Sorrento, 7:30pm

Hello friends...

Yes, we are now in Sorrento along the Amalfi coast and yes, it's beautiful.  We left Vada safely and efficiently on Monday and arrived back in Rome with a few of the other performers and enjoyed a much needed change in our diet--Indian food!  I had scoped out a place a month ago when we first arrived and kept it fresh in my memory in case of a return occasion.  We were not disappointed :)

The next day we had a lovely day with my parents.  We met them at the Trevi fountain and wandered around to the Pantheon, Piazza Novona and back through the heart of the city until we stopped for a delicious meal.  It was great to see them- how cool it is that our timing worked out on both ends! :)  And we are so grateful to them too-- they took one of our biggest pieces of luggage- the one that Stephen has dubbed "the blue Behemoth".  Now we can travel so much lighter and easier...thanks again Dad and Christine!

The next day we went to the Vatican, which I will say, was not quite as powerful an experience as I thought it might be.  Maybe it was the heat or the crowds or both but I was happy to get out of there.  We also went to the Sistine chapel which I was really excited about but there was just something lacking walking into the room with so many people everywhere.  I imagine it may have lost some of it's original beauty.  In the evening, we got tickets to the opera and went to see Carmen in a beautiful outdoor setting; the Terme de Caracalla, an archeological site and theatre under the stars.  It was pretty amazing but after 2 full hours and 2 intermissions with a third act still to go, we decided to cut out early.  We're glad we did because we just caught the last subway.

We decided at the last minute that we would stay in Sorrento for the next few days; it's a great intermediate point to see the Amalfi coast, Pompei and some of the other beautiful sites around here.  We also found a perfect place to stay- it's a campsite with its own private beach and swimming pool, which we have been taking full advantage of whenever we're not out for the day.  We are staying in a little cabin to ourselves with shared bathroom and kitchen right in the heart of nature.  And it's actually cheaper than most hostels around here.  We're very happy. 

We went to Pompei today and saw the archeological site of the town that got destroyed by an eruption from mount Vesuvius.  It's a pretty big place-- hard to believe their entire city was wiped out.  We're off to see the volcano tomorrow.  Supposedly we can climb to the top and peek inside...

Well, that's the latest from our end.  Hope you're all doing well...wow- can't believe it's the last day of July!!

Love,

Andrea & Stephen