Pompeii and Ravello - May 23
We all ventured downstairs to the restaurant in the hotel for the complimentary continental breakfast of cereal, yogurt and typical other breakfast fare. Laura found that if you waited until 9:30, one could order the American breakfast standard, eggs.
Paolo was to meet us in front of the hotel at 9:30 to head into Pompeii for our 11:00 tour. Again we had a most gorgeous day with sunshine, clear skies and the temperature in the eighties. So far, I was feeling like I had timed this trip perfectly.
While in the planning stages I had arranged for a guide who would meet us at the gate of Pompeii for a two hour tour. I found the company from googling "Pompeii Tour Guides". They are a small company of five men and they call themselves "Pompeii Cast." They too, were easy to communicate with via emails and cell phones, at home as well as once we reached Italy. Lucky for us, somewhere in the bowels of Laura's backpack was a new Blackberry, which was compatible with the European phone system, and I was able to confirm our Pompeii tour. Thank you Laura, again!
Our guide was Vincenzo Somma. The cost of the tour with tip was 13.00 euro per person. Earlier, Paolo inquired about the cost and was eager to tell us he could have secured a friend of his for only 10 euro per person. After hearing Cenzo's family history with Pompeii, it was clear we had made the right choice. He was the third generation of men in his family who chose to have something to do with the ruins of Pompeii. He was knowledgeable but more importantly, was passionate about his knowledge of Pompeii.
I feel I must mention an experience that sent my husband, Paul over the edge. As we were reaching for wallets and money to pay Cenzo, Paul noticed that his wallet was missing from his pocket. He remembered his wallet sitting on the bed but couldn't recall picking it up. He of course panicked and became just a tad irritable. I am being charitable here with my description of the deterioration of his mood. He called the hotel and requested that a manager go up to our room, retrieve his wallet and place it in the hotel safe. Being the cynic that he is, he was confident the contents of his wallet would be gone, if in fact they acknowledged finding it. Despite the positive thoughts we were all thinking, he had quite the crappy day, not knowing if our trip was coming to a screeching halt or not. More on this later.
As we walked down the streets of Pompeii, we felt like we went back in time. Cenzo conveyed so well what it must have been like and we came to understand the darkness of that day. No one asked too many questions - we were too intrigued, saddened and solemn.
He must have read the sadness in our faces or in our silence because he turned his focus on a different aspect of life that got our group laughing and aching for more. He took us to the red light district of Pompeii. Rita stopped to pose for a picture with the phallic symbol that was carved into the enormous cobblestones which formed the street leading the way to the bordello part of town. Paul and Chris and Bill and Brian wandered around looking for the photographs depicting the menu of services offered by the ladies and the men of the night. They never did find them. I think Cenzo became entertained by us at this point.
Pompeii is a must see for anyone visiting that region of Italy. Considering how hot and sticky it was that day, the two hour tour we chose was enough, however, if we were to do it again, I think I would choose to spend more time here. Most of the others agreed but felt the weather (and crowds) played a role in how long the tour should be. I got the idea that had we wanted to extend the tour, Cenzo would have been amenable to that.
Paolo led the way back to Amalfi and made reservations for us at the Ristorante Mustafa where we were to have a wonderful lunch and our first taste of Limonciello. Before stopping for lunch, he made sure we got in a few ceramic excursions along the way. At the Ristorante Mustafa we sat over the water and enjoyed the gentle sea breeze and the view. Seafood was the order of the day, which included spaghetti with clams and mussels, seafood risotto, and an incredible mixed seafood grill. After much cajoling, Paolo gave in and joined us. All told, the damages for nine of us with much wine and too much food to finish was 220.00 euro.
At this point in time, we all decided that at each lunch or dinner, one person would pay with their credit card and everyone else would pay that person in euros. Thus, it would lessen the need for everyone to be hunting down ATM's frequently and we would all be given to opportunity to pay with credit cards for the better rate. It turned out to be the perfect situation. Susan graciously volunteered to be the accountant and keep a running tally of money owed and for what.
After lunch we headed back to the hotel and the remainder of the day was spent on our own. Some of us relaxed, some napped and some went walking through the streets of Amalfi. Paul (the skeptic) was amazed to find that his wallet had been recovered and was waiting for him at the hotel desk - from the bed where he left it, with all cash and cards intact. Many thanks to an honest hotel staff. This kicked up our hotel satisfaction by about five notches.
In planning this trip, I learned of an outdoor concert venue in Ravello that everyone in the group took an interest in. Coincidentally, there was a piano concert planned at Villa Rufolo for one of the nights we were to be in the area. The picture on the website described it as a beautiful outdoor venue, nestled in the mountains, overlooking the sea from high above in Ravello. What could be better? We bought eight tickets for the concert on the internet, from Select Italy and planned a special night for dinner at Villa Maria, a short walk from Villa Rufolo.
We had nothing short of a remarkable experience at Villa Maria. There couldn't be a better settng for a special occasion. This was to have been the day Paul and I got married in Italy, had we stuck with our original plan. So this dinner was a special one. We dined on the terrace, overlooking the sea from high ab ove, cradled by the mountains as they rolled in and out along the shoreline.
The Slowtrav recommendations were right on the money and I too, highly recommend Villa Maria. Bill picked up the tab, for yet another special gift to us. After a spectacular dinner sitting on the terrace edge in the Villa Maria we ventured off for our 9:30PM concert.
Paul and I led the pack by a few hundred feet. We somehow seemed to have lost the caboose and arrived much ahead of everyone else. We arrived just as the pianist took his place at the piano, accompanied by a page turner. There were about 30 people seated in this small room in varying attire. Despite the wine I had, one couldn't help noticing we were INDOORS! Where was this outdoor theater that was described when I bought the tickets from Select Italy? I looked at Paul with a puzzled look on my face but he shuffled me off (shushing me to be quiet) to a row of chairs in the rear of the room behind two women.
We were both a little perplexed but the wine was having a giggling affect on me. Moments later, the rest of the group popped their heads up as they came up the stairs. Chris and Brian were the first ones on the stairs and spotted us in the back of the room. I quickly began a series of hand signals and sign language trying to tell them to get out while they still could. Chris and Brian just didn't seem to be getting my signals. The two women in front of us frequently turned around looking at us and I expected more shushing at any moment. We waited for an opportunity to depart and kept giggling like children in church. The music began. Chris and Brian and the rest in tow disappeared down the stairs. I assumed they finally understood my hand gestures, and all of a sudden were able to read my lips and were able to escape. Suddenly, they appeared, one by one from the rear of the venue behind us. They were led up a rear stairwell by the staff so as not to disrupt the performance, and entered quietly. They all took their seats around us, apparently not having understood one bit of my sign language. Brian took a seat next to me and began to ask what happened to the outdoor venue when I couldn't contain myself any longer and got up from my seat and promptly left through the back door they had just come in from. And everyone promptly followed me - just like little ducklings.
Whew - we escaped that boring, stuffy room. And lo and behold the two women that kept turning around to look at us, followed us out as well.
Unfortunately, no one thought about the fact that they might close and lock the doors. So there we were, trapped in a dark room that no one knew their way around. The laughing and giggling that was going on surely must have been heard in that concert hall but we were out of control by then and now we were growing in numbers! After much scurrying around we finally escaped out into the night through an unlocked stairwell and promptly found the nearest bar and had many laughs over the concert that we never heard. Upon our return home, I learned that the outdoor venue started two days after we were there. Shame on me for not looking further into it and actually speaking to someone at Select Italy. No one seemed to mind though. All felt it was worth the laughter and chaos, and we made some new friends as well!
We sat in the piazza sipping wine and grappa and eating gelato with our new found friends. The taxi we had arranged earlier at the hotel arrived and it was time to bid buona notte to Ravello and our new friends. Of course the taxi could only fit six people. So two people had to sit on the laps of the other six for the 20 or so minute ride back to Amalfi. We laughed all the way home discussing our current predicament and our latest adventure in the concert hall. Another fun filled day and night was behind us.
Piazza in Ravello
