Pompeii and Positano

just got back to the Palace from a great weekend. we visited Pompeii on thursday; that town is so rich in history, i learned so much. when mount Vesuvius erupted, it destroyed the city in a minute and a half. everyone there was dead within seconds. so the vibrant city was gone, just like that. it's so cool to see the way a roman town was back then.

then we went to Positano and Capri for the weekend. on friday, everyone laid out on the beach and caught some rays, which was nice. the beaches there are stones, which is quite painful. but we didnt care. it was nice to get in the ocean. since Positano is built on a cliff, our hotel was literally 150 stairs up from the beach. i dreaded them every time. let's just say i better have killer calf muscles. then on saturday, we went to Capri. it is so worth what everyone says about it. the downside: all the tourists. the upside: people spoke english. we go to see the blue grottos. okay, these things literally look like they have lights underneath them. it's the coolest thing i've ever seen. the water is an icy aqua color and you can see little fish swimming around. to get in one of the grottos, we had to get in a little rowing boat and lay completely flat to get through the cave. while we were nervous we were going to die, we did not, thankfully. Katie and I had fun going up to the top of the mountain and "shopping". we window shopped these high price designers. we are very interested to know what kind of people live here. its literally for the rich and the famous. we got hot and had the most delicious lemonade slushy; katie has an ulcer from drinking so much lemonade [yikes].

all in all, it was a fabulous weekend full of long meals, swimming, hiking stairs, laughing, learning, talking about life, and resting. couldnt have asked for more.

this the the Blue Grotto. seriously, it looks like its glowing! it was the most beautiful thing ever, even though it was frightening to get in

katie and i both were enthralled with the beauty of the shops

like a 3 million dollar house, no big deal

another blue grotto; this one we did not have to enter through the cave which was nice

island of capriiiii

katie smiling in front of Lover's Arch. if you kiss your mate under it, you will be happy forever. [yeah, right]

our view from the beach

one night we had a gourmet meal. i got the mussels and clams pasta, which ive never had before. it was really good! it was a four course meal; they do their courses out of order: bread, first main course, salad, second main course, dessert. i didnt argue

leah and i before dinner

our cute little hotel room!

katie and i in Pompeii. these stones are like their crosswalks. sometimes the water would flood the streets so to get across, they would use these stepping stones.

pompeii

one of the most famous mans of pompeii. when the volcano hit, the ash literally killed him in the position that he was found. when we found his remains, they insert this thing called liquid cement and it fills in the space and lets the object keep its shape forever. his bones and everything are still in there.

on top of mt. vesuvius. it was a longggg hike up but it was fabulous to do it. mt. vesuvius was the volcano that erupted and destroyed Pompeii. it hasnt erupted since 1944.

inside the volcano

the great view from top of mt. vesuvius.

thanks for being patient while ive been gone. ill keep yall filled in better this week.

over and out.