The trip started with a seven hour ferry ride, unfortunately it became a thirteen hour ferry ride due to the bad weather that was determined to sink our ship… I was sitting next an old Italian man that did not speak English or Greek. I decided that it would be a good time to try to learn some Italian… Our conversation was a cross between charades, sign language, and ‘hot potato’ (also known as: ‘Pass the Phrasebook.’ The person holding it is the one that gets to talk…).

The ferry brought us to Bari, which is a nice little town, with some old castles and lots of shops. We got our tickets for the train and then left for Naples, which was our first official destination. The second I stepped out of the train station I knew why everyone had warned me to be careful in Naples. It was a massive explosion of chaos! People, cars, and buses were going in every direction at breakneck speeds. I am thinking the average blood pressure of someone who lives there must be through the roof… 

After much ado, we arrived at our hostel (Hostel of the Sun) which is one of the top rated hostels in Europe. If anyone ever needs a place to stay in Naples, I would definitely recommend staying there. By this point we had been traveling for almost 24 hours and we were extremely hungry… We figured since we were in Naples, pizza was the appropriate thing to eat. The people working at the hostel gave us a map and told us where to get the “best pizza in the world.” The place had huge brick ovens and it was a family owned and operated business for the past several hundred years. The pizza is now what I will compare every other pizza with. I ate the entire thing…

The next day our plans were to go and see Pompeii. Unfortunately we woke up to cold and rainy weather. But it’s not every day that you are close enough to visit Pompeii… So, we put on our raincoats and trekked out to the bus anyway.



Walking around the streets of Pompeii was a surreal experience. Knowing that people lived in the houses and walked along the same streets that I was on… and what a horrible experience that last day must have been. It really made me think about how important it is to enjoy our lives while we have the opportunity. Not that a volcano is going to erupt in Wisconsin or anything… but still… it makes one think.

Standing in front of the temple of Jupiter, one of the most prominent sites of worship in Pompeii. The goddesses Juno and Minerva were worshiped here.

The Basilica


Considered to be the world’s oldest known amphitheater. It could hold over 12,000 spectators! In AD 59, “a murderous brawl with a rival town prompted the Senate to ban any further games there for ten years.”

After spending a wonderful (albeit wet) day in Pompeii. We had some more pizza, said goodbye to our amazing hostel, and went to visit what would become my favorite city in Italy: Rome.