Exploring Naples and Pompeii

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This morning we met our new tour group and once again it's a full load. The maximum number for a Back Roads tour is 18. Everyone seems lovely plus there are 6 of us from the previous tour. This time we have a couple of New Zealanders as well as two ladies from Canada. Otherwise, the rest of us are Aussies. We left our beautiful hotel at 8:30am and met our new bus driver, Andre. We only needed to drive a short distance for the first part of our tour, as were about to explore the historic centre of Naples. We met our local guide Marco and were kitted up with Whisperers (allowing us to listen to Marco without having to crowd around him).

We commenced our walk through the old town as Marco informed us about places we saw along the way. One of the good things about heading out early is you beat the crowds. One of the bad things is they haven't cleaned up the streets yet from the previous nights partying! We were in a mission to get to the Sanservero Chapel Museum, to see The Veiled Christ, so we didn't stop to explore much along the way.

The Sanservero Chapel is a jewel in the world's artistic heritage - it has baroque creativity and dynastic pride. This chapel was erected in the late sixteenth century by Giovan Francesco di Sangro but it was Raimondo di Sangro, seventh Prince of Sanservero, who conceived and realised, between the 1740's and the 1770's, the fascinating iconographic design that we see today. The Prince wished to build a family mausoleum and, at the same time, a temple of initiation, reflecting his multi-faceted personality as a patron of the arts, inventor, man of letters and publisher, as well as an alchemist and Grand Master of the Freemasons in the Kingdom of Naples.

The masterpiece of the famous Veiled Christ was the work of Giuseppe Sanmartino and was completed in 1753. This work is renowned the world over for the tissue-like quality of the marble - all made from one piece of marble. We were not able to take any photos in this Museum so unfortunately I haven't included one in this blog.

After spending some time here, enjoying the article splendour of the chapel, we walked back to one of the squares, where we were free to get coffee and something to eat. I hadn't had breakfast today so was feeling very hungry but most things on offer were sweet, which I didn't fancy. I was hanging around at the front of one shop, while the gentleman was serving another person, looking at what he hadn't to offer but there wasn't anything written. He then spoke to me in Italian and I asked if he spoke any English. Lucky for me he did. I explained I was after a panini and he said, sure what do you want. I said ham and maybe cheese and he showed me lol this freshly baked bread. He grabbed a loaf and cit some off the end. then cut it in half. He then took me into his shop, which was actually a deli and grabbed this amazing piece of mozzarella and started slicing that up. Then he grabbed some fresh tomatoes (small red juicy ones) and proceeded to cut them into circles (hard to describe). He then opened a packet of oregano and like a Masterchef, proceeded to sprinkle that over the tomatoe. He poured some olive oil over it and a sprinkle of rock salt - and then sliced up some olives. He wrapped it all up so carefully and after I paid for it, he made me put my wallet back in my bag and zip it all up before walking out of his shop. What an experience! I can report that this "sandwich" did me for the whole day.

I just had enough time to grab a piccolo before meeting the rest of the group. We then walked back through the historic centre and visited the main Cathedral along the way. As it was Sunday there was a mass about to start but this doesn't seem to deter the tourists from wandering through and taking photos! This cathedral is another fine example of the baroque style. We did a slight detour after this amd walked to Bellini square, where some Roman ruins had been uncovered. We then headed to the bus for our drive to Pompeii.

Pompeii - the first thing you realise when you arrive is that this place is huge! And hot ..... and very busy with tourists. Once again, I am so glad we are a small group tour as we were able to avoid some of the bigger groups and wait until they cleared before checking out a building. And the other good news - there are so many buildings to check out so you have lots of choices! Pompeii was founded in the 9th century BC and was then destroyed by the volcanic eruption from Mt Vesuvius in the year 79 AD, when I t was covered by a blanket of ash that was 6 metres high. The excavations off the city, which began in 1748, unearthed this acheological site which was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1997.

There are 9 different sections in Pompeii and be anble to explore all of them you would need days. Our guide Marco took us on a stroll two of the main streets that intersect four of the sections, and pointed out the key buildings along the way. We visited one of the most luxurious villas where you could still see the remnants of mosaics and frescos on the walls. We walked through a brothel and could see the beds that were frozen in time! At first I thought they used concrete beds, which would have been very uncomfortable haha. We saw the bakery which you could tell what it was because of the mill stone for grinding the wheat. There were the remnants of so many shops and houses along these streets. The streets themselves were fascinating - they are all made with big rocks and you could see the grooves left from the chariot wheels. They also had higher rocks, stepping stones, on some corners etc - they needed these because apparently the sewerage flowed down the streets and this was how you crossed the street without getting your feet 'wet'. We walked to a couple of the main squares, where we could see the huge temples and columns lining the squares. All the while being conscious of Mt Vesuvius acting as a beautiful scenic backdrop. There was also an area where many artefacts that have been uncovered are stored. There were jugs, cups, plates - many items demonstrating what life was like back there. There were also some plaster casts of people and even a dog, that showed the horror of how they died. I always thought it was petrified people but it was explained that when they were finally excavated, the human form had perished, except their shape (and bones) were preserved and intact in the ash, so they were able to pour in plaster and it took the form of the person or animal. We only spent a couple of hours here and I wished it was longer and we had been able to go down to the section with the big ampitheatre, but it was too far away.

I wandered through the visitors centre before meeting up with our group. There was a fascinating film that showed the main areas in Pompeii with a map beside it that lit up to show you the spot. Helped to put the whole thing in perspective. Once the group was back together, we walked to the bus and were in our way to Paestrum, our location for the night. The hotel we were staying in is right across the road from the archeological site of Paestrum, which we will explore tomorrow. It was nice to check in to your room and cool down, after being in the heat all day. Tonight we were having our first group dinner so I freshened up and went downstairs to meet them all. We did a little around the group introduction over a pre dinner drink then we all walked to our restaurant for dinner. Tonight was a four course dinner! To start I had the local buffalo cheese with an eggplant accompaniment, then a local pasta with tomatoe sauce followed by chicken breast (first time for chicken in ages - they don't really eat it much over here) which had been bashed thin and served with a simple lettuce salad. We all commented that the Italians do simple well when it comes to cooking. We also had the house wine, which was local from the region. Another meal that was fully included in the tour, which was fabulous.

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