Richard had treated me to a holiday for my 35th birthday and it was the first time we were leaving Thomas for more then one night. We had Thomas's first birthday party on the Saturday and we did a BBQ on the Sunday with Rich's family (his Brother Andy and wife Blair were also back as a 'surprise') and my parents came along. It had been a busy weekend so we were looking forward to some R & R.

We got up at 3.15 and left the house at 3.35, it was still pretty hot. We had a fantastic summer for weather. We parked in the short term car park and our flight was 6am with Easyjet. We hadn't slept much so we snoozed on the plane. We realised a week before our trip our driving licenses had gone missing after our trip to Crete and Rich had booked car hire so had to cancel and book transfers and a coach trip to do the tour so it caused extra expense. When we arrived we were picked up by a driver and he gave us some facts about the area. Vesuvius is an active mountain and had erupted a few times, the last time as late as the 40's. It still exploded from time to time. Mt.Vesuvius, Italy. Mt. Vesuvius is located in Italy and is the only active volcano in mainland Europe. It is most famous for its historic eruption in 79 AD, which destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. He also told us about a famous flower shop in Pompeii. He said where we were staying was very central and lots of restaurants and bars nearby.

When we got to our hotel the hotel plaza we couldn't check in until 2 so we grabbed some suncream and went for a walk. They gave us a map and said there were two ports nearby. One was 10 mins walk and the other about 20 mins. We were situated right near a square and shops/restaurants and it was very busy. We went for a wander and overlooked two beaches, as it's volcanic it was black sand. It still looked pretty and the water looked glorious, blue and green. We then went back to the square and went to have lunch at the restaurant near our hotel which looked busy. They gave us bread which was a common thing and they added on a cover charge for bread/snacks. I chose a half magharita and half pasta. The driver had said Naples was the home of magharita pizza and seafood spaghetti so I wanted to try them. We also got a side of chips, it was all tasty. We had a beer with our meal and they gave us limoncello to finish. We then walked down lots of steps to go down to the port which was closest. We walked along the sea front and there were lots of private beaches which you had to pay to get into and use chairs etc. We then decided to pay the euro and get a lift back up. The early start was starting to take its toll so we went to our hotel and checked in. We ended up falling asleep for 2 hours and then went up to the pool. It was a small pool and only about 12 sunloungers. A lady came up to me later to give me a book that she had finished reading. Rich had picked up two for us at the airport that morning. Mine was called the 'Couple next door' and Richard's was 'Munich'. He loves a John Grisham novel! Mine was about a couple that go for dinner next door and leave their 6 month old baby and have the monitor but she gets kidnapped. It was really good and I suspect it will be made into a film at some point. Although it may be a bit close to the Madeline McCann disappearance. I still had a bit to go in my book and I think she was looking to see if had finished mine. I said I could pass mine on to read maybe by Wednesday but I ended up finishing in the room so popped up and gave it to her when we went out for dinner. We went for a wander to find a nice place to eat and ended up going to a restaurant overlooking the sea for dinner. We had calamari and bruschetta to start and I had gnocchi for dinner with a glass of prosecco. Rich had seafood pasta and it cost 61 euros. We walked back and the streets were busy. We walked past this cat and it tapped Richard's foot as he walked past. It was hilarious and we watched and it did it to other people :) We were in bed for 10 and as typical our holiday there were some noisy people arguing around 2am! Super annoying on our night off. There were a group from up north in the hotel and we suspected it was them. We were awake at 8.30am ready for our day.

It was Tuesday and we went for breakfast, there was a big selection for cereals, cold meats, cheeses, hot food, pastries, cakes.. some lovely tomatoes in olive oil. We had a 9.25 pick up for the tour. We had Roberto who was our eccentric tour guide who demanded we call him and the driver mamma and daddy. He was a very camp guy but entertaining. He gave us a sticker with his number to call in case of emergency. He gave us lots of information and history along the way. There were about 24 people on the tour, a real mix of Australian's, Americans and some more I think. Our first stop was Positano and we had 1hour there. He walked us down to the top of the town and pointed us in the direction to head. We walked to church first and the beach via little alleys. We couldn't find the art gallery he spoke about.There was a charge to go on the beach. Our time was quickly up so we wandered back to the coach. He kept saying on the coach 'kiss your wife' and he demanded we kissed under the tuscan terrace and you wouldn't get divorced (like he had). He showed us a very expensive hotel on the way past. There were lots of little car park shacks. There were house buried in the hills and it was very pretty. There were light houses known as look outs along the way. There were lots of boats in the sea and it looked gorgeous. Our next stop was Amalfi and we hit some traffic getting there. The roads were so busy and a bit crazy so probably a good thing we didn't drive ourselves. We had 2 hours in Amalfi and Roberto was selling a boat tour. We went on the boat for 12 euros with margarita calzone and a bottle of water. It was about 45 mins and took us along the beach front and back to the other side. There was an old couple moaning on the coach as they wanted a tuna salad but not on the boat as I think he got sea sick. On the boat they took us to the elephants kissing rocks and there were kids jumping off. We went past a private beach which was home to more celebs. There was a luxury house which sold for 54 million. We saw the Roger Moore house and an Italian actress.. it really was beautiful. We wandered into church and I had to cover my shoulders so was given a big piece of paper. It was a beautiful church and there were some great air con units which we enjoyed walking past. We got gelato, I had a mint chocolate one and Rich had an Oreo one. They allowed us to use their toilets in the back. We looked in the shops and got water and our token magnet. There were fountains and people were filling up bottles, seemed to be ok but not sure I would risk it. There was a shop which sold frozen lemon and strawberry on top. There was lemon drinks, ornaments everywhere as it was home to the lemon peel and limoncello. We then headed for the coach for our last stop which was Ravello and was about 25 mins away. We had one hour there, there was a little square with old ruins. There were snakes on the front for holding torches back in the day. We were high up in the mountains and it was very pretty. There was a church there which was closed and a villa ruffulo and music stadium. We stopped for a beer overlooking the mountains and sea for 6 euros. It was nice to chill for a bit. We then got on the coach at 4 and it wad 2 hours back to Sorrento. We went to the shop across the road and picked up some biscotti for Belinda and then went to pool for a few hours. The pool wasn't massive so it was busy and sunloungers near the pool were limited. We then got ready and went and ate in the square. We managed to get the last table outside but rubbish service (it seriously took forever for everything and we had to request our drinks again) We had a seafood marinara dish to share to start (mussels, squid, prawns, Octopus) It was very tasty. I then had prawn and cod tempura with prosseco for my main which was really filling. We then went for a wander around the shops and bought Thomas an Italia t shirt. The streets were buzzing with people. We then went back to the hotel but after I went to fall asleep I felt really sick. I was sick about 4 times before luckily it passed. I felt terrible though, all cold and shivery.

Wednesday was our last day and we woke for about 9 and had some breakfast and packed up. I tried to keep it simple for me after my disastrous night. I felt better but still a bit ropey. We then went to the pool for a few hours and had margarita pizza at the rooftop bar at 1.30. I saw the woman who I had given my book to and she was only part of the way through it. I hoped she may have finished and I could bring home to lend to Sam. We were then picked up at 2.20. He was 20 mins late and the flight was 5 so we were a bit worried if we would make it as was a good hours drive. All was good though and he did it in 55 mins and the flight was delayed by 50 mins. They were putting bags into the hold and we got a sticker but then no one took the bags so we took onto aircraft and there was loads of space in the overhead compartments. When we got to Stanstead it was a walk to the passport control and as usual there was a massive queue. Luckily before we left the plane Rich said about passports and I thought he had mine but actually I had put in the pocket in front so was lucky as I would of walked off without it. We then got back to the car and were home in 50 mins and home by 9pm. It was a lovely break away but we were glad to get home to our little guy. Sorrento and the Amalfi coast did not disappoint and it was a lovely break with the hubby.