The last port on the cruise was Naples. I took a half day tour of the ruins of Herculaneum. It was a small town nearer to Vesuvius than Pompeii - They were found with their mouths open - the gas killed them immediately - whereas the bodies were curled up in Pompeii because they were trying to protect themselves from ash. Our tour guide was an archeologist. At one point she bent down and told us she had something brand new to show us. She picked up a leaf that was covering an ancient coin. She had found it the previous day, but NYE and New Years day are bank holidays in Italy and she couldn't formally report the coin until the next day - so she was hiding it so others wouldn't find it.
People say the ruins of Herculaneum are better preserved and nicer than Pompeii. I had planned to go to Pompeii a few days later and almost cancelled - I'm glad I didn't :)
After the ruins we went back to Naples - the area near the port is nice. Many things were closed since it was New Years Day. There were four ships in port but they were probably there as a last resort like us because of problems with Egypt and Israel. I wandered around and got some Napoli pizza :) and went back on the ship.
The next day we arrived in Civitavecchia and I took a NCL bus to Rome. Instead of dropping us at the Coloseum like he was supposed to the driver took us to our hotels for 10 Euro which was better than finding a cab etc. It was nice to drive all around Rome since the hotels were all over. We passed a Fab India!!! I met a couple on the bus that has what I feared would happen to me happen to them. They were delayed due to weather in chicago and missed the ship leaving and had to fly to turkey to meet it at the next port.
I spent the afternoon wandering around and just looking at the wonder that is Rome. My tour to Pompeii the next day left from Piazza de Popolo and the hotel said it was too far to walk, but I scouted it out and it was 40 minutes and I got to see a lot of things along the way. I wandered to the this place that had over 100 creches on display. I wasn't allowed to take pictures but they were amazing. People made Nativity scenes reflecting different cultures. Some were just Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Some had a few more pieces and some had 100s of pieces - a whole town. Some were made of wood, wire, paper, pinecones, ceramic etc. They were beautiful.
The next morning I walked to the Piazza and joined others for a 3 hour bus drive to Pompeii. We I told them my name was Staley, they couldn't find my reservation. Then I saw it listed as "jo Bobbi" ha! no Staley at all! Jo was the last name. This happens often in foreign countries. I was so glad I didn't cancel!! Pompeii was awesome! Our guide told us lots of things about the areas we drove through. Italy is famous for its wine of course. One kind is translates as the Tears of Christ. When Lucifer fell he brought a piece of Heaven with him - it was Vesuvius. When Jesus saw Vesuvius He recognized it and wept. The tears made grapes grow and this kind of wine can only come from grapes that actually grow on the sides of the volcano.
It has taken 200 years for them to dig out what they have of Pompeii. Our guide was really knowledgeable and funny especially when it came to the brothels :) After Pompeii we went to Naples to the Archeologial museum that has most of the Pompeii artifacts. People say Naples is sketchy, but it wasn't by the port. We drove through it to get to the museum and it was bad!! It is definitely a poor city and it shows. The guides told us not to leave the safety of the museum for any reason. I obeyed :)
People say the ruins of Herculaneum are better preserved and nicer than Pompeii. I had planned to go to Pompeii a few days later and almost cancelled - I'm glad I didn't :)
After the ruins we went back to Naples - the area near the port is nice. Many things were closed since it was New Years Day. There were four ships in port but they were probably there as a last resort like us because of problems with Egypt and Israel. I wandered around and got some Napoli pizza :) and went back on the ship.
The next day we arrived in Civitavecchia and I took a NCL bus to Rome. Instead of dropping us at the Coloseum like he was supposed to the driver took us to our hotels for 10 Euro which was better than finding a cab etc. It was nice to drive all around Rome since the hotels were all over. We passed a Fab India!!! I met a couple on the bus that has what I feared would happen to me happen to them. They were delayed due to weather in chicago and missed the ship leaving and had to fly to turkey to meet it at the next port.
I spent the afternoon wandering around and just looking at the wonder that is Rome. My tour to Pompeii the next day left from Piazza de Popolo and the hotel said it was too far to walk, but I scouted it out and it was 40 minutes and I got to see a lot of things along the way. I wandered to the this place that had over 100 creches on display. I wasn't allowed to take pictures but they were amazing. People made Nativity scenes reflecting different cultures. Some were just Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Some had a few more pieces and some had 100s of pieces - a whole town. Some were made of wood, wire, paper, pinecones, ceramic etc. They were beautiful.
The next morning I walked to the Piazza and joined others for a 3 hour bus drive to Pompeii. We I told them my name was Staley, they couldn't find my reservation. Then I saw it listed as "jo Bobbi" ha! no Staley at all! Jo was the last name. This happens often in foreign countries. I was so glad I didn't cancel!! Pompeii was awesome! Our guide told us lots of things about the areas we drove through. Italy is famous for its wine of course. One kind is translates as the Tears of Christ. When Lucifer fell he brought a piece of Heaven with him - it was Vesuvius. When Jesus saw Vesuvius He recognized it and wept. The tears made grapes grow and this kind of wine can only come from grapes that actually grow on the sides of the volcano.
It has taken 200 years for them to dig out what they have of Pompeii. Our guide was really knowledgeable and funny especially when it came to the brothels :) After Pompeii we went to Naples to the Archeologial museum that has most of the Pompeii artifacts. People say Naples is sketchy, but it wasn't by the port. We drove through it to get to the museum and it was bad!! It is definitely a poor city and it shows. The guides told us not to leave the safety of the museum for any reason. I obeyed :)
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