Run Away... LAVA!! (Sunday)

This morning was our drive to Pompeii. We started by getting our typical American nutrients in our system and then boarded the bus. It took us about an hour to get from Naples to Pompeii. We were greeted there by our local tour guide Salvio – who by the way happens to be famous! We’ll explain later.

Salvio took us on an hour and a half tour of Pompeii. He was actually an excavator in the city for seven years; so needless to say, he knew what he was talking about. Then toward the end of the tour we found out he was an undercover police officer. The city was amazing. Pompeii is the sight of Mount Vesuvius which blew in early Roman times and destroyed the city. You can still see remains of people and animals that did not make it out of the city alive. Salvio was sure to reenact every person’s story of their life and then how they died and what they were doing when the volcano erupted. About 2/5 of Pompeii has still not be excavated.

Through the city we were able to see bars and brothels, shops and homes. We even saw a full scale bakery with an oven and basins to mix the dough. We then perused through the red light district aka North Gate or 6th Street or even Crocket Street.

One of the fun moments of the day was going through the brothel. Um, yeah… it was pretty hard core. As we were getting ready to go in we lost Salvio but then could still here him through our headsets. The next thing we know he’s yelling at someone asking to see their identification. Apparently the man was a tour guide that was pushing people out of the way so that his group could make it through at one time. Crazy, but back to the brothel.

(The next few sentences may be inappropriate for small children. We will refrain from using pictures. haha)

It was essentially a Kama Sutra. But the funny part came after we made our way through. They used a symbol on the wall to show direction. It was men's "member". WOW! It was carved into the stone wall. In another place, there was a bigger one carved into the stone on the road pointing back toward the brothel. They were real big on showing you were to go. Then in the souvenir shops they were EVERYWHERE. We were told they stood for good luck.

(Ok. Kids are allowed once again!)

You should have seen the marble work that were in some of the homes. One of them had little squares of marble along the floor that caught the reflection of the moon and lighted the house at night. How clever were they.

One of the running jokes with some of the people in our group is how Salvio “knew” exactly what each tiny rock used to be. He set aside about 5 pieces and said this one is marble and was used for mosaics. This one is curved a specific way so that one had to be the neck of a vase. The next was curved but smooth so that one was a bowl used for eating. So Matt and Michael started picking up pieces and making up what they were. I think Michael found Emperor Nero’s lost sole of his shoe and Matt found the tip of a shanking knife. We had a grand o’ time just laughing and making jokes through Pompeii.

Another neat piece of knowledge that Salvio passed down to us is the fact that most people of Pompeii were right handed. Archeologists know this because of the water fountains in the city.

The locals would place their left hand on the top of the fountain and then lean across using the right hand to brace themselves to then drink. There was a place on the right side that was completely worn down whereas the left side wear was very minimal.

(They used the "2 finger" system to measure their bricks)

(hahaha - warning sign for "Don't Fall Over"!)

Words really cannot describe the things we saw today. Here are a few pictures that we hope can do the job. We also took a video of our tour guide that we will have to show you at a later date. The man was crazy, but loads of fun.

(street signs: Pompeii style)

(Used to create steam in the bath house)

(great ancestors of Pompeii - haha)

(baking wells for flour at the town's bakery)

Ok, so Salvio is known world wide. He even has a statue errected in his honor in New York. He is known as Mr. Cornicello. Currently he is working on his Peace in the World tour. You can check him out on facebook at Mister Cornicello.


Dad (Keith)- here is a picture of a fruit slushy bar. These were the typical sizes of the lemons around the south of Italy. I snuck this picture in Pompeii but just imagine bigger and better looking for all those ones in Capri I was telling you about!



Josh- once again, I couldn't help but think of you. This is the souvenir we would have bought you if we had money. hahaha!

After Pompeii we headed back to Rome. Tonight we are staying at the Hotel Victoria. For the first time we actually have free internet, but it is not wireless. So we’re having to borrow a cord from another couple which is why we are blogging late. Sorry! The website for this hotel is www.hotelvictoriaroma.com

Tonight we had the Gala Dinner and Dance. It was fabulous. We got all dressed up and were, by the way, the most dressed up in our group. But we got a huge applause as we got onto the bus (almost last… running late as usual). They drove us out to a beautiful villa fairly close to the futbol arena in Rome.


We can’t remember the name. They passed out little pamphlets at dinner and we forgot ours. But they host weddings and parties here. Good thing we have already gotten married because this would have been our destination wedding location for sure. It was amazing. Jena – I took some pics in case you’re interested. Haha!

(Matt and Allan)

We started with cocktails and socializing.

(John and Jen, Allan and Jen, Matt and Hillary)

We tried caviar, fried zucchini, and even fried mozzarella balls. It was here that I took one bite of the mozzarella and hot liquid squirted across my face. I must have seemed like the biggest country bumkin because I just threw the mozzarella ball down as I yelped in agony. I can still feel the spot where it burned me. We actually ate with another Perillo group. We all agreed that we had a better group than them. They were much older and a bit more snoody than the people in our group. After drinks and lots of pictures we had dinner. White lasagna, pasta, and yummy fish. Desert was some type of soft ice cream with Grand Marnier and orange peel.

(L to R: Laura and Elenor, Raffela, Ronnie and Dave, Pat and Len)

(L to R: Phil and Shirley, Sandy and Lloyd, Michael and Isabella, Cheryl and Gena)

(L to R: Allan and Jen, Alan and Ruby, John and Jen, Delores and Ann, Hillary.
Not pictured: Matt)

After dinner we walked around the inside of the villa. We actually stole a picture of a Murano glass chandelier! Take a peek.

(An original look at the villa before renovations)

Then there was dancing. Matt and I snuck out back so we could have a moment by ourselves and dance while nobody was really looking. We didn’t want to embarrass ourselves, but I have to say… we did pretty good. It was really a very romantic moment. And then we found out people were watching us anyway and thought we were super cute. We also snuck off and took lots of great pictures. The musicians were the best I’ve ever heard. The singer was from Ohio originally and then came to Rome for 2 weeks 9 years ago and never went back. They were very interactive with the crowd and very entertaining. They sang lots of great American hits, “She’s a Lady”, Sinatra, and “New York, New York”. They also threw in a few Italian songs for good measure, “That’s Amore” and something like So long Rome maybe.. not real sure what that was called. It was just overall a great evening.







When we got back to the hotel several of us were not quite ready for bed yet, so we decided to go up to the hotel bar. It was Matt and I, Allan and Jennifer, John and Jen, Michael and Isabella, and Cheryl and Gena. We all had a drink and just sat and talked for another hour. We laughed and joked and told stories. We had such a great time with all of these people. We figured it was finally time to leave whenever the bar tender shut off the lights. We realized Sunday night is probably not the late night.

One more day to go. We’ve decided that the people on this tour are gonna be our vacation buddies forever. We can’t imagine anyone better to spend our time with (except for our families of course). We’re not ready to come home yet.

WOWZERS!!!!!!!!!! (Saturday)

Today was our island tour of Capri. This was simply the most amazing place we have been to. It will be our new home.

We started off with a 50 minute boat ride to the island (not so much fun for Hillary… or Matt for that matter). Once we arrived we met our local guide Rosanna. We were told she was a typical beautiful Napolitan woman. She was short and squatty with thick black curly hair and leathery skin. Not what we pictured at all. But she was awesome. Very fun and energetic.

First things first for the island of Capri is the Blue Grotto. Yet another boat ride and this time less fun for Hillary. But we were able to see some pretty neat things. The water was several different shades of blue depending on the sun and your view point. It just sparkled in the sun. To get into the Blue Grotto we had to get into a very small row boat – 4 people only. Matt sat in the front and I sat with Jen and Alan (our Canadians) in the back. They immediately told us hand inside at all times because it’s dangerous. We thought, well ok whatever, kinda like hands and feet in on roller coasters or something. Oh no.. they meant it. Once we pulled up to the entrance we were able to see why.

We all had to lay down inside the boat. Could have been romantic, but I was laying in the lap of another man with his wife beside me. Very awkward moment.




But we got into this cave and the boatman grabbed my arm and pulled me up. It was the most spectacular view. Where the sun entered the cave the water was the most beautiful blue. We were in such awe.


He rowed us around the cave explaining the history behind it. Apparently there used to be an emperor that lived on the island and the grotto was his swimming pool. Once we got about half way around the cave he started singing to us. Not too shabby! It was very surreal and such a wonderful moment. As we were leaving he turned to Jen and Alan and said that this is the place for romance and they had to share a kiss. So they did, and then he told us that we should share a kiss. So he allowed me to stand up and lean to the front of the boat to kiss my new husband. Totally romantic! Then it was back to lying down to get back out of the cave. The whole experience could not have been longer than 10 minutes but it was worth all the other crappy boat rides to see it.

We got back to the main island of Capri and took a bus to Ana Capri which is the city at the very top of the island. This bus ride had to have been the scariest ride any of us had ever been on. We had to cram into a mini bus because the roads are so narrow here. We had a few close calls where the drivers of the busses were passing each other and hanging out of the window shaking hands and trying to decide how to pass one another. People were honking, mopeds were flying through the middles, and we on the bus were freaking out about hitting something or someone. But it all worked out.


We made it to the top where we got a demonstration on inlaid (I think that is what it is called but may be wrong). It is basically all the beautiful artwork on wood. They had tables, music boxes, pictures, chairs, jewelry boxes, and china cabinets all done with this amazing technique. And apparently they put so many coats of polyurethane that you can put a lighter to it and not damage the wood (as demonstrated today!). And then you can buff our scratches, oh you know, with rubbing alcohol!

After the demonstration we took a fun little ride to the extreme top of Ana Capri, this time no bus. Instead we took a chair lift which only held one person per chair. So it was a lonely ride up to the top.


We had the most amazing views from this point of the island. I even got winked at by the guy letting us off the lift, right before he hit me in the face with the bar. It was great. Haha. We saw so much vegetation as well. I even got to see an olive tree. YUM!! Dad (Keith) you would absolutely love it here. They have lemon orchards everywhere. One of their hot commodities is lemon cello. It’s kind of like a lemon liqueur but very very strong burst of alcohol. They sale it everywhere! They even had lemon perfume. It is just an ever present scent of lemon. Very nice.



It was finally time for lunch after this. We were all starving and were treated like it too. We had our big 5 course meal for lunch today. Ravioli with ricotta cheese, calamari – the best we have ever tasted, very flavorful chicken, and the best brownie in the world! Ok so it wasn’t really a brownie but that is the best way we can describe it to you. It just melted in your mouth. After brownies everyone had espresso with lemon peel.

Our next journey was a walking tour around the city of Capri (this is in the middle level of the island). We saw beautiful gardens and lots of places to shop.



We even saw another wedding party walking down the street. This one had bagpipes and kilts! Once we finished with our tour we ended our time at Capri in a quite famous way. There is a very popular Italian song that I know everyone has heard the tune of but may not know the words. (We’ll have to sing it for you when we get back) But the lines go and forgive my spelling, Yummo yummo (de da de tada) yummo yummo (de da de tada) feniculi feniculare, feniculi, feniculareeeeee, lalala dada te da te da. Sorry can’t really remember all the words but feniculi means up and funiculare means down. They are talking about the cable car that takes you from the top of the island down to the bottom. Well we got to ride in it. It was kinda hot and cramped, but cool just to have the experience.

Once we got back to Naples we had a short break and then it was time for pizza. Naples is the “best” place for pizza in Italy. So we walked of to Ciro’s gourmet style pizza. Yet another 5 course meal. Who would ever think of having a 5 course meal with pizza!!! It was a grueling task, but we did it. We had the traditional Napoleon pizza – red for tomato, white for mozzarella, and green for basil. It was fantastico! A little soggier than traditional American pizza. For dessert we had some kind of delicious cake with a cream filled center and crazy good berries. A perfect end to a great night. Plus we had a blast at dinner with our Canadians and a new player Cheryl from Philidelphia. She’s one of the younger ones who came with her sister. We were having such a good time that the table across from us kept asking us what we were talking about. And if Roberta Walker is reading this… we had a grand talk about mullets!

Tomorrow we are off to visit Pompeii and then traveling back to Rome. This should only be a 2 – 3 hour bus ride, hopefully.

We can't wait to get back and show you all the rest of the pictures of our trip. Sorry that there are so few here, but there are just so many beauftiful things that we can't decide which to show! We'll have so many pictures when we get home we wont even know what to do with ourselves. Thanks so much for continuing to read about our journey. We love you!

Road Trippin'

Today was our drive from Florence (North) to Naples (South). We boarded our bus at 8 am and were scheduled to arrive in Napoli at 3 pm. Yes, we know what you are thinking… UGH!! And yes it was ugh! We made our first pit stop at 9:30 at a gas station that already had about 4 other tour busses full of people! They even had another Perillo group there. I almost got in a fight with some old ladies because they kept pushing me in the bathroom line! Grr.

Our next stop was for lunch around noon. We had the most amazing provolone sandwich. It was made with foccassia (spell?) bread, ham (maybe turkey, not real sure), and provolone all melted to perfection. Our final stop at around 2:30 was in a city outside of Naples. Here we received a demonstration on how they make cameos. These are the trinkets carved from shell that typically have a woman’s profile. And of course we had time for shopping. (They give us a whole lot of that.. apparently they want our money or something).


After that it was another 45 minutes to Naples. Once we arrived we took a driving tour around town. They have the most beautiful coast here. We were able to see Mount Vesuvius – a still active volcano that destroyed Pompeii which we will get to see on Sunday. They have the most peculiar beaches here. They are nothing but huge stones, big rocks that people lay out on. They just go find their own rock. We have also seen a lot of people making out here. Several couples think it would be fun just to go find a bench and make out. Hey when in Rome, right? Or Naples either one. We got to see a few castles and one they say every bride and groom in town after their wedding go there to take a picture. We got to see a wedding party and the old grandpa fell down on top of the little kids. It was kinda funny.

After our driving tour we came back to the hotel. This hotel is stinkin’ amazing! By far the best one we’ve been to. It is called the NH Ambassador Hotel and can be found at http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/italy/naples/nh-ambassador.html?action=search&stype=default&fini=&fout=&nadults1=2&nchilds1=0&services=&maxPrice=&searchLauncher=reservation&stext= (Sorry for the long address, but that should take you directly to our branch)



We had dinner here for the evening, of course another 5 course meal. We started with fried mashed potatoes almost (the Italian version of a tater tot with cheese) and fried rice balls with tomato sauce, peas, and cheese. Next was our vegetable soup or pile o’ rice. The rice block was huge – sausage, egg, ragout sauce, peas, mozzarella. For our main course we had the most amazing fish, dentex. Everyone enjoyed the fish for the evening. Dessert was another story. We had baba. Matt loved his baba. Mine, not so much. It is basically a rum cake. We did not know this until after the first bite. The cake was soaked in rum. So after our failed attempt at dolce (dessert) we decided to go out for gelato. We had a mix between chocolate and vanilla. Very different flavors than we have in America. Then it was off to bed.

Josh, Lucas, and Taylor - this ones for you! Apparently Italy has a Comicon too!! hahahaha