| Taormina | Sorrento | Venice | Florence | |
Vatican and Pompeii September 6, 2004
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The line at the museum (7:30 AM) |
Monday morning we had an early wakeup call, so we could get
into the front of the line for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. But before we could
leave, we had to pack our luggage and get it on the bus, then get breakfast.
So there was a bunch of grumbling. By getting to the museum early, we were
able to get in before the crowds built up.
We went through the Museum, ending up at the Chapel. The museum itself has a great deal to offer, but the focus, of course, is the Sistine Chapel. Quite incredible. (We had not seen it in '82 with the kids, but several people in the tour had seen it before the restoration and commented on the difference.) No pictures are allowed in the Sistine chapel. The one on the right is from the Vatican Museum. (We bought a book which includes pictures of the Chapel.) |
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After leaving the Vatican, we all got on the bus and headed south. Stopped for lunch at an "Autostrade lay-by" (interesting mix of Italian and British), had Panini and coke, then arrived at Pompei (or Pompeii if you prefer). This has now been taken over by professional excavators, but is in immaculate shape. The road on the left is "the original" as are the bricks. All wood of course is totally gone. |
| This picture is part of the living room of what clearly was a fairly rich person. There aren't many rooms with this much color still in them, and they are now discovering that just exposure to the air is beginning to bleach them. I don't know if anybody has ideas for preservation yet. |  |
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After the visit to Pompeii, we drove through Naples and
boarded a ferry. The photo on the left is the truck queue trying to
get onto the boat with the city of Naples behind it. What we saw of Naples was a very dirty city. We were told that it has its attractions, but it is also very tired and run down. We did not spend much time visiting the city, but headed towards the harbor and our ferry. |
| We did not actually depart until 8:00 and by then the harbor
really looked rather spectacular. The picture on the right is somewhat
blurred, but gives a good impression anyway. We then tried to get dinner, but the queue was astronomical. So we went into the bar, got their last two panini and a couple of small bottles of wine. After that we retired and had a quiet evening (which was good as they had forecast nasty weather). |
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The next morning we were greeted by the sight of the Palermo (Sicily)
harbor. Really quite impressive. In very short order, we off-loaded the
boat, on-loaded the bus, and went to a hotel for a good breakfast. The rest of Palermo will be on the next page. |
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| Taormina | Sorrento | Venice | Florence |
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