Day 10 Rome (the morning)

Decided to break this up as well as it would be photo overload.

We arrived in Rome at 7 am.  This was going to be a full day.  We were off the ship by 6:30 am and back at 6:30 pm. Temps were high 90 to 100 degrees.  But the sites were not terribly crowded.  First we had a bus man's tour of some of the sites like the forum and Rome in general.

I believe this was the Arno valley we went through to get from the port to Rome which was a pretty long drive.  I remembered my father talking about being in the Arno region during the war and though of him often during this day.

 Just never know what you will see.

 This was the building and balcony that Mussolini made this speeches from.

 Need a trough, but use an old sarcophagus.

The first actual walk around of this tour was San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains). Which was built in the 1500's.

This was the relic in the basilica.  The chains that has held St. Peter while he was captive in Jerusalem and the chains that help him in Mamertime Prison in Rome, fused together when Pope Leo 1 was inspecting them.

 This was sculpted by Michael Angelo

This was Michael Angelo's Moses.

Then we were are on the march again.

Something that has always intrigued me wherever I have travel has been doors and door knobs/knockers.  Here were a few we saw during our walk.

Got grapes??

Since I am soo far out from this trip, over 1 year.  I think next posts will be mostly pictures. It will be the afternoon in Rome which was a visit to the Vatican, St Peter Basilica and Museum and the Sistine Chapel. After Rome was Florence/Pisa This was the day that I did the tour of the Coast of Cinque Terra and Portovenere.  Then was Provence where I toured Marseille, cassis and Sanary-sur-Mer and then finally it was back to Barcelona and back home.

Salerno to Pompeii (Part 3)

It was over 90 degrees when we arrived in Pompeii with almost no shade unless you could plaster yourself up against a wall.  Our bus load was broken into several smaller groups and each given a tour guide.  In the group that I was with we only saw one of the plaster casts of people killed in the eruptions. After reading articles in National Geographic for 50 years I was hoping to see more.

The guide pointed out that up there, where that church is,was the ground level before Pompeii was discovered.  So glad that someone's curiosity lead to this great discovery and that the work continues.

Returned to the ship about 5 pm and sailed at 6 pm

Salerno, Sorrento & Pompei (Part 2)

Then we moved on to Sorrento.  It seems to be known for it's inlay work.  We visited a shop to see tables, boxes, etc that have beautiful inlay work and saw a demonstration on how it is done.  We had about an hour on our own to wander.  We visited a cathedral, walked the streets and returned to the bus.

Saw lots of interesting trees.

I guess I would call this a breakwater??.  Nice protected spot with umbrellas and lounges, where one could get some sun or swim.  It was a long way down to get closer so we decided against it. After all we only had about an hour.

I believe this was as good a view as we got of Vesuvius.

Lots and lots of shops.  Lots of olive and lemon themed products. I picked up a cute tablecloth.  Also looked in some interesting galleries.

This appeared to be a men's club in an old church.

Waiting back at our drop off point to get back on the bus and head to Pompeii.