Italy Day 2 - Positano/ Pompeii
- Sara De Clerck
- Jul 2
- 10 min read
Good morning
Pff… it’s so early, 5am! Yes, I have to get ready because today I’m leaving on a bus tour. I thought: let me do this, because I didn’t like staying in Rome alone. Once you’ve seen the monuments, you’ve seen most of it, right? So there you go, I really wanted to get the most out of this trip.
The bus tour goes to Pompeii. A city I wanted to see so much, especially after that movie! Really beautiful! Then we go along the Amalfi coast-Positano. So I'm really curious.😍
As always, I was way too early at the meeting point, so I thought: let me go to that famous fountain. It was still a 20 minute walk, so I would just make it there and back. And at 6:30 there probably won't be many people yet, so ideal for a photo without masses of tourists. So I'm happy and walking well that I'm definitely on time. On the way I saw a homeless man who had settled at a back door... and yes, he was just cleaning his behind. I have to see that again. 🤦🏼♀️
Halfway to the fountain I came across two men in military uniforms. And honestly? They looked like they came straight out of an Instagram reel about "Why you should go on holiday to Italy". Well, this was one of them! They were both really handsome. At first I thought: oh, maybe I'm not allowed on this street because they were coming straight at me. And I thought ouch, they're going to tell me that I'm not allowed on this street and have to walk around, I don't have time for that. 🤣 But no, one of them said kindly "Good morning, how are you?" And wow, that sounds sexy in Italian. 🤣
Out of politeness I said "Good morning" back, told them everything was fine and wished them a nice day. I really wanted to go to that fountain, didn't have time for a chat.🤣 Yeah, I know... you think I'm crazy. Finally the chance to talk to a handsome man and then I just politely say hello and thank you. 🤣
I was almost at the right spot when I passed another group of four police officers. And yes, four handsome men in uniform again. 🤣 Because they looked like that, I also said good morning in Italian and turned right towards the fountain.
And… can you guess? I was standing at the wrong fountain. 🤣 Okay, he was also
really beautiful, but it wasn't the fountain I wanted to see. And I was in such a hurry.😅 I looked it up again and saw that it was still a 15 minute walk to the right fountain. And I didn't have time anymore. 😅 Knowing that when I walked back to the place where we all agreed to meet I had to take that one street on the right and it was still a 10 minute walk to that fountain, was really painful.. 😅
Well, we'll do it tomorrow.😄 But I also want to go as early as possible so that there is hardly a cat to ruin my photo.. 🤣
At least my morning started off well with the handsome men I met. 😄
Bus tour
Our first stop was in Cassino: a point along the highway, around 9am. Time for breakfast! Just in time
because I was really hungry. Like always. 🤣 So I bought a donut there but they are so big there! Completely different from Belgium. 🤣 And I ordered an ice latte with hazelnut, but honestly? It tasted more like water than milk or coffee and there was no trace of the hazelnut flavor. 🤣 But come on, it was refreshing. It's starting to get warm again!
On the way we passed Sorrento, wow, what a beautiful view when you looked through the window.
Arrived in Positano
The first thing that struck me:
How on earth do people get to their homes here? But I got that answer pretty quickly when I walked around there myself.
You really have to be a good driver here! The streets are so narrow. Belgian drivers should retake their driving test here. Because many would not be able to drive here.😅
It is a cozy and charming town, with a beautiful view! We got 1h45 min free to explore the city. You could go shopping or eat something because we were already around noon. Or you could also go to the beach. Oh yeah, what also struck me: there are a lot of shops here with about the same stuff and clothes, but I didn't see anyone who actually wore those clothes. 🤣
I think I was the only one who actually went to the beach and put my feet in the water. Wow, that felt good. The water was the perfect temperature. I wanted to jump in so badly!! 🤣 I thought yeah, I'm not going to stand there like an idiot so I sat down on the beach. Just far enough not to get wet, but close enough so that the waves could touch my feet. And yes, can you imagine it? One big wave and bam my skirt was soaking wet. 🤣 Not that I minded. But it's just a bit less pleasant to sit back in the bus like that and the driver probably wouldn't have liked that either.
Oh yes, I forgot to say. The beach here is made of stones and not sand. And boy does it hurt your feet and the stones were also very hot!
While I was sitting there, I was collecting pebbles. And then it happened: the ultimate movie scene . Two men, I guessed my age, passed me and looked at me. One went into the sea at his leisure, kind of nonchalantly, and the other stepped into the sea like you see in movies. Took a dive, came up let the water slide down his tanned muscular back… his wet black hair that he put back with one hand so you can see those biceps. You get the picture what I mean. 🤣
He turned around and while conversing with his friend he made eye contact every now and then.
I saw that he hesitated whether to speak to me or not. When he came out of the water, he walked towards me but just deviated and sat down 1.5 meters away with his friend. A little later, when children walked by and we got wet from the splashes and I had to pull my feet in or they would have walked over it, he made a comment about it. I answered, and that's how we started talking. The typical questions: who are you here with? Are you on vacation? Where are you from?... you know the drill.
I thought he was Italian at first. Tanned skin, naturally black wavy hair, slim but muscular. During our conversation he took off his sunglasses and… WOW. Those eyes! Light gray-green. Really a very beautiful eye color. By the way, he turned out to be from Boston, USA and not from Italy. 🤣
I thought it was so special: people from all over the world on one beach.
By the way, our bus tour also included people from Canada, Iceland, Singapore,…
After our short conversation I said I was going to walk around a bit, my skirt was still wet and had to dry after all.🤣 While I was walking back up, because the beach was completely covered. I thought oh let's have an ice cream. I wasn't really hungry but then I would have eaten something. But I had a smoothie instead. Oh! Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this. It was really tasty and very refreshing wow. After I had my smoothie I turned to the hour with the thought: oh, I can still walk around a bit... But no, I just had enough time to walk back to the meeting point. Time really flew by!
Pompeii — 1h50 tour
Wow, I am so glad I experienced this! It was incredible. I was completely in that time with my imagination. While we were walking there, I could see it so well: a village where everything was connected. No detached houses, everything neatly arranged, beautifully built and sturdy.
We saw among other things an old shop where they probably sold food and kept the food warm by some kind of vacuum technique. I think the space was barely 5 by 7 meters. It was really very small there.
We also visited the gym, changing rooms and bathroom for men training to fight.
Later we saw a petrified woman. She was supposedly lying on the ground with her hands over her nose and mouth so that she could still breathe that way. She was probably suffocating from the smoke of the volcano. So she was also petrified. And do you know what the worst thing is? She seemed to be pregnant… you could just see a little belly. This was really very moving. I was already completely imagining what it must have been like when the volcano erupted. What also struck me: the people back then were very small. I would have thought that they were all children.
Then we visited a building that used to be a brothel. Five small rooms with stone beds, and on the walls there were painted drawings of different sex positions. Fascinating how well everything is preserved, despite the eruption.
The guide had also explained to us that they had invented a way for sailors who were stranded for a few days and were looking for a moment of company. You know what I mean. So they had found a way for the men who were unknown in the city to still find their way there and back. And you'll never guess! Something so simple but really clever! Okay, I'll let you guess.
Welke manier zoude zij gebruikt hebben?
Borden met een tekening erop
Pijlen in de richting
Een bepaalde kleur aan de muur
Do you think you've guessed it? Or do you suspect this is what you had in mind? Let me know on my Instagram in the chat what you thought!
So they had carved a penis into the stones on the ground, pointing in the direction of the brothel. 🤣 Genius, simple and effective!
Pompeii was a city that was completely covered in the petrified ash of the lava. Well to get an idea of how much it was. The guide said to us. Do you see that white house on that mountain? Well up to there was the lava because at that height they started building until they were digging too deep and came across the city. The guide also said: there will probably be a lot more but then we have to flatten everything here and dig deeper but that is not possible because we have built everything here now and live.
So could you imagine how big it was there? I was already lost there.
At the end of the tour the guide showed us three plants that used to grow there. One smelled like blueberries (delicious!), the second stank. 🤣 I don't remember what those plants were called and the third was laurel. We all know those of course. I even took a leaf with me. 🙊
After the tour we had pizza, and then the bus took us back to Rome. What a day! Really: you have to do this once. I recommend it so much!
Evening in Rome
When we got back to the pick-up point I thought: you know, we're in the area now, let me quickly go and have a look at that fountain and then I'll have seen it in the evening as well.
And wow… WOW. What a beauty. So beautifully made. Simply beautiful. I could keep looking at it. Only… what a crowd. It was 10pm and still packed. And no one takes each other into account, really terrible. 🙄 (See video on my Instagram story)
I was really tired and a little hungry, but not enough for a main course. As I walked from the fountain to my hostel, a woman approached me: "Hey, food? Drinks? Pasta, lasagna?" You know how it is. The staff who have to lure people into the place. I said I might want something small, a starter. She said "No problem" and showed me to a table. She called the waiter to bring me the menu and now another movie scene is coming up. 🤣
Remember my Insta post with the rose? Well, here goes the story.
When the waiter brought me the menu he greeted me friendly as he did with every customer and gave me the menu. When he gave me the menu he looked at me and asked how I was. When I answered yes everything is fine and you? he said: "It was fine but now I'm completely distraught after looking into your eyes." 😅 I had to laugh a little because it was charming and lame. I thought: how many women does he say this to in one evening?
Since I ordered ham with melon yesterday, I thought: today I'll have the ham with mozzarella and a glass of white wine to end my day.
In front of me sat a couple with a little girl. The lady had received a rose from her husband I guess because she was holding one. They seemed so happy but when the man's cell phone went away because he had taken a picture of her with the rose, the smile on her face was gone. She was immediately sour and it seemed like the couple just stayed together out of habit.
A little later when the food was brought to their table they went back to taking pictures of the food and she filmed her husband. The man grabbed the 2 plates, walked to about my table and when the woman said start, the man walked to their table with the two plates. As if he had prepared the plates exactly. All for social media. I had to secretly laugh about it. 😅
In the meantime I got my food. The waiter asked regularly if everything was to my liking. Then an old man came by with a bunch of roses to sell. He wanted to give me a rose, but I politely refused to accept it.
Then I saw that the waiter was hesitating. He walked back and forth and spoke to the old man with the rose. He said that he had to wait and come back immediately. The waiter quickly went inside and went back to the old man and took the rose. Of course I had seen everything happen but he did not know that. So I did not gesture anything.
I had finished eating by then and was waiting to ask someone for the bill. The waiter saw that I had finished so he came to my table with the rose in his hands and asked if I would hold it so he could clear my table. He seemed very nervous! It was kind of cute. So yeah I was sitting at an empty table with that rose in my hands.
I asked him for the bill and he said he would get it right away. He came with the bill and I said he could add 3 euros as a tip because I unfortunately didn't have any cash. I paid the bill and saw that he hadn't added his tip. I spoke to him about it and said he wouldn't accept any money from me. Then he said: "The rose is for you. A small gesture for a beautiful lady."
I blushed, thanked him and walked back to my hostel.
I should have actually asked his name so I could mention him in my story
On my way to my hostel I stopped to window shop and oh what a beautiful dress I saw hanging there! Luckily the shop was closed or I would have bought it anyway. 😂
I'm now in my bed and going to close my eyes! What a great day I had today! Sleep well and see you tomorrow. Kiss
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