A Stay in Sorrento

Group shot on the Amalfi Coast

The second leg of the "Gritaly" trip took us south from Rome to Sorrento. From this base, we made three day trips in the region, each one a delight. I wrote about this experience last year, so I will try not to repeat myself. Here is the link to my post from last April, should you wish to know how things went then.

http://livingmydreaminbeautifulswitzerland.blogspot.ch/2015/04/italian-history-and-geography.html

The city of Cassino lies below the monastery.

As we had done last year, we instructed our driver to stop at Monte Cassino, a site where many Canadians died during WWII, but something got lost in the message. None of the teachers spoke Italian and the driver had no English, so instead of driving us to a graveyard, he headed up to the monastery from which the battle got its name.

Inside one of the courtyards of the monastery.

I enter the site

We did not mind the error, however, as the view as we climbed the mountain was spectacular and the Benedictine Abbey grounds were absolutely beautiful–an oasis of peace. I kept thinking how much my husband would have loved it, as he is quite partial to such places.

Grace and Adrienne enjoy the heights

Jeremy, Alec, Jake and Malcolm in front of the grand staircase

Not everyone entered the church building itself, but I am very glad I did. It was very ornate, absolutely beautiful. I could have stayed at this site much longer, for sure!

Emma and Ellis visit the church.

The ceiling of the Abbey church.

When we arrived in Sorrento a few hours later, we were taken to our hotel, a different one this year. While it was more centrally located than the place we stayed at in 2015, it was not as luxurious. Nonetheless, the view towards the town was lovely in both places as were the outdoor patios, so I cannot complain.

The view from our hotel to the Sorrento harbour.

Louise, Adam and Jen relax on the hotel patio.

The next morning, on our tour to Pompeii, I was reunited with my guide from a year ago, Anna, who decided to lead us to some parts of the excavated town that we had not visited last year. As a result, I saw a couple of villas, the House of the Faun and the House of the Tragic Poet, that were wonderfully restored glimpses into the life of the wealthy.

I cast my shadow on the mosaic floor where stands the statue of the faun.

The House of the Tragic Poet

Inspired by Terry's similar pic taken last year, I invited students to walk across the stepping stones of Pompeii in an effort to replicate a famous record album cover.

The boys, Duncan, Will, barefoot Brandon, and Ian reenact Abbey Road.

Jess, Alex, Heather and Maddie get most of it right.

Art in Pompeii

Another difference in Pompeii this year was a temporary art exhibit. Large sculptures had been placed in open spaces. The students were particularly intrigued by a nude man lying on his side in the Forum. His penis can be seen in the centre of the photo below, and the group wanted to make sure it was still visible when they posed in front of it. Ahhh teenagers!!

My half of the group gather in front of the nude man.

My half of the group in the Odeon.

After lunch, we headed to Mount Vesuvius, where Malcolm, our cross-country superstar, decided to run up the slope to the top. What took me 45 minutes took him about 5. Never mind.

Emmy and Maddie on Mount Vesuvius.

The view from Vesuvius.

We had a beautiful day for our climb, and the view over Naples was impressive from the top. We could see Capri in the distance, our destination the next day.

Patti, Kezia and I got dressed for the boat ride to Capri, but I did not go.

There would be no trip to Capri for me, however, as I stayed back in Sorrento with two sick students. Don't feel sorry for me. When you travel with 49 adolescents, a day on your own is not a bad thing. While the sick pair slept, I decided to take a couple of walks into the town and booked myself a massage in the late afternoon. I also did some shopping. In short, I had a good day.

Love the wisteria in bloom in Sorrento

One of Sorrento's churches.

Another Sorrento Church

Sorrento is a lovely resort town, whose main industry appears to be tourism. In early April, though, the streets were relatively quiet as the season had barely begun. In the shops, you can buy lemon scented soaps, Italian leather, and fine linen made locally.

Sorrento's main square

One of the many balconies with views over the Mediterranean.

Linen for sale

Our final excursion in the region took us east along the Almalfi Coast. Our journey was less harried than the one the year before since there were fewer cars along the narrow, winding road and we travelled in two small buses rather than one large one. The town of Positano created a beautiful backdrop for one of my photos, but we did not visit it.

Positano

A Korean couple were in the middle of a photo shoot when we visited the church.

Instead, we spent about two hours in the town of Almalfi itself. This year I had enough time to visit the beautiful cathedral, Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea. What a stunning place! The cloister (Chiostro del Paradiso) was built in the 13th century and clearly has strong Islamic influences.

The cloister

The crypt, said to contain the relics of Saint Andrew the apostle, is highly decorated in gold, while the late baroque interior of the cathedral is equally ornate, absolutely magnificent. Too bad I had to hurry my tour through the building; I wish I could have studied its features more closely, but such is the reality of tight scheduling.

The crypt

The nave

Our stay in Sorrento coincided with the date designated to take the OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test). We had 11 students from out of province who had to complete this exam in order to earn their diploma, so one evening, they spent three hours at this task. Poor them!

At work on the OSSLT

Sunset in Sorrento.

After a week in Italy, we had a day of travel: first by bus to Rome, and then by air to Athens. You will read about our Greek adventures in my next post.