During our short time in Rome (just a day and a half), we made sure to make it to the Colosseum. Ed really wanted to see it and among the many symbols of Rome, this was a biggie. We took the train from our hotel to the stop for the Colosseum. When we came up out of the subway and exited to the street, this was our first view.
We were surprised; we didn't expect it to be right there. Another reason I really wanted to see it is because I just had to take a picture. I wanted to show it to my step-father, so he could see that it looked the same as when he was there in 1944.
Here are a few interior shots...
I think I saw Russell Crowe down there somewhere...
And between the Colosseum and Palantine Hill, stands the Arch of Constantine...
We flew in and out of JFK when we went to Italy. We found a place about two hours from the city to store our truck at while we were gone. It was ideal - a gated RV storage facility with security cameras and covered parking for the truck; we were even able to plug it in!
I have to admit, I was really happy to be home. The wide open roads were a glorious change. The best part was that I didn't miss any of the fall colors. There were some when we left, but when we came back, they were fully ablaze. In fact, even the traffic was beautiful.
Time to take a little break from the Italy travelogue; let's talk about our recent mid-term election!
All I've heard since the election, both from family members and the media, is how much Obama didn't do. What they never seem to remember or report on, is what he DID do. Let's take a gander, shall we? And remember...this is the short list:
We decided to take the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi. Ed had done all the driving on our trip and I didn't want him to have to concentrate so intently on the road that he'd miss all the scenery. And there was NO WAY I was going to trust anyone else in our group to make that drive.
There was a trick to the bus though; on the way to Amalfi, you had to sit on the right side of the bus for the best view, on the way back, the left. When we got to the train station in Sorrento though, there was a line. And if you were in the back of the line, the chances of getting a seat by the window was non-existent and the chances you'd be standing, high. So we passed on the first two busses and took the third. This was our driver:
We sat not only on the right side of the bus, but in the very front seat. So we had the side window and the front window to look out of. In hindsight, that may have been a mistake.
This was the view from our VIP seats as we left Sorrento; sunny, beautiful, serene. A crossing guard directing traffic. The driver was obviously obeying because he actually stopped. That's where the serenity ended, as this bus ride would turn out to be the most trecherous of my life. I don't know what the speed limit was, but it was clear that he wasn't doing it. We made a few stops in town, people getting on and off and then we headed up the winding mountain, past our hotel and toward the coast. The winding, hairpin turns of the coast. I have to say, half way through our ride, I was feeling nauseous. It was like being on an amusement park ride. And you know how much I love amusement parks.
I literally had to avert my eyes because I was getting motion sickness. I think I even closed them at some point. I didn't at all question the ability of the driver, as he was excellent and clearly very skilled at driving this route. I just couldn't look. After I took a minute to compose myself, I commenced looking out of the great big picture window I had.
And this is what I saw...
I believe that's Positano, I don't remember. You have to go through Positano before getting to Amalfi. Later, when we got back to the hotel, I found out that our friends who had taken the earlier bus, got off in Positano because they couldn't take the switchbacks and hairpin turns and didn't think they'd be able to continue on to Amalfi.
The roads are narrow and there are cars and scooters everywhere. People pass on curves and play chicken with oncoming cars and busses, with no care at all to what lies on the other side of the railing...
We could see the deep of the Tyrrhenian Sea glistening in the distance a we rounded turnes and drove through tunnels carved in the mountainside...
Where just beyond, lay the town of Amalfi.
We watched the locals and tourists walk beside the sea...
Dined on mozzarella di bufala and fresh tomatoes and basil, both made and grown locally...
And even caught an "aspiring" model taking part in a photo shoot on the main drag...
After some shopping and a stop to the Farmacia for a little cure for Ed's sore throat, we steeled ourselves for the bus ride home. The driver on the way back was just as capable as the one who took us there and just as I did with the driver on the way to Amalfi, I told him. I learned to say, "Sono camionista" ("I'm a truck driver" - which brought raised eyebrows every time I said it), to explain that I understood the skill needed to do what they do and that I thought it was fantastic. Amazing, really.
And next time, I'm doing it in a Fiat with the top down!
These lemons, are grown on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. ”Sfusato” is a short-form of the Italian word for "pointed" or "tapered", "affusolato." The name refers to the pointed end of the lemon.
I haven't seen a cigarette machine since, oh I don't know, the late 1970's. But walking to the train station in Sorrento, we passed this one.
The writing on the machine says that it's illegal to purchase or distribute cigarettes if you're under the age of 16, since sixteen is the legal age to purchase tobacco products in Italy.
Many of the descriptions of the following photos are going to be from a guide book we were given when we arrived, I will put that text in italics. Most of us know the general story of Pompeii, from school books or TV and it's fascinating. What's even more fascinating, is that the site where Pompeii lies, receives approximately 2,500,000 visitors each year!
Pompeii rises on a plateau of Vesuvian lava, overlooking the Sarno river valley, at whose mouth was once a busy port. The origins of the city are uncertain; the oldest reports date from the end of the 7th and the first half of the 6th century BC, when the first ring of tufa walls, called "pappamonte", was built around an area of 156.9 acres. In 62 AD, a violent earthquake struck the whole Vesuvian area and reconstruction of the area took a very long time (17 years), when Vesuvius suddenly erupted on the 24th of August, 79 AD and buried it under ash and rock.
It was rediscovered in the 16th century, but exploration did not begin until 1748. This photo shows part of the Basilica. Built in the second half of the 2nd century BC, as part of the plan to create monuments throughout the city. The building was dedicated to administering justice and for business negotiations.
We arrived at Pompeii under the threat of rain. The skies were dark and the atmosphere felt very gloomy. I'm actually glad it was overcast, because everything we read said that if you go on a sunny day, be sure bring water and an umbrella, as there are no areas for shade and there are no vending machines or areas to buy beverages (although they did have a cafeteria/snack bar which looked extremely out of place).
Walking the streets gave the feeling of what it might have been like to be there, as they're exactly the same as they were centuries ago.
These photos were taken in the House of the Small Fountain. Almost all of the rooms open onto the atrium; an area sumptuosly organized so that the guest would become aware of the host's social status immediatly upon entering. The walls of the peristyle (garden surrounded by a colonnade of porticos) are richly decorated with frescoed landscapes and maritime buildings.
The pieces of the mosaic were miniscule and beautiful. Use of the fountain-nymphaeum, covered with mosaics and decorated with sculptures, became widespread in the middle of the 1st century AD.
Every building we visited, was along one of these stone roads. The layout of the city was so precise and so advanced, not what I would expect from such an ancient place.
It was organized with facilities that any large city would have. According to Wikipedia, "Pompeii was a lively place, and evidence abounds of literally the smallest details of everyday life...besides the forum, many other services were found: the Macellum (great food market), the Pistrinum (mill), the Thermopolium (sort of bar that served cold and hot beverages), and cauponae (small restaurants). An amphitheatre and two theatres have been found, along with a palaestra or gymnasium. A hotel (of 1,000 square metres) was found a short distance from the town; it is now nicknamed the Grand Hotel Murecine."
Near the produce market and built into the east wall of the temple of Apollo, is the Mensa Ponderaria, the public office to control weights and measures, gauged according to the local Oscan system, later standardized to the Augustan system as noted in the inscription engraved on the front (approximately 20 BC). It consists of two stacked limestone benches, each with cavities corresponding to the different measurements, and with a hole at the bottom through which to pass the product measured. The layout of the streets were one of the most amazing aspects of the city. In the next photo, you'll see the stones that most of the streets have. These stones were specifically placed on the streets for several reasons. One, they were to be used as stepping stones. The city flushed the streets with water daily and in order for the residents to cross, they had to use the stepping stones. The number of stones depended on the width of the street; in some areas there were as many as five, allowing the people to cross.
The stones were also used to designate what kind of traffic was allowed on that street. They were arranged so that the wagon wheels were able to straddle them. If there was only one stone, the wheels of only one wagon would pass over, designating a street that went only one way. In other areas, like in the picture, the stone were arranged in a way that would allow two wagons, going in opposite directions, to pass each other.
This area, from what I heard one of the guides describing, was like our modern day concession stand. The holes in the countertops were used for containers of food, wine, water, etc. Cool, huh? It looks just like the many restaurant kitchens I've worked in over the years.
This mosaic was found at the entrance to the House of the Tragic Poet. The mosaic is famous, of a chained dog and the message CAVE CANEM (Beware of the dog), typical of other dwellings in Pompeii. Again, the pieces of the mosaic were so super tiny, creating such a large picture. I know the whole concept of mosaic is tiny pieces, but when you see them up close, it's really amazing that someone was meticulous enough (and patient enough) to place each and every one of them.
This piece was photographed at the Temple of Venus. Built at the western edge of the hill of Pompeii, stretching towards the sea and the River Sarno, this temple was raised during the early part of the Sullan colony (80 BC) to honor the goddess Venus.
Ed and I didn't realize how accessible Pompeii was. First, we took the train from Sorrento to Pompeii and you get off the train practically at the entrance to Pompeii. I guess I never really realized that it's right there, that close to Naples and the surrounding modern city. I thought it was a location that was going to be hard to reach, and much closer to the base of Vesuvius.
After a few hours, I couldn't look at another stone house or broken pieces of marble, so Ed continued on for another hour without me. I went back to the conveniently located cafeteria for a cappuccino, which to me was the perfect end to a day of traversing ruins.
I wish I knew what this said so I could end this post with something cool, but I don't have enough time to do that kind of research. If anyone knows, feel free to jump in!
** According to the guidebook, Campania means "fertile plain", hence the title of this post. Campania is the region in Southern Italy in which Pompeii is located.
The thing that's impossible not to take notice of in Italy, is how old everything is. From the smallest borgo (village, hamlet, burgh) to the largest citta (city), buildings that are hundreds, even thousands of years old surround you. This is the detail on a ring where one ties horses...
This is another ring, similar on the bottom but clearly whimsical on top. Although I'm not sure whimsy was their intent.
This sculpture was above a 2,500 year old Etruscan arch...
And this spike was found in the same village...
A section of street in Florence... And perhaps the oldest of them all, Pompeii... It seems as if the people who live among these artifacts and ancient buildings, don't even realize they do. To them, it's the norm. To us, it was quite amazing.
I loved the mailboxes in Italy...they were so old fashioned and since they were small, seemed very quaint...just like the town. This one was taken in Fossombrone, Le Marche, Italy.
We were surprised; we didn't expect it to be right there. Another reason I really wanted to see it is because I just had to take a picture. I wanted to show it to my step-father, so he could see that it looked the same as when he was there in 1944.
Here are a few interior shots...
I think I saw Russell Crowe down there somewhere...
And between the Colosseum and Palantine Hill, stands the Arch of Constantine...
