Travelling south

Ciao a tutti e saluti da Sorrento!
With sunny blue skies and sparkling blue water, we have spent the past two days enjoying Italy's south. To recap though, our last day of classes in Rome involved the usual lessons in the morning, followed by lunch and a visit to a local bar, and then a seminar on Italy's second language - the use of gestures. After this, the director at Torre di Babele presented everyone with certificates and then there was a chance to go shopping before we left the city. After enjoying our last night eating in the hotel's restaurant with our newly adopted nonna and the delights of packing, we set off for Pompeii early the next morning.
Once in Pompeii we met our guide Livia who showed us some of the main highlights of Italy's biggest museum, including some impromptu singing from Giselle to illustrate the acoustics of the opera theatre there, as well as the take-away food and wine stalls, the gladiators' gym, the house of a very wealthy merchant, the forum and agora, and finally, some of the body casts. Our visit through the streets of the Roman city, over the pedestrian crossings and amongst the crowds was, as ever, overshadowed by the looming presence of Vesuvius. It's hard to imagine that such a picturesque setting can hide such a lurking danger.
After lunch where more shopping took place, we got back on the bus and headed to Sorrento, about an hour's drive away due to the crazy traffic. Our hotel here is just beautiful, set amidst lush gardens and lemon groves, with views out over the Bay of Naples. I think it's safe to say we've all liked it here.
Today we've wandered the little streets of Sorrento, browsing the shops selling Limoncello and savouring some local buffalo mozzarella. We checked out the marina and were entertained by a pair of boys frollicking in the clear water, trying the tip each other off a windsurfer. Meanwhile, Ben spent the afternoon with his nonno's relatives, meeting them for the first time. We all met back up for a gelato-making demonstration, where Giselle and Elyssa measured out the ingredients for a refreshing lemon gelato and Lizette managed to extract our gelato from the mixer without spilling any. This tasting was followed by another sample of any two flavours of our choice. Suffice to say, this was a very popular excursion!
Reversing how we usually do things, we then had dinner in a nearby restaurant and returned to the hotel in the twilight to pack up once again before we head north tomorrow morning.