Blogs from Pompei, Campania, Italy, Europe - page 14

Trip so farMatthew Feben After rising early and making the small walk to Termini Station i was on my was to Pompei. I guy i met at the Yellow in Rome decided to make the journey also so it was nice to have a bit of company. After 2 hours we changed trains in Napoli then after a short half hour trip we were in Pompei. The town was a little smaller than i had imagined but the main street that lead from the station to the main square was quite beautiful. The was an amazing church that was in the main square but after Rome i was all churched out and didnt end up making the trip inside it. After getting a bite to eat we went to check into out hostel.....it is closed from ... read more

Today we were in Naples traveling with our tour guide Claudia. We couldn't dock when we arrived, so we had to take a tender to shore. I did remarkably well considering the waves were going over the windows in front of me and water was coming in on the man sitting across from me. We travelled to Pompei and then on to Sorrento. Pompeii was amazing. It was uncovered so carefully that you could still see frescos on the walls of the houses. It was lots of walking, but well worth it. Then we went to Sorento for lunch on a farm, where they raise lemons, olives and make their own cheese. We had the best antipasta. Then it was up another winding road, barely wide enough for one car and they have 2 tour buses ... read more

So our night in Naples (Friday) Bradley and I meet Steven (just out of class and in for the weekend) at the train station. In twenty minutes, twenty bums come up to us. Such is Naples. I like to think that our savy looks and decent Italian phrazery (yeah its a word, look it up) keep the attempted pickpockets at bay. (And yes, they are pickpockets, and not genuine unfortunates). We see Steven, we meet his lady. Dang Vesuvius is close to Naples. And its still active. Honestly, theyre asking for it again. We chat and sleep. In the morning, Bradley and I have more conversation with our Dixie-whistlin pal. Mostly he want to talk monster movies. You should have seen his eyes light up with Bradley convinced him that we really had seen most of ... read more

Each layer of history is built upon another. No part of history is purely independent. Economic trends effect political decisions which in turn contribute to religious traditions. The cycle continues and reverses. No city ever goes unchanged. Even Pompei, a city frozen in time, has been affected by archaeologists and tourists. Throughout history, these kinds of changes have greatly affected cities and continue to do so. When an earthquake destroyed part of the Colosseum in Rome, they carried the rubble away to build churches and basilicas instead of rebuilding the original. On the floor of Salisbury Cathedral, headstones have been re-used as concrete slabs. Many more examples of the continual cycle of change are present here. Each change can have a cataclysmic effect. We visited Pompei and Herculaneum, which were two of the buried and and ... read more

as a garbage hunter - (yes, my eyes are constantly distracted with the remnants of human waste and dispose lining the streets, sidewalks and city walls), Napoli is a complete heaven of filth. With a flood of intense, inspiring, raw urban energy, there is not another city ..of course, made this way. It always greets me with a smother of a sour, sweaty, big bosomed embrace. One that is intensely too tight, and uncomfortably pungent, however enjoyable because of the honest adoration behind it all. So today i am here and happy. The last month has been a whirlwind solo tour of Poland, Romania, Hungaray and Czech Republic....it was good too, but i cannot even start with that quite yet. i just want to show today to you. because tomorrow i will leave Napoli on ... read more