Trip: Day 7/8 (places in Italy)

Sorry about the lack of update yesterday...the internet was down and I didn't feel like sitting around! To answer some questions: I tried to take one picture of the volcano, but it was very dark, and it was not a huge eruption, so it kind of just looks like a red spot...not very exciting. And yes, the freaky hanging thing was a cable car, but for some reason I have always called it a funicular. Is that weird? And I didn't know that Brad was telling people about my blog! Omg. I have spent the last two days in Sorrento, Italy...it is a very beautiful location near the Amalfai Coast (the city is very near to Naples). While the town itself is not a huge attraction (although it is very cute) there are tons of things to do that are not too far away. Yesterday we traveled to the historic city of Pompeii, covered by ash and lava in its prime. It was very fun to see it (I think I used to be really interested in it when I was younger). The casts of people (covering their faces etc) were kind of disturbing. Definitely worth more than a one day stop...we walked around for hours and saw most of the major sites, but there was still at least half of the village of Pompeii to see, not to mention Herculaneum and the Village of Mystery. Crazy! My dad and I ventured back into Sorrento last night to catch a little bit of Italian night life. It was cute. Today we traveled to the Isle of Capri: home of lots of beautiful things. I guess it is kind of a hide out for big celebrity types, but we didn't see any. It was really over crowded and annoying and we didn't have much time there (we got a late start and you have to take two different boats to get there). We skipped the famous Blue Grotto (some sort of cave you sail into via a tiny hole and get surrounded by a blue like created by light reflecting through the water) but we did make it to one of the most famous perfume stores in the world (the name escapes me). Apparently they make custom perfumes for all of the biggest stars etc...We made one very major purchase: a sort of egg with music written on it. My mom pointed them out in a shop window, so we went in to investigate...and low and behold, the piece was the Prelude to the Second Suite (aka The Old Standard)...as you know this piece holds a special place in my heart (and in my audition rep) so the asking price of 205 euros was ignored and the piece was purchased. I guess the artist is an Italian pianist and you can only find her work in this one store in Capri and another in a tiny town somewhere else in Italy. Cool! Again, I am wearing a tux for formal night. The theme of tonight's dinner was French: not my favorite, but good as always. The show featured movie musicals tonight; alas, it was aimed at the older crowd of the ship, so I recognized only about half of the songs. Oh well. Tomorrow we will attempt the monumental task of seeing Rome in one day. It is a holiday, so things may be a bit closed and strange. My mom insists that the Vatican will be open (since it is a different country and wouldn't observe Italian holidays). We will proceed directly to the Sistine Chapel, my one request for Rome! Omg!