Pompeii, Italy

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July!

Today we arrived in Naples, Italy and my friends and I wandered around the city for two hours. I can't lie, at first the city seemed dirty and dilapidated, but once we got away from the center of the city and started walking up hill I fell in love with Naples! We walked past a cafe and backtracked because of the delicious scent in the air. We followed our noses into Caffe Torado where we ate the best pastry of my life. It was doughy, yet flakey on the outside and filled with rich chocolate! The owner spoke as much English as we did Italian but we hit it off and he gave us free coffee. My roommate and I are going to try and type a translated message thanking him for his generosity and kindness and go back on our final day in Naples. As we left three men carrying large stacks of flour up the huge hill made there way into the cafe and one called me "bellisima" and then said in English "pretty, beatiful girl"... clearly I love Naples now. We then kept going up hill and entered the area that the locals live- the tiny streets were decorated with fruit stands, hanging laundry and shines to various saints and Mary. The smells were delicious and the sight was colorful! The locals were friendly as we truly had to practice our Italian due to the lack of English (which we hadn't encountered prior to this port, it was actually exciting!) At one point a lady on a second floor porch dropped a wet pillowcase onto the cobble stone. My roommate picked it up and was going to place it on the staircase, but the lady grabbed a bucket tied to a rope and lowered it down to us. After that encounter, we noticed buckets on all of the balconies about ground level! The heart of the city was beautiful with cobble stone sidewalks, 6 inches wide at times and the adrenalen of never knowing if a vespa or car was about to nearly run you over... a little different than Oregon drivers!

My roommate and I navigated the trolly and train to Pompeii- my favorite city so far! Pompeii was established in 600 bc and was a thriving town of 20,000 people ranging from low to middle class. The town was very sophisticated for the time and had aqueducts, amphitheaters, advanced draining, ect. In 79ad the volcano Pompeii sits upon erupted, surprising the locals who didn't know it was a volcano! It erupted for 18 hours and sent ash 12 miles into the air. Boiling mud descended upon the town and completely covered it with 30 feet of incredibly hard dried mud. 2,000 locals dies, I'm not quite sure what happened to the others. The city literally disappeared overnight and wasn't discovered until 1600ad! Since then most has been excavated, but it's an ongoing process. We were able to walk around half of the remains of the city (it was well preserved due to the mud.) The roads were made of stones but occasionally had two to three large raised stones spaced eight inches apart. These raised stones served as stepping stones as the city street's were flooded and cleaned daily, the eight inch separation allowed the chariots to pass over the stones. They had complicated multi-room bath houses with heated floors and benches, detailed water systems and statues that created the sauna effects. We spent five hours in the ruins and unknowingly wandered deeper into city. At one point we stopped and both were quiet, realizing for the first time at any port we visited we were completely alone in silence. It was so peaceful and rejuvenating- I forgot how much I miss quiet moments. We took advantage of the lack of tourist and found areas that we could explore the ruins and get off of the main pathway. It was a dusty dry city, but in the midst of our silent 45 minutes we entered a tranquil lush area where the wealthier citizens lived. There were blooming, fragrant trees, grasses, frescos on walls and mosaics everywhere. Unlike the beginning of the park, we were allowed to walk around the excavated site and into the ancient building/former buildings. During this time I imagined the city back in 600ad with 20,000 people in it. Pompeii isn't that large of a city and it must have been hustling and bustling with peoples, carts, chariots, donkeys and slaves. The alleys that we wandered down were social hangouts and the bathhouses were places were political deals were often made. I would love to go back to Pompeii!

Upon returning to the ship we had dark lines of dirt against the pale skin that was covered by my shoes. We met up with friends and went to authentic Naples approved (an actual distinction made by the government) DOP pizza restaurant and had a delicious dinner. The restaurant was packed with locals and had a live performer. (When we were in Pompeii we saw one of the first pizza ovens from 600bc- it looks exactly like the ones we use today.) 

I'm heading to bed with tired feet and a full belly. Tomorrow I am headed to Capri and Anacapri, I can't wait!

Caio, Tori

P.S. after the cafe, three other Italians called me a beautiful girl. I didn't encounter this in Rome or in the States, so this means one thing- I must move to Naples!!