Cheery's cruise...Italy...

[cheerypeabrain]

I loved Naples....beautiful lovely place. When we arrived in the port the skyline was dominated by Vesuvius...absolutely magnificent! I thought at first that it was two peaks...but it aint! the dip in the middle is the crater!



We only had a day there... spent about 4 hours in Pompeii and was stunned! Marvelous place...very atmospheric...I'll just post 5 pics (out of the 78 million I took ;D )











I'd love to go back and spend more time there.

[Deleted]

I visited Pompeii in.... 1973. But I wasn't on a cruise; I was on one of the Italian Line's last transatlantic crossings, from New York to Gibraltar to Naples to Cannes.

Unforgettable for me, because that's the trip in which I moved to France. Thanks for bringing back those memories with your pictures.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Why not post a few more of those 78 million pictures? This is good stuff.

[bixaorellana]

What FMT said!

I don't know how I missed seeing this thread yesterday, but now that I have, all I want is MORE.

I've never seen that bird mosaic reproduced anywhere. It's totally charming & seems so modern.

Pompeii has always fascinated me, & I can remember poring over Natl Geo articles about it when I was a kid. However, until I viewed your pictures, Cheery, I never grasped how big it is.

Can we have some more pics? Can we, please?

[hwinpp]

I had the chance to visit Pompei and blew it by sleeping too long...

That is one thing I've regretted in my past.

[cheerypeabrain]

Thanks chaps...what lovely folk you are... It was such an interesting place, cinders everywhere and lots of rubble. I couldn't bring myself to take photographs of the plaster casts of the bodies, not because I'm squeamish, but it felt obtrusive and insensitive to do so.

So here are a few more pics...

A street lined with food stalls, the counters had large earthenware pots in them (with food residue in them according to the guide)







A large villa



A bed in the brothel...looks pretty uncomfortable...



Random images of the smaller buildings...









Drains...



some more mosaics...it was very dusty...







One of the dogs that lives in the ruins...the guides feed them.



That'll do...

The thing to remember is that most of the more valuable artifacts are in the Museum in Naples.

Here are some of the artefact's on site that are stored in huge open air barns...






I'd like to visit Herculanium next time, Pompeii burned and was pummeled by debris...Herculanium was encased in a hot mud flow which apparently preserved more delicate structures.

[cheerypeabrain]

We left Naples and headed for Livorno...



Another jolly nice trip...this time out on a coach into the Turcany countryside...






We Visited a small vineyard, just outside the village of Montocarlo (not the other place....) where we sampled lots of luuuurvely wines and spent far too much money. ;D






hic....

[Deleted]

I was hoping for a photo of the gladiators' house, the one that collapsed this week and started a government crisis in Italy, but what you show is wonderful, Cheery.

I have some colour slides from my visit so long ago, which first I must find and then I must scan, so maybe I will be able to show them around 2018.

The parasol pines of (3rd photo in reply #6) are definitely the plant that most makes me think of Italy whenever I see one.

[bjd]

I agree about those parasol pines, Kerouac, although for me they mean Rome rather than anywhere else. Did you know they are protected?

Last year we went to Ostia Antica (there's a place to go instead of Pompei), and there are lots of those pines there. We overheard a private guide telling a woman that the roots were destroying the ruins but that the trees were protected and could not be cut. It's true that they make the site look much nicer.

I went to Pompei years ago too, but don't remember much except the guides all trying to push us to hire them. Fewer tourists in those days, obviously.

I was interested to see in Cheery's pics that the mosaics in Pompei look a lot like those in Ostia.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Thanks cheery. Those are really great pix and I would encourage you to come back when you have time and continually add to what you have already posted. I think I could look at about 78 million of those pix.

[bixaorellana]

Exciting, evocative photos, Cheery ~~ thanks! My favorite restaurant here has a section identical to the food stalls you show from Pompeii, which brought it even more to life for me.

I was sort of surprised by your mention of how dusty it was. You'd think, with all the tourist traffic, that they'd gently sweep or sluice off the mosaics. Amazing to see how much stuff is kept there on site. I'm assuming visitors don't get close enough to touch/filch that stuff. Too charming about the dogs. They might even be descendants of Pompeiian dogs.

If you haven't read this book, it's great, and would be even more so for someone who's actually seen Pompeii.

That's a magical view of leaving Naples. What time of year was this, please? Were there grapes still in the fields when you went to the vineyard?

[cheerypeabrain]

The tourist guide suggested the Thomas Harris book Bixa ;D I bought it as soon as I got home and quite enjoyed it....wanted MORE tho....

...and it was in September 2009....

[bixaorellana]

More from him, but not on Pompeii. It's in-depth on ancient Rome, though: Imperium. It's the first of a trilogy. I haven't read the other two yet.

Ah, so you went quite recently. You know, some of your pictures looked very, uh, ancient. ;D

[cheerypeabrain]

I'm so happy

It seems like my PB pics are back on the board...can you see them huh? huh?

[kerouac2]

Yes, we can see them again. Wonderful:

[cheerypeabrain]

PB might snatch them away again tho...