Day 13 October 23- Naples, Italy

Our last day. And as it turns out, I think this was our best day. I had hired a driver for the day, Mariano Fiorentino. We were going to tour Pompeii, then drive to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast to Positano. I met people on CruiseCritic to share this trip with also, Sandy and her husband. The day before I had asked them if they were interested in a guide for Pompeii, and they said sure, so I emailed Mariano and asked him to set up a guide for us.

We met at Cova Café again and were some of the first ones off the ship. I could not find what time I had told Mariano we would meet him, so I thought it best if we got an early start. We headed out of the port to where the taxis were and one of the drivers there told us we had walked past where the hired drivers were. So we went back and saw a line of vans, cars and buses. No one was approaching us, so we approached a group of drivers and found Mariano there. He was a very friendly, very “Italian” man. He was wonderful.

We got off earlier than he expected us, so he took us to a little corner shop near Pompeii and bought us cappuccinos and sweet treats. We met our guide for Pompeii there also, Salvatore. He is a professor who works as a guide on the side to make extra money. Apparently this is fairly common. Anyway, Salvatore went ahead to buy our tickets so when we were done with our coffee we could head right in. The gates to Pompeii open at 8:30am and we were let in at about 8:25. We went in a back entrance so Salvatore could show us some things that not everyone sees on a tour. There is an amphitheater that we could see the outside of just past the gate. Then we walked through a cemetery and saw the mausoleums and monuments from the active days of the city. One of the ways they built them to “look expensive” was to make them out of bricks then cover them with marble, rather than building them with marble. Some also had life sized statues or busts of the people who died.

We walked the streets and were amazed that we were the only ones around! We could take photos of Mount Vesuvius in the background. We saw mosaics and frescoes inside some of the buildings. I couldn’t help but notice how similar they were to the ones we saw in Ephesus even though they were so far apart. But at the time both cities were prospering they were part of the Roman empire, so I guess similarities were to be expected. Salvatore took us to an enclosed area where they had casts of bodies as they were found when the city was excavated. I had seen pictures of this, but it was still eerie to see. There were dogs and a woman trying to protect her child. There was a garden there that was growing the same kinds of plants that grew at the time of the eruption. They were able to do DNA testing on seeds and plant casts that they found to determine what grew there. One thing I learned that I did not know is that there had been an earthquake that had destroyed much of Pompeii only 17 to 20 years before the volcano buried it, so a lot of it was still damaged from the earthquake. But it was a vacation community to the rich families of Rome, so the people who could afford it had made repairs. We saw how the aqueducts ran through the city supplying water to public water fountains as well as homes. We saw how taverns were set up. We also visited the brothel that had drawings over the doors of the rooms to show various positions and possibilities. There is one “new” house still standing that is used as offices that is on a site that was not excavated so you can see how high the dirt was and how people didn’t know the city was buried under the hills. Vesuvius erupted on 24 Sep 79 AD, they know this from writings they have found from people who managed to escape the destruction. It was found again in the mid 1700s and excavation began then. It is still going on. It was an amazing tour and I know we barely scratched the surface of what can be seen. We did not have time to go to the archaeological museum in Naples, where most of the artifacts and frescoes from the excavation can now be seen. We paid Salvatore 20 Euro each (plus tip) and met up with Mariano again.

The day turned out to have perfect weather for sight seeing. Next we went to Sorrento. We stopped at a pretty cloister to take some photos. We mentioned to Mariano we would be interested in possibly purchasing three things: inlaid wooden music boxes, olive oil and limoncello, all things the area was known for. He took us to a family shop where the owner showed us inlaid wooden boxes and furniture the he and his family made. They were so beautiful, I could not decide. JoAnne and Sandy both ended up with music boxes with scenes of the ocean shoreline on them. I said I would just have to return and buy one then! Then we went to a small town square near with side streets filled with little shops. We stopped and had some pizza and a drink then tried to do some shopping. I still could not find driving gloves for Bobby, nor could I find any olive wood salad sets or bowls. And the exchange rate was higher than I wanted to pay, but we had to do it to pay for our driver today and to the airport the next day. Anyway, Sorrento was such a pretty town, I could have spent the whole day or more here. It was the epitome of Italy to me. I can’t wait to go back. As we were leaving Sorrento Mariano remembered we wanted olive oil and stopped at a shop of a friend and got us each a bottle of oil as a gift.

Then we drove the Amalfi coast to Positano. Mariano was such a good tour guide, he obviously loves Italy and loves sharing it with others. He talked a lot with his hands. JoAnne was in the front seat next to him and he could not talk without touching her. We found it funny but I think after a while she wished he would stop. The views from the road were breathtaking. We stopped at a couple of places so we could take pictures. When we go to Positano, Mariano dropped us off about halfway down into town and we walked the rest of the way, just window shopping and admiring the view. At one point, we stopped at a wall that overlooked the ocean. Rick decided to go down to the ocean right away, not realizing we all wanted to go. After taking some more pictures JoAnne and I made our way to the water and took off our shoes and waded in. It was cool, but not as cold as I imagined it would be. On the way back up, we stopped for one last gelatto in Italy. We savored the flavor then met back up with Mariano. The road is very winding and narrow it amazed me that we saw a few trucks and buses. Mariano says they usually don’t go into the town. He also said that we were lucky that there wasn’t much traffic so we were able to get there and wander around fairly quickly and easily. In the summer traffic is backed up and it takes forever to do that drive. And you can’t find a place to park.

We decided to take the hydrofoil back since it was faster and something different to do. But first Mariano stopped at three places so we could buy limoncello. The place he wanted us to buy from had already closed up shop for the season. The second store was open but was out of limoncello, the third place had what we wanted. They let us taste it, then I bought a large bottle of regular limoncello, JoAnne bought two small bottles, one regular and one cream of limoncello and Sandy bought a small bottle of cream limoncello. On the way to the hydrofoil pier, Mariano drove past his family farm. He said if we had more time he would have stopped for a visit. His extended family all lives there or nearby and helps tend the farm, olives, grapes, lemons etc. All families make their own limoncello and olive oil. He then took us to the pier, told the guy where we wanted to go and helped us buy our tickets. When it came time to pay him, he discounted the charge by the cost of the hydrofoil ride since he wasn’t driving us back. We had completely enjoyed his company and tipped him well. A boat was just about to leave so he rushed with us to the boat and made sure we were safely on before he left. The hydrofoil crossed the bay of Naples and dropped us off at the same pier where our ship was.

I loved this entire day and would not hesitate to contact Mariano again if and when we return.

When we got back on board, we all decided to go to the spa and enjoy the T-pool one last time rather than start packing. The minerals and bleach in the pool had faded and worn out my bathing suit to the point that I threw it out when I got out of the pool. I was glad I had brought an old one rather that the new one I had just bought this summer. As I dressed for dinner, I wore a pair of pants I had worn earlier in the trip and was pleasantly surprised that they fit looser this time! All that walking did the trick!

Dinner was a chicken quesadilla and spinach and artichoke dip for appetizers, French onion soup, leg of lamb, all of which were very good. For dessert we had cake again, for Rick’s birthday and Wendy and John’s anniversary, both occasions which were the following week. We took lots of photos with our new friends and then there were lots of hugs and kisses good bye. I knew I would miss everyone’s company at dinner for a while after this. After two weeks we were all quite fond of each other. We had pre-paid our tips, but had a little extra to give to our waiters and to Ramona, our sweet sommelier. I had saved a couple of the corks of the wine that I had enjoyed most on this trip, hoping I would be able to find them in NH when I got home.

We got back to the cabin an started the sad and arduous task of packing. All of the breakables were in my carry on backpack except for the bottles. I had brought bubble wrap bags just in case, and that, along with ziploc bags were used to pack all the other souvenirs which were distributed amongst our three checked bags. It took two hours, but everything got packed and our bags put in the hall with time to spare. As we were packing I looked out the window as we sailed away from Naples and found we were being escorted by birds flying with us and about a dozen or more dolphins jumping in and out of the water along side of us until we were out of the bay. It was a beautiful site and a nice way to end the trip.

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