Throwback Thursday: Myrtle Beach (2008)

Spring Break at Myrtle Beach, SC, in 2008.  With this weekend's forecast calling for cool, wet weather, what I wouldn't give for a sunny beach scene like this right now!


P.S. I've updated the "About" section of the blog.  Check it out!

Pompeii, A City Frozen in Time

Sometimes visiting a historical site is like walking into a science fiction or fantasy story land.  You've already spent hours exploring its streets, buildings, and people through the pages of your books or the pictures on the internet.  You've rejoiced in their victories and mourned through their tragedies.  And after all those hours, to finally stand on the actual streets and touch its buildings, all you can think is Wow!

The entire eight hours we spent in ancient Pompeii was like a dream.  I'd studied Latin and Roman culture from eighth grade through to my final years at university, so the streets of Pompeii were familiar to me, yet also alien.  As most of you know, Pompeii is an ancient town more famous in death than life.  In 79AD Mt Vesuvius erupted, sending a toxic mix of volcanic ash and gas over 20 miles into the air, destroying nearby cities, including Pompeii, in the process and ultimately burying it under 13 to 20 feet of volcanic material.  The city - and those of its citizens who did not escape - lay entombed and untouched for over 1600 years until a surveying engineer discovered it in the mid 1700s.

Many tourists choose to visit Pompeii as a day trip from Naples or even Rome.  However, we decided to make Pompeii our home base, staying at the Hotel Vittoria in a room with balcony views of the ruins.  It was a wonderful decision.  (More on Hotel Vittoria, the amazing staff, and our experience with Pompeii outside the ruins in a later post!)  On our first full day in Italy, we woke up early and eagerly set out to explore the ruins of Pompeii.  Originally, we planned to visit the ruins in the morning and climb Mt. Vesuvius in the afternoon, as Rick Steves had indicated only 2-3 hours were needed for the ruins.  Either he grossly underestimated or else our fascination for the place is more than the average tourist's, but we stayed in the ruins from 930 to 1800 - over eight hours!

Highlights:

The House of the Faun appears in nearly every guidebook, history book, and online article about Pompeii.  Its name derives from the statue of a faun found there.  Entering by the front door, you are greeted with a large mosaic of "HAVE," a salutation of ancient times, and a copy of the faun statue in the inner garden.  A local artist, sanctioned by the University of Napoli to paint copies of famous Pompeiian motifs and sell them, has a stand in the House of the Faun to sell his replicas.  You'll also find a 2005 copy of the famous Alexander Mosaic (almost all Pompeiian originals are housed in the museum located in Naples), of which the original dates to 100BC!

It's hard to ignore Mt. Vesuvius, looming large and moodily, to the north of Pompeii.  In fact, from the very moment we stepped foot off the train, I was acutely aware of the volcano's presence.  It's so beautiful, and yet ominous.

 
We were absolutely fascinated with the grooved ruts of the streets' cobblestones.  In some places the grooves were 4-5 inches deep and as wide as Danny's feet (trust me, that's big!).  You can imagine how many years it took for the stones to be worn down from the passage of carts and chariots rolling through.

Maybe we were just really hungry, but the ancient fast food shops gave us quite a bit of fun!  Pompeiian fast food joints differ little from modern ones - simple, small, with just a few menu choices.  Did you know that a favorite condiment of Roman times was garum, a fish sauce?  (If you're a geek like me and want to read more about it, NPR has a cool article here.)

The body cast replicas reminded us that the Pompeii ruins were the final resting place for thousands of people who were unable or chose not to leave when Vesuvius erupted.  Each body's pose might in some way reflect their state of mind in their last moments: some resigned, some prostrate, some cowering in a corner, and some twisted in agony.  One of the more tortured poses is that of a dog, which was chained and unable to escape.

The Cave Canem mosaic graces the atrium of a house not far from the House of the Faun.  It was closed to tourists while we were there, but we were able to squeeze our camera through the grate and plastic liner to snap a photo!

Cover your kids' eyes when you take a peek inside the Lupinare, the best preserved brothel of ancient Pompeii.  There are a few original wall paintings in the building, demonstrating the lustful activities that occurred there.  Compared to the paintings in the Terme Suburbane, these are tame.  (And for you fellow Latin geeks, brothels got the name "lupinare" due to the sounds the women would make as they enticed their prospective customers.  Apparently, it was reminiscent of a wolf's howl.)

The Forum was and is the heart of ancient Pompeii.  The Temple of Jupiter features prominently at the northern end, reminding citizens that the gods could bless or curse their lives on a whim, and the administrative buildings of the Basilica sit at the southern end of the forum - another reminder that one has more than just the gods to placate!  With the noise of large tour groups around us, it wasn't hard to imagine this as a bustling hub of activity for ancient Pompeiians.

Bust of Jupiter at his temple

The Pompeii ruins are a must-see, whether you can afford only a few hours or can spend a whole day wandering through the ruined buildings.  We didn't even get to see everything as we overheard other tourists talking about a building that had "dozens" of body casts in it - I still don't know what building they were talking about!  I think we must've missed a whole neighborhood, and of course, some buildings were also closed to the public.  Only half of Pompeii has been excavated, so you never know what new things may be open for your visit!

If you'd like to see more photos from our visit to Pompeii, check out my blog's Facebook page!

Have you visited Pompeii?  What did you think?

The Ampitheater

 
Cost:  11 euros per person
Time Needed:  2-3 hours or 7-8 if you're Roman ruin nuts like us!
Accessibility:  The main entrance to the Pompeii ruins is located a stone's throw from the Circumvesuviana train station, helpfully called the Pompeii Scavi - Villa dei Misteri stop (scavi is Italian for excavations), on the Napoli to Sorrento train line.  If you're arriving by train, you'd take a right out of the station and the ruin's entrance will be on the left in about 100 meters.  Bus tours will drop you off in a square just outside the Hotel Vittoria, and you'll be directed to the ruins by your bus driver or tour guide. 
Website:  http://www.pompeiturismo.it/index.php?Itemid=28&lang=en 
Money-Saving Tips:  Download Rick Steves' free podcasts on your smartphone to eliminate the need to rent an audio guide from the ticket office (this will save you 6.50 for one or 10 euros for two audio guides).  We forgot to bring the phone with the downloaded podcast into the ruins, so we rented the guides, and found them to be adequate (Rick Steves is more entertaining!).  You cannot leave and reenter the ruins so pack a lunch and picnic discretely (the ruins are extensive and once you're away from the main forum, you could find a more deserted area) if you want to avoid paying high prices at the one and only cafe.  Bring a water bottle and refill at any of the water fountains - the water tastes bad (what can you expect from a volcanic region?), but it's better than spending a fortune buying water, especially during a hot summer visit!
Other Tips:  Wear comfortable shoes as the ancient cobblestones can be difficult to walk on.  If you're short on time, skip the Villa dei Misteri as it's outside the city walls by a decent walk.  If you'd prefer to not see any licentious images, skip the Lupinare, the Terme Suburbane, and the House of the Vetii.

Linking up with #CityTripping hosted by MummyTravels.com!

Linking up with #TravelTuesday!

Culture Shock in Italy

Have you ever built up a place, a culture, or a country up in your mind to be one thing and been completely blown away (in a good or bad way) when you actually experienced it for yourself?  Upon arrival, you simply stand there, mouth agape and eyes slightly unfocused, with a variation of Inigo Montoya's "I do not think it means what you think it means" running through your jet-lagged, caffeine-addled brain as you try to wrap your mind around the fact that this place is not what you thought it would be like and you're not yet certain what to make of that fact.  That's pretty much what happened to me when I visited Italy for the first time a few weeks ago.

Italy was...breathtaking, in all senses of the word.  From the brightly-colored laundry hanging high above the streets of Napoli, to the cerulean depths of the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the dusty, mesmerizing lines of Roman ruins, the beauty of Italy captivates its viewer.  Alternatively, the dizzying traffic, the sweat-packed compartments of the Circumvesuviana train line, the undeterred advances of street vendors, and the absurdly expensive prices of Rome are also breathtaking.  I thought I had Italy figured out from the comfort of my living room couch, but the reality blew me away from the moment I stepped off that plane.

Three weeks later and I'm still sorting out my thoughts!

What I Adored:
The casual attitude towards history.  I was surprised at how many objects in the National Museum of Rome are not behind glass doors or roped off beyond arm's reach.  If you really wanted to, you could touch and feel many priceless artifacts.

The gelato.  I had the best gelato of my life at Tre Scalini Caffe on the Piazza Navona.  My mouth is watering at the mere thought of their chocolate and cream and tiramisu flavors.  Mmmm!

The attractions.  I still can't believe I actually saw all those famous sites with my own eyes!  Textbooks, pictures, and second-hand accounts can't do it justice.  You simply must go and see them for yourself.

The fashion.  Italy and Italians seem to be simultaneously formal and yet casual.  High-heeled ladies do their grocery shopping with the same ease and informality as if strolling along a pleasant beach pier, yet they're dressed as if they might meet a prince by chance.  The men are equally as well-groomed.  Why I couldn't have been born into a fabulously wealthy family (or landed a big paying job!) so I could afford all the beautiful clothing is beyond me.  While I don't have the budget to be a fashionista, I did my best to not be too obviously American in my clothing choices.  I'm sure Italians could still tell anyway!  When it came to wearing heels, however, I drew the line - at the end of the day, my feet were screaming and sore just from wearing comfy flats!

The wine.  Although I've been trying to cultivate a better appreciation for beer, wine is still my first choice.  It took a few tries, but I finally found some Italian wines that I enjoyed.  And compared to the prices of everything else, buying alcohol is the same price or cheaper than in the States!

The coastline.  Until this trip, I'd never seen crystal-clear water.  While swimming in the Tyrrhenian Sea, I could actually see the bottom even when it was nearly 20+ meters deep!  Our day spent in and around Sorrento could quite possibly be my favorite day of the whole trip.  Our only itinerary was to find the Roman ruins at Punta del Capo (about an hour walk outside Sorrento), lay out our beach towels, and splash around.  I rarely ever feel as relaxed as I was that day.

What Surprised Me:
The garbage.  An excess of garbage is more understandable in a big city like Rome, but I was disturbed at the trash left behind at the Regina Giovanna swimming hole in Punta del Capo.  I'm not saying that trash is a problem specific only to Italians (we certainly find plenty of it on our Chesapeake Bay beach combings or down at the Outer Banks!), but when a perfectly good trash can is eschewed in favor of throwing the trash beside it, then some lifestyle changes need to be made.

The stray dogs in Pompeii.  I took this fuzzy picture on our last day there.  Many of these pups live in the ruins themselves, and I can only guess that they subsist on scraps dropped by tourists?

A la carte dinners.  That's not to say I didn't like the food itself - I love Italian food.  But when you order, say, saltimbucca, you're not going to be offered any vegetables on the side unless you specifically order it.  Expect a good meal to cost quite a bit, especially in Rome!

The traffic laws (or lack thereof).  Let's just say that I didn't imagine my first experience with Italy would involve wheeling my suitcase IN traffic.  Not on a sidewalk, not on a shoulder, but IN traffic.  The shuttle bus from Naples airport to the main train station dropped us off in a little traffic island about 600 meters from the actual station.  We had to walk against traffic around a blind corner with mere inches between you and autos driving with reckless abandon.  It was eye-opening, somewhat frightening, but also a little bit exhilarating.  Still, I was thoroughly relieved to make it to the station in one piece!

My expectations and imaginations of Italy were far from reality in some ways, but I wasn't disappointed.  Just surprised!  But then again, when you're basically just expecting a warmer version of northern Europe, you're bound to experience a bit of a shock!  Southern Europe is so very different from the Germany that I love.  I did like Italy.  I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  I've read (and been told) that Italy needs more than one visit before you can truly figure out your feelings about it.  That sounds like a good reason to return someday!  But as more time passes since our trip, I find myself thinking more and more fondly of Italy and wondering when I'll return to her.

Have you visited Italy?  Did your expectations match reality?  

Linking up with the Sunday Traveler!