April 6, 2017: Vesuvius, Pompeii & Positano

Italy!

 

The drive from Naples To Positano is reported to be a pretty one but full of curves so in a fit of brilliance we booked a driver to do the work while we watch.  But there is this big 'o volcano called Vesuvius and the town it buried smack in the middle of our drive to Positano.  In fact Vesuvius just stares at you from Naples.  The volcano is impressive now at 4,203 feet but before it blew its top it was almost twice the size.  It is the only active volcano in Europe.  Between the volcano and the sea was the very prosperous and beautiful city of Pompeii with a population at its peak of some 20,000.  It would take 3 days to see all of the sites but we will take a little over 2 hours just to get a taste.  Wow, this placed is tragic and beautiful and mind blowing.  The eruption was so sudden there was no way to escape and the flow of lava covered the city and erased the memory of the city for a couple of thousand years.  Perhaps 2,000 people were killed.  The incredible part of the story is the city was frozen in time so that today we see a city exactly like it was in 79AD.  The city  was Greek and later Roman and there is a bit of each on show.  Like most ancient cities this one is built on a hill.  Not just for defense but living on a hill allows all the water and nasty stuff people do to run down to the sea or river.  The streets carry the water as well as carts and chariots.  High stepping stones are placed across the road for people to cross.  The smart thing about the stepping stones is that they prevent any size chariot or cart from passing unless the wheels are exactly the right width.  This little jewel of an idea allowed a rent a cart business to start.  There are still tracks very visible in the road.  

 

All the things you expect to see are here including a amphitheater with seating for 1,000 for opera and music and another holding 3,000 or more for gladiators.  Of course the better seats cost more and were occupied by the rich and famous while the nose bleed seats held the others.  The public baths were an incredible work of engineering.  The baths included a very hot room, a medium steam room and a cool bath.  The water was heated by fire and the steam fed beneath the floors suspended by grooved stones.  The streets are lined with shops with grooves in the stone entrance so that doors can be closed.  This being a port city there are a few houses dedicated to the pleasure seeking sailors complete with paintings to stimulate the mind.  There are even secret markers in the street to guide them along the way.  We finally enter the forum where more shops are located and pillars line the open area dedicated to public announcements and speeches.  They have been working for several years to uncover this much of the city and still there is more work to uncover the entire city.  The last thing we view are the many pottery items and other items.  But the tragic things were casts made from those that died.  There is a guard dog with the collar still visible, a man sitting holding his nose and mouth trying to prevent suffocation from the ash, another man lying down as if dying in his sleep and, the most tragic of all, a child.  It is just science and peeking into the past until we see the human tragedy of this catastrophe.  

 

Time to see some beautiful sights.

Beautiful sights await and it is not very long before we see the Bay of Naples and the beautiful buildings lining the cliffs.  More beautiful sights show in Sorento and the blue and clear water but it really gets exciting when we start the descent to Positano.  Wow, are we glad we have a driver cause this is a narrow and twisting road!  We arrived and we have help coming to carry out bags.  Positano is up and down and stairs and steps and very few flat spots.  Yes sir, we are going to get some exercise!  Up we go to the house we rented and it is 100 steps just like they said.  Whew!  We settle in a bit and head out for some chow and get a feel for this place.  First lesson - stick very close to the buildings cause the cars are only inches away!  Of course there are shops all along the route to the beach where we hear the best restaurants live and we soon arrive and pick "The three sisters" Restaurant.  We know we picked the right place when Tina says, "Is the fish fresh", and the waiter says, "Come here, let me show you", and we follow towards the kitchen where he slides open the fridge door to expose a collection of fresh fish, octopus, little tiny fish, and stuff we don't know all caught that day right off the beach.   Wow it all looks good and he pulls out a nice looking sea bass and we talk about how to prepare it and, my, my, these guys are good.  And is it ever good!  Back to our house we climb for some wine on the deck and that incredible view of Positano and the beautiful sea.  Oh yeah, this is sweet

!