I got up this morning bright and early, 6:15 uhhhg. I ran into German Lisa (a nice older lady I met at the boat drill from Germany) and had breakfast with her. I got off the ship and followed the instructions I copied off the Internet. I was in slightly the wrong location for the bus they specified and figured out I needed the 151 bus. The bus took me to the Piazza Garibaldi Train Station. I bought a ticket (€5.80 round trip) and navigated my way to the platform.
The 35 minute train ride dropped me off just a block away from the entrance to Pompeii (€11 entrance fee). Given the choice between a €6.50 audio guide and €10 for a 2 hour guided group tour. I chose the latter.
Pompeii was really interesting. The city was covered by lava and ash by a middle of the night eruption of Mount Vesuvius 79 AD. The lava flowed over the houses. The occupants died from the heat and their bodies were covered in ash that laid undeserved beneath meters of lava rock for thousands of years. Until about 250 years ago when the city was rediscovered.
The human remains were still covered in ash inside the homes where they died. The ash formed a fragile cast of their bodies in great detail. Plaster was poured into the ash casts creating solid replicas of the residents posed for all eternity in the position they died.
We saw the remains of the central plaza, residences, businesses, the forum, Roman baths and temples.
Back when it was a thriving port town, sailors came to the city for their favorite pastimes: eating, gambling and nighttime companionship. The tour went through one of the brothels where you could still see the "menu" painted above the bedrooms of the girls.
The town had a theater were gladiators performed.
Upon exiting the train station I decided to walk in the direction of the ship and see where it led me. I saw the grimy sketchy part of town. Lots of Eastern European immigrants were also steeled in this area.
I walked for a couple of miles then decided to figure out a way to take the bus bake to an area that was actually on the little map the ship provided. I shortly took the bus a mile or two and then walked down Via Toledo one of the main streets in Naples.
I saw a cute gelato store. Even though I had yet to eat lunch, I promptly selected a cone with two flavors, chocolate hazelnut and extra dark chocolate. It was so yummy, creamy and the flavors were so good.
I walked a few more blocks eating the cone, gelato dripping on my shirt as it melted in the heat. (It was as hot as FL in the summer) I came across a small pizzeria named Papa Nero just off Piazza della Carita and sat down for lunch.
I ordered a pizza margarita. For €3 the pizza was quite large. (Bigger than the $5 pizza on the cape) it was hot with fresh crushed tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and a bit of basil. Quite delicious!
Pizza history: Italy once was ruled for a short time by monarchy. As it turns out this dish was designed to mimic the colors of the Italian flag and was named for Queen Margarita when she visited Naples.
A few blocks later a charming pastry shop caught my eye. I picked up a small cannoli, something that looked like chocolate in a croissant like pastry and a small cream puff thing. I took them back to eat late as my stomach was full of gelato an pizza. ( the cream puff was just ok but the other two were delightful.)
I walked back to the ship an washed off the hot stickiness of the day. A bunch of the solo cabin people gathered for dinner at Taste tonight. I had the Greek Salad with tomato, feta, cucumber, onion, papers and lemon vinaigrette. Yummy, I love feta tomatoes and cucumbers. I ordered two mains the Braised Angus Pot Roast and Pasta Carbonara. The pasta was ok but the pot roast was a disappointment; I didn't eat it.
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