Next stop. . . Naples, Italy!

This was the first full day of cruising and one of the reasons I came on the trip in the first place (besides ROME, of course!) . . . to drive the scenic Amalfi coastline. . . and to see the ruins of Pompei was another 'Bucket list' dream of mine. And I got to do BOTH IN ONE DAY! How amazing is that???

First are some AMAZING pictures of the Amalfi coast:







I must interject here and tell you that the drive was absolutely BREATHTAKING in more ways than one!

First off--the scenery is flat out, not to be believed--for the sheer magnitude and beauty of the coastline, the villages, and the blue Mediterranean water.

And SECONDLY (and probably most important) the road is EXTREMELY narrow and can hardly fit a 'smart car'--let alone a humongous 50+ passenger tour bus trying to avoid scooters, small cars, and (gasp) OTHER BIG BUSES as it wends its way up a very steep climb and hairpin turn switchback road. . . There weren't too many guard rails in sight. And I remember getting quite the aerobic workout just sitting on the bus and watch us come perilously close to the edge on each and every turn. My heart rate climbed easily over 160 beats per minute! (and mind you, this was BEFORE I got off the bus and started walking around!)

So although it took my breath away in more ways than one--it was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC--and I would definitely do it again. (and thank you to Andro, my fearless bus driver. . . and Rosana, my witty tour guide--because of you guys--I lost 5 pounds in ONE SITTING!)

Along our Amalfi journey we got to see the cities of Sorrento, Positano, Praiano and Salerno--before finally heading off to Pompei. I don't know how many ways to say gorgeous and beautiful--so I'll just let these photos suffice:



Positanto, Italy




Praiano, Italy




Small boats in the Gulf Of Salerno. Would you look how BLUE that water is????



This is the Duomo Sant'Andrea, Amalfi Coast and it is just beautiful. Here are more shots:






This next photo is picturesque Sorrento, Italy and then one more shot of the Amalfi coast--because, well. . . you just can't have too many pictures of it!







Oh, I must mention here that along with fabulous Wine, the best Olive Oil, and friendliest people in the world. . . Italy is also known for its lemons! In fact, the Amalfi coast is the lemon capital of the world. (So my tour guide, Rosanna told me) They make this most sought after lemon liquor called 'limoncello' and although I don't drink, they make an amazing gelato of the same name as well. (and let's not mention how many of THOSE I had, OK?)

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON GELATO! While in Italy--I was on the 'gelato-a-day' diet. I had to have at least ONE, (if not two) every SINGLE DAY! Nowhere on earth can you get scrumptious gelato like this. . . and the choices??? You wouldn't believe me if I told you. . .









But I digress. . . . Back to the LIMONCELLO. . . Here are the actual liquor bottles:





Next we have a little limoncello shop:





I became convinced that Amalfi is definitely the lemon capital of the world!





This next photo is an amazing picture of the lemon terraces cultivated right into the cliffs of the Amalfi coast line:





OK. . . I am taking a breather. . . and when I come back I will have a WONDERFUL slide show created (or perhaps more FABULOUS pictures) with the end of the day's trip. . . which was AMAZING POMPEI!

Here's a little 'teaser' of what is to come--just an overview of the city (or what's left of it) There is no way to describe how vast it is--until you go there and try to walk through it yourself. . . (and I highly recommend it!) but the photos will have to do for now:





In this next photo you can clearly see Mount Vesuvius in the background:







OK. . . rest period over--I'm back and ready to rock and roll with more pictures of Pompei. The ruins of the city were amazingly well preserved because the ash of Mount Vesuvius completely covered and protected what remained:



They actually have sort of a warehouse built right on the site where they keep artifacts and articles that were found behind iron bars. . . (so that folks can't steal them) and they have several body casts from actual victims that were found when archeologists began digging through the ruins. . .These poor people were suffocated by the ash that rained down upon them from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. That eruption destroyed both Pompei and Herculaneum.







Pompei also had it's own Coliseum:




Here you can see some streets of Pompei:

Believe it or not, I entered a brothel, and here is one of the actual 'beds' in the VERY small rooms (or what could be called rooms) that they had. Looks comfy, doesn't it?








This shows the cobblestone streets of Pompei:




We actually got to go inside some of the dwellings and amazingly you can still see color and paintings on the walls. The colors were so well preserved because of the ash covering and protecting everything:







Yes--you can tell I was VERY impressed with the ruins of Pompei!






After a complete day of amazing sites among the ruins of Pompei and the cities along the Amalfi coast, we came back to Naples and the ship to have a fabulous Mardi Gras themed dinner and party. You know, I could very easily get used to this life! Oh! And in keeping with the fun and frolic of the mood--the photo is 'cartooned':