Napoli, that is NAH pole e. Not Naples. We didn’t actually see much of the city, but from what we did see, I don’t think we missed much. The pre tour briefing warned us our friendly the Neapolitans are, and how willing they are to share, that is, share what you have. Our tour was a long one, but just incredible. Our guide was a 34 year old vivacious lady named Manuella, but she referred to herself as Momma and we were her bambinos. What made her so entertaining was we got to learn something of life there and what the people are like rather than just facts. For instance, how a ‘good mamma’ hung her clothes on the railing so that the more personal items were covered by towels or sheets, and everything hung according to lengths. Naughty women did not consider such things.
We drove through Sorrento, with a quick pit stop. Then, we drove along the coast to Amalfi where we had a stop for wandering around the streets before lunch. How do you describe the Amalfi Coast? It holds the record in Guinness Book for most curves at 1091 in just a few miles. In places the road is so narrow and the curves so sharp that the buildings on either side are damaged, We could see the scrape marks where less experienced bus drivers had timed things wrong. The road did not allow us to stop, but we were on the right side of the bus and I was able to take a ‘few’ pictures out the window. When the area was settled, they terraced the hill side or just built into the rock, resulting in towns built down the cliffs. The result is incredibly beautiful, with red roofs, blue sky and blue-green water. In one town the houses are all pastels while another they were all white.
We stopped in Amalfi for a stroll up the narrow streets. Really charming. Then to a hotel for lunch. After lunch we drove to Pompeii. Good time for a little snooze.
Pompeii is much larger than I expected. The town of 20,000 people had been covered with 30 feet of ash when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 89AD. People were killed where on the spot by poisonous gases and then the hot ash. All organic material was vaporized, but left cavities. They filled many of these with plaster and made moulds of the people, wooden doors and things. They have excavated much of the town, but a lot remains. We went into a beautiful villa with colored walls, courtyard and various rooms. All the roofs were gone, as they collapsed with the weight of the ash. She pointed out the house of prostitution where they had diagrams on the walls describing the services offered. Some things never change. Interspersed throughout were fountains. Each was unique and was the means they used to identify locations, rather than street names.
We were exhausted, but had a great time. We opted for the alternate dining so we could get to bed early in preparation for Roma.
We drove through Sorrento, with a quick pit stop. Then, we drove along the coast to Amalfi where we had a stop for wandering around the streets before lunch. How do you describe the Amalfi Coast? It holds the record in Guinness Book for most curves at 1091 in just a few miles. In places the road is so narrow and the curves so sharp that the buildings on either side are damaged, We could see the scrape marks where less experienced bus drivers had timed things wrong. The road did not allow us to stop, but we were on the right side of the bus and I was able to take a ‘few’ pictures out the window. When the area was settled, they terraced the hill side or just built into the rock, resulting in towns built down the cliffs. The result is incredibly beautiful, with red roofs, blue sky and blue-green water. In one town the houses are all pastels while another they were all white.
We stopped in Amalfi for a stroll up the narrow streets. Really charming. Then to a hotel for lunch. After lunch we drove to Pompeii. Good time for a little snooze.
Pompeii is much larger than I expected. The town of 20,000 people had been covered with 30 feet of ash when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 89AD. People were killed where on the spot by poisonous gases and then the hot ash. All organic material was vaporized, but left cavities. They filled many of these with plaster and made moulds of the people, wooden doors and things. They have excavated much of the town, but a lot remains. We went into a beautiful villa with colored walls, courtyard and various rooms. All the roofs were gone, as they collapsed with the weight of the ash. She pointed out the house of prostitution where they had diagrams on the walls describing the services offered. Some things never change. Interspersed throughout were fountains. Each was unique and was the means they used to identify locations, rather than street names.
We were exhausted, but had a great time. We opted for the alternate dining so we could get to bed early in preparation for Roma.
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