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June 10
Port Salerno, Italy Tour of Pompeii
This was a morning I woke up with a sore throat and watery eyes – NOOO, I don’t want to get sick! I had packed some airborne that I had started taking the day before when I first felt a touch of a sore throat. I had packed cold and flu meds as well as Benadryl in the event that we would need them. I read the symptoms of the box and decided my symptoms were more in line with those of allergies. I took two Benadryl tablets and went to breakfast. My head felt in a fog and we went to our tour meeting point on the ship. I was so sleepy! If David had asked me again if I wanted to do the tour I would have said no, but because he did not ask… we went. I fell asleep on the bus and missed the beautiful countryside on the way to Pompeii. When we arrived, I was feeling slightly better and as the tour wore on, I was almost back to normal again. David said joked that I was a living corpse – or a character from the movie “Weekend at Bernie’s”
I was overwhelmed by the size of Pompeii. I guess I never really thought about the fact that this was a city that had been completely buried by ash – and seeing it in person made it become real. Large market places, temples, and even a structure similar to a Colosseum all here! What made it real was the fresco on walls , and beautiful ornate tile floors- these were people who appreciated the arts and had public bath houses and kitchens; even restaurants.
We saw a few bodies that had been surprised by the volcano. Even a dog who looked curled up in pain and agony – frozen in time. We could see Mt. Vesuvius off in the distance the top covered by clouds.
Our tour guide Jose, made this tour interesting and gave a lot of background to the history and beliefs of those in Pompeii. I think Pompeii was one of our favorite tours. We only saw a fraction of the city – we could have spent all day there to see more, but we came away having a better idea of Pompeii.
Pictured below some of the drive between Salerno and Pompeii and the wild flowers that grew around Pompeii. The tall trees are umbrella pines that grow throughout Italy and they are the source for pine nuts and used in their regional dish of pesto (basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese with olive oil)
Pictured below: Pompeii Ruins, Art, Tiled Floors, Mt. Vesuvius through an Arch, Bath houses.
Next: At Sea and Port of Kotor, Montenegro
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