OUR GREEK ISLAND TRIP: WEDNESDAY: TRAVEL TO SORRENTO, ITALY!

We said goodbye to our kids and headed off just the 2 of us to Italy this morning. We awoke at 3:30am, left our hotel at 4:20am (!) to catch the only flight out of Santorini that would allow us to make the only flight to Naples. The hotel was kind of a mess in Santorini, and there was a slight delay in Athens, BUT ... we made it to Naples.

The view from above as we arrived in Naples:

First sighting of Mt Vesuvius from our car:

First stop: Pompeii

The City Of Pompeii - this city was an ancient Roman town that was totally destroyed due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius AD 79. After the volcano erupted, entire city was covered in over feet of volcanic ash and the city wasn't even located for another 1500+ years.

the independent

Amazingly, archaeologists have even been able to identity the exact position people were in when they died in the volcano. Plaster was used to re-create their body shapes.

National Geographic

https://www.wanderingitaly.com/places/pompeii-map.html

Pompeii was amazing but we were going on fumes, and after an hour and a half we needed sustenance - luckily our driver Serena steered us to this spot (pun intended):

Fabulous salad with mozzarella and artichoke hearts:

Dry white Italian wine helped too:

We left after noshing and drove to Sorrento (roughly 35 minutes).

Here's the view of the coast of Sorrento:

A quick stop for a selfie along the way with Sorrento (and our hotel) in the background:

And we finally arrived at the gorgeous Hotel Bellevue Syrene. Stunning.

Lounge where you can get all the wine, water, tea and snacks you desire, all day...

Fun artwork/decor in our room:

Our view for the next 2 days:

Mt Vesuvius looming in the background:

Snack bar and lounge chairs along a pier for our hotel:

We got settled and then strolled around Sorrento.

LEMONS LEMONS AND MORE LEMONS!
We stumbled upon this shop in Sorrento: Tesori di Sorrento

They had THE best limoncello that we tasted the entire time we were there. They offer tastings of their different products: regular limoncello (super lemony), cream, pistachio, melon, strawberry and more. We bought some to bring back home, and then went back the next day and bought more. SO SO GOOD!