Day 15 - Naples (Pompei)

Sep 07

Pompei was fascinating. The ruins cover approx 65 acres, only 20 of which are excavated. The roads are the original stones - very rough.

 

 

 

The carts and chariots left deep track marks in the stones, visible in the pics below. The large stones were placed so people didn't have to step down into the street where waste would flow freely. They were working on a sewage system but hadn't got it done before the eruption.

 

 

Horses were left outside the city gates (below); donkeys were used to pull carts or chariots along the narrow city streets.

 

Typical city street. As roofs were often made of wood, they were not preserved.

 

Danny was absolutely awed that we actually saw the actual home of Casca Longus - the first person to stab Caesar.

 

Brick and stonework were covered with marble, mosaics or plaster which was painted in vibrant colour.

 

Only 2 plaster casts of victims of the eruption were on-site. The originals are all kept in museums.

 

A cooking building (individual residences did not have kitchens). Marble countertops could have been set like mosaics as shown below or as larger slabs.

 

Odd that the "House of Pleasure" was one of the best preserved - frescoes (depicting services available) were very clear.

Tiny rooms - the rock beds weren't much longer than 5 feet.

 

Hazy day, couldn't get a very clear shot of Mount Vesuvius.

 

At 30 degrees, very warm today walking among the ruins with little breeze. Glad we only booked a half day tour.

 

Day 14 - Citavecchia (Rome)

Sep 06

Overnight, we travelled across the Ligurian Sea then entered the Tyrrhenian Sea, travelling parallel to the Italian mainland on to the Port of Citavecchia outside of Rome. As we'll be spending a week in Rome at the end of our trip, decided to avoid the city tours and instead did a half day tour out to Tarquinia to visit an Etruscan necropolis dating from the 6th to the 2nd centuries B.C. - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Over 6000 tombs have been discovered. For the most part, they are painted rooms which have been dug into stone then covered with soil, leaving a burial mound above ground. To help preserve the painting in the tombs, they are now sheltered by little buildings called "casettes". The 20 tombs open to the public can be viewed through a glass window at the bottom of stairs built inside the casettes.

Burial urns in the foreground (for those who couldn't afford a tomb), cassettes and burial mound in background.

 

 

Stairway down into a tomb.

 

We then went on to visit a family-owned olive farm called Casale Bonaparte - once owned by Napoleon's brother, Lucien, according to our guide. Olive trees take 5-6 years to start producing then continue to produce for hundreds of years. Some are still producing after 400 years. They gave us a brief explanation of the olive farming process then hosted a really nice buffet lunch they had prepared for us. All of the dishes served used olive oil they had produced servers accompanied by some local wine, including grappa (which I didn't try... Should have) .

farmhouse

lunch

Olives on the tree.

View back down the driveway

 

Mom and dad took a tour out to Lake Bracciano, some 20 miles northwest of Rome and then visited a vineyard in Tuscia wine country for a wine tasting (because it would be SO different from what they could do at home in the Okanagan, hahaha). They really did enjoy it, though.

 

Day 13 - Livorno (Pisa)

Sep 05

After departing Monte Carlo last evening, we crossed the Ligurian Sea to the Italian port of Livorno, arriving around 7 a.m. Danny and I took the half day tour out to see the "Field of Miracles" - the Leaning Bell Tower, the Cathedral and the Baptistry at Pisa. Nice 40 minute drive through the countryside to Pisa. Interesting seeing all the canals dating back to Roman times. Pic below is of a Roman aqueduct.

 

 

The Tower is now leaning 14 feet to one side due to settling of the subsoil. It is said that Galileo used the Cathedral to study the movement of the pendulum and the Leaning Tower to work out his laws of gravity and acceleration. It truly is amazing seeing the Tower in person. Also incredible to see how many people insist on trying to get a photo of them "holding up" the tower, haha.

 

 

 

 

As temps reached the low 30’s today, glad we did the tour in the morning and were back on board for the afternoon.

 

Day 12 - Monte Carlo

Sep 04

Sigh... Just opened this page to add photos to the comments I wrote last week only to find the page blank again. Soooo frustrating!

 

Anyways, last night we travelled from Barcelona across the Gulf of Lion towards the French coastline, arriving in Monaco mid morning. The water here is an incredible, clear, dark blue. We opted to just look around on our own rather than join a tour. As there's some hill climbing involved here, dad decided to stay on board while mom, Danny and I went exploring.

 

Saw the Royal Palace with its medeival towers and cannons and cannonballs all over the place. Walked by St. Nicholas Cathedral, a 13th century church which is the final resting place of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.

 

 

 

Lots of spectacular yachts in the harbors. This is definitely the home of the fabulously wealthy... Condos near the water go for 5 million Euro.

 

 

Did not make it over to the casino... Interesting to note: citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble, nor even visit the casinos. Permanent population is only about 3000 people and the principality is less than a square mile in size.

 

 

Day 10 - Barcelona and Gaudi

Sep 02

Took the Hop on Hop off bus for a quick tour around the city. Got off for a walk around the Spanish Village at Montjuic. This "village" was built for the world's fair in 1929 - the houses and buildings have been replicated from different regions of Spain.

 

 

 

The architecture in this city is fascinating! A day and a half is nowhere near enough time to explore all there is to see here.

 

 

 

 

 

The Torre Diagonal Zero Zero building

 

Torre Agbar (the pickle building). 474 feet tall. 4500 windows that reflect light. Architect was inspired by Gaudi.

 

 

 

Casa Batilo

 

 

 

 

 

La Pedrera - Casa Mila

 

 

 

 

Sagrada Familia - their most famous church, construction started in 1882, Gaudi took over in 1883 till his death in 1926 and the building construction is expected to be completed by 2026 (maybe). We didn't have time to visit, unfortunately. Only took pics as we were driving by.

 

 

This being Barcelona, we had to try the paella. Had dinner at a sidewalk cafe; the wine was pretty decent but the paella, despite looking fabulous, was a bit of a disappointment. Quite sure Danny could whip up a much better version at home :)