VISTAS AND VOLCANOES..

We get up before the sparrows have...and board the fast train for the 75 minute ride south to Naples,

where our tour guide Lello awaits us. We're here to have a private tour of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, and outside the station is our driver Paolo. We pile into the Mercedes and it's a 20 minute drive to reach the ruins. Lello is an archaeologist by qualification, but has reinvented himself as a private tour guide of Pompeii to earn a living (I can't imagine Archaeologists earn a whole lot!).

It's as if Lello owns Pompeii, he ignores queues, has a forensic knowledge of the place that allows us to take short cuts, regularly highlights amazing things that other large tours walk straight past, constantly involves the children, and clearly takes it seriously and very personally - on more than one occasion he has verbal exchanges with visitors displaying a lack of regard for the buildings!

Back then people were very short (so's Lello!)

Amphitheatre

Liam tests the acoustics

Igenious - walkway with gaps to allow for chariots and carts

...see, just like that

Lello explains...

...about the chariot wheel ruts

It's surprising just how big the city is (estimated 11,000 population at the time of the eruption), and there are still massive tracts of lava fields within the precinct that remain untouched (who knows what treasures lie hidden there).

It was 79AD when Vesuvius erupted, and what is surprising is that Pompeii at that time was a sea port (it's nowhere near the coast now!).

Gateway out to the port

Gateway in

Mooring for boats

It lay undiscovered under the lava and pumice until 1599. The population had no concept of what a volcano was, hence the discovery of numerous bodies mummified in lava (they didn't know to run!), and it must have been some spectacle watching a 3,000 metre mountain reduce itself to 1,300 metres.

Some of the frescoes delicately unearthed on walls and ceilings are stunning (especially the erotic frescoes!),

as is the recovery of areas like the gladiator amphitheatre, the 'red light' district

A bed clearly not meant to encourage a long sleepover!

Graffiti, even 2,000 years ago

(Trivia Point: there was no stigma associated with the industry in ancient Pompeii and being a sea port then it is easy to imagine it was a very popular precinct) and the city's central forum.

Kitchen stove

Phallic symbol was a sign of prosperity!

Visiting Pompeii was one of the attractions highest on our agenda (for all of us) and it didn't disappoint.

Now THAT's a lemon

We farewell Lello and Pompeii and Paolo points the car south as we drive around the Bay of Naples, providing spectacular views across the bay to Naples with the volcano behind it.

Vesuvius

We drive past Sorrento on the narrow coastal road and make our way to the spectacular township of Positano on the famous Amalfi Coast. Everybody has seen the travel brochures but seeing it for the first time takes one's breath away.

It isn't hard to imagine Positano as a summer playground with its sheltered beachfront and the surrounding mountainsides densely populated with houses mere mortals like us can only dream of affording.

It's a one way road into (and out of) the town thank goodness, dual traffic would be impossible. Paolo leaves us fr a few hours hours and we descend to the waterfront and have a  delicious beach side lunch, followed of course by the obligatory gelato.

This is also the region renowned for limoncello, the lemon liqueur Don L is partial to, but restraint is shown on this occasion.

Instead we stroll along the beach and through the narrow laneways enjoying the atmosphere of this beautiful town.

Church of Santa Maria Assunta

 

Lad strolling along wisteria covered lane

Late in the day we wind our way back to Naples driving past the imposing Vesuvius

and bid farewell to Paolo, the safest Italian driver I've ever met. We have an hour to kill before our train so we wander around the streets of Naples and settle for a coffee. Whilst we didn't see anything of Naples except from the car, it gave the impression of being run down and evoked thoughts of Peter Sarstedt singing "I remember the back streets of Naples with children begging in the rain" - first impressions can be harsh.

Back in Rome we walk from the station past Republica

and on to Barberini

where we find a bistro to have dinner - positively the worst food experience we have had in Rome (possibly in recent memory) that included coagulated spaghetti sauce ("no you can't have fettuccine", obviously because it had been pre-prepared and sitting around for hours!)  and glasses that had dirt and hair in them ("sorry, we're very busy" just didn't cut it!). Never mind, we've just had a bad eating experience IN ROME :) 

DREADFUL!

A five minute walk and we're standing in front of the Trevi Fountain, it's possibly more beautiful under lights than in daylight, and despite the lateness there're still people everywhere.

Great name for a cafe

It has been a looong day, but absolutely fantastic. One day left of our Roman holiday.

Travel Tip: we used a company called Tours of Pompeii with Lello and Co. It was not cheap but you only get one shot at it and it was worth every cent, they helped us with travel arrangements, the guides were exceptional, and seeing the region in a private vehicle made it extremely comfortable, and we were able to travel at our own pace. It was a 5-star experience.