Sunday, May 30, 2010

Naples, Italy











Wow, great day today. Long, but really fun. Our tour started on a much better note than yesterday when we easily found our guide waiting just outside the cruise terminal. We all jumped into the bus and headed out of the city. Our first destination was a farm / restaurant in the village of Sant’Agata. The drive was about 1:30, but with all the traffic & twisty turns at the end, it felt much longer! When the doors finally opened, we couldn’t get out fast enough.

From where the bus parked, we had to walk down 100+ stairs down the side of a steep hill to get to the restaurant. Once there, we were able to use the bathroom and get some light refreshments. Next, we were off on a walking tour of the property & gardens. We began by walking down more stairs until we came to a road. We then walked up the road pausing to look at various plants & trees along the way. We finally ended up at a garden at the top of the hill –not far from where the bus dropped us off! So, it was back down the stairs again.

After working up an appetite, it was time for a cooking lesson. All the kids put on hats & aprons and learned how to make authentic Italian pizza from scratch. They had a great time making the dough, adding toppings, and best of all, tasting the results.

As the kids pizzas were cooking, the staff starting bringing out food to the table. Everything was SO good! We had bean salad, potato cakes, quiche, breads, calamari, salami, cheeses, and, of course, PIZZA! The boys were nice enough to share a couple slices with Daddy. We were all hungry and eagerly dug into the food.

Soon, I was full and volunteered to feed Megan while Michele finished up. I grabbed our bottles (hers with milk and mine with beer) and found a quite spot in the shade with a nice breeze near the entrance. Megan finished her bottle, burped, played on my lap while I finished mine. She began nodding off and was soon sawing logs.

As more time went by, I began to wonder where everyone was and what was taking them so long. It turns out, they were still eating –the food that came while I was there was just the first of three courses! Some tried valiantly to eat course 2, but everyone threw in the towel and declined course 3. We were just too full.

After dessert and a digestive (after meal drink), we headed back up the steps, piled into the bus and headed to Pompeii, which was on the way back to the cruise port in Naples. I was always fascinated with the lost city of Pompeii in school and I was excited to visit this historic city. The kids sang some Karaoke on the bus using the guides microphone and then things quieted down for a while as some took naps.

We finally arrived and the bus dropped us off at one end of the city. Our guides had given some thought to the matter and suggested a route that would be the smoothest & least hilly since we had Megan in the baby stroller. It was pretty rough with lots of big cobblestones and steps, but everybody helped out and we managed. Pompeii was really fascinating and I am so glad we visited. It is crazy to think of such a big, thriving city being forgotten after just a couple generations buried under ash from Mt. Vesuvius. Toward the end of the tour, one of the guides took some of us to see the red light district. We visited an ancient brothel which had erotic original fresco paintings on the walls, almost like a menu. Too funny!

After visiting the main square and Apollo’s temple, we made our way out of the city and boarded the bus for the short ride back to the cruise terminal. By the time we got back, it was almost 6pm and we headed straight to the dining room for dinner. After such a big lunch, nobody was exactly starving, but we thought we should eat a little something.

Tonight, everyone is taking it easy. I found a spot on the boat that seems to have pretty good wi-fi Internet service last night, so I will try to go there and upload the blog in a little while. After that, I am going to hit the shower and turn in early. Like I said, it has been a long day! Tomorrow, we will be in Rome and the boys are super-excited to visit the Coliseum and attend “gladiator school.”

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