Naples and Pompeii

Part of The Forum in Pompeii

On the 27th of August AD 79
Mt. Vesuvius erupted, and within 48 hours the Roman town of Pompeii was buried under a blanket of ash as much as 25 metres deep. Frozen in time, this city was abandoned and forgotten until 1599. Whilst digging a channel to divert the river Sarno some of the ancient walls were uncovered. The architect was called in. He unearthed a few more of the walls, but then covered everything back up. Pompeii was properly discovered in 1738 when workers were digging the foundations for a palace for the King of Naples, Charles of Bourbon. Because the city was buried so quickly and completely, many of the original artefacts are intact and give a wonderful glimpse into Roman life in the first century.

It is believed that Pompeii had as many as 20,000 residents. A temple, theatre, swimming pool, 4 public baths, and a large forum have been discovered, along with a food market, a mill, a restaurant and a hotel. Pompeii had an aqueduct system that supplied water for as many as 25 street fountains! We were given a guided tour and we learned that the residents of Pompeii saw the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and had time to leave the city. Most of the citizens fled, but they left their slaves behind to guard their homes, shops, and belongings. Searing heat from the eruption and choking ash reached the town about 24 hours or so after the eruption began, and those left behind suffered an agonizing death. Archaeologists found human remains entombed in solid rock and devised a way to make casts of several of the victims, revealing the horrendous suffering that occurred. We spent a morning touring through the remains of this ancient town. I, for one, kept a constant watchful eye on Mt. Vesuvius which remained, thankfully, very quiet during our visit!

Part of the forum. Note Mt. Vesuvius, it's peak shrouded in clouds, in the background.

The theatre in Pompeii. The seats had channels under them where cool water flowed during performances. Early air conditioning!

After a morning spent in Pompeii we headed back to Naples, or Napoli, as they say in Italy. Whilst we were in Naples we learned that pizza was invented here, and we were told that if we did nothing else we had to eat Napoli pizza. Of course we had to try it, and, as we can attest, the pizza was amazing! Of course, the pitcher of wine served along with the pizza might have helped a bit! We also wandered around the streets and through a market or two before returning to our ship where we enjoyed a few hours relaxing by the pool. A nice way to end our time in Italy!

Both our tour guide and the waiter at this cafe told us that in Napoli the pizza crust  is very light and the pizza's are "small" so each person needed to order their own. I managed to eat about half of mine.
Notice the red pitcher? That's our wine! 

Streets of Naples

Ciao  Napoli!

Vatican City and the Basilica of St. Peter

St. Peter's Basilica

After a wonderful lunch in a cafe in Rome our tour continued on to Vatican City. Vatican City is the smallest independent city-state in the world, and is located within a walled compound inside the city of Rome. Contained within the Vatican City are the Vatican Museums. Here you can find an amazing collection of art, sculpture, and artifacts which have been collected by the Vatican over the past 600 years. We could have spent days inside the Vatican Museums exploring the art and artifacts, but on this day we were limited to just an hour or so as we had a specific destination in mind: The Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel is the best known chapel in the apostolic palace: the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. Friends had warned me that they were surprised by how small the chapel is, so I was actually surprised at how large it is! The fresco art on the walls and ceiling is just stunning. Completed by Michelangelo, Botticelli  and others, the detail is simply amazing. What a treasure! I just stood for several minutes gazing at "The Creation of Adam", and then at "The Last Judgement", both by Michelangelo. To think of how long ago these were done ("The Last Judgement" was painted between 1535 and 1541) and the incredible talent involved left me a bit awestruck. But, we had to keep moving. We had one more very special place to go before our day in Rome was finished.

The ceiling of The Sistine Chapel

"The Last Judgement"

 After we left the Sistine Chapel our tour guide led us into St. Peter's Basilica. It is believed that Peter, an apostle of Jesus, was martyred near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. This obelisk was eventually moved and now stands in St. Peter's Square. Peter was buried and his grave marked with a simple red rock. (You might recall that Jesus told Peter he would be the "rock" on which the Church would be built.) The first basilica to St. Peter was constructed over what was believed to be Peter's tomb about 300 years later and today is the site of the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica. Many Popes have chosen to be buried here, and pilgrims flock to the Basilica each year. In the 1930's archaeological digging was begun to try and discover if Peter was, indeed, buried beneath the basilica. Remains, wrapped in cloth trimmed with gold, were eventually unearthed and these remains along with some other artifacts lead Pope Pius XII to announce that the tomb of St. Peter had been discovered. St. Peter's Basilica is, to this day, one of the largest churches in the world and definitely one of the most recognizable. There was a service going on whilst we were there but we were still able to go in and spend a few minutes taking in the size and beauty of this very special place.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Looking up into the dome

St. Peter's baldachin: Designed by Lorenzo Bernini this is a large bronze canopy over the high altar

After a long day exploring Rome and some of it's treasures we left St. Peter's Basilica behind and walked through St. Peter's Square on our way to meet our bus. The Pope had addressed the people earlier in the day. We were shown the Pope's window, but we did not see the Pope. We were also reminded about the selection process for choosing a new Pope, and shown the famous chimney used to let the world know when a new Pope has been chosen by sending up smoke. 

A portion of St. Peter's Square and the Egyptian Obelisk.

A member of the Swiss Guard stands watch. Vatican City is protected by the Italian army. The Swiss Guard serve as the Pope's personal body guards.

 Wow! What an amazing day we had in Rome! This is one city with lots of treasures, and much more to explore than we could possibly fit into a day. Seems like maybe we need to plan a trip back :)!

Rome!

One of the great things about our cruise was that each morning we awoke in a different place. One morning our ship docked very early in Civitavecchia, the port city for Rome. It takes about an hour to get to Rome from port, so we were on our way by 8 a.m. We passed the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Circus Maximus on our way to our first destination in Rome, the Colosseum. Originally called the Flavian Ampetheatre, construction began in 72 a.d. and it took about 8 years to complete. The Collosseum is unbelievably huge, and could seat 50,000 spectators! Our guide led us on a tour inside the Collosseum where she explained that there were lots of battles fought here, but this was not the place where Christians were killed. A much larger venue was needed for that purpose and, she relayed to us, the Romans used the Circus Maximus for the Christians.

This is the inside of the Colloseum. Most of the seating is long gone, but our guide explained that the most important people sat closest to the stage with higher rows intended for those of lesser status. Slaves and women occupied the very top levels. This photo was taken at ground level, so those alleys you can see would have been under the floor. That is where the prisoners were held while awaiting their turn in the arena.

The floor has been partially reconstructed to give visitors an idea of what it might have been like inside. Apparently there is also an historical reference to a sea battle being fought here. This would have occurred before the floor was added. It is believed that the lowest levels were flooded and ships were floated in the middle of the arena.

The large cross marks the spot where the Emperor would have been seated. 

 There were several "gladiators" hanging around outside, posing for photos. 

After spending some time at the Colosseum it was time to head off for the Trevi Fountain and lunch. We walked from the Fountain to our luncheon spot, and were treated to some beautiful buildings along the way. 

You can see that this is quite a steep climb up. Can you guess why it was built like this
instead of with steps? The answer is that the ancient Romans wanted to be able to bring horses
all the way up to the doorway!

We were amazed to see bits and pieces of ancient columns and sculptures lying along the way as we walked. Our guide explained that the ancient Romans were early recyclers. Once the Colosseum was no longer in use craftsmen came and took pieces to reuse in whatever new building they were working on. Each time there is any excavation work done in Rome there is a high likelihood of uncovering something from the ancient city.

Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world. It marks the end of an aqueduct that carried water to Rome. Made famous by the movie "Three Coins in the Fountain", visitors flock to Trevi Fountain daily. It is said if you throw a coin into the fountain you are guaranteed a return visit to Rome. It is estimated that almost 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. That's about $3800 US at today's exchange rate! Scott and I realized early on in the day that we want to return to Rome to explore this city further, so, yes, we left a couple of pennies in the fountain.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch, but our day was far from done. During the afternoon we went to Vatican City to see the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. At the end of the day we were definitely tired, but what an amazing day we had!

Pisa

Our first port in Italy was Livorno and tours were available to both Florence and Pisa. After doing a bit of research, I decided that making a return visit to Florence encompassing a long weekend was probably a better idea, so we opted for a day trip to Pisa. Despite everything I have read and heard about the Leaning Tower I was still quite surprised when I finally saw it for myself.

The Leaning Tower, constructed of white marble, was begun in 1172, but only 3 stories were completed. The reason? Because the tower began to lean! It was later completed in the mid-14th century. The degree of tilt had increased gradually until, in 1990, it was determined that the Tower was unsafe. An international committee of engineers, mathemeticians, and historians gathered to try and find a solution. Weights were placed along one side of the foundation and long cables were attached to the tower. Excavation work was done under the high side of the tower and ever so gently the high side foundation was lowered and the tilt was reduced. Today it is at the same level as it was in 1838. It is believed that the tower should be stable for at least 200 years.

So, hmmmm......but the tower still leans you say? Yes it does. If they had straightened it completely why would anyone come to Pisa?!!

How much tilt is there? If the tower were straightened the top would have to be
moved 12 feet 10 inches to reach vertical.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is located in the Piazza del Duomo. The Leaning Tower is actually the bell tower for the beautiful cathedral. The small round building is the baptistry. The cathedral was built in 1063. The baptistry was begun in 1152 but not completed until 1284. I never quite understood why they would need a baptistry until our guide explained that no one was allowed to enter the cathedral unless they had been baptised. Now it's making sense I suppose.

Does something about this photo look not quite right? Perhaps you've noticed something else in the  Piazza del Duomo that leans? No, it's not just the domed building: the baptistery  It's also the cathedral! The walls of the cathedral are actually leaning in two different directions! I wonder how they will fix that?

Yes, we did take a few of the typical tourist photos. Hope you get a nice laugh from these!

Oh No! Look what I did!

No problem! I've got it!

Ten Questions

OK friends, today I am channelling my inner teacher so I came up with a quick game of 10 questions. Scott and I have done a lot of travelling in the past year, but these questions are all related to the same experience. Are ya' ready?

1. Botticelli, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo are all what?
2. Olive or Twist is the name of the place that Scott and Cindy danced the night away. Where is it?
3. Can you think of something that is 185 feet wide? (Notice I said feet, not metres!)

Have you figured it out yet? No, well, here are some more hints.....

4. This place has both Johnny Rockets and Starbucks, but is not in the U.S.
5. The Hoof and Claw pub was a favourite spot of ours for people watching. Where is it?
6. Cindy discovered her new favourite wine: a French red. Need I say more?
OK. These last 3 are easy! And, really, don't look at #10 until you've figured it out!

7. Can you think of something that is 1,112 feet long?
8. A place where you can dine with several hundred of your friends, new and old?
9. With multiple swimming pools and hot tubs, it's hard to know where to start to spend a day relaxing. Of course a nice Italian Sunrise, or an Ibiza Iced Tea, are just the thing to cool down with. Have you figured it out yet?



10..............

 This is the Liberty of the Seas, our home away from home for a week long Western Mediterranean Cruise!

This boat was really great! The Michaelangelo  Botticelli, and Rembrandt are the main dining rooms. In addition, there are several specialty restaurants, and Scott and I had some really exceptional meals there. Each night we enjoyed some sort of entertainment. One night we went to Olive or Twist, a nightclub at the very top of the ship, where we danced the night away. Other evenings we went to the theatre and saw a Cirque-style show and a couple of different variety shows. One night we ventured to the ice rink and enjoyed an ice skating show. Who knew?! Of course every evening there were special events on board and several places with live music. Days were spent in port, except for the very last day when we were at sea. We were in our beach chairs early, enjoying the sunshine. We were quite ready for a relaxing day before heading home! We've included a few photos from our time on board the ship.

Our "Home away from home" for a week. We opted for a cabin with a balcony which was definitely worthwhile!

The "quiet" swimming pool. No little ones here. They are in the next area over. That pool area has multiple hot tubs, kiddie pools, and a large screen for watching poolside movies.

Our cabin steward's name was "Hoki".  Yep, pronounced just like "Hokie" as in Virginia Tech (or Hokey Pokey). LOL. He left us a towel animal once in awhile. This night it was an elephant, one of my personal favourites.

One of the last evenings there was a midnight buffet, which Scott and I checked out. These were some of the creative displays on the tables, and the chefs who prepared them!

This was our second cruise experience and we thoroughly enjoyed it! I have my eyes on an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise but it takes a lot longer and will probably have to wait until our time here is done and we are headed home.

Ciao!