Pompeii was almost exactly as I had pictured it with one exception: it wasn't flat. I don't know why, but I always pictured Pompeii as this totally flat area beneath Mt. Vesuvius. However, Pompeii actually has a fair amount of hills. I was amazed with how well preserved Pompeii is. Many of the buildings are complete minus their roofs. The roads are still in decent shape, and the stepping stones are still in place. I even had some fun posing with friends as we were crossing the street via the stepping stones. It was my personal version of recreating the Beatles' Abby Road album cover.
We visited the amphitheater and the larger of the two theaters in Pompeii, which were both popular places for public entertainment. Dr. Rea, who was serving as our guide, showed us the "cat's eyes" in the sidewalk, which are pieces of broken pottery that the Pompeiians mixed into the concrete to create reflective spots that make it easier to see the sidewalk at night. We walked through an ancient brothel, where the rather graphic pictures are still visible. We visited a set of public baths and saw the Forum, which used to be surrounded by a two story colonnade.
As with many of the ruins I have seen on this trip I found it impossible to picture what Pompeii would have looked like whole and filled with life. All I could picture were the crowds of tourists who were climbing over everything and dripping sweat everywhere. It's really easy to forget that Pompeii was the site of an enormous tragedy where thousands died. According to Dr. Rea, most of the citizens of Pompeii escaped, but even those who made it out lost everything. We could see Vesuvius from the Forum, sitting in the distance looking peaceful. I can imagine what a surprise it would have been to the Pompeiians when it erupted because Vesuvius doesn't look any different from a normal mountain.
While I wasn't able to climb Vesuvius, I did mutter "something's happening to the mountain," a reference to a BBC documentary about the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Someday I will return to Pompeii, climb Vesuvius, and announce that line, said in my best imitation of the documentary.
After we finished touring Pompeii we ate lunch at a restaurant, then boarded the bus to go to Naples. We toured the National Archeological Museum in Naples, which houses a lot of the relics found in Pompeii. Many of the exhibits were closed, so we didn't get to see everything that Dr. Rea had described in class. We did get to see the mosaic of Alexander the Great that was once in the dining room of the House of the Faun in Pompeii, a very impressive and detailed mosaic. We saw lots of shards of pottery and several other mosaics that have been removed from Pompeii to preserve them.
We finished touring the museum and then boarded the bus once more, which took us to the docks where we were to catch a fairy to Ischia. Ischia is a small island off the coast of Naples that is the birthplace of one of the instructors on my trip. It's a very laid back place, with lots of beaches and fresh seafood. The hotel we stayed in on Ischia is this very cute little place called Villa Cecilia. The owners grew up with Gianfranco, the Italian Cinema and Culture instructor. The hotel was beautiful, with much of it decorated in shades of purple, my favorite color.
I took a quick shower and changed out of my smelly Pompeii clothes before going to dinner with a group of friends. We found a restaurant on the water and I enjoyed a plate of pesto and seafood gnocchi while watching the sun set. We finished the evening playing ping pong with some of the kids of the hotel staff.
Our trip to Ischia was a sort of Spring Break for the program, meant to be a relaxing distraction from the stress of our classes. In keeping with that theme we went to a spa on Friday called the Gardens of Poseidon. When we entered we were given a map and instructions as to the proper course of the many pools placed throughout the spa. We decided to follow the instructions and went in search of the first pool. Each successive pool is slightly warmer when you follow the correct order. The final pool had two types of water: water that was 15 degrees Celsius and hot water. According to the instructions you are supposed to submerge to your neck in the cold water for 15 seconds and then go into the hot water. Most of my friends weren't able to stay in the cold water for that long, but I was able to. To my surprise, it actually felt nice to go from the icy water to the hot water.
After we finished the course of the pools we all felt very relaxed and ready for lunch. I chose to eat an Ischia delicacy: rabbit. Oh my goodness was it tasty! I also enjoyed some fresh cherries. Italian cherries, or ciliegie, are huge and taste more like grapes than cherries. I can't get enough of them.
In the afternoon we went to the beach at Poseidon's Gardens. We all swam out to a rock that was shaped like a conch shell. It was a fairly long swim, but once there we climbed on the rock to bask in the sun before jumping off and swimming back to shore. I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading under a beach umbrella. By the time we needed to leave I was quite sleepy and sad to go.
I spent the evening eating dinner at a restaurant that Gainfranco recommended and walking around town. My friend Lindsey and I enjoyed exploring a small bookstore. We found some of our favorite books in Italian, including The Fault in Our Stars and Harry Potter. I know those books so well that I was able to understand some of the Italian when I opened them. We eventually returned to the hotel and played cards with some of the people on our trip. I slept very well that night.
In the morning many of us had plans to go cliff jumping, but unfortunately it started raining. Not wanting to waste the day we decided to tour Castello Aragonese, which is a castle on Ischia that has history going as far back as the fifth century B.C. The castle was enormous and we explored all of it that we could, despite the rain. By the time we finished touring and ate lunch, the rain was almost finished.
Once the rain was over I set off with some friends to go cliff jumping. Now, I say cliff jumping, but really we were swimming out to rocks, climbing them, and jumping off. It would be more accurate to call it rock jumping. The rock we chose to jump from had a white rope to help you climb onto it and a nice flat surface to jump from. Some of the guys with us, however, decided they wanted to climb higher on the rock and jump from there. They didn't think any of the girls would want to do it because the climb took a fair amount of upper body strength. After watching the boys climb up several times, I figured that I would be able to make it up there. I'm proud to say that I made it to the top no problem, right behind another girl who was with us.
When it was my turn to jump I had a hard time. I didn't mind the height, but when I stood I couldn't get myself comfortable near the edge. I didn't want to hurt myself by falling or not jumping far enough. Bryan, who had jumped the most, climbed up and helped me figure out how to place my feet. He described, in detail, how to jump safely and then demonstrated it for me. While I was still slightly terrified, I didn't want to have to climb back down, so I slowly stood, placed my feet, counted to three, and jumped. I landed in the water safely, very glad that I had actually jumped. While it was exciting, I am not sure that it's something I would ever need to do again.
That evening was the festival for Saint Anna, the patron saint of Ischia. The town was packed with people and every restaurant had a line to be seated. The culmination of the festival was a fireworks show that took place over the castle. I sat on the roof of our hotel with most of the group to watch. The fireworks weren't anything unique, but the effect of the smoke and the lights of the castle was spectacular. The castle lit up with red light, and through the smoke from the fireworks it looked as if it were on fire. The music set an eery mood that was simultaneously beautiful. When someone in the crowd below the castle released a floating lantern I couldn't help but think of the movie Tangled. I may have missed fireworks on the Fourth of July, but I got to see the equivalent on Ischia. It was a wonderful night and a perfect end to our weekend there.
Sunday morning we said our goodbyes to Ischia, boarded the fairy, and headed home to Rome. I had a marvelous time in Ischia, but once again I was glad to be back in Rome. Rome has become a home to me and the closer I get to leaving the more I want to stay. I still have places to go and things to see in Rome. I don't want to have to say goodbye to it. I only have a week and a half left here and I plan on making the most of it.
-Allison
My friends and I thought it would be funny to take a picture on a prostitute's bed in the brothel.
Nothing's happening to the mountain!
The Gardens of Poseidon
We swam to and climbed the rock in the background.
Ischia from Castello Aragonese
If you look closely you can see the white rope. I also jumped from the next highest flat place, between the rope and the tree.
The "burning" castle after the fireworks
No comments:
Post a Comment