Pompei and Ercolano

Alas, I am falling behind in my blogging as I am getting tired - after I get the kids to bed I just want to read or fall asleep myself...  this is about our adventures on the 10th and 11th of June.
Pompei
The ride from Naples on the Circumvesuviana train was an adventure.  We were pretty sure that we had gotten on the correct train but not absolutely certain as there are 2 stations in Pompei - one on the blue line close to the hotel and one on the green line far from the hotel.  Unlike the other cities that we have been in, they do not seem to speak much English in Naples and the cab drivers at the Trenitalia station are very aggressive.  There are signs up that they will gladly give you change for your Circumvesuviana ticket if they happen to have it but they may not so you should try to pay in exact change at the ticket window.  Think of a jam packed train in India) or maybe NYC at rush hour.  Ryan pushed the rest of us on the train with our baggage and then I had to pull his backpack in so he would fit as the door closed.  It is about 1000 degrees while you worry about pick pockets from every angle.  Entertained by some buskers on the way.  We rode for about 30 minutes sitting on top of/leaning against our suitcases and taking up lots of room.  From the train station it was about 1/2 mile walk up the hill and down the hill with our luggage to our next stop, Villa Franca.  This was what I consider a traditional European-type hotel.  We had a quadruple room which was quite large with a king bed for Ryan and I and 2 sets of bunk beds for our kids - everyone got a top bunk and was satisfied.  Ryan and Drew went out to the pool and Trevor and I tried to take a nap at his suggestion.  The train track is quite close to the hotel.  The bell at the railroad crossing dings about every 20-30 minutes and then 10 minutes after the bell dings, the actual train rushes by very loudly.  Not the perfect environs for a nap to say the least.  Trevor then got on his suit to out to the pool and I headed out with the Wifi hotspot and my phone to find some provisions. 

Google maps was not good to me.  The modern town of Pompei is really pretty scrubby.  I walked for what seemed forever in the sweltering heat and all I found was a grocery store where I bought some Pringles and two Snickers bars.  Better than nothing.  Then I went back and hung out at the pool as well.  We met a couple of Swedish women, a British couple, and some British young ladies who were staying at the hotel as well.

All smiles on the train

That night we had a fabulous (and cheap) multi-course dinner cooked by the proprietor of the place.  The kids enjoyed playing with their 6 year old son, Marcello, who spoke the universal language of pretending to be a train.  With sign language and noises he mostly got his point across and they ran around after dinner and had a marvelous time.

At 900 the next morning (thank God the trains stop running at 10pm and don't start up until around 730) we met our guide, Sergio, at the entrance to the Pompei ruins.  We had watched the BBC documentary about the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD so the kids had some background to help them understand.  There was so much to see and the photos may be boring because there are so many.  Pompei suffered from two stages of eruption - the first was ash, cinder, and rocks falling from the sky.  Many people died in this first wave either from being hit directly by falling rocks or by the roofs of their dwellings collapsing.  Then several hours later, when many people had returned because they thought it was safe, a cloud of noxious gas came and killed the people.  Vesuvius erupted again in 1944 but has been quiet since.  Also of importance is the fact that the area suffered a pretty severe earthquake in 62 AD that they were still rebuilding from when the Vesuvius eruption occurred.  In fact, if you see any terra cotta bricks in any of these photos, that is from Pompeian restoration of damage from the earthquake.  Our guide did an excellent job of explaining and making the ruins come alive.  Trevor was very interested and Drew became bored and insolent and rude - I guess 50:50 isn't terrible.  Carlo di Borbone, the king of Sicily, began excavations in 1748 but it was not until some time later that they understood it was Pompei.  Many artifacts were stolen at that time, by Borbone himself, who built a nice marble castle on top of the ruins. 

In the background is the main amphitheater which is currently closed for restoration.  This front area would have been a gathering place before the theater and during intermission.  Entrance was free but seating was by class.  After the Gladiator school was damaged in the earthquake of 62, this yard was used as their gymnasium.

These are the cells that the gladiators would have been kept in.  Our guide told us that Spartacus spent some time in Pompei.  Here you can see some new brick near the top of the wall behind the column on the right where they would have fixed the wall after the earthquake.

Many Roman cities at the time had sewers (Rome and Ercolano) but Pompei didn't.  Therefore the sewage flowed in the streets.  This is basically a pedestrian crosswalk - you stepped on these stones so your feet and robes wouldn't drag in all the muck.  The carts were all of a standard size so they could fit right over and between the far left and center stone you can see the rut in the street from the cart wheels.

Pretty frescoes

This picture if from a Pompei take-away food joint (fast food).  This is a shelf to hold condiments.

Here is the counter of the fast food joint.  These are clay pots that are in the counter and hold the different types of food for sale.

Lovely ceiling in the entrance to the public bath house.

Changing room at Pompei with shelf to sit on and a cubby to store your things.

There were two bath rooms - a hot one and a tepid one.  The hot room received hot water directly from an oven next door.  The room also had radiant floor heat with two floors - the upper one held up by these towers of tiles.  Steam was pumped in here to keep the floor warm and it was also pumped between the walls.

Here is the bath in the hot room.

The Temple of Jupitar in the forum.

Because many of the people died from asphyxiation and then were buried under rubble, the rubble hardened around them and when they decomposed, there was basically a mold around them with great detail.  The excavator figured out to pour plaster in these holes that he found in the ash and so made casts of the people.  The best examples are in the museum in Naples but there are some still here at Pompei.

This guy is holding his hands over his mouth and nose to try to stop the noxious gas from getting in.

This is the road up from the port.  Very steep climb (we came down and it was a little slippery).

 Ercolano (that's how the natives call Herculaneum)
After Pompeii we took that horrible crowded train back to Ercolano and after a quick sandwich at a shop we entered those ruins.  Herculaneum is on the other side of Vesuvius and was destroyed by lava and mud flows.  Before that, however, a superhot cloud of gas arrived - about 700 degrees and it basically sublimated the bodies and boiled the brains - instant death and also carbonized any wood.  Only about 1/3 of the town has been excavated because the rest is under the current city.

A view of the ruins from above

Mt Vesuvius in the background

Originally only 2 or 3 skeletons were found in the town and people thought that Ercolano got off easy.  Then they found the part of the town along the beach where the ships were stored.  Many residents ran down here to hide hoping that they would be safe inside.  Instead they got vaporized by the hot cloud of gas.  Those are real skeletons people!

This is standing where the beach would have been and you can see the wall of lava and mud that came over the town right in front of you.

So most statues were painted in Roman times.  We actually saw another example of this at the Vatican Museum.  This one has the pain on the hair of the cherub preserved.

The force of the lava and mud slide were so strong that they toppled this statue.  The base and body were found in this square but his torso had been washed out to the beach area.  That helped Trevor understand the force of things - he kept asking why people couldn't just run out into the sea and be saved.

Look at the beautiful counter on this Herculaneum McDonald's!

Getting some pumice stones for souvenirs

A bread oven - looks very much like a traditional pizza oven.

This is an ancient flour mill

Typical rich house.  From the front door you can see all the way back into the back garden.  There is the pool of water in the floor with the well next to it (the pool drains into an underground cistern) and there is a table with lion paws at the front.

This may be the world's first iron.  They laid clothes between those two plates and pressed them.  Really dirty clothes were washed first in urine because the ammonia would get them cleaner (yuck) and then would be washed in water and pumice.  Slaves did this yucky job and basically agitated them with their feet.

Beautiful mosaic floor in the female changing room.

Wine store with storage casks.  Above you can see a carbonized shelf where the casks would sit.

Here is the carbonized railing from upstairs.  Most of the second floor disappeared but the iron legs to the bed are still standing.

This is a well next to the pool in the front room of the house.  The grooves in the side are from the rope going up and down.

Carbonized wood shutters - they were still open with death came calling.

Here is another carbonized wood door to a house - they were like saloon doors that swung in.

Here is the storefront for a wine shop.  They show the different pottery pieces filled with the different types of wine - cheaper on L and more expensive on R.

Bath house changing room again with a bench and little cubbies.

Ercolano family photo.

 After Ercolano we split from our guide, took the crazy crowded train back to Pompei to pick up our bags and then rode it all the way to Naples again to board a nice Trenitalia train to Rome.  The adventure continues - I am getting tired...

Firenze

Today was a challenging day for the Morgan clan.  Trevor woke up on the wrong side of the mean boy cave and made a point of picking on Drew and the rest of us all day long.  Kuddos to Ryan for not taking it to heart and not getting mad (well mostly - we all took turns getting mad but it wasn't excessive).  At 830 am we met our guide, Rosanna at the Palazzi Medici Riccardo and then headed to Accademia to see David.  Rosanna walked a little slowly and tended to drag on with her descriptions - especially about art.  The children would wander off to sit on a bench and Ryan would wonder off to look at them so I had a personal tour for parts...

Drew made no mention of the "disgusting"male parts on display today.  Ryan thought that the right hand was way too large and our guide explained that the statue was originally meant to sit atop the Duomo and not to be seen close up.  Amazing that this was carved from one piece of marble without a live model or a plaster cast.  I am not an appreciator of art but this is pretty cool.  The place where David was meant to rest is on the Duomo.  If you see the smaller cupola next to the large one and see the wall between the two windows, it was supposed to perch on the little round thing at the end of that wall.

We then stopped at a little shop called Scrapelli which makes mosaics in the traditional Florence style.  The artistry is amazing where they use small metal wire to make intricate cuts in hard semi-precious stones and then piece them together with rosin and beeswax.  The kids enjoyed watching and I really wanted to buy a small piece but the price tag was too daunting.

Then it was off to the Duomo (the Cathedrale) for a quick tour.  The outside is all beautiful Gothic Revival with different colors of marble but the inside is pretty plain just gothic - except for the dome.  Beautiful.  For a while it was the largest church in the world - 502 ft by 295 ft with 75 foot arches.  It is pretty dark inside so not very good pictures.

There are street performers in Firenze just like in US cities.  This guy have out poems on little pieces of paper.  Trevor's seems to be some sort of patriotic thing and Drew's was in German.

Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria - this was the Medici's 2nd palace.  In front of this is the Neptune fountain (Italians think it is ugly) and David was originally kept in front of this palace.  During some riots he was broken when someone threw a table out a window and broke his arm.  After that he was moved into the Accademia.

This is the Porcellino in Mercato Nuovo - you rub his nose for good luck.

Our tour guide dropped us off in Mercato Nuovo.  If I had it to do over, I would not have hired this tour guide.  She was boring to Ryan and the children and spent too much time talking about art.  We could have moved at a faster pace by ourselves and enjoyed it more.  Now I am worried that the guide in Rome won't be worth it.  We stopped for lunch at a little spot in this area.  Drew decided to order pesto pasta which she did not like (too much oil) and Trevor ate part of a pancetta and cheese sandwich but he was really distracted by a few birds that kept flying in and out of the restaurant and stealing bits off plates.  After lunch we headed back to Piazza del Duomo to climb inside the famous dome (cupola).  Along the way we stopped inside the Orsanmichelle which is a church that used to be a granary.  Check out this altar!

Climbing the dome involves waiting in line again outside the church.  We met an Australian family in line that had a 9 year old boy and a 10 year old girl.  I began by talking to the children.  We always explain that we are from St. Louis, in the middle of the United States not too far from Chicago.  The girl said that they were from Australia and I think she hesitated to tell me where and I explained that I do not know much about Australian geography at which point the father said "well you are from America so you aren't even good at American geography".  How nice to start things off with an insult, asshole.  Gave me an opportunity to educated my kids on the impression that many people have of Americans.  I will say that the tour guide was surprised that the kids had not learned any world history yet in school.

The dome is an incredibly impressive feat of engineering.  It was built with no support from the outside - just scaffolding.  It is still the 5th largest dome in the world.  There is an inner layer made of bricks (over 4 million in a Herrigbone pattern) and an outer layer.  The dome starts at a height of 171 ft and spans 144 ft.  The climb involves 463 steps sometimes with 2-way traffic on incredibly narrow stairs.  Another "sweat running down your back" experience in close quarters with people who may only be washing their arse in the morning with the bidet!

A really tight fit at times

View from the top is amazing.  We are staying just on the other side of this dome of the Medici Chapel.

Another view from the top

So up 463 stairs and down 463 stairs.  After that, Ryan and Drew were ready to relax so they headed back to the apartment.  Trevor wanted to climb the bell tower, a paltry 414 steps, so that is what he and I did.  He was disappointed that you couldn't see the actual bells that ring and they don't ring during open hours.

After this second climb, Trevor and I went in the Baptistry to have a look around.  The ceiling was beautiful and they have recently restored the rosette stained glass window from the cathedral and have it on display in here.

Trevor and I then strolled through all the vendors around Mercato Centrale selling leather coats, purses, belts, t-shirts, etc and then headed back to the apartment to see if Ryan and Drew wanted to join us at the Medici Chapel next door.  The answer was "no" so Trevor and I set off again.

On display in the Museum of the Chapel were a bunch of Medici Reliquaries.  That was fun to explain to Trevor too - the Catholic Church's belief in breaking famous people up into little pieces so you can have some special connection to them.  This appears to the femur of the Apostle Barnabas in a really fancy container.

Another beautiful ceiling

The tombs of the Medici's.  There are 49 members of the family buried in the Chapel.

Then Trevor and I went back to the apartment for some down time.  That consisted of him watching part of Cars 2 on his Itouch and me taking a 30 minute nap.  One thing we are not doing a good job of is keeping our kids fed enough.  They get really crabby when they are tired and hungry and Ryan is too frugal to get anything other than the bare minimum for breakfast at the store.  I think that is why dinner has been an absolute nightmare every night.  Going forward my plan is to have food readily available for them.  We set out because I wanted to see/cross the famous Ponte Vecchio over the river Arno.  This is the bridge that has been around in some form or other since 966 AD.  It used to be occupied by butchers but now by jewelry stores, well since 1593.

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After this it was 630 and time to find something to eat.  I had wanted to eat in the Oltrarno area but when we crossed the bridge Yelp wasn't showing many restaurants in the area open yet.  The kids were being absolute beasts - Drew was doing the 8 year old equivalent of throwing herself on the pavement kicking and screaming - which is basically just yelling and being hateful to everyone and shouting at her dad that she needed food immediately.

We went to a restaurant off the Mercato Nuovo that our guide had recommended.  We ordered some ravioli with shrimp, risotto with asparagus, and the biftecca fiorentine - a massive Tbone that is at least 1 kg and cooked fairly rare, which we split 4 ways.  It was really good.

Once everyone was fed and watered they were in a much better mood and we stopped for more gelato on the way home.  Then it was off to bed after showers.  The kids still prefer Venice to Florence and I wish we had had time to see more in Florence.  Now we are off to Pompei via Napoli.  Currently on a fast train (going almost 300 kph/186 mph southeast of Rome).  The hotel has a pool so when we get there I think we are just gong to chillax (after I go to the store and ensure and ample supply of snack).

Ciao!