Kate's Fantastic Adventure - Pompeii

On our last full day in Sorrento we visited the Roman ruins at Pompeii.  As most people know, an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. engulfed the city of Pompeii (and other nearby towns) in many meters of falling ash.  It was a large, thriving town and many of its citizens left before they died.  However, a number stayed and they, along with all the buildings were trapped like flies in amber to be found many hundreds of years later.  Naples (or Neopolis - New City) was where many of those who fled Pompeii later settled. 

I only took two pictures at Pompeii.  Here is one of them--Emily, Cherie, Cindy and Kate sitting in the small amphitheater.  As you can see the weather was great the day we were there.

The most interesting thing about Pompeii is that city was well preserved by the ash that enveloped it.  It looks much as it did in 79 A.D. except the roofs of the buildings are gone.  The area began being excavated in the 1700's but that was mostly looters.  Over the next several hundred years there were a number of efforts to systematically uncover the city but none last long.  It was not until the beginning of the 1900's that the newly unified government of Italy undertook the giant project.  Even today, 100 years later, there are still areas of old Pompeii that have not been rediscovered.  However there is about a square kilometer of area that is open to the public and it includes all the main business, government and commercial areas of old Pompeii. 


We took the train from Sorrento to Pompeii (about a 30 minute ride) and spent a couple hours exploring the city.  Our trusty Rick Steves guide gave us a good self-guided walking tour of the area that included the old baths, the largest private villa in town and a bordello.  We would not let Kate go in the latter. :-)

Pretty much all of the art (frescoes, mosaics and statues) have been replaced by copies and the originals are now in the National Archeological Museum in Naples.  Dom and I went there last fall and although it was interesting to see the originals, it is actually more fascinating to see the replicas on site in Pompeii. 

Afterwards we went back to the train station to return to Sorrento.  We must have just missed a train because the platform was nearly empty when we got there.  By the time we left it was pretty full.  It was back to Sorrento for more shopping, afternoon naps, packing to leave the next day, another dinner out and more gelato at Davide II.

Kate's Fantastic Italian Adventure!

The 2010 Girls' Trip to Italy was a wopping success!  This was my niece Kate's Italian adventure and we were joined by her mom Cindy and my friend Cherie and her daughter Emily.  The above picture was taken our first night in Rome.  Over the next few weeks I will post the details of our trip but for now here is a quick overview.

We started in with two full days in Rome.  The first day we focused on Ancient Rome.  Above you can see us at the Colosseum.

From Rome we took the train south to Sorrento where we had three full days.  The first was spent taking the bus to Amalfi where we walked to the nearby town of Atrani for lunch.  The bus ride itself was quite the adventure (urp!).

Then we took the boat to Capri and explored the little island.

We also spent a day at Pompeii.  The weather in Rome and Sorrento was spectacular.  The Italians might have thought it was still chilly but 65-70 degree weather was a delight for a bevy of Seattle area women.

From Sorrento I drove the gang to Partigliano.  We managed a flying stop at the Prada Outlet near Florence but it was a bit of a disappointment.  A lot like Nordstrom but pricier. 

Our first day in P. involved laundry, groceries, a stop at the Leaning Tower of Pisa and picking up Dom at the airport (yeah!).  He put up with the gaggle of girls superbly.

Actually, Dom got left at home his first day here.  The rest of us went to Florence for a visit to the Uffizi and SHOPPING!  Italy's economy got quite a boost as can be seen from the shopping bags.

We also spent a day at the Cinqueterre in spite of MY whining. It turned out the best idea as the weather in P. was damp but it was sunny and warm on the coast.

Everyone was flying out of Bologna so we packed up and spent the day in Venice before overnighting in Bologna.  The next day Dom and I dropped the gang off at the airport and headed back to Partigliano. 

It was a REALLY fun two weeks but we did do a LOT.  So, I am sure all my dear friends now need a vacation from their vacation.  Meanwhile, Dom and I are getting back in our Italian groove.  More tomorrow.

Terzo Giorno a Capri

Our third day on Capri was actually spent off Capri. We got going early and caught a boat into Naples to visit the Museo Archeologico where many of the Pompeii mosaics, frescoes and artifacts are located.


On our way from the ferry dock to the museum we saw a demonstration taking place. It was fairly quiet and, as is usual in Italy, there were lots of police on the street.


This statue of Dante Alighieri (author of The Divine Comedy) is the largest I have ever seen. They are not uncommon throughout Italy as Dante is considered the father of the Italian language. However, this one was even bigger than Michelangelo's David. It was located in an equally large piazza in front of Naples' Galleria.




This is looking into Naples' Galleria, an early shopping mall. Unfortunately, it looked like many of the shops are closed and it had a rather abandoned air.




The part of Naples we saw looked a lot like this. There were wide boulevards and many grand buildings that looked vaguely French.



At the museum we saw an incredible array of artifacts from throughout Italy. I did not take many pictures but I really liked this pottery.



This is one of the most famous mosaics from Pompeii. The individual pieces are very small--perhaps a square centimeter each. It has to have been incredibly skilled work to have created this sort of mosaic work.

It was well worth the effort to visit the museum. I have been to Pompeii twice and it is an incredibly place as well. It can be frustrating when touring the excavated city because there are plaques everywhere saying the original mosaic or fresco is located at the archeological museum. Sometimes pictures of the originals are there but often one is just left with the feeling of having missed something.



After the museum we found a pizzeria and had lunch. Then we walked over to the Duomo--the church of San Gennaro. Unfortunately it was closed until 5 pm.



On the way home it started to rain. Fortunately, it quit by the time we got to Capri so our journey back to the hotel was dry.

The following day we reversed our original journey. We went from Anacapri by bus to Marina Grande, from to Marina Grande to Naples by foot ferry, from there to the train station by taxi, from Naples Centrale to Florence by Eurostar train, from Florence to Diecimo by two more trains. Our friend Anna picked us up at Diecimo and brought us to Partigliano.

It was a fun and interesting trip.