Yesterday we headed back down the hill to Sorrento and then up the coast past Naples to Pompeii. Like most folks, I knew that Pompeii was a Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. I also had seen photos of the creepy white plaster casts of people who died in Pompeii (created by pouring plaster into the voids in the hardened ash left by disintigrated bodies.) What I didn't know is that Pompeii is a truly massive archeaological site and that it feels like an actual town with well-preserved streets and houses. Although the upper stories of most buildings were swept away by the flow of ash and mud, what remains is amazing. Colorful frescoes and statues and cobblestone streets provide a fascinating glimpse of a community that flourished during the Pax Romana. Leroy and I spent three hours walking the streets and exploring houses and public buildings. Unlike the many archaeological sites we've visited in Middle East and Greece during the past few months, Pompeii is shaded by tall trees and surrounded by lush meadows and orchards.
On the way back to our home in the hills, we stopped in the city of Sorrento. It was Sunday afternoon, and the stores were shuttered. In the center of town, we saw a cluster of people standing in the square in front of the Catholic Church. They were all looking at what seemed to be a large, colorful work of art that spread across the square. We got out of the car to investigate, of course, and were amazed to see that the entire piece of art was created out of flower petals. A group of people carefully sprayed water on the delicate artwork while others continued to embellish it with new petals. We learned that this is an Italian tradition known as Inflorata that is combined with a procession on the ninth Sunday after Easter.
We drove back to Sant' Agata, and Leroy was glad to park the car and forget about it for awhile. We had been warned about the "crazy Italian drivers," but nothing could have prepared us for the challenge of maneuvering the roads here. For one thing, most of the roads are ridiculously narrow for the amount of traffic on them. In the mountain areas, which is where we are mostly driving, the roads are a series of steep hairpin turns with virtually no visibility around curves. In addition to cars, there are many motorcycles and bicycles to deal with, as well as dogs who like to sleep in the middle of busy roads. Locals admit that roads are poorly marked and that the "rules" of the road are not considered more than suggestions. Drivers routinely ignore signs for stopping and yielding, as well as the line in the middle of the road. Leroy has been pretty frantic behind the wheel, but has perfected his ability to beep at drivers who cross the center line and beep back at those who don't like his cautious driving. This morning he used an international hand gesture to communicate with a driver who tried to force him off the road. We're both looking forward to taking the train for the next three legs of our journey in Italy.
Today has brought more sun and rain and cold and warmth. We headed out to explore the Sorrentine Pennisula with high hopes for a balmy day, but by the time we reached the beach at Marina del Cantano our windshield was covered with rain drops. We put on our jackets to explore the cove and were glad when the sun came out later in the morning as we made our way across the pennisula to the tiny, historic villages of Termini, Annunziata, and Sant' Anna. In each place, we parked, explored the twisting streets and alleys, peeked through the doors of the local Catholic Church (always the dominant landmark in the center of town) and enjoyed the breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. The Isle of Capri is a short distance away and is a truly beautiful sight.
Tonight we are walking into the village, as usual, for our dinner. Last evening we made the embarrasing mistake of showing up at 6:00 p.m. at a restaurant. The staff looked confused and informed us that they didn't open for dinner for another half an hour. We walked around for exactly thiry minutes and came back. We were seated at a table, but were given odd looks. The first wave of diners didn't start to arrive until we were paying the check around 8:00 p.m. We've learned our lesson and will save our appetite for a more respectable time.Tomorrow: our first Italian cooking class!
