After a night of smooth sailing on the beautiful deep blue Mediterranean Sea we arrived in Naples, Italy. Since we had an all day tour planned to Pompeii and Sorrento we were up early. Since we knew our day would begin so early, we ordered breakfast to be delivered to our room. We set up our table on our balcony and enjoyed the rising sun. The day was already warm so we knew we were headed for another scorching hot day. As we ate, we watched our arrival into port.
The port in Naples (Napoli)
Just outside port, we drove past this structure on our way to Pompeii. Some of these pictures have a glare because we took them from inside our bus...
Our first stop between Naples and Pompeii was at a cameo factory. In this factory, the cameos are still hand carved from shells. The workmanship is stunning, and the detail is amazing. My mom had had a cameo while I was growing up (and I always liked it), so I knew that I would have to come away with one. I actually ended up with two because they are earrings. Mine is from a beautiful blue shell.
Here is one artisan at work. He was very patient with us as we crowded around to watch and take pictures...
And here are just a few of the cameos that were available for purchase. The shop was filled. Although I bought a pair of earrings, I actually bought them in a shop outside of Pompei. I got a much better deal.
One our way to Pompei, we were fortunate to enjoy the beautiful Italian countryside. Here is famous Mt. Vesuvious which was responsible for burying the ancient metropolis of Pompei under ash and rock in 79 A.D.
Of course, outside of the ancient unearthed city of Pompei are many, many hopeful vendors...
Archeologists have done an outstanding job of unearthing the ancient city. The area is a tourist site, so once our group got all of our tickets, we got to tour on foot many of the sites. Pompei was a HUGE city and it's really quite surprising how much was preserved in the ash.
The outside walls
Stepping just inside...
The ampitheatre. It was amazingly steep. It was amazing how much had survived the volcanic eruption. Note the detail and the incredible use of stone and brick
I thought this carved column was interesting. Again, Pompei was an amazing Roman city and the detail of the statues was amazing.
The original mosaic marble floor of the ampitheatre. Remember this town was destroyed in 79 AD so this city was hustling and bustling almost 2000 years ago!
The roads were of large stone. Apparently the water ran down the roads and so the larger stones were for the people so that they could cross the street without getting their feet wet. You'll see in some later pictures that you can actually see the ruts formed from the chariots!
This was actually a shop where food was sold and/or served as all of these holes were used for cooking and storing.
It really was hard to imagine that the walls surrounding us were almost 2000 years old!
There are frescos that also survived. Pompeii was decorated with some incredibly beautiful and colorful artwork. The city was also very well known for its massive "red light" district, and some of the best preserved frescos are inside the brothels. Let's just say those frescos would make anyone blush--definitely XXX! But here is one that is "innocent". There were also advertisements that were carved in the stone pointing the way to the brothels and those were a bit risque too!
A fountain...
It was blazing hot and where ever we could find shade we'd stop. Mesimo, our guide (in the white shirt and sunglasses). He was a rather flamboyant young man who especially enjoyed pointing out the adult-content sites. If anyone was a prude, they would have been terribly uncomfortable. Pompei was a wild town. I wonder if it was Sodom or Gomorrah...ha! ha! Pleasure was definitely important to the people of ancient Pompei!
Here is a good picture of the "stepping stones" that allowed folks to cross the street and stay out of the water and pollutants. Can you see the narrow rut--it was carved from the chariots!
This mosaic tile floor is in the remaining foyer of a large home or mansion.
There is one building that is fenced off, but it allows you to see all the relics that have been found in the archeological digs. There were thousands of pieces in several "chambers". Here are just a few pictures...
The body on the table, is actually a petrified former resident of Pompei who died during the eruption.
The squatting child is another petrified body. There was also a petrified dog, another man, and a pregnant woman....so interesting and yet so sad. What a way to die!
Some statues and sculptures..
Tables, crypts, water vessels, etc.
Heading into the town square this column was the clock tower--a sundial.
More of the square...
Heading out of the city and looking back...
When we left Pompei we were headed to the beautiful coastal town of Sorrento. The streets are narrow in Sorrento...it was amazing how the buses managed to manipulate them...
Notice all the motorcycles and scooters--the best way to get around the town
Our first stop in Sorrento was to a inlay wood factory. The furniture was beautiful! Unfortunately, these beautiful pieces also have extremely high price tags! Whew!
This gentleman gave us a demonstration of the inlay process--fascinating!
Our second stop in Sorrento was to a farm high up on the hillside. The views were phenomenal!
This was the farm on the top of the hill--they grow olives, citrus (lemons, oranges), hydrangeas, grapes, and lots of other fruits and vegetables...they also make cheese and olive oil. The farm also raises animals. The best part of our visit was the taste-testing of some of their cheeses and salamis. The farm also has their own church--you can see it to the right in back.
Grapes
Walking through the trees...
Olive trees....
Olives (sorry this picture is blurry)
Our tour guide on the farm was this young gal. Her English was impeccable! She was the only one on the farm that could speak English. Here we are in the olive pressing room, so she is discussing the equipment...
Following the tour of the farm, we were given a cheese making demonstration. Here this woman demonstrated the art of making the cheese. One of the cheeses is Mozzarella, but I can't remember what the other one was.
She took this lump and kneaded it... 
And formed this hanging cheese...
Here is the demo of the mozzarella ....kneading....
and kneading some more....
Stretching and pulling it like taffy....
Then forming this ball. She made it look so easy!
Dave showing off his plate of tasty samples...
Our "dining" room - it was nice being in the shade!
The shop where they sell their oils and spices, etc.
Another set of pictures from the farm. This view was breathtaking!
Signs on the narrow streets....
The drive through Sorrento back to Naples...it was definitely a beautiful drive... the Italian countryside is just fabulous!
What a wonderful place to spend our 30th wedding anniversary. We both love Italy...we hope someday to come back and catch the northern sites of the country.
Our next day was a day at sea....playing on the ship....eating ourselves into oblivion, enjoying games of Bacchi ball and Baggo on the live lawn, and resting up for our next port of call--Athens, Greece!
Stay tuned....
