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Our Journey

Assisi Nestled in the Umbria region, Assisi is most recognized as the birthplace of St. Francis. The Francescan Monestary is located in Upper Assisi. The tour bus drove us half way up the mountain to a parking lot, were you could either take a taxi up, or walk. Most of us walked the 10 minutes it took to reach the base of the monestary. We were lucky enough to have an English speaking monk gave us a brief tour. Usually there are no guided tours, however if your traveling with a group, your tour guide may be able to pull strings and request a monk as ours did. There are no pictures allowed in the the lower and upper cathedral as well as St. Francis' tomb. However, there is a gift shop to purchase photos as well as religious items. As we were staying the night in Assisi, our hotel was in the lower Assisi region. There are some beautiful churches in the downtown area that you can tour for free, but again no photographs/video are allowed. There are some small restaurants to choose from for your dining pleasure, but most do not open until after 7pm. But there is always the one American staple that you can count on...

Pompeii On our way to Sorrento, we took a side trip to Pompeii, an early Roman Seaport City destroyed in 79AD, by Mt. Vesuvius. What makes this ancient city unique is the eerily preserved remains of not only the buildings but of Pompeii's inhabitants. We only had a few hours to tour the ruins, but you could easily spend a whole day here. You can opt for a guided tour or tour on your own with a map. Again, we had a guided tour which was well worth it. They were very knowledgeable and depending on the length of the tour they show you the main highlights of the ruins. Points of interest are the Forum,in the center of Pompeii, the Ampitheatre, the gymnasium/spa area and the "seedy" part of Pompeii; the red light district. You can purchase souvenirs at the museum or at the entrance there are vendors with an array of postcards and books. It was very cold and windy on the day we went. I would suggest bringing a windbreaker, a hat and sunglasses. There was a lot of sand blowing around!

Sorrento Sorrento is not very far from Pompeii. We would only be spending one night here. Sorrento is basically built into cliffs by the edge of the sea. If your afraid of heights, don't look down! Due to time constraints we were unable to walk into town, we drove right to our hotel. Sorrento is known for their orange and lemon groves, pottery, and veneer boxes.

Capri We left our hotel in Sorrento very early, as it takes about 30 minutes to reach the ferry boats to Capri. The weather was very cold and windy, which was unusual for Southern Italy. Also note, they can cancel ferries up to their departure time due to inclement weather. The ferry ride from Sorrento is about 20 minutes. I recommend taking along your seasick medicine. When we arrived at the main marina in the city of Capri, we took mini-busses to the city of AnaCapri. Again if you are afraid of heights, don't look out the window! The roads are very narrow and steep, its all hill! Once we reached Anacapri, it was sleeting-another first for Capri in 40 years. Due to the weather we were unable to take chaif lifts to the highest point of Anacapri, instead we shopped and toured a mansion with an amazing view of the sea. Also you can exchange money in the town square at Anacapri-there was no fee! The vendors in Anacapri were also willing to bargain on the prices. They sold veneer jewelry boxes, pottery and limoncello liquor. Some places you can receive free samples. Our trip to Capri was cut short due to the weather. Our ferry was now leaving at 1:00pm. By this time, the sea was very rough. The ferry ride back to Sorrento was not very pleasant. I would have enjoyed this island if the weather was better. We also missed out on going to the Blue Grotto. The famous caves SE of Anacapri. You take a boat into the caves and the water is suppose to glow blue. We bought the postcard instead.