Buon giorno,
Today was an early morning but a full and exciting day. It was another rainy day. We were up and out before 7am because we had to be on our tour bus by 7:30am. Since we had to leave so early, we did not get to partake on the free breakfast. We made it to our meeting point 20 minutes early so we found a McDonald's for a quick bite, but that was not the case. There were two people in front of us and we stood in line for 15 minutes, then waited another 5 min to get our food. We took it to go, boarded the bus only to hear "no eating or drinking on the bus". Thankfully we were not the last to board, so we stood outside (in the rain) scarfing our food before we left.
We made the 3 hour trip south to Naples and the Almafi Coast. Since it was raining/foggy, we did not have the full effect of the panoramic coast line. We stayed on the bus as we toured some of the major sites of Naples. Overall, it is a dirty town with lots of graffiti and run down buildings. The guide even commented how the city is dirty. The low income part of the city was damaged when the city was bombed during WWII and during a mild eruption on Mt. Vesuvius in 1944. Because of a hurting economy, parts of the city never fully recovered.
We then drove towards the city Pompeii. We stopped at a cameo shop where they make the cameo jewelery. I was unaware that they were made from shells (typically conch shells). We stopped for lunch just outside the archeological site of Pompeii. Lunch was provided and was a four course menu. We had a slice of pizza to start, followed by pasta, turkey and roasted potatoes, and fruit cocktail. It was all very good. We got to converse with a couple from Des Moines, Iowa and Phoenix, Arizona. On the way to and from the restaurant we passed by so many pastry shops with all kinds of italian goodies but were not able to stop.
We finally made it to Pompeii. For those of you who don't know about Pompeii, here is a short history lesson (for those who do, you can skip to the next paragraph). Pompeii was a port city south of Rome. In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted burying the whole city in volcanic ash. The reason it is so notable is that it is a well preserved city depicting the average daily life of the ancient Romans.
This is such a interesting place to explore. Our guide gave us a 2 hour tour explaining the highlights. This is a 168 acre site and we were told it takes approximately 2-3 days to see everything. The best way to explain the city is through the pictures, so below I will caption the pictures with the explainations. It is also a rather somber site because all of the people died when the volcano erupted. The top of the volcano now has two peaks because when it did erupt, it literally blew its top. Pompeii was a city directly on the coast, but now it is several miles from the water. The volcano added to the coast line. The lava from the volcano never reached the city. It was only the ash and cinder that buried the city. All of the people died from suffocation of the ash and toxic gasses that were released. Most of the artifacts have been removed and placed in a museum (which we were not able to visit). Some of the skeletons they found they covered in plaster molds to get a better sense of the body position. The volcano did help future Italians as it made the soil extremely furtile. Now southern Italy is a major exporter of wine, olive oil, and limoncello.
After Pompeii, we stopped at a pastry shop before boarding the bus. I had another cannoli (so good) and a lobster tail (not as good). We boarded the bus for the 3 hr ride back to Rome. We ordered a small pizza to share and went to bed. It was a long day but a good one!
Tomorrow, Vatican City!
Arrivederci
Mount Vesuvius through a curtain of fog.
The Almafi Coast. Not as impressive as it could have been.
Typical look of Naples. Apparently Italy has a high unemployment rate, causing a lot of low income areas. Everywhere is covered in graffiti.
Starting upper left(UL): the fast food shop. They would have prepared dishes in each bowl and you chose what you wanted to eat. They found over 80 fast food shops as most people didn't cook in their houses. Upper right(UR): a main street. The stepping stones in the center was where you crossed the street because the sewer system ran on the street. You can see divots in the street where carts would run. Lower left(LL): the bakery with a large oven. When they discovered this bakery, they found 80 loaves of bread still in the oven. Lower right (LR): the mill to grind the flour for the bakery. Either donkeys or slaves were tied to the mill and walked in a circle to operate the mill.
The water system. Pompeii had running water!
UL: the lead pipes used to get water from the aqueduct to the city. Water supplied the community baths/spas, private houses, and community fountains (for water retrieval). They didn't know lead was toxic back then. LL: the community fountain (with a modern valve). The impressions on the base near the valve is where they would rest their hands to collect water. Right: the pressure control system. The tall brick wall housed a system to help control water pressure. All impressive engineering for such a long time ago.
A wealthy family's home. UL: large hole in the ceiling to collect rain water. There was collection system under the house. LL: large frescos on the garden wall. Middle: preserved mosaic floors throughout the house. UR: more frescos on the wall. It's hard to see the details but they were impressive. LR:intact frescos. The red color is called Pompeii red and is made from iron oxide (rust)
The brothel. They uncovered 25 brothels in Pompeii. UL:the outside of the building. Prostitution was a profession and the women were termed "she wolves" because they would howl at the men to get their attention to come inside. UR: the menu. Since Pompeii was a port town, they had people from different nation speaking different languages. So, they depicted their services with pictures on the wall. Bottom: stone bed with stone pillow. There were about 4 -5 rooms in the small building.
Plaster casts of people found. UL: man UR: dog. He was wearing a collar and found chained to his house. LL: pregnant woman found face down trying to shield her mouth and nose from the ash and toxic gasses. LR: slave found chained up also trying to cover his mouth and nose.
The gymnasium/spa
UL: Field of the gym. You can see a dog in the picture. There were several stray dogs around the site. It surprised me that they were allowed to wander considering they kept us on a tight leash. UR: The baths on the men's side. The public bath was raised up. There were three baths of different temperatures. They were able to keep this space a "steam room". The floor was heated and they would pour water over it to create steam. BOTTOM: etchings on the wall in the men's steam room.
The main square. You can see Mount Vesuvius in the background. Most of the town events occurred here.
Temple to Apollo. This was a pagan city. This temple was where they would worship Apollo, god of the sun, and Diana, goddess of the moon. Upper middle: Diana, UR: Apollo, Bottom: alter in the temple. They used to do animal sacrifices here to the gods (but never human sacrifices)
The gladiator training area and ampitheater
UL:the gladiator training area. In this city gladiators fought for sport and never to the death. BL: the gladiator barracks. Right: the ampitheater where they would watch plays. The women had to watch from the "nosebleed" seats because they were known to gossip too much and were too loud.
Yes, those are italian lemons next to regular oranges. They are huge!
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