This morning we were up early, for our bus ride that would eventually lead us to our hotel in Sorrento. Along the way, we had several stops, chief among them was visiting the ruins of Pompeii.
Because we were new to this route, we were eager to watch the Italian countryside go by. There were several interesting hill towns, which we were better able to see the photograph.
Probably the most interesting place that we passed as we drove was Montecasino. Indeed, we had a rest stop pretty much at the foot of the historic site.
A side visit was to a hilltop shop which is famous for hand carved cameos. I suppose you could say we made a cameo appearance there. From the parking lot we had a good look at Vesuvius. With more such views yet to come.
We continued on, reaching Pompeii about lunchtime. Indeed, before we had our tour of Pompeii, we had lunch. It was a lovely, alfresco lunch, underneath pergolas that were covered with blooming wisteria. Absolutely as romantic as it sounds.
The food was also quite good.
Having finished our lunch, we then met up with our special guide for seeing Pompeii. Claudia has been guiding people through Pompeii since 1993. And it shows. She has incredible knowledge of the ancient city.
Best of all, as we began our tour, she said: We’re going to have a leisurely tour of Pompeii. Oh, that was music to my ears, since much of what we did was at breakneck speed. Powerwalking. But with Claudia, it was more of a stroll. Which was great because it was a very hot day, and as you see in the photographs, the streets of Pompeii are pretty much paved with stones that don’t meet each other very well. Lots of uneven surfaces in the gaps. Whether it was that way 2000 years ago, I don’t think anyone remembers. But over time, that’s the end result. Kind of like Pittsburgh potholes bug more-so
Pompeii was fascinating.
I especially liked seeing the larger home that we visited. With its entry atrium. And it’s very large courtyard. There were very nice frescoes to see. One of them had a dog as part of the story, and it was rendered as dogs usually are n art, in a very endearing manner.
We also visited a smaller house just to see what they were like.
I’mgetting ahed of myself.
We began in the square near the amphitheater, with its columns, some complete and some partial. Then a visit to the amphitheater. Which I hope they still use for musical events, because it is quite a stunning setting. Also included was a visit to the main piazza, and as an other places in Pompeii, the chief item of interest was the view of Vesuvius. It was, majestic, and ominous in all of its glory, and probably resting before it sends down smoke, ash, and fiery gas upon the populace down below. There are infinitely more people living in the area at the foot of Vesuvius now than in ancient times.
From Pompeii, we drove along the coast, with gorgeous views overlooking the Bay of Naples. Arriving at last in Sorrento.
Our big bus could not go down the driveway to our hotel. So we were deposited outside the impressive iron gates, and told to stroll down to the hotel. Which we did. Through very lushly landscaped gardens. Very naturalistic as well. We passed a little temple-type gazebo, many bromeliads and other semi tropical plants that we were familiar with as Floridans. And came in last to a gorgeous villa. This was not our hotel. But it was on the grounds of our hotel.
And has a story that is quite interesting...
Between the villa and the hotel is a long esplanade type terrace paved in colorful ceramic tile. Absolutely gorgeous and perfect for looking out over the blue water. Then, we arrived at the hotel. It was stunning. Entirely in white with blue accents. All public rooms were quite spacious, with views out over the water.
Our hotel room was equally spacious, with comfortable balcony, overlooking tranquil gardens. Our reaction to the hotel was, I would say, similar to everyone else in the tour. Why are we staying here such a short time? Can’t we stay here several weeks? It really was that engaging.
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