FUN-travel: Sorrento, Italy – Full Day 2
October 28, 2013 by Susan Clarke
Day 36 – Monday, October 21 – Sorrento, Italy – Day 2 – full sun – high 75 – low 59
Hall of the Augustals – Herculaneum
What I LIKE
Herculaneum
- 7:15 – try macchiato & much better!
- 9:30 – breakfast & to go sandwich
- I ask directions for driving out of garage – WWIT!
- Elisabetta @ front desk is the best
- BI – assumes we’re taking train to Herculaneum & Pompeii
- *10:37 – train on time
- only costs $2.20 pp one way
- faster & no traffic nightmare
- 11:25 – arrive Erculano station
- not sure where it is so just follow the crowd down hill
- 11:35 – get tickets – $10 Euro for 1 site or $20 Euro for all 5 sites
- only going to Pompeii – but hey, save $2 Euro
- **free booklet describes the ruins
- lovely Brit gives me his map – says no need to pay for audio – booklet has same info
- 12:00 – start walk down – area approx 4 big blocks by 4 big blocks – just some of the things we saw:
- Barrel Arches – vaulted rooms – port warehouses – discovered in 1980 w/300 skeletons
- House of Relief of Telephus – 2nd largest – between columns hang plaster casts of marble to ward off evil
- Taberna – public dining w/marble covered counter held large jars inserted w/hot food
- House of Neptune & Amphitrite – glass paste wall mosaic of Neptune & Amphitrite
- Hall of the Augustals – frescos depict Hercules
House of Neptune & Amphitrite
Barrel Arches
- ***1:30 – finish
- +1:50 – arrive train station
- chat with lovely couple from Perth while waiting
- 2:37 – take train to Pompeii
- 2:57 – arrive & entrance is right there
- I was here 15 years ago – Chris’ 1st time
- wander streets – amazing how big city was!
- 4:00 – overwhelmed & done
- beer break – Heineken 22 oz – $5 Euro
- stations very well marked for tourists & they announce sites
- ++4:25 – get a seat
- 4:55 – arrive
- 5:15 – see couple eating pizza & ask how good – they say driver recommended it (next couple to sit down after us says same thing)
- nothing fancy – 3 high top tables on narrow sidewalk
- Pizzeria Franco – diavola & caprese salad – more homegrown tomatoes –2005 Vigna Piano d’Angelo – the BEST so far! $53 Euro
Taberna
- 6:30 – back to hotel
- pack & get ready for next big adventure
- +++10:15 night night
BI (brilliant idea!)
WWIT (What Was I Thinking!)
House of Relief of Telephus
What I DON’T LIKE
- *SRO & packed like sardines
- **have to buy audio guide to get map
- ***some things I want to see closed for renovation
- +ask for directions & miss 1:53 train – have to wait for next one
- ++4:17 – train late
- +++twinkle no longer dancing in distance
Pompeii
FUN-fact –Unlike Pompeii, which was buried under a layer of ash and lapilli 6 to 7 meters deep, Herculaneum was submerged by a mud and lava flow measuring up to 25 meters deep. It is the mud that preserved everything it came in contact with, effectively sealing it and petrifying it.
More FF – Herculaneum was a very affluent community with large villas filled with rich collections of art and sculptures.
More FF – Herculaneum and Pompeii became a UNESCO site in 1997.