_An extra day in Rome — then on to Pompeii and the Almalfi coast
_We bid Jake and Jenn a fond "good-bye" on the last morning of the tour, before they headed to the Rome airport for the trip home. Bruce and I spent the rest of the day in Rome sightseeing, shopping and exploring the fantastic Borgese Gallery. Marvelous!
We had seen the Rick's Steve's Europe show that featured a visit to the Borgese Gallery, so we were excited to see the masterpieces by Bernini, Caravaggio and Raphael. His book recommends making a gallery reservation well in advance (and you are only allowed in for a two-hour time slot). Thank goodness we did, since it's a very popular attraction. I mapped out our walking route from our hotel using my iPad. I couldn't wait to see "Paolina Borghese" (the beauty pictured below on left), Bernini's interpretation of "David" and the fanciful "Apollo and Daphne" (on right). As always, no photos allowed in the gallery, so these are postcard scans… not quite the same as seeing them in person, but better than nothing! Using our Rick Steves' Italy guide book (provided as part of our tour package), Bruce and I had pre-planned a train trip from Rome down to Naples (90 minutes on the high-speed train) and arranged for a daytrip to Pompeii and the amazing Amalfi coast. Rick Steves had highly recommended hiring an experienced driver who is comfortable navigating the treacherous, narrow Amalfi "white knuckle" roads and switchbacks. Thanks for an excellent, and possibly life-saving, suggestion! |
_We had hired driver Carmello Monetti, who greeted us at the Naples train station, holding a sign with our name on it. He welcomed us to "paradiso" and promised us a wonderful day. We knew we were in good hands, even though Carmello is about 70 years old. He told us he had driven the Amalfi coast roads for more than 50 years.
Our first stop was Pompeii. Before leaving the states we had downloaded Rick Steves free self-guided walking tour of Pompeii to our iPad and iPods, so we could follow along (hint: search for "Rick Steves Audio Tours" in iTunes). It was like Rick was walking along with us, helping us discover this archeological wonder that dates back to 600 B.C. In its heyday Pompeii had about 20,000 residents and was a booming city, until August 24, A.D. 79. That's when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and froze that moment in time — entombing residents and the city under eight feet of fine powder. Fascinating. Then we moved on to the Amalfi coast. The sea views, stunning scenery, chic shops and picture-taking stops along the way were simply amazing. The boutiques were filled with beautiful things that I admired but didn't purchase (good thing, as our suitcases were stuffed to the max by then). It was a long, but wonderful day. Touring Pompeii and the Amalfi coast after our Heart of Italy tour ended was like placing an exclamation point at the end of a memory-filled vacation…perfetto! |