Pompeii and Sorrento (Day 10)

This is the courtyard of a wealthy family's house. That empty hole would have been a pool.The same family's house.

The waiting room of the public spa. The holes in the wall were lockers.Detail of one the plaster cast of one of the victims. Notice that you can even see the straps from his sandal.

Plaster cast of one of the victims.They had gutters and drains in the streets! It was amazing how modern it looked.

Ruins along the street. If you can see the hole in the curb, that was where people hitched their horse or donkey as they shopped at that store.Writing outside a store that advertised what was available inside.
Looking down the streets of Pompeii.Ruins of government buildings with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

Standing in the midst of the ruins, looking out to the modern city of Pompeii below.


The area was so gorgeous and green and lush. I can understand why people would want to live there, even with an active volcanoe just an eruption away.

A mosiac tile floor. Can you believe how well preseved it is?Yes. That is a penis carved into the street. It points the way to the brothels! Apparently, the joke in that time was that merchants and visitors would ask locals where the brothels were, and the locals would say "Just follow your penis!" Pompeii was very decadent and "sinful" - like the Las Vegas of ancient times.

Me in the doorway of a family house.The ampitheatre.

A two-story building.Local wildlife!

A row of merchant stores. These stepping stones were built so when the streets flooded with rain, the locals could walk across the street without getting wet.


This is a merchant's store. The large vats would hold olive oil, rice, wheat, etc., and customers would come up to the counter and order what they wanted.

Sorrento! The most gorgeous place I've ever been. This is the view as we were driving to our hotel.This is down at the beach. Our hotel is right at the top of the cliff. That is a road in the middle of the picture - super narrow and super twisty. It was a loooooong walk, but it was fun watching the cars try to navigate.


Houses and shops in Sorrento.Walking down the twisty road from the hotel to the beach. You can see how narrow the road is in the lower left corner.


The cliffs of Sorrento - those are coves for the boats to go into when docked.

One of the main roads in Sorrento.Again looking down the road to the beach and docks.

Oh. My. Lord. Too beautiful for words.This is looking out our hotel balcony. It's some kind of citrus grove. Maybe oranges. I have no idea what the little houses are. They're like three stories up...?

More prettiness.Detail of the twisty road to the beach.
Me at the hotel at sunset.Me on the beach at sunset.


Views of the ocean from the hotel at sunset.


One of my favorite pictures. This was on the roof of the hotel.Leaving Sorrento on the way to the ferry that we would be taking to Naples.

Down at the ferry dock looking back up at the city.