July 16, 2009

Yesterday was a day at sea, which was relaxing. The highlight was around 8:30 p.m., when we passed through the narrow channel separating mainland Italy from Sicily. It was still daylight, and we had a great view of the area.

In the morning we docked in Naples and took a bus tour to Pompeii, the famous ruins that were buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. We took a tour through the cruise ship, which was very informative. The temperature was around 35 C. so we all had plenty of water for the morning.

After lunch on the cruise ship we headed out to explore the city of Naples in the afternoon. We hired a taxi for two hours and drove through the city. Frankly, Naples is a pretty rough city, and we were told numerous times to watch our valuables. Naples is also not one of the more attractive cities in Italy. However, we spent an hour at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale viewing some of the hundreds of sculptures, mosaics, and other items from Pompeii and other the surrounding area. Other highlights included the Duomo of San Genarro, the largest cathedral in Naples built in the early 13th century, the Castel Nuovo built in 1282, the Palazzo Reale, built in 1602, the Teatro San Carlo, one of Italy’s most famous opera houses, and the Galleria Umberto. By the end of the afternoon we were exhausted, mostly due to the heat, and we retreated to the cruise ship for a shower and dinner.