POMPEII:

I debated about whether to include this photo (top left) of what I call the "ash person," because of the troubling emotional feelings it can evoke, yet I decided, yes, since this is crucial to understanding what Pompeii and many of it's inhabitants underwent around two thousand years ago when the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, blew it's top big time.

(Please click on the image to see an enlargement)

On our visit, the day was gray and packed with tourists, many Chinese and Japanese, and I felt uneasy as we trekked around the ruins for 5 hours. Yet, at the same time, my fascination for the culture, the art, the splendor and beauty that was once here was in high gear also. It felt good to sit on the marble column (bottom right) and gaze into it's designs while imagining what it might have been like to live here long ago.

CINQUE TERRE:

By now we had traveled north by train (we really enjoy trains in Italy) to the Cinque Terre area named after the 5 charming towns perched on the mountains rising above the northern Mediterranean Sea coast. It rained quite a bit here and I overdid it while hiking the hills between villages in a downpour with no rain gear and got sick. Not smart! We heard the next day of a landslide in that same area.

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On the sunny days we hiked, played with local animals, admired the precarious rock sculptures on the beach (bottom left) that reminded me of Picasso's sand paintings. Here today, gone tomorrow! And so it was with us as we headed home to America

CIAO!

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Noreen's sketch of Cinque Terre one fun day.