Our first stop was in Paestum. We stayed at an adorable little beach front hotel, even though it was far too cold to actually use the beach. Paestum was almost indescribable. The temples were massive, bigger than I ever really imagined. I can't seem to wrap my head around such buildings -- so long ago, with so little technology, people spent so many years on intricate and monumental structures. I guess it baffles me to think a culture was ever like that. Nowadays we build things to last maybe 20 years, and we update styles. Back in ancient times they built for longevity. On a side note, I did the touristy thing while we were at Paestum and bought a really pretty glass pendant and indulged in pistachio gelato. That night, after our visit to the site, I learned a new card game. I can't remember the name of it because it was Italian, but basically it's like Hand and Foot, except you play in teams and the scoring is different. There were a couple other differences, but not very big ones, and my team won by a ridiculous amount of points.
The next day we went to Herculaneum (aka Ercolano). This time we got to stay in a really nice hotel, complete with gardens and jacuzzi tubs and balconies that overlooked the sea. The actual site of Herculaneum was unbelievable. An entire town excavated from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius all the way back in year 79! It's crazy to think how much the city around it has built up when Mt. Vesuvius is still there and could definitely erupt again and destroy the entire city (even though it hasn't erupted since about 1200). Thinking about natural disasters like a hurricane or earthquake is scary, but a volcano? Just because of the temperature and chemical makeup of the fumes, once you breathe it in you can literally disintegrate. I'm very glad I don't live near a volcano.
Our final day was around Naples, visiting quite a few sites: Oplontis, Cuma, Piscina Mirabilis, Sulfatara Volcano. Oplontis was okay, but I really wasn't too inspired by it. Cuma is a cave where supposedly a prophet sat and you could go hear a prophecy. Piscina Mirabilis was basically an underground water basin, so it was dark and damp and moldy. And Sulfatara was full of clouds of sulfur and did not smell very good. That was a tiring day--most of our time was spent on the bus and we only saw each site for 30 minutes to an hour. Our trip ended in Naples, and from there some classmates and I made our way to Sicily.
We took an overnight "ferry", which to me seemed more like a cruise ship, although that observation is not made from experience. It wasn't as fun as we thought it was going to be -- the rocking of the boat really just made us all tired and there weren't any other people our age on the boat. It was still a fun experience though. We docked in Palermo, Sicily at about 6:45 am and made our way to our hostel. It was really more like a bed and breakfast than a standard hostel. It was really cute and colorful. We couldn't check into our rooms until noon so we left out bags and spent the day around Palermo. Our first main stop was the Catacombs, something I will never do again. I wasn't really sure what it was going to be like, and it was only 1 euro 50, so I decided to check it out with everyone else. Considering I don't even like cemeteries, I have no idea why I thought the Catacombs would be okay. Hundreds of skeletons, all still dressed and some still with hair, like 6 inches from my face. Never again.
After that we took the bus up to Duomo Monreale, an absolutely gorgeous church. I wish I had the patience and talent to make such beautiful and detailed mosaics. Words can't even describe. We were so tired from traveling that we took our own little siesta after that -- napped, showered, and got ready for a night in Palermo. We found a great little bar that was decently cheap and perfect to start the night. They didn't know how to make some drinks, so we had to tell them. Now they know yummy drinks for future American students. Overall it was a very fun night and I will never forget my one night in Sicily. On the final day, Sunday, our flight didn't leave until 9:40 pm. That turned out to be a drag because on Sunday, Palermo turns into a ghost town. EVERYTHING closes. I honestly don't understand how an entire city can just shut down. In America the weekend is when everything is open cause that's the day for errands. Not in Palermo.
Now that our first trip is over, I unfortunately have to get back into school mode. I am really excited for the rest of our trips, partially to see more of Italy and partially because it's a little break where we don't have to worry about homework or class. And now it's back to homework...
Ciao!
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