Steven had made arrangements for a personal driver to take us around to different places that day. We drove for an hour to a family-owned olive orchard and mill which was on the outskirts of Sorrento.
Their orchards are on hillsides, so they hang netting and when it comes times to harvest the olives, they shake the tree and the ripe olives fall into the nets.
This building is where they mill and sell the oil.
We walked through their factory on our way to their store.
A tasting table had been set up and we were given a basket of broken bread to dip into each of the variety of olive oils and balsamic vinegars to see which taste we liked best. That was fun and yummy and we called that lunch for the day.
Our driver then took us into the town of Sorrento. He dropped us off near a row of flags and told us he would be back at a certain time and we should be standing right under the United States flag so he could find us.
From the bridge we could look down into a valley with steep cliffs on both sides. This is called The Valley of the Mills.
As per the sign located nearby, it says there is what remains of the mill, the public wash house, and a saw mill.
We took a walk around the streets looking at the architecture of that city.
One of the scenes I most enjoyed was looking down the cliff onto the water.
Hotels had built docks out into the water to hold lounge chairs and change houses. A different kind of beach to be sure.
Another look down between the cliffs to find a road.
Good place to pose for photos while waiting for our driver to reappear.
Our driver drove us 30 minutes to Pompei. Surprisingly, I knew nothing about the ancient city of Pompeii, so it was interesting to hear the story of what happened and to see the excavated ruins.
We bought tickets to get into the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. It is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy's Campania region near the coast of the Bay of Naples.
Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can explore.
It was a sobering thought seeing the remains of a once-thriving city. We kept thinking about the unsuspecting people who were buried alive in hot ash.
The most disturbing thing we saw were molds of people as they suffered such an agonizing death.
Archaeologists preserved the remains using a process that involves pouring liquid chalk into cavities left by decomposing bodies, creating a cast of the bodies as they looked at the moment of death.
As we exited the historic site, we did what we had watched every other visitor do who had finished exploring Pompeii--we stood in front of the water fan to try and cool off just a bit.
That afternoon was, by far, our hottest one yet because we were almost always in full sun. My umbrella did not do enough to protect me from that heat.
It took our driver 30 minutes to get us back to the ship.
It probably goes without saying that we could hardly wait to get on the air-conditioned ship and take a refreshing shower to cool down and prepare for our evening dinner and show.
We had noticed this piano man with his decorated piano making the rounds of the ship. We first noticed him in an elevator playing away for the few people who could fit in there with him.
Then we saw him right on our floor playing some tunes.
Our entertainment that evening was the ship's headline singer--Jennifer Singer. Great name for a professional singer!
Took a moment before bed to inspect my poor rashy legs and my continuously-swollen ankles. Heat is not my friend!!!!!
Thankfully, Glen's medication was helping his legs and his rash was getting better while mine continued to get worse.
We were both looking forward to a more relaxing day the next day. We would be spending the whole day on the ship.
SATURDAY was our one and only sea day. Glen insisted he get a photo of himself with the huge, hideously ugly, silver cowboy hat. I didn't get the point of that eye-sore on the main walkway in the middle of the beautiful, new ship.
We participated in some of the activities around the ship--one of which was solving an escape room.
Eating a hot dog was a must for my hot-dog-loving husband.
We enjoyed our view of the water from our balcony.
We went to two shows that evening after dinner. One was a family comedy show.
The other show was called Ice Spectacular. It was a tiny skating rink, but the skaters put on a beautiful show.
SUNDAY we flew home. The heat wave continued as we got off the ship, waited for a while in the sun for Steven and Patricia to meet up with us as we had been diverted off the ship at opposite ends to pick up our luggage.
We flew from Barcelona to Atlanta with Steven and Patricia.
We bid our friends good-bye in Atlanta--which is always hard to do because we have such a wonderful time when we are together.
Farewell Morgans! Until we meet again for our next adventure!
The airplane food had not been good at all, and my stomach soon began to rebel.
While on our layover in Atlanta, Glen and I went to wait for our flight in the Delta lounge.
There is always an assortment of free food and snacks to eat in there. I was hopeful some of that food would calm my stomach. No such luck!! The sandwich I chose tasted horrible to me.
The airplane meal from Atlanta to Salt Lake City was another disaster for both our taste buds and for my tummy!!
I was so miserable on that extremely turbulent flight with my tummy hurting and I was feeling nauseous and the rash on my legs and arms were so itchy I wanted to scratch my skin right off.
Most people come home with fun souvenirs to remind them of the places they had been and the things they had done. And most people come home from a warm climate vacation with a beautiful tan.
This was my souvenir! This was my "tan."
Thankfully, I had a dermatology appointment two days later. The doctor did a biopsy of my arm which later revealed I had inflammation going on underneath my skin. That explains why for a year now I have felt like my skin has been burning from the inside out.
He prescribed a hefty dose of prednisone for a week, gave me a new topical cream prescription, and suggested I go off my hormones to see if that could be contributing to the problem.
Four of my daily medications cause light sensitivity, so I will always have to be careful in the sun.
I am happy to report that despite the sores on the tops of my arms--which I always have from anytime I scrape up against something--the underlying burning is not happening as much anymore. HURRAH!!
My hope is that I don't start having hot flashes from no more hormones. I had enough heat to last me a lifetime on our vacation!!!
