Paradise Falls, Without the Giant Birds

If you haven’t seen the movie Up, you won’t get the title of this post. Sorry.

Today, the Norwegian Epic docked in Naples, Italy. Our guide picked us up in a (wait for it) black Mercedes van. The first place we visited was Pompeii (which, as you know if you’re in Tutorial I at OC) Violet is quite the expert on!

Our guide in Pompeii was actually an archaeologist, so we learned a ton of stuff - like that the Latin inscription on this beautiful 2,000-year-old mosaic means “Beware of dog”.

Speaking of “Beware of dog” signs, all of them in Italy seem to show pictures of happy, friendly dogs:

But that’s another story. Here are some more Pompeii photos:

A dining room in a Roman mansion.

Fresco on the wall of an open-air market, with pictures of bread, fish and other food.

Jugs and pots unearthed while excavating.

This stray dog really liked us!

An “ancient" House Sparrow singing from a “Roman” electrical wire. : )


After Pompeii we went to Sorrento, a town on the cliffs above the Mediterranean.

Impressive, right?

After Sorrento we went to the even more beautiful Amalfi coast.

This is the restaurant we had lunch at. I had a DELICIOUS gnocchi with homemade tomato sauce, and a strawberry cheesecake for dessert!

Everything at the restaurant was made there: from the wine to the plates! It was a great place.

After the restaurant, we visited an overlook and saw a waterfall...

…and saw a lizard.

I had the greatest day. Ever. 

Tomorrow, we say goodbye to our beautiful ship and say hello to our house in Tuscany!


- Hayden Strong

© Knstrong 2013