day 98 – naples, italy – day two

bound for pompeii

today we took a crew tour of the ruins of the ancient city of pompeii, just outside of naples which was destroyed in 79 AD by the volcano, vesuvius. we left about 9am and it took a half an hour or so to drive there. we saw a bit of naples and the surrounding area on the way. i was thrilled that it was cool, cloudy, and even a little rainy! we’ve only had, like, two days that weren’t hot and sunny on this entire voyage… this is my kind of day! anyway, bob and i were with a group of other crew members, and group activities aren’t really the preferred method for either of us to roll, so we felt a little bit herded through the tour, but it was still really fascinating to see what they have uncovered there. pretty amazng what an advanced and crowded scene they all lived in, too! they could identify homes, shops, bars, brothels, gladiator arena and quarters, theaters, temples…. just like any other city… there were some haunting casts made of human and animal remains, those who didn’t make it out and were preserved in the debris for centuries…

outside city walls

outside city walls

gladiators!

theater!

lonely road

stepping stones to avoid muck in the streets

original colors

poor unfortunate person

looks like a sundial

old time saloon

this really is a beware of dog sign at entrance to home

baker's oven

ancient mill

another sad find

moody skies over ruins

above outer walls of city

after the tour, we went to the row of gift shops and cafes after the tour for some free time shopping, and i picked up, of course, more spices… we also tried limoncello, an aperitif made from the abundance of lemons in this climate, but i thought it tasted like furniture polish smells… not my ideal… we went to get a really nice coffee and headed back to town. we had lunch there, mozzarella fresca (real mozzarella made from buffalo milk, not the rubber ball cheese we have in the states…), tomatoes and pesto on rustic bread and toasted… yum! and, of course, gelato… back to the ship for siesta and then another night at work.

bottling limoncello

vesuvius as we leave napoli

my theme tonight was “dancing cheek to cheek,” which featured songs about, well, dancing (“dancing cheek to cheek,” “ten cents a dance”)… many people are planning 10, 11 and 12 hour tours tomorrow, so i was shocked to make it all the way to 11:30! here is my port song for napoli… bob and i really enjoyed it and would definitely come back for another visit if we had the chance…

port song for naples, italy
(to the tune of “mambo italiano,” as sung by rosemary clooney)

oh, we came here to napoli, we really loved the scenery
the big red bus showed us all around, and, of course, we both chowed down!

have some more vino and rustic pizza
walk some more maybe you get sore feets-a
go, go, go, til you’re completely beat-sa
we’ve only got two days-y so you go, go like a-crazy

the coast is so gorgeous it leaves you breathless
we rode the bus – until we got restless
off we go, to find where the pizza’s bestest
our tummy’s say “scuzi, don’t be so freakin choosy!”

we pick a pizza place, an italian guy with a grumpy face
but they’ve got a nice-a brick pizza oven, they make it with love and
nice-a fresh tomatoes - the best in all of naples

hey, let’s go see the ruins at pompeii
don’t say no, it’s only half a day
all my euros seem to just fly away
because our last stopp-a was-a at the gift shopp-a

the limoncello’s edge it tasted just like drinking lemon pledge
but i had a very nice cappuccino, smooth-a like-a vino
bob had espresso then he said come on a-let’s go

yes, it’s time to go, back on the bus we’re driving
home we go, so glad to be alive and
not frozen over in ash ‘til we’re mummifying
it’s a terrifying how folks today are death defying
living on this great big volcano

‘atsa crazy!