We again use a car service for our trip to Pompeii and Sorrento.but this time it is with the tour company called Joe Banana Limos. https://www.joebananalimos.net/ Our excursion is called a Kid Friendly Tour.
Ready and waiting was our driver for the day. He was a younger guy - professional and friendly. We headed straight to Pompeii for a couple of reasons - mainly traffic - we wanted to be sure we made the ship at our appointed hour and heat - better morning than afternoon sun. We arrived in Pompeii and it was crowded. I missed the boat on this one and should have purchased advanced entry tickets. Pompeii was hot hot hot. There is no shade in the ruins and they are expansive. This combination was too much for the kids. Our big regret was not hiring a guide. A guide would have purchased our tickets quickly and made sense of the ruins for us. That was a big miss. We had a guide book but it was difficult to navigate where we were in comparison to the guidebook map.
Trip Tip: Before leaving for our trip, my youngest daughter and I read the book entitled "Vacation under the Volcano" by Mary Pope Osborne - part of the Magic Tree House collection. It was a great introduction to Pompeii and the history of the City and volcano eruption.
The kids quickly tire and after about 2 hours we make our way out of the ruins, sweaty, hot and parched. Nothing an italian ice can't help. Then we can't find our driver! Where is he? Likely somewhere in the shade drinking an espresso. Eventually we catch up and in the air conditioned van we head to the coast driving by Mt. Vesuvius. We drive about an hour and head to Granano. On the way we talk about food and the area. Our driver offers to take us to his friend's business where they make fresh cheese.
Our next stop is Pizzeria il Tempio where we make and eat our own authentic Neapolitan pizza. So much fun. So much food!
Neapolitan pizza is deemed the best - made with local ingredients like olive oil, mozzarella cheese and San Marzano tomatoes, which grow on the volcanic plains in the south part of Mount Vesuvius.
Waddling back to the car we climb in for a ride to Sorrento. But, not before a quick stop at the pasta factory store. Granano is known to have the best dried pasta. It was In the 16th century in Grangano that pasta became an industrial product and by the 18th century, pasta di Gragnano began to travel beyond Campania’s borders to other parts of Italy. Soon after, pasta would become a signature dish of many regions in Italy. To be called pasta di Gragnano, the pasta must be produced in a legally defined area in and around the Bay of Naples and it must be made by mixing durum wheat with the calcium poor water of the Monti Lattari. The dough is forced through rough bronze forms and dried at low temperatures in the mountain air. The result is said to produce the best dried pasta. I have to be honest - I learned this all after the trip. But, our driver telling me that Pasta di Gragnano is the best in the world was enough to require a stop at the store. There was definitely eye rolling on hubby's part when I reappeared with two large bags of dried pasta. Later on the trip home those ten pounds of pasta would require a purchase of a tote bag in Barcelona to get it on the plane. I didn't regret it - and it makes for a fun dinner party story.
We eventually make our way to Sorrento and stop at the pretty market spending a bit of time purchasing all things lemon as souvenirs.
Next stop Gargiulo Olive Oil Farm,situated in the countryside of Sorrento. Here we learn how extra virgin olive oil is made and sample no less than 15 different types of extra virgin olive oil with freshly baked bread.
A really fun day - great experiences - great food - great pasta!.