Today we travelled back in time - approximately 1929 years to be exact! Remarkably, it only took us four hours to get there!
We departed from our hotel on what started out as another chilly, overcast and raining day here in Rome. Well fed and all still fighting the effects of jetlag, it wasn’t long before the long stretch of the Autostrada and the gentle hum of the bus got the better of us and all, save the bus driver, fell fast asleep. The snoring quickly subsided when our tour guide, Rene, announced that we were approaching Naples and in moments would be in Pompeii. To our great delight the sky parted and for the first time, since we landed, we saw and felt the beautiful warm rays of the Italian sun! Our bus driver, Salvatore, being Neopolitan took credit for the sudden change in the weather!
The entrance of Pompeii is surrounded by a small market of souvenir stands, orange & lemonade stands and several pizzerias. With the triumphant Mount Vesuvius standing proud just nine miles away, the sight of the old crumbled city columns and outer walls as we ascended the pathway leading up to the main entrance, immediately transported us back to this unique time and place. We met our tour guide, Guytano, at the entrance and knew from his charming and enthusiastic greeting that we were all in for fabulous tour. Our intuitions about our energetic guide were correct! In two hours, he wove historical facts with stories and amusing trivia to paint us a picture of Pompeii that we won’t ever forget. Unbelievably preserved bath houses, family homes, painted frescos and original style cobble-stone streets helped to fill in the gaps of what our imaginations were creating of this once thriving and prosperous city. In listening to Guitano’s stories of how the city was constructed we quickly discovered that so much of our constructive technology today is founded upon the ingenuity and innovation of the Romans. Walking along the streets looking into what are now a collection of fragile ancient marble, stone and brick wall remains, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the shops and homes that once stood there filled with Roman merchants and families. The photos from today reveal just a glimpse of this once vital city, but the knowledge we learned and the pictures we created in our imaginations tell the real story. We were humbled, to say the least, by the experience of seeing this stunningly well preserved city and learning about the life and times of people who once walked where we were now walking.
Today, for many of us, was the highlight of our Italian adventure so far with respect to seeing the sights. The mood on the bus ride back to Rome was joyous and energized with the boys retelling stories of the different buildings they saw within the ruins. Filled with pizza and yet more gelato, this was indeed a day the boys won’t soon forget.
We have been utterly spoiled by the delicious Italian food we have been enjoying for our dinners each evening. Tonight was no exception. We dined at Mr. Volpe’s favourite family run Italian restaurant named, L’Aquila D’Oro, which Chris Pitfield was cleaver enough to figure out means Golden Eagle!
Tomorrow we depart bright and early for Florence, where we will be climbing the Duomo, performing at Santa Maria Maggiore in the evening and you guessed it… enjoying more gelato! Amore and Ciao for now!
We departed from our hotel on what started out as another chilly, overcast and raining day here in Rome. Well fed and all still fighting the effects of jetlag, it wasn’t long before the long stretch of the Autostrada and the gentle hum of the bus got the better of us and all, save the bus driver, fell fast asleep. The snoring quickly subsided when our tour guide, Rene, announced that we were approaching Naples and in moments would be in Pompeii. To our great delight the sky parted and for the first time, since we landed, we saw and felt the beautiful warm rays of the Italian sun! Our bus driver, Salvatore, being Neopolitan took credit for the sudden change in the weather!
The entrance of Pompeii is surrounded by a small market of souvenir stands, orange & lemonade stands and several pizzerias. With the triumphant Mount Vesuvius standing proud just nine miles away, the sight of the old crumbled city columns and outer walls as we ascended the pathway leading up to the main entrance, immediately transported us back to this unique time and place. We met our tour guide, Guytano, at the entrance and knew from his charming and enthusiastic greeting that we were all in for fabulous tour. Our intuitions about our energetic guide were correct! In two hours, he wove historical facts with stories and amusing trivia to paint us a picture of Pompeii that we won’t ever forget. Unbelievably preserved bath houses, family homes, painted frescos and original style cobble-stone streets helped to fill in the gaps of what our imaginations were creating of this once thriving and prosperous city. In listening to Guitano’s stories of how the city was constructed we quickly discovered that so much of our constructive technology today is founded upon the ingenuity and innovation of the Romans. Walking along the streets looking into what are now a collection of fragile ancient marble, stone and brick wall remains, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the shops and homes that once stood there filled with Roman merchants and families. The photos from today reveal just a glimpse of this once vital city, but the knowledge we learned and the pictures we created in our imaginations tell the real story. We were humbled, to say the least, by the experience of seeing this stunningly well preserved city and learning about the life and times of people who once walked where we were now walking.
Today, for many of us, was the highlight of our Italian adventure so far with respect to seeing the sights. The mood on the bus ride back to Rome was joyous and energized with the boys retelling stories of the different buildings they saw within the ruins. Filled with pizza and yet more gelato, this was indeed a day the boys won’t soon forget.
We have been utterly spoiled by the delicious Italian food we have been enjoying for our dinners each evening. Tonight was no exception. We dined at Mr. Volpe’s favourite family run Italian restaurant named, L’Aquila D’Oro, which Chris Pitfield was cleaver enough to figure out means Golden Eagle!
Tomorrow we depart bright and early for Florence, where we will be climbing the Duomo, performing at Santa Maria Maggiore in the evening and you guessed it… enjoying more gelato! Amore and Ciao for now!
3 comments:
I cannot imagine what it feels like to see time captured in a single moment. Thanks for sharing with all of us..
The Warrens
Dear Spencer and the rest of the Crescent crew...
We are pleased to read your incredible comments daily on this fabulous blog and admire your stunning pictures. We wish we were there with you all. Make the best of your wonderful Italian experience.
With Love,
Gina, Jordan, Blake, Nicole, and Tyler Rose
Thanks so much for taking the time to update the blog. We love seeing the photos and hearing about each day. As your weather appears to be warmer, we are in the midst of yet another snow storm!
Enjoy!
John and Sue Pitfield
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