Today I was reminded of some of the many reasons we teachers take students on overseas trips: first exposure, new discoveries, building lasting memories, and seeking the unknown. While the day's itinerary had no new sites for me, the day was anything but familiar. I decided to spice up the morning with a half hour hike to an ancient Roman villa of Lollius Felix on the southern cape of Sorrento (ancient Surrentum - land of the sirens). A local Italian told me an interesting but likely apocryphal story about Regina Giovanna who entertained men much in the way of the sirens. My interest lay, however, in the ancient Roman villa of course. I strolled down a Roman road to see the foundation of the villa, a swimming hole, a georgeous sunrise, and a bridge right out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Shorty says: "Hold on lady, we're going for a ride!). After surviving the climb and precarious bridge, I returned to the hotel with time to spare for our bus ride to Pompeii. Oh yes, there were also two few hundred feet waterfalls along the walk to make the experience even more worthwhile.
Pompeii, a mere 45 minutes, took two hours because the main road out of Sorrento was closed so the bus took the route 6 approach --actually looping back through Sorrento so that we had made it nowhere in an hour. The vast majority of the students didn't notice this because they were asleep. I used the time to rest my legs and reflect on my morning adventure.
Stay tuned. The day just kept getting better.
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