December 4, 2016
Actually, it’s spelled Pompeii, but that’s the way Mayor McShenn pronounced it in “The Music Man,” in which I took a minor role for the Southern Garrett County Junior Senior High School Senior Chorus.
And we begin in this manner because our shore excursion was to Pompeii, checking that volcano destroyed city off of my bucket list. Not that I really have a bucket list, but it has been one of my “somedays.” We went to Salerno on the early part of the trip and then to Pompeii.
Salerno is a modern Italian town with centuries old roots, like almost every other city in Italy. It is decorated for Christmas with a 50 foot artificial tree in the town square and festive lights strung from street lamps and buildings. The highlight of our visit there was taking Bonnie into a pocket book store and she did not make a single purchase. We actually went in it twice, and still she did not buy. We’ll carry the Euros elsewhere.
The bus ride to Salerno was approximately an hour around very winding, very narrow roads which follow the contour of the hillsides. Our guide, Antonio, said in the summer that drive can take 3 hours or more. When we got to Pompeii, there may have been 300 people in the city. He said in June, July, and August, there are 5,000+ every day, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees. Glad we were there in December!
Pompeii is fascinating. Buried by a volcano spewing hot mud on August 24, 79 A.D., and uncovered 15 or more centuries later, the thus far uncovered ruins show private homes, government buildings, religious centers, and more than 50 fast food restaurants. McRomans? Chic-fil-Caesar? There is political graffiti – I asked our guide if Hillary’s email is listed there; he just smiled – and a house of ill-repute (which until the 1970s women were not allowed to visit – they worked there centuries before, but couldn’t venture onto the modern grounds).
Divided into 4 quadrants by two major roads, one running north and south, the other east and west, the streets were paved with stone, and many of them show wheel ruts from passing chariots (the deepest ruts are at the above mentioned brothel).
One of the things I had always heard and read about Pompeii was that when the volcano struck, spewing mud and dust, people were trapped in their houses, bodies were discovered sitting at the breakfast table, or at the stable, or crammed inside one city gate or another, trying to get out as they literally suffocated. I was some what disappointed to learn that only 3 bodies, two humans and a dog, are on display, and they are not the real bodies. Over the centuries the flesh decayed and left hollows in the crushing weight of dust and mud that mimicked the original corpse. When these areas were discovered, plaster of Paris was injected into the molds, and what is on display is that near-to-life reconstruction.
Well you can take a look around, because I have at least 100 pictures – many of them producing a fish-eye look from my traveling companion. How can I describe it? Altogether now, raise one eyebrow, frown with the rest of your face, fold your arms over your chest and make a discouraging sound. In Pompeii there was heard a discouraging word, but the skies were not cloud today.
No eight hour long excursion would be complete without at least one nap. There were three. She had two. I had one.
We got back on board 45 minutes before supper (she took a third nap) and I played in my new Sudoku book which we bought in Salerno. I forgot to bring one – I only have a dozen or so – and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do them since they were written in Italian. But a country boy can survive!
The most notable part of my evening’s meal was the haddock and potato chowder. Excellent!
The evening’s show in the Cabaret Lounge was Chris Hamilton, piano player extraordinaire.
And now the blog, a few hands of cards, and then to sleep, perchance to dream.
TTFN
And now, here’s Bonnie!
Arising at 6am for our 8:15 tour and having breakfast upstairs (some cheese and a hard boiled egg still not being able to swallow real well!) We left the ship to board our bus about 8:25 (some people are always late).
We sat in the second row of seats behind a mother and daughter. I really didn’t enjoy the first hour of our journey. Just too much swaying and curving so it was good to get out and walk around the downtown which had been blocked off so you could walk down the very narrow streets. Oh by the way I used to think England’s countryside had the narrowest streets but I think Italy has them beat. Pretty much all the cars are the size of my Spark or the rest of the crazy people drive scooters like “imbeciles” as our tour guide called them. If we had lived in Italy when our kids were small ,we wouldn’t have all been able to fit into a car together. It was really great shopping around the town. It was beautiful. Many old buildings and one church bell tower played their bells, real bells, swinging in and out of the tower. It was beautiful music. Bought a couple of souvenirs and ate at an “English fish and chips” bar. He had a hot dog and I had chips.
After taking another bus ride and this time I slept for part of it, better than watching a bus trying to get down roads that were just as wide as he was. The cars would stop and let us go by, the bus making wide turns and swinging around turns was a challenge, all the while scooters weaving in and out. UGG! Better to be asleep.
When we got to Pompeii we needed the toilet and after paying our .50 euros each, we were allowed to use the facilities. We got a snack of Gelato and then started our guided and narrated 2 hour tour. Very, very difficult walking. Constantly up and down over large stones. I had to constantly watch my feet. Only slipped twice but did not fall. It is hard to look around when you are walking watching your feet. And the guide was constantly talking and walking and turning and I was always trying to keep up. We were a small group of 30 people mixed in amongst several thousand others there also [she always over-estimates size ... of crowds].
But all in all a good day. I was exhausted but supper was fun. We have very nice table mates.
Bye for now.
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