Day 23 - 27 July Naples

 Naples today, and our last full day on the ship. It was also a fairly busy day.

Our first excursion, at about 9am, was to Pompeii. It turns out this is about 45 minutes south and essentially a suburb of Naples now. When we got there it was the usualy waiting around a series of touristb stalls selling junk, then filing through the turnstiles. The town itself was excellent. We've seen a number of Roman ruins but these were the best preserved and gave the closest sense of what the town might have looked and felt like. We wandered around fairly intact streets and looked in what were identifiable homes, bakeries and restaurants. 

Street corner showing public water fountain and covered footpaths

street lined by shops

frescoes, Domus Vettiorum

courtyard/peristyle, Domus Vettiorum

The Vettiorum house in particular had been partly restored with partial frescoes in every room. It finished with thr plaster casts of a couple of bodies in the food market, which felt morbid.

We got back to the ship just before 1pm, had a rushed lunch and joined the the 1.30 tour of Naples. Much olf this was by bus and showed and understandably mixed city. We went through some upmarket shopping districts in well restored 19th C buildings, overlooked a fairly run down industrial area, passed along the waterfront where there were marinas and shops, and then got out near the city square by the huge church and old royal palace.

We were set free for half an hour so we found a shady lane and sat and had a cold drink.

We were back on the ship just after 4pm and it set out soon after.

Shortly we'll have dinner then pack - our bags need to be outside by 10pm and we're off first thing in the morning.