We left the hotel in Assisi this morning with the plan of having a long driving day. No side stops except for restroom break. The bus was moving, so I was in survival mode. I did lots of sleeping today. In fact, it is 11:30 PM as I am typing this tonight, and I am not really all that sleepy. To top it off, tomorrow is a laid back day for me, too.
We arrived in Pompeii around 1:30 with reservations to eat lunch at a pizzeria. Pizza was invented in Naples in just the 1940s, according to Mario's story, and the classic cheese and tomato sauce pizza that is called Margherita Pizza is named after the wife of the last king of Italy. The pizza was good, the french fries were better. The gelato, chocolate chip. Then, it was time to meet Roberto, our guide for the day.
If you aren't familiar with Pompeii, it was a city that had become a Roman ally, and then a colony of Rome. Sometime in the first century, Mount Vesuvius blew her top, literally. Today, it has two peaks. Then, it only had one. Mario says because of the large surrounding population, it is one of the most monitored volcanoes in the world. The ash from Vesuvius buried the city completely. It is now one of the largest and most visited archeological sites in the world. About 80% of the site has been excavated and they continue to work on the other 20%. As I said, in light of the class I am taking, I really looked forward to this visit. I was not disappointed.
Our tour was not long enough. We only scratched the surface of the city. He showed us the main streets, completewith carriage ruts, a Roman bath, the theater, the...uh...house of ill repute, and the forum. Along the main streets would have been shops, including a fast food stand with marble countertops that would have kept the food warm. In the baths are two plaster casts made from the remains of people killed in the eruption from noxious gases.
In the red light district, called the Lupa-something, Lupa meaning wolf, men would have pointed to mosaics indicating their choice for the night. The mosaics are still there. For visitors, they would have located this business by an "arrow" carved in the sidewalk. And I thought men drawing their genitalia was just something my students did on their desks and in their books. Apparently, it is not a new phenomenon.
As we had toured, two people who were not part of our group had joined us and were listening to Bob's commentary. The adults kept trying to block them. Apparently, someone finally said something to them because they took off after the Lupa room.
We headed up the street and looked inside a typical middle class home on the way to the forum, the town square and the seat of government. He pointed out what the buildings would have been and we all posed for groups pictures. We walked through the remains of Apollo's temple and then crossed into what would have been the basilica, or justice building. I asked when basilica came to be known as a church instead of a justice building. Bob said after Constantine converted to Christianity, basilica came to be associated with a particular architectural style. In most European towns I have visited, the justice buildings are still called palaces.
We witnessed a cameo demonstration, but I was just interested in the toilette. I then got ripped off at one of the souvenir stands buying a pin. I've got to locate an ATM tomorrow. I'm down to my last ten Euros.
We finished our drive with breathtaking scenery that I did stay awake for. We circled the Bay of Naples on our way to Sorrento. We carried our overnight bags down a long hill that I dread walking up in the morning. Once again, why have the Europeans built their cities on the side of cliffs?
Which reminds me, someone asked Bob how long it took to walk to the top of Vesuvius. He said, for a German, easy walk...thirty minutes. For me, about an hour and a half. Mario hasn't set off at quite the same pace as past tour directors have.
Our hotel tonight is right on the water. We ate dinner watching the sun go down. I had gnocchi, which I liked, and something that I was not quite sure what it was. We concluded the evening with kids playing and the adults sitting around on the beach. Tomorrow, half the group will go to Capri island. The rest of us will stay here to enjoy the hotel and beach before driving to Rome. Hopefully that means I will be well-rested for Rome.
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