Mediterranean Cruise - Sorrento and Pompeii, Italy

After docking on the Amalfi Coast in Salerno we got on our tour bus and headed to Sorrento.

BEAUTIFUL cliff-side town!

Our first stop was at a local farmhouse where they make their own olive oil and mozzarella cheese, among other things.  This was definitely a working farmhouse.  So so charming! 

The equipment used years ago to make olive oil.

This lady was demonstrating how they make mozzarella cheese.

So much fun to watch this Italian lady make cheese!

The lady in the black showed us around and gave us all the info.  I can't remember if she is the daughter or granddaughter of the farmhouse owner, but she is related in some way.  She told us that the lady making the cheese doesn't speak English, but she wanted to show us something and for us all to get our cameras ready.  So she picked this up and said, "Cheese!"  Everyone got a kick out of that!

This is some sort of cake that they make on the farm.  I can't remember exactly what kind though...lemon maybe?

After the demonstration we sat down to sample some of the things they make on the farm.  They even make their own wine!

This was incredibly good!!

Farmhouse dog taking a nap right next to us :)

This is their own lemoncello.  They make two different kinds and let us sample each.  It was good, but way too strong for my liking.  

We absolutely loved visiting this farmhouse!  It was such a nice change of pace from our other excursions.

After leaving the farmhouse we went into the town of Sorrento.  Such a nice little place to visit.  We were all wishing we had more time here.  We only had a few hours and we needed to grab lunch so we were only able to walk around for a bit. 

We stumbled on this cute puppet show on our way back to meet the bus.

After visiting Sorrento we made our way to Pompeii to see the ruins there.  Both me and Connor were pretty much over seeing ruins at this point.  And after seeing Ephesus, very little seemed to impress me.  On top of that it was hot, I was tired of walking around, and our guide wasn't that great.  This trip really made me realize what a difference the tour guide makes for your experience.  If you can find a reasonably priced private tour it is absolutely worth the money!  We started the tour with everyone, but then I decided to take him back to look for souvenirs.  Everyone else kept going and got pictures.

Most of Pompeii was destroyed and covered in up to 20 feet of ash and pumice after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.  These were the gladiator barracks and practice field.  In the background you can see the amphitheater where events were held.

The entrance to what would have been a very wealthy person's house.

This is a decorative pool area inside the house where the rain water would collect.

Outside of the house.

These are original frescoes inside the house.  It is amazing that they survived the eruption and both time and circumstance since then.

Dome of the house.

Fresco of family.

The thing on the bottom right was the baker's mill.

You can see the baker's oven in background.

Here is what's left of the different shops and boutiques.  You can see the walls that separated them.

Of course there was a brothel...and they had an interesting way to show you the direction you needed to go in order to get there.

This is the top of Pompeii and from here you can see Mount Vesuvius in the distance.

There were shelves and shelves of things that were found after Pompeii was uncovered.

The body of someone who died in the eruption.  It is believed that all of the estimated 11,000 inhabitants died.

The Temple of Apollo.

We ended our long day of touring with our very own private puppet show, courtesy of Connor Hitt :)