Cruise Diaries Day 7-Naples/Pompeii

On Day 7 of our Mediterranean Cruise, we explored Naples and Pompeii. Our excursion for the day took us to visit a cameo store, Pompeii, Naples and a pizza place for lunch.

We started off by boarding our bus to Pompeii. Along the short drive, our guide pointed out Mt. Vesuvius in the distance as well as the island of Capri.

Once we arrived, we were dropped off and had some moments to use the restroom and look in the Cellini cameo factory and store. We looked around the shop and admired the beautifully carved shells.

When our group got back together, we followed our guide and made our way into the Pompeii Archaeological Site. There were many tour groups here, so in order to stay together and for us to easily distinguish who are guide was, our guide continuously referred to our group as "Family, Family number 20" since our group number for the day was number 20. This became a running joke within our actual family, for the rest of our trip we were quoting 'family family' to stay together.

During our tour of the Pompeii Archeological area, our guide talked to us about the different sites using headsets. The walk around the area was definitely a little steep in some areas, with uneven footing over the rocks and stones. Someone in our group had a stroller, which they ended up folding up and carrying. So I would not recommend bringing a stroller with you, as these are historic ruins without paved roads. We walked inside the old houses and buildings, and looked at all the intricate decorations. It is amazing to me how a lot of the colors, statues, and intricate carvings are still intact today after all of these years.
















We also walked around the streets and our guide told us which areas were most likely market areas. It was interesting to hear how you could tell so much about an area based off of one tiny fact. For example, in the streets were raised big stones. These were used for people to cross the street, so they would not have to step in the sewage on the street. We can tell people in these days had wagons because the notches between the stones were big enough for wheels to fit through. Archeology is very interesting to me in this way how they can tell so much about a culture based on these things.

One, mostly flat, area had a great view of Mt. Vesuvius with some statues for great photos. It was very interesting to be standing there and imagining what the people of Pompeii must have thought when the Volcano near them erupted.

After of tour of Pompeii, we got back on our bus and drove back to Naples for a bus tour through the city. We passed a lot of historic buildings and our guide pointed out popular sites. I noticed there were a lot more homeless people in this city compared to some of the other cities we had toured previously.

It was then time for our tour of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, The National Archeological Museum of Naples. Here we saw more frescoes, historic artifacts from Pompeii as well as statues. There was also a special exhibit featuring the artist Adrian Tranquilli who exhibited different statues and pieces of art focusing on superheroes. "Giorni di un futuro passato" or "Days of a Past Future" was the title of his exhibit. His style was interesting in that the statues were developed in a way that felt very old roman, but were of super heroes, or pop culture icons. So there would be a normal looking old statue then there would be an alien or something in the same style, that only stood out from the rest because the entire thing was blue. I believe his motivation was that super heroes tell epic stories, as did stories of the past featuring Hercules or other Gods. The stories of the past and the present are historic in different ways.

When we finished our tour of the museum, we again got back on the bus and it was time to head to lunch. We passed by the water and saw people sunbathing on giant rocks and saw the island of Capri in the distance, then we arrived at the restaurant. We ate at a local pizza place and were served margarita pizza, wine and salad. The fresh Italian pizza was delicious, and with the wine, we felt very Italian.









After eating, our tour was just about over, so we again passed by the water with a final view of Capri and were dropped back off at the cruise ship to relax for the rest of the day. After the past few days of constantly being on our feet, running around and seeing sights, we needed time to relax and recoup.