Cruise - Day 3 (Napoli Port)

So the first night, Zeke and I went a little crazy. We stayed out at a dueling piano bar (Howl At The Moon -- and the fab Epic cruise ship is the only one this group sails on -- so lucky for us!) with Liam until well after midnight (folks, we were dragging Liam out of the door -- he loved it), and then after we tucked Liam in, we stayed out on our porch, played games, and just relished in the beauty that is the vast, dark, endless sea at night.

The next night? I think we fell asleep shortly after the sun dipped down over the looming horizon.  We knew we had an exciting early day ahead of us: the Napoli port!

Ciao, Italia!

Pompeii

We took the "Napoli Bus" (Liam's name for it) on a comfortable and beautiful ride from Naples, along the Amalfi Coast, to Pompeii.   Pompeii is one of the oldest keys we have to civilized human history. It was founded likely in the 700s BC and had reached a population of 20,000 by the time of its demise.  As most of you know, Pompeii was a flourishing, promising city within the Roman Empire until its lifeline was rudely and permanently interrupted by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. Almost 20 feet of ash covered over the city until some of it was accidentally discovered in 1599 and then officially excavated in the 1700s.  The city was a vital port and holiday spot for the people of Pax Romana (though now the city sits approx. 5 miles inland due to volcanic eruptions changing the coastline).  Because of a serious lack of funding, only two-thirds of Pompeii has been excavated, and the parts that are exposed are being damaged and destroyed because of a lack of care. (Estimated costs to completely unearth and preserve the city? 335 million dollars. Sounds like a drop in the bucket compared to the costs the world is willing to swallow for illusory debts, dead-end technological ideas, and paychecks to celebrities.)  Less than one-third of the excavated portions of the city can be viewed by the public, but due to its large size, even this small percentage of accessible sites makes for an amazing journey into the past.

Because the ash pretty much sealed off the city from any exposure to air or sunlight, everything that has been unearthed -- from frescoes, to sculptures, to jewelry and pottery -- is able to tell a fairly accurate story to the researchers about life in Pompeii.  Sediment studies have shown the city was plagued with earthquakes for several decades leading up to the massive eruption, and it appears the city was suffering from resulting bouts of crime and poverty.  Of the 20,000 residents, only approximately 5,000 remained in the city at the time of the eruption.  Maybe most of them were smart enough to note the increasing smoke billowing from the volcano?

Time for some pictures.  I'll throw in some more nerdy details as we go along:

This region of Italy is known for its amazing alcoholic aperitif -- limoncello.  We can see why... those gigantic yellow things are LEMONS. Naturally growing lemons . WHOA.

Our fabulous tour guide, Luca, shared with us another important gift this region of Italy has for the world: cameos.  You know those old-school brooches people wear to clasp scarves or necklines? This table is the work station for one of the world's best cameo makers. He looks for shells along the beach, finds the ones with the right coloring and texture, carefully cuts off a piece and shapes it to the end of a wooden stick.  He then whittles away at it, producing a perfect likeness of either a person or object of the purchaser's choosing.  Zeke and I just thought cameos were pieces of plastic mass-produced and glued to a cheap shiny oval.  While that might be true in some places, it's not in Pompeii.  Here, cameos are legitimate, breathtaking works of art.

The cameo maker's work table

A piece of a seashell into which he has carved a lobster

Disclaimer: This pole is NOT part of the original Pompeii grounds

Unearthed burial plots used for the storage of urns of cremated Pompeiians. Dating back to the times before Christ, these plots are much like what churches continue to use today for cremated bodies

Remains of the entrance grounds to Pompeii

Pompeiians constructed an advanced ampitheater (at least two theaters existed in the city); this one is one of the smaller theaters. The wood vertical spikes you see at the top replace those that burned in the eruption; these spikes would have held a canopy designed to provide shade for those watching the performance, competition, or event taking place

Liam jammed the rest of his breakfast sausage in his mouth when I threatened to throw it away. He had been holding on to it since breakfast 3 hours before this point

The walls and frescoes of Pompeii reveal much about the city.  Vulgar Latin, or street Latin, decorate the walls in places where people wrote graffiti.  It's refreshing to know that even the classic language of Latin had its own street slang.  (Monty Python's Life of Brian, anyone?)

Some of the frescoes are tasteful and worthy of display on a wall, while others just show the basic perspectives of the Pompeiians.  You'll see what we mean.

Etching of a penis (bottom) with an eagle standing above it. A sign of prosperity, good fortune, and strength, phallic  symbols were strewn about Pompeii in various places and sizes. The colors on the concrete walls were made from natural dyes pulled from plants or the blood of animals

Looking up a main drag. Roads were wide enough for chariots; the raised stones were "stepping stones"

The roads prove how advanced the Pompeiians were in engineering and architecture.  They utilized a basic but efficient method for sewage drainage: runoff in the streets, since the streets directed downhill.  However, to ensure people would still be able to cross the roads, Pompeiians put stepping stones in place. These stones were spaced out properly so chariots could still travel comfortably down the roads.  Pompeiians also embedded shiny pearl stones in the roads to serve as reflectors as night -- the moon and street-side candle torches would shine brilliantly off the stones and help people find their way carefully through the city at night.

Even thousands of years ago, Pompeiians knew the importance of supplying clean drinking water. No Evian stands necessary!

A plaster cast -- note the folds along the man's legs, helping researchers to determine not only the clothing worn by this person but also his wealth and social status

One of the sobering displays in Pompeii are the plaster casts of bodies found in the ash.  Obviously, during the past 2000 years, the bodies disintegrated; what they left behind were perfect cavities in the hardened ash sediment.  When the excavators come across a vacancy during the drilling, they carefully insert liquid plaster into the space and, upon its hardening, are able to dig up precisely what the person looked like at the moment of death.  The inhabitants most likely died instantly from heat exposure, rather than ash suffocation, as the post-eruption air would have heated to almost 250 °C.  Many were sleeping; many were clothed; and all were likely dead immediately and did not suffer long.

I know. They're everywhere in this place.

The penis.  Ahh, the penis.  One of the most common sights in Pompeii.  Penises were used to advertise prosperity of a home or area, to point the way to a local pub or "house of ill repute," or to glorify whatever gods the house in question preferred.  Most of the graphic displays have been removed by various prudish rulers overseeing the excavations.  At one time, the recovered displays were banned from public viewing, but now they can be seen by anyone of a mature age (or, if you're young, get a permission slip from Mom and Dad.  I wish I were joking.)

The Forum, where all the important action of Pompeii occurred -- markets, religious exercises, political debates, recognition of new leaders -- with Mt. Vesuvius looming in the background. The pillars dead-center are what remains of the Temple of Jupiter (where Pompeiians would worship the gods -- remember, Christ had not yet come to the world). Although much of the city was destroyed by the eruption, the Temple actually fell about 20 years before during an earthquake

Sorrento

Because Norwegian Cruise Lines knows how to reward the diligent excursionists, we got to complete our educational and historical journey with a lunch of wine and local food at a private 5-acre residence in nearby Sorrento.  We took our Napoli Bus along the coastline to witness absolute beauty.

The neighborhood seen here, Meta di Sorrento, is where The Most Hated Man In Italy lives. Unlike the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia, our Norwegian captain and his well-trained crew were phenomenal at their jobs.

A special art form native to Sorrento is pictured here: The artists take individual pieces of wood and organize them into designs and pictures, then lay them on another thin wooden sheet and cast the creation with polyester (not polyurethane as is commonly used).  The polyester is stronger, thicker, and guaranteed to last against any penetrations or potential stains

Polyester gloss (MOM! IT'S YOUR HOLIDAY TABLE! Only $3500 ... and about as many miles away)

Polyester matte finish. Can you believe that each of these pieces are made up of tiny cuts of wood -- smaller than your pinky nail -- all assembled together?? Amazing

Liam's first taste of authentic Italian gelato

Satisfied customer

Toasting with some vino rosso at a restaurant in Sorrento

Every Italian place has a saint. Here is Sorrento's -- St. Antonius

Definitely an area respectful of many nations -- these flags flew in the main meeting area of Sorrento 

The view near our little restaurant

Typical Sorrento street (good luck driving a F-150 through here)

At the private establishment for lunch, wine, and limoncello

The stand where they sold homemade limoncello, wine, and olive oil. Delicious!

The Man admiring some gorgeous flowers on the property

We received a lesson in making mozzarella cheese -- maybe while Zeke is deployed I'll figure out the craft!

Back on the ship.  Daddy's Important Life Lesson #740:  The sophistication of headgear

He's a natural

A beautiful end to a beautiful day.  Grazie mille, Napoli!  A presto!