Praiano, Italy -- Here we have just arrived at the Hotel Onda Verde and we are having a beer on the veranda, overlooking the Amalfi Coast of Italy.
The Amalfi Coast of Italy as seen from the town of Praiano.
View of the Amalfi Coast of Italy
Pompeii, Italy -- entering the ruins with our friends, Terry & Judy Kerr from N. Carolina. We met them at our hotel in Praiano, and they had a car and invited us to go to Pompeii to visit the ruins. This view is of the Porta Marina, opening onto the western side of Pompeii, which provides access to the archaeological site. The actual city of Pompeii was built in 9-8th Century B.C., and was buried by an eruption of Mt. Versuvius in the year 79 A.D.
Pompeii - Interior of the Basilica, a magnificent building, monumental in its proportions and importance. It represents the nucleus of the Forum in that it was here that the public life of the town was centered. It was probably built around the 2nd century B.C.
Bob is carefully reading about the sites to us....he was a great tour director!
Pompeii - The Forum: remains of the colonnade and the open gallery which closed off the area. The open gallery which ran above the arcade was made up of soaring columns. Between the columns of the colonnade were numerous sculptures dedicated to illustrious personages: today only some of their pedestals remain.
A street in Pompeii -- note the ruts made by the chariots.
Thermopolium of Asellina -- The Thermopolia were the places where drinks were sold. The one named after Asellina - one of the names written on the plaster on the walls - is perhaps the best preserved in Pompeii; apart from the stone counters with holes in to hold the amphorae for pouring drinks, it preserves ornaments, containers for hot drinks and a good many bronze vases. There are also names of women written on the walls of the workshop, and on the upper floor on the small rooms, which leads us to believe this might have also been a "house of pleasure".
The House of Venus: "Venus on a seashell with Cupids" painting, found on the garden wall. The scene is delightful in appearance: the Goddess is ploughing through the waves in a shell escorted by Cupids. This was the residence of a very well-to-do family, as can be inferred from the richness of the materials used and the decorations.
Another fresco found in Pompeii.
Walls surrounding the Amphitheatre in Pompeii
The Large Gymnasium, which was used for gymnastic exercises. It held a swimming pool. It was established in the 1st century AD.
Amphitheatre at Pompeii. An elliptical structure capable of holding up to 12,000 spectators, and thought to have hosted circus shows and gladiatorial games. Thought to have been built in 80BC Note Mt. Vesuvius in the background.
Herculaneum: Hercules is reputed to have founded Herculaneum (Ercolano) just 6 miles southeast of Naples. The elite Roman resort was devestated by the same volcanic eruption that buried Pompeii in 79AD. Excavations have revealed that many died on the shore in an attempt to escape, as a slow-moving mud slide embalmed the entire town by covering it with a 36 foot deep blanket of volcanic ash and ooze.
More mosaics in Herculaneum.
Herculaneum -- mosaics.
Town of Herculaneum -- note you can see the present day town above in the distance.........the old town has been excavated ... some 36 feet of mud and ash were removed.
Judy Kerr and Sherrie walking on the pier on the Amalfi Coast. Town of Amalfi.
Bob in Amalfi, Italy --- on the Amalfi Coast. Beautiful church in the background.
Having pizza and beer with Terry and Judy in Amalfi.
On Saturday, April 10th we took a limo from Praiano to Naples, caught a train to Milan, Italy, then spent about 5 hours in Milan. This is a picture of the Duomo. We had our most expensive beer of the trip in Milan -- $25 for 2 beers!!! Then we caught the 10:30 overnight train to Paris, France. We had our own private compartment on the train -- 2 bunk beds....what an experience!!