Molto Bello Napoli

Very Beautiful Naples

Today is Wednesday, May 23. We almost overslept and missed our tour. Our wake up call came at 6:15. I never heard it and around seven, we woke up and hurried to get ready and headed to deck 3 to meet our excursion group by 7:45. We boarded our tour bus at 8 and we were off into the Italian countryside of Sorrento.

Our guide was Bruno and our driver today was Salvadore. (Aren’t those great Italian names?) Bruno explained over the bus speakers that the Greeks settled in this area around 800 BC, but legend says that this is where Ulysses heard the Sirens in the Sea around 3500 BC. In 476 AD, this is where the last Roman emperor was killed thus ending the Roman Empire. There were 7 castles and 4 palaces built here.

The drive was stunning. I can’t accurately describe it. The top half of Mt. Vesuvius was hidden by clouds. The narrow two lane highway wrapped around the edge of extremely high cliffs. There didn’t seem to be much order to where the buildings were constructed, but I guess if you’re building on the side of a mountain, you do the best you can. Window shutters were open on small balconies that were decorated with hanging laundry and potted plants.

This region of Italy, called the Campaigna Region, is known for their lemons and olive oils. So, lemon trees were everywhere, heavy with ripe fruit. Palm trees and cactus dotted the landscape. The yards were parceled into gardens full of tomatoes, herbs, citrus trees, geraniums, jasmine and roses climbing the sides of ancient walls. Where there were clusters of olive trees, there were rolled up nets connecting the trunks. When it’s time to harvest the olives, they will unroll the nets, shake the trees, and catch the fruit as it falls.

Our first stop was at a local farm house. It was only 4 acres, but they grew or raised everything they served us for our tasting. We enjoyed fresh mozzarella, toasted slices of
Bruscetta bread drizzled with olive oil, salami, and green and ripe olives. They also offered us bottled water or the wine from their vineyard. It was delicious. We purchased a bottle of their olive oil. We’ll see if we’re allowed to bring it into the States. She demonstrated how they make the mozzarella cheese. They add an enzyme to the milk to form the curds. Then, for one of the cheeses, she filled a small basket, the size of a shot glass, with the curds. About 5 minutes later, she dumped the cheese out of the mold onto her hand and it was so petite and decorative because of the basket imprints around the sides. For the other cheese, she kneaded it until it was smooth, pulled it out into a fat string, and braided it.

After our sampling, we were allowed 20 minutes to walk around the farm. Because the farm was only 4 acres and terraced because of the slope of the mountain, everything seemed to be planted on top of each other. It was not orderly and manicured, it was beautiful chaos. Around every curve the blooms of the climbing roses and bougainvillea seemed to greet you, as if saying, “Welcome. We’ve been expecting you.”

Next, we boarded our bus and headed into the town of Sorrento by way of a carpenter shop where they produce in-laid wood. It was fascinating to learn how they make their furniture and art. Then we were allowed almost 2 hours to explore the town of Sorrento. We walked up and down the main street and found an honest to goodness Italian pizza restaurante. We sat at the open doorway beside the sidewalk at a table for two. We shared a pomodoro and l’oliva la pizza with mozzarella. (tomato and olive pizza with mozzarella) Of course we had to end our authentic Italian meal with an Italian treat, so we had gelato and biscotti. Today’s tour was at a much slower pace and very enjoyable. As we made our way back to our group’s meeting place, we shopped a little for our bambinos at home.

From here, we headed to Pompeii. Rob and I both expected to see a small village that had been half way excavated. Boy, were we way wrong! It was a big city before Mt. Vesuvius destroyed it. I won’t go into too much detail about it because you can see it on the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, or the History Channel, except they can’t describe to you how big it was. Once again, Rob and I both were speechless. We saw the remaining columns, frescoes, cobblestone streets with stepping stones to connect the sidewalks, temples, shops, brothels, amphitheatre, homes, the crypts carved into the side of the mountain, and more. While we were on this hilltop town, we were caught in a thunderstorm. It didn’t last long and we were able to see how brilliant these people were in their design of the drainage system. It worked great, even 2000 years later. After the rain, we crossed the streets on the stepping stones.

Our last stop was at a Cameo factory where they demonstrated how they cut the conch shells and carve the cameos. There were several different color combinations and sizes. Rob bought me a lovely coral and white broach to remember our day in Naples, Sorrento, and Pompeii.

We rode our bus back to the ship, prepared for dinner, which was semi-formal dress, and had a nice time with Mr. and Mrs. Ohio and Mr. and Mrs. New York. Every evening it’s been fun to hear about their day and what they discovered in each city. Our menu was Italian, of course. I had Caprese Salad, Minestrone Soup, Rigatoni Pasta, Tiger Shrimp Scampi, and Warm Chocolate Cake with Almond Ice Cream. Molto Bene! (Very good!) Our table of six went to the Rumba and Flamenco show tonight. The Spanish guitar and dancing were very impressive.

Tomorrow we leave the ship at 9am for Palermo and Sicily. I’m a little nervous about this one. The first thoughts I have when Sicily is mentioned are about the Mafia and all things associated with them. Rob and I have been joking about not making eye contact with the local people (actually I think he’s serious that I should not look anyone in the eye). Hopefully it’s true there is safety in numbers because our tour groups have been around 40 people. I’ll try to stay in the middle so I won’t get picked off like an antelope in the Serengeti. J

Again, it’s after midnight and I know I promised to describe our time at Vatican City, but that’s a post that can not be rushed.

Buona notte dolce la famiglia. Good night sweet family.

Ciao!

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” - Psalm 24:1,2