Vatican City, Pompei, and Sorrento!

Hello family and friends!
We've had 3 very busy, full days of sightseeing and walking. Our legs are sore and yesterday at this time they were about to fall off. No lie! 3 days ago we went to the Vatican and had a 6 hour tour. Our tour guide was a young graduate student by the name of Mario. Supposedly he is Dutch but looked very Italian and speaks English, French, Italian, Russian, and Dutch! He started out in acting but realized he'd never get a job!! So now he's finished up school and is doing tours. Abe and I have been to the Vatican before so it was our 2nd time visiting. We saw famous pieces of art such as the School of Athens, the Lacoon, the Transfiguration by Raphael, and La Pieta by Michaelangelo. We saw many tapestries and mosaics that emulated famous paintings but were far more difficult to produce than the originals. We also saw the Sistine Chapel! It is really amazing to think that Michaelangelo painted the entire chapel all by himself. Apparently he didn't take care of himself while painting the chapel -- the story is that when he finished the chapel and took his boots off some of his skin peeled off too! Apparently he didn't want to shower because he didn't want to take time away from his painting. Talk about dedication! Mario then took us to see St. Peter's and it was so incredible to see. To end our morning at Vatican City we ventured out beyond the city walls to a nice little restaurant that Kait's friend Courtney recommended. We had a nice light buffet lunch and then headed back to Rome.

The next morning we took a very early train to Pompei and visited the archaelogical site. If you ever go to Italy you must visit Pompei. It is unbelievable!!! On our way to Pompei we made a special stop in Naples to see the museum that famous artifacts from Pompei. We wanted to see famous mosaics but the wing was closed until February. We were so bummed!! But we saw some other great artifacts prior to our visit to the site. As we explored Pompei the crowds began to leave and we eventually had the place to ourselves. Pompei totally exceeded our expectations! We saw huddled molds made from victims that died during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius...one man was crouched over next to his mule trying to protect himself from the eruption. We saw a number of large homes that had beautiful open court yards with small pools to collect rain water. All of the shops and snack bars had counters intact with bowls to serve hungry customers. There was ancient graffiti and political advertisements on the old walls...and many temples, administrative buildings, and a Colosseum for gladiator fights!! The list goes on....It is an amazing sight. A must see in Italy. After resting on some stones, drinking four gatorades and munching on some pringles, we were able to muster up the energy to leave the site. We hopped back on the train and headed to Sorrento.

Sorrento is a small coastal town with gorgeous cliffs that overlook the Mediterranean Sea. It is full of tourists with lots of shops and restaurants near the water. We had a delicious dinner last night with Jason, Jordanna, and Helen. We shared raviolis and gnocchi with mozzarella and ricotta. We got up this morning for a day on the water at an Italian beach. Abe and Jason swam in the water while Kait and Jordanna hung out on the beach beds. The weather has been amazing...dry, in the 80's, with a nice breeze. We've really lucked out. Today was a gorgeous day in Sorrento!
We are now sitting outside at a pub on a small side street watching people walk by (and trying of stay out of the way of the mopeds!!). There are lots of Italian flags everywhere. They're crazy about the World Cup here! We are going to head down to the water in a bit to take some sunset pictures. It should be a great night for pictures. We are also planning our travels to Jerusalem. We fly to Israel tomorrow night and will be in Jerusalem early Wednesday morning. There is so much to see in 5 days...so we're prioritizing. We're excited to see all of the famous sites and and our day trips to Bethlehem and Masada. We're also looking forward to swimming in the Dead Sea!

We hope you are having fun following our travels...1 country down 6 to go!

Ciao,
Kabe