Ciao Bella

Okay. I admit it. I'm cheating. We're home, but I wanted to publish a final post. My Internet connection dried up the last two days of our vacation, and I really didn't have the ability or the opportunity to post...so, here it is.

On Friday we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The collection there is amazing. Lots of ancient busts, statues, parts of buildings, frescos, artifacts, etc. Two REALLY cool sections: one - the Farnese collection. Pope Paul III Farnese, who issued an edict that gave his family the right to excavate in order to obtain marble and stone (with an exclusive claim on all sculpture) for the construction and decoration of his main residence in Rome. Over time, the collection amassed an amazing catalogue of sculptures, paintings, gems, books and drawings; the second - frescos found, taken and restored from Pompeii.

The Farnese (pronounced Far-nay-say) collection includes things like Hercules, the Farnese Bull (an interesting story about a jealous wife who was dragged to death by a bull), a bust of Caracalla (same guy who built the huge baths in Rome) and much more. The frescos? Well, they sort of make Pompeii look like a pile of rocks.

The museum is huge...has to be to house the kind of art within its walls. Lots of walking, unairconditioned, and empty...there were only about 20 people in the place. Compared to places we've been recently...it was a nice reprieve. When we arrive, there's some girl trying to sell hour-long English-speaking tours for 60 euro. What??? Are you kidding me? No way. Not with 4 euro audio tours and 10 euro museum guide books (which we bought). She's all, "Well, you must know that there are no descriptions on the pieces, no background." Yeah. Right. No descriptions in a museum. Does she think all Americans are stupid? We managed just fine. Besides, I planned to spend much longer than an hour in this place.

So, back to the two highlights of the museum (actually there are several pretty cool things). The Farnese Bull. The "Mountain of Marble" (because its really, really, um...really big) represents the myth of the punishment of Dirce. Antiope, impregnated by Zeus and driven away by her father, Nycteur, gives birth to twins, Amphion and Zethus. While in exile, her uncle Lycos (king of Thebes) takes pity on her and allows her to come live with him and his wife, Dirce. Dirce is a real bitch. She' s jealous of Antiope's beauty and treats her like shit. Well, the twins have about enough of that and decide that they are going to avenge their mother's maltreatment. The naughty boys tie Dirce to the horns of a bull. The bull drags her away, tearing her body on the rocks. The moral here is if you're the jealous sort, you could get lucky and end up in a museum...but you might have to endure death by bull-dragging and being torn to shreds on the rocks. Gotta love mythology. The sculpture was found in fragments during the summer of 1545 in the courtyard of the Baths of Caracallas in Rome.

The most impressive stuff here, though, are the Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia frescos. Just like Tut's tomb, when Pompeii (and the other two) was excavated, its explorers pilfered its treasures. Many of the beautiful frescos were taken from the site and have landed in museums in Naples, London and New York. About 50 years ago, someone smart said, "Hey! Stop taking all the stuff! Pompeii will be just a pile of rocks if there's none of the art left." The ruins, thankfully, still benefit from some of their original mosaics, fountains and frescos. BUT for the best collection of the art, the museum in Naples is the place to go.

They take you into the collection in small groups at appointed times. You can't touch this stuff like you can when you're in Pompeii, but simply admiring it is enough. It's fabulous. The colors are vibrant. The subjects range from daily life to portraits to myths. Their condition ranges from rough and barely discernible to pristine and absolutely beautiful.

Addendum to Sorrento

Meant to tell you...

There are little shops all over Sorrento claiming to be factories of THE best limoncello in town.  And they are all willing to let you try samples...boy, are they willing.  And, guess what?  We were willing to oblige.  At one of our last stops, the owner of the shop (The Corner Shop) actually took some time to talk to us about how the limoncello was made and why it tastes different from different factories, considering that the recipe is supposedly the same.  He let us sample not only the limoncello, but also the meloncello (yum).  He was soooo nice that we decided to buy from him (his shipping rates were also on the cheaper side).  

Funny thing...when we asked if he shipped to the states, he waved a little black book in the air and said, "Oh yes...I have many orders in the states...mostly from New Jersey."  

Well, that sealed the deal for me.  If his limoncello is good enough for the mafia...it's good enough for me!

Since we woke up too late to catch the ferry to Positano/Amalfi, we'll save them for Saturday.  So, today, we're off to the museum (yes, I checked...it's open).  Apparently the museum in Naples is a great compliment to Pompeii...most of the original treasures they found among the ruins are in the museum.  I can't wait to see them!

Today's Italian lesson:  Una encore.  (Oona, en-core)  It's what you say when someone asks if you'd like another round of limoncello.

Ciao

Lovely Sorrento

Okay...how many of you have ever had limoncello?  How many of you would like to?  If so...Sorrento is the place you need to be.  

Today we took the ferry over to Sorrento.  It's not as dramatic as pulling into Capri, but it's still lovely.  There's a small portion of the town around the marina, but you have to climb the hill (or take the bus) up to the city center to find lovely Sorrento.  Little cafes, shops spilling out into the streets with porcelain dishes and liquor stores jammed with limoncello, wine and other refreshments dot the piazzas and the scent of lemon and orange trees wafts through the airy market.  Wow.  

We shopped, we ate, we tasted, we drank, we shipped...it was a perfect day.  Made even more perfect by the gelato fix we had right before heading back to Naples.  

Another thing I did before heading back...waded into the Mediterranean Sea.  It was warm, sticky, exotic.  I nearly lost a shoe, but I felt, if only for a moment, like wading in deeper, like getting lost, like missing the last boat to Naples, like I could learn to grow lemons and make limoncello.  It's dangerous, that sea.  Il mare mediterranea (eel mar-ay med-EE-ter-ahn-nee-a).  

Ciao!

If it's Wednesday, It must be Pompeii

We woke up early this morning to catch the train to Pompeii (about a 30 minute train ride for 1.40 euro)...we wanted to get there before it got too hot.  Naturally, we were the only ones with this bright idea.  Yeah...right.  The train was packed...and not air conditioned.  Oh well...as I said, it was a short ride.  

Actually, I would have put up with just about anything because Pompeii is incredible.  It's more than a museum and definitely more than an archeological discovery.  It's a very clear picture of a very bad day.  

First off, the ruins themselves are very well preserved...considering everything that happened.  And once you get your head around the fact that this was a thriving community that was snuffed out in a single day, you can really begin to get an idea of what their typical day was like.  Really very much like ours.

They walked the dog.  They went to the butcher and the baker.  The took a bath (okay, not quite like we do).  They went to grab a bite at the local McVesuvio's.  They went to Rooms-to-Blow and bought furniture and goodies for their beautiful homes and small apartments. They had parties and played music...and then they didn't anymore.

(My apologies for the lack of pictures, but I'm sort of at the mercy of my internet connection and can't really upload anything for the next day or two.  I'll catch up.  And of course, I'll do an album after we get back.)

Anyhoo...we didn't have a personal guide, we did the audio tour instead,  It was okay...I think I would have rather had a guide.  What we DID have was 3.5 of the most interesting hours I've ever spent.  

Some of the buildings are still in really good shape.  The paintings and frescos are very well preserved...and right out there where you can touch them.  I guess they figure if they survived Vesuvius, they'll survive a few million people touching them.  There's one house (the house of the small fountain) that has a beautiful mosiac fountain and rooms with many of the frescos still intact and vibrant...amazing.

What's chilling is that everytime you look northward, there's a really big mountain looming in the not so distant distance.  OOOoooooooo   goosebumps.  What's also chilling is the idiocy of some people...just dumping their waterbottles and cigarette butts and trash all over the place.  I really wanted to go and grab them by the elbow and ask them if they were raised by she-wolves.  Geeez.

After our tour of the ruins, we toured the bookshop and ate at the local restaurant (no McVesuvio's).  We headed back to Naples to relax for the evening.

Il Museo e chiuso

We really wanted to go to the National Archeological Museum, but they're closed...only one day a week...Tuesday...the day we wanted to go.  Oh, well.  So, instead, let's go to Sorrento.  Okay, but the next ferry doesn't leave for 2.5 hours.  Hmmm, thwarted again.  Well, we weren't planning to go to Capri, but there is a ferry leaving in about 20 minutes...let's do that!!  

And I'm so glad we did.  While overrun with tourists, it is absolutely beautiful.  I mean beautiful.  Just beautiful.  Too bad I don't have any pictures to show you now.  The camera's recharging, and we're about to head out to Pompeii this morning, so I'll get some of Capri posted later.  

We took a ferry to the island...about a 45 minute trip and were greeted by cruise ship groups with their little matching stickers, waiters hawking their restaurants and t-shirts blowing in the wind.  Ah...Capri.  Yeah, right.  So we took a taxi to Anacapri (there are two or three towns on this small island...Anacapri is at the top of the cliff).  Same t-shirt vendors, same restaurants, fewer people.  But what's worth the whole mess of it is the ancient chair lift that takes you one by one to the very top of the island.  From this vantage point, you can see down to the blue grotto, over to Sorrento and across the Bay of Naples.  Oh. My. God.  Breathtaking.  heartstopping, awe-inspiring.  Blue.  Blue. And more blue.

I'll put up some pictures, but I promise you will not get the full effect.  It's just too pretty.

On another note.  Things I've learned from Italian women:

Don't worry too much about your make-up, men will look at you anyway.

Don't worry too much about your hair, men will look at you anyway.

Don't worry too much about sweating, when you scoop up your hair to cool off your neck, men will look at you anyway.

Don't worry too much about not wearing designer clothes, men will look at you anyway.

Don't worry too much about your Mexican Muffins, men will look at you anyway.

Don't worry too much about growing older, men will look at you anyway.

Don't worry too much about anything, men will look at you anyway.

Italian women worry about whether they loved their family enough today; did the meal they prepared reach those who were hungry today; did they see enough beauty in the world today; and did they live enough life today.

Wow.  I've learned a lot from Italian women.

Today's Italian lesson:  T' amo (tee-ah-moe).  I love you.

Ciao!

Andiamo Napoli

We actually got to sleep in for a change this morning.  It’s amazing what an extra 45 minutes will do for you!  Today is a travel day.  We checked out of the hotel and are heading to the train station.  We’re catching the 10:50 train to Naples (about a three hour ride with a single stop in Rome) then taking a cab to our friends Doug and Silvana’s house.  An uneventful train ride (I got caught up on my blogging and Joe plugged into his iPod) gave way to the MADNESS!! that is the Naples train station.  Crazy, right?, but  crazy in an orchestrated sort of way.  I’ve never seen anything like it...and I’ve been in the women’s bathroom on quarter-beer night at a minor-league hockey game. 

We finally find the cab stand...someone had turned the sign around so it no longer faced the station; it now faced the McDonalds.  During our search, several lovely-looking gentlemen approached us (on foot) asking if we needed a cab, I managed just enough Italian to let them know that we were looking for a licensed, city-sanctioned cab.  We got one and were on our way.  As we left the zoo behind us, the crescent of the Bay of Naples invited us to look seaward and dream of sailboats and rich friends (too bad it’s only a dream).  I was suddenly awakened from my dream when I realized I was looking across the bay at the only mountain in the area.  Vesuvius.  Sleeping in the haze, showing no hint of the violence it wreaked August 25^th, 79 AD.  And here we are...almost to the day 1,930 years later.  Yikes!  I hope it sleeps for a little longer. 

Okay, two worst jobs on the planet: gift shop worker on the rim of Vesuvius or chair lift operator stationed at the peak. 

Seriously, though, it’s a pretty volcano...as volcanoes go.  I’m sure it used to be really symmetrical.

But enough.  Down from the peak(s) is water just as blue as...you know that blue and white china from Amsterdam?  The water is that color blue.  It’s almost the color of my car-blue.  It’s sapphire blue (with diamond waves).  It’s blue.  And it’s got little dots of white sailboats as far as you can see. 

Doug and Silvana live in a fairly posh neighborhood that used to be the Naples countryside.  The house they live in has been chopped into three levels of very nice living space...they live on the second level...looking out across the bay.

Silvana’s in Milan today, so Doug is playing host (he’s really good at it, too).  It’s hamburgers on the patio and a relaxing afternoon.  We’ll tour Naples tomorrow, courtesy of a friend of Doug’s, but for today...maybe the beach...it’s just down the stairs.  Although Doug did ask if we wanted to watch a little TV.  I simply pointed out the window towards the bay and the view and said, “What?  Are you kidding?” 

 

It’s My Birthday. Love Chianti. Got Some Vino.

I bought myself an incredible birthday present this year...a private tour through the Chianti countryside, complete with a handsome English-speaking, Italian guide in a Mercedes...life is good.  Oh, and Joe got to come too!  Francesco picked us up at the hotel, and we headed south out of town.  You know those postcards you always see of Tuscany (Toos-cahn-i)?  It looks just like that!  I saw at least a dozen of villas that would work just fine for me and Joe.

It was a beautiful day...a little cooler than in the city...nice.  We drove into the hills and with each turn, the scenery became more stunning.  Tall Cyprus trees standing like sentinels, guarding villas and farmhouses and vineyards.  There are only two things people in this region do: make wine and olive oil.  And enjoy life, I imagine.  

We stop at an abbey/church...all stone and tall trees.  A couple of cats napping on the driveway and a dog taunting the geese just past the gardens.  Ahhhh.

Next stop is the small town of Greve in Chianti.  There is a castle in the region, so we go there first.  Castles these days are actually comprised of small apartments and homes...like a condo complex, but in an ancient castle.

As we walk along the cobblestone path between numbered doors, we can smell the beginnings of Sunday lunch and hear the sounds of daily life filtering out of the windows above.  It’s almost a fairy tale.  We make our way down into the town and to the market square (which is actually a triangle – easier to protect than a square).  Francesco takes us to the butcher, il macellaio (mah-chell-ah-yo), usually the most powerful and respected man in ancient villages.  I thought it was because he had big knives.  Turns out it’s because he usually had some schooling, participated in commerce outside the castle or city walls (to trade or bargain for meat), and, yeah, had a big knife.  This particular butcher also sold olive oil, wine and other goodies.  Of course, Joe and I start shopping...until Francesco tells us that this butcher has a larger shop off the plaza...would we like to go to that one...we can taste some wine, there.  Well, duh!!

As we cross the marketplace, we come across a large statue.  It’s Verrazano.  An explorer from Greve who was the first European to explore the area around New York City and the Hudson River.  Perhaps you’ve heard of the Verrazano Bridge?  That big one in NYC over New York Bay between Brooklyn and Staten Island?  Same guy.  Joe paid homage.

The larger butcher shop was apparently the place to be.  We tasted.  We shopped.  We shipped.  Francesco got a parking ticket.  Bummer.

From Greve we went to a winery.  Not to your typical Napa Valley winery, or even the small wineries in Texas...this was a man’s house.  Leandro Alessi.  Actually, his son runs the business now, but he is still the wine master.  He makes several, from a rich and wonderful Chianti Classico, to a Merlot, to a Cab to a couple of whites, a grappa, an aperitif...and yeah, we tasted them all.  And of course we bought some.  He told us how he got started, that he’s more concerned about his product then worldwide distribution.  He told us about some of the awards his wine has won and about a wine critic whose nose and palette are insured for two million dollars who happens to really like Alessi wines.  You go, Leandro! 

After the tasting and the buying, we walked across the courtyard to his cellar and saw the wines in production.  The whole yard was filled with rosemary and lavender (although it had mostly gone to seed).  I wonder if I can get a job pasting labels on bottles? 

 Time for lunch.  Francesco got us a table at a wonderful restaurant along the road somewhere.  We had a delicious lunch and drank even more, including a local handcrafted beer (you know how we feel about handcrafted beers!!).  It was soooo good.  Imagine that!  (Let me clarify...for all you MADD mothers...Joe and I drank...Francesco sipped...he was driving, after all!)

When lunch was over, we continued through a few small towns, did some walking and more shopping in Radda in Chianti (they always add the in Chianti...like you don’t know where you are).  We stopped on the side of the road outside of Radda and Francesco jumped out and brought us a bunch of grapes he picked from a nearby vine.  They were small, dark and sweet...just about ready for harvest....delicious!

It was getting close to the end of our day, but we had one more place to go before returning to our hotel.  Francesco took us to Piazza di Michelangelo.  It’s on the other side of the river, up from the Pitti palace.  It’s a little bit up in the hills (a high-end residential area...sort of like Beverly Hills), but overlooks the river, all of Venice and the towns farther up in the hills.  It’s where many people turn out every evening to watch the sunset.  Outstanding! 

It was our last night in Florence, and we had one more thing to do...find the warthog.  E la!  Prego!

 

Italian lesson for today: Il vino era squisito! (eel vino era squee-zee-toe)  The wine was delicious!

Tomorrow: Napoli!  Ciao