man into the room to search for his football. Apparently this other man was a guest at the hotel and had our room before us and he had left his football in the room. When we didn’t answer his loud banging, he asked the front desk to let him into our room (a room of 3 young ladies, in the middle of the night) so he could find his football. And for some reason unknown to me, the front desk man let him do it! We were all so startled and half asleep when it happened that we couldn’t think fast enough to stop the two men from coming into the room.
Luckily they just took the football and left. But we were all very upset about it and had trouble sleeping from then on. We investigated the door and there is no way to double lock the door from the inside to prevent unwanted guests (with keys) from entering. The next morning we told our Contiki tour manager about it and she was shocked and appalled at this completely inappropriate, unprofessional, invasion of privacy. She discussed it with the hotel staff, who brushed the incident off as if it were no big deal. They agreed to give the three of us girls all limoncello shots to make up for it. We were all very upset and angry with the hotel management about this incident. Needless to say I’m almost positive that Contiki will not be booking with this hotel ever again. And I am telling all my readers: if you are ever visiting the beautiful city of Sorrento (which I would highly recommend) I would strongly advise you to NOT stay at the “Hotel Tourist”.
The next day, July 4^th, we spent the whole day on the beautiful Island of Capri!
We went on a boat cruise around the whole island. Below is a photo of me and some of the girls on the boat.

Our first stop on our boat cruise was the Blue Grotto, which is a small sea cave. It is entered by small boats, through a very small passageway. We had to climb out of our large boat into these small 4-5 person boats in order to enter.
The line-up of boats all waiting to enter:

The boat driver all instructed us to duck as we went into the very small entrance:

Inside the cave is a very spectacular sight: the blue water shines very brightly with the reflection of the sun through the small opening to the cave.

After the Blue Grotto we continued in the boat to see the beautiful island:


Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a summer villa on the island?


We then went to the Green Grotto. The boat driver stopped the boat and told us all to jump out. He pointed to the Grotto and said he would meet us on the other side. After a slight hesitation, we all stripped down to our bathing suits and jumped into the water!!
Below is a photo of the entrance to the Green Grotto. Unfortunately my camera isn’t waterproof so I had to leave it in the boat while I went into the water and swam through the cave!!

Swimming through the cave was the highlight of my day!! The water was so beautifully blue, and the cave was so interesting!! It was also incredibly refreshing, as it was extremely hot outside in the sun!! When we got out at the other end our boat driver was waiting for us.
We then stopped the boat at a beach on the island. The view was just beautiful!!


We then went on the boat to the famous Faraglioni, which is the name of the three large rocks off the island of Capri:

We drove our boat right through the middle of the center rock.

It is said that if you kiss your significant other while inside the arch of the middle rock then you will have everlasting love with them. I didn’t have anyone to kiss on the boat, but a set of newlyweds on our tour used this opportunity to secure their love for each other.
After the boat tour, I made my way over to the beach to soak up some sun and then finally I checked out all the shops!
All in all, it was a wonderful, fun and very memorable day on the Island of Capri!!

Rome - Contiki Beginnings

July 1^st I checked out of my sketchy little hostel and made my way over to the Hotel Cicerone, a very luxurious hotel in Rome, close to Vatican City. This was my first night of my Contiki Tour.
I decided, since I was traveling alone, I would do a little 10 day organized tour so I could meet new people, stay at nice hotels, eat good food, and see places I haven’t been. Contiki is a tour company that organizes tours for people aged 18-35, and this particular tour that I was doing started in Rome and ended in Athens. I paid for the tour while back in Toronto and it included all my hotel accommodations in 4 star hotels, as well as all of my breakfasts and some of my dinners.
The route is shown below:

I signed up for a triple room (the cheapest option), which meant I had 2 roommates: Jessica and Jackie. They are both super nice and we got along really well.
The first night of the tour we all went out for dinner, and did a walking tour of Rome. We passed by all the sites I had already seen, but seeing them at night gave them a completely different, more magical look.
St. Peter’s Church:

The Pantheon:

The Trevi Fountain:

And since it was July 1^st, Canada Day, my roommate Jackie and I (both Canadians from Toronto) wore Canada Flag pins!

The next day, July 2^nd, after our very elegant and delicious buffet breakfast, we had an organized guided tour of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Since only breakfast and dinner were included, I took a few croissants, nutella and jam from the buffet for my lunch.
The tour started at the Roman Forum, the ruins of the center of the Republic and Empire of the Roman civilization. It was the former location of the royal residency, and the central hub of the Roman people over 2000 years ago.
Many of the buildings have been destroyed in the past 2000 years, but mainly by the Italian people. The Colosseum and the Roman Forum were both used as quarries for rocks and marble. When building St. Peter’s Church, and other churches and palaces in Rome, material from the Colosseum and Forum were used, thus destroying these wonderful ancient masterpieces.
The Roman Forum:


We then made our way over to the Colosseum.

This time I actually entered the incredible ancient Roman amphitheatre!! It was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, after the Flavian family. Constructed started in 72 AD, and took only 8 years to complete! It could seat about 50,000 to 70,000 spectators, and was the location of gladiator contests, public executions and animal hunts. There were approximately 500,000 people killed and over 1,000,000 animals killed during the contests and games held there.


After the Colosseum, I went in search of my old internet café, close to my old hostel. They only charged 1 Euro per hour there, while the new, luxurious, Contiki hotel I was staying at was charging 10 Euros per hour. I suppose that’s the only downside to staying at a nice hotel… the unaffordable internet!

Rome: Pantheon and St. Angelo Castle

On June 29^th, after my tour of the Vatican, I decided to take another walk around the city. I went back to the Pantheon in the hope that it would be open! (I had tried to visit it the day before but it was closed for a religious holiday).
It was open!! I was thrilled! It was built around 118 AD.
It is a very vast and spectacular cylindrical room with a large dome ceiling. The dome is equal in radius to the height of the cylinder. The oculus (the circular hole at the top of the dome), and the front doors of the building let in the only light.


I then visited Castel Saint Angelo, which is best described as a massive cylindrical fortress. It was actually closed for the day, I’m not sure why. All the entrances were blocked off with police tape. Luckily I went back the next day (July 1) and it was open, so I had a chance to walk around inside.


From the top of the castle is a nice view of St. Peter’s Church in Vatican City.

After exploring the castle, I walked back over to St. Peter’s square. It was packed with people and the lines were very long to get into the church!! I was so grateful that I decided to visit it super early in the morning!!

Vatican City

I set off bright and early this morning to see Vatican City. I knew the crowds of people would be pretty intense, so I had planned to be at St. Peter’s Church at 7am, right when it opened. It proved to be a bit difficult to get up that early… but I managed to arrive at 8:15am.
St. Peter’s Square was almost empty!! It was amazing!! I have seen photos of the square completely packed with thousands of people, so the sight of a nearly empty square was awesome!
The square is surrounded by a wall of columns, topped with statues of saints. A giant obelisk stands in the middle and St. Peter’s Church is at the far end.


Right in front of the church were hundreds of rows of chairs, all empty when I was there. I can only assume they would be completely full of people when the Pope is scheduled to make an appearance.

After the security check all tourists passed the clothing police. All the women pulled their scarves and their pants/leggings (if wearing a short skirt) out of their purses to cover themselves up in preparation for entry.

The inside of the church is very spectacular and impressive.

This was the site of St. Peter’s tomb in the 2^nd century. The original church was erected in 349 AD, but was falling down by the 15^th century. Because of this, Pope Julius II (in 1506) started the construction of the present church, which took over a century to complete. It contains works from all the great Roman Renaissance and Baroque architects and artists including Michelangelo and Bernini.
When I arrived I first went to find Michelangelo’s Pieta, one of his most famous statues. He was only 25 when he created it (in 1499).

Down the middle of the church, on the floor, are markings of the lengths of various other churches all around the world, showing how much larger St. Peter’s Church is in comparison.
I then went down to the altar to see Bernini’s canopy above the Papal Altar, which he created in 1624. Only the Pope may say mass at the Papal Altar.


The dome is also very impressive, designed by Michelangelo, though it was not completed until after his death.

The church looked so magical with the light shining in through the windows:

I left the church and walked towards the Vatican museums. By the time I got there it was 9:15am and there was a pretty long lineup! I was super lucky at St. Peter’s Church as there was no line there. Fortunately the museum line only took about 15 minutes.
The Vatican Museum is very large, and has many many different galleries including Egyptian and Assyrian art, Greek and Roman art, Etruscan and Italic art, early Christian and medieval art, 15^th-16^th century art, and modern religious art.
I went through all the galleries, but I will only point out a few key things that I saw and enjoyed.
The Cortile della Pigna is a large bronze pinecone outside in the courtyard of the museum. It used to be part of an ancient Roman fountain in the courtyard of the old St. Peter’s Church, before it was rebuilt.

I also really enjoyed the Gallery of Maps, which is a collection of 16^th century maps. The one below is a map of Italy.

But definitely the most memorable room was the Sistine Chapel. It was larger than I had imagined it, and it was incredible. The walls are completely covered in frescos by Signorelli, Botticelli, Roselli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino and of course, Michelangelo, who painted the chapel ceiling and the fresco The Last Judgment on the altar wall.
Michelangelo’s ceiling:


Michelangelo’s painting The Last Judgment:

After the Vatican museums I thought I’d go back to my hostel to rest before going out exploring again. I got back to my hostel and discovered an annoying surprise. Before explaining the surprise I need to give you some background about me and traveling.
I planned out my trip and my luggage (ie. backpack) so that if anything was stolen or lost it wouldn’t be a problem. I only brought clothing/jewelry/shoes/etc that I wouldn’t be devastated if I never saw again. Since I would be traveling for 2 months alone (for the most part), and would be staying at hostels, I knew there was a possibility that my backpack, purse, computer, camera, etc would be stolen. I planned it so I could continue my travels without any of those items (if I needed to). Even my camera and computer, as everything important on my computer (ie. photos, hostel/flight bookings, etc) I have been uploading to my online storage so I can access without my computer. And for extra precaution I have a computer lock which I used to secure the computer to my bed frame in my sketchy hostel while exploring the city today.
The only items that would put a considerable damper on my trip and complicate my travels to the max if lost are my passport, my source of money (ie. bank cards/visas), my euro-rail pass (worth $900 CAN, and non-refundable if lost/stolen since I didn’t buy insurance for it) and my Contiki tour voucher (my “ticket” for a 10 day Contiki tour I am starting in a few days). These items fell into the “guard with my life” category. Because they were so important I knew they needed to be separate from everything else, somewhere really really safe, where no one but me could find them.
My dad gave me one of those money belts that go across your stomach under your clothing. I was never a big fan of them, and I’ve never used them before, but I thought I’d give it a shot today. I put my passport, euro-rail pass, Contiki voucher and a few hundred Euros in the pouch. I wore a loose fitting dress (so the pouch would not be visible under my clothing), and went off on my day exploring the Vatican.
It was a hot hot day, the temperature was severely high and the sun was strong. Needless to say I was sweating pretty badly. Long story short, when I arrived back at my hostel and took out the pouch, all of my important documents were soaking wet!! I had sweated completely through the pouch and soaked my passport, euro-rail pass, Contiki documents and all my extra Euros!! With the help of my hairdryer I managed to try everything off, but I now have some very curly, sweat-stained looking documents!
I have learned a very valuable lesson from this: when using the belly pouch (if I decide to use it again), ALWAYS put your belongings into a zip-lock bag before placing them into the pouch to ensure maximum protection from sweat.