Naples and Pompeii

Well the ports just keep coming and so far I would not want to miss one of them!

My first impression of Naples was that the city is very poor and dirty and while both are true, the people are friendly and accommodating. It is a very different culture from Florence and Rome. The difference that was the most prominent for me was that every home, whether in the city or country, was landscaped with vegetables. These people LOVE their vegetables and so, of course, they hold a place in my heart!! Every yard had squash vines growing over arbors with other vegetables growing underneath, bordered by citrus and olive trees. There where tomato plants everywhere and they were loaded with ripe tomatoes!

Pompeii was not what I expected from the pictures I have seen…..there are a lot of buildings with a lot of related art work and a very sophisticated and intact city structure. It is large and we got to see very little of what has been uncovered. Most impressive AND it still sits under an active volcano that is expected to erupt again inside of the next twenty years. When Pompeii was destroyed 6,000 feet of mountain and ash blew into the sky. The mountain is now only about 3,500 feet tall, but for me that still leaves a lot of mountain to land on Naples.

The drive to Sorrento was beautiful and I could definitely spend some time there. It is located on the end of a peninsula with stunning cliffs leading down the Mediterranean Sea. Beaches are very expensive so most of the citizens cannot afford to go to the beach. We had pizza that was very different from our pizza but was wonderful. The mozzarella is the best I have ever tasted! On the way back we visited a "farm" where we watched them make and braid the mozzarella cheese and walked through their gardens. Olives here are soooooo good!

Hope you enjoyed this and missing you all!!

 

Toni