View Article: 091005- Herculaneum and adventures

	091005- Herculaneum and adventures
	written by nmdaybaz / 09.14.2005

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Itinerary

We began our day in Pompeii with an early breakfast, one that paled in comparison to our previous breakfast in Paestum. To remedy this, several of us bought fresh lemonade and orange juice from the stands selling lemons as big as our heads (we got to watch them make the juice in front of us, but sadly they did not use the giant lemons). I’m sure the vendor chuckled as we dumped extra sugar in our lemonade, since we’re all used to the sugary processed juice.

Then we all loaded onto the bus to depart to the final leg of our class trip- Herculaneum. Though the temperature was not any cooler than the previous day at Pompeii, I think we were all thoroughly impressed with the ruins in Herculaneum. Preserved by lava, everything was much more intact than those at Pompeii, though the excavated portion of the city was much smaller. Zinnia gave a very informative presentation on the different building materials used in the city, and Professor Wong acting as Vanna White did a very nice job at pointing them out to us. Angela also gave her short presentation on mosaics, where we learned a lot about the different styles of mosaics, beautifully illustrated by some of the well preserved art in the houses.

After our tour was concluded, the class split up to their various adventures. With the rest of the weekend off and our location further south, a majority of the class decided to continue on and explore. Some of the students went home on the bus to Rome, others took the train and ferry to Capri or Isquia, and I was in the group that took the train to Sorrento. In Sorrento we found a lovely little town, full of great shopping and amiable people. When we checked into our B&B we were greeted by a very friendly old man, whom we soon dubbed our “pater familias.” Justin was a great sport being dragged around shopping with five girls, and all in all we had a delightful day.

Highlights

For me, the highlight of the day was the view of the marina on Sorrento. We stopped at one of the lookout points on the windy road down to the harbor and the view was breathtaking. All of our photos turned out like postcard pictures and it was a sight I will never forget.