Home Hosted Lunch

After our visit to Pompeii, we split into four groups for lunch with local families. The gentleman pouring the limoncello is our host and the lady standing is his wife, the cook. The meal was delicious. Limoncello is made from lemons and high potency alcohol. Some of you who went on the Alaska cruise with us will remember this drink! Supposedly, it originated here in Sorrento.

Wine Shop

Our guide told us that this was a wine shop. Pretty cool, huh?

Men's Bath House

At Hercolanum, we saw the ladies bath house. Here in Pompeii, we see the men's bath house.

Wide Street

This looks like a main street. It's wider than the other streets we saw.

Body Cavities

In some cases, bones were found within cavities. The eruption would have covered the person and over time, the body would have decomposed leaving the skeleton. Archeologists would have removed the bones and poured a mixture in the cavity. After drying, the body shape would then be excavated. This is one of those 'bodies'.

Columns

The upper columns lead the archeologists to believe that the structure was two stories high.

Open Area

This is a huge open area used for public gatherings. (We very seldom got pictures without people in them. It was pretty crowded today, and it's not even into the heavy tourist season yet!)

Fresco

There are only a few frescoes left in Pompeii. Most of the 'found stuff' made its way to museums.

Water Holder

I don't know whether to call this a fountain or just a water holder, but the carved face is interesting.

Water Pipe

The guide told us that this is a lead water pipe. 

Street

The left side is like a sidewalk and the right, lower side is the street.

Bed

This is a bed. You can see the raised area on the right for the head.

Sunshine!

The previous picture showed open umbrellas. The sun is now shining and our local tour guide is leading us through the ruins.

Pompeii

Today the bus took us to the ruins at Pompeii.  Evidently the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed the seats in this theatre because they  have been rebuilt.

Gelato Stop

After passing through a tunnel, before heading north, we stopped for gelato which we ate while enjoying the view.

More Coast

We will soon head inland for the drive back to the hotel.

Scala

After 9/11, Scala (home to 900 people) became a sister city to New York. Through these doors, we saw walls with framed newspaper articles with 9/11 stories. The picture over the door was drawn by a 12 year old girl from this small town. 

Lunch in Scala

We had lunch in a town called Scala. I am facing some gorgeous scenery.

Church in Amalfi

While the group were boating, I was roaming the town of Amalfi. This, of course, is the church on the main square.

Gorgeous

This is another picture from the boat.

From The Boat

Wayne got some unique pictures on the boat trip.

Boat Trip

I elected not to join my fellow travelers on this boat trip at the city of Amalfi. When they got back, they all told me I made a good decision. It got rough and I probably would have gotten sick!

Piles of Houses

The houses are often built in a way that looks like one is the foundation of another.

Photo Stop

I don't often get a picture of Wayne, but at this photo stop, I was successful.

Houses Tucked Everywhere

You will notice that most of these pictures are taken from up high. This speaks volumes to how scary the road is, especially when the road if often very narrow.

Amalfi Coast

Today we took a bus trip south along the Amalfi Coast.

Mt. Vesuvius

This is Mt. Vesuvius taken from the harbor in Naples. We drove through the city but didn't take many pictures.  Our impression of Naples is that it's trashy and full of graffiti! 

From Rome

This sculpture is from Rome; nothing to do with our visit to Herculaneum. I just thought it was fantastic!

Floor

After lunch in Naples, we visited the Naples Archeological Museum, which houses many items from both Herculaneum and Pompeii (where we will visit on Friday). This is a floor from Herculaneum.

Shutters

Some wood has been added during excavation for support. The shutters at the top of the picture, however, are original to the structure!  There are many more pictures I could post of amazing areas of the site. 

Floor

The detail in the tiles remaining is awesome.

Floor Tiles

These floor tiles are what remains in this room. There are many colors to the floor in this house. Other houses had black and white floor tiles.

Street

This is a main street.  There are sewers under the streets of the city. Pretty advanced for that time.

Walls

Some of the beautiful colors of the paintings on the walls (frescoes) are still vibrant. Many of the frescoes have been removed and placed in a museum. 

Herculaneum

Today we road the bus to the ruins called Herculaneum. The city was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This city dates back to 3rd century BC. It will probably be years and years before the whole city is excavated. The top of this picture shows some of the current city which lies on top of the buried city.

Afternoon Fun!

We spent part of our afternoon here. We should now have enough clothes to last the rest of the trip.

Perspective

We're standing on the main road. The harbor is in the distance.

Courtyard

This is a courtyard next to a church. Weddings are frequently held here. 

Hotel Entrance

We enter our hotel through this tunnel. The hotel was carved into a cliff.

More Roses

What do you think, Jan?

Roses

The flowers here, especially the roses, are in full bloom.

Loungers

Those blue plastic things in the water appear to be lounging chairs.

Harbor

This is taken from an area next to downtown Sorrento.

Cameo Lesson

Then our guide took us on a walking tour of the city of Sorrento. This gentleman is giving us a lesson on how cameos are carved. Of course, we're encouraged to return after our walk to shop!

Sorrento School

Our day started with a visit to a local school. Grand Circle Travel, the company we're traveling with, gives support to the school. The computers you see were donated recently.

Room With A View

This is the view from our room. Not the ocean, but quite unique.

Mediterranean Coast

Look at the color of the water!

Near Sorrento

We were almost to Sorrento when we stopped for lemonade ices. The road, for the most part, was on the edge of cliffs. I was a little nervous!

Clock Tower

Of course, there is always a clock/bell tower.

Second Church

Plainer than the first church, but with a more unique tower.