THE SPIRIT OF POMPEII SHINES THROUGH THE RAIN!

At Sea
Aboard Regal Princess
Stateroom C512
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
65F, rainy-a few breaks in the rain

 

Pompeii-the area of the Palace of Justice

By 7 a.m. we were in the Vista Lounge, ready to board our bus for a ride along the Amalfi Coast and then on to Pompeii.  Ever since I read about Pompeii in the Weekly Reader in grade school, I have wanted to learn more. We did visit in 2012, but the small group we were with did not want to hire a guide so TK and I wandered aimlessly around the grounds, albeit in awe. The area is huge, and we should have had a guide!

 

But let’s start at the beginning of this day. We left the Port of Naples  a city of over 2 million people. TK’s guided missile cruiser, the U.S.S. Columbus, was in this port many times during his 4 years in the U.S. Navy.  

Naples

Part of our tour included a ride along the Amalfi Coast, a narrow coastal road with very steep cliffs (500 ft. at least), hairpin turns, rugged shoreline that was visible, and many small villages.  The views of the Mediterranean are spectacular, but sometimes very scary because of how close the bus is to the guiderail.  It is also amazing how buses maneuver in those narrow streets in the small towns along the way.

 

Amalfi Coast

From the bus, I love the garden shop-gas station combo!

An Amalfi Village

Photo 1: Can you see the front of the bus to the front left of our bus?? 

An inch between, I swear

Photo 2: The same time the photo above was taken, this is where I was sitting and the building was an inch from the bus on the other side, I swear!

Besides the sea, there were more lemon and orange trees, olive trees, bougainvillea, grape vineyards (grapes still to be harvested), medieval ruins, World War II ruins, cream and yellow colored apartment buildings, lovely gardens (chard, cabbage, etc.), charming hotels, villas with driveways I would never ever want to drive down or out of, churches of all eras, medieval fortresses.

 

Our first stop was at the Limoncello DiCapri factory (https://www.limoncello.com/en/) where limoncello is made from lemons grown in the area. The color of limoncello is gorgeous—they were bottling it as we arrived.  Guests were offered a taste in the showroom, where one could purchase all kinds of things made with area lemons, the liqueur, of course, but also various candies, soaps, pasta, and more.  The smell of lemon was amazing.  (www.sorexe.com )

 

Limoncello liqueur

Janie outside the shop

 

TK found a Fiat to drive around the coast, but I would not go with him.

Our drive continued until we got to Maiori. We were mystified as to this drop off because at that time the rain started pouring. We ran to the closest coffee shop (Tony’s Food and Drinks) for a coffee and croissants—by this time we were soaked. We stayed there for about half an hour; we thought the rest of the tour people were shopping. We ran through sheeting rain back to the bus and everyone was waiting. Oh my—that has never happened to us before.  I guess everyone went back to the bus and we thought they were happily shopping. Monica had a great personality and was the best guide ever, but we did not need this stop!!

Believe it or not, The Equalizer 3 is being filmed on the Amalfi Coast

for next season--these are just some of the trucks used for equipment

Positano

Janie with tour guide Monica

 

Finally, we were back on our way to Pompeii, which is actually very close to Naples—this time on the highway.  We stopped at Cellini Gallery for a quick look at how cameos are made and to visit the shop (many of these stops are so tour people can use the restroom). We learned the difference between a master craftsman's cameos and those of their students.  Again, I did not purchase any--but the cameos are gorgeous! (https://www.cellinigallery.com)

The tour also included a lunch at the Swiss Bar and Restaurant within walking distance of the ruins of Pompeii—the first course was cannoli stuffed with ricotta and a little spinach topped with the best tomato sauce in the world, then chicken breast topped with mozzarella, and finally sfogliatella, sometimes called a “lobster tail,” but this one was filled with ricotta and an orange jam sort of. Oh, my goodness.  I could have eaten more than one (and we did not take a photo—it was a small dessert).  This meal gave us the fortitude to face Pompeii in the rain.

Exquisite cannoli 

And then, the sun broke out and there were only slight sprinkles now and then, but we stayed dry as we walked through this sacred ground.

Where gladiators trained

Pompeii's smaller coliseum

A street of Pompeii -- the protusions were 

stepping stones sso people did not have to walk in the street

where people emptied their "waste"

A thermopolium, or "fast food" restaurant!

A grand villa, just opened to the public

Fresco/bird

Fresco on wall

All original

The villa's gardens, recreated by an expert

in ancient gardens

Artifacts found on the site

Another Pompeii street

Another thermopolium

Can you find the cat?

Men's area of a spa--there was more to it than this

TK near the area dedicated to the goddess Venus

Apollo--a plaza

Plaza

Believe me, I took many more photos, as did TK--this blog post alone took 4 hours to do. I love doing it because the pace is so hectic I am afraid I will forget things and it is great to refer back to these days of adventure.  The Internet is deadly slow.  Pompeii is a wonderful site to visit, and as I said, very sacred. We did see one of the casts of someone who died--the process of doing that was explained but I will not do that here, nor did TK or I take photos. There have been great documentaries on PBS, etc. about Pompeii, even about recent discoveries. The villa shown above has just been opened to the public.

Anyway, we left Pompeii and arrived back on the ship a half hour before departure.  Dinner, Baked Alaska tonight, and then back to our stateroom! 

Rome, here we come!!

TK's Takes: He was imagining driving an Erie Fire Department firetruck on the Amalfi Coast and in the small towns and villages. He also thinks 25 people is a good number for tours--there were 25 today, not the 55 yesterday.

TK: 11,500 steps

Janie: 11,952  --he says I have more because I take shorter steps. No kidding.