After the experience in Istanbul Lily insisted we do as many "Exclusive" tours as possible. With NCL that means much smaller groups in smaller buses (which we called the Short Bus). It also includes a really nice meal at a nice hotel. This was no exception, I just wish it included a better tour guide.

It was really hot in Naples this day and very hazy. Upon arrival you can just barely make out the silhouette of Mount Vesuvius through the haze. We first headed to the peninsula towards Sorrento but then took a shortcut over the mountain to the Amalfi Coast side for a quick visit to Positano. The scenery on the way was stunning and the roads even more narrow than the already narrow streets in Italy.

Once reaching Positano we were stunned by the way the buildings are built hugging the steep hill from the beach up the mountain. It's almost like they're built on top of each other. We somehow managed to get even our tiny bus pretty close to the center of town and then we walked down the pedestrian walk. We liked how it was covered in climbing flowers both blocking the sun from the path and adding color. Nice.

We walked all the way to the beach. The sand was a dark grey and was very rough. Water looked good though.

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Sorrento

We then headed back to the west end of the peninsula to the town of Sorrento. There we were dropped off at a inlaid wood store. We obviously didn't want to sit through a presentation and just walked around. We weren't given any information about the area and not told where to go so we just wandered around aimlessly. We found a nice boardwalk just above the water with nice landscaping. We enjoyed the view and headed back to meet the bus. We then went to lunch just up the coast at a nice hotel called Hotel Mediterraneo. The food was ok but at least the view was nice.

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Pompeii

Finally during the height of the mid afternoon heat we headed to Pompeii. When we got there it was obviously a zoo, tons of tourists. For some unknown reason we were made to watch a Cameo making presentation before entering. I guess we all got a cold bottle of water for the trouble, but still didn't seem worth wasting the time.

Pompeii was pretty cool. The city was in fairly good condition. Most of it was in original condition with a few buildings rebuilt to show how they would have looked originally. The highlights include the Roman Bath which has impressive ceiling details and original paint on the walls. There they also had two plaster casts of the bodies that were found in the ash. The bodies are long gone but they filled the cavity with plaster and the plaster showed the space that was taken by the body. One of the bodies clearly shows he had a robe and sandals on. Freaky but cool.

The final cool thing in Pompeii was of course the Brothel. There were several rooms and over each room was a fresco showing the service offered in that room. That was pretty funny. We were also told that this was a popular service in Pompeii since prices there were very reasonable for the region. I guess it was the Bangkok of the 1st Century.

We wish we could have spent more time there or at least gone there earlier in the day before it got so hot. By this time we were really hot and tired and most people couldn't wait to get back on the bus and to the ship.

All in all the visit was just ok. We felt the trip to Sorrento was a complete waste of time. We were split on whether Positano was worth the trip or not but we all agreed that we wished we spent more time at Pompeii and learned more about what life was like in this city nearly two millennia ago.

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