Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii is an extraordinary archeological site. Our tour guide is also an active archeologist for discoveries at Pompeii and she made the tour so interesting. All the artifacts from Pompeii are on display at the National Museum in Napoli except for this one cast of a young woman found at the site. Only the ruins are at the Pompeii site.

The preservation of Pompeii is phenomenal.  We saw reliefs on Forum walls, inscriptions on columns in the Forum, original paint with ancient graffiti in the halls to the amphitheater, and a few tile floors.  The tour guide noted that the Forum was twice the size of the one in Rome.  The center photo above was a fresco on the only intact ceiling in Pompeii in the women's public bath. The rock paved streets still had the ruts from chariots.  They had a water system that in some areas was still intact including the lead pipes used for water distribution, water fountains, and public baths.  Some of the houses of the wealthy who lived in Pompeii also have gardens and rooms that are still outlined with bricks and covered with marble.

What a day of learning about the Pompeii story!  We tried several selfies but each time they got worse and worse.  Pompeii was so crowded that we could hardly take a photo without strangers showing up.  So this is the best I got.

Capri

Capri is a beautiful island about a 30 minute boat ride from Sorrento Peninsula.  It's known as a place for the rich and famous.  It's dotted with fantastic houses hanging over the cliffs. This is a photo of the famous rocks jutting out of the sea at Capri.
 

The famous Arch of Love of Capri.  It is said that if you kiss your loved one while going through the arch that your love will last a life time.  However, our tour guide said she did it with her husband and they are now divorced so that is just an Italian myth.  Rick and I kissed just in case it's real.

The public beaches on Capri are smooth stones and gravel.  Not easy to walk on and even less comfortable to lay on and get some rays.  Nevertheless, people laid side by side like tanned fat seals crowding the beach.  Rick took a nice swim in the Mediterranean and said it was cool but tolerable.  He lasted about two minutes in the water before getting back on board the boat.

Capri is known for it's caves and grottos.  One of the most famous is the Blue Grotto.  You can only enter by row boats manned by experienced sailors.  You must laydown in the row boat while the sailor pulls you in and out of grotto by a cable.  You can only enter when the tide isn't too high.  When we were there, the tide was nearly too high as there is little room between the water, the cave walls and the ceiling.

Capri Arch of Love selfie on board the tour boat. 

Sorrento Peninsula

The Sorrento Peninsula has five villages in a row that line the coast line. Spectacular views, great pizza, and perfect weather. We spent four days on this coast and toured every part of coast as well as islands off the peninsula.

 

At night the lights of the villages make a ribbon that runs on the terraces above the sea.

Our hotel was in Marina Piccola and sat just below what looked like an old castle that was turned into a hotel.  We arrived and the guy parking our car arrived with a fresh hot pizza.  We gave him the keys to our car and he gave us the pizza.  We haven't seen our car since as we have walked everywhere. We figured the pizza was a fair trade and we didn't even get a ticket for our stored car.

The port is where all the tour boats and ferries come and go for trips to the Amalfi coast, Capri, Naples, etc. Restaurants surround the marina.  We have been eating pizza every day as this is the best pizza we have had in Italy.

The view from our hotel is looking across Napoli Bay with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

The town of Sorrento is full of tiny pedestrian streets filled with shops selling everything from souvenirs to Limoncello. Sorento is full of gelato shops and I am sure Rick found most of them to taste the product.

Sorrento Coast selfie.

WC/Toilets

 

Toilets in Europe are unusual. We have seen all sorts of strange things. First of all, they call what Americans refer to as "restroom" or "bathroom" a toilet.  My American sensitivity finds this coarse but in fact" toilet" is way more descriptive and correct than "restroom".

Europeans also have a different ideas for shared gender toilets. Their toilet areas are often set up so that both men and women use the toilet stalls that are private.  In the same space, both men and women exit the stall into an area where both men and women wash there hands.  This took me surprise in Bordeaux.  One of our tour members warned me that the bathroom was generic for both men and women. It is quite a surprise to exit the stall and have a man washing his hands.  Makes me think that one of us is in the wrong place.

The French charge for toilet usage especially at the train stations but not at the airports. Now you can pay the .70 Euro with a credit card. The Italians do not charge for toilet privileges except for Capri where the toilet use charge was .50 Euros. 

Then there are the fixtures. We have seen it all.  In Amsterdam's city park, next to the porta-potties is what I call a "Pee Pole". It is a pole with several urinals' attached where men pee.  It's out in the open no privacy structure just a pee pole.   I would have taken a picture but that would have made me look like some lecherous old woman.

The first picture is a floor model toilet.  You squat and do your business.  The second picture is a flushing mechanism that is mounted on the wall above the toilet. It's a pull the level model for the flush. The third photo is of floor pedals that operate the water in the sink above. Never a dull moment in using European toilets.

And then there is the whole Bidet thing.  Our hotels and VRBO's all had a Bidet with towels.  

Deli Italian Style

A block from our hotel in San Lazzaro was an Italian style deli called La Fattoria Del Castello.  This was a busy place for a Sunday afternoon. Next door is a fruit stand and down the street is a Gelateria (a gelato store).  We met the owner, a young man, who spoke little English and, as you know, we speak little or no Italian.  However, certain things need no translation: prosciutto, provolone, tomato, arugula, salami. Add in some pointing and agreeing and you have yourself a sandwich that is simple but delish.

The deli is full of freshly made cheeses, All sorts of different salami's, and ham (prosciutto).  Plus he had wine, balsamic vinegar, olive oils, pastas, jams, jellies and gourmet bottled vegetables.

We asked for a sandwich and he made us a fabulous lunch Italian style. 
 

The sandwiches were huge and made on the best bread ever. 

We have been surprised by the low cost of food and drink while traveling in Italy.  A bottle of local wine is $15, a glass of wine is $3, dinner is $10-$12, Pizza is $8, deserts run $5. In the tourist areas things run higher.  In the less traveled and remote villages the prices are very reasonable. The service has been good and everyone has been helpful and friendly.

The restaurants open around 7:00 pm and we never have a line or need reservations. We have gotten used to the meal times in Italy.  We have breakfast at 9-10 am, lunch around 2 pm and dinner around 8 pm. We drink wine at lunch and dinner and any other time it's available to us.

Amalfi, Italy

Our hotel is half way between Amalfi and Positano, two of the famous hillside villages on the Amalfi Coast.  So we decided to leave our mountain perch and head down the mountain to see Amalfi.
 

Rick always wanted to drive the Amalfi Coast.  After a day of driving the curvy roads, I am not so sure he is so enamored with the idea now that he has made the drive. The road is one hairpin curve after another and down hill.  Oh did I mention that there are huge tourist busses, trucks and cars coming at you on each of the curves.  It's a game who is brave enough to get by, by inching along in bumper to bumper traffic.  On one curve our side view mirror was turned in by the brick guard rail holding us on the road. 

This is what google maps shows as the route to Amalfi.  It's terrifying, exhilarating, exhausting and beautiful all at the same time.

We get to Amalfi and the traffic is horrendous. It's bumper to bumper. the police are directing traffic - one lane goes and then the other. It's almost gridlock. There is no parking, tourists are everywhere, tour boats line the harbor, people are walking everywhere including on the tiny road that goes through the village.

We decide not to stop (because we can't) and head to Maiori, a couple of villages east of Amalfi.  Maiori is much calmer and quieter than Amalfi.

All of these villages are beach towns.  Everyone is in shorts and flip flops and there are beach chairs and umbrellas lining the beach.  Since we had come from the top of the hill, we were dressed in long pants and fleeces. We managed to shed some clothes and  enjoy the warm weather.

Our selfie for the day was taken on the beach in Maiori.  Notice not much crowd on the beach.  It's just our kind of place.

The Grand Hotel, San Lazzaro, Italy

We drove to the Amalfi Coast and checked into the Grand Hotel Sant Orsola. It is built on the side of a cliff just like everything else on the Amalfi Coast.  This hotel sits high on the hills overlooking the Mediterranean sea (technically, the Tyrrhenian sea).  The temperature on the top of the hills in 10 degrees cooler than down at the sea shore. The views are spectacular.

 
 

This is the hotel perched high on the hill. The road to the hotel zig zags up the hill. It's a one lane road that is used by cars, trucks and busses.  It's a little scary to drive on these roads.

The view from our hotel room balcony. It is so steep that if you let go of the hand rail you get vertigo and feel like you are going to tumble down the cliff. 

Sunset in San Lazzaro. This was taken from our hotel balcony.  We came here for the scenery and we were not disappointed.

Rome

We spent 24 hours in Rome.  We know that many people think it is wonderful, and it may be, but our experience was that it was hot, crowded and dirty.  We saw the sights, ate some food and left.  I think it was the hardest place for us to get around.  Rick and I probably hit the wall in Rome.  It's amazing that we are still speaking.

I think the best part of Rome for us was the fountains.  They were extraordinary.  Rome has a lot of water from ancient times and they showed it off in their fountains.

The Colosseum is in the center of the city and a very interesting piece of archaeology and ruins.  We got there late in the day and bought an entry ticket from a scalper.  We saw the Colosseum with fewer people and were able to walk all around it. They are renovating, repairing or rebuilding portions of this massive structure. It is sad to me that they let things fall into ruin.  They have also built buildings all around the ancient structures with little regard to protecting these structures.  I guess when you are working with structures from 44 BC it's hard to do urban planning.

This is the Altar of the Fatherland (source: Google Maps), and the tour we were on said that it had several uses.  It's this huge structure on the Piazza Venetia in the old part of town and it is massive.  It's decorated with sculptures and columns. Fabulous to see. It sits on the end of a huge round-about where traffic is chaotic.

 

Rome has it's share of churches and monuments.  They are large and imposing and sit in the middle of streets and in round-abouts.

We saw the usual stuff...Spanish Steps and fountain, Piazza Navaro, drove by the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain and lots of antiquities.

It was time to move on to the Amalfi Coast.

Florence, Italy

I cried when I saw the statue of David in the museum. He is so beautiful.  It's breathtaking to see him.  I didn't want to leave.  I just wanted to watch him.

Yeah, Yeah Yeah....there was a bridge (Ponte Vecchio), there was a church (Cathedral of Sant Maria del Fiore), renaissance paintings, museums galore, and architecture.