Around the World with Marsha & Joel

Packed up and full of breakfast we said goodby to most of the “cooking” group, including MaryEllen & Bill (who were headed home), and Randye & Michael (who were off to rent a car to visit a friend in Umbria and then to Florence and surrounds). Nancy, Jeff, Marsha and I waited to be picked up by our driver/tour guide, Paolo. He was highly recommended by Randye and Michael who used his services on a previous trip. They were right as you’ll see.

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The weather forecast for the duration of our trip was pretty dismal – cooler with very high winds, rain and thunderstorms. Boy, did we luck out as you can see. Some sporadic sprinkles here and there, clouds and sun, and most of the real rain and wind overnight.

These photos were from the trip from Naples on the Bay of Naples around, over and through the mountains to the other side of the peninsula to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast along the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. Paolo was a great driver on the narrow mountain roads, diverting to the coast road so we could see these sights before landing at our hotel in Sorrento. He was a font of knowledge about the geology, geography, culture, history and people of the area with his quiet, non-stop banter. We were so glad not to be driving – just looking and listening!

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The beautiful, modernistic, four-starHotel Continental in Sorrento would serve as our “home” for the next 3 1/2 days. The views from the balconies and the park in front of the hotel were magnificent. That’s Naples and Vesuvius off in the distance.

Sorrento itself, especially in the old town (where we were) is fairly flat, a layer above the beach front and below the mountains above. It was late lunch time, and we also found out the the Naples soccer team was playing Rome that afternoon. So, we tried our best to find a cafe where we could eat and watch. Forget it! Games from the English Premier league and Germany’s Bundesliga, but no Napoli??? We asked a waiter at an English Pub who promptly told us that they “hated Napoli” in Sorrento and would never put them on their screens! Oh well, he was a character and fun, so we decided to forgo another Italian meal for some good ol’ fish & chips and draft Guiness. Turns out to be the best fish & chips we’ve ever had (besides maybe the Grouper in that format in Alaska). The local white fish filet was huge, moist and lightly breaded — it was the perfect diversion. We were so full from breakfast and lunch that we decided to walk it off for a while, exploring the neighborhood.

We got a little lost wandering by the shops, restaurants and hotels and the ladies didn’t believe us – that the quiet downhill route would lead to the hotel (they didn’t feel like going back up if we were wrong – actually neither did we). We asked the cute little fellow above at a stunning, roman-walled event facility just above the sea, if we were going the proper direction. He meowed, “yes”. And, fortunately for Jeff and me, he was correct.

It was late and we really didn’t feel like scrambling out for another proper dinner, so we headed to the bar for a drink, some snacks, and a couple hands of mahjong (we had all insisted that Marsha bring her travel set – in my suitcase).

This is where we met Giovanni, the bartender and a lot more (note: he’s the poster boy for the hotel – above), right out of central casting. With light jazz, Sinatra and Tony Bennet tunes in the background, we were really in the midst of a 1940s feature film. Jeff and I were impressed, and the ladies were totally enamored. Giovanni’s been at the hotel for 30 years and couldn’t have been more gracious and hospitable. The season was coming to an end, the hotel was quiet and would be closing in a couple of weeks, so Giovanni made us feel like his best friends. Over the next few nights he gave us Happy Hour prices on all our drinks (though they hadn’t offered Happy Hour for a few weeks), gave us little sandwiches and special snacks, and even brought special bread and his neighbor’s first cold pressing of his olives (glorious) – just for us.

We had a decision to make with Paolo early the next morning. The weather forecast was terrible, with storms, high winds and potential flooding. We’d make our decision to do the Amalfi Coast tour with Paolo then, or postpone for the following day. If postponed, we would put on the rain coats and bring the umbrellas for the Sorrento walking tour in Rick Steves’ tour book. We’ll let you know tomorrow too. Good night.

The same eruption of Vesuvius baked Herculaneum in 79 AD. The small community’s buildings came through with many intact buildings and an incredible amount of detail and artifacts. About 12 hours after Pompeii, Herculaneum got inundated under 60 feet of superheated ash. It hardened into “tuff” that preserved the city until the excavations began in 1748. The current city of Ercolano, where we stayed, is just above the ruins. The buildings don’t look much different than the ancient remains.

Before we entered the preserved remains of the city, we stopped into the ultra-modern museum where many of the recovered artifacts are stored and on display.

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Just a few examples of recovered artifacts describing an incredibly sophisticated society. Glass, bronze, marble sculpture, dinner-ware, cosmetics and medical equipment were all in ready-to-use condition. There was even the frame of a fully recovered boat that somehow survived.

Talk about surviving disasters, when we entered the park we were handed flyers by the Red Cross saying not to be alarmed when the sirens would sound. They were using the place to do a full, realistic disaster drill. After wandering the site for an hour we smelled and saw orange smoke, simulating a fire, bomb, whatever. It was surreal. The quiet site came alive with first responders dashing around us as though we weren’t there, finding the fire and victims – fully made-up actors, screaming and writhing in pain. They dressed their wounds, tried to calm them and produced blankets and stretchers to extricate them. It was quite a sight, especially when the white coated and masked bio-techs came streaming in with their Geiger counters. Got a little extra for our money that day.

The wonderfully preserved exteriors made you feel as though the city might have been deserted just a few years before. The roads were still paved, walls intact, stands left where vendors hawked foods at the counter where they cooked them. We even went down below to see some remains of locals.

The interiors were even more amazing with uncovered wall mosaics, olive pressing equipment, original frescos, and a fully remaining bath house with benches, shelves, pool mosaic, water inlets and curved, variegated ceiling. What a great and surprising morning to start our last day in Ercolano. Pompeii was interesting and huge, but Herculaneum is a must see. It really brings history to life. If you can’t do both, do Herculaneum – and maybe time it with a Red Cross disaster drill.

Personal Pizza

We headed back to the hotel where they were ready for us to use the dough we prepared two days ago to stretch into a pizza crust, top and cook.

Our dough was ready. We threw on the semolina, stretched and pulled, coated the crust with tomato sauce, basil, mozzarella (not me), and olive oil. A little dangerous for novices, the chef paddled our creations into the hot, hot wood-fired oven and deftly moved and turned four at a time for no more than 90 seconds for a crisp, bubbled, slightly charred crust. What a pleasure!

Naples Archeological Museum

After lunch we had a free afternoon. Some of us wanted to take advantage by exploring the Naples Archeological Museum. An enormous structure about 35 minutes from Ercolano in the middle of Naples. Four of us ventured out in a taxi to the local train station where we struggled with the ticket machine (see the first paragraph in this post), but got on the correct train to the correct station and walked the long block right to our destination.

The museum is famous for its collection of recovered work from Pompeii (too bad a lot of it wasn’t left in place, as was the case in Herculaneum), covering an entire floor of the Museum. A full, room-size model of the site welcomes you, with a nice video showing overlays of what it would have looked like before the eruption. There were rooms full of artifacts and sculpture, an area concentrating on the most amazing mosaic work, and framed wall frescoes carefully removed and placed on the walls of the museum.

We had some time to explore other parts of the museum, including the “longest” sundial in the Sundial Hall…literally a camera obscura with a small hole drilled in the wall of the structure. Jeff also found the “secret” room with, basically pornographic art, having been displayed and hidden, back and forth, over eras and ages. Some pretty risqué stuff.

Tired, we left plenty of time to make it back for our 8 pm dinner. However, it wasn’t quite as easy to return as it was to go. Somehow we went down to a different station (who knows). We were told by a well-meaning young woman how to get to the proper track, but the train we boarded went way past the connecting station. We got off and went back to where we thought we should be…on a local train, probably taking us an extra 15 minutes. Finally there, almost no one could help us??? Even asking the engineers of the trains stopping…each one said no, take the next train. This happened three times. Finally a girl with a cell phone app gave us hope in our panic…and she was right. We got back over an hour late, but luckily dinner was just getting started. We didn’t miss a course. We were very hungry too.

Tomorrow we would transfer to our hotel in Sorrento. What a day. See you then.

According to the young man who helped us buy rail tickets in central Naples (the day after this one), Naples is a place unique in all of Italy. Not so much as for its historical or architectural significance, but because of the people and their attitude, as we saw walking through the heart of the city. The rail ticket machine, I guess, a symbol. It takes the patience of a saint as you hit buttons and wait, and wait, and wait. The line behind you grows and no one grumbles or bats an eye. As the young man embodied the attitude with a quiet lifting of his shoulders and a raising of his hands with his palms up.

That attitude is pushed aside though as we crawl and stop through rush hour traffic this day. No one seems happy as horns blow, motor bikes weave in and out and into oncoming traffic. And, the traffic lights, at least those still working, act as a suggestion rather than a rule.

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Our first stop in the city center is at the Piazza del Plebiscito. It’s a large and stately square where in 1861 Naples voted to join Italy – thus the name meaning, plebiscite.

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On the opposite side is the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale). Over the years the palace housed Spanish, French, and even Italian royalty. Large statues of those who stayed here are displayed all around the perimeter. When you think of palaces, this one is pretty unimpressive.

More interesting, however, was a grand display of Italian military prowess. A governmental military building on the side of the square had obviously created a display of aircraft, armored vehicles, demonstrations of physical fitness, hands-on activities for kids by all four branches of service. In typical military fashion, three military officers laser focused on two, attractive, single women in our group. It was all in fun, and the date they tried to make was dashed by the fact that we were too far away and too limited in our time to “accomplish” the mission.

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A great example of Naples’ grandeur…and decline is the Galleria Principe di Napoli. An expansive, elegant skylight with carved woodwork and beautiful ironwork was originally built with high expectations, similar to 19th century Art Nouveau malls in Paris (Liberty Style in Britain). Naples was sometimes called the Paris of the south. Despite its grandness, the mall suffered from economic stagnation beginning in the late 1800s, and even with large renovation recently, continues to fail to attract business.

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From the grand, but empty mall, we walked a bit into some of the ”thin” streets of the Old City. Naples where the business really happens. One interesting site is an amazingly long street with only Christmas decorations out on display all year round including these eclectic statuettes of famous people who look like they might go right in the mangers of every kind in the stalls next door. We also came across what looked to be a shrine to Maradona, the Argentinian soccer player who became a “god” in Naples when he played for their team. There is an actual shrine to him that is always active with new flowers and burning candles. It’s in a pretty seedy/dangerous area where we were advised not to go.

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Before lunch, on our way from a large square we had trouble crossing the street, and even hearing ourselves, we came across thousands of union strikers/protestors marching to a rally at the square we just left. Anyone who knows Italy knows about strikes. They can pop up anywhere at any time. At least it was colorful! Here’s a short video to see and hear it happening:

Pizza at the Source

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Then to lunch at San Genaro Pizzeria, supposedly (according to our guide) the original pizza place in the whole world. Hmmm. Anyway, the two originally invented are the Margarita with tomato sauce, basil and/or oregano and mozzarella, and (blessedly for me and the other lactose intolerant) the pizza marinara with tomato sauce, olive oil, basil or oregano. No cheese. When I ordered I got not funny or disgusted looks like I get in the US. I was happy.

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While waiting for our group we found this stunning church, one of the nicest we’ve seen anywhere. It was so bright, airy and uplifting – as opposed to those darker, oppressive places where the “fear” of God dominates the desire to get closer to her/him. The top photo is of magnificent light streaming in from one of the stained glass windows.

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Finally we stopped at Naples’ historic cathedral, the Duomo, built in the 14th Century. It’s Neo-Gothic outside gives way to a huge interior of mixed styles of gothic arches to Renaissance to Baroque. The paintings are splendid and included the Pio Monte della Misericordia, one of the finest works by Caravaggio (the Seven Works of Mercy). The Caravaggio had been moved to a small chapel across the street that, unfortunately closed just as we found it. Too bad as we truly believe he is one of the finest painters who ever lived. Here’s a rough glimpse from the front of the brochure.

The worst part of rushing and missing the Caravaggio was that I lost my favorite Pinelands Preservation hat. Went back to look and it was just gone. Oh well. Took a deep breath and went back on the van to the hotel. After another massive dinner we hit the sheets for a bit of sleep before exploring Herculaneum tomorrow morning. Try not to dream of a wall of molten ash coming your way.