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090905 Mozzarella di Buffalo & A Day in Pompeii |
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written
by zinnia / 09.14.2005 |
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Itinerary |
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| Take Your Pick |
| Joe's question: "which one should I get?" |
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| Mozzarella di Buffalo |
| The end product |
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| Julie's Group Interaction |
| Sixty seconds before Pompeii was buried (with you in it), that's all the time you have to scribble down how you want to be remembered. |
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| Dog Lover |
| Peter petting the stray dog that followed us the entire time |
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| Here We Are! |
| Judy pointing out out precise location in the House of Faun. |
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| Presenting, Nina |
| Nina talking about the painting styles of ancient Rome, with Shawn's 'before and after' visual aid ready to go. |
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| Cin-Cin |
| Raise your glasses! |
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Weather: rain -> cloudy -> sunny
On the morning of Sept. 9, 2005 we woke up ever so early at 8 am. It was drizzling rain as we carried ourselves to breakfast. The food was fantastic. There was so much variety - toast with nutella spread, muffins, bread and butter, cereal; anything you name. The fresh buffalo milk was also refreshing and definitely a new experience. Our original plan afterwards was to take a tour of the mozzarella factory and look at the making of mozzarella di buffalo. Unfortunately, the rain this morning had elevated the humidity to the point where it was unfit for making mozzarella. Nonetheless we received a thorough explanation of the process from our guide Ettore. An interesting turn of events after that. As we loaded up with all sorts of cheese to bring back to Rome (and Seattle), Ettore told us that they were going to give a small demonstration of making mozzarella! It was amazing to see and so nice of them to do it just for us. Afterwards, we reluctantly went on the bus and departed for Pompeii.
We arrived at our hotel Villa di Misterio twelve o-clock sharp. After lunch and a short break we readjourned at 2 pm for Pompeii. The city's population was composed mainly of wealthy people middle/upper class. In 79 A.D., with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, it was buried underneath the pyroclastic flow that came 18 hours later. After a stop at the forum, we went to look at the Roman bathing house. The bathhouse has a changing room where people change and store clothing, cold and hot baths, and a courtyard for mild exercising. Back during ancient Rome, bathhouses was a place where everyone can go, from nobility to average citizens to slaves. There were different hours for men and women however, normally early mornings for women and afternoons for men; so that the men can relax after a day's work, and bathing doesn't prevent women making dinner.
We settled down at a choir-like ruin (see picture) and Julie gave her presentation on the freedmen tombs of Pompeii. Freedmen were slaves set free by their masters. Because of their inferior social status - in between citizen and slaves - the freedmen had tombs with portraits that emphasized a stern and scholarly appearance.
There were a lot of stray dogs lazily strolling or sleeping in Pompeii. A black dog followed us the entire way to the amphitheater. It probably wanted attention, as it seemed very content when Peter started to pet him. At the amphitheater, Joel pretended to be a gladiator that successfully leaped out of the stadium floor. He escaped!
Nina's short presentation was on Roman wall paintings. Through time the styles evolved from one to the other. Initially there were colorful blocks, and then architectural allusions that opened up the space, the ornamental style came next and lastly the Romans settled with fancy and decorative designs. Judy's presentation was on the Roman atrium house. At the house of Faun, accompanied by an extremely accurate plan, she gave a very detailed tour of the different quarters; most important were the atrium where rite of passage and wedding ceremonies were held, and the tablinium where the pater familias did daily business and received guests.
Dinner was fun and yummy. We had two options for each of our three courses: gnocchi or penne, caprese salad or chicken, and a choice of salad or beans. Conversation really started to heat up as we finished the glasses of wine and enjoyed the ice cream cake.
Mafia! Not the one in Sicily but the game. We concluded the night with several rounds of the game. The fact that we were playing it in Italy definitely elevated the fun.
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