BLOG—Pompeii and Sorrento
We kept a pretty hectic pace in Rome for
five days, and we decided to ‘grind out’ a long day’s travel to southern Italy
on Thursday. Up at 5:30 a.m., we exited our apartment by 7 a.m. with only a
few small cups of coffee under our belt (the percolator only made one cup at a
time). We were extremely fortunate to find a taxi that would seat five -- and
hold our luggage. We made it to the train station in record time, so perhaps
we could have slept in a bit longer...
The train to Naples took several hours—one
more than described on the schedule. In the Naples station we finally found the
toilette, and the one Euro coins
necessary to unlock the turnstile. It seemed I had every other denomination of
paper and coin currency, and the change-making machine was not working at its
optimum!
After picking up some ‘station
food’—Panini’s and sandwiches with splendid cheeses and prosciutto—we descended
the steps to the ‘local’ trains which circumnavigate Mt. Vesuvius. We bought
our tickets and packed into the small, crowded train where we stood for the
next 45 minutes until our arrival at the station for the archaeological site for
ancient Pompeii.
Blessedly, the site offers free baggage
storage! We spent a couple of hours winding our way through those ancient
streets, and seeing a city that was frozen in time and amazingly
preserved—including 2000 year old frescoes in the homes of some of its wealthy
citizens. In terms of seeing (and imagining) an ancient city from the basis of
its archaeological remains, Pompeii may offer the best, large-scale footprint
(and wall print) of any that I have seen—complete with ruts in the streets
where chariot and wagon wheels rolled for hundreds of years until the eruption.
2000 year old lead pipes were evident along one street. Cooking ovens,
courtyards, and casts of frozen bodies all helped shape an impression of
coastal life at the foot of Italy’s southern mountains.
We picked up our bags as we returned to the
station. Five tickets and five minutes later, the small, local arrived at the
platform (great timing!) and we stood for another 45 minutes to Sorrento. The
train was not as crowded, and the anticipation of arriving at our destination
kept our spirits high, even though our feet continued to feel sore
nonetheless.
Arriving in Sorrento, 12 hours after we
started our day, we exhaled into the gentle breezes that whispered through palm
trees and lemon groves in this city built along the cliffs that drop into the
sea. Our landlord arrived to meet us at the train station, and we took a taxi
through the winding streets, and down to Marina
Grande. The apartment we have rented for several nights is in the middle of
this little cove of buildings and boats. Unlike Rome, our apartment was at the
top of only four flights of good, sturdy, marble steps!
Part of the theory of booking apartments at the
tops of the buildings was that in addition to great views, and good prices, we
could ‘work off’ some of the calories we were taking in. I guess all three of
those things were true, though any evidence of the ‘calorie burning hypothesis’ was hard to see. The abdominal muscular ‘six pack’ I never had is being
transformed into a ‘12-pack’ within one of those Styrofoam coolers with soft,
rounded edge! The endless miles, steps and sunshine are no match for the
delicious, fresh foods of Greece and Italy!
We started our journey, and stumbled across a huge field of
sunflowers. We had seen some of these fields on the autostrada, but at 110
kilometers/hour, they are hard to photograph clearly! Our girls hopped out for
a quick snapshot. All sunshine and light! 
After taking that picture, Furman wanted to stop on the side of the road everywhere to
take pictures of the pencil-shaped trees, vineyards, olive groves, and blue sky.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to find a stopping place on the narrow highways that were not actually the driveways to homes and farms. But, the back seat crowd
took over, and snapped some photos as we drove along, including one of the
determined driver. His nickname—‘Mario’—befits his slightly out-of-practice
manual transmission driving, enhanced by his dogged determination to embrace the curves, hills and
blindspots. (We now know why bright yellow is such a popular color for cyclists’
jerseys, and it has nothing to do with the Tour de France. It is all about
being seen!)
Our girls were so charmed by the 3-wheeled trucks.
Katherine informed us she would like one for Christmas, preferably in a light pink or turquoise
green (which we really did see). We have joked about how Dodge Trucks might be
built ‘ram tough,’ while these Italian trucks are built ‘Chihuahua tough.’ 
There is a crypt under the altar. A fresco on the wall depicts the resurrection of Christ, assisted by angels, with visible wounds from the nails and spear quite evident.
The laundry was about 1700 feet above sea level. We put clothes in the washer and descended to a café about 1300 feet above sea level. After lunch, we climbed back to move clothes from washer to dryer, and then visited the main piazza at about 1850 feet above sea level -- and a side trip to a wine cellar. Then, it was back down to the dryer to pick up clean, dry clothes. 
In the afternoon, we caught the train from Assisi, in the region of Umbria, to Cortona, in the neighboring region of Tuscany. We are staying a couple of miles outside the walled city, at the base of the hill (and it is quite a steep hill). After enjoying this beautiful sunset from the walled city, we walked down the steep hill after dinner to our B & B with the light of this crescent moon (and our flashlights)!
On Tuesday we rented a car and set out for Siena. We just happened to arrive on the day before one of two big horse races that happen each year (one in July and one in August). They pour dirt into the main piazza and create a 'track' that is roughly 1/3 of a mile. The city is divided into neighborhoods, which have flags, scarves, and lots of team spirit. The winning neighborhood gets bragging rights for the year to come! We were caught up in the excitement of the crowds, and were thankful to arrive on the day of the trials rather than the day of the race, when more than 60,000 people will be crammed into the central square! We drove back to Cortona for dinner, and another breathtaking sunset from the old city!
