Day Three Napoli and Pompeii

Day Three of our adventure began very early in the morning.  We were picked up at 7am by the tour company. The only part that really sucks is that breakfast at the hotel starts at 7. Lucky for us the folks at Hotel Art Deco are so nice. The very nice gentleman at the desk went to the kitchen and came back with two little bags of breakfast items.We were hoping to get a to-go coffee, they went above and beyond our expectations. 


Once we arrived at the tour companies main office, we waited for other passengers to arrive before we began. Our guide Christina was very nice. She conducted the tour in English, Spanish and French. WOW! I took French for 6 years, and only understood maybe 40% of what she was saying.  DH has had some Spanish and said he maybe got 20% of it. It was very impressive, there is no way I would be able to speak that many languages at once. I am having a hard enough time speaking Italian right now. 


We traveled South from Roma on the main highway that links Italy's three major centers (Milano, Roma and Napoli) together. As we traveled out of the city of Roma, I began to notice houses. The entire time we have been in Roma, we haven't seen any houses. There are apartment buildings everywhere.  Our guide mentioned that most people live in tiny apartments in Roma. They started with small houses, increasing in size until we reached the end of the Lazio region. At that point the houses began to get smaller again. We also noticed the the houses and towns became more "rustic" as we traveled south. And by rustic I really mean run down.  

Apennine Mountains

So here we are traveling along the highway, with these little rustic houses and amazing little villages going up the sides of the mountains.  It was breath taking. We learned from our guide that the Apennine Mountains run the length of the Italian peninsula. I have never seen anything quite like it....huge mountains on both sides of the highway. 


We finally arrived in Napoli and began to drive around the city. I was very shocked to see how dirty and crowed the city seemed.  Roma is full of people, but doesn't seem to be as crowed.  We were then taken on a tour of the bay of Naples. It was an amazing view. The island of Capri and the other side of the bay where Sorrento is located is in full view.  There were three giantic cruise ships moored in the harbor. As breath taking as the view was, my heart broke a little as we continued our journey along the bay. We saw shanti towns. I have only seen photos of slum areas before and I had no idea they actually existed in Europe. I can't imagine what it must be like to actually live there. 

Island of Capri in the Bay of Naples 

 We were then taken to see how cameo are made from sea shells.  While the technique was discussed, and the "factory" offered us 20% off of everything, I was disappointed. The prices were very high, and the quality was not what I expected. In fact I found much more attractive pieces in Pompeii for far less...plus I got to haggle the price down there. What a blast! 


We were then treated to lunch in the new city of Pompei, across from the Sanctuary of Pompei. Lunch was very tasty, but drinks were not included as part of our tour.  No big deal, unless you were the people on our trip who thought they were ordering a glass of wine but had actually purchased the entire bottle. After lunch it was on to the ruins of the ancient city.  

at Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background

I have been waiting to visit Pompeii since I was a little girl.  I remember wanting to be an anthropologist and wanting to wanting to work at Pompeii.  I was lucky enough to have had a teacher in Junior High that encouraged my dream, he always told me I would make it here. And now 20 some years later, her I am.  
Thank you Mr. Winemiller!






How humbling to know you are walking the streets of a town that was wiped off the map!  I don't know about anyone else, but it was really kinda erie. I know most of the people made it out of the city, but seeing the casts of the bodies they did find was a little sad. Especially the one of the chained up dog. It really made me miss my babies. 


We had the funniest tour guide during our time in Pompeii, Franco.  He made walking thru the ancient brothel interesting. He kept mentioning that we haven't invented anything the Romans didn't think of first, judging from the fresco'd "menu", he is right.  WOW!  We were also able to tour the men's baths, really impressive if you think about it.  You took your hot bath, then moved to the tepid water, then finally into the cold bath. Just like baths today! 

Add caption

We also were able to explore two ancient houses. One "middle-class" home and one "very wealthy" home.  The only things different? Same as today, square footage! Ok so the wealthy home had better quality frescos, and a garden.   We were also able to visit both auditoriums and the gymnasium.  Franco, our wonderful guide, even sang us a song in the little auditorium, to demonstrate the acoustics of course. 


After we left the ruins we were able to do some shopping for souvenirs. Then we began the long bus ride home. I swear we were on the return trip for ever. I joked with DH that we must actually be in Dante's Inferno, as we waited to be dropped off.  I swear we went in circles around Roma for hours.  


What an adventure!  More sight seeing tomorrow!