Sorrento and Pompeii, Italy

 Sorrento and Pompeii, Italy                                                                     Wednesday, April 27, 2022

(editor addition: History of Mount Vesuvius and interactive tour of some of the archeological sites: 

               We are enthralled by the opening of spring in Italy.  Having two days in a row of bright sunshine and temps in upper 60s and low 70s just makes it all the better.  We hope that spring is popping out in your backyards and neighborhoods in similar spectacular splendor!

               Today we were treated to a picturesque bus ride along e Amalfi coastline, one of the most scenic drives in the world.  Not only do we have vistas over the coast, but we weave into and out of lengthy tunnels and then—pow—right there in the distance is the looming Mt. Vesuvius which dominates the skyline with its two pointed peaks and deep crater in the middle, evidence of the top literally blown off.  It is thought that “the volcano” as it is referenced, was about 2000m in altitude prior to the eruption in 70 AD.  Now it is at about 1077m. 

               We saved the visit to the archeological site on Pompeii until after lunchtime in order to allow us to visit the nearby large city of Sorrento, tour an inlaid wood factory and showroom/shop, and then stroll along streets upon streets of all types of stores.  

Sorrento is most well known for its acres upon acres of lemon trees (introduced by the Romans millenia ago) and the current products of anything lemon…from lemons on clothing and scarves to lemon shaped and scented soaps (currently in our stateroom for fragrance) to bottles of all shapes and sizes of limoncello.  Have you tried it?  Go out.  Now.  Buy some.  Sip safely and then sit longly. 😊  We also enjoyed our first cannoli.  Oh my,  look it up if you haven’t a clue—we hadn’t had a clue.  As we shopped, we found an Italian supermarket and filled up our backpack and a couple sacks with goodies…most of which we will give to our room stewards who normally don’t get off the ship often enough for treats.  Most Mediterranean countries shut down from 1pm-4pm for a “siesta” but mostly to escape the intense summer heat.  This pattern works year-round; therefore, schedules need to be adjusted to when anything is open for us to visit. 

So we motored out of Sorrento as shops began to close down.  Going to the outdoor displays of Pompeii was the next stop. Pompeii was one of nine villages that were covered by up to 21 feet of ash in 79 AD.  Jerry and I had visited the site in college (40+ years ago!) and were looking forward to seeing further archeological discoveries.  Just recently, in fact, letters were found which changed the date for the eruption from August to October 24 at 1:00 in the afternoon.  These letters were from an eyewitness, that the eruption lasted 30 hours.   Pompeii had no lava damage since the flow didn’t go that way.  To have an idea of how deep 21 feet was, a building remains that had been built years after the eruption on top of the deep ash.  We’ll include the photo.

The first thing you see entering Pompeii

Interior of the Ampitheater

Seat Numbering. The photo above you can see three people taking up the space of five numbered seats. 

Pedestrian crossing of roadway - the ruts between the stones are actual ruts from chariots. 

Several Cameos have been found in the excavations - they are famous for making them now. 

Brothel artwork

Brothel Bed (ouch)

Arrow pointing way to brothel-- there apparently were a lot of these types of directional stones specifically for the brothel--any similarity to anatomical parts may be coincidental.