Advertisement
Published: November 22nd 2007
Edit Blog Post
Pompeii
The entrance to the city. After getting on the train to Rome, we decided that we wanted to stay in a smaller town so we caught a second train from Naples to the coastal town of Sorrento. It was a cool little town that was set on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and sort of reminded us of downtown La Jolla. It served as a great base for exploring the ruins of Pompeii. The ruins were a lot bigger than we had thought and, apparently, only a small portion of them have been fully excavated. We spent a few hours walking around and it was enough time to see most of the main sights, but you could definitely spend an entire day there checking everything out. It was really eerie walking through the streets knowing that this is where hundredes of people died, especially seeing plaster molds of the bodies that had been uncovered. As the archeologists found a body, they would pour plaster into the cavity to preserve the shape and remains and then would put some of them back where they were found. Some of the places we went to were the Temple of Apollo, the sacrificial alter, the Garden of the Fugitives, a
few homes of the towns elite and of course...the brothels. The brothels were kind of funny because they were covered with porn cartoons. It consisted of a bunch of rooms with concrete beds and over the doors was a roman cartoon of the woman's specialty...We couldn't help but think how the hell that worked out with concrete beds...I mean seriously...that has got to be awkward and a serious job hazard. After touring Pompeii, we caught the next train up to Florence to meet up with a girl we had met in Vienna and see what the city had to offer.
Florence had a rustic vibe and it has some amazing pieces of art as it was the heart of the Italian Renaissance. We walked down the streets which were filled with artists selling their work and other street artists "sketching" famous pieces out of chalk on the streets. We tried to go to the Duomo and the Academy (where the David is kept) on the first day, but it was closed...something we have gotten used to...closures, holidays, strikes...the story of our Euro Trip. We walked around a bit and caught the train to Pisa to check out the Leaning
Temple of Apollo
With Vesuvius in the background...they say its getting ready to erupt Tower. There really wasn't much to do in the city except look at the tower say, " wow, that is pretty crazy," and take the stereotypical picture..."Look mom, I am holding up a tower...haha..." so we only stayed for a few hours. That night we met up with Fawn and her friend and went to dinner. Russ and I thought they were joking when they said they felt like Mexican food, but we were pretty surprised by the quality. We were also shocked by the fact that they actually had DOS EQUIS, not the standard Corona...So we had a beer with salt and lime for the first time in 6 months had a teaser of the glorious burritos to come in just 18 days. After dinner we headed to a local wine bar where they introduced us to some local wine. The best was a desert wine called Vino Santo (Holy Wine), and it is pretty damn good. Then, the bartender said we could not come to Florence without tasting the Grappa, so he gave us some free glasses and the girls the best Vino Santo they sell (it is something like $20 a glass, but it so freakin good).
Brothel Beds
No squeaky beds here... As for the Grappa, DON'T DRINK THE GRAPPA!!! It is basically moonshine wine that is used by the Italians to "cleanse the pallette", but is really just a 90 proof wine that tastes like rubbing alcohol. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! We had to taste some of the girls vino to "uncleanse our pallettes." But, the bartender did show us how to make it and then we all piled in his tiny Italian car after closing time and headed to a local club where he knew the bartender called the Shot Cafe. The next day, we actually went to the Duomo, which was another beautiful cathedral with a crazy mural painted in the dome. We also went to the Academy to check out the David. It really is amazing how detailed the sculture is. You can even see veins in his hands and the base of his biceps. Apparently, Michaelangelo just took this partially used block left in the church courtyard and went to town. After walking around a bit more, we met up with Fawn for some Greek food and said as goodbyes as we hopped on the night train to Lucerne. Well, that is gonna do it for this segment...you stay
Roma Sutra
Ancient porno paintings... classy San Diego.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0511s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Brett
non-member comment
California Burritos
18 days huh!?! Sounds like the two of you are still having a blast....but get your asses back here already so we can grab some waves together. Giant Nakedness and not being able to sculpt parts with a straight face? I thought that the two of you would be used to GIANT NAKEDNESS after staying in a room with me for two weeks straight!