22nd Jan – Three’s the Deal (Tam and Mark)

Well after an anxious night, we managed to drive across the spine of Italy (Apennine Mountains) and not catch any snow (our big concern) to pick up Roma in Roma on Wednesday! It’s a 3.5-hr drive and we got there with about 30mins to spare, only for her to be delayed nearly 2 hrs. Oh well, usual story with international airports. As we left Rome a steady rain was falling and it continued through until we passed back over the Apennines to a glorious afternoon in Casoli. We eventually arrived and Roma just managed to get up the steep hill to the house before having a rest. We took Thursday very easy, hanging around the house except for a short walk to the top of Casoli hill to see the Castle and Church.

On Friday we showed Roma the amazing Roccascalegna and she did, in fact, climb to the top – surprising even herself. Then we drove through Lama dei Peligni and Gessopalena.

On Saturday we got up bright and sparky, hit the road down past Napoli (Naples) to Pompeii. We had a spectacular 14 degrees and blue skies for the whole day. Pompeii was a massive city of 63 hectares. Originally built in 600BC and already having 15,000 residents from 500BC, it suffered a serious earthquake in 62AD and then the fatal Vesuvius eruption in 79AD as they were still re-building the cities damage. It was a major trading port for Italy and through to Africa, Asia and the rest of Europe. The Emperor Tiberius lived on the nearby island of Capri for 10yrs and this attracted all the Italian nobles to live in Pompeii.

Mum and Mark in Pompeii

Mario, our guide, showed us many amazing sites in the town and told us fantastic stories about the society and lifestyle of the Pompeiians. They certainly liked shopping, having wholesale markets, retail (high society) and retail (regular society) strips. They had a ring road for the porters and animals to go around and the central market square was for merchants and nobles only. The market square contained the Temple of Jupiter (most important in Pompeii).

Tam, Mum and our guide Mario and a very large 'member'

As Pompeii was covered in 6 metres of ash and cinder, it perfectly preserved the whole town until 1748 when they started excavating it. We saw numerous wine bars, bakers, and gambling dens, aristocratic houses of very grand proportions and exquisite mosaics and statues still in perfect condition. They are still excavating today and there are 20-ha to go.

A plaster body cast which included bones from the poor victim

Public well

After a thrilling but exhausting afternoon, we drove about 30mins further on the Amalfi Coast to Sorrento and eventually found a hotel on a cliff face just outside town with a beautiful view of Sorrento harbour.

The Sorrento sunset from out hotel balcony

We drove back yesterday into snow and rain across the centre of Italy and arrived in Casoli, tired but pleased with our journey.