Friday, August 3, 2012

Recess and Dismissal


I"m finally back in the states after a 24 hour day of flying.  It was a short two weeks in Italy, but I have to admit, it's nice to see the wide open spaces of America and to sleep in my own bed. By the way, Italians love America, because, as they said "Everything's so big there! The stores! The roads! The buildings!"  All the locals we talked to had been to the states at least once.  Where do they go when they come to the U.S? New York, Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles, Las Vegas.

I wanted to end this blog with several pictures of the Amalfi Coast and the Isle of Capri, both of which are resort areas and a wonderful way to spend the last 4 days of our trip.  We stayed in Sorrento, which is right on the coast, across from Naples, (Napoli) Italy.  Sorrento is a charming little village but very touristy since the Amalfi Coast is one of the top ten vacation destinations for both Italians and the people of western Europe.  However, we could see why. Sorrento is one of the only coastal towns that's relatively flat, which makes walking much easier! Plus, the vistas of the bay are stunning!
Sorrento is on top of the bluff. The buildings on the water are part of the marina.
We spent one morning at the beach, but the beaches in Italy aren't anything like those along the Atlantic coast.  Because the shore line is mostly rock, the beaches consisted of a series of wooden docks extending out into the water.  As with everything in Italy, we had to pay to sit in a chair on the dock. We were prepared for this, thinking it might cost a couple euro a person to rent a chair, but it actually cost 8 euros ($11) per person plus 5 more for the umbrella that goes with it.  For the four of us, that added up to 52 euros or $67 to sit on the beach. Holy cow! Instead, we chose to stake out a spot in the very, very tiny public beach area. Setting up camp wasn't easy either, because the beach was so crowded. We swam in the cool, clear blue water, which was much saltier than the Atlantic.  This struck us as odd because even though the water tasted more saline, the air in Sorrento didn't have that same salty smell we associate with beach towns along the Atlantic.  Plus, there were no bugs and no sea gulls.  Lots and lots of pigeons though!

Each chair and umbrella cost 13 euros per person or $17 to rent, even those umbrellas you see on the sand. We didn't get a picture of the public beach because some of the swimwear was not especially appropriate. :)
To get in the water, mostly people jumped off the rocks.  
While we were staying in Sorrento, we took a ferry across the bay to the Isle of Capri.  If you are wondering like I was... Yes! This IS the island that capri pants were named after.  Evidently, the shortened style was all the rage on the island in the late 40's and 50's and the style was picked up by a famous clothing designer and made famous by Mary Tyler Moore who starred on the Dick van Dyke show. Historically, Capri has been the vacation spot of Romans for centuries. Only 12 thousand locals live on the island, the rest were tourists like us.  We visited both the town of Capri and Anacapri, ("ana" means higher). The island was breathtaking from any vantage point.  No wonder so many people go there!  We took a heart stopping trip to Anacapri considering the width of the road (one car), and the sheerness of the cliff should we make a wrong turn, but we made it! I heard Chelsea, who was sitting by the window, gasp a few times but the view was incredible!
This is where we were going, the Isle of Capri!

We were pulling into the marina on the island.  That's the main town, Capri, in the center.  Anacapri is on the bluff behind it. Before the invention of cars, people walked up 735 stairs to get to Anacapri! 

It was a 13 minute chairlift ride to get to the very top of the bluff.  Chelsea is on her way down.  The single chairs made the ride very serene. 

Our rode to Anacapri.  Yes, our small bus made it through with approximately 4 inches on either side.   I'll admit I held my breath a few times.  I kept repeating to myself, "The driver does this every day....the driver does this every day...." I really wanted to get a picture of the sheer cliff which our bus cleared with about 3 inches to spare, but honestly, I  couldn't force myself to look down.
The charming town of Capri
We took a boat ride around the island and went through the famous arch of the Faragilioni, or rocky outcroppings.  It is also one of the most photographed spots in all the world.


One of the many grottos around the island.  The most famous is the Grotto Azzure or Blue Grotto.  Look how iridescent the water is.  On a side note, I learned that a grotto is the italian word for any natural or manmade cave used by humans.  
One of the many luxury yachts moored in the bay.  This one is owned by the owner of Victoria's Secret and the Limited Clothing Stores.  It's called Limitless and is the 14th largest yacht in the world.  
This yacht is owned by Roman Abramovich, a russian business tycoon and owner of  Chelsea Football (soccer) Club in England.  It dwarfed the Limitless and was worth more than $115 million, one of the biggest, most expensive yachts in the world.  I wanted to take a field trip there, but unfortunately, it wasn't on my itenerary.  Rats.
The other 3 days we spent exploring the town, shopping, sleeping, eating, and relaxing.  It was a fantastic way to end our trip!

Once more, I'd to thank both Tom McGlothlin and the anonymous person who recommended me for this award.  This experience has certainly opened my eyes and made me a richer person. I've gained a wealth of information and I understand so much more about people, both past and present.  In the spirit of this award, I hope I've brought some of that understanding back to those of you who read my blog.  Arrivederci, friends!  Hmm, now where can I get some decent pizza.....?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

It's Almost Over. :(

Today is our last day in Italy.  I wanted to tell you all about Sorrento and the Amalfi coast,  but my internet connection here is very weak and slow, so I'll post my last blog when we get back to the states.  We are really sad to leave, but excited to see all our friends.  Here's a picture of where we are now. :)
Italy is beautiful!

 

Ancient Pompeii

     We've been in Sorrento for 3 days and are having a grand time!  Sorrento is a resort town on the Amalfi penninsula which is located in the southwest portion of Italy, in the ankle part of the boot.   We came from Naples but stopped in Pompeii to learn a little more history before we started our recess. :)

     Pompeii was fascinating!  My only wish was that we'd had more time to explore. Unfortunately, we left the camera in the car so we don't have too many pictures.

      Of course we all know that Pompeii was destroyed by 25ft of ash and rock after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD.  Excavation of the sight didn't begin until the 1700's and many of the relics are in a museum in Naples. Also, much of what historians know about the events of that day come from the letters written by a young boy, Pliny the Younger, who watched the eruption from across the bay.  Walking through the ruins, I was amazed at the ingenuity of ancient civilization. Pompeii was part of the Roman empire and a very important port city. Situated on the Bay of Naples, many supplies and trades were routed to Rome through both this city and Ostia Antica, which we visited earlier in our trip.  Pompeii was a thriving town before the eruption.  We didn't get to see everything, but here are some highlights:

      The ancient roads were built using rocks placed very close together with narrow sidewalks on each side.  Builders even placed small pieces of white quartz between the rocks to reflect moonlight and illuminate the street at night, so people could see where they were going.  As we walked along, we occasionally saw deep grooves cut in the rocks. These were built so carriages could ride smoothly down the streets.  The wheels of all carts in that era were built using standard measurements.  The distance between the two wheels equaled the width of two donkey behinds standing side by side, because, of course, donkeys pulled the carts. See? Even ancient Romans had to do math!!! The grooves in ancient roads were built to accommodate this distance, and even`today our railroad tracks are based on this standard.  Isn't that interesting?  Railroad tracks have their history in ancient Rome!
One of the main roads in Pompeii. If you look towards the center of the road just in line with the space between the crosswalks, you can see part of the grooves for the wagon wheels.

The crosswalk

    Also, with all those donkeys going up and down the streets you can imagine the mess that might have piled up.  The citizens of Pompeii didn't want to have to walk through that (who could blame them) so at street intersections they placed raised stones to serve as crosswalks.  It also protected their robes and sandals from getting wet during a storm because the streets flooded when it rained heavily.

     The people of Pompeii collected rainwater in large cisterns and built an ingenious set of pipes and aqueducts (water ways) to bring water to their bath houses and public drinking fountains.   In all of the Roman ruins we visited, the bath houses were huge and elaborately decorated.  They weren't just for bathing, that's where people went to socialize and hang out with friends.  In Pompeii, the houses included both a men's and women's sauna room, each built with a double wall and a fire pit under the floor.   The hot air from the fire circulated through the space between the two walls and heated the air in the sauna room.  They also had both hot water baths (similar to our hot tubs), cold water baths, and swimming pools. They could even get a relaxing massage. Could our modern day spa be a decendent of the ancient Roman bath house?  Hmm..maybe we aren't so different from the ancients after all.

     I will say though, thank goodness for the modern clothes washing machine!  In Pompeii, slaves did the laundry and used...this is icky...donkey urine to clean the clothes. The ammonia in urine is a natural whitening agent. The clothes were soaked in urine, rinsed several times, then hung over a fire that included sulfur to neutralize the ammonia.  They also added seeds from sweet smelling flowers like lavender, which scented the smoke. This, in turn, gave the clothes a much more appealing smell.  More interestingly, this is also the origin of perfume.  "Par" is the Latin word for through and "fumare" is Latin for smoke, or "through the smoke." Fascinating!!
One of the laundry tubs where slaves stomped the clothes clean using ammonia from animals.

     The people of Pompeii had all amenities we enjoy in our towns today.  The forum in the center of town was 2 levels full of shops that sold whatever people needed to buy.  I imagined it like our strip malls. However, my favorite shops were the snack bars on the side streets.  Yes, ancient Romans had snack bars where they could go to get a quick bite to eat. The shops were complete with a marble counter top where customers ordered a drink and food!  On a side note - A "bar" in Italy is not a drinking establishment.  It is a small shop where people can get a quick coffee and maybe a sandwich.  It's much like our coffee houses in the US, except here people stand by the counter and drink their coffee. Sitting at a table costs money. :) Also, they don't offer a "to go" cup. Pompeii had several hotels, expensive houses, small apartments, restaurants, an outdoor theater (which could be covered in case of heat or bad weather), and of course, a coliseum with assigned seating for watching games and special events.  There was even ancient graffiti inscribed on the walls! Jeez! Teenagers will be teenagers no matter which century they live in!
The living room of a very wealthy citizen.
This is the theater.  The white marble seats are original and have roman numbers inscribed on them for assigned seating.  

This is the entrance to the forum, or market place.  The pillars held a second story.
We are standing in the center of the forum. The space was a square with markets on the outside and a piazza in the center.   On the left you see 3 white pillars which held a second story of shops.  In the background you can see the famous volcano, Mt. Vesuvius.  

     I walked away from this tour with the realization that human beings really haven't changed all that much in 2000 years.  Yes, our technology has changed, but our basic human needs and desires, thoughts and feelings are still the same.