Atlantic Cruise — 2012

Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia

Vesuvius sunrise

Herculaneum (Ercolano)

Herculaneum (Ercolano)

Herculaneum (Ercolano)

Narrow streets in Cagliari

Duomo Santa Maria - 12th century pulpit

Cagliari Sardinia

Roman ampitheatre

November 10, 2012 — We spent the day at our first port in Italy, Civitavecchia.  As we had been in Rome two years ago we decided not to go into the city this time, as it’s more than a hours drive from the port.  We walked around, looked at the local market and caught up on our email, looked at our favorite websites and read the news.  The Italians are not very friendly--the Spaniards were much nicer.


November 11, 2012 — Rough seas were expected in the Mediterranean for a few days, so we were told that we would stop in Naples for an overnight instead of Sorrento, where tenders would be used to get us ashore. We were disappointed, as Sorrento is smaller, safer, and much easier to navigate. Nothing we can do though, and all the tours people signed up for proceeded (the two cities are pretty close together). The prettiest thing about Naples was the sunrise that Jay saw and photographed--the city is still dirty and busy. We went to see the ruins at Pompeii on our last visit, so this time decided to see the villa at Herculaneum that was also buried when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. We looked for the tram to take to the train station, but ended up walking the whole way, only to be told that the trains were "broken." We negotiated with a cab dispatcher to take us to the ruins and back. Guiseppi got the four of us there and back safely, but it was a wild cab ride. Cars weave in and out among pedestrians and bike riders (one had a baby in his arms and no helmet) and traffic was very heavy for a Sunday morning. Herculaneum was interesting and we spent two hours walking around and taking pictures. Newer buildings and homes are built right outside the walls of the ruins. On our second day in Naples, November 12th, we got off the ship and found internet at a cafe (passwords are incredibly long). We went out a second time to have pizza, as Naples is its birthplace (it was good, but we think Broadway pizza is better).


November 13th — We visited an Italian port that we haven't been to before — Cagliari, Sardinia.  We didn't do a tour, but Jay and I walked around the town for about three hours.  There were a lot of steep hills to climb, but it is an interesting place.  We went to the Santa Maria Cathedral, which has been vandalized many times but the 12th century pulpit remains.  We also walked to the Roman amphitheater, where they threw Christians to the wild animals just like they did at the coliseum in Rome.


© JAY DEITCH 2020