The last leg of our Italy trip was very special. We were still based in Sorrento, (in our BEAUTIFUL apartment overlooking the marina), but made two more day trips to both historical Naples and Pompeii. While on the ferry from Sorrento across the bay to Naples, I had only one thing on my mind….PIZZA. Naples is the birthplace of pizza, and are famously known for their margherita pizzas and their simplicity. Once we docked, I noticed a huge difference in the city of Naples. I felt as if I were in a gangster movie with graffiti on every historical building in sight. Mostly though, I noticed the long lines outside of every pizza shop even with it being only 11am. After visiting some of the more spectacular sites in the city, our tour guide for the day made me the happiest girl in the world as he took us to “the best pizza in Naples”, where I obviously ate a whole pie…by myself.
The next day was Katie’s favorite, Pompeii! Katie is a anthropology buff, and so was our tour guide, Ilaria. Pompeii is the famous city that was completely covered in ash by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. What makes this ancient city stand out from the rest, is that while other Italian cities were ruined from political unrest and destruction, Pompeii was as if it were just stopped in time. The volcanic eruption covered everything within 24 hours, leaving no time to run and escape. Everything from that August day in 79 AD was in a sense put to sleep for over a thousand years, and uncovered the way everyone had left it. All day we walked the streets of Pompeii where you can still see the chariot divots in roads, graffiti by kids who idolized the gladiators, and the fresco’s on the walls of the wealthy.
On the last day in Italy, as Katie and I were packing for the airport, we received an email alert that our flights home were delayed two days. Hurricane Sandy was making it impossible for all flights to come in to Philadelphia, or any East coast city for that matter. Katie and I had no choice but to be stranded in Munich, Germany for two days………YESSS!!!! We had no idea what we were getting into, but were excited for the challenge of figuring out our plans within a few hours. Once we arrived, I noticed how unprepared we were for this. Italy; 70 degree weather. Germany; SNOW. Katie and I huddled together as we walked the streets of Munich to find the closest place for a German beer, as well as someone who could speak some English with us. The contrasts to Italian culture were jumping in front of our faces at every corner. Don’t walk in the bike path. Don’t smile at strangers. Obey all traffic laws. The train arrives in exactly 2 minutes. Pasta and gelato?, no you get meat and potatoes. And, ich weiß nicht, wie man spricht Deutsch. In Italy I felt as if I could easily understand a lot of the Italian on menus and street signs, but in Germany that was not the case. All in all it was a good experience, and I can now check Germany off my list…..I don’t necessarily ever have to go back.
