Witzlers--Greece/Venice/Barcelona/Miami: Thursday 8 Nov 2018 Naples, Italy (Pompeii & Ravello)

With excursions everyday, we're behind on our postings, but trying to catch up. We're doing this blog as much for ourselves as readers; it helps us remember. General observations: this has been a perfect time to travel this itinerary as the record-breaking high temperatures have abated as well as tourists. And we've never been inconvenienced by rain, maybe only by some gray, overcast days.

In years past the couple we're travelling with hired a guide and driver when they visited the Naples area. We decided to hire the same folks for our visit to Pompeii and Ravello. Super smart decision as the cost was actually less than the Oceania excursion to just Pompeii and so rewarding.

Our driver Francesco picked us up (MB van not in States) at 8:00 AM and by 8:45 we were waiting for the Pompeii gates (with guide Claudia) to open at 9:00 AM. So a bit about our drivers so far. In Greece we were amazed to see cars stop for yellow lights changing to red and to stop for pedestrians. Francesco said red lights in Italy were for an 'accelerating stop.'

In a previous blog we showed a photo of our guide talking, with his hands, here are two more examples.

A few years ago the Denver Museum of Nature & Science had an exhibition that featured artifacts from Pompeii, obliterated by the eruption in 79 AD by Mt. Vesuvius. We had such little appreciation for how advanced that society was and how it massive was the destruction.

'Fast food' soup restaurant

In the photo to the right, note the 'white' markings. We found these imbedded everywhere both inside homes and outside in streets and walkways. They were small pieces of marble to help with guidance after dark! And the stone 'roads' were grooved from wagon traffic.

artifact storage

cistern

The archeological digs continues and more of the city is discovered/uncovered every year. It was interesting to learn the slaves could become wealthy in their own right. One home we saw was over 10,000 sq. meters!! We were also told the very wealthy could afford plumbing, provided through lead pipes.

I'm sure we've all seen photos of the victims, whether animals or humans. What we learned was that they died from sulfuric gasses and were covered in ash. The forms we are seeing are castings taken from voids left inside the ash.

That would be Mt. Vesuvius in the background. The caldera is the 'valley.'

We also saw many bath houses and houses of prostitution were not uncommon.

You might make note of the fresco above our tour guide's hand. Cap spared you from his photos of sculptures with a similar theme. For more information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_art_in_Pompeii_and_Herculaneum

After our visit to Pompeii we took a scenic drive to Ravello for lunch at a restaurant overlooking Ravello and the bay.