The plans for Thursday entailed a guided trip to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. The bus left from the Piazza del Popollo at 7:30 so we were up early. But we weren’t just up and ready early, we left really early! Apparently I didn’t take into account the time difference when I set the alarm on my cell phone. So we got ready and started making the trek towards the piazza when about 5 minutes into the walk M noticed that the street clock (just a clock on lamp post which they seemed to have fairly regularly throughout the city) said that it was 4:45, not 6:45. Oops! No wonder there wasn’t hardly anyone out and about on the streets. So we headed back for a few more hours of shut-eye and then it was time to do it again.
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| View of Mt. Vesuvius from Pompeii |
Once we arrived at the piazza, we grabbed a bite to eat from a nearby cafe and sat down under the obelisk in the middle of the square. That was mistake #2. Apparently I plopped myself down in some fresh bird droppings. Quite the way to start the day! Luckily, the morning was not an omen for how the rest of the day went.
It was about a 3hr or so bus ride to Pompeii. I slept most of the way dozing in and out—I always tell myself that I’ll stay awake so that I can soak in the views, but I always fall asleep! I didn’t feel too guilty this time though because the tour guide recommended we sleep as much as possible since it would be a long day. I did manage to wake up enough to catch a few snap shots of the country side.
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| Countryside of Campagnia |
Our first stop was Pompeii. We walked the ruins with a guide that gave us some good info. It was really a beautiful day. I enjoyed the Pompeii tour, but it wasn’t at all what I expected. For some reason I thought that most of the area would still be covered in the ash and that you would see the body forms in the ash. Instead it was mainly all excavated and the bodies that you saw were molds made from the cavities and set inside glass cases.
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| Pompeii ruins |
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| Ruins of the temples and public areas in Pompeii |
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| Pompeii streets -- the round stones were to be used as stepping stones when it rained since there was no drainage; the wheel ruts helped keep the carts going straight on the narrow streets |
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| Body molds (Clockwise from top left): Boy hiding under a cart, dog, pregnant woman, random person, random jugs |
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| A "fast-food restaurant" -- I am taking the photo from the street and that is the counter where they were served |
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| Amphitheater in Pompeii |
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| Gladiator training grounds in Pompeii -- there were people that were enslaved and all they did each day was train/fight |
After the tour we got a chance to try some Limoncello and some lemon cream drinks. Limoncello is originally from this region so I figured I’d give it a try. Wow! It is so strong and lemon-y. Glad I only taste-tested and didn’t buy a drink :)
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| These lemons were massive! |
Next we went to a pizzeria where we had, yes you guessed it, pizza! I opted for the “white pizza” which didn’t have tomato sauce, just cheese and ham. It was delicious. I really like the Napoli crust which is the thick crust. The Roman pizza crust in the thin one. One of my favorite things I learned from the day was the meaning behind the name of the ‘Margarita” pizza which is…
When Italy first became a country, the new king and queen travelled to all of the provinces to meet with and celebrate with the people. In the north of Italy which was quite wealthy, each town/province presented the king & queen with gifts. However, the South of Italy was much poorer and could not afford to give them gifts. So instead they asked the queen what food she would like them to make for her. She told them that she wanted something with red, white, and green to symbolize the Italian flag. So, they made a pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil and named it after her—Queen Margaret.
Then we drove to Mt. Vesuvius where we got to hike to the top. The views were really pretty. You could see Naples, Pompeii, and Hercules. I was a little worried that it would be too hot because it was getting warm when we were in Pompeii, but there was a pretty strong breeze, so it felt nice.
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| Hiking trail up Mt. Vesuvius |
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| Mt. Vesuvius crater |
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| View from the top |
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| Yours truly with Naples in the background |
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| Beautiful view from the top of the Mountain looking south |
After Mt. Vesuvius we loaded back onto the bus and headed for Rome. We got back pretty late and met up with Paul for a late dinner at a little Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. After that, I convinced Paul to take me out for some gelato as I still hadn’t had any—we got nutella and caramel. So delicious!
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