Day 5: Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi Coast

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Port: Naples

Sleep does not come easy – I am awakened in the night because I am extremely hot. OMG – is this my first hot flash? Do they start immediately upon one’s 47th birthday? I relax a little when Hubby also wakens up – also hot and sweaty – and we realize our air conditioning has either stopped or has malfunctioned. We have been closing the curtains around our bed and it somewhat “traps” the air in there – I am reassured to know that I am not pre-menopausal – yet.

Hubby is disappointed in the breakfast from Room Service yesterday- he complains his eggs were rubbery – so he showers first and heads to the Windjammer to see what culinary delights he can find. He swears he won't get the stale toast or lumpy oatmeal again. I get ready at my leisure and head to the Concierge Lounge for some orange juice…no breakfast for me today, as my clothes are increasingly shrinking on this trip (I swear, it must be the air on cruise ships that mysteriously begins to shrink fibers - it certainly can't be the THREE desserts I'm eating every night.)

My poison ivy is looking better today – still a little red – and still a little itchy – but my life-saving $5 cream appears to be working. Thank you, ship doctor.

We exit the ship through Deck 5 (aft) and meet up with the same 3 couples from yesterday. We are the first to arrive today as we are determined to not be last anymore. We don’t want to give a bad impression to the other couples. And we're not last! We're actually first today - woo hoo! We wait for a few minutes for the others to arrive. A photo of our driver, Giovanni, for the day, along with Erin & Bryan and me.

We're in Naples today. Soon to get out of Naples, if we can. Naples is the 3rd-largest city in Italy, with a population of over 1.5 million. It lies at the foot of a range of low hills on the west coast of southern Italy. Since the destruction inflicted during World War II, Naples has become an important industrial and commercial center. The Bay of Naples makes it Italy's second most important sea port, surpassed only by Genoa. Naples is known as the home of the pizza - and also has a reputation for being controlled heavily by "the Mob."

This is our 3rd and final tour with Rome in Limo. Giovanni is our driver today – a very nice middle-aged Italian from Sorrento. Hubby swears later that Giovanni is part of the “brotherhood of Italy” – if you know what I mean. I tell him he is crazy. Our plan today is to get the heck out of Naples, drive up to Pompeii and have a guided tour, and then head down the Amalfi Coast to Sorrento and Positano. Sorrento and Positano are supposed to be beautiful; I can tell, just from the port, that Naples is not.

Our van is a little smaller today – for the past two days, we had an extra large van that had the driver and a passenger in the front row; two passengers in the 2nd row; 2 passengers in the 3rd row; and 3 passengers in the back room. Today, however, we only have 3 rows of bench seats – and so we must do three, three, and three. Tight – but we manage. I squeeze up in the front in between Giovanni and Hubby.

Because Naples doesn’t have parks or other open-spaces, it is Europe’s most densely-populated city. I had heard horror stories about the traffic in Naples – how traffic lights are discretionary – and we find out immediately that there is truth to this. As we pull into an intersection – cars from EVERY other direction also pull into the intersection at the same time. SHRIEK! Giovanni doesn’t even break a sweat – he stops – waits – and eventually a car backs up, allowing the rest of us to proceed through. Welcome to Naples, everyone.

We drive for awhile and eventually arrive at Pompeii, where we are met by Salvatore, our guide. Rome in Limo arranged this guide for us. Not to be confused with Salvatore, our guide yesterday in Rome. No, this Salvatore is a very proper, distinguished professor – and he quickly obtains tickets for us (bypassing the regular line) and we enter the gates of Pompeii.

We are not alone. We are joined by dozens of stray dogs. They apparently have the run of Pompeii. Just a forewarning - a couple of them got into a major fight while we were there; I thought it would be a fight to the death until a guard broke it up. They shouldn't bother you while you're there - but don't touch them or feed them!

We find out that Salvatore is very good friends with the security guard on the grounds – this friendship will prove invaluable, as Salvatore arranges it with Albert, the guard, to allow our group access to sites that are normally closed off from the rest of the Barbarians. This was really nice - the 8 of us felt like celebrities, going past "roped-off" areas and seeing things that we knew no one else would be seeing that day! It's the little things that impress us.

Our first stop is the "Baths" area. This is an impressive site – and normally not part of the tour – and so we feel privileged to see this and to have Salvatore explain how it all worked. The Pompeii residents would visit these baths and have a 30-minute massage before heading to the sauna. The baths had cold water, warm water and hot water – it was all explained to us on how it all worked, but it’s complicated. And I can't remember much anyway of what Salvatore said. Sorry, Professor.

After leaving the baths, we learn how important water was to the community – and how abundant it was in this well-plumbed city. Fountains are at almost every street corner – they were the social center for the community; streams of water would flush the chariot-rutted streets clean. We could see stepping stones in the streets that would allow the residents to cross the street and not get wet.

We see street after street after street – beautiful artwork, beautiful mosaics, and beautiful frescoes….and then we keep seeing the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius in the background, knowing that in 79AD, the city was obliterated and thousands of people and animals were killed. And who knew - as evidenced in this photo, if you look close-they even had sprinkler systems way back then??!!!

Pompeii was excavated back in the 1700’s – and the king of Naples demanded, “Bring me the best of whatever you find!” This is why most art and artifacts are NOT in Pompeii itself but are back in a museum in Naples. I had been rather surprised at the lack of artifacts until I learned this.

We then are treated to another roped-off room, which contains an assortment of erotic frescoes painted on the wall. Think Pompeii Penthouse. Salvatore delights in showing us the naughty pictures and imagining what happened way back when. There are Roman numerals under each painted “scene”; all we can figure out is that a patron could “order” off the menu what they wanted. It was very intriguing. Naughty, naughty.

We walk along the streets and visit average homes, as well as the home of the wealthy. We visit a bordello and a drinking house and other buildings; it is amazing how BIG this place is – we had no idea. It's also very beautiful - which surprised me. I had envisioned hot and dusty and "ashy" - not expecting flowers.

Salvatore was very good at avoiding the “Barbarians” that were starting to "invade" Pompeii. If he saw a tour group heading our way, he would quickly get us ahead of the group and to a quieter, less-congested area. He is the one who labeled the large tour groups “Barbarians,” and I loved the name so much – it really was apropo – that it stuck with me and I adopted it for the rest of the trip. Barbarian groups are all over Italy – some of them have flags, even – and they are to be avoided at all costs.

Our overall impressions of Pompeii are that it was WELL worth a visit – we agreed that it was a definite highlight of the overall cruise. Also – a guide is a MUST; trying to navigate this on your own would not be fun. We talked to people that night on the ship who did not use a guide and who had no idea what they were seeing. Salvatore made all the difference for us at this sight; he was EXTREMELY helpful and I would request him again.

TIP ALERT: Pompeii can get hot – there is not much shade, and the streets are concrete, which can radiate heat. Go early in the morning to avoid the crowd and be sure to have a bottle of water. Hats and good walking shoes are helpful here, too.

Back to the tour.

We leave Pompeii, squeeze back into the little van, and begin our drive down the Amalfi Coast. The Coast is the southern coastline of Italy – and is an absolute beautiful drive. The only thing I can compare it to is the drive down Big Sur in California – only a little more dramatic than that. We went around curves and cliffs and breathtaking scenes in front of us – very pretty, but not for the faint of heart.

Every so often, Giovanni would stop so we can hop out and take the touristy pictures.

We drive to Sorrento, a small touristy village that overlooks Capri and the Bay of Naples.

We are dropped off and given time to explore and shop. The village is very charming - and slightly crowded.

We all split up and Hubby and I wander through the shops, talking with shopkeepers and making a few small purchases.

Somehow, I find myself in a gelato shop – how strange….? How does that happen? I must have built-in radar for gelato shops. I have 2 scoops of gelato which earns me a very disapproving look from Hubby, as it is almost time for our lunch reservation. The first scoop is spangola, which earns a 7.2 on my scale. The 2nd scoop is caramello, which earns a strong 8.1 – one of the highest scores yet on my gelato testing. It was very good. As I leave the gelato shop, defiantly eating the yummalicious gelato, I spy cannoli in the display case of the shop. And it isn’t burnt! It looks delicious – the cannoli that I am used to! However – slight problem – I now have two scoops of gelato that I must eat – and we are heading to lunch. I look wistfully at the cannoli, and whisper, “I’ll be back…I promise.”

We stroll out of the gelato shop and start walking towards the restaurant where Giovanni has graciously made us reservations at 1:00 pm. It is called Tasso’s, and we arrive where the rest of our group has already sat down. Because we are very close to Naples – the birthplace of modern pizza – we decide on getting pizzas. No brainer. I order the margherita pizza. Supposedly, this pizza was made in 1889 in honor of Queen Margherita. It even has the colors of the Italian flag. The pizza is very good – but then, I don’t know that I’ve met a pizza I didn’t like.

Although the food in this restaurant is good, we all agree that the service is just not up to par like what we had yesterday in Rome. The waiter never really talked with us or made us feel comfortable – it may have been a language barrier, as he appeared to not speak English well – if at all. He had brought us all bread and oil before the pizza, and we were a little surprised to find a charge for the bread. I really do think he should have told us about the cost – and not just placed it on the table without warning us. Oh well. With wine, bread and pizza, it is $31E per couple. Not bad, really.

When lunch is finished, I tell my friends about the cannoli I had left behind in the shop…and of course, they all want to go meet this cannoli. Well, who am I to deny them of this wonderful opportunity? After we settle the check, we have about 5 minutes before we are to meet back up with Giovanni – plenty of time to walk across the street and see this cannoli. As I walk back into the little shop, leading 6 friends behind me, the owner, Joshua, comes out to chat with me. He introduces himself to me and asks me what drew me back to his shop. I said, “Well, that cannoli is calling my name!” He gives me a big kiss on the cheek, a hug, and wraps up two giant cannoli for me. What a guy. I am loving Italy. And I am doing a great job of eating my way through. I am not sure what warranted a kiss from Joshua, though. I insist to Hubby it’s because of my wit and charm; Hubby says it’s because I brought six paying friends into the store. Whatever.

We all leave Joshua’s shop with our cannoli and gelato in hand, and find Giovanni parked not too far away. We squeeze back into the van – a squeeze even tighter now that we’re all full of bread and pizza and gelato and cannoli – and we drive further south along the Coast – now on our way to Positano. The time is just past 2:00 pm.

Along the scenic drive to Positano, we stop at a little fruit market way up high on an overlook of the town. There, Giovanni lets us get out and take some scenic shots of Positano down below us. He also surprises us by buying some fresh cherries at the fruit stand – the cherries are delicious and were refreshing and tasty.

Then, Giovanni bought some apricots and let us eat those. By now, I’m silently thanking God that I wore elastic pants – between the bread, oil, pizza, gelato, cannoli, cherries and now apricots – I am busting at my seams. But it was all good. Giovanni takes a few minutes at this scenic overlook to point out Positano.

And another tourist picture - this time with ME!

At some point during the tour, Hubby had told Giovanni that I am a writer. That's stretching it - I really just blog - but it became apparent that Giovanni thought I was the next J.K. Rowling - he started gearing the tour towards ME - and only ME! It was like the other 7 people didn't even exist on the tour. He even said, several times in fact, "I hope you write good things about me." I told Hubby that he shouldn't have said anything to Giovanni - but Hubby thought it was funny. So, dear readers, a lesson - I guess if you want special treatment on a tour - tell your guide you're a writer. He'll fawn all over you. Ugh. Next time I will bring duct tape for Hubby's mouth.

We arrive in Positano around 3:00 pm and Giovanni turns us all loose to sight see and shop and explore. Positano is built on a hill – so the streets are steep – and the only thing I really want to do is try some of the famous limoncello. Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made primarily in this region – and can be quite addictive, from what we’d heard. We find a little bar and we go in and I sample some – and I’m hooked. Okay, I must have a bottle. This stuff is good – but it can be very strong – so one must be careful when consuming limoncello. It really was good.

We wander through the streets and explore an art gallery where we find the most delightful little paintings that feature Positano. Although we find one we like, we can’t agree on a price with the owner – the price we both like must be paid in cash, and we don’t have that much cash on us; we’d prefer to pay via credit card. Oh well – it wasn’t meant to be, and we had a delightful time haggling – always fun. On to more things. The owner did let us take a picture of the painting. We liked the vertical one - this is with the lights off in the galley - it made the painting take on a very, weird effect.

The streets of Positano are very steep. Oh, I already mentioned that? I'll mention it again. It's a nice walk DOWN to the beach - but I keep remembering that I will have to walk back UP at some point - and it's hot! Perhaps a nice, refreshing shot of limoncello will help. I'll keep that in mind.

It is now about 4:00 pm – time to meet back up with Giovanni. We all arrive and squeeze ourselves back into the van, and it is time to head back to Naples. Most everyone else falls asleep in the van, but Giovanni insists on talking to me – as I am sitting by him in the car – and so no sleep for me. Giovanni is still trying to insure that I will write good things about him.

Perhaps to seal the deal, Giovanni presents me with a bottle of limoncello when we arrive back at the port in Naples, around 5:30 pm. Lovely – now I have TWO bottles to get confiscated by the Royal Caribbean alcohol police. We graciously thank Giovanni for a lovely tour and then head onto the ship – where my pretty yellow bottles disappear for the rest of the cruise. Drat.

We come up to get ready for dinner. Tonight is 50/60’s Night – I didn’t pack a poodle skirt or saddle oxfords; I did try to smuggle in an Elvis wig for Hubby to wear but he wasn’t having any of it. Hmm - wonder why? After we dress in our non-50/60’s clothing, we head to the Concierge Lounge to get our drinks. Tonight, I take about three sips of my Screwdriver and I about keel over. I am either very hungry, or very tired – or both – but I don’t normally react so strongly to a drink. Perhaps I’m still affected from the limoncello. It really WAS good.

Before we head to dinner, I leave another gift for Alston. Tonight, it is 3 tubes (brand new – in the packaging) of chap stick. I also tell him he can have my birthday decorations if he wants them – and it appears he does. They're gone when we return to the ship later.

At dinner, we head down to our usual spot. Our table was big and lively – we have fun. Dinner was good – but I have no idea what we had….I simply can’t remember. The screwdriver is affecting my memory, among other things. Or perhaps the limoncello. It was good, though.

Tonight's show was Nick Lewin, a magician. He did two shows - one at 7:15 pm and another at 9:00 pm. We missed both of them - so I can't comment on them. I heard he was pretty good. Not as good as the limoncello.

We head to the Colony Club at 10:15 pm so we can play "50's & 60's Name That Tune" Trivia game. We are determined to get a key chain – but no luck. The elusive key chain – so close and yet so far. I console myself by reminding everyone that I wasn't even BORN until the 60's - and I was a baby during that decade. Hubby rolls his eyes.

After the trivia game, the Colony Club became a sock hop – time for the Rock ‘n Roll dance party. We dance, twist and jive the night away. It was very crowded - and there was a huge dance contest where a King & Queen of Rock 'n Roll were crowned. We give up about 11:30 pm and head back to the cabin. That twistin' will kill ya'.

No towel animals again…have they been cut due to costs? How sad – I miss my little critters from previous cruises.

Tomorrow: At Sea Day