I just had what was probably the most amazing weekend of my life! We just had our first group excursion, which was to Pompeii and the Island of Capri! Almost everyone in my CEA group (about 30 of us) loaded up on a bus Friday morning and headed to Pompeii (which is just south of Naples). As I said before, the hillsides of Italy are very reminiscent of California's golden hills, except it was especially nice on this trip because I passed by several ruins of houses and farms that could have even dated back to ancient Roman times. When we reached Naples I was excited because I got my first glimpse of Mt. Vesuvius (it covered Pompeii with ash for 15 straight days and is the only active volcano left in Europe). Our bus stopped right outside the entrance to the archaeological site of Pompeii, so we ate pizza at a nearby restaurant and waited for our appointment with a tour guide. Man oh man, was I in Heaven on this tour... If there's anything I could do for the rest of my life it's walking through the ruins of an ancient Roman city! I spent so much time taking pictures that I often fell behind the tour group and didn't catch most of what our tour guide was saying... it didn't matter much though because I already knew a lot of it =). My first sight of Pompeii was the outside wall of the city which was where our tour began. Inside I first saw a forum with a cloister of columns still having traces of their Pompeiian red paint (as the lower half of practically all of them were once painted 2000 years ago)! Then we saw a Greek-stlye theatre (using the terrain of a hill), and a smaller Roman-style theatre (using only arches for support instead of a hill). The Greek style theatres like the one I saw have wonderful acoustics, and the Roman theatre still had amazing marble flooring intact. There were large stepping stones to get across the stone roads without getting your feet dirty, between which deep grooves were carved from the wheels of carts passing by. Streets were lined with shops and marble street signs were placed in the exterior walls of buildings, just like European cities today. I saw the domus (house) of an ancient Roman politician, and I could still see his name graffitied on the facade so everyone could know where he lived, and a stone bench was still located outside his door where people would wait every morning to be assigned jobs. Inside in the entrance hall there was an opening in the ceiling above a collection pond in the floor so water could be easily accessed. There were numerous frescoes on the walls and mosaic floors, an open-roof garden in the back, and a small dining room (Romans would lay on their sides while eating, no sit in a chair). All around the city there are penises carved into the stone roads and walls because it was considered a sign of fertility and would point to the direction where the brothels were located. In fact, the "Red Light District" was started in Pompeii (the perimeters of windows and doors of brothels were painted Pompeiian red, and there were about 2o or 30 brothels in Pompeii). Inside there were frescoes depicting different sex positions above each door so visitors who didn't know Latin could still know and get what they were asking for. I saw the city forum (which was amazing since it had two-story colonnades and a temple), a Roman bath, and a building where clothes were washed and dyed (they washed their clothes with urine so they would invite people to come in and add to their supply... and camel urine was considered especially desirable so it was imported whenever possible). I also drank out of a 2,000 year old fountain (although I think the brass piping may have been new/replaced). And I saw some ash-covered bodies with a few bones showing (they were somewhat short back then), and even saw the body of a dog cast into his last moment of struggle. My time in Pompeii flew by, so I plan on coming back in the future and spending at least a whole day there. While I was walking around I thought of how Mom and Dad used to read me the story of Pompeii as a child... and now here I was wandering the streets of Pompeii and imagining myself living the life of an ancient Roman. I also saw a bride and groom having their picture taken in the city... not a bad idea. =)
We left Pompeii and headed to our beautiful hotel in Sorrento, located along a cliff that we could walk down to reach the beach. The hotel was also located right next to the harbor where we would take our boat ride to Capri the next morning. Sorrento is one of many cities located along the Amalfi coast, which is famous for its stunnning views of cliffs dropping down into the ocean. I went swimming that evening and walked around the town... periodically heading towards the coastline to take a breathtaking cliff-side glimpse down onto to the ocean and surrounding terrain. A lot of girls I was with said they wanted to get married here. I had an excellent 3-course dinner and luxurious breafast buffet the next morning. The hotel really impressed me... now I know where all the money that I paid to CEA goes towards. =)
After breakfast we got on our ferry and took the hour-long ride to Capri. The weather was a bit drizzly but it dried up and the sun came out later on in the day which was awesome. When our boat docked we got out and bought tickets to get to the different parts of the island (there's the greeting area at the bottom, the actual/main city of Capri in the center which you have to take a cable-car up to, Ana-Capri which is farther up to the east and reached by bus, and finally the very top of the island which is reached from Ana-Capri via chair lift)! I took the cable car up to Capri and experienced what can only be described as... simply... PARADISE! The view from Capri is absolutely breathtaking. Blue water, amazing high views, birds flying below you, amazing food and ambiance, small roads with few and small cars, Greek-Roman style buildings, and every corner you turn is a new example of the essence of beauty. I had an amazing gelato-sunday with a few girls and then we hiked along the west side of the island so we could reach the Arco-Naturale (a magnificent natural rock arch providing a commanding view of the ocean below). What I saw on my trip over there were the most beautiful sites I have ever seen in my life. I found a spot where I will either propose to someone, get married, or have my honeymoon (and all the girls I was with immediatley decided that they wanted to get married in Capri as well). I wanted to see the arch because I saw a youtube video of it before I left for Italy and it captivated me, but pictures just don't do it justice. As one of the girls told her friends, "You haven't lived if you haven't seen Capri." After the arch we walked back to the center of town. We walked by a tourist information center that I saw earlier and realized that if I had asked for directions to the arch we wouldn't have taken the amazing sight-seeing hike we had just gone on because the trail from the arch back into town was much shorter and didn't go along the ocean (this is one case where I am glad I took some of Rick Steve's "find your own backdoor" advice of getting lost on purpose). We took a bus up to Ana Capri (the ride provided some more amazing views of course) and walked around. We tried looking for the chair lift but decided that we wouldn't have enough time and it wouldn't be worth the extra money. We ran into some of our friends from our group who had been walking around Ana Capri for most the day. I decided that I liked Capri a little more than Ana Capri because it had less road traffic and a much more close, personal and peaceful feel to it. We took the bus back down to Capri and soaked up the beauty on some steps before heading back down to the bottom to catch the ferry back to Naples. While I was up there I envisioned myself going back into time when there were no modern buildings or ferries, and wooden ships would sail to the island so Roman emperors like Trajan could come here to escape and enjoy life in their villas. Capri is also famous for its blue grotto, which luminates the cave in a clear fluorescent blue color. I promised myself that I will come back sometime soon before I leave Italy to experience the chair lift and grotto, and live in paradise once more. =)
Neapolitan Pizza... where it was invented (Delizioso, eh Christina? =) )
Inside one of Pompeii's forums
Picture of the forum shown in the video (note the bride and groom geting their photo taken in the back!)
Another picture of the forum.
Greek-style theatre (notice the terrain upon which the seats were built)
Standing on one of the stepping stones. Notice the grooves in the stone road below my hands from numerous wheels of carts passing between the stepping stones!
Domus (house) of a politician. His graffiti name is still shown behind the glass on the right, below which is the bench where people would sit and wait for their daily jobs.
The impluvium (sunken pool in the atrium) of a Roman dormus, used to collect rain water. The water had a natural cooling effect and could be used to water gardens, etc.
A frescoes above one of the doors inside a brothel, used to let the customer know what he wanted even if he couldn't speak Latin.
One of many penises carved on walls and roads in Pompeii, used to direct you towards a brothel. The "Red Light District" originated in Pompeii.
Almost all of my CEA group in front of the main forum of Pompeii, with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. This is once case where a tragedy has turned into a treasure.
A 2000 year old man... you can still see the frightened and painful expression on his face.
A dog, trapped in an encasement of ash in his last desperate gesture.
The wall of Pompeii
The view from my hotel room in Sorrento
View from the balcony shown in the bottom right corner of the above picture. The Amalfi coast of Italy is known for its stunning vertical cliff-coastline.
View looking back from the trolley which took us up to the town of Capri.
We left Pompeii and headed to our beautiful hotel in Sorrento, located along a cliff that we could walk down to reach the beach. The hotel was also located right next to the harbor where we would take our boat ride to Capri the next morning. Sorrento is one of many cities located along the Amalfi coast, which is famous for its stunnning views of cliffs dropping down into the ocean. I went swimming that evening and walked around the town... periodically heading towards the coastline to take a breathtaking cliff-side glimpse down onto to the ocean and surrounding terrain. A lot of girls I was with said they wanted to get married here. I had an excellent 3-course dinner and luxurious breafast buffet the next morning. The hotel really impressed me... now I know where all the money that I paid to CEA goes towards. =)
After breakfast we got on our ferry and took the hour-long ride to Capri. The weather was a bit drizzly but it dried up and the sun came out later on in the day which was awesome. When our boat docked we got out and bought tickets to get to the different parts of the island (there's the greeting area at the bottom, the actual/main city of Capri in the center which you have to take a cable-car up to, Ana-Capri which is farther up to the east and reached by bus, and finally the very top of the island which is reached from Ana-Capri via chair lift)! I took the cable car up to Capri and experienced what can only be described as... simply... PARADISE! The view from Capri is absolutely breathtaking. Blue water, amazing high views, birds flying below you, amazing food and ambiance, small roads with few and small cars, Greek-Roman style buildings, and every corner you turn is a new example of the essence of beauty. I had an amazing gelato-sunday with a few girls and then we hiked along the west side of the island so we could reach the Arco-Naturale (a magnificent natural rock arch providing a commanding view of the ocean below). What I saw on my trip over there were the most beautiful sites I have ever seen in my life. I found a spot where I will either propose to someone, get married, or have my honeymoon (and all the girls I was with immediatley decided that they wanted to get married in Capri as well). I wanted to see the arch because I saw a youtube video of it before I left for Italy and it captivated me, but pictures just don't do it justice. As one of the girls told her friends, "You haven't lived if you haven't seen Capri." After the arch we walked back to the center of town. We walked by a tourist information center that I saw earlier and realized that if I had asked for directions to the arch we wouldn't have taken the amazing sight-seeing hike we had just gone on because the trail from the arch back into town was much shorter and didn't go along the ocean (this is one case where I am glad I took some of Rick Steve's "find your own backdoor" advice of getting lost on purpose). We took a bus up to Ana Capri (the ride provided some more amazing views of course) and walked around. We tried looking for the chair lift but decided that we wouldn't have enough time and it wouldn't be worth the extra money. We ran into some of our friends from our group who had been walking around Ana Capri for most the day. I decided that I liked Capri a little more than Ana Capri because it had less road traffic and a much more close, personal and peaceful feel to it. We took the bus back down to Capri and soaked up the beauty on some steps before heading back down to the bottom to catch the ferry back to Naples. While I was up there I envisioned myself going back into time when there were no modern buildings or ferries, and wooden ships would sail to the island so Roman emperors like Trajan could come here to escape and enjoy life in their villas. Capri is also famous for its blue grotto, which luminates the cave in a clear fluorescent blue color. I promised myself that I will come back sometime soon before I leave Italy to experience the chair lift and grotto, and live in paradise once more. =)
Neapolitan Pizza... where it was invented (Delizioso, eh Christina? =) )Inside one of Pompeii's forums
Picture of the forum shown in the video (note the bride and groom geting their photo taken in the back!)
Another picture of the forum.
Greek-style theatre (notice the terrain upon which the seats were built)
Standing on one of the stepping stones. Notice the grooves in the stone road below my hands from numerous wheels of carts passing between the stepping stones!
Domus (house) of a politician. His graffiti name is still shown behind the glass on the right, below which is the bench where people would sit and wait for their daily jobs.
The impluvium (sunken pool in the atrium) of a Roman dormus, used to collect rain water. The water had a natural cooling effect and could be used to water gardens, etc.
A frescoes above one of the doors inside a brothel, used to let the customer know what he wanted even if he couldn't speak Latin.
One of many penises carved on walls and roads in Pompeii, used to direct you towards a brothel. The "Red Light District" originated in Pompeii.
Almost all of my CEA group in front of the main forum of Pompeii, with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. This is once case where a tragedy has turned into a treasure.
A 2000 year old man... you can still see the frightened and painful expression on his face.
A dog, trapped in an encasement of ash in his last desperate gesture.
The wall of Pompeii
The view from my hotel room in Sorrento
View from the balcony shown in the bottom right corner of the above picture. The Amalfi coast of Italy is known for its stunning vertical cliff-coastline.Video of the same view from the picture above.
Walking to our ferry.
The view while waiting for our ferry.
Walking to our ferry.
The view while waiting for our ferry.
View looking back from the trolley which took us up to the town of Capri.
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