Europe 14 - Day 31

Introduction

We awoke the next morning to a lovely clear day. There was a wisp of mist in the valley from last night's rain but this soon cleared. We departed early (7.30am) as we had another long day. From Assisi we headed south and west towards Rome, then turned south to Naples. We arrived at Pompeii at 1pm, had a short break for lunch and then joined our guide around Pompeii. Then we headed for the harbour of Naples and the fast ferry across to Capri.

Pompeii

The Roman town of Pompeii was destroyed and buried by a violent eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. After several centuries of burial the town was rediscovered and is being excavated street by street. It had revealed a fascinating history of Roman life, preserved in an instant. There were still loaves of bread in the ovens, wine, oil and olives in the amphora and bodies preserved in the volcanic ash. We had a quick tour of the town, but our guide was excallent and we saw all of th main highlights. It is the place and that you could, and should, spend a whole day wandering around, there are detailed maps and descriptions to enable you to navigate.

Panorama of the valley below Assisi in the early morning sun.

A herd of horses amongst the olive trees.

On the road south - one of many hilltop villages.

Nearing Naples and Mt Vesuvius.

Mt Vesuvius in the distance.

At Pompeii, a rare opportunity to photograph the stalls without a crowd of people.

One of the local specialties is a citris drink ...

made from these gigantic lemons.

Some people at last.

On the walk to the entrance of Pompeii you get an appreciation of the architecture.

On the other hand, as we were still outside the town, you get to walk past the burial caves.

The first stop was at the amphitheatre.

It was intact and is stil used for theatrical performances.

Walking up the main road into Pompeii. It clealy was designed to carry rain water, mud and horse effluent...

judging by the tall stepping stones...

and the ruts frm the chariots and carts.

The houses are remarkably well preserved.

This shows where the door had cut a groove into the soft stone.

This was the baker's oven that still contained the bread.

One of many narrow lanes between houses.

A well preserved mosaic floor.

The road up to the forum. This bollards to stop horse and carts entering the forum. I wonder where we got the same idea from?

The forum looking towards Vesuvius.

On the edge of the forum.

This was reputedly the fish market, based on the large number of fish bones found here.

Frescos preserved on the interior wall of a house.

Plaster casts of bodies found in the ash.

One of the frescos.

Another fresco.

The storage area with an amazing number of amphora jars and oter items excavated from the ruins.

Views near the forum.

The outer wall of Pompeii.

Closer view of construction techniques.

This fish scale pattern was common throughout Pompeii.

A flowering Acacia near the entrance.

our tour group fnially reassembled.

We headed off down the street to find the bus.

Diesel: €1.649. Petrol: €1.779. That's about $3.20 and $3.60 per litre in NZ Dollars.

The Isle of Capri

The Isle of Capri lies offshore from Naples in the Mediterranean Sea. It has long been a popular holiday destination and the lower part of the island is full of hotels and very expensive jewellery and clothing shops. We arrived at the Island by fast ferry, then used the funicolare to climb the steep hill to the main piazza, looking back down to the harbour and across the island for the view. We then followed the narrow streets to our hotel.

Paul & Shark - this mob are everywhere!