My Trip to Italy (part 2)

Hello!
Sorry it has been so long but I've been weighed down by exams. In this blog entry, I am going to continue writing about my trip to Italy. This entry is about days 6-10.

Day 6

Someone in the Parade

On day 6 we had a rest day and explored Sorrento. It was lovely going down to the coast and looking at the sea views. We explored many streets where we went shopping. In Sorrento, lemons are really popular. You could get a variety of lemony products varying from lemon soaps to lemon patterned pottery! I bought a lemon soap on a pretty patterned plate and a big bag of lemony sweets. It was lovely and we had a really nice time. In the evening, we came across an odd sight. Loads of people dressed in hooded black cloaks were parading through the street. They were accompanied by a band and some groups of singers and they were carrying odd objects such as incense burners and crosses. We found out that it was the parade of Jesus's death when Mary found out. There had been a series of parades that week including a very loud one at 3 o'clock in the morning! It was an extraordinary sight.
Did you know that: in Sorrento, almost every restaurant offered the adults a free little glass of limoncello with the bill

Day 7

Mount Vesuvius Smoking 

We climbed Mount Vesuvius on day 7. This involved yet another journey on the unpleasant train but this time to Herculaneum. We waited for a bit and then got on a bus which took us round hairpin bends up three quarters of the way up the mountain. We saw beautiful views but the road was a bit scary! When we got to the top it was freezing! We started climbing the mountain at a fairly quick pace due to the weather. However, we couldn't go to fast because the steep slopes were a bit stony so you slipped easily. When we got to the top, the views were fantastic and despite the cold, we still had a lovely time. I was shocked to find the crater smoking in some places but luckily it didn't erupt when we were up there. We could see the bits of technology here and there that measured the state of the volcano so that they know when to evacuate people. It was a fantastic trip and I liked the views.
Did you know that: Mount Vesuvius is an overdue volcano and it is estimated that when it erupts, it will be terrible

Day 8
Day 8 was a travelling day. We took the train from Sorrento to Venice. This involved the noisy train for the very last time and then another train from Naples to Rome and finally a third train from Rome to Naples. Altogether we travelled for 6 hours but it didn't seem that long. We had a nice time playing games and eating little toffee waffles that we had picked up. On one of the trains, there was a dog wandering through our carriage with no lead on. This was quite surprising but then, it went into the next carriage. The automatic doors shut and it got stuck on the other side! It got back eventually though. When we got to Venice, it was beautiful. For those of you that haven't been to Venice, it is a city but instead of roads they have rivers and instead of cars they have boats. It was really lovely but we got a bit confused trying to find our hotel because almost every street looks the same. I liked the gondolas which were like luxury river taxis. They had velvet seats and gondoliers row you along. They looked quite romantic because couples tended to sit on one together but they are really expensive!
 Did you know that: you can pay extra money for a gondolier to sing for you!

Day 9

The View from the Bell Tower

On Day 9, we explored Venice. We spent most of our time in St Mark's Square when we eventually got there! I was surprised to see people advertising pictures with pigeons. We watched one in action and people threw some sort of grain around that attracted loads of pigeons. The people would have the grain on their hands and the pigeons would actually fly onto their arms! I would have been really scared. In St Mark's Square, we went into a magnificent church with a lovely ceiling. It was beautiful and I really liked the mosaic floors. However, we couldn't actually get beyond the porch because there was some sort of service going on inside. We also went up the bell tower. It was really high up and you went up in an elevator. The view was brilliant and there were even binoculars that you could pay to use. I was slightly worried that the bells were going to ring because they were massive and it would have been really noisy!
Did you know that: the ceiling in the church we visited is golden! It looks amazing.

Day 10

Some of the masks for sale

We flew back to England on day 10 but beforehand we revisited St Mark's Square in the hope of being let in to St Mark's church and it worked! After popping into a shop for a croissant, we set off. We got to go in the church with the magnificent ceiling. It was really cool but I couldn't help wondering if it was real gold or just paint because it was sort of shimmering! On the way back, we popped into some shops. Venice is famous for its pretty glass and masks. I bought two little masks, one plain big one to decorate, two pairs of glass earrings and a pendant. I had a really nice time.
Did you know that: Venice is slowly sinking!

I really enjoyed my trip and I would recommend all of the places that I went to. I hope my readers have enjoyed reading about it and hopefully, you are more knowledgeable about the sights of Italy!
Bye!